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ALBERT R. MANN 
 LIBRARY 
 
 New York State Colleges 
 
 OF 
 
 Agriculture and Home Economics 
 
 AT 
 
 Cornell University 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 Paul Pomeroy Ives 2d 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 
 Paul Pomeroy Ives 
 
Cornell University Library 
 SF 487.W95N 
 
 The new book of poultry, with forty-five 
 
 3 1924 003 073 248 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003073248 
 
THE NEW 
 
 BOOK OF POULTRY 
 
 BY 
 
 LEWIS WRIGHT 
 
 WITH FORTY-FIVE PLATES IN COLOUR AND BLACK AND WHITE 
 
 BY J. W. LUDLOW 
 
 AND 
 
 THE POULTRY CLUB STANDARDS OF PFRFECTION 
 
 FOR THE VARIOUS BREEDS 
 
 CASSELL AND COMPANY, Limited 
 
 London, Paris, New York cS- Melbourne— ■>.K\in 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The title given to this work is more the choice of the Publishers than my own. 
 But it states a fact : the book is not in any sense a new edition or revision of 
 The Illustrated Book of Poultry published thirty years ago, but a " new " work, 
 entirely rewritten from first to last ; if a few paragraphs have been reproduced 
 as needing no better expression, the entire material so used does not exceed 
 at most a score of pages. This fact is a curious comment upon the opinion 
 expressed by an old friend and fancier, just before its first instalment was 
 issued, to the effect that beyond some little revision and some notice of new 
 varieties, it was hard to see what could be needed, or what there was to write 
 about ! On the contrary, notwithstanding changes in typography which have 
 added one - fourth to the matter, the great difficulty throughout has been 
 compression of what had to be treated upon ; about addition, if space had 
 been at command, there would have been none at all. 
 
 Indeed, a very cursory glance through these pages will show what great 
 changes and advances have taken place in poultry culture during the last 
 thirty years. Even in regard to the treatment of varieties, it will be noticed 
 how much more definite are now the rules and practice of breeding. It is in 
 this department that both myself and the reader a;re so heavily indebted to the 
 skilled breeders and fanciers who have contributed to the book, and whose 
 names appear in its text, and will be sufficient authority for what is written. 
 But whereas thirty years ago such help was mainly rendered by breeders who 
 were familiar personal acquaintances, if not also friends — most of whom have 
 now joined that great majority which claims all of us in turn — the same 
 cordial aid and camaraderie has now been shown by many to whom I was. 
 hardly known except by name, until this their kindness had served as introduction. 
 That cordial help is what I have felt perhaps most strongly; and such hearty 
 comradeship and willingness to impart to others has always been to me one 
 of the greatest charms and attractions about the Poultry Fancy. 
 
 But many other departments of poultry culture have now to be treated fromi 
 a quite new or different standpoint. I mention but a few. Artificial hatching 
 and rearing, become practical successes, have developed to an enormous extent,, 
 and created considerable industries dependent upon them. Poultry feeding, again,, 
 is now conducted by many upon a really scientific basis, and those who do so- 
 are found to reap reward in actual practical results. With this great advance 
 now goes hand-in-hand that systematic breeding for eggs which I have, indeed,, 
 never omitted to press upon the attention of all who keep poultry for its pro- 
 duce, but which only of late has reached wide and actual achievement. Other 
 developments have had to be treated of, in what really deserves to be called 
 poultry-farming, whose essential conditions have gradually emerged in practice out 
 of the endless discussions of rival theorists. Not to enlarge upon such new 
 phases of what is now an important national interest, I only further mention 
 here the enormous development of the poultry industry in the United States, 
 (where the value of the annual produce in 1899 was officially returned as exceed- 
 ing ^^56,000,000 sterling), and the remarkable methods and establishments by which. 
 
,v THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 largely, this has been brought about. For years these have appeared to me well 
 worthy of attentive study, and the issue in instalments of this work has already 
 afforded proof that the exposition of them here given has been an absolute 
 revelation to many in this country. In regard to this portion of the work I 
 would cordially acknowledge the kindness and courtesy of both the editor and 
 proprietors of The Reliable Poultry Journal, Quincy, lUinois, in supplying illustra- 
 tions of American plants and American types of fowls. 
 
 A further cardinal change will be noticed in the " Standards " of the 
 various breeds. It is no longer necessary to present any of my own personal 
 construction, the Poultry Club's Standards now of right superseding all such 
 individual opinions ; " and the reader will appreciate as cordially as myself the 
 arrartgement by which these are allowed to appear in the following pages as 
 well as in the Club's own volume. These Standards embody those of the 
 special Clubs which deal with Aseel, Old EngUsh and other Game, Hamburghs, 
 Langshans, Malays, Orpingtons, Silkies, Variety Bantams (especially Rosecombs), 
 Turkeys, and Waterfowl, that for Frizzled Bantams being practically taken 
 from the late Mr. Entwisle's Bantams. The other special Clubs have also aided, 
 the good work they had done being gladly utilised with no other modification 
 than verbal redaction to one common form. I am asked to state that, except 
 as regards this work and the volume of the Poultry Club, all these Clubs 
 reserve the copyright in their own Standards severally. 
 
 One feature of this book, however, abides, and is to me, as it will be to 
 others, a special subject for congratulation. Mr. J. W. Ludlow illustrated my 
 text of thirty years ago ; the present work is illustrated by the same artist, 
 who has seen even more than I have done of the development of exhibition 
 poultry in England during the intervening period. I have indicated before, 
 and need only recall here, what we owe to his pencil in presenting pictures 
 of the fowls which a breeder desires to see ; and it is both fitting, and a 
 peculiar pleasure to myself, that we should be once more associated, and that 
 the same pencil should aid me in portraying the pure-bred poultry of to-day. 
 In this book his drawings are reproduced by photography. 
 
 In conclusion, I ought to say that this New Book of Poultry has been 
 completed in the face of difficulties and discouragements (quite beyond my 
 control) of such a kind, that if the circumstances in which it had to be concluded 
 could have been foreseen it certainly would not have been ventured upon at all. 
 For many months now past its pages have had to be prepared literally " by 
 midnight oil," after long and exacting work of quite another kind ; and in 
 addition to that, in the same latter portions I was unexpectedly deprived of aid 
 which had been kindly promised by the sudden death of one contributor, 
 and the sudden departure of a second and the brother of a third for South 
 Africa, owing to the calls of the all-pervading Boer War. I mention this as 
 apology, should such be needed, for any inequality of treatment which those 
 familiar with my work may possibly find, and which, indeed, some have 
 found and expressed to me. Nevertheless, I trust that these pages may 
 be found no unworthy exposition and embodiment of what has now become a 
 really important industry; and — while truly thankful to write these last lines — I 
 commit them with some confidence to the kindly judgment of the reader, and of 
 that fraternity amongst whom and whose pursuits I have found so much interest, 
 so much good feehng, and so many friends. 
 
 April, ig02. L. W. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter. 
 
 I. — Poultry Houses and Runs 
 
 II.— The Science of Feeding Poultry 
 
 III. — ^Practical Management and Feeding of Fowls ... 
 
 IV.— The Egg and Sitting Hen 
 
 V. — Artificial Incubation 
 
 VI. — Rearing and Care of Chickens 
 
 VII.— Poultry FOR THE Table 
 
 VIII. — Poultry Farming : 
 
 IX. — National and Commercial 
 
 X. — Exhibition Poultry and Utility 
 
 XI. — Pedigree or Line Breeding 
 
 XII. — Practical Breeding and Rearing of Prize Poultry 
 XIII. — Exhibiting ... 
 XIV.— Shows. Judging. Trimming. Technical Terms... 
 
 XV.^COCHINS 
 
 XVI. — Brahmas 
 
 XVII. — Langshans 
 
 XVIII. — Orpingtons 
 
 XIX. — Plymouth Rocks 
 
 XX. — Wyandottes. 
 
 XXI. — Malays, Aseel, and Indian Game 
 
 XXII. — The Old English Game Fowl 
 
 XXni. — The Ext-tibition Game Fowl 
 
 XXIV. — Dorkings and Surrey Fowls 
 
 XXV.— Spanish 
 
 XXVI.— Minorcas 
 
 XXVII. — Andalustans 
 
 'XXVIII. — Leghorns and Anconas 
 
 XXIX.— Hamburghs and Redcaps 
 
 XXX.— Polish 
 
 XXXI.— French Breeds of Poultry 
 
 XXXII. — Other Continental Breeds 
 
 XXXIII. — Unclassed Breeds of Poultry 
 
 XXXIV. — Bantam Breeding. Game Bantams 
 
 XXXV.— The "Variety" Bantams ; 
 
 XXXVl. — Turkeys. Guinea Fowl. Pea Fowl 
 
 XXXVII.^ — Ducks and Ornamental Waterfowl 
 
 XXXVIII.— Geese and Swans 
 
 XXXIX. — Poultry Diseases and Vices. Vermin 
 
 Page. 
 I 
 
 17 
 28 
 
 41 
 
 S3 
 
 77 
 
 94 
 
 133 
 
 1 65 
 
 176 
 
 18S 
 194 
 
 •213 
 223 
 242 
 259 
 281 
 294 
 301 
 3" 
 325 
 341 
 355 
 369 
 385 
 391 
 399 
 403 
 419 
 441 
 451 
 465 
 471 
 48s 
 496 
 517 
 533 
 557 
 573 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Plan for Small Yard 
 
 Plans of Semi-open House 
 
 Shelf in House 
 
 Dropping Board 
 
 Portable House 
 
 Plan of Double Yard 
 
 „ of Detached Houses in Runs... 
 ,, for a Central Range of Buildings 
 ,, of Mr. Lane's Yard 
 „ for Double Range of Fowl-houses 
 Portable Scratching-shed House ... 
 Scratching-shed Houses of Mr. Hunter 
 Plan of Mr. Latham's Poultry Plant 
 
 Various Feeding Vessels 
 
 Fiurness' Bone Cutter 
 
 Water Fountains 
 
 Ovary of Laying Hen 
 
 „ and Oviduct 
 
 Diagram of an Egg 
 
 Chicle on Second or Third Day 
 
 „ ,, Fifth Day 
 
 ,, ,, Seventh Day 
 ,, Nearly Ready to Hatch 
 ,, TvifQ Days before Exclusion... 
 Safety Nest 
 
 Nest Box 
 
 leash's Egg Protector 
 
 Sterile and Fertile Egg 
 
 Hearson's Egg-tester 
 
 Boyle's Incubator 
 
 Hearson's Incubator 
 
 Grave's Regulator ... 
 
 Halsted's Regulator 
 
 Boyle's Regulator 
 
 Three Principal Types of Regulators 
 
 Cypher's Thermostat 
 
 " Forester " Regulator 
 
 " Monarch " Incubator 
 
 Forester Incubator 
 
 Cosy Coop Incubator 
 
 Incubator-room of Mt. Karsten^iek 
 
 Original ' ' Prairie State " Incubator 
 
 Principle of Cypher's Incubator 
 
 Egg-tester 
 
 Air-cell 
 
 Sussex Coop 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 14 
 14 
 IS 
 33 
 35 
 37 
 41 
 41 
 42 
 
 44 
 
 44 
 
 45 
 
 45 
 
 45 
 
 47 
 
 49 
 
 5t 
 
 51 
 
 52 
 
 54 
 
 56 
 
 58 
 
 58 
 
 58 
 
 59 
 
 60 
 
 60 
 
 6i 
 
 61 
 
 62 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
 65 
 
 70 
 
 72 
 
 78 
 
 Shelter Coop 
 
 Spratt's " Gamekeeper's " Coop 
 
 Floor of a Coop 
 
 Scraper 
 
 Mrs. Cheshire's Coverlet Brooder 
 
 Circulatory System of Brooder 
 
 Hot Radiating Chamber of Bropdcr 
 
 Flue and Radiator of Brooder 
 
 Central Lamp for Brooder 
 
 Ventilating Type of Brooder . 
 
 Funnel for Cramming Fowls 
 
 Old Sussex Cramming Machine 
 
 Hearson's Cramming Mach'ns 
 
 Shaping Trough for Dead FowU ... 
 Stone Dressed for Grinding Oats ... 
 
 Sussex Cramming Shed 
 
 Pressing Troughs 
 
 Outdoor Feeding Pens in Sussex ... 
 
 Threading of the Wings in Trussing 
 
 Trussed for Roasting 
 
 ,, Boiling 
 
 Shed and Wall Shelters at Sowerby Grange, Northallerton 
 Spinney Shelters at Sowerby Grange, Northallerton ... 
 
 System of Hot-waler Pipes in Brooder House 
 
 Ventilation Method' in Brooder Houses 
 
 Top-piping System in Brooder Houses ... 
 
 Single Brooder House 
 
 Double Brooder House 
 
 Mr. Loughlin's Broiler Plant 
 
 Horseshoe Brooder House of the Loughlin Plant 
 
 Mr. Dunbar's Broiler Plant 
 
 Ground Plan of Buildings of Mr. Dunbar's Plant 
 
 Mode of Transference of Chicks in Broiler Pl,int 
 
 Mr. Felch's Breeding Chart 
 
 Plan and Section of Trap Nest 
 
 Trap Nest Open and Closed 
 
 Mode of Tying a Slipped Wing 
 
 Comb Support 
 
 Operation for Wry Tail 
 
 Exhibition Hamper 
 
 Reference Diagram for Technical 'Icrms 
 
 Vulture Hock 
 
 Pair of Cochins of 1853 
 
 „ Cochins in 1865 
 
 Partridge Hen's Hackle-featbers 
 
 „ Cochin Pencilled Feathers 
 
 PAGE* 
 
 ... 78 
 ... 79 
 ... 79 
 ... 81 
 ... 88 
 ... 89 
 ... 90. 
 ... 90. 
 ... 90 
 ... 91 
 ... 103, 
 ... 104 
 ... 104 
 ... no 
 ... 12a 
 ... 121 
 ... 122 
 ... 124 
 ... 131 
 ... 132 
 ... 132 
 ... 144 
 ... 14s 
 ... 147 
 ... 148 
 ... 14a 
 ... 148 
 ... I4» 
 ... 151 
 ... 15a 
 ■■• 15+ 
 .■■ 15s 
 ...- »56 
 ... 190 
 
 ••• ^95 
 - 193 
 
 ... 212 
 
 ... 214 
 
 ... 216 
 
 ... 221 
 
 ... 240. 
 
 ... 241 
 
 ■■■ 243 
 
 ... 244 
 
 ... 24a 
 
 ... 249 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Feathers of Cock-breeding Cochin Partridge Hen 
 
 Pair of American Buff Cochins 
 
 First Dark Brahmas sent to England 
 
 Portrait of Brahma Cock " Favourite 2 " 
 
 Show Haclde-featlier of Light Brahma 
 
 Daric Haclde-feather of Light Brahma 
 
 Hackle-feather of Dark Brahma Cock 
 
 Saddle Hackle-feather of Dark Brahma Cock 
 
 Dark Brahma Pullet Feathers in 1 87 1 
 
 Feathers from Dark Brahma Pullet, 1900 
 
 Pair of American Light Brahmas 
 
 First or Original Langshans 
 
 Langshan Cock as advertised by Miss Croad, 1888 
 
 Pair of American Langshans, 1898 
 
 American Plymouth Rock Plumage 
 
 Feathers of Barred Plymouth Rock Hen 
 
 ,, from American Barred Plymouth Rock Pullet, igoi 
 
 Pair of Early American Wyandottes 
 
 Feathers showing Lacing of Indian Game Hen 
 
 Ideal Contour of Malay Cock 
 
 Game Cock Trimmed and Heeled ... ... 
 
 Old English Steel Spurs 
 
 Silver Spurs ... 
 
 Steel Spurs 
 
 Exhibition Game Cocks showing Development ... 
 Feathers of Brown-Red Game Cock 
 
 ,, Dark Dorking Hen 
 
 ,, Medium Dark Dorking Hen 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 .. 251 
 
 Feathers of Silver-Grey Dorking Hen 
 
 .376 
 
 •■ 2SS 
 
 Shape of Dorking Cock 
 
 . 380 
 
 ... 266 
 
 American Brown Leghorn Cockerel ... 
 
 . 416 
 
 ... 267 
 
 Hackle-feathers of Silver-Spangled Hamburgh Cock ... 
 
 . 421 
 
 .. 270 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Hen, 1870 
 
 . 422 
 
 ... 270 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Hen, 1900 
 
 . 422 
 
 ... 272 
 
 Feathers of Silver-Spangled Hamburghs 
 
 • 424 
 
 ... 272 
 
 
 
 . 42s 
 
 ... 273 
 
 Pair of Derbyshire Redcaps' 
 
 ■ 429 
 
 ." 27s 
 
 Feathers of Silver- Pencilled Hamburgh Pullets, 1900 ... 
 
 . 432 
 
 ... 277 
 
 Pullet, 1870 ... 
 
 • 433 
 
 .„ 282 
 
 Skull of Polish Fowl 
 
 . 441 
 
 ... 285 
 
 Crest Feathers of Spangled Polish 
 
 • 443 
 
 ... 290 
 
 Feathers of Silver Spangled Polish Cock 
 
 • 44+ 
 
 ... 304 
 
 „ Hen 
 
 • 44S 
 
 ... 30s 
 
 Silver Spangled Polish and White Crested Black ... 
 
 • 445 
 
 ... 307 
 
 Pair of CrSvecoeurs 
 
 • 455 
 
 ... 3" 
 
 Silver Campines 
 
 . 466 
 
 -. 335 
 
 Head of Breda Cock 
 
 . 468 
 
 ■ - 338 
 
 Feather from Silky Hen 
 
 .475 
 
 - 345 
 
 Pair of Frizzled Fowls, .Sultans and Silkies 
 
 • 477 
 
 ... 346 
 
 Yokohama Fowls 
 
 . 480 
 
 ... 347 
 
 Common Guinea Fowl 
 
 . 528 
 
 .- 347 
 
 Pair of Mandarin Ducks .'. 
 
 ■ 551 
 
 .. 356 
 
 ,, Carolina Ducks ... ... 
 
 • 553 
 
 ... 361 
 
 „ African Geese 
 
 . 564 
 
 ... 372 
 
 Canada Goose 
 
 . 565 
 
 ... 373 
 
 Sebastopol and Gambian Geese 
 
 . 567 
 
COLOURED PLATES. 
 
 Pair of Old English Game : . Spangled ... 
 
 „ Buff Cochins .... 
 
 „ Partridge Cochins 
 
 „ Light Brahmas 
 
 „ Dark Brahmas ... 
 
 Buff Orpingtons . ... 
 
 , Plymouth Rocks ... - 
 
 „ Silver-Laced Wyandottes . 
 
 „ Golden Wyandottes . . . 
 
 „ Malays and Aseel 
 
 „ Indian Game 
 
 Black-breasted Red and Pile Exhibition Game 
 
 „ Brown Red Game ... ■ 
 
 ,, Duckwing and White Gasie . . 
 
 ,, Dark Dorkings .... 
 
 „ Silver-Grey Dorkings ... 
 
 „ Andalusians 
 
 ,, White Leghorns : . . . 
 
 Brown Leghorns' 
 
 ., Buff Leghorns 
 
 Anconas 
 
 „ Gold-Spangled Hamburghs ... 
 
 Gold-Pencilled Hamburghs 
 
 Gold-Spangled Polish 
 
 „ HOUDANS 
 
 ,, Salmon Faverolles 
 
 Frizzles, Buff Pekins, Golden Sebrights, Japanese, and Old English 
 
 Game Bantams 
 
 „ Pile, Silver Duckwing, Black-breasted Red, and Brown-breasted Red 
 Game Bantams .... . . .... 
 
 „ Rouen and Cayuga Ducks ' . . . 
 
 Pekin and Indian Runner Ducfcs 
 
 Frontispiece 
 To face page 246 
 
 55 
 
 >5 
 
 250 
 268 
 
 ,, 
 
 5? 
 
 272 
 
 
 •» 
 
 204 
 300 
 
 
 
 312 
 316 
 326 
 
 
 
 334 
 358 
 360 
 
 362 
 
 5 
 
 
 370 
 376 
 400 
 
 J* 
 
 
 404 
 406 
 
 J' 
 
 )) 
 
 410 
 
 
 '1 
 
 412 
 426 
 
 31 
 
 )) 
 
 43 + 
 
 »> 
 
 J' 
 
 442 
 
 JI 
 
 )j 
 
 452 
 458 
 
 486 
 4S8 
 
 536 
 538 
 
 PLAIN PLATES. 
 
 Pair of Black Cochins ... ... ... 
 
 „ Langshans . . . 
 
 „ Black Orpingtons 
 
 Wyandotte Feathers 
 
 Pair of White Wyandottes ... 
 
 „ White Dorkings 
 
 „ Spanish 
 
 „ Black Minorcas 
 
 „ Silver-Spangled Hamburghs 
 
 „ Black Hamburghs 
 
 ,, La FLfcCHE 
 
 „ Scotch Greys 
 
 „ Polish, Scotch Grey, Black Rosecombed and White Booted Bantams 
 
 „ American Bronze Turkeys 
 
 „ Aylesbury and Cayuga Ducks 
 
 Toulouse and Embden Geese 
 
 To face page 
 
 252 
 282 
 296 
 3'4 
 318 
 378 
 386 
 392 
 422 
 436 
 456 
 
 474 
 496 
 518 
 534 
 S58 
 
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THE 
 
 BOOK OF POULTRY 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 POULTRY HOUSES AND RUNS. 
 
 F all matters connected 
 with poultry-keeping, 
 the fowl - house is 
 generally the first to 
 be considered ; and 
 healthiness in the 
 house and surroundings 
 is certainly one of the 
 most important of all 
 considerations connected 
 with the undertaking. It 
 ^""^iT' rtiay be well to point out at the outset 
 that this healthiness may be sought in 
 either of two somewhat different direc- 
 tions, if not absolutely upon two different prin- 
 ciples. The last way of putting it would indeed 
 be carrying the matter too far, since in every 
 case pure air remains the first and essential 
 point. But this may still be sought in the way 
 of either free and hardy exposure, or combined 
 with warmth and shelter from the weather ; 
 and there are circumstances which may make 
 either of these general methods advisable. 
 
 It is only recently that the possibilities and 
 advantages of the open-air method have been at 
 all generally recognised, though even in the 
 first edition of this work impressive examples 
 were given of Dorkings and Spanish becoming 
 hardy and healthy under the Spartan regimen 
 of an entirely out-door life. The results of this, 
 when fully carried out, we see best in pheasants 
 B 
 
 and other game birds, whose health, vigour, and 
 extraordinary gloss and elasticity of feather far 
 surpass that of house-kept birds. 
 Hardiness Qjj ^j^g other hand these races, in 
 Delicacy. confinement, are abnormally "deli- 
 cate," and the mortality is great : they 
 die off, just as aborigines do when missionary 
 convention has put them into trousers and 
 closed rooms. We, on the other hand, trained 
 by long heredity, find the clothes and the 
 closed rooms a necessity, and perish under 
 " exposure." 
 
 We thus learn that there are two entirely 
 different kinds of "delicacy." One animal, or 
 human being, may be supremely hardy towards 
 any merely inclement conditions of open-air 
 life, while delicate towards the least vitiation 
 of air or pasturage. Another race or family, 
 by its training, will be " delicate " to the 
 exposure, but hardy towards the consequences 
 of confinement and crowded life. These may 
 appear truisms to many ; but there are some 
 who never seem to have given a thought to 
 them, or to their real bearing upon questions 
 of practical management and rearing ; and so 
 we have presumed authorities maintaining that 
 the proper and only profitable way to rear 
 turkeys, even in this country, is to give them 
 unlimited range and free exposure, in the 
 neighbourhood of woods especially, and regard- 
 less of poachers, foxes, wanderings, and such 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 other drawbacks as encounter a proprietor in 
 places where such methods are even possible. 
 Those who have considered what we have 
 above briefly recalled, will see that almost 
 every such question of general management 
 has two sides, and that in a country already 
 civilised and crowded with inhabitants, there 
 will generally predominate a necessity for 
 adopting the conditions of civilisation. 
 
 The limitations, and the advantages, and 
 the methods of the exposure system of keep- 
 ing poultry, may be shortly stated. 
 ^^^ It can only be carried out altogether: 
 
 System!^ there must be the wide range, lead- 
 ing to active 'exercise and pure air, 
 or it is fatal. Where, however, these can be 
 had, breeds whose best "condition" is hard 
 flesh and tight and glossy plumage, will attain 
 that condition in a degree that can hardly be 
 equalled in any other way ; and there will be 
 little illness.. At the commencement, a few of 
 the first stock (reared on another system) may 
 probably perish, and the weakly ones of a given 
 hatch may be quickly weeded out ; but on the 
 whole this system, fully carried out, produces 
 health and condition of the highest kind, and 
 is even not inconsistent with great weight, as 
 was proved by the Dorkings of the late 
 Viscountess Holmesdale, so successful a quarter 
 of a century ago, The question of housing is 
 thus reduced to a minimum ; all that is neces- 
 sary will be as many as required of detached 
 sheds, perfectly open on one side, dotted about 
 at different suitable spots, which can be arranged 
 so as to give some little shelter from the worst 
 winds. These will form both shelters and 
 roosting-houses, though some birds will prob- 
 ably roost in the trees. Exhibition poultry 
 of the very highest class can be reared in 
 any park in this way, without any formal or 
 permanent outlay in the way of buildings and 
 fencing. 
 
 Parks and large farms are, however, within 
 the reach of few ; and even where they are, 
 health, hardihood, and condition are not the 
 only points to be considered by the majority 
 of people who keep poultry. The exhibitor 
 pure and simple may wish for no more ; but 
 most people have to consider cost of food and 
 value of produce. In these respects the free 
 exposure system does not come out so well. 
 This is well shown by the experience of a lady, 
 published in an American paper. She had 
 adopted for years the usual American plan of 
 closing up houses as much as possible in winter, 
 and confining the birds in very bad weather. 
 At last she resolved, even in that more severe 
 climate, to try the open plan, and left one-half of 
 
 her stock to roost in an entirely open cartshed, 
 even with the thermometer at zero, only in 
 December hanging some old horse-blankets in 
 front of them. Those in the houses continued 
 to trouble her with colds ; those outside had 
 none, and were much the glossiest birds, and 
 had the .largest frames. On the other hand, 
 however, those outside ate a great deal the most ; 
 while those inside were a great deal the heaviest, 
 and began to lay about a month before, the 
 others. These results put the whole matter in 
 a nutshell, and obviously bring us back in most 
 cases to the habits of what we have termed 
 " civilisation " ; but in many cases the best re- 
 sults of both systems can be secured in all but 
 the more severe of English climates. We must 
 still, and at all costs, secure pure air ; but we 
 more generally want this in combination with 
 shelter from the weather and outside frost, and 
 freedom from direct draught or current of air, so 
 easy to set up in a small house, and which is 
 quite different in its effects from the free winds 
 of the open plan. 
 
 
 Shed. 
 
 House. 
 
 
 Open Run. 
 
 
 Fig. I. 
 
 
 In considering how poultry should be housed, 
 then, we will begin with the smallest scale, such 
 as half a dozen fowls (more or less) 
 Small House to be kept at the bottom of a garden 
 and Run. or back-yard. A long shed may 
 already exist, and if so, will do ex- 
 cellently if in repair ; otherwise comes the qires- 
 tion of building the whole affair, which ought to 
 be within the power of an average man. It will 
 generally be better (with all due respect to the 
 average British workman) if so built, and more 
 according to what he desires. The best general 
 arrangement will be as in Fig. i, the house being 
 in one corner, a roofed shed carried out at its 
 side, and as much open run in front as can be 
 afforded, or perhaps the whole yard. The house 
 will be closed in ; but the shed should be open 
 in front, though with a closed end wall unless it 
 
BUILDING SMALL HOUSES. 
 
 runs all across, in which latter case it may perhaps 
 comprise all the run which can be afforded. The 
 shed should be boarded up a foot from the 
 ground and netted above, that the few birds may 
 be confined in specially wet weather ; and the 
 roof over all should project a little in front and 
 have a gutter. A house four feet square would 
 really answer, but this would hardly give enough 
 shelter-depth to the shed, which will be far 
 better six feet to the. back ; hence a small house 
 may part off four feet wide from such a shed. 
 Six feet is also best because most ordinary 
 planks a:nd timbers are twelve feet long, which 
 will cut up without waste. 
 
 Building such a small affair is very easy. If 
 there is a back wall the matter is simplified. 
 
 Quartering (2x3 timber) should be 
 Building used for frame and uprights, and not 
 
 Small Houses. Jess than f-inch for the boards. The 
 
 back uprights should be clinched to 
 the wall by staynails or holdfasts, and a horizon- 
 tal piece of same section similarly fastened to the 
 wall to support the back of the roof The bottoms 
 of other uprights can be tarred and sunk in the 
 ground ; but it is better to lay horizontal sills 
 of quartering either on the ground or, still 
 better, upon a " footing " made by a row or two 
 rows of bricks laid side by side. Then halve or 
 mortise all the uprights into the sills. There 
 must be an upright at the corner of the house, 
 and for a door-post, and at the gate in the shed, 
 and its corner, and wherever else needed for 
 strength. A horizontal timber will run all along 
 the top of the front, and on to this and the back 
 piece on the wall the rafters will be spiked down. 
 The boards may be either tongued, or caulked 
 by driving string into the chinks, or laths tacked 
 over the latter. Tongued boards are best, and 
 look neatest. The door must fit well, or rather, 
 should be made so as to lap over the timbers all 
 round. 
 
 For the walls, single-tongued boards are 
 sufficient in ordinary climates. When more 
 warmth and shelter are necessary, roofing felt 
 may be tacked on outside and tarred, or what is 
 probably best of all, an inner skin of thinner 
 tongued boards may be nailed on to the inside 
 of the frame- work timbers, leaving an air-space 
 between. This is a very snug and warm and neat 
 plan. There is a similar variety in regard to 
 roofing. Loose tiles will give absolutely free 
 ventilation, but will be, in many places, too cold 
 for profit, though they will suffice for at least 
 southern England. Galvanised iron is quite as 
 cold, and does not ventilate, having, therefore, 
 no merit at all beyond durability. Either of 
 these, however, ceiled with thin match-boarding 
 nailed under the rafters, is a warm and good 
 
 roofing. Wood alone also makes a good roof 
 Feather-edge boards may be overlapped hori- 
 zontally, and tarred periodically, or thicker 
 boards, tongued or plain, may be laid edge to 
 edge from the highest point to the eaves. This 
 should be coated with hot gas tar in which a 
 pound of pitch to the gallon is dissolved. Or 
 the wood may be tarred, then covered with thick 
 brown paper tacked down, and again tarred ; or 
 calico will be still better. Or the wood may be 
 covered with roofing felt, or roofing paper, tarred 
 annually. The well-known Willesden paper (the 
 two-ply being most generally useful), is also 
 excellent as a lining for wood, or may itself be 
 tarred over. The fabrics of the Willesden New 
 Wire-wove Roofing Company are also good 
 material for a light roofing ; and their Duroline 
 material, in particular, composed of a translu- 
 cent substance, supported on coarse open wire 
 gauze, can be obtained in sheets as large as 
 10 X 4 feet, is fire-proof, and transmits about as 
 much light as ground glass. 
 
 We come next to the floor of house and 
 shed. Fowls will stand activity over wet runs, 
 
 on which they only walk at their 
 Flooring- of choice ; but cannot be kept success- 
 Shed, fully in confinement for long, if the 
 
 floor and walls of the house, and 
 floor of the shed on which they depend for 
 shelter, be not dry. However damp the ground, 
 this can almost always be effected by digging 
 and taking away till hard earth be reached, then 
 putting on a layer of broken bricks, or stones, 
 or ^clinkers, from one to two feet deep, in any 
 case enough to raise the level six inches above 
 the ground, and on this a layer of concrete made 
 of hot fresh-slaked brown lime, and gravel or 
 pounded clinkers. Sometimes it is better to use 
 a dry mixture of quicklime pounded, gravel, and 
 tar, the smell of which repels rats and mice. If 
 there is definite cause to dread rats, however, it 
 is worth while to lay small-mesh wire netting 
 over the beaten-down surface of the drainage 
 material, and below the concrete, and to carry it 
 a foot up all the walls. A shed thus floored, and 
 with the roof well projecting, and boarded up a 
 foot or more, will be nice and dry. On the hard 
 floor can be placed dry earth, or ashes, or sand, 
 or straw, to be periodically removed when 
 contaminated. 
 
 On good, dry soil all this is not necessary. 
 Mere trodden earth will, in that case, do for the 
 house, and also for the floor of the shed ; but in 
 the shed some inches of earth should first be 
 removed, to be returned in a loose state, after 
 the subsoil has been levelled, and smoothed, and 
 rammed down to a hard permanent floor. This 
 is the proper way to keep a shed — and especially 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 a shed which constitutes the only run the fowls 
 have — clean. To dig it up a foot deep every 
 two or three weeks, as some do, answers for a 
 period ; but gradually the whole mass becomes 
 contaminated to that depth, and the fowls begin 
 to ail from the poisonous atmosphere. If all 
 can be removed and replaced with fresh earth 
 every three months or so, it will answer. But it 
 is much easier and more manageable to renew 
 merely a few inches of scratching material, 
 down to a hard bottom, as above indicated. The 
 removed earth or ashes' will be valuable for the 
 garden. In the winter months it is a good plan 
 to throw down a few bushels of chaff as well, or 
 some straw, spreading it over the loose earth — it 
 will keep the fowls scratching, and promote 
 warmth. 
 
 Let us next suppose that it is desired to carry 
 out the fresh-air "system in high degree, in even 
 such a small house as here supposed. 
 Fresh-air Plans -j-jjig ^an be done in several ways. 
 Small House. ^ ''°°f °f loose {i.e. uncemented) 
 tiles is one way ; the air will escape 
 quite freely, and it will only be needful to see 
 that the birds on the perch are not in any direct 
 draught from the entrance hole. This method 
 is, however, rather cold for latitudes much higher 
 than London. It is really warmer to have a 
 tight roof, but to forrn the house and shed as in 
 Fig. 2. The back A B, and ends, A c and B D, 
 are closed ; but the front, turned towards a 
 sheltered or warm aspect, is only closed from D 
 
 a house thus constructed, and ventilation, is 
 entirely free and open, whilst the house will be 
 many degrees warmer than the outer air, if the 
 walls are good. Such a plan can be readily 
 
 A 
 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 F 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 
 E 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 Fig. 2. — Semi-open House. 
 
 to E, E c being wired in, with a hole for entrance. 
 The perch is at F G, in the most sheltered part, 
 but facing the open shed. Here we have pure 
 open air, and practically no draught, and the 
 wind can only reach the perch from about the 
 point c. Still more shelter can be secured by 
 some mpdification of the above plan, such as we 
 show in Fig. 3. Here the side of the house next 
 the open shed is partially closed, E H ; and the 
 perch, F G, put back into the part most sheltered ; 
 the vacant space is, however, entirely open from 
 top to bottom. No direct wind at all can reach 
 
 A 
 
 H 
 
 E 
 
 B 
 F ^ — -Q 
 
 c ° B 
 
 Fig. 3. — Semi-open House. 
 
 adopted in any buildings, on any scale, and will 
 give shelter sufficient for almost any part of 
 England : in parts of Scotland it might not 
 suffice so far as the egg-basket is concerned. 
 
 In regard to this question of warmth no rule 
 can be laid down. If the house can be built 
 
 against a wall at the back of which 
 Warmth. is a fireplace or stable, it will promote 
 
 eggs in winter, and a genial aspect 
 is also desirable, though by no means essential. 
 In very severe climates, like the United States or 
 northern England, some form of stove may be 
 beneficial ; but heat is generally overdone. The 
 evil is that the birds then take cold on going out 
 into the air. The lamp or stove should be so 
 adjusted as not to raise the heat above about 
 50°, which can easily be done with a little care 
 and thought. In such a house as Fig. 3 a plain 
 petroleum lantern with a wire fence round may 
 be used, with no ill result, owing to the free circu- 
 lation. Experience has proved that if a few 
 fowls are in a house and shed, and kept warm 
 and sheltered — that is, day and night — a hen 
 thus kept warm will lay better. It is heat alter- 
 nated with cold which does so much mischief, 
 especially if, besides the heat, the fowls also 
 breathe (in a close house) the fumes from a 
 stove. 
 
 In most cases it is probable that the house 
 will be closed in ; then we must see to express 
 
 ventilation, yet without any definite 
 Ventilation, draught from one point to another 
 
 coming upon the inmates. Usually 
 the entrance hole will be at the front end of the 
 side wall ; then obviously we place the perch at 
 the back side of the house, to be away from it, 
 and the ventilator should be so placed that the 
 draught from this entrance-hole to it does not 
 cross the fowls. That is really the main point 
 The ventilator itself should be such that no 
 strong wind can blow directly down upon the 
 
SHELVES AND DROPPING BOARDS. 
 
 birds. Some louvre boards (i.e. like a Venetian 
 blind) are good ; so is a sheet of coarsely 
 perforated zinc over a hole in the wall, or in 
 the ceiling under tiles. , The various patent 
 ventilators have no objection beyond their 
 cost. 
 
 A closed house should have a window of 
 some kind. The fowls need to see what they 
 are about, and so does the proprietor. One 
 that can be opened will be all the better for 
 the hot weather. 
 
 Internal arrangements of a small house can- 
 not be too simple, the essentials being ready 
 access to everything, and easy cleanliness, the 
 latter of which has, of course, much to do with 
 the pure atm9sphere we have been already 
 considering. Perches should be kept low, and in 
 a small house one is better than more. Active 
 breeds may fly down from a high tree 
 Perches. if they can have a long slant for the 
 
 flight ; but if not, they fall heavily, 
 and in confined space much injury to the feet 
 may be done hy what seems quite a small height. 
 We formerly used, and even advised, very broad 
 perches, planed nearly flat, with only top corners 
 rounded. Longer experience has convinced us 
 that smaller ones are better, and that best of all 
 are branches, with slight variations in size, and 
 little irregularities and crooks (though taking off 
 all prominent knots). These irregularities go a 
 long way to prevent mischief, and the general 
 size may run from \\ to 2f inches diameter, 
 according to the fowls. Perches should be loose, 
 resting on a flat cut under each end, and should 
 be lifted now and then and dressed, also the 
 ledges on which they rest, with oil and paraffin, 
 to keep away the red mite. • They are better not 
 more than twelve to eighteen inches high for 
 large fowls, and two to three feet for lighter ones. 
 Many, however, prefer to roost large Asiatics 
 upon straw or fern. This will do upon the 
 floor if it is perfectly dry, and the same straw 
 will answer for several days if regularly shaken 
 up with a stick and the droppings taken away 
 from underneath. 
 
 With perches also, cleanliness must be con- 
 stantly attended to. The floor should be freshly 
 sprinkled every morning with earth, 
 Cleanliness qj. gand, or ashes, or peat-moss litter, 
 and the Shelf , ^ ^. v , . cc 
 
 Method. oi" chaff, . or some other dry stun^, 
 
 after taking up the droppings with a 
 dust-pan and scraper. Or a board may be laid 
 under the perch and similarly treated. But, for 
 a small house especially, we know no better plan 
 than one whose principle we took from the 
 Canada Farmer more than thirty years ago ; 
 since then the publicity we have given to it has 
 carried it all over the world, and experience still 
 
 testifies to its utility. Its distinguishing feature 
 is the broad shelf {a, Fig. 4), resting loosely at 
 the ends on strips or ledges, at the back of the 
 house, with the perch placed six to eight inches 
 above it, a foot from the wall. The nests are 
 placed on the ground underneath the shelf, and 
 are quite protected. 
 
 0/, 
 
 Fig. 4. — Shelf in House. 
 
 a. Broad shelf, fifteen or twenty inches high. 
 
 b. Perch, six to eight inches above shelf. 
 
 c. TA ests under perch, open in front and on top.' 
 
 A shelf of this kind under the perch offers 
 many advantages. From its convenient height, 
 it is scraped clean and sprinkled every morning 
 with the greatest comfort, arid preserves the floor 
 almost entirely from pollution. It keeps perch and 
 nests over the same portion of floor, thus making 
 quite a small house more roomy. Another very 
 great advantage is that it screens from all upward 
 draught, and also intercepts radiation from cold 
 or damp ground : it thus adds much warmth to 
 such an arrangement as Fig. 2 or Fig. 3. If 
 large Asiatics are roosted upon straw, ,it is also 
 the warmest arrangement, in that case substitut- 
 ing straw for the perch. It must not be forgotten 
 to lift the shelf now and then, and dress the ends 
 and the ledges on which it rests with paraflSn oil. 
 In America the tendency has been more and 
 more of late years to arrange such a shelf in a 
 way to be more or less movable, 
 Dropping under the name of a "dropping 
 Boards. board " or, more shortly, " drop- 
 
 board." In one set of plans before us, 
 it takes the shape of a square table on four legs, 
 about two feet high, which can be moved about 
 when required, and above which the perches are 
 suspended by perpendiculars from the roof 
 Fig. 5 shows an arrangement used in about 
 thirty houses on the Reliable Poultry Farm, 
 Quincy, 111. Each board A A is about 5 feet 
 square, and is hinged at the back to the sloping 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 roof just above the low back wall. Above the 
 board are the perches EBB. At the foot is a 
 box or trough C C, loose on the ground. The 
 board having ashes or road-dust sprinkled over 
 
 Fig. 5. — Dropping Board. 
 
 it, the droppings fall in the box C C, which is made 
 slightly wider than a shovel, so as to be cleared 
 by one sweep of that implement ; and in the 
 morning the board is drawn up by the rope and 
 pulley, and the box C C set back against the 
 wall out of the .way. The object of these 
 arrangements is to leave all the floor space at 
 liberty for the fowls, which is desirable in winter 
 time, when they are confined. Another arrange- 
 ment, said to be largely used in the eastern 
 States, is a permanent flat shelf at the back of 
 the house, about three feet from the ground, to 
 the under side of which are fixed the partitions 
 and front ledges only of a row of nests. Under 
 these is hinged at the back another shelf, as a 
 bottom for these nests. This arrangement also 
 leaves the entire floor clear, and when the nests 
 want cleaning or renewal of material, the bottom 
 is let down, and everything falls to the floor, 
 after which all is replaced clean. Before adopt- 
 ing any of these arrangements, ingenious as 
 they are, it should be remembered that their 
 main object rs, floor space, which is not so neces- 
 sary in a climate where the fowls can run out, 
 more or less, all the year. But their wide 
 adoption is at least a proof of the great use- 
 fulness and convenience of the shelf method. 
 
 Little is really needed for nesting in a small 
 house. Hens like some darkness and seclusion ;. 
 but under such a shelf as in Fig. 4 a few bricks 
 to confine a little straw will be sufficient. Other- 
 wise a row of nests can be arranged by tacking 
 together a thin board all along the top, thin 
 
 partitions, and a strip three inches high in front 
 to keep in the straw ; this needs no back, but 
 can go against the wall. The less wood, and 
 cracks, and joins, the better. The old-fashioned 
 tiers of nests are never used now. Half of a 
 cheese-box on the ground makes a good nest. 
 Complication, fixity, and harbour for vermin arc 
 the points to be avoided. 
 
 Sometimes no wall is available for even a 
 small lean-to fowl-house. In such case the 
 back uprights as well as the front ones must 
 be halved or mortised into back sills, if they are 
 to be tenants' fixtures ; otherwise they can, if 
 preferred, be sunk in the ground. But sill-work 
 is really the best in any case, and makes it 
 easier to raise the whole, and the floor, by a 
 "footing" of bricks. Tlie whole may be on 
 the same plan, of a small house with shed at 
 the side ; or as Fig. 2 or Fig. 3 for ventilation. 
 Ready-made houses for fowls are now made 
 and sold very cheaply by quite a number of 
 manufacturers, in a great variety of 
 Portable patterns. They can be had built 
 
 Houses. for a lean-to against a wall ; or en- 
 
 tirely detached, with span, or circular, 
 or slanting roofs. We have seen them adver- 
 tised as low as 25s. for four feet square,' but this 
 is really too cheap for sound timber. They are 
 packed flat for carriage, and readily put together 
 by anyone at all used to even the simplest tools. 
 There is one point about most of the smaller 
 houses, cornmon to all manufacturers ; yiz. that 
 the floor of the roosting-house itself is raised a 
 couple of feet from the ground, so that of itself 
 it forms a shed or shelter for the ground under- 
 neath. A good pattern for rather a larger house 
 
 Fig. 6. — Portable House. 
 
 than usual is shown in Fig. 6, the house being 
 made rather narrow but long, so as to give 
 more shed room. These houses are cheap, and 
 often very useful, but two or three things about 
 them need to be borne in mind. The first is, 
 that the sizes given in most price lists are not 
 
MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SPACE. 
 
 large enough for the numbers usually stated with 
 them : thus a house four feet square is often given 
 as " suitable for twelve fowls." It is nothing of 
 the sort : more than half that should not be 
 placed in it, unless small breeds on a wide 
 range. Except on such a large run, or with 
 some other shelter available, or in some sheltered 
 position, such as a shrubbery, the area of the 
 bottom shed is not altogether sufficient. With 
 such adjuncts it may be ; but care should be 
 taken to raise the ground some inches, and 
 special care to constantly renew clean dry dust- 
 ing material, unless other dusting places are 
 available. Another point to remember is that 
 in snow or rain the fowls, crowding under the 
 shelter, are very likely, at night, to remain there, 
 rather than go out momentarily into, the wet 
 to go up to roost ; this should always be looked 
 after. Chinks may, not unlikely, open after a 
 while in the floor, and cause draught : such must 
 be stopped by^om? material if it is so. Even 
 the entrance, in its raised position, is far more 
 exposed than when on the ground ; and such a 
 house should therefore always be turned to a mild 
 quarter. It is often convenient, and certainly 
 better, as a rule, where ready-made buildings 
 are purchased, to get a shed entirely separate, 
 such as are also supplied by the makers of the 
 houses. 
 
 Somewhere in each shed, and in the driest 
 part of it if any damp comes in anywhere, there 
 
 must be -a heap of fine dry earth, 
 DuBt-bath. or road-dust, or finely sifted ashes, 
 
 in which the fowls may roll and 
 cleanse themselves from insect vermin — their 
 only means of doing so. To answer jts purpose 
 this must be renewed every now and then, 
 and especially never allowed to remain long if 
 it gets damp. One plan is to part off a back 
 corner of the shed about a yard' square, by two 
 boards about six inches high placed on edge, 
 and to keep this place filled to the top. The 
 only case where special provision is not necessary 
 is where the entire shed floor is some inches 
 deep in dry loose material, kept clean and re- 
 newed as above described. Then the fowls can 
 use that at pleasure. 
 
 -Before leaving the smallest houses, it may 
 be well to answer a question, often put to us, 
 
 as to the smallest space in which it 
 Small Space, is possible to keep a few fowls, in 
 
 health and to some profit ; or the 
 query often takes the form of asking how many 
 can be kept in a " house " of giyen size, say five 
 feet square, and a certain height. The number 
 to be kept in these cases never depends upon 
 the size of the house (though it would do so 
 were the house in a park or large range), but 
 
 on that of the shed and run. Taking medium- 
 sized, fowls, such as Minorcas, our experience 
 taught us that the minimum was about ten to 
 twelve square feet of run to each fowl ; thus, 
 half a dozen would need a shed, say six feet by 
 twelve. But this supposes a shed kept perfectly 
 dry, and an amount of cleanliness which many 
 people would never dream of, with most careful 
 dieting. Large fowls would need more, bantams 
 less. Such'Confinement supposes that offending 
 matter be taken out every day from the shed as 
 well as the house, and no refuse ever left therein. 
 With all precautions, such confinement is- very 
 apt to produce the vice of feather-eating ; but 
 this may not occur, and we are only speaking 
 of health and profit. 
 
 Such small space must be all of it covered 
 dry shed, yet with plenty of light and some sun, 
 and cleanliness is easiest preserved by flooring 
 it with some inches of fine dry earth, or sand, 
 which is to be raked clean every day. A 
 common rake will be useless ; but by driving 
 long and thin French nails a quarter-inch apart 
 into the edge of a strip of wood, and then 
 cutting off the heads with wire nippers to the 
 same length, a rake is formed that will remove 
 most of the offensive matter. The only other 
 way is to scrape up an inch deep of the material, 
 and sift it through a wire sieve. If once a run 
 begins to " smell," it means disaster ; and it is 
 to be remembered that there may be no smell 
 apparent to a human being, while a fowl, so 
 much nearer the ground, may suffer from the 
 poisonous exhalations. Disinfectants are of no 
 practical use in this case ; one bad smell does 
 not remove the evil of another. 
 
 Supposing more space can be given to the 
 fowls, it will be far better to consider, as the 
 first claim upon it, a fair amount of 
 Double House Open run in front of a single house 
 and Yard. and shed. The latter need not then 
 cost nearly so much labour. On a 
 yet larger, but still limited scale, the plan in 
 Fig. 7 may be recommended from experience, 
 having served us well personally for some years. 
 It will be sufficient, if there is besides some other 
 bit of shelter, and a lawn or grass run, or even 
 another piece of yard, in which chickens can be 
 cooped and reared for the first few months of 
 their lives, to rear for exhibition a few fowls 
 of such breeds as do not require separate pens 
 to breed the two sexes. It consists of two 
 houses, sheds, and runs such as above described," 
 separated by a small open shed and run, which 
 we used for sitting hens, and which also comes 
 in handy for many other purposes. The plan as 
 shown covers ,a space of thirty-five by twenty- 
 five feet, on which scale the open yards must be 
 
8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Caxe of 
 
 Small 
 
 Runs. 
 
 gravel, sand, or trodden earth : grass runs would 
 require far more, as presently mentioned. The 
 houses are drawn as they really were, with nests 
 at the back and the perches a little more for- 
 ward ; but to the same general plan can be 
 readily adapted any of the arrangements shown 
 in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. 
 
 Such a plan as this leads us at once to the 
 consideration of some further points, each of 
 practical importance. The first is that of the 
 preservation in healthy condition of 
 limited runs. Though so much labour 
 is not needed as when a small shed 
 is :t h e 
 only space the 
 fowls have, care is 
 still required, else 
 the runs will get 
 into a foul con- 
 dition, and disease 
 follow. It is best 
 to let the surface 
 be trodden solid, 
 when once a week 
 or so the greater 
 part of the offend- 
 ing matter can be 
 scraped loose,, 
 swept up, and 
 removed. This 
 should also be 
 done on a grav- 
 elled run. Once a 
 year half an inch 
 or so should be 
 pared off the top 
 with a spade, to 
 be crushed and 
 used as manure, a 
 correspon ding 
 quantity of. fresh 
 earth being thrown 
 in and spread over 
 the surface. If 
 every two or three 
 years the run be 
 dug up, with these 
 aids it may be 
 
 kept healthy for a long period. Disinfectants 
 are of little use, and dangerous. Some people 
 prefer to let the loose earth alone, and dig the 
 run over every six months or so. This plan 
 will generally answer for four or five years, or 
 even more ; but as there is no crop to consume 
 the manure, the poison is apt to accumulate by 
 slow degrees in the mass of earth. Soils differ, 
 however, and in some cases a good loamy earth 
 seems able to deodorise all that is thus dug 
 
 Fig- 7 
 A A. Roosting and Laying Houses. 
 B B. Fenced-in Covered Runs, 
 c c. Shed and Run for Sitting Hens, 
 D D. Grass Runs. 
 
 into it. To help this, it is well to confine the 
 fowls to the shed for a week after the winter 
 digging. 
 
 We have next to consider grass runs. These 
 are the best of all for poultry, giving natural 
 green food at nearly all seasons in 
 Grass England (not in America), and also ex- 
 Buns, ercise and more or less insect food. 
 Where space can be given for grass, no 
 single condition will do so much for fowls and 
 owner ; but it is no use attempting grass unless 
 there is adequate space, and a great deal is re- 
 quired. Experience taught us very early that 
 
 in England one 
 hundred and 
 twenty fowls re- 
 quired an acre of 
 run if kept on it 
 permanently; and 
 the larger breeds 
 should not exceed 
 one hundred per 
 acre. But this is 
 not the best way 
 of using the land, 
 which will be kept 
 healthier in the 
 long run by over- 
 stocking it to the 
 extent of even 
 double, provided 
 each run can be 
 vacated for three 
 months every 
 year. This also 
 brings runs into 
 more compact 
 compass, and so 
 ^ive arrive at a 
 grass run of about 
 twenty - five feet 
 by fifty feet for 
 a pen of six large 
 Asiatic fowls. 
 
 A run of this 
 reduced size, thus 
 tenanted, will last 
 for several years, 
 even when occupied without cessation, with no 
 apparent detriment, if constantly attended to ; 
 but it does gradually become " sickened," 
 unless it can be vacated for freshening and 
 purification. Amongst a number of runs this 
 can be managed, either by three months an- 
 nually, or six months bi-annually.. This time 
 need not be wasted wherever grass or hay can 
 be used, as a crop may be taken a week or 
 two before the tenants are returned to it. The 
 
 Double Yard. 
 
 a a. Nests. 
 
 6 b. Perches. 
 
 c c. Holes for Fowls to enter. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF GRASS RUN. 
 
 runs will also need mowing tolerably often, 
 even while occupied ; since, although too over- 
 crowded for safe permanent occupation, this 
 does not mean that the grass is kept down. 
 Near the house it may be, but less so the 
 farther away ; and it must be mown whenever 
 it is long, else. the fowls may get balls of long 
 tangled grass in their crops, and may eat bbdes 
 of it, part of which are contaminated. Such 
 fouled grass is simply poison. All this is 
 avoided, worms and insects made more accessible, 
 and the droppings more quickly washed into the 
 actual soil, to be absorbed, instead of adhering 
 to the grass, by proper mowing as required. 
 Keeping tlie grass constantly mown short is the 
 one matter of greatest importance in the manage- 
 ment of limited grass runs. Grass cut during 
 full occupation should be burnt, and the ashes 
 mixed with the other manure. 
 
 Regular cutting is of equal importance to 
 runs meant to be constantly occupied, and 
 which are therefore of larger size. Much grass 
 will then grow to waste, yet the conclusion 
 must not be drawn that so much space is not 
 needed ; long experience has shown that it is, 
 if the tenancy is to continue longer than five 
 to six years, up to which time a crowding of 
 considerably more than the hundred per acre 
 may generally be carried on without apparent 
 harm. But somewhere about that time Nemesis 
 comes, and often with no apparent warning. 
 
 The reason of these resultsfrom over-crowd- 
 ing grass runs was demonstrated by-Dr. Klein, 
 the well-known bacteriologist, who 
 Mortality m investigated the mortality upon a 
 Over-crowded « pouitry.fami " at Orpington, where 
 four hundred to five hundred birds 
 were habitually kept upoi? two acres of land, or 
 more than double the number above laid down. 
 The birds would be apparently well even thirty- 
 six hours before death ; then were attacked by 
 a thin yellow diarrhoea, became sluggish, and 
 •in a day or so died. On post-mortem, the spleen 
 was found greatly enlarged and soft ; the liver 
 also enlarged and disorganised ; the coats of 
 the intestines considerably inflamed. The blood 
 was swarming with bacteria, which, being isolated 
 in pure cultures and cultivated in the usual way, 
 caused the disease in about five days when in- 
 oculated into healthy fowls. The bacteria also 
 swarmed in the evacuations, and it was found 
 that fowls given food polluted by these evacua- 
 tions were also attacked by the disease. All 
 becomes perfectly clear in the light of these 
 facts. Without discussing how the disease first 
 arises — and many bacteriologists are now of 
 opinion that germs ordinarily innocent may by 
 changes in the surrounding circumstances become 
 
 modified into deadly varieties, a process itself 
 more likely to take place under any unhealthy 
 conditions — it is only necessary to suppose one 
 fowl acquiring or importing such disease, and 
 the more crowded the run, the more surely and 
 rapidly must one fowl after another pick up 
 the contamination in its food.* This is all the 
 more likely with rather long grass, which pre- 
 serves the evacuations from being washed into 
 the soil, while it is constantly eaten by the 
 occupants. Hence the inferiority in healthi- 
 ness of even a large run constantly occupied, to 
 a smaller one, even less than half the size, which 
 can be entirely vacated for some months, and 
 have a crop removed every year. 
 
 In America, smaller grass runs appear to be 
 found more satisfactory than we have stated ; 
 
 but the reasons are pretty plain. As - 
 Climate and a rule they are necessarily vacated 
 Grass Run. during the winter, the fowls being 
 reduced in numbers .and confined in 
 sheds, owing to the severe climate and the snow. 
 The ground vacated is commonly ploughed up 
 and sown with winter rye-grass, which thoroughly 
 sweetens the soil and consumes the manure by 
 a regular crop yearly. The soils, again, are very 
 generally somewhat light and sandy, which 
 carries out these natural processes more rapidly 
 Lastly, the climate as a whole is dry, both in 
 summer and winter.. The enormous difference 
 this makes we may see by considering the case 
 of a guano island, where the sea-fowl have lived 
 for generations upon ground actually composed 
 of their own evacuations. These are dried up 
 in the sun and dry air, and cease to exhale 
 poison in that desiccated state. In England, all 
 is more or less moist, if not wet, which means 
 active pollution in every way, air as well as 
 ground. If these climatic differences are con- 
 sidered, differences in practice are to a great 
 extent explained, f 
 
 Though a very small plot of grass cannot 
 bear permanent tenancy, however, it may be of 
 considerable use. A few weeks on such a plot 
 will freshen up two or three exhibition fowls 
 considerably, or will keep a cockerel, with one 
 companion or not, in high condition for some 
 time. And at all times of the year it will be 
 useful to grow grass, the best of all green food, 
 and especially to be cut into fine green chaff for 
 young chickens as described farther on. For 
 mere health, a grass run is not at all necessary, 
 provided proper care be bestowed on cleanliness 
 
 * As mentioned elsewhere, Dr. Klein fortunately discovered 
 that an anti-toxin could be prepared from the germs, which pre- 
 vented birds inoculated with it from being attacked. 
 
 t American practice varies considerably, however, as will 
 be seen from some details given when discussing " Poultry- 
 farming " in a subsequent chapter. 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and diet ; and it is'far better to add the space to 
 earthen or gravelled yards, than to attempt grass 
 under conditions in which it cannot be used with 
 real benefit. 
 
 Shade in open grass runs is very desirable, 
 and of course it is just as well to get something 
 out of it at the same time. Fortunate are those 
 who have an orchard at command. Standards 
 of bush fruit do well in runs for young chickens, 
 and make the best of shade and scratching- 
 places ; but larger birds would, of course, eat the 
 fruit. Filbert coppice is good, and often profit- 
 able. But as a rule, where permanent occupation 
 is likely, dwarf fruit trees pay best. 
 
 Fencing has next to be considered, and what 
 is best, or necessary, will depend a great deal upon 
 circumstances. In fencing any yar'd 
 Fencing. where runs adjoin, it is very desirable 
 
 that the fowls should not be allowed 
 to see each other ; it keeps cocks from fighting,, 
 and young cockerels from fretting and excite- 
 ment. With very wide and scattered runs this 
 is not necessary. Height, again, has to be con- 
 sidered ; three feet will confine Cochins or 
 Brahmas, and four feet may suffice for Lang- 
 shans or Dorkings ; but even six may not 
 retain Game or Hamburghs. 
 
 The cheapest general material is plain wire 
 netting. We remember when two-inch mesh 
 netting cost 6d. per yard : it can now be obtained 
 as low as 6s. 6d. for a roll of fifty yards.* This 
 will be of light gauge wire. No. 19, which, how- 
 ever, may suffice for many purposes where a 
 fixture ; but if durability is desired, and especially 
 if fencing is to be removed (for periodical crops 
 of hay or grass), stout wire is cheaper in the end, 
 and will run up to about 13s, per roll for No. 16, 
 other prices being intermediate. For extensive 
 fencing the cheapest plan is to drive stakes into 
 the ground, i|^ to 2 inches square, the stoutest 
 size every twelve feet apart, and smaller ones 
 half way. To these the netting is fastened by 
 small galvanised staples if a fixture ; but if 
 removable, placing them on or lifting them off 
 small, headless French nails, driven in at a down- 
 ward slant, so that the wire rests in the angle. 
 There must be no rail at the top, only the 
 selvage of the netting ; but if desired, a long 
 fence may be strengthened by stretching a barbed 
 wire all along the top from stronger iron posts 
 at the corners of the run. Something in regard 
 to lateral rigidity and strength of the stakes will 
 depend upon the winds to which the locality is 
 subject. Thin boards can be fastened to the 
 same stakes by large tack^nails : three nine-inch 
 
 • These and the following were prices in 1899. In 1900 
 a rise of about 15 per cent, took place in all iron materials, 
 which may or may not be permanent. 
 
 boards will run up twenty-seven inches, and any 
 required width of netting may go above that. 
 Large runs should be so planned that fifty-yard 
 rolls will cut up evenly, especially if intermediate 
 fences are removed during vacation. 
 
 Having driven many wooden stakes for fenc- 
 ing in our time, a few words may be useful in 
 regard to the best method. They should be 
 pointed with long points^ and tarred some days 
 before driving. An iron tool should be provided, 
 which we will call a "perforator," somewhat 
 smaller than the end of the stake, and a some- 
 what similar taper at the end : a piece of iron 
 tube, with a solid head and point welded in, is 
 lightest to handle. When boards are used for 
 the lower part, one of the boards is used as a 
 measure, the " perforator " being driven in by a 
 heavy hammer at such a point that the end of 
 the board will come over half the stake when 
 driven. The "perforator," being driven deep 
 enough, is loosened by side taps and withdrawn, 
 when the stake itself is driven into the hole thus 
 made, this time using a mallet. We tried several 
 ways, but found this much the best, and the 
 special tool well worth its cost. Iron stakes 
 with prongs may also be used, and the wire 
 tied to them. Such stakes blacked will cost 
 about 16s. per dozen six feet high, or about 24s. 
 galvanised ; four feet high may run about 7s. and 
 los. 6d. respectively. 
 
 The same fencing will be cheapest for small 
 runs if home labour be employed in putting up ; 
 but where this is impossible, various patterns of 
 poultry-fence and hurdles sometimes come 
 cheaper in the end, owing to the saving of 
 labour, though much more costly in themselves. 
 A fence made in hurdles six feet long and six 
 feet high, with inch-mesh near the ground and 
 one and a half inch above, will cost about 2s. 3d. 
 per yard, with bolts and nuts ; or with galvanised 
 sheet iron for two feet high and netting above, 
 about 3s. 6d. per yard ; gates or doors from 7s. 6d. 
 to I OS. 6d. each. These fences only need fixing 
 in the ground by their pronged feet, which most 
 people can manage. 
 
 On a farm or other wide range, hedges and 
 other fences will be used as far as possible. A 
 very imperfect hedge may often be made into a 
 thoroughly efficient fence by simply running 
 twelve inches of wire netting along the bottom 
 on one side, which is easily kept in place by 
 stout galvanised wire stakes threaded through it 
 and thrust into the ground. This will only cost 
 three or four shillings for fifty yards. The 
 netting should not be placed on the inside of the 
 hedges all round a field ; the use of one hedge 
 at least being left to each for shelters and 
 dusting-places. 
 
LARGER POULTRY-YARDS. 
 
 For extensive establishments, such as will 
 be required if breeding for regular exhibition 
 
 be carried on, or a regular demand 
 Larger for eggs or stock is to be supplied, 
 
 Poultry-yards, a great variety in arrangements is 
 
 possible. Where unlimited range 
 is at command, it has already been hinted that 
 there is perhaps no better plan for securing 
 success in these objects than to scatter about 
 in sufficiently distant and distifact localities a 
 number of detached houses. On some estates 
 no fencing at all may be required, the laying out 
 of the estate keeping the flocks sufficiently 
 separated ; but if fencing be necessary, a small 
 expense in wire netting will do all that is 
 requisite. There will usually be ample shelter 
 and dusting-places in shrubberies or plantations 
 or under hedges, wherever such methods are 
 possible ; hence such houses as are shown in 
 Figs. 2, 3, 4 will answer all purposes ; or even 
 a large hogshead with the head knocked out, 
 turned on its side upon four bricks, with a floor 
 fitted in near the bottom side, and a perch near 
 the back end, may be enough.for a breeding-pen 
 of fowls if placed in the shelter of a copse or 
 shrubbery. Such a plan has the advantage of 
 gratifying a pleasant hobby without sinking 
 large sums in permanent buildings ; and it is a 
 pity that the cases are so few in which it 
 can be followed. The only drawbacks are, 
 that while the bloom and health of the 
 fowls will be magnificent, the egg yield will 
 probably not be very great, and much time 
 will be occupied in going round and attending 
 to the stock. 
 
 A more compact arrangement of runs must 
 be the usual plan in this countryj even where 
 grass is at command. In this case, also, many 
 poultry-keepers of great experience prefer, 
 having divided the ground into runs of the re- 
 quired size, to place a small detached wooden 
 house in each, somewhat as shown in Fig. 8, 
 though the actual plan and arrangements may 
 vary widely. Portable houses, such as Fig. 6, 
 are often used in this way. The objection to 
 this plan is that, unless the houses are a great 
 deal larger than necessary, the shedding under- 
 neath is too small, at least so 'far as concerns 
 exposed runs : shrubs or trees might supply the 
 lack. Otherwise it is better to incur the cost of. 
 separate sheds, c, as well, for the other ends of 
 the runs. This plan — we mean of having the 
 house at one end and the shed at the other — also 
 has the advantage of inducing the fowls, to use 
 more equally a range of long and narrow runs, 
 which is often the most convenient way of 
 plotting out a piece of land, or of visiting all 
 the houses in order. Of course no such exact- 
 
 ness of arrangement is necessary. Aspect has 
 to be considered, both as regards the houses and 
 the sheds ; and in many cases, by arranging the 
 shed so that one corner meets one corner of 
 the house, a judicious choice of position and 
 angle will give a maximum amount of shade 
 and shelter to the birds, a matter which should 
 always receive thought when a number of runs 
 are in question. As a rule, such contiguous 
 houses and sheds are more suitable for runs 
 approaching a square in shape. 
 
 I-I 
 
 M 
 
 \-\ 
 
 a| 
 
 B 
 
 B 
 
 B 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 1 ^ 1 
 
 1 « 1 
 
 1 <= 1 
 
 Fig. 8. — Detached Houses in Runs 
 A A. Roosting-houses. B B. Runs. c c. Open sheds. 
 
 Ranges of houses and shedding are, however, 
 more usual, and generally more convenient, 
 
 saving much in time, and labour, and _ 
 Ranges of exposure of the attendant in - bad 
 Buildings. weather. The chief practical difficulty 
 in planning such buildings is that, 
 unless the cost be incurred of more house and 
 shed room than is necessary, it makes a grass 
 run so narrow in proportion ; fowls do not use a 
 very long and narrow strip of grass to the greatest 
 advantage. Bare earth yards will be shorter, and 
 to them the objection does not so much apply. 
 Thus, a house five by six feet, and a shed ten by 
 six feet, will occupy the end of a run fifteen feet 
 wide, and a bare earth or gravel yard twenty or 
 thirty feet in front would be in good proportion. 
 But a grass plot must be seventy or eighty feet 
 long for a pen of say six fowls ; and though it 
 may do, this is not a desirable proportion. 
 
 This difficulty may be met, and probably a 
 set of buildings erected with the minimum of 
 material for the same amount of accommodation, 
 by planning a range of buildings for the centre 
 of a piece of ground, as in Fig. 9. Each of the 
 eight pens here provided has a roosting-house A, 
 six feet square, and a shed E, twelve by six, so as 
 to use twelve feet boards throughout. Such a 
 
13 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 group of buildings, in the centre of say half an 
 acre of land, will give well-proportioned runs C C, 
 and offer great capabilities of practical work, 
 
 '\ 1 
 
 / 
 
 \ 
 
 c 
 
 
 « \ 
 
 
 
 A A 
 
 t 
 A 
 
 B 
 A 
 
 
 A A 
 
 : D — ■— 
 ! I B 
 
 A 
 I 
 
 ■ 
 
 A 
 ' B 
 
 i 
 
 C 
 
 / 
 
 - \ 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 Fig. 9. — Plan for a Central Range of Buildings. 
 A A. Koosting-houses. b b. Sheds. c c. Grass runs. 
 
 with great economy of material ; the houses 
 being in the centre will have the greatest amount 
 of warmth at night and coolness by day, or may 
 be left half open, on the plan of Fig. 2, still 
 giving ample shelter. An attendant can also 
 see to the whole series under the shelter of the 
 outer sheds. On the other hand, this plan does 
 not admit of extension beyond eight houses and 
 yards, while buildings in a plain row, though 
 subject to the difficulty above mentioned, may 
 be developed to any extent desired. 
 
 In regard to such ranges, or rows of houses, 
 what is known as the " corridor " plan gives 
 the maximum of comfort and con- 
 venience, at a little more cost of 
 space and material. The very first 
 example of this plan, so far as we 
 have been able to learn, was a house erected 
 for his Spanish fowls by the late Mr. Henry 
 Lane, of Bristol, which was figured in the 
 Practical Poultry Keeper of 1867, and has thence 
 been widely imitated and further developed, 
 owing to its obvious advantages. The outer 
 walls were of brick. A covered passage, A (Fig. 10), 
 ran along the back of all, and, by a door in each, 
 had access to any of the roosting-houses B B. 
 Mr. Lane had the passage warmed by hot- 
 water pipes, ««, which were however only used in 
 
 The 
 
 Corridor 
 
 Plan. 
 
 frosty weather. Spanish combs are particularly 
 apt to get nipped at such times, and for them the 
 pipes were no doubt useful, employed with judg- 
 ment. They are also commonly used in America ; 
 but only in northern latitudes and for certain 
 breeds can they be necessary in Great Britain. 
 The passage was sky-lighted, and had fre^ venti- 
 lation at the highest point of the roof ; the doors 
 at the ends of the passage were not meant to be 
 left open, on account of draught, unless in the 
 very hottest weather. Each house, B, was seven 
 and a half by four feet, and the sides facing the 
 passage were only boarded up about two feet, 
 the remainder being wire-netting. Thus the 
 birds had a free supply of pure air, while quite 
 protected from the weather, and could be in- 
 spected on their roosts at night without disturb- 
 The nests were reached from the passage 
 
 ance. 
 
 by a flap, thus the house was never entered 
 except to clean it or to handle a bird. A small 
 trap-door as usual communicated between the 
 houses, B B, and outer open sheds, C C, enclosed, 
 however, by netting in front. These sheds 
 measured seven and a half by nine feet each, 
 and were floored with about two inches deep of 
 powdery lime-rubbish from the kilns. This was 
 of course air-slaked, and suited Spanish very 
 well, keeping perfectly dry and lasting a good 
 while when properly looked after ; but it would 
 ruin the colour of any yellow-legged breed. In 
 front of all were two grass runs, into which any 
 pen could be turned at pleasure. Each pen was 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 GRASS 
 
 / 
 
 A 
 
 V 
 
 / / 
 
 GRASS 
 
 Fig. 10.— Mr. Lane's Yard. 
 a a. Hot Pipes, a a. Corridor, b b. Roosting-houses. c c. Shedding. 
 
 itself thus only seven and a half feet wide, which 
 would be sufficient for Spanish, but not for many 
 other breeds. Arranging the shed thus, in front 
 instead of at the side of the roosting-houses, 
 
THE CORRIDOR PLAN. 
 
 13 
 
 gives the very narrowest form of the system ; 
 and the grass runs were kept wider by allowing 
 one run to two or three pens, which had its use 
 in rotation. 
 
 The systematic poultry-breeder, however, 
 requires a great deal of accommodation besides 
 the sheds and runs for his actual breeding-pens 
 OF flocks of chickens, and by bringing the space 
 for this into his range of buildings, he can 
 easily adapt the corridor plan to fairly propor- 
 tioned runs of grass. After a quarter-century of 
 further experience and examination of numerous 
 establishments J we still find it indpossible to 
 do better than repeat here, as an example of 
 thorough comfort, facility in work, and general 
 usefulness in a range of buildings, the range of 
 houses and runs we designed for our own use in 
 1872, and which, since we published it, has also 
 been extensively used all over the world. 
 Indeed, either the single- or double-range 
 " corridor " plan, with modifications according 
 to circumstances, is probably the most used 
 of any, where a regular range of buildings is 
 decided upon. 
 
 In this plan (Fig. 11) a single passage p P 
 runs up the centre, between ranges of house 
 and shedding on each side, this passage being 
 three feet wide. The entire building covered 
 seventy-five feet by fifteen feet.* The double- 
 pitch roof was covered by loose tiles, the corridor 
 being simply lighted by inserting glass tiles at 
 intervals. There was sufficient frontage each 
 side for three grass runs, or six in all, each twenty- 
 five feet by fifty-five feet, which comfortably 
 accommodated five or six Brahmas, or a selected 
 lot of cockerels or pullets; but only five were 
 occupied, in order to give every such run two 
 months' rest in the year. The shedding on each 
 side, six feet deep from front to back, was used 
 as follows: The roosting-houses A A were five 
 feet wide, entirely enclosed by match-boarding 
 on the side towards the run, and at the sides ; 
 but the side fronting the corridor was only 
 boarded up three feet high, the rest being netted. 
 The shed^ B B occupied twelve feet more ; these 
 were open (except netting) in front, but boarded 
 up like the houses for three feet high next the 
 corridor, and netted above, so that from the 
 corridor everything could be seen. The remain- 
 ing eight feet of shed fronting each run was 
 occupied by two small houses D D. with small 
 pens E E, each four feet wide, of which there 
 
 * We had the timbers put up and the tiles put on by con- 
 tract, in order to be sure of a roof to work under in wet weather. 
 The whole of the remaining work was done personally, during 
 a three weeks' summer holiday ; every door and gate being 
 made and hung, every stake driven, every board fixed, every 
 hinge and latch put on, by our own hands. Hence the money 
 cost beyond material was but small. 
 
 were, therefore, twelve in all. Of these every 
 breeder knows the need ; we used them for 
 sitting hens, singl-e cockerels which needed pen- 
 ning off, one of them for a hospital, etc. 
 
 As to internal arrangements, the perches c c 
 
 CRAS3 
 
 OR^S5 
 
 L.^ 
 
 IVY -f IS 
 
 
 L9.J I 
 
 ^ f 
 
 CHAS3 
 
 
 a, 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 E 
 
 D 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 E 
 
 1 
 D 
 
 
 
 
 II L_. 
 
 11^ N 
 
 h-i . I! 
 
 ,6] 
 
 I A 
 
 e! 
 
 IB!- 
 
 ! d 
 
 I 
 
 > <- 
 
 !! A l"- 
 
 ^JA 
 
 B 
 
 CAA55 
 
 CRA5S 
 
 
 B 
 
 
 CRfi.iS 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 / 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 V' 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 i 
 
 
 Fig. II. — Double Range of Fowl-houres. 
 
 A A. Roosting-houses. 
 
 b b. Nests. 
 
 c r. Perches. 
 
 d d. Train ing-pcns. 
 
 B B. Sheds. 
 D D. SnuiU Houses. 
 E E. Small runs to n t>. 
 p p. Corridor. 
 
14 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 were near the closed back of the houses, the 
 nests b b next the corridor, where they could be 
 reached through a flap-door. The training-pens 
 dd, for specimens to be exhibited, were nearly 
 three feet square, and we provided for them by 
 running back a floor from the top of the yard- 
 high boarding in the corridor ; thus the floor of 
 these pens was three feet above the ground, at 
 the backs of some of the sheds B B. Each row 
 of pens was well boarded up behind, with wire 
 fronts ; thus they faced us on each side of the- 
 corridor, at a height of three feet, and occupied 
 no extra room at all. Everything except mixing 
 of the food, and the very young chickens, which 
 had a separate yard, was thus collected under 
 one tiled roof ; as these also might be if desired. 
 Ventilation was free and perfect, and we never 
 remember a case of roup or catarrh in the place. 
 In a very cold locality, however, it would be 
 necessary to have a ceiled or close roof, with 
 definite ventilators, to stop radiation of heat. 
 Any corridor house can also be easily heated 
 if required ; and heating will be less injurious 
 in a house of this kind than in any other. 
 
 Of the many large establishments for 
 poultry culture which exist in America, it 
 will be of most interest and value 
 to notice certain features of con- 
 struction which are, in one form or 
 another, typical and general, be- 
 cause of their relation to climatic differences, 
 and especially to the necessity for keeping the 
 fowls shut up under cover for months together 
 during the winter, and to the intense cold. 
 Fifty years ago the few who kept any number 
 usually confined them in very large houses, or 
 barns, which gave the requisite space. Thip 
 was found too cold to promote winter laying, 
 
 however, and by degrees there spread the system 
 of a separate shed by the side or in front of the 
 roosting house, as is so common in England. 
 But while with us the shed was chiefly necessary 
 
 Scratching- 
 sheds in 
 America. 
 
 Fig. 12. — Portable Scraiching-sheJ House. 
 
 for merely temporary shelter, in America it had 
 to give exercise during entire confinement for 
 protection from the weather. Hence it is 
 termed a " scratching-shed," and under that 
 name is becoming almost universal in good 
 poultry plants. In order to use as much as 
 possible of the shortand precious winter sun, 
 American scratching-shed houses, or ranges of 
 houses, almost invariably face the south, and 
 are highest in front, sloping to the back, so that 
 the sun may shine in. Besides the wire front 
 which confines the birds, it is usual to pro- 
 vide movable fronts of thin canvas, oiled or 
 not, which are kept over the fronts during wet 
 or snow, and drawn up during dry weather; 
 these admit ample light, but keep the shed dry. 
 In localities where the climate is very severe some 
 have the front closed by wood and glass, which 
 can be raised in summer so as to be quite open. 
 
 i'ig. 13. — Scratching-shed Houses of .Mr. A. F, Hunter. 
 
AMERICAN PO ULTR Y-HO USES. 
 
 IS 
 
 Fig. 1 2 shows a portable detached scratching- 
 shed' house, as used on the Plainfield Poultry 
 Farm and many other establishments. The 
 house and shed are separate, each being ten feet 
 wide and mounted on runners, so as to be hauled 
 about when required, and the doors are shown 
 throvvn wide open as in summer. Ranges of 
 houses upon the same plan are used on the same 
 farm, with yards 20 x loo feet in front of each. 
 Such ranges are very commonly erected upon a 
 plan figured and recommended by Mr. A. F. 
 Hunter, formerly editor of Farm Poultry, and 
 put up by him on his own farm at South Natick. 
 In Fig. 13 is given sufficient of such a range of 
 houses, from a photograph, to show how they 
 are built in pairs. The size in this case is 
 
 Scratching- 
 sheds with 
 Corridor. 
 
 " corridor" 
 
 intolerable. Some of them prefer the detached 
 houses of Fig. 1 2 ; others have tried halving the 
 doors by placing the shed in front of the 
 house as in Fig. 10 ; this, however, 
 narrows the yard far too much, as 
 already hinted. The majority who 
 keep large numbers prefer the 
 plan, and endeavour to combine it 
 with the scratching-shed. In itself this presents 
 no difficulty, and Fig. 14 gives an elevation and 
 ground plan of half the building put up by Mr. 
 C. H. Latham, a famous breeder of Plymouth 
 Rocks, at Lancaster, Mass., showing one of the 
 two wings, each 180 feet long, stretching out 
 from the central food and cooking-house. Mr. 
 Latham had been' in the business a long time. 
 
 FRONT ELEVATION. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GROUND 
 
 PLAN-. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 -^ 
 
 
 ' 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 Si/O 
 
 10*16 
 
 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 /5C 
 
 /x/a' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J5t 
 
 ^■"la 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 Fig. 14.— Mr. C. H. Latham's Poultry Plant. 
 
 8x10 feet for the closed house, which has a very 
 large window, and loxio feet for the shed at 
 the side, the yards extending 125 feet in front of 
 each. A feature of this range of buildings is 
 that all partitions, between houses and sheds, 
 and the contiguous pairs of each, have double 
 swing-doors at the front end, and fly liack by 
 a spring to the proper position. Thus the 
 attendant can walk along the front of all, by 
 pushing open the doors and letting them swing 
 back behind him, with as little disturbance as 
 possible to the hens which may be in the nests 
 or roost at the back. This construction of a 
 long range with high front, low back, and swing- 
 doors all along the front, is generally known as 
 the " Hunter scratching-shed plan." The fowls 
 roost at the low back of the closed houses, and 
 in very cold weather it is customary to draw 
 down curtains in front of the roost to confine 
 the space and check radiation. 
 
 Many of the most practical poultry-farmers 
 of America, however, and especially some of 
 those running the largest establishments, find 
 the numerous swinging-doors of this system 
 
 and previously built two poultry plants ; for 
 this, his third, he moved to another location a 
 little way off to begin de novo, with the ex- 
 pressed determination this time " to build right," 
 according to his light and the experience he 
 had acquired. The timber houses are raised a 
 foot above ground upon a stone and mortar 
 foundation, as is usual in the best American 
 establishments. Each pen has a closed house 
 8 X 10 feet and a shed 10 x 10 feet, facing south ; 
 and at the back, or north wall, is a corridor four 
 feet wide. This is not wired at all, but solid board 
 all along and over, so that when closed at 
 night it forms a dead- air space to keep warm. 
 From it a door opens into every house and 
 'shed, and there is also an outer door about 
 every sixty feet into the corridor from the outer 
 waggon-drive. Feeding and watering is all 
 done from the corridor, the mash being placed 
 in a trough which rocks back towards the 
 corridor for filling, and then- falls back by its 
 weight into the shed, at the same time closing 
 the aperture ; the water-pan is also put through 
 a door on to its shelf. The corridor wall also 
 
i6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 has shuttered lattices which can be opened in 
 hot weather. The roof is a pitched or gable 
 one, as shown. One length of fence between 
 the outer yards, next- the buildings, is made to 
 lift out, so that a team can be turned in to 
 plough up the runs when required. To the 
 south of the enclosed yards are three acres of 
 grass run, and at the north five acres more ; 
 and it is stated that the owner is able to run the 
 whole establishment himself without difficulty ; 
 a statement which certainly gives one an 
 impressive idea of the activity and energy of 
 American poultry-farmers. 
 
 . This plant — a good example of the corridor 
 system as carried out in America, where the 
 double-range is impracticable owing to the real 
 need for southern aspect — is however alleged 
 to have serious disadvantages, as pointed out 
 in various poultry journals, which upon the 
 whole criticise it favourably. The greater 
 height at the back increases the cost, as does 
 the solid wall of the corridor. The greater 
 height of the roost is also said to be less warm. 
 But chiefly, in a really severe climate, the high 
 centre roof is said to retain a bank of unsunned, 
 cold, unsweetened air. For these reasons Mr. 
 C. H. Payne, C.E., has recently published in the 
 Feather plans and drawings of another very in- 
 genious combination of corridor and scratching- 
 shed, which has already been adopted for build- 
 ings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. On this 
 plan the range is built with high front and low 
 back, as in Mr. Hunter's construction ; , but a 
 corridor three or four feet wide is added along 
 the high front, the outer wall of which is fitted 
 with canvas shutters, which can be removed in 
 summer. The fronts of the sheds are, therefore, 
 only wired ; the outer canvas, which gives light 
 and air in bad weather, being separated from the 
 wire front by the width of the corridor. The 
 floor of the latter is raised sufficiently above' the 
 floor of the shed and ground outside, for the 
 fowls to run under it between partitions to the 
 open yards. The chief objections we ourselves 
 see to it, are the heat of a southern corridor for 
 summer work, and the greater labour of con- 
 ducting operations from a raised corridor floor. 
 These details have been selected,- not with 
 any delusive idea of presenting a complete 
 picture of American practice, but as showing 
 the careful and systematic study given to 
 problems connected with climate, saving of 
 labour, or the well-being of the fowls. From 
 this point of view they may prove useful and 
 suggestive, and perhaps stimulate invention or 
 contrivancein other circumstances widely different. 
 Particulars of the characteristic American system 
 of "brooder-houses" will be found in a later 
 
 chapter. We need only add that in America 
 the double-board system of building, with a 
 dead-air space between the two skins, is very 
 widely practised for the sake of warmth, which 
 has an importance far greater than in England. 
 Some prefer to make the inner skin of lath and 
 plaster, as better for lime-washing, giving less 
 harbour for insects, and warmer than plain 
 boards. Linings of building-paper under or 
 over the boards are also commonly used. 
 
 Local buildings or accommodation are, of 
 course, often at hand, and may be utilised in 
 all sorts of ways. The extensive 
 utilising yard of Lady Gwydyr, figured in 
 
 Buildings. ^'^ earlier editions of this work, was 
 founded upon some modification of 
 the extensive buildings and shedding of the 
 home-farm, all of which were devoted to the 
 purpose. The most remarkable example we 
 ever came across, however, was in the case of 
 the late Mr. Henry Beldon, once inyincible as 
 an exhibitor of Hamburghs. Many of his birds 
 were reared on farms around ; a good system, 
 followed still by many breeders in the country, 
 and even by a few in towns, but altogether 
 depending upon integrity on both sides to 
 carry out satisfactorily. But he had also in 
 addition a deserted cotton-mill, containing four 
 floors, each one hundred and twenty feet by thirty 
 feet. One floor was of wood, the others concreted ; 
 and they were divided into pens, the smallest 
 about ten feet square, and well lighted by 
 windows. When well matured, Mr. Beldon 
 found no diiificulty in keeping birds even for 
 months on these floors of the old mill, till 
 wanted for disposal ; with the help, of course, 
 of loose material and care. 
 
 We only need add a few miscellaneous hints 
 as to planning and putting up a range of build- 
 ings. We have already advised regard to the 
 standard length of twelve feet for timbers ; but 
 it is worth remembering that it will add scarcely 
 anything to the cost of material if all the six- 
 feet boards are ordered cut to that length, ready 
 for nailing on, while it saves a great deal . of 
 labour. At some timber-yards the price "per 
 square" (loo feet) would hardly be affected at 
 all. There should also be plenty of 'doors and 
 gates, as it saves time to be able to get about 
 from one house or run to another in all con- 
 venient ways. Again, let these be wide enough 
 to take a basket or basket-coop through easily, 
 occasions for which may often occur. Where the 
 corridor plan is not adopted, it is best to arrange 
 all the doors in line through a range of buildings, 
 on Mr. Hunter's plan, so that they swing back both 
 ways into place and stay there ; this saves a great 
 deal of time and trouble. 
 
«J 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SCIENCE OF FEEDING POULTRY. 
 
 ^T~M1E scientific basis of a proper diet is 
 
 I better understood riow than formerly, and 
 
 -*■ its real principles may be explained in a 
 
 way not only easy to understand, but to work 
 
 upon, which is the object in view. All who 
 
 read at all now understand that life, 
 Purposes of from the physical standpoint, consists 
 Food. of processes which involve constant 
 
 change of substance and consump- 
 tion of material. That consumption must, of 
 course, be replaced ; and thus a certain amount of 
 food is necessary merely to keep or maintain the 
 body in its normal condition. Still more food 
 must be required if growth or increase of the 
 body has to be secured as well ; and yet further 
 food, if a.nY products of the organism are to be 
 maintained — such as milk, or eggs ; which, how- 
 ever, are a kind of growth. Yet further, it is 
 well known by experience that any special 
 activity, or work, involves more or less wear 
 and tear of the tissues, and so requires propor- 
 tionately more food ; and also that more is 
 required to maintain the warmth of the body 
 under unfavourable conditions. Greater supplies 
 of food than are necessary for these, so far as 
 they can be assimilated, are stored up in greater 
 bulk of muscle, and in fat ; which superabundant 
 tissues are the first to waste, or be consumed, 
 in an animal " starved " either by privation or 
 disease. 
 
 Food, being thus required partly to make up 
 waste of tissue, partly to supply energy for 
 work, and partly to supply fuel for heat, must 
 contain in due proportion the elements of those 
 tissues, and those necessary for combustion. It 
 must also contain these in a form that can be 
 digested, since mere chemical composition is 
 not enough. An ox, for instance, can live on 
 grass, or the stalks of grain, and man cannot ; 
 but when the same elements have been elaborated 
 into the seeds of the grain (corn), these when 
 cooked form one of man's principal foods ; or 
 yet again, he can eat the ox itself We know 
 broadly, however, what foods can be digested, 
 and are here concerned mainly with their com- 
 position, and that of the animal body whose 
 needs they are to supply. 
 D 
 
 Taking such an animal body, by far the 
 larger portion of it consists of carbon, hydro- 
 gen, oxygen, and nitrogen ; in less 
 Composition quantity it contains sulphur, phos- 
 of the Body, phorus, and calcium (or lime : it is 
 well. known that much of the bones 
 consists of lime phosphate) ; and still smaller 
 quantities of iron (chiefly in the blood) and of 
 salts containing chlorine, iodine, potassium, and 
 magnesium, with traces of other elements prob- 
 ably not essential. Of all these elements, 
 nitrogen is of the first importance, and is the 
 most distinguishing feature of animal or con- 
 scious life and activity. Itself a very inert 
 chemical element, it appears to group round 
 itself the various other elements, controlling 
 and organising their constant changes and 
 recombinations. In these offices it is consumed, 
 the more rapidly in proportion to the activity of 
 the animal. The carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen 
 are obviously chiefly employed iti maintaining 
 energy and supporting combustion. 
 
 Considering food and its disposal in the 
 body, we must not suppose that the nitrogen 
 is consumed entirely or chiefly in replenishing 
 direct waste of tissue. That is a popular error, 
 but a great error. Some of it does go to repair 
 actual waste of tissue ; but the larger part 
 appears to be consumed in carrying out those 
 constant changes which we call vital processes, 
 undergoing many and various chemical trans- 
 formations, but passing through the body in a 
 very short time in the performance of this func- 
 tion. Finally, the used nitrogen, both that wasted 
 from the tissues and that used up in the vital 
 processes, is excreted mainly in the form of urea. 
 The far larger quantities of carbon and hydrogen 
 are used up — burnt up in a sense — in doing 
 work and producing warmth, using up oxygen 
 in the process. The used carbon is partly 
 excreted in the evacuations, but most of it in 
 breathing and perspiration. The hydrogen nearly 
 all passes off as water ; and since water is not 
 only taken in, but also formed in the body by 
 hydrogen combining with oxygen derived from 
 the food, more liquid is often excreted than is 
 drunk. Most of the salts and sulphur taken in 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 food, after doing their work in the complex vital 
 processes, are excreted in the evacuations. 
 
 These facts bring us to the point we are 
 
 directly and practically concerned with ; viz. 
 
 the forms in which the above 
 
 Constituents elements exist, in the body to be 
 
 of the Body. ^^^ ^"'^ '" '^^ foods to be given it. 
 Fortunately for us, both animals and 
 foods, upon analysis, are found to consist of 
 compounds which can be grouped into a small 
 number of classes, which fulfil the different 
 purposes above mentioned, and are found to- 
 gether in various degrees or proportions. These 
 are classed as follow : — 
 
 1. The class containing nitrogen. These 
 were once termed proteids, but are now usually 
 called albuminoids or albuminates, since albumen 
 (the white of an egg is nearly pure albumen 
 mixed with much water) is the chief type of 
 the class. There are certain vegetable principles 
 which also contain nitrogen, in the form of 
 ammonia (hence called amides), which some 
 writers consider less nutritive, and class fay 
 themselves ; but there is no general agreement 
 upon this point, and we shall therefore follow 
 most authorities in classing all nitrogenous com- 
 pounds with the albuminoids. Fibrin in animals, 
 gluten in grain, casein in milk, legumin in peas, 
 belong to this group, almost any of which may 
 more or less replace another,* and serve, if 
 sufficient in proportion, as nitrogenous food. 
 That is the great principle to bear in mind. 
 
 2. The next class consists oi fats and oils, 
 often called hydro-carbons, and specially rich 
 in carbon. A certain portion of fat is necessary 
 to the healthy body itself; so necessary, that 
 unless sufficient be supplied, a certain portion 
 even of the albuminoids will be decomposed in 
 order to form fat. Hence, fat in due proportion 
 is necessary to save or prevent such a wasteful 
 use of albuminoids. Besides this, we readily see 
 that this class finds its chief work in supplying 
 fuel for heat and energy. 
 
 3. The next class, called carbo-hydrates, 
 consists of carbon in less proportion than in 
 fat, with hydrogen and oxygen in the propor- 
 tions of water. Starch, sugar, and gum are 
 leading compounds of this class in the vegetable 
 world. This group has plainly more or less in 
 common with the fats, and also supplies fuel for 
 heat and energy ; but it differs in not being 
 directly represented, as the fat group is, in the 
 animal body itself. Carbo-hydrates are, how- 
 ever, capable of being decomposed, and so 
 forming fat in the body. Thus they also save 
 waste of albuminoid foods; in other words, a 
 
 * It is not always fully the case, as is explained later on. 
 
 due proportion of the carbon groups, as well 
 as of the albuminous compounds, is necessary 
 even for the increase of muscle or lean meat. 
 
 4. One component of vegetable foods espe- 
 cially requires separate mention. Cellulose, 
 the material of which tough cell-walls and 
 woody fibre are composed, is of nearly the 
 same chemical composition as starch. Paper 
 and cotton-wool are examples of cellulose. But 
 this and kindred material exists in a form much 
 more indigestible by most animals, and entirely 
 so by sortie ; hence, for our purposes, we take 
 the harder of such constituents out of the carbo- 
 hydrates, into a separate class distinguished as 
 husk or fibre. A certain portion may be of 
 value, as a mechanical stimulus to the intestines ; 
 but except for ruminant animals and birds, 
 which digest part of them, they are of little 
 value as food. 
 
 5. The last class is that of salts and minerals. 
 Phosphorus and lime are needed for the bones ; 
 sulphur for the feathers, besides a little for the 
 muscles; salt for the whole range of digestive 
 processes ; alkaline salts to alkalinate the 
 blood, etc. 
 
 Besides the above, there is in all foods a 
 very variable amount of hydrogen and oxygen 
 in the proportions which form water, and may 
 be classed as such, though the water — as in the 
 case of apparently quite dry wheat or flour — 
 assumes in some way a solid form, and may not 
 be water at all. 
 
 It is on the basis of these classes of com- 
 pounds that foods are analysed ; and the great 
 problem to be solved in feeding, or 
 N°t^v"^''* in a dietary, is of the very simplest 
 Eatio. kind, so far as theory goes. It is, 
 
 to get a proper proportion between 
 the albuminoids and the heat-producing groups 
 of fats and carbo-hydrates. A dietary- so 
 arranged is called a properly " balanced " 
 dietary; and if we give such a dietary, in 
 proper quantity and in digestible forms, the 
 animal. will be properly fed. The actual pro- 
 portion in any food, or any dietary, is called 
 its " nutritive ratio." Thus a mixture of meals 
 whose nutritive ratio is 1:6, means that the 
 albuminoids in it are as one part by weight to 
 six parts of fats and carbo-hydrates. But in 
 calculating this ratio, one important modification 
 always has to be made. Fats are much more 
 fattening than starch or other carbo-hydrates, and 
 are more efficient generally, because (as already 
 noted) they are more rich in carbon. In adding 
 up the two groups, therefore, we must multiply 
 the figure for fats and oils by some figure ; then 
 we may add the product to the carbo-hydrates, 
 and reckon the total as one, for the nutritive ratio. 
 
COMPOSITION OF FOODS. 
 
 19 
 
 The precise figure has caused some discussion. 
 At one time it was customary to multiply the 
 fats by 2"44, which is the greater proportion of 
 oxygen required for their combustion. Bauer 
 showed that this was too great, and believed that 
 in the animal body itself about 175 was the true 
 value. The best authorities now consider that 
 the correct figure is probably the equivalent of 
 heat produced by the two groups. According to 
 this, we must multiply by 2'25, or 2\, and we 
 may then add them to the carbo-hydrates, and 
 shall get the true " nutritive ratio." 
 
 Some authorities — chiefly chemists — intro- 
 duced another complication into the calculation, 
 
 under the title of digestibility. 
 Digestibility. To quote a recent writer*: — 
 
 " The chemist first determines by 
 analysis the percentage of each of the nutrients 
 contained in the food. Weighed quantities of 
 the feed are then given to some animal, and the 
 solid excrement voided during the trial is saved, 
 weighed, and samples of it analysed. Knowing 
 how much of each nutrient was fed and how 
 inuch of it reappears in the solid excrement, 
 the difference is held to be the portion digested, 
 since it must have been retained in the body" 
 Many American poultry dietaries have been 
 calciilated upon this principle ; the real analysis 
 being revised by laborious calculation; and the 
 figures reduced by what is termed a " digestive 
 coefficient " obtained in this manner. But the 
 whole is a mistake, based on ignorance of 
 physiology. Its only basis is the fact that in 
 the case of animals whose food largely consists 
 of fibre and hard cellulose, by some of them 
 scarcely any of this is digested, and it appears in 
 the excrement in visible form, of which horse 
 manure is a familiar example. Ruminants, 
 which subject the fibre to long softening before 
 rumination, digest a considerable portion even 
 of such materials, and so do birds, which soften 
 it in the crop and grind it in the gizzard. But 
 in such a case as that of man, who i^ejects such 
 material from his food before eating; the amount 
 of solid excreta has absolutely no relation what- 
 ever to indiges ability. Any medical man knows 
 of cases in which no evacuation may have taken 
 place for a fortnight or more, though there has 
 been fair activity, and a quite ordinary amount 
 of food has been consumed ; whilst in an ordin- 
 ary case many pounds weight would have been 
 excreted in the same time. The last case, and 
 - not the first, will be that of the best digestion ; 
 and the solid excreta, equally with the liquid, 
 are in their nature not material which could not 
 be digested, but secretions through which the 
 
 * W. Ai Henry, " Feeds and Feeding." 
 
 body excludes its used-up products : the pro- 
 ducts of its vital processes, and of food which 
 has been effectually digested, and done work in 
 the manifold changes through which it has 
 passed while within the system. We shall keep 
 nearest to the truth so far as known at present, 
 as well as simplify pur work, by simply classing 
 the crude fibre or husk by itself as more or less 
 indigestible, and basing our dietary upon the 
 rest, letting any nutrient there may be in the 
 husk go in addition. It is also to be remembered 
 that this component of poultry food is almost 
 always more or less laxative in tendency. 
 
 On this basis, then, we deal with foods. The 
 following table gives the principal materials 
 available for poultry-feeding, roughly classified, 
 and showing their composition as above de- 
 scribed ; and the amount of fats and oils is 
 further shown as multiplied by 2\, in order that 
 this product may be used for calculating the 
 nutritive ratio. 
 
 COMPOSITION . OF FOODS. 
 
 
 s„- 
 
 • 
 
 i 
 
 d 
 
 
 K 
 
 
 
 ^s 
 
 
 HJ.SS 
 
 rt 
 
 ■d » 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 •3S 
 
 
 
 vS-3 
 
 •s 
 
 §•3 
 
 ■& 
 
 ii 
 
 Articles of Food. 
 
 °5 
 
 1 
 
 (2ii-e 
 
 
 «2 
 
 s 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 
 ^E 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 K 
 
 
 Grains and Meals. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Linseed Meal 
 
 32-9 
 
 7-9 = 17-8 
 
 35-4 
 
 5-7 
 
 8-9 
 
 9-2 
 
 Beans and Peas 
 
 24-0 
 
 I'S = 3H 
 
 48-0 
 
 2"5 
 
 lO-O 
 
 14-0 
 
 Malt Sprouts 
 
 23-2 
 
 1-7= 3-8 
 
 48-5 
 
 5-7 
 
 10-7 
 
 I0'2 
 
 Oatmeal 
 
 i8-o 
 
 6-0 = 13-5 
 
 63-5 
 
 2'0 
 
 i"5 
 
 9-0 
 
 Middlings or Fine 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sharps 
 
 i6-o 
 
 4-0 = 9-0 
 
 57'0 
 
 4'5 
 
 4'S 
 
 I4'0 
 
 Sunflower Seed 
 
 i6-o 
 
 2I-S = 48-4 
 
 21-4 
 
 2-5 
 
 29-0 
 
 9-5 
 
 Bran 
 
 I5'S 
 
 4-0 = 9-0 
 
 44 '0 
 
 6-0 
 
 i6-3 
 
 14-0 
 
 Oats and Ground Oats 
 
 150 
 
 5-5 = 12-4 
 
 48-0 
 
 2-5 
 
 I9'0 
 
 lO-O 
 
 Wheat... 
 
 120 
 
 1-8 = 4-0 
 
 70-1 
 
 i'8 
 
 2-3 
 
 12-0 
 
 Barley (and Meal) ... 
 
 120 
 
 1-4= 3-2 
 
 56-0 
 
 3-6 
 
 14-0 
 
 13-0 
 
 Millet Seed 
 
 II-3 
 
 4-0 = 9-0 
 8-0 = i8'0 
 
 60 -0 
 
 3-0 
 
 9'4 
 
 12-3 
 
 Maize 
 
 105 
 
 66-5 
 
 i"5 
 
 2'S 
 
 II-O 
 
 Rye 
 
 10-5 
 
 1-8= 4-0 
 
 72-S 
 
 1-9 
 
 1-7 
 
 II -6 
 
 Buckwheat 
 
 lo-o 
 
 2-2 = 5-0 
 
 62 '2 
 
 2-0 
 
 IT-O 
 
 12-6 
 
 Hempseed 
 
 lO-O 
 
 21-0 = 47-2 
 
 45'° 
 
 2-0 
 
 I4-0 
 
 8-0 
 
 Dari 
 
 9'5 
 
 4-5 = lO-I 
 
 68-7 
 
 1-5 
 
 3-3 
 
 12-5 
 
 White Bread 
 
 i-8 
 
 1-8 = 4-0 
 
 56-4 
 
 0-5 
 
 0-0 
 
 32-5 
 
 Rice 
 
 6-6 
 
 0-4 = 0-9 
 
 8o-o 
 
 o-o 
 
 0-0 
 
 13-0 
 
 Brewer's Grains 
 
 5:4 
 
 1-6= 3-6 
 
 12-5 
 
 I'O 
 
 3-8 
 
 75-7 
 
 Vegetailes. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Potatoes 
 
 6-S 
 
 0-0 = O'O 
 
 41-0 
 
 2-0 
 
 0-0 
 
 50'S 
 
 Red Clover 
 
 S'O 
 
 0-8 = 1-8 
 
 13 "3 
 
 2-4 
 
 6-5 
 
 72-0 
 
 Meadow Grass 
 
 3'S 
 
 I-O = 2-2 
 
 13-5 
 
 2-0 
 
 4-7 
 
 75-3 
 
 Hay 
 
 8-4 
 
 2-6= 5-8 
 
 41-0 
 
 6-2 
 
 27-2 
 
 I4'6 
 
 Cabbage 
 
 2-4 
 
 0-4 = 0-9 
 
 3'8 
 
 1-4 
 
 i-S 
 
 90-5 
 
 Onions 
 
 i'5 
 
 0-2 = 0-5 
 
 4-8 
 
 0-5 
 
 2'0 
 
 91-0 
 
 Turnips 
 
 0-5 
 
 O-I = 0-2 
 
 4-0 
 
 i-o 
 
 1-4 
 
 93-0 
 
 Animal Foods. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dry Meat Meal 
 
 71-2 
 
 137 = 30-8 
 
 0-3 
 
 4-1 
 
 0-0 
 
 107 
 
 Flesh of Fowls 
 
 21-0 
 
 3-8= 8-5 
 
 O'O 
 
 1-2 
 
 0-0 
 
 74-0 
 
 Horse-flesh 
 
 21-7 
 
 2-6 = 5-8 
 
 0-0 
 
 ■ It 
 
 0-0 
 
 74-3 
 
 Lean of Beef 
 
 205 
 
 3'S = 7-9 
 
 0-0 
 
 0-0 
 
 74'4 
 
 Fresh-cut Bone 
 
 20-2 
 
 26-1 = 58-7 
 
 0-0 
 
 24-0 
 
 0-0 
 
 297 
 
 Dried Fish 
 
 48-4 
 
 if6 = 26'i 
 
 0-0 
 
 29-2 
 
 O'O 
 
 10-8 
 
 Milk 
 
 4-0 
 
 3-5 = 7-9 
 
 4-8 
 
 0-7 
 
 0-0 
 
 87-0 
 
 Skim milk (separator) 
 Eggs (yolk only) 
 „ (white only) .... 
 
 3'i 
 
 0-3 = 0-7 
 
 5-3 
 
 0-7 
 
 O'O 
 
 90-6 
 
 i6'0 
 
 30-D = 67-5 
 
 0-0 
 
 i-o 
 
 0-0 
 
 §3"° 
 
 120 
 
 2-0 = 4-5 
 
 0-0 
 
 I'2 
 
 0-0 
 
 84-8 
 
20 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Nutritive 
 Ratio. 
 
 For convenience, in this table the grains and 
 meals are placed in order of their nutritive 
 values, or richness in albuminoids. The analyses 
 are from various sources, many of them checked 
 by very recent determinations. But no analyses 
 can be taken rigidly, since a sample of white 
 oats, 38 Ibs: to the bushel, would differ appreciably 
 from one weighing 42 lbs. Middlings or fine 
 sharps are especially variable. The figures will, 
 however, quite suffice as a fair average guide.' 
 
 In using such a table to plan a dietary, we 
 must first decide what ■ proportions ought to 
 exist between the various columns ; 
 Proper and, above all, the proper " nutritive 
 
 ratio " between the albuminoids, 
 and the fats and carbo-hydrates 
 added. We need not trouble ourselves much 
 about the husk or the water, except so far as, 
 being almost valueless, they affect the real cost 
 of the food ; and although we must see that 
 there are salts enough, especially for young 
 and growing stock, we can easily add them if 
 required ; so we mainly consider the nutritive 
 ratio. On this point experiment has been chiefly 
 confined to the human race and to cattle, the 
 results very closely agreeing ; and it is generally 
 held that to maintain healthy animal life the 
 proportion of albuminoids should not be less 
 than 1:5. Some authorities, more specifically, 
 consider there should be about albuminoids 
 18, fats and oils 7, carbo-hydrates 75, which 
 works out the same ratio almost exactly, experts 
 differing a little in detail. A similar ratio has 
 been adopted for poultry, but before doing so, 
 there are two points to consider. 
 
 The first is that of exercise. Cattle lead a 
 very indolent life, as do the majority of men in 
 less degree; and it is universally agreed that an 
 active life requires rather more of albuminoids. 
 Fowls are decidedly active animals. Still we 
 shall certainly be safe in reckoning about i : 4^ 
 as sufficient in genial weather, and keeping up 
 the same total of albuminoids in winter, but 
 increasing the carbo-hydrates, or still better 
 the fats, to about 1:5, in order to meet the 
 colder weather. Such summer and winter ratios 
 should be amply sufficient, as regards the fowls 
 alone. 
 
 But there is further to consider any daily 
 product of the stock, such as .milk or eggs. For 
 any such, we must supply the material. This 
 has been abundantly proved in the case of 
 milking cows. Milk contains so much fat and 
 sugar that its own ratio is i : 3 or i : 3^, hence 
 additional food of the ordinary i : 5 ratio, with 
 sufficient succulent material to supply fluid, may 
 suffice fairly. Very recent experiments have 
 shown that the average dietary for milking 
 
 cows in the United States varies from i : 7 in 
 some States to as low as i : 10 in others, whereas 
 it ought to be fully 1:5; and it has been proved 
 by systematic tests, that when the ratio was 
 raised even to that figure, the results were so 
 improved that the butter cost three cents less 
 per pound. In England a greater supply of 
 albuminoids is given with yet further benefit, 
 in the shape of linseed cake, etc. But eggs, 
 we see above, contain about as much albu- 
 minoids as fat ; and to produce an ounce daily 
 (excluding water) of such rich material is no 
 light task. Hence the need of special feed for 
 laying hens. Such a bird craves for albuminous 
 food, and every breeder knows that while laying 
 freely she will often devour with" eagerness 
 those giant earth-worms which, when not laying, 
 she generally refuses. She must get albumen. 
 Reserving this point for special consideration, 
 however, and taking the above-named ratios as 
 sufficient for ordinary purposes, including rear- 
 ing, let us now put our table to use ; and first 
 of all examine a few of the principal ingre- 
 dients commonly given as food to fowls. 
 
 Beans and Peas strike us at once by the 
 very large proportion of albuminoids compared 
 
 with the other groups ; their ratio 
 in^edients jg ^s high as 1 : 2\. We see why the 
 Poultry Food, old cockers gave their birds peas 
 
 while training, and why beans are 
 given to horses when in severe work. The 
 proportion is so large that it may be used to 
 "balance" the dietary against other foods de- 
 ficient in this group ; but the deficiency in fats 
 and carbo-hydrates is so great, that fowls fed 
 largely on pulse would be hard, dry, and stringy. 
 Pulse, even in moderate quantity, does not seem 
 to suit some fowls, while others thrive on a 
 portion of such diet ; hence a dietary thus 
 balanced should be watched with care. Malt 
 culms, malt sprouts, or malt-dust, as variously 
 called, are very similar in composition, but 
 decidedly richer in fat, and moreover have 
 most valuable digestive properties. This arises 
 from their peculiar nitrogenous ferment, called 
 diastase, which has the property of converting 
 starch, and even a portitin of cellulose, into the 
 soluble substances dextrin and sugar, precisely 
 the same changes that have to be produced in 
 ordinary digestion by the saliva and pancreatic 
 fluid. It is for the same reasons that finely 
 ground malt is mixed with various kinds of 
 " infants' food." When any form of such malted 
 foodis mixed with boiling milk or water, to the 
 consistence of very thick arrowroot, after a few 
 minutes the thick mixture becomes thin ; the 
 starch is converted by the malt principle into 
 a soluble form, and dissolved. This simple ex- 
 
QUALITIES OF VARIOUS FOODS. 
 
 periment illustrates the effect of njalt, or malt 
 culms, in aiding digestion, and it has always 
 surprised us that the Sussex fatteners have not 
 taken advantage of it. Where obtainable, malt 
 sprouts should always be purchased, and are far 
 preferable in most cases to pea-meal, especially 
 for young stock ; but unfortunately they are a 
 local brewing product, and only obtainable in 
 some places. 
 
 Oatmeal stands out from the list as, by itself 
 alone, an almost perfect food. Its own ratio is 
 about 1 : 4J, and it has sufficient salts. We can 
 see at once why the Scottish people fed upon 
 it possess such tall and muscular frames, and 
 why it rears such splendid cockerels. The same 
 analysis applies to the hulled grain, " grits," or 
 groats, given to chickens. Of all the foods, 
 these two are the most valuable, taken by 
 themselves alone. Oats mainly differ in the 
 larger quantity of husk which they contain ; but 
 by fowls much of this is ground in the gizzard 
 and digested, and when the whole grain is ground 
 fine, as in Sussex, where husk and all is ground 
 to a fine flour, this added cellulose makes 
 "ground oats" also a nearly perfect food, as 
 the results of it show. There is often difficulty 
 in obtaining oats thus properly ground, as the 
 stones have to be specially dressed, but it is to 
 be hoped that increased demand by poultry^ 
 keepers will gradually spread the manufacture 
 over the country. 
 
 Wheat is used in several forms. In the 
 whole grain albuminoids are too low, below 
 I in 6 ; but the greatest deficiency is in fat, 
 whence the philosophy of bread and butter. 
 Flour and white bread are worse, the albumin- 
 bids being less than i in 8 ; hence, a sand- 
 wich is plainly a scientific combination. Bran, 
 as we should therefore expect, is much richer 
 in albuminoids, and also in fats; here again, 
 therefore, we have a corrective which may be 
 very useful, only we must bear in mind that 
 it is not all digested, and that the husky matter 
 sometimes sets up intestinal irritation if long con- 
 tinued. Still, it is often a very useful albuminoid. 
 There remains middlings ox fine sharps, of which 
 the better quality equals oatmeal as an albumin- 
 oid, and is cheap and valuable food ; but the 
 quality and nomenclature differ very greatly. 
 Some middlings are little better than fine bran ; 
 the best consists of fine sharps with some 
 amount of the coarser parts of flour. This is 
 in some places called " pollard " ; but in other 
 places the same word " pollard " denotes mere 
 bran even coarser than usual. It is much to 
 be wished that these bye-products of wheat 
 were more uniformly and exactly defined. 
 
 Of the other commerce grains, buckwheat is 
 
 inferior to wheat, its ratio being about i : 6|, 
 but being more rich in fat ; hence we see why 
 it fattens fowls so well in France. The analysis, 
 however, only refers to the new, "full," grey 
 coloured grain, which mostly comes from France, 
 and is alone worth purchase. Much that is 
 offered is light in weight and brown in colour ; 
 such is kiln-dried, and of little food value. The 
 difference accounts for the refusal to eat this 
 grain which some correspondents report. Barley 
 has more husk, and is most deficient in fat of 
 all the grains ; and unfortunately it is just the 
 poorest and most husky samples that are ground 
 into meal. Rye has less husk and more starch, 
 but is otherwise of similarly " dry " character, 
 and a poor food ; its ratio is only about i : 'j\. 
 Maize appears above as the most oily (excluding 
 " seeds") of all common grains ; but this has been 
 disputed, Bauer giving an analysis by which 
 the fat in maize is reduced to 5, and that in 
 oats raised above 6, making oats the most oily 
 of the cereals. That oats are rich in fat is 
 shown above, and by the rancid smell and taste 
 of stale oatmeal. It appears that in certain 
 localities this fat is increased ; while, on the 
 other hand, the fat in various American maize 
 analyses has varied from 4'8 to as high as 8"3. 
 On the whole evidence we could collect, there- 
 fore (in which the notorious and special tendency 
 of maize to deposit yellow fat must be included), 
 we have taken the figures above as at least the 
 safest, for the samples which generally reach 
 this country. The ratio comes out i : 8, albumin- 
 oids being also too low, and starch too high. 
 Dari is a little better, with less fat; and at 
 the bottom of the .list comes rice, little better 
 than dry starch, and practically destitute of fat 
 altogether. Allowing for the large quantity of 
 water, potatoes stand in somewhat the same 
 position, but with a much better, though still 
 low ratio of 1 : 6\. 
 
 Some other ingredients claim attention for 
 various reasons. The extraordinary quantity of 
 oil in hempseed will be practically familiar to all 
 already, while its ratio is only i : 9. What our 
 table does is to bring out the far superior value, 
 as food for poultry, of sunflower-seed. This is 
 shown to be equally rich in fat, but far superior 
 in albuminoids, and with less starch, so that it 
 comes out on the whole as 1 : 4 J. Experience fully 
 bears this out, stamping it as a most valuable 
 food, and which, growing freely in many localities, 
 and the plants giving shelter meanwhile, is well 
 worth the attention of many poultry-breeders. 
 The real food value of grass and hay will not 
 fail to be noticed ; and above all the very high 
 value of clover. This, too, has long been dis- 
 covered and acted upon by the egg-farmers of 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 America, who "feed" clover regularly; though we 
 fear it has not been appreciated in Great Britain. 
 At all events, the albuminoid ratio comes out as 
 high as I : 3, with salts also in high proportion. 
 The nitrogenous qualities of onions also appear. 
 
 Among the animal products, the close re- 
 semblance in the composition of all lean meat 
 will be noticed, indicating that any animal food 
 may be used as economy dictates, unless the 
 subject of disease. Especially will be seen the 
 high food value of fresh bone, which is greedily 
 eaten when cut small. Raw bones as obtainable 
 from the butcher's are here understood, but bones 
 from joints only roasted or boiled, and not stewed 
 for soup, are nearly as good. Cut bone is nearly 
 as rich in nitrogen as ilesh, and far richer in fats 
 and earthy salts. Its use, along with clover, 
 is chiefly relied upon in America for securing pro- 
 fuse egg-production, even with such a grain diet 
 as maize. The high value of dried fish as an 
 albuminoid corrective and source of mineral salts 
 will also be seen, and accounts for the popularity 
 of Liverine, which contains a large portion of 
 fish-meal. 
 
 A glance over the table has thus shown us 
 generally the dangers attending hempseed, or 
 even maize, and the great deficiency in nutriment 
 of any diet in which bread, or ''ice, or potatoes 
 play a disproportionate part. Before drawing 
 such conclusions we must however remember 
 that, provided fowls have free range, such de- 
 ficiencies may be made up by insects and other 
 animal food. In such circumstances, no doubt 
 it very often is so, including even the nitrogenous 
 supply for egg-production ; and hence it is that 
 maize is so largely used in America without 
 injury. Nature herself, guided by natural ap- 
 petite or craving, will largely "balance" such 
 a dietary, and any of the ordinary cereals 
 may probably supply adequate food when thus 
 supplemented. It is in more or less confinement, 
 where the fowls are really dependent upon what 
 we give them, that such facts become important. 
 We have therefore, finally, to learn how our 
 table enables us to construct a dietary which 
 shall be properly " balanced " or proportioned. 
 
 It is evident that we can do so from very 
 various materials ; and that therefore in selecting 
 these we may study the market, as 
 Balancing regards cost of the total; and we can 
 Dietary. also give variety, which is in itself 
 
 desirable for health and appetite. 
 Generally speaking, again, only one kind of grain 
 will be fed at a time, and mostly at the evening 
 meal ; as a rule, therefore, we choose some one 
 grain for that meal, and " balance " this by our 
 soft food. for the morning. The total food-value 
 of our diet for the week, or ration for one day if 
 
 preferred^ is found in the simplest way, by adding 
 together the figures for each ingredient as above, 
 divided or multiplied so as to give their relative 
 proportion as mixed in the dietary. Thus, if we 
 mix 2 lbs. or 2 stones of one ingredient to 
 
 1 lb. or I stone of ^ others, we must multiply 
 by two the figures for that ingredient, to get 
 the true proportion. In adding the fats and 
 oils, it must not be forgotten to take, not the 
 figure of the analysis, but that figure multiplied 
 by 2\, as given in the right hand of the column. 
 
 We will take first a diet in which the evening 
 feed consists of maize, reckoning (as in other 
 cases) that an equal weight of meals (weighed 
 dry, before scalding) is given in the morning. We 
 know that we must " balance " the maize by food 
 containing more albuminoids. Let us try a 
 mash composed of half malt sprouts and half 
 middlings. To avoid fractions we will here take 
 
 2 lbs. maize and i lb. each of the middlings 
 and malt dust. It works out thus : — 
 
 (1) _ 
 
 Albuminoids. 
 
 Fat X 2i. 
 
 Carbo- 
 hydrates. 
 
 Salts. 
 
 2 lbs. MmVe ( X2) 
 
 I lb. Middlings 
 
 I lb. Malt Sprouts ... 
 
 21-0 
 
 i6-o 
 
 23-2 
 
 36-0 
 90 
 
 3-8 
 
 133-0 
 48s 
 
 3-0 
 
 4-5 
 5-7 
 
 
 60 '2 . 
 
 48-8 
 
 238-5 
 .+48-8 
 
 13-2 
 
 
 287-3 
 
 
 This is not a bad dietary, except that most 
 of the albuminoids are confined to the mash. 
 The fat proportion is good, and the nutritive 
 ratio works out as 6o-2 : 287-3, or a little under 
 I : \\. We can bring it up to that by a little 
 more malt dust, or pea-meal, the ratio of which 
 is nearly the same, and we thus see that maize 
 may be used in moderation when so " balanced." 
 We say "in moderation," because there is no 
 doubt that, beyond its analysis, there is some- 
 thing in the composition of maize which tends 
 specially to fat, and above all to internal fat, 
 which is worst of all. Again, let us suppose that 
 ground oats and horseflesh are available ; one 
 part minced flesh to two parts ground oats will 
 make things neariy right. Here we must take 
 three parts of maize to equalise the mixture, 
 and it works out thus : — 
 
 (2) 
 
 Albuminoids. 
 
 Fat X a}. 
 
 Carbo- 
 hydrates. 
 
 Salts 
 
 3 lbs. Maize (x 3) ... 
 
 1 lb. Hoi-se-flesh 
 
 2 lbs. Ground Oats ( X 2) 
 
 3I-S 
 217 
 30'o 
 
 S4"0 
 
 5-8 
 
 24-8 
 
 1995 
 
 00 
 
 960 
 
 4-S 
 
 I'O 
 
 5-0 
 
 
 83-2 
 
 84'6 
 
 +1^:1 
 
 lo-s 
 
 
 380-. 
 
 
BALANCING A DIETARY. 
 
 23 
 
 Here the nutritive ratio is 83'2 : 380-1, or slightly 
 under i : 4 J, which a Uttle more flesh will bring 
 as high as desired. Both these mashes are, 
 however, excessively nitrogenous, and it would 
 be better to use maize in the form of meal, 
 " balanced " as in Table I. above, for the break- 
 fast ; when good heavy white oats given as grain 
 at night would well keep up the total ratio. 
 
 Potatoes and bread are dangerous foods as 
 commonly used, but are often very cheap, and 
 
 can be dealt with upon the same 
 Potatoes in principle. Let us see what we can 
 Dietary. Jo with potatoes, taking oats for the 
 
 evening feed in order to lessen the 
 difficulty of the balance : — 
 
 common mash is composed of sharps and barley- 
 meal ; we will test this : — 
 
 (3) 
 
 Albuminoids. 
 
 Fat X i\. 
 
 Carbo- 
 hydrates. 
 
 Salts. 
 
 2 lbs. Potatoes 
 
 f lb. Malt Sprouts ... 
 2 lbs. Oats 
 
 130 
 
 17-4 
 30-0 
 
 0-0 
 
 2-8 
 
 24-8 
 
 82-0 
 
 36-4 
 96-0 
 
 4-0 
 4-3 
 5-0 
 
 
 60-4 
 
 27-6 
 
 214-4 
 + 27-6 
 
 13-3 
 
 
 242-0 
 
 
 Here, the potatoes being watery, the 2f lbs. of 
 mash are not more than sufficient against 2 lbs. 
 of dry oats. We find we have brought the 
 ratio (60 : 242) up to i : 4, so that less malt dust 
 would suffice, or the little more would quite 
 balance a less rich grain than oats, such as buck- 
 wheat or wheat. Pea-meal would have the same 
 effect ; but with potatoes, above almost any food, 
 the digestive qualities of malt dust make it 
 much the best corrective where possible. The 
 above is still rather deficient in fat, which can be 
 easily supplied by a little animal fat, or a little 
 ground oil-cake, or oily seeds. 
 
 Or let us examine by itself the very common 
 mash of potatoes and bran, taking equal parts : — 
 
 (4) 
 
 Albuminoids. 
 
 Fat X 2i. 
 
 Carbo- 
 hydrates. 
 
 S^lts. 
 
 I lb. Potatoes 
 
 I lb. Bran 
 
 6-5 
 15-5 
 
 O'O 
 g-O 
 
 41 "O 
 44-0 
 
 20 
 60 
 
 
 22-0 
 
 9-0 
 
 85-0 
 + 9-0 
 
 8-0 
 
 
 940 
 
 
 The ratio, here is high, i : 4^, and will answer with 
 any grain not very inferior at night. The de- 
 ficiency is in fat,and we must also keep watch against 
 any signs of chronic intestinal irritation. If we 
 can add a little fat the one fault will be remedied ; 
 and if we can add even a little malt sprouts, the 
 digestibility of the bran will be much improved, 
 and a really good mash produced. Another 
 
 (5) 
 
 Albuminoids. 
 
 Fat X 2i. 
 
 Carbo- 
 hydrates. 
 
 falts. 
 
 I lb. Sharps 
 
 I lb. Barley-meal 
 
 i6-o 
 
 I2-0 
 
 9-0 
 
 3'2 
 
 57-0 
 56-0 
 
 4-5 
 
 3-6 
 
 
 28-0 
 
 12-2 
 
 113-0 
 
 + 12-2 
 
 8-1 
 
 
 125-2 
 
 
 The ratio here is i : 4^, which is good, and the 
 chief deficiency is in fat, which is easily suppHed. 
 Yet again, in America a mash of two parts 
 of bran to one of maize-meal is in practice 
 very common for chicks in brooder-houses. 
 
 (6) 
 
 Albuminoids, 
 
 Fat X i\. 
 
 Carbo- 
 hydrates. 
 
 Salts. 
 
 1 lb. Maize 
 
 2 lbs. Bran 
 
 lo-s 
 310 
 
 18-0 
 180 
 
 66-5 
 880 
 
 1-5 
 
 12-0 
 
 
 41-5 
 
 36-0 
 
 154-5 
 + 360 
 
 13s 
 
 
 190-5 
 
 
 This gives a ratio of nearly i : 4J, quite vindi- 
 cating practice by science. The mash is usually 
 supplemented by a little animal food. 
 
 In the case of fowls kept on good grass runs, 
 it "is often a great saving of labour to give a diet 
 of grain alone, and they will do well 
 Grain alone upon it when thus circurristanced, if 
 as Diet. the grain is properly chosen. Good 
 
 white oats should form one of the 
 components, for the sake of the albuminoids and 
 fat. Let us take : 
 
 (7) 
 
 Albuminoids. 
 
 Fat X 2i 
 
 Carbo 
 hydrates. 
 
 Salts. 
 
 1 lb. Heavy Oats 
 I lb. Buckwheat 
 
 15-0 
 100 
 
 12-4 
 
 SO 
 
 48-0 
 62-2 
 
 \i 
 
 
 25-0 
 
 17-4 
 
 1 10-2 
 + 17-4 
 
 4-5 
 
 
 127-6 
 
 
 This ratio (25 : 127) is pretty good, very nearly 
 1 : S, and contains a fair amount of fat. "The next 
 best grains are barley and wheat, both of which 
 are poor in fats and oils. Here, perhaps, the 
 best of all dry correctives, if obtainable, would 
 be sunflower-seed, whose food-value comes out 
 especially in such a case as this ; it is so rich in 
 fats, and at the same time in albuminoids, that, 
 where it is obtainable, a small quantity will fully 
 correct even such dry grains as wheat and barley. 
 If one entire feed could be given of it, it would 
 
24 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 riearly balance even such inferior grain as rye ; 
 but it is too expensive for a whole feed, or to be 
 used very largely in this form. 
 
 We need not give further tables for our 
 purpose, which is not to give a number of 
 definite dietaries, but rather to show how a 
 proper dietary is constructed. We have used as 
 albuminoid correctives pea-meal or malt culms, 
 horse-flesh, bran, and rich seed ; and have 
 dealt in turn with such starchy foods as maize, 
 potatoes, and rye ; such examples will amply 
 answer all purposes of illustration. 
 
 Green food has not been taken into account 
 in the above. Grass or hay have themselves a 
 ratio of about i : 6 and i : 5| ; and 
 Green Food : eaten as supplementary to solid food, 
 Clover. this need not trouble us. Cabbage 
 
 ■ has a high ratio, but is seldom given 
 in proportion enough for its really solid com- 
 ponents to disturb matters appreciably. Clover 
 may be mentioned as exceptional. With an 
 actual albuminoid component nearly equal to 
 dry rice, its own ratio is so high as 1:3. Hence 
 it is of actual value as an albuminoid corrective, 
 and in America is fed largely as such to the 
 laying stock ; even in winter clover hay being 
 cut and steeped in hot water over night, to mix 
 with the mash breakfast of the laying stock in 
 the morning. Dried clover is also ground into 
 meal, to be mixed in the same way. 
 
 This brings us finally to two questions, the 
 first of which is whether the ratio of albuminoids 
 we have been considering, is really 
 Special sufficient for all purposes. To main- 
 
 Dietaries, tain the health and condition of the 
 fowl, as a fowl, we may be sure that 
 it is. But there are three exceptional conditions 
 also to be considered, and the question arises,, 
 what special allowance these may require, and 
 how such are to be dealt with. 
 
 (fl) Let us consider the young and growing 
 bird. Here we have, besides maintenance and 
 work in exercise, to make tissue at a great rate. 
 It would certainly seem that, for the best 
 results so far as mere growth is concerned, 
 more albuminoids must be required, as the 
 ratio of milk itself, and the composition of the 
 egg itself, plainly teach us. AH experience 
 proves that this is so. We give this in the 
 shape of skim milk, or meat, or cut bone, or 
 malt dust, or pea-meal if the birds will eat it ; 
 but pea-meal seems to suit them less than 
 the others. In this way we easily enrich our 
 other food to the needs of a gi'owing dietary. 
 {b) Or we have to fatten and prepare birds 
 for the table. Here also practical experience 
 vindicates theory, as any true theory always 
 will be vindicated. The Sussex fatter takes as 
 
 his basis the ground oats, which, as we hiive 
 seen, themselves give rather a high ratio, but 
 adds thereto skim milk, and suet or some other 
 form of fat. The skim milk gives him albumen 
 in the higher ratio of 1:2, in the most easily 
 digested form of all ; and the fat similarly 
 assists in what he desires. This dietary also, 
 then, differs from the normal ratio, exactly as 
 we should expect. 
 
 (c) Thirdly, we have to consider laying hens. 
 A little consideration must show iis that for 
 
 birds in active laying, a i : 5 ratio 
 Diet for cannot be sufficient. In a fair-sized 
 
 Laying Hens, egg, we have two ounces daily to be 
 
 produced, in addition to the hen's 
 own needs for life and health. Of this more 
 than half is water ; but, there being waste in 
 vital processes, we ought to reckon that an 
 ounce in solids is the daily requirement, and 
 this is nearly all composed of mineral salts, 
 albuminoids, and fat. This supply, in some 
 cases, the fowl may be able to pick up herself, 
 and we have already commented upon the 
 craving for immense worms, otherwise refused ; 
 thus Nature herself teaches us that animal food 
 is the best means of supplying the need. Where 
 there is not wide range we must supply this ; 
 and since meat is itself three-fourths water, it 
 follows that a layer only given bare living ration, 
 " balanced " as above, should have nearly two 
 ounces daily of cut bone or fairly fat meat, to 
 maintain a constant egg-supply. Cut bone is 
 in many respects best, as supplying much more 
 of both fat and earthy salts for the shell, in 
 proportion. 
 
 Such a proportion will seem large, and the 
 conclusion startling ; but it is supported by facts. 
 There are, however, heavy qualifications to be 
 made. Every fowl is given much more than a 
 mere subsistence ration of ordinary "balanced" 
 diet J then the albumen and fat of the surplus 
 will go to eggs, and even part of the carbo- 
 hydrates will be decomposed to form fatty egg- 
 material ; and so a fair egg supply may be 
 maintained. The necessary extra supply of 
 albuminoids for a more constant production will 
 thus be reduced by a great deal, perhaps by half, 
 less or more. But the extra supply, be it what 
 it may, must be supplied if we are to have the 
 extra result. Americans have for years been far 
 beyond us in this matter of egg-production. 
 Many of them, while we have been talking about 
 it, have actually attained egg-averages ranging 
 from 170 to as high as 190 per annum from 
 considerable flocks, and still more from small 
 numbers. These farmers have proved by ex- 
 perience that such an egg-yield as this, while 
 it has to be " bred " for in the first place, must 
 
NARROW OR WIDE RATIONS. 
 
 25 
 
 also be "fed" for if it is to be realised ; and in 
 their practice they do feed for it,' by the copious 
 supply of fresh cut bone, and clover or clover- 
 hay, especially in winter when insect food fails. 
 Doubtless, such production and feeding is not 
 exactly normal health, but over-stimulation of 
 a decided character ; the hen is regarded purely 
 as an egg manufactory. If however this is so 
 and she is to produce the eggs, such are the 
 conditions. 
 
 On the other hand, a fowl not " bred " to 
 produce the eggs could not utilise such forcing 
 diet to advantage ; or if any other circum- 
 stances prevented response, such a diet might 
 do harm rather than good. This might easily 
 occur in several ways. All the organs might 
 be more, or less over-stimulated and hyper- 
 trophied ; or the bird might lay on flesh and 
 fat ; or she might suffer from enlarged liver and 
 become torpid, laying even fewer eggs than be- 
 fore the forcing diet was given. We 
 Forcing Diet have an impressive example of this 
 Advantageous.!" two bulletins from the Massa- 
 chusetts Agricultural College, at 
 Amherst in that State, reporting two years' 
 experiments in feeding two similar lots of hens 
 upon a comparatively narrow nutritive ration 
 (i : 4"2o), and a wider one (i : 6'3o), obtained 
 mainly by substituting large quantities of maize 
 for the wheat, oats, etc., used ip the other. The 
 1898 experiments were noted separately in 
 winter and summer periods, reckoned from 
 December 12th to April 30th, and May ist to 
 October 4th. In the 1899 experiments, two lots,- 
 one of barred Rocks and the other of white 
 Wyandottes, were fed on each ration, the periods 
 being October 25th to April 27th, and May ist to 
 September 27th. Each lot consisted of twenty 
 hens, confined in similar quarters, comprising a 
 house 10x12 feet, scratching-shed 10x8 feet, 
 and open yard 24X,5o feet, without grass, to 
 which they had access in good weather. The 
 following are the results of the second year's 
 winter experiments : — 
 
 The same test gave in summer similar results 
 relatively, though of course the total numbers of 
 eggs laid were considerably greater : — 
 
 Stinimer Experiment — 140 days. 
 
 Winter Experiment- 
 
 — 183 days. 
 
 
 Wyandottes. 
 
 Plymouth Rocks. 
 
 
 Narrow 
 
 Wide 
 
 Narrow Wide 
 
 
 Ration. 
 
 Ration. 
 
 Ration. Ration, 
 
 Number of hen days, not 
 
 
 
 
 including males 
 
 3.560 ... 
 
 3,560 
 
 3,424 ... 3.'554 
 
 Cost of food 
 
 $9-26 ... 
 
 $7-30 
 
 $9-25 ... $7-68 
 
 Cost per egg (cents) 
 
 1-50 ... 
 
 ■90 
 
 2-41 ... I -02 
 
 Eggs per hen day * 
 
 •17 ... 
 
 •24 
 
 ■II ... 21 
 
 Weight per egg (oz.) ... 
 
 1-91 ... 
 
 1-82 
 
 176 ... 2-09 
 
 Total weight of eggs (lbs.) 
 
 72-90 ... 
 
 95 '90 
 
 48-24 ... 98-62 
 
 Dry food per egg (lb.) ... 
 
 ■99 ■■• 
 
 •75 
 
 1-57 ... -88 
 
 
 Wyandottes. 
 
 Plymouth 
 
 Rocks. 
 
 
 Narrow 
 
 Wide 
 
 Narrow 
 
 Wide 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Number of hen days, not 
 
 
 
 
 
 including males 
 
 2.945 ■ 
 
 ■ 2,913 
 
 2,400 ... 
 
 J'555 
 
 Cost of food 
 
 $7-50 . 
 
 . $5-86 
 
 $6-14 ... 
 
 $4-91 
 
 Cost per egg (cents) 
 
 1-03 . 
 
 .. -64 
 
 I CO ... 
 
 -60 
 
 Eggs per hen day . ... 
 
 -25 , 
 
 .. -31 
 
 •26 ... 
 
 •32 
 
 Weight per egg (oz.) 
 
 1-88 . 
 
 .. 190 
 
 1-82 ... 
 
 177 
 
 Total weight of eggs (lbs.) 
 
 85-89 . 
 
 ..10870 
 
 70-40 ... 
 
 89-94 
 
 Dry food per egg (lb.) ... 
 
 ■70 . 
 
 .. -58 
 
 ■67 ... 
 
 ■55 
 
 . * A hen day means one day of one hen. Thus 0*24 of an egg per hen 
 day means that less than a quarter of an egg was laid per day, or that there 
 was one egg in rather more than four days, while o"ii means that nearly ten 
 days were required for one egg on an average. 
 
 E 
 
 From these experiments and results, the 
 following conclusions were drawn : (i) That the 
 wide maize ration appears much superior to the 
 other as regards number of eggs laid ; in the 
 Wyandottes, by 41 per cent, in winter and 24 per 
 cent, in summer; in the Rocks, by 91 per cent, 
 in winter and 23 per cent, in summer. (2) That 
 the cost of feed was much less, and the cost per 
 ^S&- (3) And that the corn-fed fowls .gained - 
 also more in weight. These results and con- 
 clusions have been hailed throughout the 
 poultry Press of America as " proving " that 
 after all urged to the contrary, maize is superior 
 to wheat as food for laying hens ; and the same 
 conclusions have even been reproduced without 
 correction in certain journals published in our 
 own country. 
 
 Such a conclusion is illusory, and the whole 
 is an example of the loose and ill-considerec' 
 character of what often passes for "' experi- 
 mental investigation." In this case, to begin 
 with, any practical poiiltry-keeper would call 
 the rations given, poor rations. The narrow 
 one was partly made up of a certain residue 
 called " gluten feed," which, we have been per- 
 sonally informed, hens will only eat at all when 
 disguised in other food ; and the green food 
 was quite insufficient to promote vital activity, 
 or " metabolism," consisting in summer only of 
 lawn clippings three times a week. So limited 
 a supply of one of the most important con- 
 stituents of poliltry diet could not possibly 
 maintain the vital functions in healthy action ; 
 or enable them to utilise the rest of the dietary 
 to advantage. In the second place, the figure 
 work of the first year's experiments appears 
 carelessly done. The eggs per hen in 297 
 days are stated as 105 for the narrow and 
 128 for the wide ration; while we can only 
 make it (on the details given) 90 and 1 14 ; 
 and where the calculation is given as 0'36 
 egg per hen day, we only make it 0*29. On 
 this account we have taken above the second 
 
26 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 y.ear's experiment, where the figures do appear 
 to tally with the. facts and details stated, and 
 are accordingly lower. Thirdly, the results 
 from both rations are wretchedly poor. Whether 
 it is the fault of bad management, or unsuitable 
 food (including want of green food), or of the 
 fowls being bad layers, the egg-results are 
 almost beneath contempt. The highest summer 
 return (0'32) is less than 120 per annum if all 
 the year were summer; the lowest (o'li) is 
 only 40 per annum if all were winter. The 
 alleged enormous superiority of 91 per cent, 
 in maize for Plymouth Rocks for winter, means 
 a difference between about 20 and 38 eggs per 
 hen in six months ! As a test of results in 
 promoting egg-laying between maize and wheat, 
 or narrow and wide nutritive ratios, such 
 figures are farcical. Either these eighty hens 
 could not lay well anyhow, in which case the 
 real conclusion is, as above stated, that a forcing 
 diet is not only useless, but injurious to such as 
 cannot respond to it ; or else all alike were 
 prevented laying by some bad management, 
 quite apart from maize and wheat. Such 
 ridiculously low figures as these in no way 
 upset the theory and practice of numerous 
 skilled American egg-Jarmer.s, who do get from 
 150 to nearly 200 eggs per annum from a high 
 nutritive ratio, compounded with adequate pro- 
 portions of cut clover (properly prepared), and 
 cut bone or meat-meal. The recorded cost per 
 egg (in food alone) points the same moral in 
 another way. 
 
 We described the rations given in this " ex- 
 periment " as poor, and this leads to a further 
 question, above hinted at — whether 
 Subrtitution jj really is indifferent how a given 
 Albuminoids, nutritive ratio is attained, so long as 
 it is made up. Are the albuminoids 
 in pulse, for instance, really able to take the 
 place of animal food in all respects .' Broadly 
 and roughly, experience shows that they are ; 
 if it were not so, our dietaries are worth 
 nothing ; but is it so altogether ? On this 
 point some interesting and valuable experiments 
 have been made at the New York Experimental 
 Station at Geneva, during 1898 and 1899.* 
 Two lots of chicks were fed from half-week 
 to twenty-five weeks old, and two others for 
 fourteen weeks after six weeks old, upon foods 
 compounded so as to have a similar nutritive 
 ratio, but one feed all grain, while in the other 
 the albuminoids were largely supplied from 
 animal sources, such as meat-meal, dried blood, 
 and cut bone. Both feeds, however, contained 
 some skim-milk. Much more lood was eaten 
 
 * See Bulletins Nos. 149 and 171, by F. H. Hall and 
 W. P. Wheeler. 
 
 per day by the lot receiving animal food ; but 
 the gain in weight was so much more rapid, and 
 maturity was reached so much earlier,'that less 
 food was required per pound, and each pound 
 gained only cost 4I cents as against Sy cents. 
 Those with animal food reached 2 lbs. five 
 weeks before the others, and 3 lbs. eight weeks 
 sooner. With the chicks started at six weeks, 
 the differences were similar, but less marked. 
 Lots of cockerels were also similarly fed from 
 three months old, and for eight weeks there 
 were similar differences ; after that the birds did 
 not make paying progress on either food. The 
 most startling difference was, however, in duck- 
 lings. The " animal-food " lot developed rapidly 
 and were healthy ; the grain-fed ones were 
 stunted, pitifully thin, and after fifteen weeks 
 only twenty out of thirty-three were alive. 
 These were then given the other ration for four 
 weeks, and made rapid gain, but never overtook 
 the others. Similar advantages were obtained 
 in the case of laying hens. 
 
 Here would appear conclusive proof that the 
 albuminoids in grain alone can not altogether 
 replace animal food. But those who conducted 
 this experiment found that they had not yet 
 considered all the factors concerned.* The in- 
 gredients in the foods which went into the 
 "ratio" had been made equal ; the birds were 
 alike, and placed under the same conditions. 
 But study of the analyses showed that the two 
 diets did differ in one other respect not reckoned 
 in the ratio. Owing largely to the fact that 
 one of them consisted largely of maize, whose 
 deficiency in albuminoids was corrected by 
 gluten feed, while the other contained a con- 
 siderable proportion of dried meat-meal, the 
 animal - food mixture contained considerable 
 more of ash, or mineral salts. A second series 
 of experiments was therefore commenced, in 
 which two mixtures were used as before, of 
 similar ratio, but one containing animal food. 
 But to the grain-only mixture was now added 
 the ash from bones, burnt so as to get rid of all 
 organic matter, in proportion sufficient to make 
 the mineral ash fully equal. The results were 
 remarkable. Upon the grain ration thus supple- 
 mented by mineral ash, the chicks now did as 
 well as upon animal food. Laying hens also 
 did as well for most of the time they were 
 tested (thirty Aveeks), but towards the end showed 
 
 * It is from want oi comidering all the factors that the other 
 experiment above quoted (only here quoted in the hope of 
 counteracting in some degree the mischief which we know it to 
 have done) has been interpreted as leading to such results as 
 were stated. Of course, facts are always useful if correctly 
 recorded. But the truth of any conclusions drawn depends 
 upon the question, whether all the facts, have been duly taken 
 account of. 
 
QUANTITY OF FOOD. 
 
 27 
 
 a slight gain from the animal food ; and as 
 their laying was not remarkable in either case, 
 it seems to us probable that with prolific 
 layers this difference would have remained 
 more prominent. With ducklings, the addition 
 of the bone-ash made the results " much better," 
 but the animal-food ration was still much the best. 
 
 In these experiments 1,000 chickens and 170 
 ducklings were fed to marketable size, and 90 
 laying hens and 40 cockerels were fed for 
 lengthy periods, " so that the evidence has the 
 weight of time and numbers." The results are 
 of great interest and importance. They show 
 that if all ingredients are supplied, we may in 
 the main depend upon " substitutions " in our 
 dietaries ; though in regard to eggs, and still 
 more in regard to ducklings, there is something 
 in animal food which nothing else can quite 
 supply. And they demonstrate incidentally 
 the reason for the marked effect of bone-meal 
 in rearing chickens. But their chief lesson is 
 the proof they afford of the necessary place of 
 an adequate supply of salts, or mineral' matter, 
 in a complete dietary. That such was necessary 
 to constitution has long been known, and for 
 complaints like "rickets" the administration 
 of phosphates has long been recognised. But 
 an impression has undoubtedly existed that 
 such ingredients had to do mainly with the 
 strength of the bony skeleton of the animal ; 
 whereas these experiments show that even for 
 growth generally, or for egg-production, an 
 adequate supply of mineral salts is essential to 
 a good dietary, and must be artificially made up 
 where deficient, and especially where grain food 
 only is used. 
 
 It will need no direct proof, that any fixed 
 quantity of food rriust be a mistake. If we give 
 at all times, to all fowls, the food 
 Quajitity needed by an incessant layer, we 
 
 Food. are forcing the system in a way 
 
 that must cause ill results; even the 
 layer will be probably " worn out " earlier, and 
 should be' killed in good time. On the other 
 hand, if we only give "living" diet to laying 
 hens, they cannot lay many eggs. If a hen has 
 no more than this, she has nothing for eggs, and 
 can only produce a few, at the cost of becoming 
 a skeleton. Of course no fowls are ever fed so 
 
 scantily as this ; all receive considerably more 
 than' a mere subsistence dietary, and hence are, 
 able to supply us with some eggs, it may be a 
 very fair supply in comparison with what Nature 
 has intended. But if we want her to lay 
 copiously and for long periods, we must give her 
 still more ; in proportion, however, to what she is 
 inherently capable of turning into eggs. Hence 
 we need to sort out fowls into ages and laying 
 qualities, and even feed the same birds differ- 
 ently when in full lay, from what we do when 
 resting. It is all the simplest common-sense 
 reduced to figures, and quite easy to under- 
 stand, but it requires constant watchfulness and 
 care. 
 
 On the whole, therefore, it appears that the 
 best general method will be, to plan a main 
 standard dietary in various judicious ways (for 
 prices must be studied, and mere change of 
 itself is greatly in favour of health and appetite) 
 according to a normally balanced ratio of 1:4! 
 or 1 : 5, and adding to it in confinement a little 
 animal food for all fowls, but especially provid- 
 ing, by that means or other nitrogenous food, 
 and fat, the special requirements of growing, or 
 fattening, or laying stock. As the requirements 
 of rapidly growing and of laying stock are very 
 similar, any. difficulty in accomplishing this is 
 much diminished. But a constant watch must 
 be kept upon the egg supply, the demeanour of 
 the fowls when feeding, and their apparent con- 
 dition. Out of a flock forced for laying, there 
 is always liable to be a portion which, perhaps 
 only temporarily, divert the high diet into 
 injurious channels, and should be withdrawn 
 from it till able to respond in the required 
 direction. The more forcing and nitrogenous 
 the diet, the more carefully must quantity be 
 watched, and as a rule somewhat decreased ; 
 the more plentiful and constant must be the 
 green food ; and the more constant the vigilance 
 exercised over the whole. And during moult, 
 or any other period of prolonged rest, a forcing 
 laying diet should obviously be somewhat, 
 modified. It is always to be remembered that 
 when such diet is not being actually converted 
 into the eggs or the flesh desired, it must have 
 some other effect, which will probably be 
 injurious. 
 
28 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF FOWLS. 
 
 SUCCESS in poultry-keeping, on the smallest 
 scale or the largest alike, requires sufificient 
 interested attention from someone quali- 
 fied to give it. We have found uniformly during 
 many years, that with the rare exceptions where 
 they themselves can be brought to take, or natur- 
 ally take, a strong interest in the matter — such 
 exceptions being worth their weight in gold — 
 servants or labourers cannot be relied upon for 
 long together to mix food properly, to give it 
 carefully, to keep things clean, to work steadily, 
 or to see to many other matters essential to 
 economy or well-being. If there are children in 
 a family old enough to undertake a small stock, 
 they will be alike benefited and pleased by 
 looking after the fowls, and soon grasp the 
 proper ways of doing it. If not, or on a larger 
 scale, the owner must either see to things 
 personally, or take such oversight as shall 
 persistently secure proper economy of labour, 
 and care of his birds and of their feeding. If 
 this cannot be done, it will be best not to 
 attempt keeping fowls j even a few, without 
 such care, would probably' become a nuisance 
 and prove a loss. 
 
 Whatever be the scale of operations, again, 
 some general system of management should 
 be pursued ; and it is obvious that 
 A System gu^h a system must differ, as will 
 Management, somewhat the kinds or breeds of 
 fowls selected, according to the ex- 
 tent of the accommodation, and the objects 
 desired. Let us take again the very smallest 
 scale; supposing that some supply of eggs 
 for household use is the end in view, and that a 
 small house and run as described in Chapter I. 
 is all that can be given up to the fowls. In such 
 circumstances exhibition is quite out of reach, 
 and even chicken-rearing is practically im- 
 possible, unless it can be carried on in some 
 run and place of shelter quite independent of 
 the other ; and yet a few fowls can be kept so 
 as to be a source of continual interest, and yield 
 a good return upon their cost. 
 
 The proper plan in such a case will be to 
 purchase in the spring a number of hens pro- 
 portioned to the size of the run, and none ex- 
 
 ceeding a year old. A cock is useless, as hens 
 lay very nearly, if not quite, as well without one. 
 These birds, if in good health and condition, 
 will either be already laying, or will commence 
 almost immediately ; and if properly managed 
 will ensure a constant supply of eggs until the 
 autumnal moulting season.* Whenever a hen 
 shows any desire to sit, the propensity must be 
 checked as hereafter described. But it is much 
 better to avoid all this by keeping only a non- 
 sitting breed, such as one of the Spanish, Leg- 
 horn, Hamburgh, or French varieties. Ham- 
 burghs are not suitable for a confined shed 
 alone. 
 
 To buy only young and healthy birds is very 
 important. An experienced hand can tell an 
 old fowl at a glance, but it is rather difficult to 
 impart this knowledge to a beginner, for no one 
 sign is infallible. In general, however, it may 
 be said that the legs of the young hen look 
 delicate and smooth, her comb and wattles soft 
 and fresh, and her general outline, even in good 
 condition (unless fattened for the table), rather 
 light and graceful ; whilst an old one will have 
 rather hard horny-looking shanks, her comb and 
 wattles look somewhat harder, drier, and more 
 " scurfy," and her figure is well filled out. At- 
 tempt should also be made to secure birds of a 
 really good laying family or strain, for each 
 breed differs much in individuals. Good laying 
 
 is now beginning to be bred for, as 
 Good Layers, much as fancy points, and such birds, 
 
 or eggs from them, are now adver- 
 tised in the principal poultry papers. Perhaps 
 their price may be an objection for a small 
 family stock, however; and to a large extent 
 good layers can be selected even by " eye," from 
 fine common country fowls. They should have 
 good sized combs, but not too large, very fresh 
 and red-looking faces, and a neat, alert, intelli- 
 gent expression. A faded, dispirited look in a 
 
 * It is really as well, and often better, to start about October 
 with April pullets. Our reason for not recommending this so 
 much to the absolute beginner, is that he may get into the habit 
 of attendmg to the fowls before the winter comes on, when it 
 might be felt more of a tax if then confronted for the first time. 
 Also eggs will come sooner, and a little " hen-fruit " is a great 
 encouragement. 
 
SELECTION OF STOCK. 
 
 29 
 
 young bird is- a sure sign of a poor layer. Be- 
 yond this it is not possible to go, and pictures 
 pretending to represent "good layers" and "bad 
 layers," by dealers who make pretence of know- 
 ing more than anybody else, only produce in 
 the experienced breeder a smile of derision. 
 
 Directly these hens stop laying in the autumn, 
 and before they have lost condition by moulting, 
 they should, unless they have proved unusually 
 satisfactory, be either killed or sold off, and 
 replaced by pullets hatched in March or April, 
 which will have feathered early. These again, 
 still supposing proper food and good housing, 
 will begin producing eggs by November at 
 farthest, and continue, more or less, till the 
 February or March following. They will not 
 stop laying long, and the young birds should 
 be retained till the autumn, when all but very 
 excellent layers must be got rid of ; such are 
 worth keeping for another year. But if a few 
 fowls only be kept for eggs, it is essential to 
 success that every autumn the stock be thus 
 replenished with pullets hatched early in the 
 spring. By no other means can eggs at this 
 season be relied upon. 
 
 When chickens can be reared there is a wider 
 choice of breeds, including such as lay the 
 coveted brown &%^. Of these may be mentioned 
 Plymoijth Rocks, Brahmas, Langshans, Orping- 
 tons, Wyandottes, and others ; but the qualities 
 of various breeds are more fully dealt with in 
 later chapters. We prefer pure breeds, or first 
 crosses ; but the cost of such may stand in the 
 way with some, and has to be taken into con- 
 sideration. Pure stock has now become so 
 widely distributed that the common fowls of 
 the country are often nearly pure or cross-bred, 
 and almost always enormously improved com- 
 pared with what we remember in our youth ; 
 and so far as profitable domestic .results go, 
 success may be attained with good ordinary or 
 " barn-door " fowls. Care must be taken in the 
 selection. They should be young, sprightly- 
 looking birds, and for laying, with nice tight- 
 Icoking plumage. They ought to be chosen 
 from a country yard where their parents have 
 been well fed. If such be obtained, they will 
 repay the purchaser, and are better than weedy 
 and debilitated birds of the "fancy" class. Of 
 course this last remark does not apply to mere 
 faults of colour. Fowls are often to be met with at 
 a moderate price, which from sonie irregularity 
 are quite disqualified as show birds, but which 
 possess all the economic merits of the breed to 
 which they belong. And those merits are very 
 real, in spite of all the railing against exhibition 
 poultry on the part- of some who ought to know 
 better. After all is said, it is still the " fancier" 
 
 who gets eggs, when other people get none ! 
 But the little we wish to say on that subject 
 belongs to a subsequent chapter; we are only 
 here pointing out that for eggs or table fowls 
 only, good cross-bred fowls are to be found 
 which will answer every purpose, and that such 
 a supply is mainly due to the work during long 
 years of the much-abused " fancier." 
 
 In regard to chickens reared at home, the 
 same care must be given to the time of hatching, 
 if the best results are to be obtained. 
 Date of Birth It has been often said that a pullet 
 and Laying, must begin to lay at a given age ; 
 but this we have found, by system- 
 atic experiments, is by no means the case, 
 a difference of months being caused by the 
 time of hatching. If the age of five months 
 finds a pullet belonging to one of the specifically 
 " laying " breeds in the midst of warm weather 
 — say August — eggs may be expected about 
 that time ; indeed, great care is needed if it is 
 desired to prevent laying at such an age. But 
 birds hatched in May will complete their sixth 
 month in October ; and in some cases eggs will 
 not then be procured before Christmas, if even 
 then, unless the feeding be most carefully ad- 
 justed. Still later hatched — let us suppose June 
 — it will be next spring before many of the 
 pullets are producing eggs, and ere this occurs 
 some of them will be at least nine months old. 
 Ordinary fowls become broody oftener in May 
 and June than .any other months, and the bright 
 warm days tempt the proprietor to choose that 
 time for hatching the chickens. The latter do 
 well ; they enjoy themselves, and thrive, and 
 grow ; but they do not pay : whereas chickens 
 hatched from the middle to the end of March, 
 or in April, will require more attention certainly, 
 and call for self-denial occasionally, in the shape 
 of braving bad weather to see they are duly 
 cared for ; but will often, if in reach of a town 
 market, repay the whole of their cost before 
 New Year. Pullets hatched early will moult 
 early also, not only getting better and more 
 quickly through the process, and having warmer 
 weather for it, but getting ready to commence 
 laying in good time again. 
 
 Too early hatching, on the other hand, 
 should be avoided ; that is, for ordinary domestic 
 purposes. The last half of March and first half 
 of April is about the best general time, though 
 up to the end of April, or with some breeds 
 early May, is not too late. So very early as 
 many exhibitors hatch — in January and February 
 — leads to quite different results ; as such birds 
 often lay in the late sumriier and early autumn, 
 and then moult like adult fowls, stopping after- 
 wards for several months. This extra-early 
 
3° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 season for first laying is of use where large 
 numbers of laying hens are kept to supply the 
 market, as they keep up the succession of eggs, 
 which are scarcest of all in the autumn. But 
 for a small number, our rule will be the sound 
 one. One third the stock in late summer should 
 consist of pullets hatched the March or April 
 previous ; another third of hens a year older ; 
 another third of hens to be killed or sold cts soon 
 as they stop at moult. The old hens are thus 
 regularly replaced by pullets six months old, 
 which begin to lay almost at once, and are 
 followed in laying by the hens as they finish 
 moulting. Even if only half a dozen fowls are 
 kept for laying, this is the plan to be followed ; 
 each autumn the three oldest should be killed 
 or sold, and three pullets bought. With fairly 
 good layers there will then be a nearly constant 
 supply of eggs.* 
 
 We have next to consider the practical 
 feeding of our fowls, on the principles ex- 
 plained in the preceding chapter. 
 Quantity j^ regard to quantity little need be 
 
 Food. added. It has already been shown 
 
 why any fixed quantity must be 
 more or less injurious ; w.e do not even know 
 very definitely what is the bare necessary " sub- 
 sistence " quantity for a fowl. German experi- 
 ments place it, for cattle, at about one-fiftieth 
 part of the animal's weight, and some writers 
 have taken that proportion ; but other experi- 
 ments show that the smaller the body, the 
 larger fraction of its weight is needed for food, 
 and the greater activity of the fowl must also 
 be considered. As a rule, we are satisfied that 
 most farmers' fowls get too little food, and other 
 people's, except those of experienced breeders, 
 too much. The only safe general rule on this 
 head is to give food as long as the fowls eat 
 eagerly, and no more. That is not nearly what 
 they would eat, or even eat with readiness : it 
 means that as soon as they seem to be thinking 
 about anything else than eating what is nearest 
 them as fast as possible, or to choose amongst 
 the food before them, the supply should be 
 stopped. Many people, at first, will not think 
 this enough, when they see the birds run or fly 
 as if starving when feeding time comes round ; 
 but that is the sort of appetite that means 
 health and vigour, in full-grown birds. To eat 
 to repletion is always bad. 
 
 * These remarks apply chiefly to the average climate of the 
 British Islands, and would be modified in other countries. In 
 North America the best month for hatching, for general purposes 
 IS May, up to the end. The weather before that is often severe' 
 and the warm dry season enables the birds to make more rapid 
 progress ; so that an American fowl hatched in May is often as 
 forward as a British specimen a month older, by the end of 
 the year. 
 
 While this is a general rule, however, there 
 may be exceptions, due to ill-health or other 
 circumstances : for instance, a good and gallant 
 cock would never get enough on this system. 
 The condition of the birds should therefore be 
 always kept watch upon, by occasionally feeling 
 them at night. The fair " condition " weight for 
 birds of their size should be estimated, and if 
 they are found too heavy, or poor and light, the 
 necessary modification should be made. In 
 practice, the average quantity per mieal for the 
 whole pen or each pen of birds, will be known 
 very soon by any intelligent person. 
 
 The nature and time of each meal also needs 
 consideration. Beginners who are not instructed 
 often believe still, that grain is the 
 Soft and only proper food for fowls, as it is 
 
 Hard Food. the most "natural." Even people 
 who ought to know better, harp 
 upon this idea of "natural" food. It is true 
 enough that Nature makes no mistakes in her 
 own domain, but this is not her domain exactly. 
 If we are to follow Nature, we must follow her 
 altogether, and we must be content with her 
 results. In this case Nature intends her fowl to 
 be at perfect liberty, to get grass and herbs and 
 insects and worms ad libitum, as well as seeds, 
 and to lay either one, or at most two nests 
 of eggs in the year, in the warm season. She 
 also makes her subject find its food grain by 
 grain, with abundant exercise, and never dis- 
 tending the crop. The result is splendid health, 
 and hard condi'tion, but no profit. We keep our 
 birds in more or less confinement, even fair 
 grass-runs yielding few insects ; and we want 
 either tender flesh, or many times the natural 
 number of eggs. Such a copious product de- 
 mands quicker digestion, and a greater amount 
 of food. This we provide for by grinding up a 
 considerable portion of the grain into meal, and 
 mixing this with water into a paste, usually 
 called soft food or mash. It is best, as a rule, to 
 give this soft food in the morning. The birds 
 have passed a whole night since they were last 
 fed ; and it is important, especially in cold 
 weather, that a fresh supply should as soon as 
 possible be got into the system, and not merely 
 into the crop. Now, if grain be given, it has to 
 be ground in the gizzard before it is digested ; and 
 on a cold winter's morning the delay is anything 
 but beneficial. But, for the very same reason, at 
 the evening meal grain forms the best food 
 which can be supplied ; it is digested more 
 slowly, and during the long, cold nights affords 
 support and warmth to the fowls. Let the 
 sceptical reader make one simple experiment. 
 Give the fowls a feed of meal, say at five o'clock 
 in the evening ; at twelve visit the roosts and feel 
 
MORNING OR EVENING MASH. 
 
 31 
 
 the crops of the birds. All will be empty ; the 
 gizzard has nothing to act upon, and the food 
 speedily disappears, leaving with an empty 
 stomach, to cope with the long cold hours 
 before dawn, the most hungry and incessant 
 feeder of all God's creatures. But if the last 
 feed has been grain, the crop will still be found 
 partially full, and the birds will awake in the 
 morning hearty, strengthened, and refreshed, 
 though healthily hungry. 
 
 While we are fully satisfied, however, after 
 attentive observation and trial of other systems, 
 that this is the best for the usual 
 Eve^nf"' conditions of poultry-keeping in 
 Mash. England, there may be exceptions, 
 
 and especially where climatic con- 
 ditions are widely different. As indicated in 
 the first chapter, in North America the severity 
 and snows of the winter necessitate in most 
 cases entire vacation of the open runs for 
 months together, during which the birds are 
 confined in covered sheds, colloquially termed 
 " scratchin^-sheds," open to the front when 
 possible, but sometimes needing protection even 
 there. Let any English breeder ask himself 
 how he would like the prospect of keeping say 
 fifteen fowls, shut in entirely for months together 
 within a space of only ten feet square, beside 
 their house ; not only, be it observed, to keep 
 them in health, but to force them by high 
 feeding into prolific laying. He will then 
 appreciate the difficulty of the .task : how, in 
 particular, would such a one dread an outbreak 
 of feather-eating! The task can be, and is, 
 only accomplished by providing the most active 
 occupation and exercise. This is mainly 
 effected by keeping the floor deep in straw or 
 other scratching litter, in which a little grain is 
 always kept scattered and buried ; for, as one 
 American breeder said to us, " If, the hens find 
 nothing by scratching, they get discouraged and 
 won't scratch at all." On the other hand, they 
 must not find grain very easily or too quickly, 
 or they get too much. Some of these American 
 poultry-farmers state, as their experience, that if 
 the birds have a good meal of soft food for 
 breakfast, they stand about satisfied, and will 
 not scratch for more, and upon this idleness the 
 usual mischiefs follow, besides the egg-yield 
 falling off. Hence many of them prefer to give 
 nothing in the morning but sufficient grain, 
 which is well worked into the scratching-litter, 
 and which keeps the hens busily active all day ; 
 in the middle of the day green food and cut 
 bone; and last of all there is a good feed of 
 mash or soft food before going to roost. 
 
 These considerations are of great weight, 
 and some of the best averages of egg-production 
 
 before us have been attained under this system 
 of feeding, whilst the preceding one is freely 
 pronounced "antiquated" by some prominent 
 American writers. It may be freely granted 
 that any system is fairly vindicated by good 
 results, and even that in such circumstances, of 
 long-continued close confinement, it may be 
 well to adopt it. But the argument, or even 
 the experience, does not present the whole truth. 
 Even in America there are not a few who still 
 adhere to the other system, and attain just as 
 good results by it. Some of these reply to the 
 advocates of evening mash, that their failures 
 with the other plan were their own fault, for 
 carelessly giving the birds so much as to make 
 them torpid and idle. They do not feed so 
 carelessly, but give a somewhat " short " break- 
 fast of mash, after which their fowls, they say, 
 are just as much disposed to hunt and scratch as 
 the others'. There are plenty of farmers who 
 state that they have tried the evening mash, and 
 still prefer the morning one, when thus properly 
 managed. This appears to us to be the truth. 
 In very close confinement, if fattening and 
 sterility and feather-eating are to be avoided, 
 the morning meal of soft food must be carefully 
 and rigidly limited, so that the birds are kept 
 active afterwards, even in their small space. 
 This requires time, and care, and intelligence ; 
 and if sufficient of these cannot be bestowed 
 upon the feeding, it will be safest to give the 
 mash at the evening feed. Where there- is 
 adequate open run, however, as is frequently 
 the case, and which in Great Britain is available 
 all the year, this danger does not occur, and a 
 morning mash not too plentifully apportioned 
 unquestionably gives the best results, and will 
 be the best general rule. 
 
 Where only a few fowls are kept, to supply 
 eggs for a moderate family, the soft food may 
 
 be provided almost for nothing by 
 Various Kinds boiling daily the potato peelings till 
 Mash. soft, and mashing them up with 
 
 enough bran, slightly scalded, to 
 make a tolerably stiff and dry paste. The 
 peelings must be boiled soft and mealy, a;nd 
 chopped up rather small. There will be sufficient 
 of this if the fowls kept do not exceed one for 
 each member of the household ; and as the 
 peelings cost nothing, and the bran very little, 
 one-half the food is provided at a merely nominal 
 expense. A very little salt should be added, and 
 in winter a slight seasoning of pepper will tend 
 to keep the hens in good health and laying. This 
 food may be mixed boiling hot over night, and 
 covered with a cloth, or be put in the oven : in 
 either case it will remain warm till morning — 
 the condition in which it should always be given 
 
32 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 in cold weather. Potato peelings may be, if 
 necessary, eked out by scraps from the dinner 
 table, and part of these are very valuable, especi- 
 ally the lean meat; but caution is necessary. 
 Often such scraps consist chiefly of bread-crusts 
 and fat. In neither is there ariy appreciable 
 egg-material, and if too much of them be given, 
 prejudicial fattening with muscular weakness is 
 sure to occur. They can be used to a certain 
 extent, but if they abound, only so far that they 
 shall not exceed between one-third to one-half 
 the bulk of the food, the rest being made up of 
 sharps, or sharps with bran. To give more will 
 be no economy, owing to the evil effects. The 
 green vegetables will be beneficial, if any are 
 left. To have much bread-scraps denotes of 
 course great waste in a household. In any case, 
 all the scraps used should go into the break- 
 fast, and not be given in addition, as many do. 
 Table scraps always need care and judgnient in 
 use, and we have traced many failures in domestic 
 poultry-keeping to the practice of giving a fair 
 breakfast of meal food, and then household 
 scraps at mid-day beside. No fowls could long 
 withstand such a regimen as that ; first eggs 
 must fail, and finally liver congestion will carry 
 off the victims. 
 
 In the case of larger numbers of fowls, some 
 definite " mash " will have to be decided upon 
 for each day, or week, or more ; a certain variety 
 should be studied for the sake of health and 
 appetite, and the market will also have to be 
 consulted. Either ground oats, or a really good 
 sample of middlings will be quite suitable alone : 
 oatmeal (or hulled oats coarsely ground) is dear 
 food by weight for mere egg-production, in 
 spite of its admirable qualities ; but it is all 
 food, and goes far. If only for variety, the mash 
 will usually have tb be compounded. In this 
 there is room for endless combina,tion, but on 
 that head sufficient has been said in the preced- 
 ing chapter. Merely as further examples, we 
 will quote here three different mashes from 
 different sources in America, where the subject 
 has been very systematically studied, (i) Equal 
 weights of maize meal, ground oats, bran, and 
 fine middlings. Here it will be seen that the 
 oats and middlings are fairly high in ratio, and 
 that the maize is balanced by the bran ; but it 
 is a common practice to further mix in this 
 mash I lb. of cut bone, or scrap meat, or meat- 
 meal, to each twenty-five hens. (2) Middlings 
 100 lbs., maize-meal (coarsely ground) 75 lbs., 
 gkten-meal (an American product) 25 lbs., 
 clover-meal 80 lbs., meat-meal 35 lbs. These 
 are weighed dry, mixed with boiling water at 
 night, and kept covered and warm to cook until 
 morning ; the mixture is from a successful egg- 
 
 farm, and represents a high forcing diet. (3) 
 Pea-meal 20 lbs., bran 30 lbs., oatmeal 15 lbs., 
 barley-meal 10 lbs., meat-meal 20 lbs., wheat- 
 meal 10 lbs., linseed-meal 15 lbs., clover-meal 
 40 lbs. We have selected this as an absolutely 
 foolish extreme, the ratio being the tremend- 
 ously high one of I : 2. One would also have 
 thought such a complicated mixture unwise. . 
 But a bulletin issued in 1896 from the Agricul- 
 tural Department, U.S., afifirms as the result of 
 experiment that " in forcing fowls for egg-pro- 
 duction it is found best to make up a ration 
 of many kinds of grain. This invariably gives 
 better results than one or two kinds, although 
 the nutritive ratio of the ration may be about 
 the same. It has been found by experiment 
 that the fowls not only relish their ration more 
 when composed of many kinds of grain, but 
 that a somewhat larger percentage of the whole 
 ration is digested than when it is composed of 
 fewer ingredients." 
 
 The clover-meal here used is clover hay 
 coarsely ground ; and some use clover hay 
 cut into fine chaff. In either case the clover 
 has boiling water poured on it at night, and 
 is left covered over with a cloth to "steep" 
 and soften till morning, or the entire mixed 
 mash may be left to cook in the same way. 
 The birds then eat it eagerly, but if given raw 
 or unsteeped, clover hay repels them. 
 
 We give one more mash as fed to, his White ' 
 Leghorns by Mr. WyckofT, who obtained an 
 average of 196 eggs from a flock of no less than 
 600 in all. It comprised lOO lbs. maize, ground 
 fine, 200 lbs. oats, ground fine, 150 lbs. bran, 
 about 8 lbs. dried beef scraps, all moistened with 
 skim milk, which added to the albuminoids. At 
 noon, green faod was given — mangolds or 
 cabbage in ^vinter, clover or kale in summer, 
 with sometimes a sprinkle of grain in the litter. 
 At night they had mixed grain— in winter 
 equal quantities of wheat, oats, good buckwheat, 
 and maize; in summer the maize was reduced 
 one-half The use of bran, as rich in albuminoids, 
 and laxative, is very general in America. 
 
 Some of the prepared foods are exceedingly 
 good, and palatable, and convenient, but of 
 course more expensive ; for domestic use, how- 
 ever, this is balanced by household contribu- 
 tions. Spratt and similar biscuit-meals are useful 
 in this way, and liverine we have already 
 mentioned as an albuminoid corrective ; a mash 
 of barley-meal, sharps, and liverine would be 
 very good, or one of biscuit-meal, bran, and 
 potato peelings. We would only repeat, that 
 while very useful as food, bran may occasionally 
 cause intestinal irritation. This effect is not very 
 frequent, but a watch should be kept where 
 
MIXING AND FEEDING. 
 
 33 
 
 much bran is used, and on any symptoms of 
 chronic diarrhoea the food should be changed for 
 a while. It is quite possible that only special 
 samples may be in fault. We have already 
 said that some addition of malt-culms adds a 
 great deal to the digestibility of such materials. 
 
 How the soft meat is given will depend on 
 circumstances. Supposing a yard to be toler- 
 ably dry and clean, and that the 
 Feeding proprietor or his servant can spend 
 
 Vessels. ^ fg^ minutes over the fowls, it will 
 
 be best to scatter it freely over the 
 ground. Properly mixed, little dust or dirt will 
 adhere to it, and every bird will get its share. 
 But if the weather be wet this will hardly do, 
 neither will it if the birds are: confined in the 
 shed, floored as this is with loosQ dust or sand. 
 In such cases any common dish will do to put 
 the food in, the quantity which the fowls need 
 having been found by previous observation. A 
 large garden saucer will answer, but if a dish 
 can be procured with straight sides (as in Fig. 1 5) 
 
 Loose covers are best, supported on vertical 
 bars or wires, as in Fig, 17. These can be 
 
 F'g- 17- — Loose Cover. 
 
 obtained of appliance manufacturers in great 
 variety, to fit loosely over various forms of 
 troughs. For a rather smaller number, troughs 
 with a cover hinged so as to fall back (Fig. 18) 
 are more convenient. Something of this sort is 
 > better than an open trough whenever more than 
 five or six fowls are fed together, for the reason 
 that if they are properly hungry, they are too 
 busy getting their own heads through the wires 
 to pay much attention to driving others away. 
 
 tig. IS- 
 
 Fig 16. 
 
 it will be better, as the fowls cannot then turn 
 it over when they step on the edges, as they are 
 apt to do with a dish wider at the top than the 
 bottom : also they cannot rake the food out so 
 readily with their beaks. A useful vessel for 
 feeding a few poultry is one (Fig. 16) designed 
 by the late Mr. E. Jones, a celebrated Spanish 
 breeder of Bristol, which would be readily made 
 in quantities of a dozen at any pottery. This 
 dish is circular in shape, and of the section 
 represented, thus presenting a saucer at both top 
 and bottom, the size being about eight inches 
 across, and five inches deep. If the wide face 
 be placed on the ground, the saucer with up- 
 right sides contains the soft food (which cannot 
 be scratched or raked out), stands perfectly firm 
 and steady even if perched upon, and is suffi- 
 ciently raised to prevent dirt being scattered into 
 the food. When turned the other way it forms 
 a water vessel, also raised from the ground, and 
 which, from the slanting sides, does not touch 
 the combs of Spanish or other large-combed 
 breeds, for which the ordinary poultry-fountain 
 is not suitable on account of the size of that 
 appendage. 
 
 Troughs or vessels for larger numbers of 
 
 fowls — such as twenty-five birds kept in one lot 
 
 for laying purposes — often need to be protected, 
 
 to keep the birds from walking over the food. 
 
 F 
 
 Fig. 18. — Hinged Cover. 
 
 Such a trough, whether covered or not, must be 
 large enough for all the fowls to get to it at 
 once. A plain open dish, however, does per- 
 fectly well for a few fowls. 
 
 The proper mixing of the soft food is impor- 
 tant. By far the larger number of servants will 
 
 mix it too wet and sloppy, to save 
 Mixing a few seconds additional time ; and 
 
 Soft Food. give it as a sticky, porridgy mass 
 
 which clings round the beaks of the 
 fowls. Such feeding often causes diarrhoea, and 
 in any case will rarely produce a proper egg- 
 return. It is a universal rule that soft food 
 should be so mixed that while none of the meal 
 be left in powder or dry, the whole be so firm 
 and " short " that a mass of it will break into 
 fragments if thrown upon the ground ; not on any 
 account sticking with a " smack" as when a boy 
 throws his lurnp of clay against a wall. All 
 meal can be mixed this way if properly done, 
 which is by stirring the water first well in with 
 a spoon or stick, all remaining apparently too 
 dry to mix thoroughly, and then kneading 
 and squeezing it together in the hands. Food 
 so mixed does twice the good, for the simple 
 reasons that it is both more wholesome in itself, 
 and more enjoyed. Meal combined with turnips 
 or potatoes need not be mixed quite so dry ; but 
 
34 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 all mash, rightly prepared, will be hard enough 
 to be rolled out with a roller into a sheet, if 
 required. Some good feeders prepare it thus, 
 rolling it out and cutting the sheet into sntiall 
 finger pieces, which are thrown to the fowls ; but 
 when mixed " short " as above described, it will 
 break up easily without this trouble. We should 
 advise all mash being mixed with boiling water, 
 so as to " scald " the ingredients, but it should 
 only be given moderately warm. The warmth 
 greatly promotes health and laying, especially 
 in cold weather ; and the food being a little 
 swelled, and in fact really half-cooked before it 
 is eaten, it goes farther, leaving less husk in the 
 excrement. Where hay or clover chaff is used 
 it must be scalded over night, for the reasons 
 already given. The most celebrated and success- 
 ful poultry superintendents we know always 
 mix with boiling water ; and where the contrary 
 plan had been followed, and by their advice 
 changed for this method, a marked improve- 
 ment in ^the condition of the birds has invariably 
 followed. We are not now considering prize 
 poultry, it is true ; but these men have spent 
 their lives in studying the management of fowls, 
 and what they find best for birds worth a score 
 of pounds each ■ will also be best for commoner 
 fowls, such as can be bought for a few shillings. 
 Grown fowls never require more than three 
 meals per day, and are often better with two, 
 
 but which really is the best depends 
 j^g^lg^'' °^ upon what care and attention can be 
 per Day. given. With even a fair open run 
 
 to tempt them to walk about, and 
 still more with a grass run, the birds will not get 
 lazy with a fair breakfast : if the proprietor sees 
 them standing about afterwards he may be sure 
 they had too much. Such a breakfast, however, 
 with the green food and etceteras they will 
 either pick up or have given to them, will carry 
 them on comfortably till the evening, when 
 they should have a good feed of grain. Un- 
 doubtedly, however, it would be better to give a 
 more scanty breakfast, such as would leave a 
 tolerable appetite behind, and to give a very 
 slight sprinkle of grain at mid-day; the mis- 
 chief is, that the majority of those who give 
 such an extra feed give it in addition to what 
 is really an ample breakfast, and so the birds 
 get overfed. 
 
 To keep fowls entirely confined in a shed in 
 good health and laying, however, demands very 
 careful attention to the considerations already 
 referred to, drawn from American experience 
 where keeping them in a shed is necessarily 
 practised wholesale. Here a scanty breakfast 
 of mash is indicated, to be supplemented by a 
 scanty feed of grain, well hidden under litter so 
 
 that it may occupy hours to find and eat a1! 
 of it. The litter, for which straw, shells of grain, 
 etc., are used in America, is, however, a diflSculty 
 in England, where there is no space to dispose 
 of it when soiled, and material is not so avail- 
 able. The best plan seems to be to adhere to 
 the scanty breakfast, and add a scanty noon- 
 day feed, but to work a little grain well into 
 the loose material on the floor, well burying it, 
 so that the birds may be kept scratching mean- 
 while : other expedients are mentioned presently 
 in considering the question of green food. Let 
 us repeat once more, that while a slight mid-day 
 feed is better in itself, it must always be 
 deducted from the breakfast, and the effect of the 
 total always checked by now and then exam- 
 ining the birds at night, as- already remarked. 
 
 Grain is better not mixed. The fowls get 
 
 more change if fed only one kind of grain at a 
 
 time ; and if two or three kinds are needed to 
 
 balance the dietary, the same effect 
 
 ■ Choice ^yjii |jg produced, in practice, by 
 
 Grain. giving one at a time on two, or 
 
 three successive days, or a different 
 
 grain for the noon-day feed. It has been already 
 
 indicated, that on a really wide range fowls will 
 
 thrive and lay well on grain alone. 
 
 The quality of all grain should be carefully 
 looked after. Barley should be fair malting 
 quality, not the narrow husky kind. Of oats, 
 mixed horse-meat is useless ; only heavy white 
 oatSj 40-42 lbs. per bushel, are good for fowls. 
 Much buckwheat offered is either old dried-up 
 grain, or kiln-dried ; it is the fresh dark grain 
 "that is wanted. Of maize, the small round sort 
 is best. "Poultry mixture" should be reli- 
 giously avoided. It generally consists of the 
 poorest samples, and prevents the birds getting . 
 any change. " Sweepings " sometimes contain 
 poisonous substances, and should never be seen 
 in a poultry-yard. Fresh brewers' grains are 
 sometimes beneficial as a stimulant, are cheap 
 and liked by the fowls, and have a food value, 
 but of course are only obtainable in the neigh- 
 bourhood of breweries. The respective food 
 values of the different kinds of grain, on an 
 average of good samples, will be found in the 
 preceding chapter. Fowls rarely refuse any 
 kind if kept in proper condition ; when they 
 do, they have probably been overfed. 
 
 What is termed " cockle-seed," which is not, 
 as might be supposed, the seed of the plant of 
 that name, but the refuse screenings of wheat, 
 has been much recommended by a certain 
 County Council lecturer, who is also noteworthy 
 for the statement that 700 fowls may be kept for 
 profit and in health in one house, upon two acres 
 of land, for years in succession. At Liverpool 
 
SUPPLY OF ANIMAL FOOD. 
 
 35 
 
 and similar centres, where wheat is screened for 
 milling in immense quantities, such food may 
 deserve attention ; but it varies much in quality. 
 The chief components are the seeds of mustard, 
 rape, clover, and grass, with sometimes a 
 very little shrivelled wheat, linseed, etc., and the 
 name is given because the screener is called a 
 cockle machine. It is very cheap, and of fair 
 food value on an average, but can only be had 
 in certain localities, and has the objection that 
 the fowls do not like it. Mr. Webster states 
 that he did better with it when ground into 
 meal ; but then the fowls did not hke it unless 
 mixed with other meal : -then they ate it readily. 
 Such cheap food deserves a place iii the dietary 
 where accessible ; btit that will be in few cases, 
 and fowls will pay well enough fed upon good 
 grain. "As might be expected, any general 
 analysis of cockle-seed cannot be given, as it 
 differs widely in character : American is said to 
 be usually the best, and Russian or Danubian 
 the worst in quality. 
 
 The bulk of the food is now provided for, 
 and we have seen that merely to keep the birds 
 
 in health, animal food is not re- 
 Animal quired. But if a good supply of 
 Food. eggs be expected it certainly is. 
 
 The American experiments which 
 have been detailed in the preceding chapter 
 have shown that vegetable albuminoids, even 
 though the ratio be made as high as with meat, 
 have not altogether the same effect, and that 
 some animal food is needed if a high standard of 
 laying is to be kept up. For a small household 
 establishment, the lean portion of the table 
 scraps may furnish sufficient ; if not the bones, 
 cut or broken up very small, will do so, and will 
 be eagerly devoured. Nearly an ounce per 
 day for each bird in full lay will not probably 
 be too much, if they really are prolific layers.; 
 but many only moderate layers could not use 
 .so much rich food in that way, and such hens 
 would therefore be over-stimulated. On a 
 larger scale, bones may be purchased from the 
 butcher and cut in a mill. In America there 
 are many makes of such mills, several of which 
 are also on the English market ; the one shown 
 in Fig. 19 is of Englisji make, and one of the 
 best : all these mills cut the bones up, not crush- 
 ing or breaking them. One caution is, however, 
 necessary concerning bone : it must really be 
 fresh. Tainted bones should never be used, and 
 have been known to work mischief. Where 
 bones cannot be procured, the various forms 
 of granulated dried meat or meat-meal are use- 
 ful ; or bullock's liver, or horseflesh, or sheep's 
 pluck, or any really sound offal may be boiled 
 and minced up, using the broth also in mixing 
 
 the mash. On a wide range, of course the 
 natural supply of worms and insects will more 
 or less reduce the quantity, or may make special 
 provision needless. 
 
 On the whole, the best results are obtained 
 by dividing albuminoids between the animal 
 and vegetable classes. Through a wide extent 
 of American practice, it seems usual to give 
 roughly about half of the extra albuminoids in 
 the shape of cut clover, and half in cut bone ; 
 and this combination appears to answer exceed- 
 ingly well. We need not further refer to malt- 
 dust, pea-meal, and similar articles : but special 
 mention ought perhaps to be made of the high 
 albuminoid value of cabbage, which is so readily 
 grown on small plots of ground, and which in 
 
 Fig. 19. — Furness' Bone Cutter. 
 
 many places in England is more easily obtain- 
 able than clover can be. It is by some American 
 poultry-farmers specially grown for the fowls, and 
 fed to them, being minced or shredded up fine. 
 It is thus given not merely as green food, but 
 as. egg food, of known value, and as paying for 
 itself specially in the egg return ; not only sup- 
 plying albumen itself, but enabling the cooled 
 system to assimilate better the animal food 
 given beside. This seems the special function 
 of clover or cabbage; it cools the. system, and 
 allows of a higher egg-ration than would other- 
 wise be possible without evil. 
 
 This brings us to the question of green or 
 fresh vegetable food in itself, and as such. A 
 regular supply of this is absolutely 
 Green necessary to keep fowls in health. 
 
 Food. all the more so in proportion to the 
 
 confinement of their daily run ; and 
 the want of it, or of sufficient quantity of it, or 
 regularity in giving it, is one of the most 
 frequent causes of failure or disaster. An 
 adequate grass run is of such great value, above 
 ail, as supplying this constantly without further 
 
36 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 trouble or care beyond mowing it occasionally 
 whenever it gets long. Another very good plan, 
 where possible, is to pay children a few pence 
 weekly to bring fresh grass daily, pulled from 
 the roadside. This must not be thrown in as 
 it is, but cut into quarter-inch green chaff, by 
 a- pair of shears or a small machine ; so cut 
 it may either be thrown into the trough by 
 itself, or it is perhaps better mixed in the mash, 
 when all must get their share. The more given 
 the better, so long as it is given regularly, and 
 this plentiful and regular supply is the great 
 preventive of diarrhoea ; but great fluctuations 
 should be avoided, and are, of course, liable to 
 upset the digestive system. Lettuces or cab- 
 bages are excellent, and of distinct food value 
 besides, as referred to above, but are better 
 minced up. The outer cabbage-leaves are not 
 so good ; still, fresh ones will do very well for a 
 small pen, as will other refuse vegetables, pro- 
 vided only sound portions are minced up, and 
 so eaten ; but cabbage stumps left lying about, 
 or large leaves, trodden under foot, become 
 offensive, and may almost be called poisonous. 
 Minced vegetables or fresh green weeds of any 
 kind are usually eaten without leaving any, as 
 are turnips, or beets, or mangolds, minced up 
 small, which are sometimes the only available 
 source of supply in winter. Such roots as 
 the last may also be boiled, and mashed up 
 with the soft food, but should not be reckoned 
 in the weight of the latter. Something of the 
 sort must be given to fowls in conflnement 
 every day, else their bowels sooner or later 
 become disordered, and various ailments and 
 vices occur among them, A very usual and 
 good plan is to give a liberal allowance of 
 green food for the mid-day meal. 
 
 While whole leaves and stumps must not be 
 left about, however, it is often the best plan 
 
 for fowls in close confinement, to 
 Occupation, hang up two or three whole lettuces, 
 
 or the entire half of a split cabbage, 
 or half of a large root, by a string from above, 
 so as to hang loose some inches above ground. 
 This is not as a matter of feeding, however, but 
 in order that pecking at the swinging dainty 
 may give ocalpation, and so prevent feather- 
 eating or other vices of idleness. To find 
 exercise and occupation in some way is of 
 the last importance to fowls penned in a shed. 
 It is for this purpose that American breeders 
 keep the floor inches deep in straw^ leaves, or 
 other litter, under which the grain is buried 
 to be scratched for all day. In many small 
 town establishments so much bulky litter could 
 not be either stored, or in due time got rid of, as 
 is so easy upon an American farm ; but for- 
 
 tunately, in most cases, there is more or less open 
 run, from which fowls in this country are scarcely 
 ever excluded. When they are penned up in a 
 shed, however, the lesson thus given us should be 
 studied. A little grain well raked into the loose 
 material on the floor, and green food given 
 in this special way, or a large bone from the 
 kitchen hung up in similar fashion, will do much 
 to keep the hens busy, and prevent mischief. It 
 also affects laying ; for experiments have shown 
 that a very poor supply of eggs from a pen of 
 birds allowed to become idle and torpid, was 
 soon increased threefold when they were thus 
 induced to work for their living : they also 
 moulted earlier and more quickly than they 
 had done before. 
 
 In addition to their regular food it will be 
 needful that the fowls have a supply of lime, 
 in some shape or other, to form the 
 Lime and shells of their eggs. Old mortar 
 Grit. pounded is excellent, so are oyster 
 
 shells well burnt in the fire and 
 pulverised ; of the latter they are very fond, and 
 it is an excellent plan to keep a large pan full 
 of it in their yard. If this matter has been 
 neglected, and soft shell4ess eggs have resulted, 
 the quickest way of getting matters right again 
 is to add a little lime to the drinking water, or 
 pound up some oyster shells raw. Lime in the 
 drinking water always, however, as some have 
 recommended, is not at all advisable, and has 
 led in several cases within our knowledge tc 
 disease of the kidneys. Where cut bone is 
 regularly fed, it will of itself provide ample shell 
 material. Pounded oyster or other marine shells 
 appear, however, to be specially relished, for 
 which there must be a reason. It probably lies 
 in the supply they afford of mineral salts gener- 
 ally. Lime alone does not supply all the needs 
 of a fowl in confinement, and experiments cited 
 in the preceding chapter show how much effect 
 upon growth, as well as upon laying, was pro- 
 duced by adding the salts contained in bone-ash 
 to a grain and meal dietary. The breeder who 
 cannot provide animal food regularly, or who 
 prefers to keep such food within very, strict 
 moderation,' will not overlook the lesson, and 
 will seek to supply at least adequate mineral 
 matter, in other ways. 
 
 One thing more must on no account be 
 forgotten. This is, some supply of sharp grit or 
 gravel, or other hard substances. Such small 
 stones constitute hen's teeth, anrf without them 
 the gizzard cannot perform its office of grinding 
 up the food. We have seen fowls ailing from 
 apparently this simple neglect alone. Flint 
 grit is easiest to obtain, but some of that sold 
 is too large and too sharp, and has been proved 
 
FOUNTAINS AND WATER SUPPLY. 
 
 37 
 
 sometimes to lacerate the viscera. The best 
 way is to make some flints red-hot, and throw 
 them into cold water ; they will then pound 
 up more easily, and in better condition. Pounded 
 crockery has been advised, but is unsafe, as 
 it often contains lead-glaze ; a.nd pounded glass 
 has several times been known to cause death 
 from internal haemorrhage caused by severe 
 wounds. Grit for young chickens should be 
 very small, only the size of very coarse sand. 
 Some people carry the matter of grit too far, 
 and mix it in the mash .every time. If it 
 is always in reach of the birds, adults will take 
 what they need of it, and on a good mis- 
 cellaneous range they will need no special 
 supply, but pick up all that they require. 
 
 The water supply is, in its way, as important 
 as the food. The water vessel must be filled 
 fresh every day at least, and so 
 Water arranged that the birds cannot 
 
 Supply. scratch dirt into it or make it foul. 
 
 The ordinary poultry-fountain is 
 too well known to need description, but better 
 constructions, made in two parts, are shown 
 
 * Fig. 20, — Water Fountains. 
 
 in Fig. 20. The centre figure is generally made ; 
 both of the two others are patterns made by 
 Spratts, and have some advantages in rather 
 better protection of the surface of the w;ater. The 
 advantages of the double construction are that 
 the interior can be examined, and the vessel 
 well sluiced out to remove the green slime 
 which always collects by degrees. For large- 
 combed breeds it is necessary to use shallow 
 pans ; and Fig. 16 reversed, with the wide part 
 uppermost, is a capital pattern. When the 
 water has to be placed in a shed fijled with 
 loose earth, to which the fowls are confined, 
 it should be a little raised, and a piece of board 
 or other protection be so placed as to protect 
 it from dirt being scratched into it. Grown up 
 fowls must, never be left without water. During 
 a frost, therefore, the fountain should be emptied 
 
 every night, or there will be trouble next 
 morning. Care must always be taken, also, 
 that snow is not allowed to fall into the drinking 
 vessel. The reason has puzzled wiser heads 
 than ours, but any real quantity of snow-water 
 reduces both fowls and birds greatly in con- 
 dition. Stale and sun-heated water is also 
 very injurious, often leading to obscure diseases 
 of an intestinal character ; the fountain should 
 therefore be kept ,in the shade. In very frosty 
 weather it is best to discard fountains for 
 shallow pans, which should be slightly greased; 
 the ice will then not adhere to the sides, and 
 there will be no trouble beyond filling the pans. 
 In this case warm water is also advisable, and 
 will often postpone freezing for hours, but the 
 temperature should not exceed about 120° when 
 poured into the pans. 
 
 Some fowls undoubtedly do themselves 
 harm by over-drinking. This may possibly be 
 set up by some temporary feverish condition ; 
 but it is so common in confinement, that we 
 suspect it is often a mere bad habit. It may be 
 checked to a considerable extent by a bit of 
 camphor in the water, or a few quassia chips, or 
 a little iron. The camphor can do no possible 
 harm, and is some preservative against gapes 
 and catarrh; the very slight tonic effect of the 
 quassia will be rather beneficial than otherwise ; 
 and in cold or wet weather the effect of iron in 
 warding off catarrhal roup is well known. In 
 such weather we would in fact always add iron 
 to the water, in the shape of a small lump of 
 sulphate (green vitriol) the size of a nut to half a 
 gallon, or a teaspoonful of the ordinary chemist's 
 tincture of iron. The sulphate will make the 
 water rusty, but this can be prevented by 
 adding a few drops of sulphuric acid. In hot 
 weather, if it is thought that the fowls are. 
 drinking too freely, it will be better to use the 
 quassia. Drugs of any kind should be used as 
 little as possible while birds appear in good 
 health and condition. 
 
 There is one special time of crisis in every 
 season, however, when all fowls should be 
 
 carefully watched, and need special 
 Moulting. care and' treatment. The process 
 
 of moulting, though a natural one, 
 and usually a healthy one, is "in any case a 
 severe drain upon the system. Before moult 
 freely comes on, the general condition should be 
 ascertained. Those fowls get through moult 
 the best which are just a little spare in body 
 at the commencement, so that they may bear a 
 little extra diet, and slight gradual increase 
 in weight during the process. This should not, 
 however, be begun till new feathers have actually 
 started : whilst casting feathers only, a fowl 
 
38 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 usually has little appetite and should not be 
 forced at all. And too poor condition is bad 
 for them, though over-fat is still worse. Very 
 special care should be taken in mixing their 
 food, and the system kept cool by plenty of 
 green food, which will enable the rather extra 
 food to be better assimilated. A little malt- 
 dust is also exceedingly beneficial in this way, 
 and it is a comparatively recent discovery that 
 a good pinch of powdered sulphur to each bird 
 thrice a week, or every day if the growth of 
 new feathers seems very rapid, has a good 
 effect in helping the new plumage, when it has 
 begun to grow; rape-seed, which contains sulphur, 
 is said to have the same effect. Whether or 
 not animal food has been used before, unless the 
 birds have ample range a little should be given 
 now, and some sunflower-seed will be exceed- 
 ingly beneficial. The birds should be constantly 
 examined, and endeavour made to graduate the 
 feeding so that, if in the proper condition at first, 
 they slightly and slowly increase in weight. 
 Iron tonic should be given as above, right 
 through the process. This is all that is neces- 
 sary for a successful moult ; some special points 
 regarding exhibition stock must be dealt with in 
 the proper place, and it need only be added 
 here that it is very desinable only to keep 
 fowls which moult fairly early. Late moult 
 brings the process into cold and bad weather, 
 when the birds suffer more in any case ; late 
 moults are also apt to be prolonged, and then 
 it is very late before laying is resumed. Late- 
 hatched, birds, which moult late, are therefore 
 never profitable, and should be displaced as 
 soon as possible by others which are more 
 likely to be so. 
 
 Cleanliness in both house and run must be 
 the object of constant, unremitting care, which 
 is perhaps most likely to be neg-- 
 Cleanliness, lected in affairs of the smallest 
 size. It is just where only a few 
 birds are kept, that it is likely to be thought of 
 little consequence, whereas to such a few, if 
 penned up, and especially if entirely within a 
 covered run, it is most of all important, even 
 vital. Large establishments will be, of course, 
 attended to systematically, and the easiest way 
 of keeping the loose material in a number of 
 sheds properly clean from the droppings of the 
 fowls is to rake them daily with such a small- 
 toothed rake as already described, made with 
 about one-eighth inch wires set three-eighths 
 inch apart; and once a week to cast all the 
 material through a mason's riddle. One small 
 shed should be treated similarly, but using a 
 circular wire sieve instead of the riddle. The 
 earth, or ashes, or road-dust should, if possible, 
 
 be sifted in the first place : if so, and it is kept 
 dry, the covered run can be then kept in good 
 order, and no other dust-bath will be required, 
 though a bare place should be fenced off for the 
 fountain and for feeding. Our own plan used to 
 be to keep away the loose stuff from a feeding 
 place about four by three feet, by laying on the. 
 hard ground two pieces of timber, three by 
 four inches, over which the fowls could step 
 easily, but which fenced back the loose earth 
 on the other side. Concerning the roosting 
 house nothing need be added to what was 
 said in Chapter I. 
 
 The chief thing is that, even on a small scale, 
 all this be methodised. It is not easy always to 
 do so, but it must be done, including 
 Poultry the disposal of the manure. When 
 
 Manure. there is even a small garden there 
 
 will be no difficulty, as fresh earth 
 can be got as often as required to replace that 
 discarded, and the manure from a few fowls can 
 readily be used. The collected manure should 
 be stored in an old cask or some vessel where it 
 will be kept dry, and some time before using 
 it should be mixed with dry earth, and any soot, 
 or fine dry ashes, or burnt weeds that may 
 be available. It is excellent for nearly all 
 things if not used too strong, as it generally is. 
 Another way to use it at home is to put some in 
 a watering-pot, fill up with water overnight and 
 stir, and use the liquid. In spite of its real 
 value it is not a saleable article as a rule ; but 
 twice, in different localities, we found a nursery- 
 man who allowed us 4s. per hundredweight 
 for ours, against such small things as we needed 
 from him.* If some such arrangement can be 
 made it will help matters, but of course the 
 manure from only half a dozen birds is not 
 worth anyone's while to take away, and should 
 be used on the garden plot, or smuggled into 
 the dust-bin. Owing to the need for clean 
 material and for disposal of manure, some plot 
 of garden ground seems almost necessary in 
 connection with a pen of fowLs. If there is none 
 such at all, the best plan is to keep the main 
 part of the covered run hard and smooth, 
 cleansing this with a scraper, and supply a dust- 
 bath in one corner from the household ashes 
 sifted fine, which can be discarded in the dust- 
 bin periodically. The difficulty in such a case 
 is likely to come from want of scratching 
 material and exercise. It is in precisely such 
 circumstances as these thaf feather-eating is 
 most likely to follow the least neglect, and 
 should be guarded against by keeping even 
 fewer birds than usual, by the most sedulous 
 
 * Respecting the real value of poultiy manure, see Chaptei 
 
IMPORTANCE OF THE EGG RETURN. 
 
 39 
 
 attention to proper diet, including a due propor- 
 tion of green and animal food, and by constant 
 precaution against insect vermin, which is, 
 beyond doubt, the proximate cause of this 
 vice in many cases. 
 
 The first essential in this warfare is, of 
 course, constant attention to the dust-bath, both 
 to keep it supplied with clean 
 Insect material, and to keep it dry. The 
 
 Vermin. dust-bath itself will harbour vermin 
 
 if not properly renewed, and if it is 
 damp the fowls cannot use it, and have no 
 resource. Where this is attended to and the 
 roosting-house kept clean, there will usually be 
 little trouble. All the walls should be gone 
 over twice a year if possible with hot lime-wash, 
 to which is added one ounce of carbolic acid in 
 crystals to every gallon. Where there is the 
 least suspicion, this should be not only laid on, 
 but well " worked into " all chinks and crevices 
 with a hand-brush. The ends of perches and 
 shelves, and anything else that makes a chink 
 or crevice, should be lifted every now and then 
 to see if the " red mite " is making any lodg- 
 ment, and the places painted with kerosene oil. 
 Dilute carbolic acid may also be " sprayed " all 
 over the walls, which is easily done by filling 
 a glass bottle, stoppering it with a cork in 
 which a small groove or notch is cut up one 
 side, and swinging the bottle round, when the 
 dilute acid will spray out through the small 
 groove in the cork. 
 
 Any fresh purchase should always be most 
 carefully examined for vermin ; to do this often 
 saves much trouble. If found infested with 
 any, a bird should be isolated for a day or two, 
 and meantime well treated with some insecticide, 
 well rubbed into her plumage all over down to 
 the roots, and especially the under-parts of the 
 body, and fluff round the vent. The powder of 
 Pyrethrum (of which one brand is well known 
 as Persian Powder) does well for this. A 
 second application may be necessary. Another 
 cheap and good insecticide powder is made by 
 rubbing up powdered sulphur with as much 
 ■dissolved carbolic acid as can be taken up with- 
 out making it a paste or moist ; this may be 
 well dusted and rubbed into the plumage in 
 a similar way. Other expedients, and the 
 American method of fumigation and treatment 
 ■of the houses with volatile compounds, will be 
 - found in the final chapter of this work. The 
 nests also need attention, changing the straw, or 
 fern, at proper intervals ; fusty straw always 
 means vermin. A couple of lumps of camphor 
 at opposite corners of a nest will do much to 
 repel lice. At moulting time feathers should 
 also be cleared up and, if possible, burnt every 
 
 day or two ; leaving them about is a fruitful 
 source of vermin. 
 
 Eggs should be looked for regularly, and if 
 possible twice a day. It is a curious thing that 
 many country servants, otherwise 
 EggB. fairly honest, seem to have no con- 
 
 science at all concerning eggs, and 
 a lock on the door often produces surprising 
 results. If hens look healthy and red, and 
 " prate," and are known to go to the nest, and 
 still there are no eggs, it is time to look into 
 matters. Again and again we have personally 
 found the suggestion of locks upon the doors 
 received with indignation ; but nevertheless its 
 adoption speedily resulted in hen-fruit Of 
 course, there might also be egg-eating by the 
 hens ; but if such be the case it is quite as need- 
 ful to discover that. Want of eggs, when due 
 allowance has been made for age, time of year, 
 and all other known circumstances, should 
 never be accepted as a normal state of 
 things, but every attempt made to trace its 
 real cause. 
 
 For this and other reasons, wherever any 
 chickens are reared pains should be taken to 
 recognise, if possible, the egg laid by each 
 particular hen. In the case of a few only kept 
 for household supply, any regular attendant can 
 very soon manage so much, without any doubt 
 or difficulty. Out of any half-dozen hens got 
 together to start with in the ordinary way, it is 
 probable that about two will lay very well and 
 pay a large profit, three more a fair mediocre 
 number, paying a small profit, and perhaps 
 one very few indeed. Such poor layers should 
 be weeded out anyway ; and when chicks are 
 reared, only eggs from the best layers should be 
 saved for hatching. In this way enormous im- 
 provement can be effected ; but this subject 
 will be further discussed in a subsequent 
 chapter. Meantime, and merely to show its 
 vital importance, we may record that at the 
 experimental station in Maine, U.S., Professor 
 Gowell placed 260 April- and May-hatched 
 pullets in breeding pens, and by trap nests the 
 laying of every bird was recorded for twelve 
 months, commencing on November 1st, 1898, 
 but .those not laying then, being reckoned from 
 when they did begin. Five died, and 19 were 
 stolen: of the balance of 236 birds, 39 laid 160 
 or naore, and 22 birds less than loo. Three 
 only laid 36, 37, and 38 in the year, while the 
 five best laid 200, 201, 204, 206, and 208. The 
 last bird had laid a fortnight before she was 
 counted, and in the ensuing first six months of 
 a second year laid II 2 more. Some birds laid 
 well one month and very badly the next, while 
 others laid well continuously. No " egg-type " 
 
4° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 could be observed to account for these differ- 
 ences : the poorest layers looked as promising 
 as the others, and all of each breed were of the 
 same breeding. The best layer, mentioned 
 above, was a White Wyandotte, whose record 
 closed at the end of April, 1 900. 
 
 All eggs should be. marked with at least the 
 date laid, and it is best to do this on the small 
 end, and keep them for household use in a board 
 pierced with holes, small end upwards. If more 
 than the date be required, for breeding purposes, 
 it is still best to mark them on or around the 
 small end, for the simple reason that the chick 
 breaks the shell round -the large end, and any 
 mark made there may be destroyed. 
 
 The profit of what may be called domestic 
 poultry-keeping, or from any moderate number 
 of fowls, when properly managed. 
 Profit in should be very large, but will de- 
 
 Poultry, pend more than anything else upon 
 
 the average number of eggs obtained 
 from each of the birds. How very greatly 
 this may differ, we have 'seen above. The food 
 certainly should not exceed one penny per week 
 each, where eked out to any extent by household 
 items ; and a bird discarded as too old is worth 
 nearly her cost on the family table, and will be 
 relished there. On a larger scale, where all has 
 to be purchased, the cost may rise to three- 
 halfpence per week. Thus even one hundred 
 eggs in a year will pay a fair profit. American 
 breeders and poultry^farmers are not now satis- 
 fied, however, with less than one hundred and 
 sixty-five per annum, and some of them get 
 considerably more; and fowls can be obtained 
 even in England which have been, to a large 
 extent, bred for laying, and will lay one hundred 
 and sixty eggs or more when properly fed. 
 Such laying should, in these progressive days, 
 be looked for and fed for ; and if chickens are 
 reared, they should be systematically bred for, 
 as hereafter described. The profits from such 
 egg-results can readily be estimated. 
 
 Wherever more than three or four birds are 
 
 kept, food will of course be always purchased 
 with reference to the market, and in economical 
 quantities. Metal bins or receptacles are far the 
 best, as they protect grain and meal from rats 
 and mice, and in so doing, do much to prevent 
 those vermin from infesting the establishment. 
 Capital bins for a small concern may often be 
 found in the large circular iron drums or casks 
 in which paint, oil, printing-ink, and similar 
 goods are sold. If they are turned on one 
 side, and lighted paper or sticks thrown in, the 
 remains of their former contents will catch fire, 
 and they may be rolled about till " burnt out " 
 clean. For a very few birds a large canister or 
 covered pail may be suflScient. 
 
 But the whole affair, on even the smallest 
 scale, should be conducted as a matter of 
 business. An account should be kept, of 
 course. In a small way, a cash account and an 
 account of eggs and produce will be sufficient ; 
 the amount of figuring some fussy people will 
 get out of three old hens is amusing, but is 
 quite needless, and apt to prove tiresome. .As 
 the scale of proceedings enlarges, more may be 
 necessary ; every incubator will need its own 
 register, and every breeding hen the same, and 
 both payments and receipts will h^ve to be 
 sorted under different headings. As a general 
 rule simplicity should be studied, so far as con- • 
 sonant with efficiency, however : too elaborate, 
 accounts get neglected, and defeat their object. 
 It is enough for most people if the profit or loss 
 of each branch — as egg production, or sale of 
 newly hatched chicks, or rearing, or fattening 
 — can be distinguished from the rest ; then any 
 losing department may be either overhauled, or 
 perhaps discarded to the profit of the exchequer. 
 All these things will often give invaluable 
 change of thought and occupation to wearied 
 men of business, to whom a " hobby " of some 
 kind may mean physical salvation. No such 
 man of business, who gives a little of his own 
 attention to it^ will long remain unconvinced of 
 the profit there is in keeping poultry. 
 
41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE EGG AND SITTING HEN. 
 
 EVERY animal, of whatsoever kind, is 
 developed from the egg-form, or as 
 physiologists express it, " omne animal 
 ex ovo." But the mode of that development 
 diifers, in one detail especially. In mammalia 
 the egg is retained throughout within the body 
 of the mother, which is its sufficient protection, 
 and the development . is uninterrupted. In 
 oviparous animals, such as birds, the egg is 
 enclosed in a hard protecting shell, and at a 
 certain stage of development extruded from 
 the body of the mother; in this case develop- 
 ment is arrested at that point, and may, or 
 may not, be resumed and completed. 
 
 Fig. 21. — ^^Ovary of Laying Hen. 
 
 The ovary of a hen during or near her laying 
 
 season presents an appearance much like that 
 
 of a cluster of fruit, and is accurately shown by 
 
 the illustration (Fig. 21.) There 
 
 Formation are, strictly, two such organs in. 
 
 the Egg. every bird ; but one remains merely 
 
 rudimentary and undeveloped, the 
 
 'fertile one being almost always that on the left of 
 
 G 
 
 the spine, to which it is attached by means of the 
 peritoneal membrane. By the ovary the essential 
 part of the egg, which consists of the germ, and 
 also the yolk, is formed, each yolk being con- 
 tained within a thin and transparent ovisac, 
 connected by a narrow stem or pedicle with the 
 ovary. These rudimentary eggs are of different 
 sizes, according to the different degree of de- 
 velopment, and during the period of laying 
 they are constantly coming to maturity in due 
 succession. 
 
 As the yolk be- 
 comes fully matured, 
 the enclosing mem- 
 brane or oft sac 
 becomes gradually 
 thinner, especially 
 round its greatest 
 diameter or equator, 
 which then exhibits a 
 pale zone or belt called 
 the stigma. Finally, 
 whether or not fecund- 
 ation takes place, the 
 sac ruptures at the 
 stigma, and the 
 liberated yolk and 
 germ, surrounded by a 
 very thin and delicate 
 membrane, is received 
 by the funnel-shaped 
 opening of the ovichict 
 or egg-passage, whose 
 office it is to convey 
 it to the outer world, 
 and on its way to 
 clothe it with the 
 other structures needful for its development 
 and preservation. This organ, with its various 
 convolutions a little modified for convenience 
 of representation, is shown in Fig. 22, and 
 in an ordinary hen is nearly two feet in 
 length. It will easily be seen how two yolks 
 may become detached and enter the oviduct at 
 nearly the same time ; in which case they are 
 likely to be enveloped in the same white and 
 
 22. — Ovary and Oviduct. 
 
42 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 shell, causing the " double-yolked &gg '' so well 
 known to every poultry-keeper. 
 
 Thus received into the oviduct, the yolk 
 becomes enveloped in a glairy fluid called the 
 white, or by chemists a/6umen. This is secreted 
 by the mucous membrane of the oviduct, and 
 added layer by layer as the egg passes on. The 
 uses of the white or albumen are manifold. It 
 is eminently nutritious, forming indeed the 
 chief nourishment of the chick during its growth 
 in the shell; as it becomes absorbed by the 
 little animal, and forming as it does by far the 
 greater part of the egg when laid, it gives the fast- 
 growing little body the needed increase of room ; 
 it is a very bad conductor of heat, and hence 
 guards the hatching egg against the fatal chills 
 which would otherwise occur when the hen left 
 the nest ; and finally, it preserves the dtlicate 
 yolk and vital germ from concussion or other 
 violent injury. 
 
 At a still farther point of the oviduct the 
 £gg becomes invested with the skin or parch- 
 ment-like covering which is found inside the 
 shell. In reality this skin consists of two layers, 
 which Can easily be separated ; and at the large 
 end bf the egg they do separate entirely, form- 
 ing the air-chamber. At first this chamber is 
 small, but as the egg gets stale it becomes larger 
 and larger, so that even in eggs stored it fills 
 at length a large pfortion of the space within the 
 shell, the egg itself drying up in proportion. In 
 eggs on the point of hatching it usually occupies 
 about one-fifth of the space. It has been proved 
 by experiments that the perforation of this air- 
 chamber, even by a needle-point, is an effectual 
 prevention of successful hatching. 
 
 Iri the last portion of the oviduc.t the egg 
 becomes coated with that calcareous deposit 
 which forms the shell, after which it passes into 
 the cloaca and is ready for expulsion. In some 
 breeds colouring matter is added over the solid 
 ingredient, producing the deep-coloured eggs 
 of the Cochin, and in other birds the splashed 
 and spotted patterns so well known. In fowls 
 which lay coloured eggs similar splashes often 
 occur, and we have had Brahma hens which laid 
 eggs with a white ground, covered thickly over 
 by chocolate-coloured spots. We have had 
 others, again, las, eggs covered apparently with 
 a coat of whitewash, which on being rubbed off 
 with a rough cloth, revealed the usual buff-brown 
 tint beneath. All these things obviously depend 
 on some peculiar condition of the secreting 
 organs, as does the shape of the egg of each 
 bird when finally laid. 
 
 Occasional departures from the ordinary 
 type of egg will now be understood. If the 
 latter portion of the oviduct be in an un- 
 
 healthy condition, or if yolks be matured by 
 the ovary faster than shells can be formed by 
 that organ, " soft " or unshelled eggs will be 
 produced. If, on the contrary, the oviduct and 
 its glands be active, while the supply of yolks 
 is temporarily exhausted, the diminutive eggs, 
 which consist of only white and shell, and which 
 not infrequently terminate the laying of a long 
 batch, may be expected to occur. Disease^ ex- 
 tending to the middle portion of the passage 
 may result in eggs without even the membranous 
 skin ; and if the entire canal be in an unhealthy 
 condition, yolks alone may probably be dropped 
 without any addition whatever, even of white. 
 This last occurrence therefore denotes a serious 
 state of affairs, and should be met at once by 
 depletic medicines, or it will probably be fol- 
 lowed by the loss of the bird. 
 
 YY 
 
 BU 
 
 WY 
 
 Fig. 23. — Diagram of an Egg. 
 
 bl; blastoderm, w y, white yolk. YY, yellow yolk, v, vitelline 
 membrane. F, layer of very fluid albumen round the vitelline membrane. 
 D, dense albumen enclosing the yolk with preceding envelopes. In this 
 envelope D are incorporated the ends of c H, the chalaza:. w, body of 
 the albumen, c, somewhat denser layer of albumen, surrounded by a 
 fluid layer. M m', outer and inner shell membrane, separated- at A, air- 
 chamber, s, shell. 
 
 Let us now consider the egg itself, which is 
 a much more complicated organism than many 
 people are aware of There is much even in 
 
 the shell s (Fig. 23) to excite our 
 structure interest. It is composed chiefly of 
 the Egg. prismatic particles, so arranged as 
 
 to leave pores or interspaces between 
 them. As laid, the shell is of enormous strength, 
 so that it will resist great pressure between the 
 palms of the hands applied to the opposite ends ; 
 though it is ■ not correct that, as we have seen 
 stated, " the strongest man cannot break it " in 
 this way. Still, for its thickness and texture, 
 its strength is phenomenal. As hatching pro- 
 ceeds, however, the carbonic acid and dioxide 
 formed by the breathing of the chick, dissolved 
 m fluid, gradually dissolve a portion of the 
 
STRUCTURE OF THE EGG. 
 
 43 
 
 materi?il, and thus the prismatic bodies are slowly- 
 softened and disintegrated. The shell thus be- 
 comes far softer and more brittle as hatching 
 approaches ; and so great is the difference, that 
 if the edge of a fracture made across a fresh 
 egg-shell, and another of one hatched or hatch- 
 ing, be examined under a microscope, it will 
 be instantly seen that the two are in a quite 
 different molecular condition. Were it not for 
 this beautiful provision of Nature, the chick 
 could never break the shell. 
 
 The outer and inner shell-membranes M and 
 M*, separating at the air-chamber A, need no 
 further explanation. Proceeding inwards, we 
 come next to the white or albumen w. This is 
 composed of a denser, and a more' fluid kind, 
 arranged in layers, which can be peeled off in a 
 hard-boiled ^g^, like the layers of an onion. A 
 layer of the more fluid kind is always next the 
 shell, and another thin one, F, next the yolk, but 
 enveloped by another layer, D, of the dense kind. 
 If an egg be broken into a basin, there will 
 further be observed attached to two opposite 
 sides of the yolk, two slightly opaque and rather 
 twisted thick cords, c H, of still denser albumen, 
 termed the chalazce. They are not attached to 
 the shell, but to opposite sides of the dense layer 
 of albumen, D, which envelops the inner fluid 
 layer and the yolk. They are so attached at 
 opposite sides, rather below the centre ; thus 
 they act as balancing weights, keeping the side 
 of the yolk which carries the germ always 
 uppermost, and very nearly in floating equili- 
 brium. If the egg be turned round, therefore, 
 the yolk itself does not turn with it, but retains 
 its position with the germ on the upper side. 
 
 It will be seen how elaborately and beauti- 
 fully the yolk, bearing upon its upper surface 
 the tender germ, is protected within the egg. 
 Itself rather lighter at the upper part, it is 
 further balanced by the chalazce, so as to float 
 germ uppermost in the albumen. It is usually 
 very slightly lighter than the albumen, but 
 scarcely perceptibly so; thus it floats near the 
 upper side of the shell, but always separated 
 from it by a layer of albumen of more or less 
 thickness, and oscillating gently away from the 
 shell on the least motion. In a few cases it 
 probably floats more strongly up against the 
 shell, and these are generally the cases in which 
 adherence takes place, or the yolk is ruptured 
 during hatching; but an exquisitely delicate 
 floating balance is the rule.' Nevertheless, it 
 will be readily understood why it is inadvisable 
 to leave an egg, and above all a hatching egg, 
 iying on the same side for any length of tirne. 
 The shell being porous, and permitting of 
 evaporation, such a course keeps the germ close 
 
 to the portion of albumen which is slowly drying 
 up, and may cause a tendency to adhesion. 
 
 Turning now to the yolk, this is contained 
 within a very delicate vitelline membrane, V. 
 It is composed of both white and yellow cells, 
 and if an egg be boiled hard and cut across, it 
 can be seen that there is a flask-shaped nucleus 
 or centre of white yolk, w Y, round which are 
 several concentric layers of yellow yolk, Y Y. 
 Under the microscope additional thin layers of 
 white yolk cells can be distinguished ' amongst 
 the yellow layers. On the top of the white 
 yolk rests the blastoderm (germ-skin), a small 
 disk about one-eighth of an inch across, shown 
 at B L. The difference between a fertilised and 
 an unfertilised egg is solely to be found in this 
 small disk, and much of its detail can only be 
 distinguished under the microscope; but with 
 a pocket, lens it can be discerned that whilst 
 in an unfertilised egg the little disk is whitish, 
 .all over, except for small clear spots very irre- 
 gularly distributed over its surface, in the 
 fertilised egg an outer ring or margin is whitish 
 while in the centre is a smaller clear circle, in 
 which are very small white spots. This central 
 clear space is the germ from which the chick 
 will be developed. 
 
 It should be clearly understood that, at the 
 stage when thus examined, after the egg has 
 been laid, development or "hatching" has already 
 been carried on to a certain extent, due to 
 the eighteen or twenty hours it has been sub- 
 jected to the heat of the hen's body whilst 
 traversing the oviduct. As it entered the ovi- 
 duct, the germinal disk consisted of only a single 
 cell. During its passage this cell 
 
 Early becomes traversed by successive 
 
 Development c i- ■ • i- ■ ,■ , 
 
 of the Egg. furrows or divisions, dividing and 
 
 sub-dividing it into many cells — 
 
 the first stage in developing a real organism 
 
 out of the sifigle cell. This process goes on not 
 
 only on the surface, but beneath, so that by the 
 
 time the egg is laid, the blastoderm consists of 
 
 two sheets or layers of cells. At about this 
 
 stage the egg should be laid, and with the 
 
 cessation of warmth the process ceases, or nearly 
 
 so, but not exactly at the same point in every 
 
 case. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about 
 
 an egg is the power it has of keeping the 
 
 development, already commenced, suspended 
 
 for a time when warmth is withdrawn ; to be 
 
 resumed and carried on whenever the necessary 
 
 warmth is restored. 
 
 Several points which puzzle many people 
 
 will now be understood.' It may happen that 
 
 an egg is retained for a day or two beyond the 
 
 natural time ; in that case the development or 
 
 hatching will be continued, and the new-laid 
 
44 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 egg may contain a visible embryo, 
 even the new-laid egg is already 
 which has attained a certain stage 
 is subject to disease, or weakness, 
 like other organisms. Thus an 
 fertile, and the germ may begin 
 but may perish at any stage from 
 
 Again, since 
 an organism, 
 of growth, it 
 
 or accident, 
 egg may be 
 
 to develop, 
 sheer lack of 
 
 Fig. 24. — Chick on Second or Third Day. 
 
 strength, precisely as a weakly baby may die 
 at any age. Quite apart from accidents or in- 
 juries whilst hatching, there is no doubt that in 
 many eggs the embryo is not strong enough in 
 itself ever to come to maturity. Such deaths 
 at various stages, within the shell, are in no 
 essential respect different from deaths of weakly 
 chickens at various early stages after leaving the 
 shell ; the necessary vigour may fail the infant 
 creature at any particular time. So also the 
 embryo can be injured within the shell in various 
 ways ; and while it might be fanciful to say it 
 can be " frightened," there is much evidence to 
 show that it may suffer from some kind of 
 nervous shock, as in a severe thunderstorm. 
 
 Whenever the egg is again subjected to a 
 heat analogous to that of the hen's body, the 
 process of development is resumed, if the 
 interval has not been too long. There can 
 obviously be no definite limits to such an 
 interval. We have sent eggs to America which 
 hatched 60 per cent, after that voyage, and an 
 entire interval of thirty days ; and many sit- 
 tings have similarly hatched, after crossing the 
 Atlantic. On the other hand, in the earliest days 
 of artificial incubation it became notorious that 
 eggs laid more than four or five days, hatched 
 then rarely and with difficulty, proving that 
 after a very few days there was a change for the 
 worse in the vigour of the embryo. Yet again, 
 a hen allowed to steal her nest almost 
 always hatches well ; and it seetns probable that 
 her periodical visits,,with their short periods of 
 warmth (for a hen at liberty rarely remains on 
 the nest more than an hour when laying), refresh 
 
 and re-invigorate the germ, and probably may 
 even carry on farther to some minute degree, 
 the process of development. 
 
 It is needless to describe in detail the 
 development of the chick when steady incuba- 
 tion has been commenced. A few hours enlarge 
 the central, pellucid spot, which 
 Development becomes oval, with a furrow down 
 during ^jjg centre, and blood-vessels appear 
 Incutotion. ^^^^^ .^ . ^j^^^ ^^^gj^g ^^ develop 
 
 a double membrane called the amnion, which 
 at a later period entirely encloses the embryo 
 along with what is called the amniotic fluid. 
 By the second or third day the tiny embryo 
 enclosed in the amnion can be cleariy seen as in 
 Fig. 24, surrounded by a patch upon the surface 
 of the yolk which is covered by fine blood-vessels. 
 The eyes can also be seen with a magnifying- 
 glass, as dark spots, and even the pulsation of 
 the heart. At or soon after the third day 
 another growth called the allantois begins to 
 push out from the digestive canal of the embryo, 
 between the two coats of the amnion, and at a 
 later period also encloses the embryo. By the 
 fifth or sixth day the allantois can be clearly 
 seen as a bag or sac protruding from the navel, 
 independent of the yolk-sac (Fig. 25). By this 
 time rudiments of the wings and legs can be 
 clearly seen as buds or small clubs standing out 
 from the surface of the body, which has grown a 
 great deal. The network of blood-vessels has 
 also extended, and the yolk-sac is larger and 
 more defined. This and the developing allantojs, 
 at about the seventh day, are more clearly shown 
 in Fig. 26, 
 
 Fig. 25.— Fifth Day: al, allantois. 
 
 The allantois is, however, flattened and spread 
 out in reality between the outer and inner layers 
 of the amnion, where it gradually extends till it 
 entirely surrounds the growing chicken, close to 
 the outer shell and membrane of the egg; It is 
 furnished with a beautiful network 'Of blood- 
 vessels, extended under the porous envelope 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHICK. 
 
 45 
 
 of the egg, while at the umbilicus they are in 
 connection with the young chick. The allantois, 
 with its capillary blood-vessels, thus serves as a 
 temporary lung by which the blood is oxygen- 
 ated from the outer air, the chick not being able 
 to use its true lungs till the very eve of hatching. 
 The allantois is thus a structure of cardinal 
 importance to the life of the growing chick. 
 
 At the tenth or eleventh day (we speak of 
 a hen's egg) signs of the feathers can be dis- 
 tinguished, and motion of the young animal is 
 often perceptible when the egg is opened. 
 Generally about the nineteenth day the beak 
 ruptures the membrane which divides off the air- 
 chamber, and the chick for the first time breathes 
 air through the lungs, after which the chick's 
 blood gradually ceases to flow into the veins of 
 
 Fig. 26. 
 
 -Seventh Day : allantois, al, more developed, 
 sac shown in connection with the navel. 
 
 Yolk- 
 
 the allantois, which has completed its work and 
 is no more needed. Finally the chick breaks 
 the shell by the aid of a sharp-pointed hard 
 scale, specially provided for the purpose at the 
 tip of the upper beak. It should be noted that 
 the constant tapping sound often heard for the 
 last two days, is not due to this process, but was 
 shown by the late Dr. Horner to be due solely 
 to respiratory action : the breaking of the shell 
 is due to more violent spasmodic movements 
 only made at intervals of five to ten minutes. 
 The arrangement of the chick the day before 
 hatching is shown in Fig. 27. 
 
 During this process of, development the 
 embryo has at first been lying as a small object 
 on the upper surface of the yolk ; later on, as 
 it increases in size and definiteness 
 Noimslinient ^f iorm, it is clearly apparent that 
 Young Chick, the neck of the yolk-sac is in con- 
 nection with the umbilicus or navel 
 • (Fig. 26). The material needed for growth is 
 therefore derived primarily through the yolk; 
 J)ut as the original yolk-matter is absorbed, it is 
 
 replaced by fresh material from the albumen, 
 drawn through the delicate membrane. The 
 albumen comprising much of the bulk of the egg, 
 it is manifest must furnish much of that of the 
 
 rig. 27. — Nearly ready to hatch. 
 
 chicken ; but it passes through the yolk-sac in 
 this process. Shortly before hatching the entire 
 remaining nutritive material of the egg is 
 gathered within the considerably shrunken 
 yolk-sac, communicating with the umbilicus of 
 the young bird, as in Fig. 28 ; and during the 
 last few hours it is rapidly drawn into the 
 abdomen, where it furnishes food for the newly 
 born chicken during the first day of its indepen- 
 dent existence. In chickens this process is often 
 not complete, a portion of the yolk being still 
 visible outside the abdomen ; and recent Ameri- 
 can researches have traced this as generally the 
 result of too great variation in temperature during 
 incubation, or of too great heat. Such chicks 
 
 Fig. 28. — Chick two days before exclusion. 
 
 may in spite of this grow up quite strong, the 
 process being completed outside the egg, but 
 as a rule they perish from weakness. The 
 yolk can still be clearly distinguished in most 
 newly hatched chickens, and remains of it can 
 
46 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 be found, on killing and dissection, for a period 
 of five to ten days. This matter is so fully ex- 
 plained here, in order that the reader may quite 
 understand the entire independence of the 
 chicken upon any food for at least twenty-four 
 hours, or even more. Nature has thus furnished 
 it with full provision. 
 
 We may now pass to practical points, and 
 first amongst these is the securing and keeping 
 of eggs for sitting in good condition. They 
 should be collected at least once 
 storing every day, lest they be partially 
 
 Eggs. incubated by the laying hens, and 
 
 twice a day is better; indeed, in 
 very cold weather, unless the house is warmed, 
 it is desirable to get them in out of the frost 
 even oftener than that, since a few hours of frost 
 may kill the germ. The nests must be kept 
 clean, with fresh, well-broken straw renewed as 
 required, and it is important that every nest 
 should have a nest-egg from the first, to teach 
 the hens to lay there. Nest-eggs of unglazed 
 white pottery are very serviceable, and last a 
 long while. 
 
 Eggs are best stored in a cool but not very 
 cold place — about 50° to 60° is best^and with 
 the large end down. We gave this advice as far 
 back as 1872, after considerable testing of it 
 to that time : all our subsequent experience has 
 corroborated its soundness. There is a distinct 
 percentage of better result every way when eggs 
 are stored in this position, if the other circum- 
 stances are equal. The air-chamber is less ex- 
 panded when so stored, and even for eating, 
 after some weeks there is perceptible difference 
 in the "freshness " of eggs thus kept. Eggs may 
 be stored in this position either in bran or in a 
 board pierced with holes ; and if the board, or 
 the bran-case, be covered over by a cover of 
 blanket or sacking made to fit, and a cool 
 and quiet place is available, the very best will 
 be done for the eggs. The covering over is not 
 to keep them warm, but to prevent draught, 
 which increases evaporation of the fluid contents, 
 and enlarges the air-chamber : this process we 
 want to retard as much as possible. If eggs 
 are kept on their sides they should be turned 
 every day or two; and a certain would-be 
 authority, and vendor of certain apparatus, 
 has stated that if eggs v/ere turned' daily, 
 they would hatch after six or even twelve 
 months. Friends who regularly hatch eggs with 
 incubators have kindly tested this matter for us, 
 but reported the statement to be utterly with- 
 out foundation. 
 
 It is often desired to preserve summer eggs 
 for winter use, and there are several methods of 
 doing so. Some honsekeepers smear them all 
 
 over with butter, and in France they similarly 
 use olive-oil in which a little beeswax is dis- 
 solved or melted. The latter is the better of 
 the two, butter becoming rancid. Others bed 
 the eggs in dry salt, packed tightly 
 fgga*"'°^ round and over them ; kept this 
 way they do fairly even for boiling, 
 up to six or eight months. Bedded in bran 
 alone they will keep well several months, 
 draught and evaporation being prevented. 
 Another plan is to pack them in saturated salt- 
 brine ; this way they keep quite " good " a long 
 while, but become rather hard, and the white per- 
 ceptibly saltish. For eggs to be kept any length 
 of time, however, there is no doubt that the best 
 preservative medium is a solution compounded 
 of lime, salt, and cream of tartar. Different 
 people use slightly different proportions ; a very 
 good recipe is as follows : Carefully slake and then 
 pour the rest of two gallons of water (other 
 quantities in proportion) upon one pound and 
 a half of quicklime, then add ten ounces of 
 salt and two ounces of cream of tartar. Stir at 
 intervals, and leave to temper together for a few 
 days ; then pour off the clear liquor, and imbed 
 the eggs in it as closely as possible, keeping 
 always well covered with liquid. A jar of spare 
 liquid should always be ready to fill up as 
 required, 
 
 Whatever process be used, it is important to 
 store or treat the eggs the same day as laid, if 
 they are fertile eggs. But there is no doubt 
 at all, and it has been proved by many experi- 
 ments, that sterile eggs, 'laid by hens without 
 a mate, keep considerably better than fertile 
 ones. The reason is obvious in what has 
 already been said concerning the early stages of 
 cell division and multiplication, as commenced 
 in a fertile &gg even before laying. In this com- 
 mencement of the first stages of life, we have 
 elements of decomposition, not present in 
 sterile eggs. Whether hens lay as well without 
 a mate as with one is a point that has occasioned 
 much discussion. The one point that does 
 emerge from it is that there can be very little 
 difference, since both propositions have much 
 testimony. In a small pen we think hens are 
 rnore contented with a mate, and we have many 
 times had, as we think, proof that mating up 
 affected somewhat the date of laying. But in 
 larger runs, with flocks of laying hens, these 
 pomts would not be very noticeable, and there 
 is no doubt whatever as to the superior keeping 
 qualities of sterile eggs. 
 
 Hens not infrequently acquire the pernicious 
 habit of eating their eggs, sometimes perhaps 
 from accidental breakages. Often such a habit 
 may be cured by filling carefully emptied egg- 
 
THE VICE OF EGG-EATING. 
 
 47 
 
 shells with nauseous compounds, of a yellowish 
 colour, like strong mustard, or carbolated 
 vaseline. We have seen a hen eat the whole 
 of a single mustard-fille'd &gg without rufSing a 
 feather ; but generally if the plan is persevered 
 
 with, and such prepared eggs regu- 
 Egg-eating larly left. in the nest and about the 
 Hens. yard, the habit will be conquered. 
 
 There is, however, a more certain 
 plan, which we owe to the experience of 
 American farmers, who often suffer far more 
 largely in this way, owing to long close confine- 
 ment during the winter. There is a very large 
 agreement amongst these experienced breeders 
 that the best, most certain, and in fact almost 
 invariable cure for egg-eating, is to give a free 
 supply of either eggs or egg-shells for a few 
 days ! Some of them regularly save up their 
 egg-shells for such contingencies, showing how 
 common the trouble is under the conditions ; 
 others get them from the restaurants. At first 
 the hens just go for them ! And they are given 
 the shells freely, for breakfast, dinner, supper. 
 But soon the appetite palls ; by the end of the 
 second day they care little, and on the third, 
 fresh eggs may be rolled about among them 
 with impunity. The editor of one of the 
 American poultry journals states : "We have 
 tried this plan for some years, and have never 
 known it to fail. We save up our egg-shells, 
 and have a stock on hand for any pen of fowls 
 that shows a tendency towards the egg-eating 
 habit. This remedy has never failed us." 
 Then a farmer writes : " Go to the bakery and 
 get a basket of fresh egg-shells ; give them to 
 the hens as fresh as you can, and throw them in 
 whole ; don't dry them, or break them up, but 
 give as fresh and whole as you can get them. 
 Give them all they will eat, and throw in some 
 more, and keep them before them all the time 
 for a few days, and your hens will stop eating 
 their eggs." Others report that ithey have given 
 the entire eggs, using unfertile ones tested out 
 of the incubators. "At first the hens would 
 trample all over each other to get at the broken 
 eggs, but before they got through, they wouldn't 
 touch an &^^." There is a whole pile of testi- 
 mony to the success of this cure. 
 
 Another way of meeting the vice is to em- 
 ploy nests so constructed that the egg rolls 
 away out of the hen's reach as soon as laid. 
 The first nest we ever knew so made was' 
 figured in a journal ■ of forty years ago, as in 
 Fig. 29. The board A is inclined so that the 
 egg rolls down it as at B, on to some straw. 
 We found ourselves that hens refused to lay in a 
 nest made exactly like this ; but by making A of 
 carpet, which sagged a little in the middle, and 
 
 cementing a nest-egg half-way through as at 
 C (or cementing half the egg on the carpet), 
 they would do so. The portion B should also be 
 of carpet or some soft material. A box merely 
 furnished with a false bottom of carpet or 
 canvas, in which two cross-slits are cut rather 
 towards the back, will often suffice for an 
 emergency. In America it is found that making 
 the nests dark, as by placing them away from 
 the wall and making the hens enter them by 
 this dark passage from behind, the front towards 
 the house being closed up, greatly prevents, and 
 often checks egg-eating. But when it once 
 occurs, the weight of American testimony 
 inclines us to the egg or egg-shell cure. 
 
 Fig. 29. — Safety Nest. 
 
 It is a tradition of ages, dating back at least 
 to Horace (Lib. ii., Sat. 4) and Columella, that 
 long, slender eggs will produce cocks, and 
 
 rounder ones hens. These old fables 
 Siz?"* *° have been refuted again and again ; 
 
 the fact is that nearly all of any 
 hen's eggs are almost exactly alike, and can 
 be known as hers. Strange coincidences 
 have occurred from time to time ; when we 
 experimented, we had some too \ but sooner or 
 later these are upset by as flagrant contradic- 
 tions. The little foundation there may appear 
 for this superstition probably lies in the facts 
 which we had ascertained and stated many 
 years ago, that a pullet's early eggs are gener- 
 ally rather slimmer and more pointed, and on 
 an average also produce rather more cocks, 
 and that in less degree the same applies to hen's 
 eggs as laid early in the season. Generally 
 speaking, there are more cockerels in a brood 
 the more vigorous the pen ; hence cockerels 
 generally preponderate in early . broods, which 
 are mostly from cockerels mated with adult hens. 
 We would certainly prefer, for sitting, to 
 select eggs of the fair ordinary size and shape 
 generally laid by any given hen, but this should 
 not be pressed too far. Some Spanish and 
 Minorcas lay all sorts of shapes, even as round 
 as a tennis-ball, and we have known strong , 
 chicks from these and other rather exceptional 
 eggs. Still, good average eggs with firm and 
 
48 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 smooth shells should certainly have the prefer- 
 ence, rejecting unusually large ones quite as much 
 as unusually small. Eggs from .any hen 
 being laid rather smaller, is generally a sign of 
 insufficient feeding, and especially of insufficient 
 nitrogenous food. If this be not at once 
 remedied as soon as diminution in size is first 
 observed, a stoppage of laying may probably 
 come very soon, and it is not to be expected 
 that such eggs, from insufficiently nourished 
 birds, will prove vigorous in hatching, or the 
 produce show much constitution afterwards. 
 
 Eggs are often purchased or sold for sitting 
 purposes, and such sittings require a few words. 
 
 All such eggs will, of course, be 
 fo^'siitiiig^^^ dated, and for reasons already given. 
 
 this date should be upon the small 
 end; moreover, this is the end which will 
 be apparent when they are properly stored 
 with the large end down. Careful packing is 
 of course required, bedding loosely in bran 
 being quite insufficient. Where it is obtainable, 
 dry moss is amongst the best packing material, 
 and if every egg be wrapped loosely in a wisp of 
 paper, and then bedded carefully with a little 
 moss between each, and an inch of the moss 
 beneath and on top and all round, they will, 
 travel well. Either a box or basket may be 
 employed, tying down the lid of the basket by 
 aid of a packing needle, or cording or screwing 
 down a box cover ; for hammering nails should 
 be avoided. People who sell many eggs usually 
 have hampers made to a regular size and 
 pattern for them. Soft hay or wood wool are 
 nearly as good as dry moss, and used the same 
 way, taking care to wrap the eggs loosely in 
 their papers first, so as to leave corners and 
 creases projecting; these are as important as the 
 hay in preventing concussion. A hamper for a 
 single layer of eggs should be about six inches 
 deep, and the hay or moss should not be rammed 
 in tightly, but loosely enough to leave plenty of 
 spring in it. Fragile Bantam eggs are better 
 wrapped in thin or even tissue paper, but still 
 loosely, and bedded in wadding or cotton wool. 
 We consider packing of this kind, either in box 
 or basket, better than the small boxes with 
 compartments for each egg, so far as regards 
 eggs for sitting. 
 
 Eggs carefully packed will hatch with per- 
 fect success, if they are properly treated, but 
 
 this is not always the case. Wide 
 Resting Eggs, and long experience has proved 
 
 beyond any reasonable doubt that 
 they do best if allowed to "rest" on their 
 sides in a quiet and cool place for fifteen to 
 twenty-four hours ; the germ, already partly 
 developed as we have seen, appears to be 
 
 " fatigued " by the shaking of the journey, to 
 require rest after it, and to benefit from such 
 adequate repose before the new task of in^ 
 cubation. But on the other hand, if there be 
 much delay beyond this, the interruption in its 
 career appears somewhat prejudicial, even 
 beyond the mere lapse of time, which we have 
 seen is in itself detrimental to a perceptible 
 extent. Anything of this kind is not fair to 
 the vendor of the eggs, or favourable to the 
 hopes of the purchaser. 
 
 We are thus brought to the sitting-hen, on 
 the supposition of the present chapter that the 
 
 eggs are to be hatched in a natural 
 Sitting-hens. way. She will either belong to the 
 
 home stock, or be purchased or 
 hired. Amongst the hens or pullets kept, 
 much may be done to secure sitters in good 
 time. Silkies and their crosses, especially 
 with small or dwarf Cochins, are proverbial 
 for their propensity to sit after laying a few 
 eggs. But as the time approaches when a 
 sitting-hen will be required, one or two of the 
 layers known or presumed to be good sitters 
 should be specially looked after, giving less 
 nitrogenous and more carbonaceous food. A 
 marked change of diet of this kind, in the case 
 of birds that have been highly fed for eggs, has 
 often great effect in this way. Again, each hen 
 will probably resort to the same nest day after 
 day ; and while her own eggs are of course taken 
 away, each day she lays one, another nest-egg 
 should be left in the nest instead of it. This 
 simple and natural procedure will in very many 
 cases cause her to become " broody " when the 
 nest gets pretty full. The signs of a hen being 
 broody are well known generally, and consist in 
 remaining longer on the nest, till she stays there 
 altogether, and when she comes off walking 
 about with feathers loose and ruffled, and 
 "clucking" in the characteristic manner. As 
 soon as she appears settled, she should be 
 removed, if possible, to the perfectly clean nest 
 prepared for her maternal duties. She will 
 make no difficulty in settling there also, if a few 
 nest-eggs be given her till the others are ready, 
 or she be fit to be entrusted with them. 
 
 Such a hen should be above suspicion as 
 regards vermin ; if not, a home-kept hen also will 
 have to be treated. But a borrowed or bought 
 sitter should always be examined carefully, 
 with, of course, turned-up sleeves. This may 
 save very much trouble and otherwise inevitable 
 loss, for strange hens are often literally swarming, 
 and such a hen cannot rear chickens ; they will 
 gradually droop and be no good, even if they do 
 not die. She may be too bad to risk at any 
 price ; but in most cases thorough dredging and 
 
TREATMENT OF BROODY HENS. 
 
 49 
 
 working into her plumage of insect powder on 
 two or three occasions, or using perhaps for the 
 first the powdered sulphur treated with carbolic 
 acid, as mentioned in a previous chapter, will 
 make her free ; or she may be fumigated as 
 described in the final chapter of this work. 
 Such a bird should not be placed on her 
 own permanent nest, however, till she will pass 
 muster, but in some other, to be afterwards 
 purified. 
 
 Mr. J. L. Campbell, one of the oldest incu- 
 bator experts in America, found in the course 
 of his earlier experiments, quite to 
 Heat^of jjis surprise, that the heat of the 
 
 Sitting-hen. body of broody hens varied con- 
 siderably. On introducing a clinical 
 thermometer under the breast when on the 
 nest, four hens gave readings of 98°, 102°, 103°, 
 and 105°. After a fortnight, these figures had 
 gone up several degrees. The results were 
 equally noteworthy. The hens with the 
 medium temperatures both made good hatches ; 
 but neither of the others hatched a chick, 
 though all the eggs had chicks in them. Those 
 under the 98° hen were not fully developed, 
 though some were alive ; those under the 105° 
 hen were fully formed, but all dead. He tried 
 the same two hens again and again ; they had 
 the same peculiarities in the main, and he never 
 got one live chick from either. These facts 
 suggest causes of failure other than bad nests, 
 or bad sitting, or thunderstorms, and may make 
 the use of a thermometer worth while in 
 establishments where more than one or two 
 hens are set in a season. 
 
 Moderate-sized cross-bred hens are usually 
 good sitters. Old English Game are in the very 
 first class, and so are Dorkings if not too heavy. 
 Cochins, Brahmas, and other breeds with 
 Asiatic blood, such as Plymouth Rocks and 
 Wyandottes, make close sitters and good' 
 mothers for a few weeks, but as a rule leave! 
 their chickens earlier than the above. The 
 very large heavy birds are apt to crush 
 eggs and tread on chickens ; for this reason 
 Rocks and Wyandottes are preferable to 
 Cochins and Brahmas. But we always did very 
 well with the latter unless unusually large ; two 
 large hens we had, we invariably had bad luck 
 with. Some people have a prejudice against 
 trusting pullets in their first period of broodiness, 
 but we never had the slightest cause to regret 
 doing so, as we have done frequently, and early 
 pullets are generally amongst the earliest sitters 
 available. 
 
 Of course, many hens become broody when 
 it is impossible or undesirable to let them sit 
 on eggs. In many cases, as before moult, it 
 H 
 
 is advisable to let them have the rest of sitting 
 upon nest-eggs for a while; but often it is desired 
 to break them of the desire and obtain eggs 
 again as soon as possible. In past days of 
 
 ignorance hens have been dipped in 
 SUtin^eSa. ^'^^^ ^ater, with an idea of cooling 
 
 the fever of the blood ; such treat- 
 ment, besides the risk of the chill, is really 
 of little use. The proper plan is either to con- 
 fine the bird under a common basket-coop or 
 open wire pen, on the hard ground in the open 
 yard, with water by her, and where all the others 
 come round her, in full daylight but shaded 
 from the sun, and feeding the corn for the whole 
 about her coop ; or, what is perhaps better still, 
 placing her in a pen something like a fattening- 
 pen, with a bottom of slats only. This may be 
 either raised as usual, or only a few inches from 
 the ground on four bricks ; in either case she is 
 obliged to roost on a slat, as it were, and is 
 kept cool, while, as before, she should be in 
 plenty of light (but not sun) and where she 
 sees all that is going on. A few days of this 
 cool confinement will suffice in nearly every 
 case. 
 
 Fig. 30. — Nest-box. 
 
 A nest for hatching should be made up, if 
 
 possible, on the ground, in a quiet and cool 
 
 place, and if a little damp, all the 
 The^Hatching j^^^^^^ ^y^^^ gpj.jpg ^^^ f^jj.jy ^^^ 
 
 in. After trying many kinds, we 
 preferred to all other nest-boxes the simple 
 form shown in Fig. 30, tacked together of 
 thin boards, entirely open at the bottom, and 
 also in the front,^ except a strip about three 
 inches high to confine the nest material. For 
 our large Brahma hens the size on ground was 
 about 16 by 12 inches, and the open front may 
 or may not be provided with the hinged wire or 
 other open front of some kind. Scrape a slight 
 hollow in the ground within the box, or over 
 which to place it, and further bank up the 
 corners with a trowelful of loose earth or ashes. 
 Over this place a suitable quantity of clean 
 
so 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 straw beaten and crushed till quite soft, forming 
 a nice moderate hollow, and again well filling up 
 the corners, so that eggs cannot roll away. In 
 each corner put amongst the straw a small lump 
 of camphor, which will do much to keep away 
 insects. As a rule nothing more will be needed ; 
 but if the weather be persistently and unusually 
 dry, or in a hot season, it is well during the last 
 ten days of incubation to take some warm water 
 in a kettle, and pour a few spoon- 
 Moisture, fuls on, or rather into each of the 
 corners of the nest. The object is 
 not to directly wet the eggs, but that the 
 moisture may descend underneath the straw, 
 and create a moist atmosphere. We have 
 formerly advised and practised taking the hen 
 off at night and sprinkling the eggs with warm 
 water in hot weather, but we long since satisfied 
 ourselves that this was usually overdone, and 
 often did mischief. Another good plan is 
 to pour a teacupful of warm water on the 
 ground close round the nest, in hot or dry 
 weather. Any moistening at all should be 
 restricted to this ; in wet or cold weather 
 should be attempted. At such seasons. 
 
 should be made 
 straw ; and 
 
 none 
 
 or for early broods, nests 
 
 with special care and with more 
 
 if the ground be damp, it is better in winter 
 
 to put in the nest first half a spadeful of clean 
 
 dry ashes, which will do much to prevent chill. 
 
 If a hen cannot be set on the ground, it is 
 well to place, as the foundation of the nest, a 
 good thick turf cut to fit the box, and well 
 curled up at the corners by some earth put 
 underneath, so as to form a basin for the straw. 
 We thus have a foundation to which we can 
 apply some moisture if required. In default of 
 this, we think eggs thus hatched above ground 
 are usually the better for a slight daily sprinkle 
 in hot dry weather, during the latter half of the 
 period. There can be no doubt, however, that 
 at one period damping or sprinkling the eggs 
 was much exaggerated, to actual harm and loss. 
 Nature has provided sufficient moisture in normal 
 circumstances, and we only have at the utmost 
 to provide for any deficiency our nests may 
 present, as against the situations which they 
 would occupy were Nature free to take its course. 
 The nearest approach we can make to this, is to 
 damp the substratum of the nest when required. 
 It is best to set a hen at night, when she 
 will rest quietly on the ground whilst the 
 eggs are arranged, if shaded from the light of 
 the lantern. Most hens, if then placed in 
 front of the nest where they can see the eggs, 
 will quietly walk right on and settle themselves. 
 A strange hen should, if possible, be brought 
 to her new quarters also at night, in a basket, 
 
 with an egg or two under her. If sent by 
 rail she should be left in a quiet place till 
 dark, then removed to a nest; but not to the 
 one she is to hatch in until her personal con- 
 dition has been ascertained, as hinted above 
 We rarely remember failure with strange hens 
 when treated in this way. 
 
 The number of eggs set should be graduated 
 to the hen, and the season; for very early 
 
 broods, seven or eight of her own 
 Number of sized eggs are enough. If more 
 
 are attempted, the outer ones may 
 chilled; but, still more, we have to con- 
 
 Eggs. 
 
 get 
 
 the hen can 
 have somewhat 
 in cold weather 
 warmed, and are 
 
 At a time (long 
 
 sider how many chickens 
 properly brood when they 
 grown ; if she has too many, 
 the weaker ones will not get 
 either stunted or may perish, 
 ago) when we sold eggs at a high price for sitting, 
 we very soon came to a rule of not letting any 
 person have more than ten at a time, and we 
 found that the average results reported to us 
 were better than with more, up to the middle of 
 April. With warmer weather, of course, more 
 can be allowed, but we think eleven enough, if 
 they are known to hatch well. They should be 
 arranged so as to lie in a moderate but not 
 excessive hollow, just enough to keep them well 
 together ; but in cold weather the straw should 
 be well raised around them. If not otherwise 
 marked, every egg should be marked round with 
 ink or pencil, as a hen may lay one or two afler 
 sitting, which should be removed. 
 
 The management of the sitting - hen will 
 depend much on circumstances. There may be 
 but one or two broods in the year, 
 Management ^nd she may have to be set in the 
 Sitting-hen. ordinary fowl-house. She should 
 then have her usual nest, of course 
 re-made for her, but should be secured from mo- 
 lestation by others, by having a square of wire 
 netting or light lattice propped against the 
 front when she is on the nest. She should be 
 lifted off the nest at the same hour every morn- 
 ing, and fed in some way by herself, otherwise 
 she will not get enough, and time will be lost. 
 She must also have access to a dust-bath. Whole 
 barley is the best food for a sitting-hen. She 
 will rarely remain away more than half an hour, 
 more often not that, if what she needs is at 
 hand ; and when the proper time is up may 
 be gently driven or coaxed back to the neigh- 
 bourhood of her nest ; to catch her and replace 
 by hand is to court disaster. A longer absence 
 is not necessarily fatal, and it only does harm 
 to be over-fidgety. We have repeatedly had 
 hens absent over an hour and still bring off 
 good broods, but much depends upon the 
 
TESTING EGGS. 
 
 5» 
 
 weather, and period of incubation. A well- 
 known writer has stated that " at the earlier 
 periods of sitting the hen may be absent for a 
 prolonged time without injury, whereas a much 
 shorter neglect of her duties would be fatal 
 nearer the day of hatching." Unless this state- 
 ment be confined to the first ten or twelve hours, 
 the exact contrary to it is the case, as testified 
 
 Fig. 31. — Nash's Egg Protector, 
 
 by the uniform experience of thousands. It is 
 during the first few days, up to the tenth day, 
 that the eggs are most easily addled by chill ; 
 after that the chicken keeps up more and 
 more heat by its own vitality, and is more 
 independent accordingly. During the last 
 week we have personally had a hen off nearly 
 five hours, and still obtained a half brood ; 
 and in one case reported to us, five chickens 
 survived even nine hours' neglect. However 
 we feared the worst, therefore, we would never 
 abandon valuable eggs until the full term 
 and somewhat more was completed. 
 
 Many yards have a sitting-house, where 
 several hens are set at once. In this case it is 
 also safest to take them off, and see them return 
 one at a time (always taking them in the same 
 order), as two sitters often fight. They should 
 always be seen safely back again when thus 
 managed. But there is still another plan, which 
 we followed with much comfort when using the 
 building shown in Fig. 1 1. We use'd then to 
 sit a single hen in one of the small pens marked 
 DD. Hens may generally be left entirely to 
 themselves in such single houses and runs, 
 seeing only to the dust-bath, and food and 
 water, and removing the daily evacuation. But 
 some hens would never come off if so left, and 
 we always preferred to remove them ; in such 
 small runs they never outstay the time, how- 
 ever, and may be left to themselves as to return. 
 It is well to look every two or three days 
 to see whether any eggs are broken. Should 
 
 such an accident occur, the first 
 Broken Eggs, night afterwards a bucket of water 
 
 heated to 102'' should be taken 
 to the spot, and the hen being lifted off, every 
 
 &g'g well cleansed in the pail, using a piece 
 of flannel. All dirty straw must also be re- 
 moved and the nest re-made, quite clean and 
 comfortable. Should the hen's breast be soiled 
 by the broken egg, that also must be cleansed 
 thoroughly, or it may adhere to one of the eggs 
 and so repeat the accident. If this treatment 
 be neglected, hatching will probably fail alto- 
 gether. Sometimes valuable eggs may get 
 cracked within a few days of incubation ; in 
 many such cases the e.^% or chick has been 
 saved by pasting over the crack a small strip 
 of gummed paper, or, in the case of Bantam 
 eggs, of goldbeater's skin. Cases of perforated 
 metal large enough to contain an egg are some- 
 times used in such instances, and may be useful. 
 Nash's Egg Protector was the first of these, and 
 is obtainable from Spencer and Co., of Fenchurch 
 Street. We have seen another form, in some 
 respects better, the metal being thinner and 
 enamelled white, and furnished with small per- 
 forations all over, but do not know where it can 
 be obtained. These egg-cases, or protectors, 
 may also be used to contain insecticides or 
 disinfectants. 
 
 At the expiration of from six to eight days 
 the eggs should be examined by candlelight, 
 
 as , the unfertile ones , can then be 
 Testing Eggs, easily detected, and if the greater 
 
 part be sterile time is saved, as 
 the same hen may be at once set again. A 
 new-laid egg, as is well known, appears clear 
 and translucent when held between the eye and 
 a candle. Barren eggs appear so still (as sho^vn 
 in Fig. 32), even after being sat upon a week ; 
 but the eggs which contain embryo chickens 
 
 Fig. 32.— Testing Eggs. 
 
 Barren Egg. Fertile Egg. 
 
 then have a dark shadow in the centre, shading 
 ofi" to more transparency at the edges. The 
 amount of shadow will vary with the time of 
 incubation and size of the eggs, and perfect 
 opacity v/ill not be found till nine or ten days 
 have elapsed, even with good-sized eggs ; but 
 after a few experiments, enclosing the egg 
 
52 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 between the thumb and forefinger, and turning 
 the rest of the hand so as to shade the light as 
 much as possible, no mistake will ever be made, 
 and even with the hand alone, the quality will 
 be determined with certainty. By using a plate 
 of tin or zinc to shade the light, and holding 
 the tgg to an aperture in it, cut to the shape, 
 the light may be brought closer. Hearson's egg- 
 tester, shown in Fig. },i, is a very favourite 
 
 D 
 
 a 
 
 ^''& 33- — Hearson's Egjr-tsster. 
 
 form ; in this the outer plate A is furnished 
 with several movable diaphragms as at B, c, 
 for different sizes of eggs, or such can be pre- 
 pared to fit the eggs. With such an apparatus, 
 besides the shadow in the centre some of the 
 radiating blood-vessels can generally be dis- 
 tinguished, and after experience many breeders 
 are able to pronounce upon the eggs by the fifth 
 day, especially if a lamp be used which has a 
 lens to condense the light, such as a really good 
 bicycle lamp, which answers excellently. A 
 hole may be cut in a book-cover or other sheet 
 of thick card, and used in the same way. The 
 sterile eggs up to eight or nine days are quite 
 good enough for puddings, and if fresh when 
 set, will be better than many " shop " eggs even 
 for boiling ; or they may be used as food for the 
 chickens. A simple tester of this kind is as 
 much as can be useful to persons who only hatch 
 occasionally; a more powerful instrument for 
 use on a large scale will be described in the 
 next chapter. 
 
 Early in the season, when unfertile eggs are 
 most hkely to occur, it is a good plan to set 
 It possible, two hens simultaneously. Then the 
 fertile ones, if many have to be rejected, can 
 all be given to one hen, and the other set again 
 in any case, if the majority are unfertile, the 
 waste of the sitting-hen may be avoided by 
 ascertaining the fact thus early. 
 
 It is usually taken for granted that eggs of 
 ordinary poultry hatch " after twenty-one days " 
 but this is not strictly true, and the actual time 
 vanes considerably. With fresh eggs of medium 
 
 sized to large fowls, our own experience was 
 that they usually hatched early in the twenty- 
 first day, those not so fresh during the rest 
 of it. Cold weather and east winds delay 
 
 the time ; warm weather rather 
 Period of hastens it. Small, light breeds like 
 Incubation. Ham burghs often hatch during the 
 
 twentieth day, and Bantams some- 
 times during the nineteenth. Other varieties 
 of poultry hatch as follows : ducks, twenty- 
 eight days ; geese, twenty-eight to thirty days ; 
 turkeys, twenty-six to twenty-nine days ; guinea 
 fowl, twenty-five to twenty-six days ; pheasants 
 and partridges, twenty-four to twenty-five days; 
 pea-fowl, twenty-eight to thirty days. In incu- 
 bators the time is still more variable. 
 
 A day before hatching is expected, many 
 people like to immerse the eggs in a pail of 
 water heated to about 105°. In a few minutes — 
 
 they often wait a little first — the 
 
 Hatching. ". ^'^^ " °"^^ ^^^^ \ie:gm to bob about 
 in a curious manner, from the 
 motions of the chick within. If 
 none at all respond, or if many of eggs previously 
 " tested " fail to respond, it is better to restore 
 them all, as hatching may perhaps be rather 
 late. We believe such a soaking is_ of some 
 help to the hatching; but unless the hen is quiet 
 and tame she should not be fretted by such 
 proceedings, nor is it very advisable for absolute 
 novices to meddle with them. 
 
 The hen should not be fussed with very 
 much whilst hatching. It should be seen that 
 she has a good feed the last time she is expected 
 off, then she is better left, except for visits at 
 considerable intervals. If she was set at night, 
 some v/ill probably have hatched by the after- 
 noon, if so let these egg-shells be cleared away. 
 Then, the last thing we. would examine again, 
 removing any further shells, and if the hen was 
 tame give her some food as she was. Then she 
 can be shut in, dark, till next morning. If there 
 are known to be live chicks, however, and no 
 progress seems made when they are more than 
 due, or if eggs are " starred " and things seem no 
 more forward after some hours, the chicks may 
 be glued to the shell by dried albumen, or too 
 weakly to get farther. In that case they can often 
 be assisted out, immersing the egg ^all but the 
 head of the chick) in warm water about 105° 
 gently enlarging the crack, and possibly peeling 
 tenderly away the wet membrane. All must 
 of course, be performed as if dealing with raw 
 flesh. Chicks thus assisted out of the sh,ell are 
 generally best kept in flannel by the fire till 
 night, when they should be put amongst the 
 others under the hen. Many such chickens 
 have survived to make perfectly healthy fowls 
 
53 _. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION. 
 
 SINCE the first edition of this work, a revo- 
 lution has taken place in the practice of 
 artificial incubation, so great that not one 
 machine then described now receives more than 
 historical mention in these pages. It is difficult 
 to understand the slow progress in the art made 
 during many years, or all the precise causes to 
 which the years of failure or uncertainty were 
 due, all the more when we remember that for at 
 least two thousand years artificial incubation 
 has been practised in both Egypt and China, 
 with the simplest appliances, but with unvary- 
 ing success. From a report by the American 
 Consul at Cairo, published in 1895, there 
 appears to have been a revival in Egypt of this 
 pursuit, which at one time had fallen to a 
 comparatively low ebb. He estimated at that 
 date the probable number of egg 
 Egg^Ovens ovens as about 150, each of them 
 turning out on an average about 
 300,000 chickens per season, hatched during 
 the months of February, March, and April : 
 some having less capacity, and others running 
 up to double the average number. They 
 are situated in villages which form centres 
 of agricultural districts, from which the eggs 
 are brought in, to be taken away again as 
 chickens at two days old. In some cases a 
 fee is paid for hatching, but as a rule the eggs 
 are bought outright for about sixteen shillings 
 per thousand, and sold independently as 
 newly hatched chicks for about six shillings 
 per hundred. 
 
 The crude simplicity of these great incuba- 
 tors is striking. One of them will occupy 
 a ground plan of say 100 by 60 feet, and is 
 constructed massively of sun-dried brick and 
 clay. The end will be occupied by two or three 
 small halls or vestibule rooms, which guard 
 the temperature from the .effects of opened 
 doors. From a second one of these, a small 
 door leads to a passage-way up the centre of 
 the building. From this central passage, small 
 entrances on each side lead to double-storeyed 
 circular rooms or vaults. These are ebout six- 
 teen feet in diameter, the lower storey four 
 feet high, the upper one nearly double. Round 
 
 the floor of each, ten inches or so from the wall, 
 runs a low wall or ridge about six inches high ; 
 in the trough between this and the wall portions 
 of fuel (composed of straw and dried dung) are 
 placed, and fires lighted, more or less in num- 
 ber as the heat requires increasing or lowering. 
 The operator stands in the centre, reaching the 
 upper storey through a hole in the centre of 
 its floor, and changes the position of the eggs, 
 which are laid on matting covered over with 
 bran, twice a day, from near the man-hole to the 
 circumference, or vice versd. Small apertures 
 at the top of each chamber let out the smoke 
 and superfluous heat. The eggs are tested much 
 as we do, at about the sixth and the tenth 
 day, and the newly hatched chicks are placed 
 till sold in a portion of the central passage, 
 which is rather cooler than the ovens, and serves 
 as ' a drying box. The apertures or entrances 
 to the ovens themselves, are closed and caulked 
 every time v-^hen the attendant withdraws. 
 
 Thus simple is the Egyptian oven-incubator, 
 and so entirely is its management left to the 
 attendants. No copper tanks have they ; no 
 water-trays to temper the " hot dry air " ; no 
 thermometer do they know anything about ; but 
 they hatch chickejis, and that without dreaming 
 of failure.' On the other hand it is to be 
 remembered that the profession is hereditary, 
 handed down with its cherished secrets under 
 solemn oaths and initiatory rites from father 
 to son. We need not set much store by the 
 oaths ; but there is no doubt that experience 
 and heredity have developed an extraordinary 
 sense of touch, by which alone the operators 
 regulate the temperature, under constant per- 
 sonal observation, and after the first fortnight 
 know instantly whether an egg be alive. It 
 cannot fail to be noticed how their methods, 
 now that these are better known, run flatly 
 contrary to more than one principle which has 
 for years been assumed to be vital in artificial 
 incubation. 
 
 Our historical notes must be very brief, and 
 confined to important points. All the earlier 
 attempts at artificial incubation were made in 
 France, whose monarch, Francis I., became 
 
54 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 interested in the subject as far back as 1540. 
 In 1777, Dr. Bonnemain constructed his "Ec- 
 calobion," which actually supplied chickens to 
 the Paris markets, as well as to the Court, until 
 
 all came to an end with the events 
 Early of 1814. Reaumur obtained fair 
 
 Europf^ " results from the heat of fermenting 
 
 dung, heaped up round small casks, 
 and renewed as required. In 1845, M. Valine, 
 poultry superintendent of the far - famed 
 Jardin des Plantes at Paris, constructed an in- 
 cubator which marks an epoch, containing as it 
 did a self-acting valve which opened to reduce 
 the temperature when too high. Its action 
 was crude and imperfect, but he thus introduced 
 a cardinal feature which is part of every in- 
 cubator at the present day. In or about 1846, 
 Cantelo introduced the supply of heat from 
 above. His apparatus hatched many chickens, 
 and was often exhibited, but was too costly 
 to come into general use ; and the same may 
 be said of the large and elaborate incubator 
 of Minasi, which was publicly exhibited in 
 England, and used by one or two purchasers, 
 so late as the publication in 1872 of the first 
 edition of this work. With these the older 
 group of machines may be said to come to a 
 close. 
 
 There followed another school of experi- 
 menters, whose aim was to produce machines 
 
 more generally useful, and acces- 
 
 fncStotora. ?i*^^^> ^'^^ portable. Garbonnier's 
 incubator consisted merely of a 
 rectangular tank of water heated, without flues, 
 by a lamp placed in a chamber at one end. 
 Under this was a drawer in which the eggs 
 were placed, covered over by a canvas 
 resting upon them, on which was borne half 
 an inch of sawdust. In the tank was one 
 thermometer, and in the drawer another, and 
 the whole was regulated simply by incessant 
 watchfulness. He laid down specifically that 
 once a day the eggs were to be withdrawn, to 
 be cooled for twenty minutes, then turned over, 
 and the sawdust replaced upon them and 
 sprinkled with tepid water. Many made this 
 simple machine, and some hatched well 
 with it, but the time and care needed were far 
 too great. We have often wondered that a 
 heating medium gently resting upon the eggs, 
 like his layer of slightly damped sawdust spread 
 upon a canvas, has not been more frequently 
 attempted. 
 
 Brindley's incubator, introduced in 1866, 
 consisted of flues from a boiler circulating 
 between an upper and lower pane of glass, 
 which formed a radiating hot chamber, thus 
 introducing another system much used since. 
 
 Under this radiating chamber was a drawer 
 of felt, in which the eggs were placed. There 
 was a regulating valve, which let hot air out 
 from the chamber when required, but it did not 
 act very well, depending as it did upon the 
 expansion of mercury. This machine was 
 at one time used by several British fanciers 
 to do the final hatching-out of eggs pre- 
 viously incubated by hens. In 1865 Mr. F. 
 Schroder introduced for the first time a tank 
 of cold water under the eggs, whose evapo- 
 ration provided moisture, while the heat came 
 from a hot-water tank above. In 1866, Col. 
 Stuart Wortley introduced the principle of 
 warming a hot-air chamber by introducing a 
 greater or less length of water pipes always 
 kept boiling hot, and passed through stuffing- 
 boxes ; but this principle has never come into 
 use. It is rather remarkable that, although 
 Schroder's incubator was surrounded by cur- 
 tains, none of these machines were otherwise 
 provided with a case of non-conducting material, 
 so important for economy of fuel and uniformity 
 of temperature. 
 
 Two other English incubators of the ex- 
 perimental period demand record for the 
 originality of their arrangements.' In that of 
 Mr. Penman, of Newcastle, the bottom of the 
 hot-water tank was formed of vulcanised rub- 
 ber fabric, which rested loosely upon the eggs. 
 After a while this material " bagged " too much, 
 when the weight of the water was found to 
 crush the eggs and chickens, and the method 
 was consequently given up. We knew this 
 incubator to hatch well on several occasions, 
 however, and the defect stated could so easily 
 be remedied, that we have often wondered no 
 further attempt was made to carry out this 
 top contact system, along with more perfect 
 modern appliances. 
 
 In the incubator of Mr. Boyle, top heat 
 was also used, but not quite in contact. The 
 
 Fig. 34. — Boyle's Incubator. 
 
 hot-water tank p, supplied by the pipe Q, was 
 shaped at the bottom into a series of arches, 
 
THE HYDRO-INCUBATOR. 
 
 ^S 
 
 as shown at the left hand of the figure (the 
 top ring R being a drying box for the chickens). 
 The eggs were placed in rows in the apertures 
 of a perforated plate, N, so that when pushed 
 into place the rows of eggs were almost 
 touching, and enveloped by, these arches. At 
 O were small receptacles for holding wetted 
 cotton wool. The bottom of the plate and 
 eggs in it were exposed to the air. With 
 this system of top heat, and the bottom sides 
 of the eggs cool, it was found that the re- 
 quisite temperature was about I06°, whereas 
 in a drawer warm all through it is about 
 103°. This distinction is important, as will 
 presently be seen. The arrangement was, ' 
 however, awkward in practice, breaking eggs 
 wholesale in sliding the egg-plate in and out; 
 and though Boyle's machine hatched well on 
 many occasions, it never came into general 
 use. 
 
 American incubators, during the same 
 transition period, had more general similarity 
 in design. Patents were taken out by dozens, 
 but we can find little of value. In 1870 Jacob 
 Graves and Co., of Boston, introduced an in- 
 cubator whose type- lasted many years, and 
 did much work. It embodied Schroder's cold- 
 water tank under the eggs, with a hot- water 
 tank over them, and a chicken nursery or 
 drying box on top of all ; and its regulator 
 acted by the expansion of alcohol in two 
 large tubes extending through the egg-chamber 
 (see Fig. 36). Mr. Halsted introduced an 
 arrangement of flues through the tank which 
 tended to make the water rather hotter round 
 the edges than at the centre, thus counter- 
 acting the too great heat in centre of the egg- 
 drawer, which was and is still found a general 
 defect. He also introduced the regulator whose 
 type is mercury expanding by heat, and so over- 
 balancing a lever and working a valve (Fig. 37). 
 This being faulty, he abandoned, it for a com- 
 pound thermostatic bar, and with this and some 
 other modifications, his machine had a sale 
 during many years as the Centennial. The 
 most original idea we have come across in older 
 American machines was that of Mr. E. S, Ren- 
 wick, whose system radically differed from others 
 in not attempting to keep the temperature uni- 
 form, but aiming rather, after maintaining it at 
 a minimum for some hours, then to raise it to a 
 maximum of about three degrees higher. This 
 was done by a clockwork arrangement. There 
 is no doubt that this remarkable machine 
 hatched well, but it was too complicated and 
 costly for popularity. So far as we are per- 
 sonally aware, the same inventor seems the 
 first to have formed the bottom of the egg- 
 
 drawer of rollers, by whose revolution the 
 entire drawerful of eggs could be " turned " at 
 one time. Those here mentioned were all tank 
 machines, which prevailed for many years as in 
 England; only by degrees being manifested that 
 preference for the hot-air system which dis- 
 tinguishes the best American machines of the 
 present day. 
 
 Such was the state ol affairs at the com- 
 mencement of the last quarter of the nineteenth 
 century. The prominent importance of uniform 
 temperature (for even Mr. Renwick's systematic- 
 ally varied temperature was to be within defined 
 uniform limits) had been recognised ; but that 
 object had not been really attained by the 
 regulators then in use. Some of these, es- 
 pecially in America, had been carried to the 
 extreme of elaboration and apparent efficacy ; 
 still they failed to do their work. That moist- 
 ure and ventilation also played an important 
 part was known, but not well understood, noi 
 especially the relation between them ; and there 
 is no doubt that some of these older incubators 
 would give good hatches now, handled with the 
 knowledge since acquired respecting these latter 
 points. What artificial hatching was done was 
 chiefly in America ; where the popularity of 
 Leghorns and broiler chickens made it more 
 necessary, where the number of incubators pro- 
 duced skilled operators, and where regulators on 
 an average surpassed English models,, though 
 still leaving a great deal to be desired in their 
 operations. 
 
 Strange to say, artificial incubation became 
 a practical reality in England owing to the in- 
 troduction by Mr. T. Christy, in 
 Incubator"' ^^TT^ o^ ^ machine of the rudest con- 
 struction, known as the Hydro-In- . 
 cubator, made upon a model already successfully 
 used in France. The heater was a large rect- 
 angular tank of water, from the upper portion 01 
 which was withdrawn every twelve hours a cer- 
 tain number of gallons (variable according to 
 the thermometer indications), to be replaced by 
 boiling water, thus keeping up the temperature. 
 Under this tank was the egg-drawer, provided 
 with arrangements for damping and apertures 
 for ventilation, the whole being surrounded by 
 non-conducting material. There was a ther- 
 mometer in the tank and another in the egg- 
 drawer ; literally nothing else. 
 
 When so many had vainly devoted money, 
 pains, and complicated apparatus to main- 
 taining a uniform supply of heat, that a simple 
 machine should succeed which depended alto- 
 gether upon a re-supply of boiling water every 
 twelve hours, appeared to all simply ridiculous, 
 and it was some time before it was understood 
 
S6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 why it was that such success had attended so 
 rude a contrivance. Mr. Christy himself thought 
 the reason to be that there were no lamp-fumes 
 near the eggs, an idea long since exploded by 
 machines which admit such fumes directly into 
 the egg-chamber. The secret really lay in 
 two points; In the first place, the hot-water 
 tank was very large compared with apparatus 
 previously made, holding for a lOO-egg machine 
 about twenty or twenty-four gallons. The enor- 
 mous " specific heat " of water makes a large 
 body of it very " steady " in temperature. But 
 the construction of the tank was also peculiar. 
 If we take a flask of water containing a few 
 particles of bran, and apply a lamp to the 
 bottom, we shall see how the 
 heated water rises and circu- 
 lates, and the whole becomes 
 quite hot in a very short time. 
 But if we apply a hot plate 
 to the surface of the water in 
 an open glass vessel, there is 
 scarcely any movement, and it 
 is a long time ere the heat 
 reaches the lower portion of 
 the fluid. This time may be 
 increased still further by hori- 
 zontal partitions, which compel 
 the hot water to take a round- 
 about course. The tank in 
 the hydro-incubator was not 
 only large, but furnished with 
 such partitions ; and the boiling 
 water was always supplied at 
 the top. Thus the heat per- ,^ 
 colated very slowly downwards ; 
 and while the water drawn off 
 (from three to six gallons) 
 was generally about 146'', and 
 replaced by water at 212°, the temperature of 
 the bottom layer, which acts upon the eggs, 
 only varied in a small degree, and that in a 
 regular manner within certain limits, which 
 might be actually beneficial to the eggs, ac- 
 cording to Renwick's theory above mentioned. 
 Hydro-incubators were sold by scores, and 
 artificial hatching in England became at once 
 a practical success. With this, valuable ex- 
 perience was rapidly accumulated, followed by 
 improvements in details of management. Its 
 work being done, however, the hydro-incubator 
 itself only remained in use for a few years. 
 Simple as the system was, the provision of 
 gallons of boiling water every twelve hours was 
 found such a tax, that there was a demand on 
 all sides for supplementary apparatus. The 
 further step was soon taken of carrying circulat- 
 ing pipes from a small boiler into the tank of 
 
 the machine ; and instead of replacing from 
 three to six gallons by boiling water, every twelve 
 hours, at the same periods, the lanip under the 
 boiler was lit for a short time. Finally, however, 
 manufacturers have returned to the old system 
 of employing the constant heat of a lamp. 
 
 The incubators now in use are constructed 
 upon two systems, known as the "tank," and 
 "hot-air " or "atmospheric "systems. 
 Hearson's In England the tank system has 
 
 cT^suu"'' ""^ generally prevailed, owing partly to 
 Regulator. the sudden success of the hydro 
 system above described, but more 
 recently to the excellent results of the incubator 
 and regulator patented by Mr. Hearson in 
 
 ^■g- 35- — Hearson's Incubator. 
 
 November, 1881. The earlier tank machines 
 were made with large tanks, often with hori- 
 zontal partitions on the hydro-incubator plan, 
 which "steadied" the temperature, and gave 
 fair results with very mediocre regulators ; the 
 regulator in Tomlinson's machine, for instance, 
 acted by the expansion of heated air. With 
 better regulators, smaller tanks sufficed ; and 
 in fact Mr. Hearson somewhat reduced the 
 depth of his tanks as experience was gained. 
 The present form of this machine is shown in 
 F'g- 35' The tank A A, which is not intended 
 to be kept quite full, is traversed by the flue 
 LL from the lamp T. This flue is shown for 
 clearness leaving the machine at W, at the end 
 opposite the lamp, but really returns to the 
 same end before emerging. The top of the 
 lamp-flue or chimney V is covered by the valve 
 or damper F, so that when this is closed the 
 
BRITISH TANK INCUBATORS. 
 
 57 
 
 heat enters from the lower end L of the chimney, 
 and the whole traverses the flue L L to the exit 
 W ; but when the damper F is raised, more or 
 less heat escapes, and if fully raised nearly all 
 the heat escapes at F, none going to heat the 
 tank. This arrangement is worked by the 
 thermostatic capsule S, the main subject of 
 Mr. Hearson's patent, which depends for its 
 action upon the boiling-point of a volatile liquid. 
 As water boils at 212° F., so sulphuric ether 
 boils at 94°, and by dilution with alcohol can be 
 made to boil at 98", or any other temperature. 
 The capsule regulator consists of two plates of 
 brass fastened and soldered all round their 
 edges. Between them a little of the modified 
 liquid, which may conveniently be termed com- 
 pensated ether, is introduced, and the capsule 
 sealed. Then directly the supposed heat of 98° 
 is exceeded, at atmospheric pressure, the flattish 
 capsule expands or bulges under the pressure of 
 the vapour which is formed ; but the boiling 
 temperature is easily increased and graduated 
 by pressure upon the top plate of the capsule ; 
 hence we have an easily adjustable regulator. 
 The capsule lies on a little shelf rigidly braced 
 in a position over the eggs and below the tank, 
 and a rod O pressing upon its top plate transmits 
 the expansive motion to P, near the pivot end 
 of the lever G, where there is an adjusting screw 
 P ; there is also on the lever a sliding weight H. 
 By this screw and weight the temperature which 
 lifts the valve F is adjusted. In practice the 
 valve should " play " a little above the top of the 
 chimney. . The body of the incubator is packed 
 around with non-conducting material M. The 
 movable egg-tray K K has a bottom of per- 
 forated zinc, and is concave, so as to bring the 
 outer eggs, which are in a cooler part of the 
 chamber, nearer the top tank. The strips B B 
 supporting the tray, are also movable, and 
 being wider one way than the other, by chang- 
 ing their position the tray can be somewhat 
 raised or lowered in the chamber. The air 
 enters through the aperture D, passing through 
 a coarse fabric kept wet by dipping into the 
 water-tray c c, and passes out through the upper 
 ventilating holes E E. 
 
 Th.e incubator here figured is still a deserved 
 favourite, and will serve sufficiently as the 
 type of many other tank machines. Since the 
 expiry of the patent many of these, in fact, 
 are evidently modelled upon it, with various 
 minor alterations. Some of these latter may 
 possibly be improvements, while some almost 
 certainly are not ; and others may be matter of 
 opinion, or locality, or experience, for all of which 
 there is ample room for allowance in incubator 
 construction. Some makers employ larger hot-air 
 I 
 
 flues, in which one of them introduces baffles or 
 partial stops, in order to check the rate of 
 draught and economise oil. Some employ 
 deeper tanks to steady the iempera- 
 other ture, and make the bottom of the 
 
 Tank°^ tank concave towards the pgg^tray, 
 
 Machines. in order to diminish the inequality 
 between the temperature at the centre 
 and the outer margins. To equalise the heat over 
 all the eggs is one chief difficulty in all machines, 
 heat being lost by radiation from the margins of 
 the chamber, however carefully packed. The 
 amount thus radiated, and consequent inequality, 
 will vary with the arrangements, and the ventila- 
 tion of the machine, and the temperature outside ; 
 and provision against it can only be averaged. 
 One inventor carries his hot-air flue round the 
 edges of the tank ; another brings the hot-water 
 down a few inches below the main body of the 
 tank, all round the egg-chamber. It will be seen 
 that alteration in one detail may alter other con- 
 editions not intended, and that some good point 
 may be gained at the cost of others. This is 
 illustrated by such a simple matter as the cubic 
 contents of the tank. The effect of increasing it 
 has already been mentioned, in greater steadiness 
 of temperature, thus masking or diminishing the 
 effect of inefficient regulators. On the other 
 fand the Hearson machine uses smaller tanks 
 than at fi^rst, the effect of which is that the 
 regulator responds more quickly to sudden 
 changes in outside temperature, which a large 
 tank cannot readily do. Hence, while a small 
 tank may be regulated by shutting out or other- 
 wise diminishing the .supply of heat, a large-tank 
 machine may require, in addition, to let out hot 
 air from the egg-chamber through a valve. 
 Attempt has been made to improve the capsule 
 regulator itself in various ways, chiefly in regard 
 to the small amount of the original motion, 
 which has to be multiplied by the long lever. 
 Various ingenious but misguided theorists have 
 supposed that by introducing additional levers, 
 -or eccentric cams, into the mechanical part of 
 the apparatus, they improve this state of things. 
 Any person acquainted with mechanics will see 
 that any such complications are the reverse of 
 improvements, introducing needless friction at 
 all the additional parts, with absolutely no gain, 
 and that one simple lever working on a knife- 
 edge is the best possible arrangement that can 
 be adopted. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the success of 
 Hearson's machine and others on similar lines 
 was greatly due to the simple and 
 Ee^^lators effective action of its capsule regula- 
 tor, and it may be well to describe 
 here, before going farther, some of the prin- 
 
S8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 cipal types of thermostats which have been 
 employed in incubator work. One of the first 
 to work efficiently was that of Jacob Graves. 
 
 Fig. 36. — Graves' Regulator. 
 
 Here a large bulb or tube A L (Fig. 36) extend- 
 ing all along over the eggs in the chamber, was 
 connected by a neck-cork C v/ith the tube M. 
 The tube A L was filled with alcohol, which 
 expands greatly when heated ; M was partially 
 filled with mercury, carrying the float or piston- 
 F, which worked the lamp and valve, as it was 
 pushed by the expanding alcohol up the tube. 
 This regulator has been revived quite recently ; 
 a practically similar one being used in the 
 American " Reliable " tank incubator of the 
 present day. 
 
 Mr. Halsted introduced the " balancing " 
 mercury regulator. In his form the bulb M on 
 the end of a sealed tube T was large enough to 
 hold about half a pound of- mercury, of which 
 sufficient was introduced to extend to about the 
 shaded portion at 100°, the whole then balancing 
 on the axis A A. On the heat increasing the 
 mercury extended up the tube, when T descended, 
 the turning axis A A working the valve. The 
 whole was regulated and balanced by the weight 
 W, sliding on an arm L fixed to the axis. This 
 form was found awkward and cumbrous, and 
 regulation poor, while breakage of the bulb was 
 frequent ; but the balance principle has been 
 modified and used in many ways. In the best 
 examples, the balancing weight of the mercury 
 
 Fi?. 37- — Halsted's Regulator. 
 
 is used in combination with the expansion of 
 much more sensitive liquids. One of the most 
 beautiful, sensitive, and really efficient balance- 
 regulators ever designed, Mr. Boyle's, is shown 
 in Fig. 38, The long limb A of a siphon-tube 
 
 was in connection by the pipe B with the hot 
 water in the tank, which in his machine was the 
 medium regulated, the water extending nearly 
 to the bottom of the siphon : in modern 
 machines A would be connected with a long 
 bulb-tube in the drawer, precisely as in Fig. 36, 
 and might be filled with either water or alcohol, 
 c is filled with mercury, and connected by the 
 rubber-tube D with the small horizontal tube E 
 ending in a cup F, all which also contain 
 mercury. It will be seen that the expansion in 
 and behind A forces more mercury into the cup 
 F, and as the tube E is ten or twelve inches long, 
 and turns on D as a pivot, the increased weight 
 is added solely at the point where its leverage 
 is most powerful. The motion can be utilised 
 in any way by a thread or wire at M, and the 
 cup is connected with a lever H K, pivoted on I, 
 by which the action is balanced and regulated 
 through the sliding weight L. This regulator 
 works with a variation of one-tenth of a degree : 
 
 Fig. 38.— Boyle's Regulator. 
 
 it is in fact so sensitive, that it is advisable to 
 steady it somewhat by connection with a balanc- 
 ing spring G. On its own machine it was quite 
 thrown away ; but we know as the result of 
 experiments in other branches of biological 
 study, that it is one of the most perfect regulators 
 in action of any that have been devised, and 
 have often wondered that it has not been applied 
 to modern incubators, for some of which it is 
 well adapted. 
 
 The expansion of mercury has also been 
 used to complete a battery circuit in what are 
 called ''electric" regulators. We would warn 
 the reader to avoid all such, though the idea 
 seems to have fascinated a large number of 
 inventors. They are very sensitive in a way 
 —almost hyper-sensitive in fact, to a certain 
 
THERMOSTATS FOR INCUBATORS. 
 
 59 
 
 extent — but their radical defect is, that when 
 the circuit is completed it is completed : there 
 is no gradation about it. We have seen many 
 such devices, but this defect affects them all. 
 
 After Mr. Hearson's patent was published, 
 mercury was much used in combination with a 
 portion of compensated ether, to be vaporised 
 as in his capsule ; and though all these are 
 practically now abandoned by manufacturers, they 
 are so easily made up by amateurs, or may be 
 so useful in an unforeseen emergency to anyone 
 who can work a little in glass, that it may be 
 well to describe the three principal types. In 
 the J-tube form (Fig. 39) a small bubble of air 
 B and a portion of ether E were introduced into 
 the shorter and sealed arm of a J-tube, the rest 
 
 Fig- 39- 
 
 Fig. 40. 
 
 Fig. 41. 
 
 being filled with mercury to the point F, where 
 a float carried the rod R. At the proper tem- 
 perature the vapour depressed the mercury to 
 about the point A, raising the rod R. There were 
 also several on the balance principle, of which 
 Fig. 40 is a type, the tube here being bent into 
 three-fourths of a circle and balanced on the disc 
 D, to which the rod R is connected. The ether 
 E is at the sealed end as before, and as the 
 mercury is pushed round the tube it causes the 
 disc D to revolve. In another form (Fig. 41), 
 the sealed tube itself is made the float, being 
 inverted in an outer tube or vessel also con- 
 taining mercury. The bubble B and ether E are 
 as before ; the expanding vapour depresses the 
 mercury M, and raises the inner tube, which bears 
 ' the rod R. As already hinted, all these have 
 generally disappeared, and there is no question 
 that, of all thermostats depending upon the 
 vaporisation of compensated ether, Mr. Hear- 
 son's capsule , is far the best. Its simplicity, 
 permanence, and the definiteness of its zero- 
 point under the same conditions, all make it 
 superior to mercury forms ; and since the 
 expiry of the patent it has been adopted by 
 most English makers, and is made and sold, 
 
 like thermometers, for supply to manufacturers 
 generally. 
 
 Nevertheless, this regulator (with all which 
 depend upon vaporisation of a liquid) has one 
 serious defect, which makes it quite unsafe to 
 depend upon its automatic action alone. The 
 point at which vapour is formed differs with 
 the atmospheric pressure, to the extent in 
 our compensated ether of about two degrees 
 Fahrenheit for every inch of the barometer, or 
 one thousand feet of altitude. As in England 
 the barometer often varies to the extent of an 
 inch and a half, less frequently to within two 
 inches, and on rare occasions even more, it 
 follows that the capsule may vary the regulation, 
 from this cause alone and independent of tlie 
 temperature in the drawer, by as much as th:ee 
 or four degrees. 
 
 Metallic thermostatic bars, when really effi- 
 cient, act well and are free from this defect; but 
 many have not been efficient. If two bars of 
 different metals are fastened together side by 
 side, and one metal expands more than the 
 other, the double bar must, when heated, be 
 forced into a curve, with the more expansible 
 metal outwards ; then if one end be rigidly fixed, 
 the other will move, and may be used to work 
 the regulator. This has been the most general 
 construction; some wind the double bar into a 
 spiral, which winds and unwinds as the tem- 
 perature varies : Christy's incubator has a spiral 
 thermostat of this kind. Ebonite has also 
 been used as one of the components, and 
 acts strongly, but is to be avoided because it 
 gradually " perishes." Metallic thermostatic 
 bars have been almost neglected in -England, 
 chiefly on the ground of the metals rusting. This 
 objection is of course more serious in machines 
 where copious moisture is used, and has been 
 less felt where it is abandoned or used sparingly; 
 but even in a moist chamber the difficulty is 
 easily overcome. The Prairie State Incubator 
 Co. inform us that they dispose of it entirely in 
 the case of their thermostats, which are composed 
 of iron and hard brass (perhaps the most sus- 
 ceptible to rust of all metals), by tinning both 
 metals separately before they are put together, 
 and dipping the bars again into a bath of 
 melted tin after they are riveted together. 
 American patents are numerous ; but we have 
 not found very much of note, and will content 
 ourselves with showing, in Fig. 42, that used in 
 the " Cyphers " incubator presently described. 
 Each thermostatic bar F, of which there are two, 
 is about twenty-four inches long (or the whole 
 width of the chamber) and composed of a strip 
 of steel with its two edges bent downwards at 
 right, angles : this is to make the steel rigid, and 
 

 60 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 enable it to resist all bending strains. To the 
 ends of the steel are firmly riveted, on both the 
 upper and under sides, strips of aluminium, which 
 expands more than the steel when heated. The 
 aluminium is kept flat down to the steel for a 
 
 .E 
 
 Fig. 42. — Cyphers Thermostat. 
 
 certain distance from the ends by sliding ties or 
 rivets, which allow it to slide along, but not to 
 rise ; thus the expansion is all thrown towards 
 the centre, where the aluminium is not tied, and 
 rises into a bow. The action, therefore, consists 
 of four of these bows expanding with the heat, 
 and the superiority of this thermostat consists in 
 the strength and definiteness of the motion, and 
 rigidity of the whole, just as in the capsule 
 regulator. For the rest, the point of resistance 
 is the nut B at the end of the rod J, the upper- 
 most aluminium bow G lifts the tube C, sliding on 
 the rod J and through the casting A. .'The 
 motion is thus conveyed to knife-edges lifting 
 the lever H with its valve E, the lever also 
 working. on knife-edges at I, and furnished at 
 the other end with an adjusting weight D. 
 
 There is yet another point in regard to heat- 
 regulation. In some machines the egg-charnber 
 is kept nearly uniform in tempera- 
 ture all over. But in others, which 
 have a colder bottom, with the 
 heat radiated from the top, the temperature 
 differs greatly at various distances from the 
 radiator, and hence must be higher above the 
 eggs, in proportion as it is colder below them or 
 in the outer air, to keep the egg itself at the 
 same temperature. By many experiments, Mr. 
 Hearson found that with his machine, the heat 
 shown by the thermometer needed to be increased 
 one degree for about every ten degrees fall of 
 outer temperature ; and this he directs to be regu- 
 lated for by the sliding weight. Every machine 
 of the top-heat type would have its own scale. 
 
 It is possible to provide for this automati- 
 cally, though we only know at present of two 
 
 actual attempts in this direction. The " Prairie 
 State" incubator, presently described, and so 
 widely used in America, is now made with a 
 =)-shaped thermostatic bar, one limb of the I3 
 placed above and the other under the eggs, 
 and so combined in their 
 operation as to give a higher 
 temperature above the eggs 
 when it is colder below. The 
 result, we believe, is very satis- 
 factory. The other example is 
 English, in the regulator ofthe 
 "Forester" machine. This is an ether-vapour 
 regulator ; but instead of a flat capsule, it is 
 constructed like a small funnel (Fig. 43), closed 
 at both the wide and small ends. The wide 
 end is outside the machine, in the open air ; and 
 it will be seen that if the regulator were set for 
 cold weather, a considerable rise in outer tem- 
 perature would appreciably diminish the heat 
 within the chamber which was required to 
 vaporise the fluid. 
 
 In some tank machines the expansion of the 
 
 water in the tank itself has been used to regulate 
 
 the temperature. The most suc- 
 
 TJ'^°if^«^=t«™ cessful example we have met with 
 
 Tank System. . , „-, , „. 1 , , ^ < 
 
 IS the "Monarch mcubator, patented 
 
 by Mr. James Rankin, of America, and shown 
 
 in Fig. 44, as a machine interesting in several 
 
 respects. It is the only American machine we 
 
 know of, that is made under licence in England 
 
 (manufactured by Mr. William Calway) ; it 
 
 is also one of the most generally used tank 
 
 Double 
 Thermostats. 
 
 Fig. 43. — " Forester" Regulator. 
 
 machines in America, where such machines are. 
 in the minority ; and it is the product of many 
 years' experiment and work by one of the oldest 
 and largest duck-raisers in that country, Mr. 
 Rankin having been in that business twenty-five 
 years, and sending to market about 15,000 
 ducklings in 1898, all artificially hatched. His 
 incubator has naturally sold among duck-raisers 
 particularly, and in 1 898 Messrs. Weber, who are 
 amongst the largest, and who now market 35,000 
 annually, were using sixteen 600-egg " Monarch " 
 
THE MONARCH TANK REGULATOR. 
 
 6i 
 
 machines with ten of the 320-egg "Cypher " hot- 
 air machines presently referred to. It is also 
 worth attention as very different — indeed, the 
 most different that we are aware of — in ■ ideas 
 and general construction, from that general type 
 exemplified in Hearson's as already illustrated. 
 
 Fig. 44. — " Monarch " Incubator. 
 
 Fig. 44 is a section of this machine from a 
 drawing by Mr. Calway. The bottom of the tank 
 A A is rather raised in the centre, and has passing 
 through it the central ventilating flue, which also 
 tends to equalise the temperature. BBare the 
 egg trays, in position near the middle of the 
 very large egg-chamber, to which air is admitted 
 at the bottom by the ventilating tubes D D, pass- 
 ing out through holes E at the top of the other- 
 wise closed flue d'. It will be seen that in this 
 machine the tank is shallow, and the egg-chamber 
 deep. This shallow tank makes the machine 
 respond more quickly to regulation. In the 
 larger sizes, in America, two trays are sometimes 
 used, one over the other, doubling the capacity. 
 But there is a difference of 1 J to 2 degrees 
 between the upper and lower, and this does not 
 therefore work altogether satisfactorily, unless 
 hen eggs, which bear rather higher temperature, 
 are placed in the upper trays, duck eggs -in the 
 lower. The fact that this can be done, however, 
 practically illustrates the much less difference 
 in temperature between higher and lower levels 
 in this type of machine, than in the Hearson 
 type with its colder draught. The tank is 
 supplied by the boiler N N with its lamp M, the 
 hot water entering at s, and returning to s' by 
 the leaden pipe P. At C C are removable water- 
 trays, and Q is a removable false bottom of the 
 
 drying box R, which in this machine is below 
 the eggs. The thermometer, is at T. At w and 
 X are air-spaces or non-conducting packing. 
 The regulation is as follows : The tank is 
 filled to the top and a little more, so as to rise 
 into the regulating open tube H, in which slides 
 the float I, rising with the expansion of the 
 water. This float raises the end of the lever G, 
 from the end J of which proceeds a rod IC. The 
 lower end of this rod, by a short lever L, raises 
 a case round the wick, and decreases the flame, 
 the wick itself remaining unmoved. 
 
 It will be seen how radically different is the 
 method of working in this form of machine. Such 
 a method could never be carried out with the 
 deeper tank, smaller chamber, cold moist draught, 
 and great difference between bottom and top 
 temperatures of the other type. But with a tank 
 thus quickly responsive to changes in the flame, 
 with slower ventilation, and consequently far 
 more uniform heat through the chamber, it 
 works fairly. The best results, however, as 
 would be expected, appear to be reported from 
 establishments where the outer temperature is 
 not subject to much variation. 
 
 We may pass here from tank "machines to 
 the hot-air or atmospheric type of, incubator. 
 . These" are of several sub- types, the 
 
 Incubators. simplest of all being that in which 
 a lamp is placed underneath, or in, 
 the egg-chamber, and more or less of the products 
 of combustion actually pass into the latter, 
 besides more or less of pure heated air. It is 
 
 A 
 
 Fig. 45. — Forester Incubator. 
 
 remarkable that of the few hot-air incubators 
 made in England, two should be of this primitive 
 class, of which we represent Messrs. Roberts & 
 Co.'s "Forester" machine in Fig. 45. Here 
 C C is the egg-chamber, closed on the top by a 
 
6> 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 pane of glass B, in the centre of which the lever 
 of the regulator A (already figured) raises or 
 lowers a valve for surplus heat to escape. The 
 lamp J has a wire gauge K, to which the top of 
 the flame is trimmed. Between the lamp and 
 the egg-chamber above is a water-tray H H, with 
 an annular upper water-tray GG, the two con- 
 nected by a cloth L, through the capillarity of 
 which water rises from H H into G G. There is a 
 central aperture II, through the centre of all, 
 through which the lamp fumes and hot air 
 ascend. The moistened hot air passes into the 
 egg-chamber through a large square aperture in 
 the bottom also lettered I, surrounded by a wire 
 or perforated metal guard D. The bottom of 
 the rest of the chamber is a flexible material E E, 
 which " sags " between rods F F, and which turns 
 all the eggs at one time by gently drawing or 
 pushing the rods F. At C C are ventilating holes. 
 
 Fig. 46.— Cosy Coop Incubator. 
 
 An even more simple apparatus, quite dif- 
 ferently constructed, is Miss Wilson-Wilson's 
 well-known " Cosy Coop " incubator, now manu- 
 factured by the Dairy Outfit Co., of London 
 shown m Fig. 46. Here the lamp is actually 
 mtroduced mto the egg-chamber, surrounded by 
 a wire guard, and the eggs are laid around it 
 on a layer of damp sand covered by muslin 
 below the levslof the flame. The sand is kept 
 damp by a narrow annular trough of water 
 At the top of the chamber is a metal plate" 
 which becomes hot, and acts as a radiator in 
 the centre of which, above the lamp, is a large 
 ventilating aperture covered by the regulating 
 valve. The wall of the chamber is circular, and 
 the most peculiar point of the apparatus in 
 two respects. The first is in being entirely 
 Ipose JMjd detachable, so as to be lifted off and 
 
 replaced like a cover over the rest, as shown in 
 the figure. The second peculiarity is, that it is 
 made of porous material. This may be either 
 feathers, wool, or similar substances confined 
 between two walls of perforated zinc or wire 
 gauze, or a single or multiple thickness of 
 some porous fabric, which is now used. Such 
 a porous wall provides ample ventilation and 
 change of air, without allowing much loss of 
 heat. The same idea has, it will be presently 
 seen, been carried out quite independently 
 in the American "Cyphers" machine, and it 
 has the result, as more fully pointed out in 
 that case, of giving ample fresh air, without 
 any draught or current to dry the eggs, so that 
 it can be used successfully without moisture, as 
 more fully treated of on a subsequent page. 
 This simple — almost rude — type of hot-air 
 •. incubators has been much condemned in some 
 quarters, especially by makers of tank machines, 
 who allege that they " cannot " hatch success- 
 fully. One writer recently stated that passing 
 heat direct from the lamp into an incubator is 
 now quite discarded, because "the carbonic acid 
 from the lamp is as injurious to the developing 
 chick as it would be to human beings." Such a 
 statement betrays ignorance ; for it is well 
 known to physiologists that although oxygen 
 is necessary for animal life, the lower the form 
 of life the less oxygen is required. Thus it is 
 that a frog thrives in a marshy atmosphere 
 which poisons a man ; that a newly born babe 
 nestles comfortably under bed-clothes which 
 would asphyxiate its mother ; that forty China- 
 men will sleep all night on shelves in a room 
 almost hermetically closed, whereas forty 
 Europeans would be nearly all dead before 
 morning. The life of the embryo in the tg^ is a 
 lower life than any of these. Nevertheless, we 
 shared a strong prejudice against this type of 
 machine, until we were convinced by ample 
 evidence that both those here mentioned have, 
 in many hands, hatched most satisfactorily. Of 
 course, it is necessary for sufficient fresh air to 
 enter as well as the lamp fumes ; and in both 
 the examples cited, the most direct of the 
 fumes pass out through the valve, which is 
 immediately over the lamp! The "Forester" 
 valve, indeed, has an aperture in it expressly to 
 allow of some escape, even when the valve is 
 closed. But under such conditions machines of 
 this simple type do hatch successfully; and 
 being amongst the smallest and cheapest of all 
 It IS well to state the fact, because when 
 adequate attention is given, and only small 
 hatches are required, they suit many persons 
 Dest. i hey are also very useful for early experi- 
 ments, and may introduce some people at 
 
AMERICAN HOT-AIR INCUBATORS. 
 
 63 
 
 small expense into a fascinating branch of 
 poultry culture, which may perhaps be extended 
 thereafter with appliances on a larger scale. 
 
 Among hot-air incubators which exclude 
 lamp fumes, Hillier's " Atmospheric," and Green- 
 wood's "Conqueror" may be mentioned. In 
 Hillier's the lamp flue goes through the chamber 
 to the top, after first passing into a hot-air 
 chamber or radiator which is at the bottom of 
 the machine. Air enters, being warmed in so 
 doing, round this hot-air chamber. A valve 
 over the central flue rises when the heat is too 
 great, and lets out more of the lamp-heat direct, 
 without heating the chamber. In Greenwood's 
 
 moisture, it will be seen that they register real 
 advance, and must be allowed to take the lead 
 in efficiency and saving of trouble combined. 
 Almost universallythey employ efficient metallic 
 thermostats, which do not vary with the baro- 
 metric pressure, as do those which, depending on 
 vaporisation, are liable to several degrees of 
 fluctuation independent of outside temperature. 
 While the tank system "steadies" this, and 
 works well with capsule regulators and careful 
 attention, the much more sensitive hot-air 
 system could only have been perfected with 
 thermostats allowing much less variation. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that the atmospheric 
 
 Incubator-room of Mr. H. S. Karstendiek, New Orleans. 
 
 the radiator is at the top. Mr. Hillier considers 
 that he has attained a distinct improvement in 
 working, by connecting the egg-chambers of two 
 of his machines by a flue, the two regulators 
 correcting or "averaging" one another. Hitherto, 
 however, hot-air incubators have been little used 
 in England, as compared with tank machines. 
 
 In America, on the contrary, though several 
 other good tank machines besides the "Monarch" 
 
 are still employed, and work well 
 MacW^es enough, the hot-air system is far the 
 
 most in use. One reason for Ameri- 
 can preference of the hot-air type appears to 
 be greater economy of oil, which on a large 
 scale becomes of importance. When we state, 
 however, that the latest and best makes of these 
 machines are able entirely to dispense with 
 
 principle should be so decisively preferred in a 
 country distinguished for extremes of tempera- 
 ture, and where artificial incubation is carried on 
 upon a scale utterly unknown in England, and 
 rather difficult to realise. One manufacturer in 
 Quincy, Illinois, states that he sold 14,800 ma- 
 chines in 1899, and other makers in the same 
 town (which seems a kind of centre for this 
 manufacture, as Coventry is in England for 
 bicycles) would together total about as much 
 more ; another firm in another State, of good 
 repute but not in the first rank, sold 6,000 in 
 the same year. These are small machines, and 
 nn"ght not be equalled by those we shall mention, 
 and one or two other leading makes, in mere 
 numbers sold ; but in some respects this latter 
 group are more remarkable still, being chiefly 
 
64 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 made in quite large sizes, for a different class of 
 customers, some of whom incubate nearly 20,000 
 eggs at one time. We give on the last page a 
 photograph (hitherto unpublished) of the greater 
 part of the incubator-room — no photograph can 
 show an entire room^of Mr. Karstendiek, 
 New Orleans, containing fifty-five of the 300- 
 egg Prairie State incubators ; and knowing 
 independently of so many establishments in the 
 States which hatched quite largely, we have 
 obtained lists of their larger operating, customers 
 from the Prairie State, the Cyphers, the Reli- 
 able, and Star Incubator Companies, from which 
 we have compiled the following list, giving the 
 number of machines run, and their sizes in egg- 
 capacity. The list is from these four Companies 
 alone, and confined to firms using twenty 
 machines or more ; one going so low as even 
 a dozen of such machines, would be too long for 
 insertion in these pages. 
 
 Name and AiMrcss. 
 
 VV. 11. Pye, Eastporl, l.onf; Isl.ind ... 
 G. Pfciffer, Camden, New Jersey 
 
 1 iah Bros., Joliet, Illinuis 
 
 A. J. llallock, Speonk, Long Island 
 E. O. Wilcox, Speonk, Loi'g Island... 
 C. W. B. Gernerd, Allentown, I'a. ... 
 II. S. Karstendiek, New Orleans 
 S. B. Wilcox, Center Moriches, L.I. 
 
 C. A. .Stouffer, Ilarrislmrg, P.i 
 
 I.. W. Morgan, Kiverton, Va 
 
 E. G. Toel, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 
 Puritan Poultry Karm, Slam cnl, Conn. 
 Meadow Brook Farm, Dallas, Pa. ... 
 I''. Hcrington & Co., Warsaw, N.Y. 
 Patrick McEvoy, Trenton, New Jersey 
 II. H. Baeder, lllay's Landing, N.J. 
 J. S. Waggaman, Hyattsvdle, Ind. ... 
 
 John Lougtilin, Sydney, Ohio 
 
 William H. TiusIqw, Stroudsburg, Pa. 
 W. C. Casey, Katonah, New York ... 
 Glenbrook Farm, Fanwood, New Jersey... 
 
 Norton-Fuller Farm, Antioch, 111 
 
 Sussex Poultry Farm, Newton, New Jtrsey 
 
 C I. Nesmith, Reading, Mass 
 
 £.. Cobb, Fern Spring, Monmouth, 111. .. 
 W. R. Curtiss & Co., Ransomeville, N.Y. 
 A. W. Romig, Wcscosville, Pa. ... 
 Pleasant View Farm, Hopewell, N.J. 
 
 J. F. Stocking, Montvale, N.J 
 
 Dr. Scheibenzuber, Dayton, Ohio 
 
 C. W. Pile, Ashland, New Jersey 
 
 Edgar Briggs, Poughkeepsie, N. Y 
 
 E. L. Wight, Smyrna, Ga 
 
 G. M. Clark & Co, Kensington, G^ 
 
 H. C. Jewett, Jewettville, N.Y 
 
 We can only describe a very few of the best 
 known types. For many years one of the 
 most popular has been that known as the 
 " Prairie State." The original form of this is 
 shown in Fig. 47, where the lamp I with its 
 chimney i are under the centre on a stirrup /, 
 and the chimney enters the flue H, which extends 
 right through from bottom to top of the machine, 
 passing through the flat hollow sheet-metal hot- 
 
 air chamber G G, which acts as a radiator over 
 the top of the egg-chamber A a'. Where H passes 
 through G G there are apertures g in H, through 
 which the hot-air enters G G, to pass out at other 
 apertures g' ^, at the corners of the radiator, into 
 the open air. Over GG is a packing of sawdust. 
 
 No, of 
 Mdchines 
 
 Size, 
 in Eggs, 
 
 • 8s 
 . 64 
 . 60 
 . 6o- 
 . 56 
 ■ 56 
 
 300 
 
 360 
 
 300 
 
 300-30 
 
 300 
 
 300 
 
 • 55 
 . 48 
 . 48 
 
 300 
 
 3C0 
 300-360 
 
 . 40 
 
 300 
 
 . 40 
 . 40 
 . 40 
 
 300 
 360 
 360 
 
 • 3^ 
 
 • 35 
 
 • 30 
 
 300-390 
 
 360 
 
 360 
 
 • 30 
 
 200-400 
 
 • 30 
 . 26 
 . 26 
 
 • 25 
 
 300 
 360 
 300 
 380-400 
 
 ■ 24 
 
 200 
 
 y 24 
 
 400 
 
 ■ 23 
 
 200" 
 
 . 22 
 
 200 
 
 22 
 
 300 
 
 , 22 
 
 300 
 
 . 22 
 . 21 
 
 300 
 360 
 
 . 21 
 
 200 
 
 . 20 
 . 20 
 
 380 
 360 
 
 . 20 
 
 300 
 
 . 20 
 
 300 
 
 . 20 
 
 200 
 
 Fig. 47. — Original " Prairie State " Incuba.or. 
 
 There is another supply of warm air, through a 
 large annular flue K which surrounds the lamp- 
 flue H. Air enters this at the bottom, is warmed 
 by the hot-air flue H in passing up, and enters 
 the egg-chamber through apertures pierced in 
 the upper end of K, at M k'. Over the upper end 
 of 1 1 is a valve h, worked by a thermostatic bar, 
 indicated by the slanting line between A and d'. 
 When h is closed all the heat is sent through the 
 radiator ; when raised, more or less of the lamp- 
 heat escapes into the air, without warming the 
 egg-chamber otherwise than through the annular 
 flue K. The egg-chamber in this pattern was 
 divided into two sections A and a' by the two 
 boards a and a, extending from front to back, 
 and from the bottom of the chamber to the 
 supports D d' for the watfer-trays E and e'. The 
 egg-trays B B rest oh fillets C C. The course of 
 the warmed air, part through the radiator and 
 part through the annular flue K, is shown by the 
 arrows : it passes downwards through the eggs, 
 out through a few apertures in the walls below 
 the egg-level ; and the eggs, especially in the 
 centre, are shielded from direct radiation or 
 direct hot draught, by the water-trays E E'. 
 
 More recently this machine has been con- 
 siderably remodelled, the lamp being now placed 
 at the end instead of the centre. There are also 
 some modifications designed to give more control 
 over the ventilation, and an arrangement for 
 turning all the eggs has been added. The most 
 important improvement is, however, the double 
 thermostat already alluded to, one bar above 
 the eggs and the other below them. By this 
 
AMERICAN HOT-AIR MACHINES. 
 
 6S 
 
 arrangement it is claimed — and we see no reason 
 to doubt it — that the temperature surrounding the 
 e^g itself is kept uniform within half a degree. 
 Though moisture is fully provided for in this 
 incubator, it is found that it can often be run 
 better without any ; but in such cases the dry 
 trays are still kept in place for their intercepting 
 offices. This question of moisture will, however, 
 be fully dealt with - presently. The " Prairie 
 State" machine has repeatedly hatched very 
 high percentages in public competition. 
 
 The most novel and original idea we have 
 yet met with is embodied in the Cyphers incu- 
 bator, which has been making vast strides in 
 popularity during the last few years, and 
 which expressly claims, with undoubted success, 
 to etitirely dispense with moisture in hatching, in 
 any situation or climate. It is due to long 
 scientific investigation of all the phenomena of 
 hatching, by Mr. Charles A. Cyphers,* and the 
 master-patent under which it is made (December 
 4, 1 894) is shown in Fig. 48. Here A A are the 
 walls of an egg-chamber B, and these walls are 
 all composed of a, good thickness -of porous 
 material. Mr. Cyphers has successfully used 
 wool or cotton compressed between sheets of 
 wire gauze, and slabs of plaster of Paris, but 
 prefers a manufactured material known in the 
 United States as "fibre stock," composed of 
 vegetable fibre, ground, pressed, and dried, which 
 makes up readily into suitable walls. In the 
 diagram the whole surrounding wails are shown 
 of such material, while « e is a tray for the eggs, 
 and the whole is warmed by pipes d d from a 
 boiler C. 
 
 Fig. 48. — Principle of Cyphers Incubator. 
 
 Whatever it may have been in the ex- 
 perimental stage, however, the " Cyphers " incu- 
 bator is not now thus constructed. The porous 
 material now forms only the entire upper and 
 under walls of the egg-chamber. There is no 
 boiler, but the lamp-heat passes up the inside 
 and down the outside of a hot-air chamber. 
 
 * Author of " Incubation and its Natural Laws," which has 
 been described to us as the best popular treatise on the subject, 
 but which we believe is now out of print. A cheap English 
 handbook is partly borrowed from it. 
 
 J 
 
 From this the pure warm air passes into a 
 heating chamber above the upper porous dia- 
 phragm, where it is uniformly diffused before 
 passing through the porous material into the 
 chamber beneath. It passes downwards through 
 the eggs, and then through the lower (double) 
 porous diaphragm, into another chamber at the 
 bottom, from whence it is sucked by the draught 
 of the heater. The ventilation is thus sufficient 
 and steady, but quite free from draught, and 
 very slow — what Mr. Cyphers calls a purely 
 " molecular " ventilation — and the difference 
 between upper and lower temperature is very 
 small. The regulator is the excellent thermostat 
 shown in Fig. 42, and keeps the temperature 
 within a variation of half a degree. That the 
 machine does hatch high averages, in large 
 numbers, in all situations, without moisture, is 
 proved by a mass of testimony beyond question. 
 Another of the more prominent incubators 
 in America at present is also a very recent one, 
 known as the " Star." This too hatches without 
 moisture ; and reports from all quarters, from 
 names which we have known well by repute for 
 years, are of the very best, and of the same 
 tenor as respecting the " Cyphers," in regard to 
 the machine requiring the minimum of personal 
 attention. We are sorry to be unable to give 
 any specific details, owing to the unwillingness 
 of the manufacturers to supply them t ; but in 
 this machine the egg-chamber is heated by a 
 radiator or hot-air chamber at the top, which is 
 itself heated by a flue from the lamp, passing 
 backwards and forwards three times throughout 
 its length. There is also a direct upright flue, 
 closed at the top by a valve or damper, which 
 allows heat either to escape direct or pass into 
 the radiator, very much as in Hearson's machine, 
 Fig- 35- This valve is controlled by an excel- 
 lent thermostat composed of steel and aluminium, 
 which keeps the temperature within half a 
 degree. Aiir is taken into the egg-chamber by 
 two tubes, which extend and open two inches 
 below the bottom of the machine, and carry 
 it up to a channel in contact with the radiator. 
 It is thus carried all across the machine, and 
 emerges, warmed, into a distributor at one end, 
 where it is broken up by perforated metal, and 
 then moved uniformly and very slowly across 
 the eggs and out through ventilators at the 
 opposite end. It is this slow and diffused 
 motion, without draught, which enables moisture 
 to be dispensed with. 
 
 t Most of those respecting the two preceding machines have 
 been obtained by personal search amongst American patent 
 specifications. The fact is that, amongst so ingenious and 
 mechanical a people, manufacturers have a perhaps well-founded 
 dread that if details were given, many people would make 
 machines for themselves ! 
 
66 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Hatching- 
 rooms. 
 
 One feature , is common to all the three 
 machines here described. There is an opening 
 in the egg-trays, on the side next the windows 
 or glass doors with which nearly all American 
 machines are furnished, toward which the newly 
 hatched chickens instinctively struggle, and 
 through which they then drop down into the 
 nursery or drying-box, which is just under the 
 egg-trays. They are thus cleared out of the way 
 automatically, without opening the machine. 
 American operators, dealing with large numbers, 
 attach much importance to this automatic 
 removal of the chickens to a lower temperature, 
 in preparation for the brooders, whilst not 
 opening and thus cooling the chamber for those 
 yet unhatched ; and this feature is common in 
 many machines. 
 
 These few types of incubators must suffice, 
 though a further possible development of the 
 system of artificial hatching should 
 perhaps be mentioned. The Cyphers 
 Company erected, a year or two ago, 
 upon the duck-farm of Mr. W. Truslow, in 
 Pennsylvania, a mammoth incubator to deal with 
 50,000 or more duck eggs at one filling, and are 
 putting up one at their own factory to hold 
 100,000 eggs. It is possible that where eggs 
 are hatched on the scale of some American 
 poultry farms, such establishments as these may 
 achieve success as centres for a district, just as 
 in the old Egyptian system already described. 
 In the mammoth incubator above alluded to, 
 the hatching-room is about 15 feet square, fur- 
 nished with shelves on which the egg- trays are 
 placed. The advantages, if any, lie in economy 
 of fuel and labour. It was found that three 
 shovelfuls of coals every six hours replaced 
 all the lamps for the smaller machines ; and 
 Mr. Truslow found by experiment, that whereas 
 turning the eggs in only thirty incubators, and 
 trimming the lamps, occupied him, an unusually 
 quick operator, four and a half hours each day 
 for say 9,000 eggs, in the mammoth the firing, 
 glancing at thermometers, and turning, only 
 occupied half an hour. We need not, how- 
 ever, enter farther into a system of artificial 
 hatching which, if it extends at all, must 
 remain in the hands of specialists. 
 
 A few words should, however, be added re- 
 specting the merits and defects of tank and hot- 
 air machines. In England, we have 
 
 S^?^<-°* so far received the best averages of 
 Hot-air . r i , , . °, 
 
 machines. reports from tank machmes, whose 
 
 popularity we have seen to be 
 connected with the simplicity and uniform 
 action (within certain limits) of Hearson's cap- 
 sule regulator. It has been shown how a 
 tank of water steadies the temperature, acting 
 
 as a fly-wheel ; so much so that even if a 
 lamp should go out, the heat might probably 
 remain sufficient for hours to prevent fatal 
 results. These machines thus possess more 
 immunity from catastrophes caused by accidents. 
 On the other hand, they respond much less 
 quickly to sudden changes of temperature, 
 while specially sensitive to changes in the baro- 
 meter, and are thus more liable to failure from 
 weather conditions. If it be remembered that 
 at the best there must be some variation in tem- 
 perature at different parts of an egg-chamber, 
 a possible variation of 3° or 4°* from baro- 
 metrical changes alone, may become a very 
 serious thing, especially in the early stages of 
 hatching. Many such variations which occur 
 are never suspected. We have in our own early 
 experiments, often supposed that the heat in 
 the comparatively rude apparatus we were then 
 using was within 2° of variation, because we 
 found it so at periodical morning and evening 
 inspections ; but when we put in a certified 
 registering thermometer, we found that the varia- 
 tion under the same arrangements had really 
 amounted to as much as 6°. Now some- 
 times this effect of the barometer upon the 
 capsule may be actually beneficial. Suppose 
 pleasant cool weather with a high barometer, to 
 be followed by a rapid fall, with sultry heat and 
 a storm. Then the lower vaporising tempera- 
 ture will the more easily and rapidly adjust 
 matters in the egg-drawer. But imagine cold 
 and raw but rainy weather, with a low barometer, 
 in spring, to be followed by bright hot weather, 
 as in 1899. Then the heat would run dangerously 
 high, and the chicks, if at an early stage, be 
 probably killed. Thus it will appear that a 
 capsule thermostat must not be left to work 
 unchecked, but that a barometer or aneroid, and 
 a thermometer for the room itself, should always 
 be used with a machine of this class. The mat- 
 ter is of the more importance, as it will be seen 
 in Chapter VIII. that variation in temperature 
 is directly connected with incomplete absorption 
 of the yolk by the hatching chicken. 
 
 The hot-air machine responds much more 
 quickly and sensitively to changes of tempera- 
 ture, and with good thermostatic regulators is in- 
 dependent of the barometer, and really automatic 
 in action ; with, however, the proviso that in 
 cool-bottom machines there be a double-acting 
 regulator, as explained above. On the other hand , 
 in the case of hot-air machines a neglected lamp 
 or flue must spell disaster, and it obviously 
 requires a more accurate and sensitive thermostat, 
 
 * Mr. Willan's register for thitty-two days, piftlished in 
 Messrs. Hearson's pamphlet, shows a variation from 102° to 
 loe^^", or4;^°. 
 
TEMPERATURE OF THE INCUBATOR. 
 
 67 
 
 or constant attention. Neglected lamps are 
 not to be dreaded in large systematic establish-, 
 ments : the smaller breeder must judge for 
 himself whether he can trust his own careful- 
 ness, or whether he pre'fers the safety-valve 
 (in this respect) of a tank machine. 
 
 Coming now to the practical working of an 
 incubator, any reader of intelligence will have 
 
 already gathered that in different 
 "T^^"^''* machines, details of management 
 Incubator. '"^y differ considerably according 
 
 to the construction, even in really 
 important points. These will be dealt with 
 singly; but a most obvious general conclusion 
 is, that the instructions sent with the particular 
 incubator in use should be carefully studied and 
 followed. The manufacturer is supposed to 
 understand the proper conditions for working 
 his own machine ; and though we regret to say 
 that in the case of sorne productions this is not- 
 the case, as regards those which have held a 
 market it generally is so. In regard to choosing, 
 it will be well to confine the choice to some 
 make which has held its position for three years. 
 We may say that so far, of every English 
 machine that fulfils this condition, we have had 
 ample evidence of good result's when carefully 
 managed. In America such a rule would be 
 too stringent, excluding one or two of the best 
 machines ; but there the immense scale of oper- 
 ations, carried on by men whose names are 
 household words, gives an amount of testing in 
 a short time, which is equally effective. It is 
 simply the amount of experimental proof, in 
 either case, which the purchaser has to consider. 
 Where the incubator or incubators are to be 
 placed should receive consideration. .Constant 
 noise may cause no injury ; but sudden occa- 
 sional loud noi.ses, or concussions, are known 
 to cause deaths and deformities. Even a hen 
 instinctively chooses a quiet and retired place. 
 It also helps to have as uniform a temperature 
 as possible, especially if the regulator is not of 
 the very best. Airy, dry cellars answer exceed- 
 ingly well, and in America some of the large 
 poultry-farms find it pays, by increased pro- 
 duction, to build their special incubator-rooms 
 as half cellar or basement and half above ground, 
 or to bank up soil round the greater part of the 
 walls. Recent improvements in thermostats 
 removed a great deal of the necessity for this ; 
 still, extremes of temperature are better avoided 
 as far as possible. Another point of some im-. 
 portance is that the incubator should not be in a 
 direct draught, else the eggs maybe dangerously 
 chilled when withdrawn for turning or airing. 
 
 The machine should be carefully levelled. 
 This is essential to the lamp-flues working 
 
 properly, whether through a tank or a hot-air 
 chamber ; and a difference of level will in many 
 machines make one corner of a drawer hotter 
 or cooler than the others. Where it can be 
 done, it is worth while to equalise the tempera- 
 ture by placing a test-thermometer in each of 
 the four corners of a drawer. Prospectuses may 
 state that the heat in their machines is so 
 " uniform" that the eggs do not need any change 
 of position. We have not found it so. Far 
 more usually the back corner next the lamp is 
 hottest, next the other back corner, then the 
 front corners in same order. Each machine 
 seems to have its own peculiarities, arid by 
 propping up one corner or end a little, where 
 the construction admits of this, a drawer may 
 often be more nearly equalised, though no 
 machine has ever yet been made in which the 
 heat is uniform all over the drawer. It is un- 
 fortunate that few English . machines are made 
 with glass doors, or even separate doors to be 
 closed when the egg-trays are withdrawn for 
 cooling. In America nearly all of repute are 
 thus furnished, and this detail not only facilitates 
 the adjustment here described, and examination 
 of therrnometers, but saves much loss of heat at 
 the periods when the eggs are attended to. We 
 should, in fact, advise that any incubator not 
 already furnished with a separate outside door, 
 to be closed when the drawer is taken out, should 
 have a caulking shield or lid provided to fit into 
 and stop up the opening, and so confine the heat. 
 In regard to temperature, it will follow from 
 what has been said, that no positive figure can 
 
 be given, even for one kind of eggs — 
 Temperature, we here suppose hen's eggs. Both 
 
 the figure, and the best place to put 
 the thermometer, will differ with the machine ; 
 and the place of the thermometer will affect the 
 figure'. In some top-heat . machines which are 
 freely cool at the bottom, a quarter of an inch 
 lower for the thermometer bulb will make it 
 read one degree lower for the same heat of the 
 drawer. Thus it is that Mr. Hearson, with his 
 thermometer higher than the top of the eggs, 
 gives as the proper heat 104°, for an outside 
 temperature of 60°, while 1°, has to be allowed 
 for about 10° outside temperature, in order 
 to keep the bulk of the egg itself at the same 
 heat, according to the warmer or cooler bottom. 
 It must never be forgotten, in machines of this 
 class, 7iot to leave all to the regulator, but 
 to adjust the latter according to outer condi- 
 tions ; and this is a very good instance of the 
 need for following special directions, which 
 may not apply at all to some other machine. 
 A usual practice is to lay a thermometer on 
 the eggs, taking care after the tenth day or so 
 
68 
 
 THE BOOK OF FOULTRY. 
 
 that it lies upon live eggs. In this case 102° 
 will be about the right heat for the first week or 
 so, corresponding in average machines to about 
 99° at bottom of the tray. But where this 
 system is followed, it is most important to bear 
 in mind that about the ninth day the life of the 
 chick begins to quicken, and after the eleventh 
 day to add a great deal of its own animal heat 
 to what is supplied. Hence, after the tenth or 
 eleventh day a thermometer upon a live egg 
 may run up to 105°, without the heat in the 
 drawer being really more than about 103°, 
 whereas if 105° -were shown upon a dead egg, 
 the heat would be too great. For this reason 
 the more recent and better practice- is for the 
 thermometer not to rest on eggs at all, but to 
 be in one fixed place, with the centre of the 
 bulb level with the top of the eggs. The 
 temperature for hen-eggs will then be about- 
 103" for machines with decidedly cool bottom, 
 or 102° for machines where the heat is more 
 evenly diffused in the egg-chamber. In either 
 case the thermometer may probably register 
 about one degree higher after ten or eleven 
 days, owing to the greater heat and proximity 
 of the quickening eggs ; but this is about as it 
 should be in hatching, and is no fault of the 
 regulator. As it has been well expressed, while 
 for the first ten days the temperature of the 
 egg-chamber controls that of the eggs, after 
 that, to some extent, the temperature of the 
 €ggs controls that of the chamber. 
 
 The differences in temperature given by 
 various operators will now be understood, as 
 depending upon differences of level 
 Thermometers, or in machines. Statements that 
 only machines with " top heat" will 
 hatch successfully, are mis-statements. The 
 egg-ovens of Egypt, and affairs like the American 
 ^' Mammoth " incubator, show their absurdity. 
 Top heat, or all-round heat, or bottom heat will 
 all hatch, if the heat be right. But the very 
 best thermometers commercially obtainable also 
 differ somewhat. In the early days we noted 
 many which differed, four degrees, to which alone 
 many disasters were due. Even now many 
 differ half a degree or one degree, and this should 
 be allowed for, as verified by comparison with 
 one tested and old thermometer kept for a per- 
 manent standard ; for it does not seem generally 
 known that even a well-made thermometer, 
 accurate when new, will often show a rise of 
 from half a degree to a whole degree, or even 
 more, when it has been in use twelve months, 
 the first six months being most apt to show such 
 changes. For this reason, in America it is now 
 customary to keep the best thermometers for 
 six months in a heated chamber before supplying 
 
 to the incubator manufacturers, and it is desirable 
 that this system should be followed. Any ther- 
 mometer can be easily used, by ascertaining its 
 " correction " from the standard one, which is best 
 done by immersing both in a pail of water heated 
 to about 105°, and kept stirred : without stir- 
 ring, the water may heat the two quite differently. 
 The test described by some of putting the ther- 
 mometer into the mouth, is not to be depended 
 upon within two degrees. 
 
 For these thermometric reasons, first adjust- 
 ments of temperature may fail in practice ; but 
 there is a simple common-sense rule by which 
 in that case the error may be corrected. If fresh 
 hen's eggs which hatch, pip between the evenings 
 of the twentieth and twenty-first days, the heat 
 has been about right ; at all events the average 
 heat, apart from faults in regulation.* If the 
 eggs pip a day earlier, the heat has been too 
 great, and a shade lower had better be tried. 
 If on the contrary /r^j/4 eggs are decidedly late, 
 then the regulator should be set a little higher, 
 whatever the thermometer may appear to read. 
 It is especially to be remembered, that too high 
 a temperature is particularly fatal during the first 
 ten days. During that period, a few hours of 
 106" would either kill chicks outright, or so 
 weaken them that they would probably die in 
 the shell ; whereas la.ter on, an accidental baking 
 will, if in a dry chamber, often be borne with 
 impunity — even 112° for four hours has then 
 been recorded, with still a fair hatch. The 
 manager of the Prairie State Company says that 
 if such a state of affairs be found, the best pro- 
 cedure is to quickly damp a towel with warm 
 water and spread it on the eggs, replacing, the 
 tray, but leaving the door open for a while. ' This 
 cannot be done unless there is a door indepen- 
 dent of the drawer or tray ; otherwise, leave the 
 drawer partially open for a while; Such a door, 
 including a glass door, is very desirable for all 
 sorts of reasons, and especially for reading the 
 -thermometer. Where there is none, the stem 
 must either be pulled out, or the drawer opened. 
 In the latter case the reading must be taken 
 instantly, as there will be a rapid fall. In some 
 of the large establishments of America, a small 
 electric light is fitted up close to each thermo- 
 meter, which is switched on, and the reading taken, 
 as the attendant passes each machine in turn. 
 
 The temperature should have been held 
 steady for at least a day before any eggs are 
 
 introduced. Of course, it is foolish 
 Egg3 to risk valuable eggs in a first 
 
 essay ; fresh and strongly fertile 
 common eggs should comprise the first attempt 
 
 * Bantams' eggs, and other small ones, average a day 
 or more earlier, and should reckon accordingly. 
 
TURNING AND AIRING THE EGGS. 
 
 69 
 
 by inexperienced hands. Some care .should 
 always be exercised in selecting eggs for an in- 
 cubator. A few years ago they commonly died 
 if -set when more than three or four days old, 
 showing that vitality must in some degree fall 
 off; and most English prospectuses still state that 
 eggs over a week old are of little use. It may 
 probably be so with many machines ; but it 
 marks the advances made in America, that eggs 
 a fortnight old are constantly used, and very 
 often three weeks, while the average results 
 exceed those under hens very considerably. No 
 one questions, however, that the freshest eggs 
 are the best, though up to a fortnight the chief 
 difference is found to be in somewhat later 
 hatching. It is of more importance to reject 
 small or large eggs, and especially those with 
 rough or porous shells, or any obvious fault at 
 all in soundness of shell. Some such eggs which 
 might hatch under a hen, fail in an incubator, 
 because of too rapid evaporation. 
 
 Proceeding from these fundamental details 
 of artificial hatching to the daily routine, it may 
 be well to explain that good results have been 
 hindered by several fashions or ideas, which in 
 succession have dominated those working in this 
 field, and which all of us more or less shared in 
 our time, the fact beitjg that no one then knew 
 any better. Some of them are still believed in 
 by many, and several points in management, if 
 adopted, involve others. There has been a 
 cooling or " airing " era ; then a " carbonic-acid " 
 theory and consequent " ventilation " era ; and 
 (consequent really upon this last) finally came a 
 " moisture " era. It is curious now to reflect, that 
 all these might have been checked and moderated, 
 merely by adequate consideration of the egg- 
 ovens of Egypt. Let us proceed, however, to 
 consider practically the routine in detail. 
 
 Unfailing regularity in trimming and filling 
 the lamp need hardly be insisted upon ; merely 
 the use of an oil inferior to that for which any 
 lamp is constructed, may give much trouble, 
 even if it does not cause failure, by creating 
 smoke and choking the flues. Flues and 
 chimneys should always be looked after at proper 
 intervals. A flat wick is best trimmed very 
 slightly convex on the top, or with the corners 
 very slightly taken off, when a rather tapered 
 flame much less liable to smoke is obtained. 
 When the flame is not too high, smoke usually 
 occurs from a high corner of the wick. Wicks 
 chemically prepared so as to need no trimming 
 during the whole of a hatch are now largely 
 used and supplied by the best incubator manu- 
 facturers, and have greatly lessened one of 
 the most troublesome and tiresome portions of 
 incubator work. 
 
 The first thing to see to in regard to the 
 eggs, is to turn them over regularly twice a day, 
 except at the very beginning and again at the 
 end. At the beginning, it is better 
 Mo^'°^the^ to leavethem undisturbed.to heat up, 
 Egga.°^ * for the twenty-four hours. A mark 
 should be made on the middle of the 
 side of each egg, that it may be seen how much 
 the egg is turned over. .Some lay stress upon 
 turning the egg exactly half over each time ; 
 but as that brings the germ exactly to the same 
 spot in the shell every twenty-four hours, and 
 to the same portion of slightly evaporated 
 albumen, it cannot be beneficial. Most egg- 
 trays are lower in the centre ; the best way then 
 is to take out an egg from the lowest part, and 
 let the row above it roll very gently down the 
 hill, the whole row turning as it goes, placing 
 the egg taken out in the vacancy at the top. 
 The eggs will probably roll over rather more 
 than a third, but no exact aliquot part. The 
 same plan can be followed even in flat trays, 
 and it also saves time. But its greatest advan- 
 tage is that the eggs also change places, an egg 
 being taken from probably the hottest part of 
 the tray to the outside, and the others moved as 
 well as turned. It has been fully demonstrated 
 by systematic experiments that this is of great 
 importance. As already stated, no incubator yet 
 made is the same heat all over the tray, and those 
 which claim to be so are not even the best in 
 this respect. Changing places " evens " these 
 differences, has been already mentioned as regu- 
 larly carried out in the egg-ovens of Egypt, 
 and is even done by the hen herself We have 
 marked many a hen-hatch to ascertain this, but 
 quote the following from an old correspondent: 
 "At 10.30 a.m. marked four eggs in the centre 
 of the nest. At 1.30. p.m. three marked eggs 
 were at the outside, one still at centre. Marked 
 three more in the middle. At 2.45 p.m. the 
 three last marked were moved to the outside, 
 and four marked first were also at the outside ; 
 marked four more left in the middle. At 4 p.m. 
 the four marked last were at the outside, and 
 some of those marked first were back in the 
 middle of the nest." Thus does even the hen 
 move her eggs from centre to outside of her 
 nest, and the average difference, as the result 
 of American experiments, is estimated at 5 to 
 6 per cent, in favour of those so treated. 
 
 This is one objection to the system of 
 "automatic" turning introduced in some in- 
 cubators; another being the tend- 
 Co^Tne"^ ency to return to identical position, 
 already alluded to. But further, 
 the short cooling during the removal of the 
 tray to the outer air foi: this purpose, is actually 
 
7° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 beneficial to the eggs. This also has been experi- 
 mentally proved, though only a per-centage, and 
 though very good hatches have been obtained 
 without any such withdrawal. The turning 
 should be done deliberately and gently ; and 
 when so done, the eggs of a large machine are 
 generally best returned at once. But they may 
 be left outside for ten minutes or more in warm 
 weather, or five minutes even in winter, unless 
 the room be nearly freezing. Many have 
 advocated, and still advocate, leaving them 
 much' longer ; but it is now known that such 
 " airing " has been much overdone, and that 
 where it has appeared beneficial, this was be- 
 cause it remedied in some degree the effects 
 of too much heat, or too much moisture. It is 
 manifest that in large hatching-chambers or 
 ovens the eggs get no cooling at all. Exception 
 may be made in hot weather, when "quickened" 
 chickens may add so much heat to the chamber, 
 that any valve may hardly be able to keep the 
 temperature down. We have known the thermo- 
 meter at' 92° in the room, even in England; it 
 will easily be understood that in such a room, 
 and with lively " quickened " eggs, the smallest 
 flame possible may run the egg-chamber 
 up too high, and long, even repeated airings 
 will often at such times help the hatch. Mr. 
 J. L. Campbell records one extraordinary expe- 
 rience during a "heat-wave" in America, when 
 for five days and nights he had to take out his 
 egg-trays and keep them on a table, and the 
 eggs never got below 105°. But these are ex- 
 ceptions. The chamber should generally be 
 closed while the eggs are withdrawn, in order 
 that they may go back into nearly the proper 
 temperature. 
 
 Not later than the sixth or seventh day 
 the eggs should be tested for fertility, and sterile 
 Testin? for °"^^ \.^k.&r\ out. This is more im- 
 Fertiiity. portant than in natural hatching, 
 owing to the difference already 
 mentioned between the heat of a live and of a 
 dead egg._ This difference, when a large number 
 are collected, as in an incubator, becomes much 
 exaggerated. If the chamber is, upon the whole, 
 at the right temperature for live eggs, any live 
 eggs surrounded by dead ones will be insufficiently 
 heated. Moreover, a thermometer laid upon 
 eggs may appear to play all sorts of pranks. 
 For small occasional hatches, nothing need be 
 added concerning " testing " to what was said in 
 the preceding chapter; but the large or systematic 
 operator will find it worth while to use more 
 powerful appliances, and will very soon become 
 more expert, so as to be able to detect sterile 
 eggs on the third or fourth day. Brown-shelled 
 eggs are less transparent, and duck eggs more 
 
 so than white hen eggs, so that many of the 
 duck-raisers can tell if an &q,g is fertile after 
 about thirty-six hours. In the first edition of 
 this work we figured an egg-tester with a 
 concave reflector behind the flame of a lamp, 
 and a lens in front, to condense the light upon 
 the &%g\ but at a later period, being asked by 
 a friend for optical advice* as to the most 
 powerful instrument that could be devised, we 
 designed one as in Fig. 49, whose effect in 
 bringing out the early stages is very marked, 
 but whose efficiency depends upon the details 
 being optically correct. Here L is an oil-lamp 
 with an inch-wide wick, and R is a silvered 
 reflector^ whose curve should be struck from 
 the centre of the lamp-flame. In front is a 
 lens C of 3j inches diameter and short focus, 
 
 .^^ 
 
 ii^ .m.w^s^.J.v 
 
 Fig. 49.— Egg Tester. 
 
 such as is used in a magic-lantern condenser, 
 arranged at a little more than its focal distance 
 from the flame, so that it transmits the rays in 
 a slightly convergent beam, thus concentrating 
 them upon the egg E. Beyond the lens is a flat 
 mirror M, placed at an angle of 45 degrees, so as 
 to reflect the rays perpendicularly upward upon 
 the egg E, laid upon a proper orifice in a hori- 
 zontal screen. The eflficacy of the instrument 
 depends partly upon all the rays taken up by a 
 rather large lens and reflector, being concentrated 
 into a space the size of an egg, and partly upon 
 the egg being laid horizontally to receive those 
 rays, so that the germ, lying close to the top side 
 of the egg, shall be more cleariy seen^ The &^g is 
 also removed to a more comfortable distance from 
 the flame. Such an instrument would be put to- 
 gether to order by any respectable optician. In 
 using it, care should be taken to lay the egg 
 down in the same position in which it was 
 taken from the tray, in order that the germ 
 may be steady near the top side, nearest the 
 eye. 
 
 When thus powerfully illuminated by a good 
 * The author of this work will be known to some readers as 
 also the author of several upon "Light," and various branches 
 ot practical and experimental optics. 
 
VENTILATION AND MOISTURE. 
 
 tester, the fertile germ is much more charac- 
 teristic, a small opaque spot being surrounded 
 by small red blood-vessels, clearly seen, branch- 
 ing from it. With practice, these latter will be 
 seen earlier and earlier, even before any very 
 dark spot appears. Sterile eggs remain per- 
 fectly clear. Fertile germs which have died, or 
 addled eggs, present all sorts of appearances, 
 which need not be described, constant practice 
 being the best teacher ; but, generally speaking, 
 a red circle without branching veins, or a red 
 line near the side of the ^g'g, denotes a dead 
 germ or broken yolk, and later on, a sort of 
 floating dark mass surrounded by transparency, 
 spells " addled " to the tester. Let the learner, 
 however, mark all doubtful eggs, and then 
 observe how they turn out ; and in a short time 
 he will be surprised at the certainty with which 
 his tester will reveal to him the state of affairs. 
 It should be remarked, that whereas really sterile 
 eggs do no particular harm beyond perhaps 
 robbing live ones of heat which they require, 
 dead germs, being on the road to putrefaction, 
 are poison in the egg-drawer. Eggs with dis- 
 coloured shells, or with exudation appearing, or 
 which smell offensively, should be removed 
 instantly, and it will be found that every one 
 will hav^e been marked as at least doubtful, 
 beforehand, after a very little experience. The 
 eggs should be tested again about the four- 
 teenth day. 
 
 It does not answer well to fill up vacancies, 
 made by testing, with fresh eggs. It can be 
 done, and if these are warmed up first, cooling 
 of the chamber by them can be avoided. But 
 as hatching proceeds, rather different conditions 
 of temperature and moisture prevail, and are 
 according to Nature's plan ; hence such mixtures 
 always impair the result. The eggs remain- 
 ing in a chamber should be either collected 
 or spread out equally ; else those close together 
 will be hotter than detached ones in another 
 part of the tra}-. ' 
 
 Ventilation and moisture are essentially 
 connected together, and there is now no doubt 
 
 that both have been to a very 
 Ventilation large extent overdone, each of them 
 Moisture. Owing to that connection. Early 
 
 incubators were made with close 
 chambers, and practically no ventilation at all ; 
 naturally the want of fresh air caused failure, 
 and great improvement immediately followed 
 the introduction of free openings for exit, 
 and inlets for the air, the latter being usually 
 at the bottom of the machine. This arrange- 
 ment causes the most rapid circulation of 
 all ; and as evaporation is in direct propor- 
 tion to the movement of drier air over the 
 
 evaporating surfaces, the eggs were rapidly 
 dried up, and many chicks glued to the shells. 
 For this the remedy was "moisture," which was 
 given freely in various ways : by cold tanks 
 at the bottom, damping earth or sand in a tray 
 under the eggs, or water-trays at the top of the 
 chamber. Great success was now very often 
 attained, and it was natural for it to be thought 
 that free ventilation and moisture " was the 
 great secret " of successful hatching. A pro- 
 spectus dated so late as 1897, with great pre- 
 tensions to scientific knowledge and investigation, 
 specifically claims that the machine described 
 " evaporates treble the amount of water of any 
 other machine, hence its great success." On the 
 direct contrary, from queries and dead eggs 
 which have been sent to us during vaaxvy years, 
 there can be little doubt that more dead chicks 
 have resulted from too much moisture than from 
 any other cause. 
 
 The due proportion between ventilation and 
 moisture is no doubt, next to proper heat, the 
 cardinal point ; but the whole matter has had 
 to be cleared up by fresh investigation, and has 
 now been completely elucidated by the far 
 larger experience of operators and manufacturers 
 in the United States. While temperature re- 
 mained variable to the extent of several degrees 
 from atmospheric conditions, occasional (and 
 often unknown) overheating was again and again 
 in a measure rectified by cooling and airing ; 
 but this is now better guarded against either by 
 better thermostats, or by adjusting these accord- 
 ing to the outside barometer and thermometer. 
 So also, ventilation through free apertures 
 generally so dried up the eggs that ample 
 moisture was necessary ; and the cold bottom 
 supply in so many tank machines, very generally 
 strikes a rough balance, and gives success. But 
 there are also many failures ; for no such plan 
 gives the same moisture always, and it is not 
 correct to state, as in a treatise before us, that 
 Dalton's tables of water-vapour tension imply 
 any such consequence as that the moisture of a 
 chamber over cold water will always be the 
 same. The temperature is not always the same 
 over the water-trays in the machine described ; 
 and the rate of movement (and c6nsequent timi 
 allowed any given po"rtion of air to take up 
 vapour) is all-important, and differs immensely 
 in various states of the atmosphere. When the 
 men who ran fifty large incubators at a time, 
 and the experts who manufactured machines for 
 them, began to study the question systematically, 
 they soon remembered that there was no draught 
 and no moisture at all in the old egg-ovens ; and 
 that the plumage of the hen, over the concavity 
 of her nest, prevented any but very slow inter- 
 
72 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY.- 
 
 change of air there, while she also was able to 
 hatch eggs upon a dry shelf, as well as upon 
 damp ground. They concluded that Nature 
 had supplied enough moisture within the &g^ 
 itself, to hatch it successfully ; and they were 
 right in the main, though some of them have 
 perhaps carried that principle a little to excess. 
 They therefore began to slow the ventilation ; 
 not to stop it, but to check actual current of air 
 as much as possible, remembering also that 
 twice a day the drawers would be opened, and 
 the air renewed that way. Ventilation from top 
 to bottom, which is slower in movement than 
 from bottom to top, became the rule ; and that 
 was further hindered in actual flow by circuitous 
 flues, or perforated or porous distributors, till 
 the climax was perhaps reached in porous walls 
 forming the sole medium for exchange, as in the 
 Cyphers machine. At once, moisture became 
 unnecessary ; and many rushed to the con- 
 clusion that none was ever needed, even in well- 
 known machines of a somewhat older school. 
 Frequently that, too, proved to be the case, and 
 many people began to get better hatches by 
 quite abandoning moisture, even with hot-air 
 machines, often stated in England to require 
 " more moisture " than tank machines. And 
 when that was not quite the case, results were 
 obtained which were startling. The Prairie 
 State is a hot-air machine, but with top to 
 bottom ventilation, checked by circuitous 
 channels (see Fig. 47). It does not, however, 
 profess to hatch without moisture, and. provides 
 water-trays. But Captain Casey, of the well- 
 known Aratoma Farm mentioned in another 
 chapter, tried hatching without any moisture. 
 The farm is on a high and dry table-land ; the 
 incubator house is all above the ground, not a 
 cellar; the time was the hot and dry August 
 of 1896, a time of year also Avhen stock and 
 eggs are not specially vigorous ; the windows 
 were all open. . Yet out of 227' test- fertile eggs, 
 212 strong chickens were hatched, though the 
 heat was described as " terrific," and most people 
 know what American hot weather in August 
 means. Capt. Casey writes us further, under 
 date of August, 1900, that out pf 79 incubator 
 fillings that year, he had only used moisture in 
 very few ; and that his last four hatches before 
 writing, in the heat of July, gave results of 89, 
 94, 95, and 85 per cent, respectively of the tested 
 eggs, themselves a pretty high per-centage. We 
 have other instances ; and know of several in 
 England also, though no doubt in most cases 
 the usual bottom to top draught would be 
 too rapid to allow of such results. But many 
 people would no doubt do much better by 
 filling the apertures- for ventilation with loose 
 
 cotton wool, so as to allow interchange of air 
 while stopping current, both at top and bottom 
 of machine ; and then using no moisture for 
 sixteen or seventeen days, and only a little at 
 the close, using more in dry v/eather. 
 
 Such, however, is rather a blind guess ; and 
 in the United States they have now reduced 
 the whole matter to a science. It is ■ 
 all determined by the size of the air- 
 cell in the developing egg. This was 
 first ascertained with hen-hatched 
 diligently compared with incubator 
 eggs more or less successful ; with the result that 
 while different eggs would vary a little in the 
 same hatch, on an average the air-cell should 
 show enlargement at the fifth, tenth, fifteenth, 
 and eighteenth days, about as in the diagram, 
 Fig. so. After the nineteenth day, the beak of 
 
 The Air-cell 
 as a Test. 
 
 eggs, 
 
 and 
 
 Fig. 50. — Air-cell. 
 
 the chicken may at any time pierce the mem- 
 brane, and the head burst into the cavity, when 
 comparison is impossible. 
 
 It should be clearly understood that suffi- 
 cient evaporation to thus enlarge the air-cell is 
 necessary to successful hatching, and that too 
 much moisture acts by preventing this. The 
 tissues of the chick are then too soft and moist, 
 and the egg is packed too full at the last for the 
 chick to turn round and break its shell. On the 
 other hand, too large a cell means too small a 
 chick, and too tough and leathery a membrane, 
 and perhaps actual glueing of the chick to the 
 shell. If the air-cell is allowed to dry out too 
 much, the chick can be swelled afterwards by 
 giving more moisture ; but this does not really 
 repair the mischief; it will never be so strong a 
 chick as if all had gone right. In the majority 
 of American incubators, best average results are 
 said to be obtained by giving no moisture for 
 about seventeen days ; then a little or not, 
 according to the size of the air-cell. In our 
 moister climate the same might hold even with 
 more ventilation, but for the strong up-draught 
 of many machines. The breeder who examines 
 the air-cells by his tester, however, and notes the 
 
HATCHING-OUT THE CHICKENS. 
 
 73 
 
 results and state of thecell in different states of 
 the weather, will be armed at all points. In 
 America, at all events, with the slow ventilation 
 there usual, it is found that the greater pro- 
 portion of failures occur from insufficient drying- 
 out of the air-cell. There is another important 
 point in favour of slow ventilation (which must 
 nevertheless be sufficiently free ventilation — a 
 quite different thing) and a dry egg-chamber. 
 It has been proved conclusively that over-heat- 
 ing, should it occur, is four or five times as fatal 
 when the air is charged with vapour. 
 
 On the whole, it has become the general 
 practice amongst American hatchers who will 
 not "fuss" about the size of air-cell, to give no 
 moisture for about seventeen days, as above, and 
 then supply a little during the last two or three 
 days of hatching. This would hardly be safe 
 without the air-cell test, with the different types 
 of machine used in England. We believe that 
 even in America, to use no moisture at all, under 
 all circumstances, is a practical mistake. Such 
 hatches are not quite all successes; and though 
 we have already indicated the former general 
 mistake of overdoing moisture with the old sit- 
 ting-hen, the fact remains that there are cases in 
 which, even with hens, some vapour does greatly 
 help a hatch. It must be the same with an 
 incubator; though we believe that with many 
 American machines all that is necessary would 
 be best done by placing, in brisk, dry weather, 
 large shallow pans of water about in the incu- 
 bator room, or to water the floor of the room, so 
 as to moisten the air outside rather than inside 
 the machine. 
 
 It is found that eggs themselves may differ 
 greatly in behaviour, and this is no doubt one 
 reason why selection is so important for in- 
 cubator hatching. Mr. Rankin ascertained by 
 repeated experiment, that when hatching without 
 moisture in his "Monarch" incubator, the sound 
 good shells hatched all right, but that some eggs 
 dried up too much. These were found on ex- 
 amination to have porous places in the shell, 
 and to have dried up much more than the others. 
 He made the remarkable experiment of coating 
 tw0-thirds of an egg, from the small end, with 
 shellac, and hatching without moisture. They 
 hatched well several times, but when he much 
 reduced the clean space at the large end, they 
 failed. Here the hen has an advantage, in 
 slightly greasing her eggs by contact with the 
 skin ; and we have often thought that turning 
 the eggs with very slightly greasy gloves might 
 have good results. The air-cell may not be too 
 much dried out, and yet the membranes may 
 be rather too tough and leathery at the last 
 for easy hatching ; hence the American practice, 
 K 
 
 above alluded to, of giving some moisture the 
 last three days, which is tantamount to the hot- 
 water final soaking-test described when dealing 
 with hatching under hens. 
 
 With a view to the final hatch-out, if the tray 
 
 admits of it, the eggs should always be kept 
 
 with the large end slightly higher 
 
 Hatching. ^.j^^jj ^jjg Q^^gj. jhis tends to 
 
 prevent the chick's head being at 
 the small end. The eggs should not be turned 
 during the last three days, in order that the chick 
 may have a better chance to " get its head up." 
 When eggs are pipped, the fracture should be 
 turned upwards, if not already so, which will 
 probably be the case when turning has been 
 discontinued ; and it is better to move such eggs 
 near the door, where they can be seen — another 
 reason for glass doors. They should not be 
 meddled with oftener than about every six hours ; 
 but a lot of damp struggling chicks, breathing 
 freely, do not help the others, and the egg- 
 chamber is, moreover, too hot for them. Every 
 six hours or so, therefore, they should be re- 
 moved to the drying-box^ (which is usually in 
 England on the top of the machine, or else sup- 
 plied as a separate apparatus), until such time as 
 the admirable American methodbecomes general, 
 of automatic delivery of the chicks to a nursery 
 below the egg-trays. They should be entirely 
 out of the shell in from eight to eighteen hours 
 after pipping ; after the longer period it is pretty 
 plain that they need assistance. If only the 
 shell is broken, break the membrane through 
 also to give air, and if it appears too leathery, 
 a little warm water may be introduced, avoiding 
 the beak and nostrils. This may be sufficient. 
 If still no progress, the shell may be gently 
 cracked round, when a fairly strong chick will 
 generally be able to burst it asunder, especially 
 if moistened with a camel-hair pencil round the 
 crack. Sometimes, by immersing in warm 
 water, a tough membrane may be gently peeled 
 off, but so far as our experiments went, more 
 than the above rarely proved worth while. 
 
 It will be seen, that when we are asked- " why 
 chickens are found dead in the shell," or addled 
 
 at an earlier stage, there mS.y be 
 Chickens many replies. The eggs themselves 
 
 Shell. may have been too Weakly, from 
 
 the parents being too old, or too 
 young, or too fat, or too in-bred, or the male 
 being over or under-mated, or the. stock being 
 badly fed. The eggs may have been chilled, or 
 may have been over-heated. They may have had 
 too much moisture, or they may have had too 
 little for the ventilation. The air may have 
 been too damp to dry out the air-cell sufficiently, 
 or so very brisk and dry as to toughen the 
 
74 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 membrane, even though things were right in the 
 main. Many of these things often happen m a 
 nest of eggs under a hen, and are simply brought 
 into higher relief with an incubator, owing to 
 the number involved, and the fact that they are 
 then always supposed to be the fault of the 
 machine or of the management, which is, how- 
 ever, by no means always the case. Some of the 
 causes are only partially within human control 
 in a practical sense. 
 
 Duck eggs require a little different treatment 
 to get the best results ; they can be hatched 
 with others, but the average is not 
 Hatching g^ ^qq^j ^3 vf\\&x\. separate. It is 
 Eggs- generally agreed that a little lower 
 temperature is better; but the difference depends 
 upon the machine. Mr. Hearson advises two 
 degrees less, and somewhat the same may be 
 necessary whenever the capsule is higher than 
 the eggs, and there is a cold moist bottom tem- 
 perature. With American hot-air machines, 
 half a degree to one degree less is more usual. 
 Where free ventilation and free moisture are 
 used, a little more moisture during the last few 
 days, not before, is also generally better for 
 duck eggs ; but the size of the air-cell, as 
 already described, must be studied in reference 
 to this. Many large operators also think more 
 airing or cooling advisable, but taking care to 
 close the drawers whilst the trays are out, in 
 order that they may heat up again as quickly 
 as possible. The following remarks on in- 
 cubating duck eggs have been furnished us 
 for publication by Mr. Henry E, Moss, till 
 recently manager of Mr. Morgan's great duck 
 ranch at Riverton, Virginia, now of Kansas City. 
 We had observed from our study of American 
 poultry papers, that while 50 per cent, of live 
 ducklings to eggs seemed about the gffneral 
 American average,* Mr. Moss's were considerably 
 higher, and by common notoriety were above 
 the average. His incubafors were all on the 
 hot-air principle, and the majority had been 
 "Prairie State" machines, though latterly the 
 more recent makes above described had been 
 introduced. It will be seen that he writes rather 
 differently concerning both moisture and cooling. 
 
 " The artificial incubation of duck eggs differs 
 very materially from that of the eggs of other 
 fowl. It does not follow that eggs from what- 
 ever source will respond to the same treatment, 
 and yet many large duck farmers in this country 
 
 * This average may seem low ; but it is to be remembered 
 that a large quantity of the eggs are winter-laid, and most of 
 them from ducks kept in large families, some in large flocks, for 
 economy in management. Under these circumstances the 
 fertility of the eggs themselves is heavily discounted. Our own 
 "early breeders" know best how much such an average, on 
 thousanrts hatched, really means. 
 
 have for years persisted in doing this very thing. 
 The writer has for some years been making a 
 practical and thorough study of this question. 
 Operating from thirty to forty incubators each 
 season on duck eggs, studying cause and effect, 
 and reasoning deductively rather than induc- 
 tively, he has achieved a greater measure of 
 success than has previously been recorded, and 
 while not fully prepared yet to describe every 
 detail, will briefly make clear some of the 
 important points. 
 
 " The first and most important requirement 
 is proper heat. It is necessary in order to obtain 
 the. best results to maintain a uniform and un- 
 varying degree of heat at the upper surface' of 
 the egg. This uniform degree of heat should 
 rest on every egg alike. This is a condition 
 which never has and perhaps never will be found 
 perfectly attained, in any commercial incubator. 
 Incubators do their best work when run in an 
 underground room, or cellar, or cave, where a 
 uniform temperature of about 65° can be main- 
 tained ; otherwise, uniformity will depend upon 
 the efficiency of the thermostat. After the 
 machine has been slowly and thoroughly heated, 
 and then held steady for twenty-four hours at 
 100° with the thermometer lying on the tray, 
 the bulb free, you are ready for the eggs. 
 During the first forty-eight hours do not disturb 
 them, but as soon as they are in the machine 
 turn on rather more flame, and get the heat up 
 quickly to the proper degree, which is 102", the 
 thermometer resting upon the eggs, the top of 
 the bulb on a level with the top of the eggs. As 
 soon as the heat is up to 102"^, see that the 
 damper-valve is slightly raised, and then turn 
 down the flame low enough to just hold the 
 damper up a trifle. If the room is subject to a 
 sudden fall in temperature, however, adjust the 
 flame a little higher than ordinary, so as to be 
 prepared for the emergency, and trust to the 
 heat-regulator. 
 
 " During the first few days, and before the 
 animal heat develops in the egg, adjust the trays 
 by raising or lowering, if necessary, so as to 
 secure the same reading on all the thermometers. 
 When this is done do not change their elevation 
 again, no matter what difference may seem to 
 exist, but change position of the trays daily, in 
 order to average variations in temperature. 
 
 " The first test can be made about the sixth 
 day, the second on the sixteenth, when if the 
 development has advanced as it should, the 
 allantois will have nearly or quite encircled the- 
 embryo, rendering the &g^ nearly opaque. After 
 forty-eight hours begin the regular turning twice 
 a day. Do not jar the eggs, but handle very 
 carefully. After testing replace the trays so as to 
 
HATCHING DUCK EGGS. 
 
 75 
 
 keep the vacant rows in front, in which place the 
 thermometers, which hold at 99". After the 
 twelfth day you will notice the temperature' 
 rising, with the adjustment as you have held it : 
 it will now require less flame, and the adjustment 
 of the damper-valve will need to be altered a 
 little. The fact is the animal heat is now rising, 
 and if the machine is full of live germs it will 
 need close watching. Examine it the last thing 
 at night, or you may find the heat up to 105" or 
 more on the eggs in the morning, especially 
 the- third week ; and if this occurs many will 
 suffer or die in consequence, not immediately, 
 but lingering !along until almost the end of the 
 hatch, when they finally expire. After the third 
 week this danger is not so great, as the 
 animal heat remains about stationary, or declines 
 a little until exclusion begins, when it increases. 
 A temperature of 105° or 106° is desirable at 
 this time, and do not let it fall below 103° until 
 all are excluded. When the last one is dry, 
 open one of the doors about two inches and 
 securely fix it in this position, and let it remain 
 for twenty-four hours, so as to accustom them 
 to a slightly lower temperature before removing 
 them to the brooder. 
 
 " The only coohng of the eggs that should be 
 done besides what they get during the daily 
 turnings, is during the third week, when they 
 should be cooled down daily till a thermometer 
 on the eggs in the drawer stands at about 90". 
 Under no circumstances cool any during the last 
 week. It may be argued that cooling from the 
 start is the natural process, which I admit ; but 
 we must refrain from practising it at any other 
 time than specified, because we cannot as quickly 
 restore the incubating temperature as the parent 
 bird. It often takes us several hours to accom- 
 plish what she succeeds in doing in fifteen 
 minutes after resuming her nest. 
 
 " Ventilation is the next important question. 
 The most common and usual practice is to 
 ventilate to excess for chicken eggs, and add 
 still more to the duck tgg, because it is larger. 
 This is a serious mistake. In either case there 
 should be only sufficient ventilation to keep the 
 air in the egg-chamber respirably pure, and this 
 must be admitted in such a manner as to 
 produce no perceptible currents. A moving 
 body of air will absorb and carry away all the 
 available moisture it can gather, and its capacity 
 for moisture is increased in proportion to its 
 rise in temperature, and its velocity; hence fresh 
 air taken into the ventilating flues at a tempera- 
 ture of 65 ", even if laden to a high degree with 
 moisture, will on being heated to 103° have a 
 capacity for more, and will abstract it from its 
 surroundings until the tension is equahsed. In 
 
 this way the egg may be robbed of its moisture, 
 and the embryonic structure suffer in conse- 
 quence. The Creator has in His wisdom pro- 
 vided the amount of water necessary for the 
 proper growth and development of the embryo, 
 and also for any loss that may arise from 
 natural evaporation during that period. The 
 moment we attempt to take any from it by 
 any means whatever, we rob it of that which it 
 needs, and it suffers in consequence. Some 
 writers would have us believe that successful 
 hatching depends upon our ability to evaporate 
 the egg to a certain degree in a given time, and 
 even furnish us diagrams to guide us. A strong 
 healthy germ will utilise the entire contents of 
 the egg in its structural development, and the 
 waste products resulting will be cast off as 
 Nature provides. This is what should enlarge 
 the air-bulb ; any other means used to attain 
 this end are unnatural. Supply only the necessary 
 oxygen to sustain life, with the proper degree of 
 heat, and the fundamental conditions are secured, 
 and the moisture will take care of itself. 
 
 " A good incubator is very essential to success ; 
 cheap machines, like cheap watches, are unre- 
 liable, and in the end the most expensive." 
 
 Valuable as the above practical hints are, 
 some experience and judgment are needed be- 
 fore applying every one of them unreservedly to 
 circumstances in England. Reference has al- 
 ready been made (see pp. 6"], 68) to the differing 
 thermometric readings in various machines, 
 which must be ascertained and allowed for ; and 
 it is manifest that keeping the temperature at 
 99° near the glass front, in vacant rows, while it 
 may be a good and sufficient rule for large 
 machines built on one general plan, and which 
 upon an average will have to " test out " a con- 
 siderable number of eggs, must be very uncertain, 
 and might be quite wrong, in other cases. It is 
 of course understood that 99° in such a vacant 
 position, in the coolest position near the glass 
 front, is equivalent to a proper heat over the 
 eggs farther back : but in a small SO-egg ma- 
 chine, with a spring batch of eggs all or nearly 
 all of which were strongly fertile, a thermometer 
 so placed might be nearly up to the egg-tem- 
 perature, and therefore too low. Intelligent 
 operators will, however, consider such points as 
 these, and notwithstanding find hints of value 
 from such a skilled exponent of American 
 practice. 
 
 It should also be remarked that duck eggs 
 are, as a rule, longer hatching-out than hen eggs. 
 The latter often come out six hours after pipping, 
 generally before twelve, and seldom later than 
 eighteen. Duck eggs are, in England, hardly 
 ever less than twelve, and often twenty-four, and 
 
76 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 even more, hours in getting out. Tiiey can, how- 
 ever, be " assisted " with more average success 
 than with chicks. It is remarkable that here 
 also American experience differs, strong duck 
 eggs coming out as a rule more quickly than 
 with us, so that here again we have to " level 
 up" to trans- Atlantic practice. 
 
 Turkey and goose eggs are also generally 
 thought to hatch better with a little lower tem- 
 perature than hen eggs ; but experience in 
 hatching either has hardly been sufficient to 
 -settle the point with certainty. Experimentally, 
 both have hatched with entire success ; but it is 
 not so easy to rear poults artificially as with a 
 mother, and goose - breeding also appears to 
 " work " best in the natural way. It is curious 
 that ostrich eggs are hatched in incubators far 
 more largely than either. Hydro-incubators 
 were very early used for this purpose at the 
 Cape, but have since been superseded by Hear- 
 son's, built specially. The Phcenix Ostrich 
 Farm in Arizona, and the Florida Ostrich Farm 
 (now run ii'i connection with the preceding) at 
 Jacksonville, in the latter State, use the Reliable 
 machine ; and with the aid of incubators, ostrich- 
 culture seems extending. 
 
 It does not answer to hatch together eggs 
 too different in size. One reason is that the 
 smaller egg not only holds less heat in itself, 
 but has more evaporating surface in propor- 
 tion, and therefore dries out the air-cell at a 
 different rate. In many Machines, especially of 
 the Hearson cool-bottom construction, the tem- 
 perature of the top side of the large eggs would 
 be one or two degrees higher than of the small 
 ones, and this also would impair results. 
 
 When a hatch is complete, it is well to open, 
 air, and if necessary, disinfect the machine. 
 This may need it, owing to dead germs having 
 been left in too long, and occasioning a musty 
 smell. Where moisture trays have been used, 
 they should be scalded with boiling water, and 
 any earth or sand used in the egg drawers well 
 baked, to kill any bacteria which may have been 
 introduced. The trouble of doing ±his comes 
 but seldom, and 4s very little ; it often percep- 
 tilby affects the next hatch. When a machine 
 is discarded for the season, if it has a tank, 
 this should be quite emptied, and the whole of 
 the interior carefully wiped and cleansed out. 
 Hot-air flues and radiating chambers should 
 likewise be cleared from soot, which is more or 
 less acid, and if left in cold machines will eat 
 away the metal. 
 
 It may be said, in conclusion, that while 
 incubators are not for the slovenly, idle, or 
 capricious, where they are taken seriously and 
 
 managed in regular business-like fashion, they 
 bring out upon an average a better per-centage 
 of fertile eggs than hens. In America that has 
 been settled beyond dispute, by averages calcu- 
 lated from thousands annually. So much is 
 this the case, that in that country it has worked 
 a profound revolution in the poultry industry. 
 Where eggs were formerly sold by the sitting, 
 the great majority are now sold for hatching at 
 so much per hundred, while some hatchers con- 
 tract by the thousand. The effect upon the 
 spread and popularity of non-sitting breeds has 
 been enormous upon both shores of the Atlantic. 
 Upon both sides of that international pond has 
 also been developed a considerable trade in 
 newly-hatched chickens, sold per dozen, or score, 
 or hundred, and sent off to the purchaser before 
 feeding, at from eighteen to twenty-four hours 
 old. Such are practical proofs of the undoubted 
 success now attained in artificial incubation. 
 
 At this date it is not necessary to do more 
 than mention briefly the artificial system of 
 hatching continuously under hen turkeys, which 
 is still carried on to some ex'tent in France, 
 though less than formerly, but has not now, we 
 think, been employed in England for many 
 years. Mr. Geyelin reported in 1865 that some 
 of the couveurs, or professional hatchers in 
 France, had as many as sixty turkeys sitting 
 at once, the birds being fetched in from the 
 yards at any time when desired, placed upon 
 nest-eggs, and shut down under a lattice cover. 
 For about forty-eight hours they struggled more 
 or less to escape, but then settled down, and 
 afterwards would be kept sitting for three 
 months or more, the chicks being taken away 
 and fresh eggs substituted. The birds were 
 taken off once a day to feed and to clean the 
 nests ; they ate but little, and became very fat, 
 and after a time had to be given sufiScient food 
 by cramming. When a bird had been sitting 
 for some time she could be made into a foster- 
 mother if desired, being given a glass of wine 
 at dark; and an hour or two after chickens 
 placed under her, which she would take to in 
 the morning. 
 
 This system was at one time employed also 
 by English breeders to a small extent, but it 
 never appeared so successful as in France, 
 owing perhaps in part to differences in breed 
 and climate, but probably more to want of 
 experience and aptitude, which in France had 
 been hereditary for generations. Advances in 
 artificial hatching and rearing have made such 
 methods— in England and America at least — 
 now matters of only historical interest. 
 
77 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 REARING AND CARE OF CHICKENS. 
 
 We have seen that Nature has provided the 
 newly hatched chick, beforehand, with ample 
 nutriment for at least twenty-four hours. It 
 suffers little deprivation from thirty-six hours' 
 abstinence, and for it to partake of food within 
 less than twelve to eighteen hours after a healthy 
 hatch, is rather prejudicial than of any benefit. 
 Considering first a brood hatched at the natural 
 season under a hen, supposing her to have been 
 set at night, and that the eggs were fresh and 
 strong, some of them will have been hatched by 
 night, and at the final examination the shells 
 from such will have been cleared away, and the 
 hen shut in, feeding her, perhaps, if she will take 
 food. By morning the rest will probably have 
 hatched, and the whole will be strong and lively. 
 Unless any unhatched eggs are valued, and 
 probably stale, it is generally best to be content 
 with what are then out ; for the hen will be 
 getting restless after having had nestlings under 
 her all night, and any hatched later will be 
 weaker than the rest. Of course, if the sitting 
 is variable in age, such a rule might lose half 
 the brood ; then the best plan is to take away 
 what are hatched, and keep them in flannel by 
 the fire while the other eggs are tried out ; or 
 this is just the time when a small incubator may 
 be very useful to many who never hatch artifici- 
 ally upon system, as it may be heated up in 
 readiness, and late eggs put in to finish, while 
 the rest of the brood is not injured. As a 
 general rule, to keep a hen fussing over a few 
 unhatched eggs is apt to be prejudicial to 
 chickens which have hatched in good time, 
 and may result in " throwing good ones after 
 bad." 
 
 The first thing to do when hatching is over 
 is to give food and drink to the hen, as much 
 as she will take. Part of her meal may be barley 
 
 or wheat, and part good mash ; or 
 Care of the ^hg^t may be mixed in hot soft 
 
 food, and given when cool and a 
 little swelled. She will be quieter and more 
 easily managed if thoroughly satisfied at the out- 
 set after her long fast. Next comes putting her 
 and the brood out, which is generally the best 
 plan at ordinary seasons and in fine weather ; 
 
 sometimes in cold or wet weather it is better to 
 feed the chicks also on the nest, and keep them 
 there till the warmest part of the day, or even 
 a whole day if the hen is quiet and will stay 
 there. The food in such case can be placed on 
 the front part of the straw, beaten down rather 
 solid for the purpose ; but care should be taken 
 that no birds can fall outside on the ground, as 
 they cannot get back again and may perish. 
 
 The best food for the first day we still think 
 to be hard-boiled egg finely minced, mixed with 
 equal quantity of stale bread-crumbs, 
 ^^' °° ' and slightly moistened with milk. 
 It has been common to feed for several days 
 upon this egg-food, but bad results have so often 
 followed this kind of feeding that it is now dis- 
 carded after the first, or at most second day, by 
 experienced breeders. Such continuance usually 
 causes constipation ; and then from reaction and 
 want -of digestive activity the opposite evil 
 follows, and the chicks may die. This is the 
 true history of a great deal of trouble with very 
 young chickens, though aided in many cases by 
 constant pampering with tit-bits and dainties. 
 Egg is indeed very strengthening and useful for 
 young and weakly chickens, but is better beaten 
 up raw and used for moistening the food ; or it 
 may be beaten up with milk and fed as a slightly 
 baked custard. In this latter form egg will 
 often bring on wonderfully the backward ones 
 of a brood, but should never be given to such 
 an extent as to make them dainty over plain 
 diet. The late Mr. John Douglas used to give 
 custard to his Game and Dorking chickens for 
 the first meal in the morning till several weeks 
 old, and attributed their rapid growth to their 
 getting this rich diet the first thing in the 
 morning. He beat up three eggs in half a pint 
 of milk, and stirred in a saucepan over the fire 
 till it became a thick curd. The whey was then 
 squeezed out through a cloth, and the squeezed 
 custard given at first by itself, and after a few 
 days mixed with coarse oatmeal. This is the 
 best way of giving egg-food, and in this form 
 once a day it has no bad effects. 
 
 There are still ignorant people who think it 
 necessary to remove the pointed scale (provided 
 
78 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 by Nature as a weapon to break the shell, and 
 which falls off by itself after a few hours), at the 
 tip of a chicken's mandible, or put a peppercorn 
 and a few grits down its throat, or dip the beak 
 in water to "teach it to drink." Anything of 
 the sort can do no good, while it often causes 
 pain, and may do real harm. Play no such tricks 
 with the young and tender beaks, but simply 
 offer them the food. Some of them will not 
 care for it, while others may eat a little ; but if 
 they are fairly upon their legs and look happy, 
 not the slightest anxiety need be felt about any 
 which neither eat nor drink the first- day. 
 Nature herself has prepared and provided for 
 such a state of things. 
 
 How the brood is cooped out will depend 
 upon circumstances. Under a shed with a dry 
 floor of earth or gravel, or the floor of which is 
 covered with an inch of earth or ashes, the 
 old crinoline-pattern round basket-coop will 
 _ answer very well, the shed giving 
 
 °''^^" the shelter. We have often used 
 
 several such coops side by side under a shed, 
 which should open or have a door at the front 
 to an open run, best of all if a grass run. Where 
 there is no such auxiliary shed, which forms an 
 important part of most establishments of any size, 
 the coop itself must be so constructed as to give 
 sufficient shelter, and such can be made or 
 purchased in endless variety. The most primi- 
 tive is that shown in Fig. 51, which we only 
 illustrate because it is still much used throughout 
 the poultry-raising districts of Hampshire, 
 Surrey, and Sussex, and has been extensively 
 
 F'g- 5'- — Sussex Coop. 
 
 copied from thence in other districts, with mis- 
 chievous results. It is cheap, easily cut up and 
 nailed together, and when one is reversed upon 
 another, two pack in little space. But the 
 shelter afforded is not nearly sufficient for 
 ordinary circumstances. It is a form essentially 
 adapted for roadsides and hedgerows, or under 
 
 trees, which give the shelter the coop itself lacks, 
 and where it can be moved daily on to clean 
 and dry soil. Chickens reared under it in such 
 circumstances, and at perfect liberty, grow up 
 healthy and hardy ; but lacking these advan- 
 tages, the brood gets wet and the ground wet 
 and foul, and the results are disastrous. Even 
 
 Fig. 52. — Shelter Coop. 
 
 in the districts named we were glad to find, 
 during a tour of investigation in 1900, that this 
 coop is not now used so much as formerly ; and 
 where shelter and dry soil and unlimited fresh 
 ground are lacking, we must adopt other means. 
 The best coop is a weather-tight one, with a 
 separate raised and internal wooden floor, the 
 latter, of course, to be covered with soft material 
 kept clean daily. Nearly thirty years ago we 
 Revised for our own use the coop and floor 
 shown in Figs. 52 and 54. At that time nothing 
 of the sort could be obtained ; but the merits oi 
 this coop were so self-evident, that it was not only 
 much copied by other breeders immediately upon 
 publication of our sketch, but the general design 
 has been widely adopted, with occasional slight 
 variations, by all manufacturers of poultry 
 appliances. Any of these such coops can now be 
 purchased at a cheap rate ; though these are in 
 most cases somewhat smaller than we advised. 
 We preferred, for hen and 'chickens alike, a 
 rather large coop, and made all our own two 
 feet square. The two principal features of this 
 coop were the internal wooden floor, and the 
 additional shelter-board in front. The dimen- 
 sions given will cut up all the wood without 
 waste and with the least amount of labour ; so 
 that with the materials at hand, we cut up the 
 timber and finished three of these coops, per- 
 sonally, in one Saturday afternoon, with the sole 
 exception of an external coat of tar, which they 
 received on the next possible opportunity. 
 
COOFS FOR HEN AND CHICKENS. 
 
 79 
 
 The materials required are boards half an 
 inch or more thick, and the usual size of twelve 
 feet by nine inches ; a few feet of 2 x 3 " quarter- 
 ing " ; and a few feet of stuff about an inch square 
 for the corners. Most of the boards are cut each 
 into six two-feet lengths ; one for each coop 
 must be cut mto five lengths, for the roof, which 
 is not only on a slant but is meant to project 
 a trifle all round over the sides. Each , side 
 requires two whole boards (two feet long) and 
 a half-board cut diagonally ; the back two 
 boards ; these are nailed to corner-posts cut off 
 the inch-square stuff, two pieces of the same 
 being also nailed across the front at top and 
 bottom. The roof-pieces are nailed on, slats 
 cut from one of the same longer boards being 
 tacked over the joins to prevent leakage. The 
 fifth longer board makes the loose shelter-board 
 for the front. This might be hinged ; but we 
 preferred to make it detachable, driving two 
 small wire staples into the under side of the 
 front edge of the roof, into which could be 
 hooked, or released, two small hooks dfiven in 
 the edge of the board. A small wire stay kept 
 the board in position. The front of the coop 
 can be made of thin slats, with one removable 
 one : we used thin galvanised wire as shown, 
 simply because we happened to have a lot of 
 it on hand, left over from some operations in a 
 curiously different line of work. 
 
 The chief modifications made in this coop 
 since, relate to the.shelter-board, which by many 
 makers is hinged at the top, and made wide 
 enough to come down entirely over the front, 
 and shut all completely in for the night. The. 
 extra width is good, but whenever shutting in 
 is necessary, on account of field vermin, it is a 
 necessary evil, and ample ventilation holes must 
 be provided. The most complete shelter we 
 
 ^'g- 53- — Spratt's "Gamekeeper's" Coop. 
 
 have yet met with is provided in one of the 
 designs supplied by Spratt's Patent under the 
 name of the " Gamekeeper's " Coop, at a cost 
 of about 9s. and 'shown in Fig, 53. In this 
 coop two side shutters entirely close in the 
 front when shut and fastened, the slope at their 
 tops giving a space for. ventilation when closed. 
 The shelter-board is made very wide, and is not 
 hinged, but draws out through a loose slide. 
 
 falling loosely down so as to rest upon the 
 opened shutters. There is thus great protection 
 both against the heavens above and the strongest 
 side-winds below, and such a coop affords 
 sufficient shelter for the most exposed situations. 
 There is really more than is necessary for any 
 that is not exposed. 
 
 Fig. 54. — Floor of a Coop. 
 
 The other distinguishing point of our coop 
 was the floor. There can be no doubt at all 
 that where the soil is dry, and a coop can be 
 shifted its own width daily on to fresh ground, 
 no better plan can be adopted. 
 Dy Floor Especially is such the best way of 
 Coops. rearing not only pheasants, but one 
 
 or two of the wilder breeds of 
 poultry, s.uch as Anconas, which seem to pre- 
 serve somewhat of the same wild constitution. 
 But cases are rare amongst ordinary people 
 where this can be done ; and generally other 
 means must ■ be adopted to ensure a clean and 
 dry floor underneath the brood when nestling 
 under the hen. The best method is a r^aised 
 inside wooden floor, which we provided for very 
 simply in the coop figured above, as shown in 
 Fig. 54. Here three half-inch boards a a are 
 nailed to pieces of 2 x 3 quartering b b \n the 
 manner shown, so as not to reach the edges. 
 If they are cut the proper lengths, it will be 
 readily seen that the coop- fits or sits down 
 outside this floor, on the space left of the two 
 timbers. If any of this foundation projects still 
 farther beyond the walls of the coop at all, it 
 should be sloped away, so as not to retain any 
 wet to run under the walls. Such a floor 
 stands up several inches clear of the ground, and 
 must remain dry in any weather. The pieces 
 of quartering are left projecting in front on 
 purpose, in order that a loose piece of board 
 may be placed on them in front of the coop, 
 to serve as a feeding-board for the chickens. 
 
 A floor of this kind can be made to fit any 
 coop of whatever construction, and will save 
 much trouble. It must be covered with loose, 
 dry material, which may be earth, or coal-ashes. 
 
8o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 or peat-moss litter. This will need to be either 
 renewed or thoroughly cleansed at least once 
 daily. The best plan is to clear all out in the 
 morning, and give them a very slight sprinkle, 
 merely to keep the wood clean. The hard 
 floor will do no harm while the chicks are active. 
 Then at night a bed should be given at least a 
 quarter of an inch deep, or half an inch would 
 be better. It is more important to have the floor 
 fresh and soft at night, when the brood is upon 
 it without intermission. Or another good plan, 
 perhaps best of all in cold weather, is to give 
 for the night, over the daylight sprinkle of earth 
 or ashes, a little well-beaten, clean straw, to be 
 removed in the morning. 
 
 Cooping the hen with her chickens has been 
 condemned by some who have written on the 
 subject without much practical knowledge, and 
 who have alleged that the "natural" plan of 
 allowing her to wander at will with them is to 
 be preferred. We have tried both ways, and 
 assert without hesitation that this notion is 
 altogether a fallacy, and that a brood placed 
 with a hen properly cooped, with a moderate 
 and fresh grass-run, well sheltered if possible by 
 a few shrubs, and regularly supplied with suitable 
 food, will thrive better and grow faster than if 
 left at liberty. Game and Aseels, in which 
 size is no consideration, but hardness of flesh of 
 great importance, may be exceptions, and do 
 well with free range : but nearly all hens over- 
 tire their chickens if left to their own discretion, 
 and from this most chickens suffer severely, 
 besides being often surprised by showers where 
 there is no adequate shelter. 
 
 After the first meal or two of egg-food, the 
 chicks will have to be more regularly fed : and in- 
 deed there is not the slightest need of egg-food at 
 all. We have reared many which had no food at 
 first except whole groats (the grain of the oat with 
 the husk removed, often called " hulled oats " 
 in America) cut with a knife, and bread-crumb 
 moistened with milk. Some of the " patent 
 groats " are as coarse as chopped groats. What- 
 ever be used, newly hatched broods learn to peck 
 best and quickest at something w>^?V^, whatever 
 it is, according to our experience. They should 
 be fed partly upon meal food, and partly upon 
 dry seeds or grain ; and the result of many 
 years' chicken-rearing convinced us that it was 
 
 best, for stock birds, if the two 
 Meals*" alternated. For fattening and killing 
 
 it is different; but unless there is 
 plenty of grain food, the chicken's gizzard is 
 not brought sufficiently into action for really 
 vigorous health- We gained this experience at 
 some cost, and strongly advise that a "soft" 
 meal should be succeeded by a "hard" one, 
 
 throughout the day. As regards frequency of 
 meals, at first one should be given every two 
 hours. This may continue for two or three 
 weeks ; but by a month at farthest the time 
 should come down to every three hours or so ; 
 and at ten or twelve weeks to four times a day. 
 Chickens will live and grow up very healthy 
 with less than this ; but we are here discussing 
 their rearing to become large birds, yet witii 
 health and vigour. More than this interferes 
 with the latter condition, and it has been proved 
 does not increase real size. 
 
 Food will, of course, change with growth ; 
 small, tender beaks cannot manage at first what 
 might be splendid food for grown birds. For 
 the first start off, perhaps the best soft diet is 
 a mixture of stale bread-crumb with coarse oat- 
 meal, which may be moistened with skim milk, 
 or for the breakfast with the custard before 
 described. In cool weather even whole milk 
 may be used, but the skim is better.' Sour 
 milk does not answer for chickens as with 
 fatting fowls. Where there is no grass run, 
 upon which chickens soon learn to help them- 
 selves, green food should be cut up very small 
 and mixed with this, before the water or milk 
 is added. Take a good wisp of fresh clean grass 
 in the left hand, and with strong scissors cut it 
 off into small green chaff less than a quarter 
 of an inch long. A teacupful of this, one of stalfe 
 crumbs, and one of coarse oatmeal may all be 
 mixed together dry, and will la.st a large brood 
 for a day, moistening a little as required. 
 Rather thick porridge is also greedily eaten ; or 
 cooked porridge may be mixed with sharps or 
 a further portion of dry coarse oatmeal. After 
 a day or two Spratt's chicken food, or any other 
 form of good biscuit meal,* may be mixed with 
 the bread-crumb, and next day quite supersede 
 it ; and as the beaks gain in power, ground oats 
 may supersede oatmeal, or be given alone, but 
 is kept more friable with a little biscuit meal. 
 Later on, sharps and barley meal may come 
 into use, and any other good change of meals 
 will find a place, such as sharps and biscuit 
 meal, or a mixture of bran, oatmeal, and maize 
 meal. It is during early days that whiter and 
 softer materials are advisable ; but oatmeal and 
 ground oats stand out in feeding value to the 
 end. We would give a special caution against 
 barley meal for very young chickens ; they 
 cannot digest the husk, which passes out and 
 causes irritation at the best, but sometimes 
 
 * We here use biscuit meal as a general term for any of the 
 prepared foods which 'are baked into rough biscuits and then 
 granulated. In America, breeders very largely mix their raw 
 meals and bake it themselves into what they call Johnny-cake, 
 which IS then crushed, and forms very similar diet. 
 
FEEDING YOUNG CHICKENS. 
 
 8i 
 
 collects into an impacted mass and causes 
 death. The same is the case with ground oats 
 if not properly ground. 
 
 Green food must be kept up all through 
 chicken-rearing. "^ Finely cut grass has been 
 Gen Food ^"^^^^Y mentioned ; if this cannot be 
 had, cabbage or lettuce may be 
 minced small and used in the same way. Or 
 mustard and cress can be kept growing in a 
 couple of boxes of earth, or a little rape. 
 Dandelions make excellent green food. We 
 have occasionally known them refused at first, 
 but once used to dandelion leaves most fowls 
 prefer them to all other green food, and they 
 are so wholesome as to be well worth growing 
 from seed where many chickens are reared. 
 Seed may be sown in the autumn, thinning the 
 plants out, when they come up, to about a foot 
 apart. Also sow again about March. These 
 'two sowings will last all spring and summer, 
 and will last two years, when they should be 
 superseded, in order to keep the leaves tender 
 and succulent. Care should be taken, where 
 dandelions are grown, to cut off the flowers 
 regularly, or the seed will become a nuisance 
 and pest to all the neighbours. Chopped onions 
 and leeks are very wholesome, and nettles are 
 also good, but require to be boiled. Best of all 
 is a grass run, if clean and sweet. The chickens 
 will then help themselves when a few days old, 
 but should have the cut grass or vegetables as 
 above for nearly a week, until their beaks are 
 strong. The constant and free use of grass or 
 other green food is the great safeguard against 
 bowel complaints in chickens. A free supply 
 after deprivation will, of course, often cause 
 diarrhoea ; but a constant and ample supply is 
 the great and natural regulator of the system, 
 jnaintainer of healthy appetite, and prophylactic 
 against liver disease. 
 
 Where space does not allow of a really open 
 grass-run for chicken-rearing, but is not exces- 
 sively confined, and the soil is suitable, we have 
 seen great benefit from an ingenious plan 
 adopted and described by a correspondent of 
 Poultry. Two or more frames are preipared — 
 less than three are scarcely worth while — of 2 by 3 
 inch quartering, two feet wide and three or four 
 feet long, and covered one side with inch-mesh 
 wire netting. The ground being first prepared, 
 is sown with suitable grass and clover seed, 
 and covered .with these frames, the netting 
 uppermost, and thus raised two inches above 
 the ground. All is fenced away from the 
 chickens till the grass and clover under one 
 frame is sufficiently grown, when they are 
 allowed access to one, and pick at the green 
 food through the netting, but cannot trample 
 L 
 
 it down or scratch it up, and foul it much less 
 than if allowed to walk over it. When they 
 have fed down one frame, it is fenced off and 
 another left open ; then the third, and the rest 
 if more in number. By this time the first frame 
 will have made fresh growth, and in this way 
 much real help may be obtained. We have 
 also known six-inch strips of ground fenced off 
 by perpendicular wires i ^ inches apart, which 
 allowed the chickens to pluck the grass, but not 
 to walk upon or contaminate it. Such strips 
 should be manured (with poultry manure) dur- 
 ing the winter months. 
 
 After trying various methods of feeding, we 
 still think best of all for the young chickens, 
 while with the hen, a smooth board in front 
 of the coop. We always laid this on 
 Feeding ^jjg projecting ends of the timbers in 
 
 Fig. 54. Vendors of appliances say 
 that such boards cannot be kept 
 clean, or get " sour " ; that was not our experi- 
 ence during many years. For people who prefer 
 them, there are all sorts of troughs and other 
 things. We think it best to rather scatter the 
 soft food on the bare board, to which it will not 
 adhere if mixed in a properly friable condition. 
 After the food has been placed on it, a moderate 
 time should be allowed for the chicks to eat all 
 they really care about. Then whatever remains 
 should be at once removed with the scraper 
 shown in Fig. 55. This scraper is also the best 
 implement for cleaning the coops, and should 
 be freely used. By it all remains of the meal 
 
 on a 
 Board. 
 
 Fig. 55. —Scraper. 
 
 are scraped off the wood into a dust-pan, a little 
 coarse sand being strewn upon the board after, 
 a portion of which is meant to adhere to and be 
 eaten with, the next meal of soft food given. 
 Many experienced breeders think this sanding 
 
 of a board not sufficient, and advise 
 Chickens ^ ^^'■^'^ carefully sifted grit (for which 
 
 some of the smaller flint-grit should 
 be sifted through a wire sieve which will just 
 allow millet seed to pass easily) to be given 
 once a day, with one of the soft meals. Much 
 will depend upon the chicken run. Where this 
 is ample and grit abounds, to mix it in food can 
 hardly be necessary. Otherwise it is safe, and 
 can do no harm, and in a small space is really 
 needful for the chickens. In all cases, a supply 
 of small grit should be kept well scattered around 
 the coop. Our experience has been that a 
 saucer of it is not sufficient. 
 
82 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 At a later stage, -where there is ample range 
 it is better to avoid all boards and vessels what- 
 ever, scattering the grain broadcast as it is, so 
 that none may be bullied out of their share, and 
 kneading the mash or meal into lumps the size 
 of cricket balls or a little smaller. These also 
 are cast abotit, and break when they reach the 
 ground ; a ball of meal food that holds well 
 together, and thus breaks up without sticking to 
 the ground, is mixed right, and is how meal food 
 - should be mixed. It is to get this consistency 
 that we like to add a little sharps, or even maize 
 meal, to ground oats or oatmeal, which are the 
 most difiScult to mix in a friable state. Such 
 balls are thrown here and there so long as they 
 are eaten up promptly, and no longer. But this 
 method of feeding requires both space and time. 
 Pans may be used in default of space ; but time, 
 to see that they get enough and not too much, 
 is really necessary to rearing fine chickens. At 
 the same time, they can be looked over and note 
 made of any that need attention. Where time 
 is wanting, it is better to give rather too little 
 food than too much. 
 
 The seed or grain portion of the diet will also 
 have to be adjusted during the early and tender 
 days, after which it can be more varied. Whole 
 
 . groats, chopped smaller with a knife 
 
 Chickens' the first two days, then given whole, 
 may be varied by such small seeds 
 as canary and millet with advantage, and such 
 seeds might indeed be continued ad libitum, -werQ 
 they not too costly. When millet is fairly cheap 
 it is worth its price. But after a few days we 
 can introduce for a change cracked wheat or 
 barley, or even cracked maize, for young chickens 
 a.re so active and grow so fast that, in moderation, 
 little need be dreaded from maize, at this age. 
 Then they will come on to whole wheat, buck- 
 wheat, and now and then a feed of dari ; but 
 there is too little substance in the latter to re- 
 commend it often. Care should be taken that 
 chicks do not gorge themselves with wheat, as 
 it swells in the crop, and may so cause mischief. 
 A httle sunflower-seed is much relished at 
 times, chopped or cut if too large, and is much 
 safer than hemp-seed, as well as more nourish- 
 mg. For the reasons already given as regards 
 fowls, it should be arranged that the last feed at 
 night consist of dry seeds or grain. 
 
 To rear fine birds there is one simple rule. 
 The meals must be far enough apart for real 
 appetite to return, but not so far as to check 
 nourishment ; and enough must be given to 
 fully satisfy the appetite at that moment, and 
 no more. The chickens must not really be left 
 to hunger; neither must any food be left by 
 them, after they have eaten what they want. It 
 
 is well to gratify the appetite by judicious 
 changes. Such changes rnake food to be more 
 eagerly relished and better digested ; but the 
 golden secret lies in the above, and in all the 
 food being nicely" prepared. 
 
 Early chickens, for either exhibition or 
 market — let us say if hatched much before the 
 middle of April — require extra feeding and 
 
 attention, to cope with the cold and 
 atmght *^^ shorter days. The meal may 
 
 be mixed with milk, or skim milk, 
 so long as cold weather lasts, or a drink of warm 
 milk may be given in the morning. Care should 
 be taken to feed them as soon as ever it is light 
 enough ; and they should have an extra special 
 feed by lamp-light, at nine or ten o'clock. 
 Early chickens especially need this extra feed, 
 and it makes an immense difference to them. 
 The first time or two, the hen may have to be 
 lifted or stirred up ; but they rapidly get to 
 understand the business, and run eagerly out 
 from under her as soon as they see the light of 
 the lantern. Groats or wheat are the best for 
 these last feeds, and a little may be left for 
 them to peck at first thing in the morning. 
 
 Animal food should not be forgotten, unless 
 a wide range gives them plenty of insects, when 
 it is not really necessary, though even then a 
 Anim portion helps growth, and early lay- 
 
 Food!^ ^"& if sggs are in view. For the first 
 
 week, lean cooked meat finely minced 
 or shredded is the proper thing, and for a single 
 brood a small slice from the house, or a piece 
 about the size of a walnut, cut up very small, 
 will suffice. In dry weather this should be 
 scattered on the ground in front of the coop and 
 board, that the hen may not get it, and the 
 chickens may all get their share, and run about 
 in getting it. Later, any cheap sound stuff 
 bought for the fowls will do, or one of the many 
 kinds of granulated dried meat sold as "crissell," 
 " meat meal," or by other names. These should 
 be soaked a little in warm water before being 
 given, and if any sample should be accidentally 
 found offensive, as may happen to any brand 
 now and then, it should be discarded. Not till 
 they are at least a month old should they have 
 green cut bone, if that is used for the older 
 fowls ; before that age the latter is apt to cause 
 bowel disorders, and even then chickens seem 
 more prone to this result from cut bone than 
 laying hens appear to be. 
 
 In regard to water, where this is given the 
 best plan is generally to place a small fountain 
 on one end of the feeding-board, where the hen 
 can reach it as well as the chickens. Care must 
 be taken that it is always fresh and clean, and 
 the fountain shaded, as sun-warmed water isapt 
 
WATER FOR CHICKENS. 
 
 83 
 
 to cause purging. But an important question 
 has been raised as to what should be allowed 
 chickens in the way of drink. The usual plan 
 
 till lately has been to let them have 
 Chickens. water by them ad libitum, the fresher 
 
 and cooler the better ; and we have 
 shared this general practice with others. There 
 have, however, always been exceptions to this rule 
 amongst country rearers, especially some who 
 have inherited traditions of Game- fowl rearing ; 
 and during the last dozen years there have been 
 on several occasions lengthy discussions as to 
 whether it is not better, for about the first five 
 weeks, to withhold water altogether, where the 
 chickens are fed chiefly on soft food, except so 
 far as fluid may be contained in the latter. A 
 careful and exhaustive analysis of all that we 
 have been able to meet with on both sides of 
 this question, has led us to the conclusion .that 
 the preponderance of experience is upon the 
 side of withholding water. It is to be remarked 
 that by far the greater part of what has been 
 said on this side, consists of actual evidence as 
 to extremely good results from this mode of 
 treatment, and in many cases of very great 
 improvement in rearing after its adoption. On 
 the other side, a very large proportion of what 
 has been said against it consisted of mere de- 
 clamation against the supposed "cruelty." It 
 need not be pointed out that there can be no 
 real " cruelty " in any course of treatment which 
 rears more chickens, if the fact be so. And 
 when appeal is made to " Nature," and we 
 begin to think about it, Nature herself is, if 
 anything, rather on the side of the dry method. 
 The young of all small birds, at least, are reared 
 without water. The fowl itself is believed to be 
 an Indian bird of the jungles ; and in such 
 localities it is certain that even the old birds can 
 onlydrink at long intervals, while days must often 
 elapse before young and tender broods can thus 
 indulge. How much less can water be really 
 required where a large portion of the food itself 
 is mixed with fluid, as in our artificial rearing ? 
 
 At all events, there is a considerable body of 
 evidence to the effect that a large amount of the 
 diarrhoea and other bowel complaints of young 
 chickens is due to unlimited supplies of fluid in 
 addition to soft food ; and that many have left 
 off" giving fluid with marked advantage. Some 
 have deprived the chickens of drink entirely for 
 the first month ; others have allowed one fair 
 drink in the morning after breakfast (preventing 
 any excess), and then taken it away, giving the 
 hen drink separately. The chickens in most 
 seasons get some drink from the dew upon the 
 grass, and in these small quantities it is prob- 
 ably less injurious to them. They can be seen 
 
 drinking in this manner ; and the fact suggests 
 that some little should depend upon the season. 
 Where they are hatched late, and the weather 
 is hot and dry, such a regimen should not be 
 insisted upon, especially if fed chiefly upon 
 grain, though even then we are convinced that 
 " water by measure " will be the best plan. But 
 in spring, or where soft food is given largely, we 
 are disposed to think that no water in addition, 
 or only one drink after breakfast, and possibly 
 a few sips, and no more, at night, will be found 
 the best regimen. 
 
 The only actual evidence we have seen of any 
 evil from this course, was when the objector had 
 adopted it with chickens a few days or more 
 old. That is natural : such changes should not 
 be made with young things of any kind. Those 
 once accustomed to drink, must suff"er by de- 
 privation : and if any change is made, it should be 
 very gradually, and not carried to the extreme. 
 The very worst effects of all are produced by 
 allowing young birds to drink to repletion after 
 prolonged thirst. But it has been noticed that 
 chickens reared on the dry system are much 
 less prone to this in after life. 
 
 We may now pass from feeding to the princi- 
 pal difficulties in chicken-rearing. Some people 
 find one of the greatest from cats, which often 
 make dreadful inroads upon the broods. While 
 Cats ^^'^y young, a brood can be easily 
 
 protected by making a few hurdles 
 of inch-mesh wire netting tacked on light wooden 
 frames, two feet wide and six feet long being a 
 handy size. These are easily lashed together 
 with string to form an enclosed run, covered 
 entirely in by similar hurdles, and the coop 
 fronts into this run. They will be quite safe so 
 far, and can be thus confined for about a fort- 
 night, provided the whole be moved to a fresh 
 piece of short grass every day, or at most two 
 days, or an earth run cleansed conscientiously. 
 After that they suffer. A single grass-run forty 
 or fifty feet square, if well mown, attended to, 
 and managed, will rear in succession a great 
 many chickens during their tenderest age, and 
 both in Bristol and London (for we have had 
 painful experience of the feline tribe) we found 
 practical protection by enclosing this in a wire 
 fence six feet high ; only wherever there was 
 a piece of wall or shed as one of the boundaries, 
 it was necessary to carry a yard of netting 
 above that, next the yard, so that the cats had 
 to do their walking outside of it. They never 
 seemed to understand, looking down as they 
 did, that they could get over by climbing up 
 this strip. Out of many former offenders, only 
 one cat in Bristol and one in London climbed our 
 netting, and both these met an untimely end — 
 
84 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 not unreasonably, after the pains and expense 
 we had incurred, and considering that we had 
 " stood it " to -the tune of over a dozen Brahma 
 chickens. Cats are easily caught in a trap 
 made just like a box mouse-trap. In two cases, 
 before our fencing was put up, we found that 
 energetic treatment from the hose of a garden 
 engine made more extreme measures un- 
 necessary. But others braved even that rather 
 than forego the delicacy of live chicken. 
 
 The more common difficulties in rearing 
 chickens are insect vermin, bowel complaints, and 
 certain affections of the feet and legs generally 
 known as cramp, the last specially attacking 
 those hatched at unnaturally early seasons. If 
 it is understood from the first that all three are 
 very common dangers, very much will be done 
 already towards warding. them off. 
 
 Insect vermin ought not to trouble any 
 poultry-keeper who only rears a brood or two 
 in the year. Supposing cleanliness and disin- 
 j fection properly attended to in the 
 
 Vermin. stock and house, he need not be 
 afraid for any of his hens ; and if a 
 borrowed or hired one has been set, she should 
 have been examined and treated beforehand, as 
 already recommended. Still he should be care- 
 ful ; and it is as well to give the hen a thorough 
 dusting with pyrethrum insect powder before 
 putting her out with the brood. That should 
 be enough. But as stock is multiplied, it be- 
 comes more and more difficult to fight the 
 insect fiend ; and whenever chickens appear 
 not to thrive and grow while with the hen, yet 
 no definite ailment can be found, in most cases 
 the cause lies here, and both hen and chickens 
 should be rigorously examined. They may 
 probably be found infested with insects of 
 various kinds, not all amenable to the same 
 treatment. 
 
 Fleas, if found at all, are very unusual, 
 harbouring more in houses than upon the birds. 
 Lice are most common, and will be found chiefly 
 under the wings, on thighs, round the vent, and 
 round the throat. A thorough dusting in of 
 msect powder, all over every bird once or twice 
 will usually be sufficient, or powdered sulphur' 
 carbohsed,* letting the hen also have access to 
 sulphured dust-baths frequently. Besides this 
 the chicks may have just a touch on the places 
 named, and on the top of the head, with oil or 
 vaseline containing a kv, drops of paraffin oil. 
 Ihis will keep them reasonably free, and lice 
 are only injurious when in numbers, from the 
 irritation they cause. Far worse are ticks, which 
 attack chickens more often than is supposed, 
 
 ■ -1 \°y"^."^'^ sulphur rubbed up with a little carbolic acid 
 without losmg Its apparently dry and powdery condition! ' 
 
 and are believed to reach them not only from 
 an infested hen, but from other animals. The 
 tick is a large insect in comparison, which 
 half buries its head in the victim's skin, and 
 sucks its blood, both the pain and loss of vital 
 fluid causing the chick to pine away. Ticks 
 will not be found, like lice, on. the under parts 
 of the body, but solely on the head, throat, and 
 top of the neck. Neither do they swarm like lice, 
 but must be looked for singly and with great care, 
 every point of head and throat being gone over. 
 If all can be picked off, it will probably be 
 sufficient for a single brood, but will take much 
 time and care ; and it is better to apply a 
 dressing of one ounce mercurial ointment, two 
 ounces lanoline, and half an ounce paraffin oil. 
 This is applied scantily but thoroughly to the 
 skin over the head, with a touch under the 
 throat. Some prefer a wash made by boiling 
 three parts of water, and then stirring in one of 
 paraffin oil, applying thoroughly with a rag but 
 not drenching the plumage. When there has 
 been former trouble with ticks, it is best to 
 apply the above ointment within the first day 
 or two, which will pfevent trouble. It is to be 
 remembered that mercury is poison, and though 
 careful application diluted as above will do no 
 injury, any excess in quantity might do so. 
 
 The red mite, so dreaded in fowl-houses, can 
 only attack chickens by gross neglect, or if they 
 are housed at night in the house, as it lives 
 generally in nooks and crannies, and only visits 
 the birds to feed. A little oil mixed with one- 
 fifth part paraffin oil, applied at the neck, under 
 wings, on thighs, and near the vent, will be 
 some protection ; but these creatures must be 
 fought chiefly in the house itself, where they 
 live and breed. A coop should be quite free, 
 and easily kept so. 
 
 Bowel complaints very often cause loss and 
 trouble, the more so where many are reared. 
 The unwise use of hard-boiled ^gg has already 
 been alluded to as apt to cause mischief ; and 
 Bowel ^^^ ^^""^ °^ ample and regular green 
 
 Compiainta. f°°^ ^^ another frequent cause, as' is 
 also a lack of sharp grit. Green cut 
 bone does not necessarily occasion such com- 
 plaints ; but there are so many cases where it 
 appears to have done so, that we included it 
 amongst our cautions. Avoiding these known 
 occasions of such mischief, bowel, complaints 
 should seldom occur; but wet or chill, or 
 occasional sour food, or over-crowding, or un- 
 known causes, or accidental circumstances, may 
 notwithstanding set up a diarrhoea, which is 
 disastrous if not checked at once. In any case 
 It should be treated immediately. Very young 
 chickens often get quite plastered up around 
 
CRAMP IN CHICKENS. 
 
 8S 
 
 Cramp in 
 Chickens. 
 
 the vent, causing much distress, and death 
 unless reheved. Such should either be washed 
 or the dry matter picked off, bringing the down 
 with it, after which the part should be well 
 greased with vaseline to prevent adhesion. For 
 mild cases it is often enough to give a feed or 
 two of rice boiled in milk, rather dry but not 
 hard. When known to be caused by wet or 
 chill, a drop of camphor essence at every feed 
 is often of the greatest service. More serious 
 cases are best treated by chlorodyne, giving 
 two drops for a three days chick, up to five 
 drops for ten days or a fortnight, every two 
 hours for a few doses, then every three hours 
 till distinctly convalescent. Meantime the diet 
 and surroundings will be carefully examined, 
 and anything that seems wrong effectually 
 remedied. 
 
 Cramp, as it is called, is specially found in 
 the case of early chickens, but includes several 
 complaints more or less distinct. The symptom 
 common to all, is failure of power in 
 the legs, with or without swelling, 
 or contraction of the claws. The 
 limbs seem to get stiff and weak, and the chick 
 rocks or rolls in its gait. Then the claws may 
 so flex, that walking takes place on the knuckles 
 if at all ; finally death ensues. Whole broods 
 are lost in this way. The connection with cold 
 or wet in early seasons is plain enough as a 
 general rule ; and when these are the sole causes 
 it is simply a case of rheumatism, to be treated 
 by warmth, gentle friction of the limbs and 
 claws, and hot bathing of the limbs, with any 
 of the stimulating liniments advertised in the 
 newspapers, and a grain or two, twice a day 
 for each chick, of salicylate of soda. But this 
 simple case rarely occurs, and if it does is such 
 a symptom of debilitated constitution, that cure 
 for the time is scarcely desirable ; birds so 
 delicate are better dead before they can pro- 
 pagate their weakness. 
 
 There are other cases in which the chickens 
 have run upon a wooden, or brick, or stone 
 floor. Here the connection with the season is 
 indirect : the chicks were confined for protection 
 upon these hard and even floors. This strains 
 the muscles, and the result is a sort of cramp, 
 in the true sense of that word. The only remedy 
 in such cases is atnple loose material, at least an 
 inch deep, over the entire hard floor, an open 
 run outside, and keeping them short enough of 
 food to make them run constantly. The soft 
 floor, open runs, and the actual running are the 
 main points, and, if taken in fair time, will 
 generally cure. In these cases there is not neces- 
 sarily constitutional weakness to be dreaded. 
 Mere dry cold is not at all a drawback to rearing 
 
 chickens : it is wet or wind that does mischief 
 In Scotland and America, where the cold is far 
 greater than in England, greater average size is 
 attained, though more food is consumed ; and 
 excessive heat in summer will do more harm 
 than cold in spring. 
 
 But the greater number of cases are distinct 
 from either of these, and are due largely to over- 
 feeding, especially if much meat be given. This 
 cause may be no doubt aided by too. much 
 coddling, or a hard floor. The latter may tend 
 towards the real cramp noticed above, while 
 overfeeding accumulates poison in the system, 
 and the birds are lazy, and take no exercise to 
 work it off. It is more like gout than anything, 
 in reality ; and every doctor knows that rheu- 
 matism and gout are close allies, both being con- 
 nected with accumulation of uric acid in the 
 tissues. Here, too, the connection with cold 
 and wet is indirect. The chicks get more and 
 richer food to withstand it, and are lazy and 
 chilly, and nestle more under the hen than they 
 would in warm weather. Hence the mischief 
 The salicylate will be the best medicine, com- 
 bined with two or three grains of Epsom salts, 
 or potass bicarbonate ; and rubbing with lini- 
 ment, best of all one containing turpentine, 
 with flexing and working the claws, will help. 
 But the only real remedy, and the practical 
 preventive, is, plenty of running about ; and 
 the food must be scanty enough to make them 
 run, and come out to search for it. This kind 
 of cramp has often carried off chicks kept 
 altogether in a warm box. It constantly 
 attacks those packed into a greenhouse. If such 
 chicks are taken in time, and put out in the air, 
 in an open run, but with dry ashes or peat moss 
 under foot, and kept just enough starved to 
 make them hungrily active, the cramp disappears: 
 it is gout from overfeeding and laziness. Very 
 young chickens, up to five weeks old, should 
 have the best of food, and be sedulously at- 
 tended to, but always kept hungrily active. 
 Such birds are not attacked by cramp, unless 
 the victims of hereditary weakness or disease. 
 
 A brood or two, with proper care, may thus 
 be steered through the dangers of early chicken- 
 hood ; but where many are to be reared, a word 
 of caution is required as to the 
 urgent necessity for clean ground. If 
 broods are brought up in succession 
 upon the same spot, the later ones do not thrive 
 like the earlier ones, and may show a kind of 
 falling away that seems unaccountable. The 
 reason is that the ground is tainted. Much can 
 be done by arrangement and care; placing coops, 
 not too close, upon a broad strip of hard gravel 
 or earth, whose surface is rigorously scraped 
 
 Tainted 
 Ground. 
 
86 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 clean. The hard ground" will take much of the 
 wear and the droppings, and greatly preserve 
 the grass beyond it. It is better still to have, 
 at the other side of the grass run, another such 
 piece of hard earth or gravel, and to use this 
 alternately with the other, which can be disin- 
 fected and covered over in the meantime. A 
 . run entirely of hard earth, with plenty of arti- 
 ficial green food, gives less anxiety in this 
 particular way, because it can be regularly swept 
 with hard bristles, scraped, or pared, and dug up 
 now and then. For six years we hatched fifty 
 Brahmas annually, and reared them through 
 chickenhood until the wasters could be picked 
 out, under a shed six feet wide and twenty-two 
 feet long, with an earthen run twenty-two feet 
 square. They were as healthy the last year 
 as the first. But we had the danger ever before 
 our eyes, and averted it by the most sedulous 
 care. 
 
 At a period from four to ten weeks after 
 
 hatching, the hen will seek to be rid of her 
 
 charges, and what is best to be done will 
 
 . depend upon age and circumstances. 
 
 eamng. j^. ^^^ ^^^ ^^ fledged, and of light 
 
 roosting breeds, she may have a perch two or 
 three feet high, and they may fly up to her ; for 
 a night or two she will partially brood them on 
 the perch, and they will know what to do when 
 she is taken away. The heavy breeds are 
 generally best left to sleep in their old coop, 
 where they will nestle together, and will be 
 warm enough at ordinary seasons. Or any 
 large box turned on its side and well bedded 
 with earth, ashes, or straw, cleaned every night, 
 will answer for a sleeping coop under a shed. 
 Small houses and coops are also sold ready 
 made for the use of chickens at this age. In 
 cold weather the sleeping-place should be en- 
 closed all round, and well bedded with clean, 
 beaten straw. If straight breast-bones are 
 desired, chickens of large breeds should not be 
 allowed to roost until well matured ; but this 
 question will be further discussed when treating 
 of stock designed for exhibition. 
 
 As they grow up, the chickens will either be 
 absorbed into the other stock of a small 
 establishment, or in larger have to be moved 
 
 away to make room for other 
 "The*"^'"™* younger ones, and sorted out. In 
 Chickens. the former case they may still be 
 
 given extra food by the use of an 
 open wire feeding-coop, in which the special food 
 is placed, the chickens alone being able to get 
 through -the wires. In the latter case they will 
 be transferred to runs, and it is best, if con- 
 venient, to separate at the same time the cockerels 
 from the pullets. Unless this is done, the heavy 
 
 breeds never grow so large ; and, moreover, a lot 
 of cockerels thus put together early, will agree 
 perfectly and give no trouble. An old cock, 
 by the way, may be put with a lot of cockerels 
 whenever breeding is over. He will keep order, 
 and be far happier and more contented than 
 if penned up alone. If, on the other hand, 
 early eggs are an object, the pullets may 
 have a cockerel allowed to remain with them. 
 
 Supposing sufficient accommodation, each 
 flock should be made up of birds not very 
 different in age ; otherwise, the smaller get no 
 fair chance, and the food itself may not suit 
 all alike ; certainly feeding times will not. Care 
 must be taken not to slight any of the older 
 ones for the sake of the younger, but to see that 
 there is no check in their progress. If specially 
 good results are desired, now is the time really 
 to study the question of diet for them ; for 
 instance, pushing cut bone or meat if early size 
 in cockerels or early laying in pullets is desired, 
 or perhaps checking it if combs have to be kept 
 small or moderated. The food should be most 
 carefully prepared, and judiciously varied. But 
 the old rule of preserving appetite must still be 
 followed, or disappointment may follow the 
 most liberal diet. 
 
 In some circumstances considerable aid- may 
 be obtained in chicken-rearing of the larger 
 breeds from the use of bone-dust, or dry bone 
 Bone-duat i^^al, such as is used sometimes in 
 potting plants. This is not to be 
 confounded with green cut bone, and its effects 
 are totally different. The fresh bone, as animal 
 food, hastens laying and maturity. Dry bone 
 meal rather postpones both, if anything, and is 
 chiefly valuable as supplying in an assimilable 
 form bone-making material to fast-growing 
 youngsters, thus assisting sturdiness and pre- 
 venting leg-weakness. It is also found a very 
 perceptible preventive of diarrhoea ; and the 
 careful experiment recorded in Chapter II. has 
 shown its value in supplying mineral salts in 
 cases where much animal food may be undesir- 
 able. About an ounce of bone meal may 
 be mixed with each half-pint of dry cereal 
 meals before mixing, the fineness being that 
 of medium oatmeal. Our old friend Mr. John 
 Stuart, of Helensburgh, first taught us the value 
 of bone meal used in this way, and since that time 
 many have proved it. We do not mean that it 
 is in any way necessary to small or moderate 
 sized fowls, or to any ranging over wide fields ; 
 but to the great races, reared in confinement, and 
 so peculiarly subject to leg-weakness when so 
 reared, we do know that bone meal is of the great- 
 est use. Burnt bone ground up has not the same 
 effect in all respects. It retains the phosphates, 
 
CHICKENS IN SUMMER. 
 
 87 
 
 but either in this form they are not so well 
 assimilated, or for some other reason the same 
 good effects do not follow. 
 
 Season also requires study in successful 
 chicken management. Valuable as milk is, so 
 long as it can be taken with appetite, 
 Shade in in hot weather it seems to sicken 
 Summer. many chickens, and should be left 
 off in their food, though perfectly 
 sweet skim milk may still be given in food, or 
 for drink in the early morning, but taking 
 special care that any drinking vessels so used 
 are kept absolutely clean. Above all, special 
 care should be taken to provide shade, hot sun 
 being most prejudicial to vigour and growth. Of 
 course, living shade is far the best. Where there 
 are no trees or shrubs, creepers on the fence will 
 add to the utility as well as beauty of the 
 chicken run, and are in foliage just when they are 
 wanted ; sunflowers also grow rapidly, and give 
 a great deal of shade and root-scratching, as 
 well as excellent food rather later on. While 
 little, chickens do a vast deal of good and no 
 harm amongst bush-fruit. Much can be done 
 in these ways ; lacking them, artificial shelter 
 must be provided, or the growing chickens will 
 suffer, in growth as well as plumage. The house 
 and shed may have such an aspect as to suffice, 
 in which case the birds will gladly resort there 
 during the heat of the day. Failing that, coarse 
 linen or sacking may be stretched on sticks like 
 a tent ; or four sticks can be driven into the 
 ground to stand out about a foot, and on these 
 the corners of a hurdle may be laid, to be 
 covered by fern, or branches, or straw ; the 
 chickens will get under this when the weather 
 is hot, and upon it when cool, and enjoy it 
 generally. In a confined run, such a shelter 
 platform practically increases the area available. 
 In yards where numbers of chickens are 
 reared, about or soon after the middle of the 
 summer they often appear to flag, or almost 
 to cease visible growth. One such 
 Chickens stage almost always occurs, when 
 Fl^ging.^*^ the first plumage is about com- 
 pleted ; but this is merely Nature's 
 pause- after the eflfort of feathering — life and 
 vigour are not affected by it, and growth is soon 
 resumed. What we here refer to is at a larger 
 and later stage, and is not universal. The 
 exceptions are such as grow up upon a farm, 
 or other free range ; these do not suffer in that 
 way, but march on making frame, and grow up 
 quite as large, though not while young so heavy 
 in flesh, as those fed in limited runs, which are 
 the subjects of the flagging here referred to. 
 One cause of it is sheer monotony, which animals 
 feel as much as we do, and is the reason why 
 
 fowls will not walk and run about in a confined 
 run as much as on a farm. They know every 
 inch of ground ; there is no change ; and they 
 get listless, walk over it less and less, become 
 torpid and perhaps too fleshy ; all which is very 
 good for table, but not for health and vigour in 
 stock birds. Besides that, the run has gradually 
 been getting tainted ; not perhaps offensively 
 so, or even to a degree actually poisonous ; still 
 it affects the air close to the groOnd, where the 
 fowls live, more than higher up where we breathe 
 it ; and though not perhaps poison, the difference 
 is as great as between fresh country air and that 
 of the crowded part of a great city. Disinfect- 
 ants cannot help us much, except that in very hot 
 and dry weather copious watering with sodium 
 or potash permanganate occasionally, really will 
 supply actual oxygen to both ground and air, 
 which is what we want. The real remedy is 
 change to fresh air, just as it is with ourselves. 
 
 Such a crisis generally comes in average 
 moderate yards just about the time when it is 
 imperative, if not done weeks before, to separate 
 cockerels and pullets. It is partly on this 
 account that the experienced breeder makes 
 every possible effort to provide by that time 
 two fresh and sweet runs foi- these — runs which 
 have been vacant long enough to be sweet and 
 pure. If these can be grass runs, with a few 
 trees or shrubs, he knows how the birds, when 
 once removed there, will appear to spurt ahead. 
 It is not only the freshness ; but the place is 
 new to them, and they tramp all about it with 
 renewed zest, which will last them till they have 
 passed the most susceptible age. But even fresh 
 and sweet bare runs will give an apparent fresh 
 start, if attended to, numbers rigorously weeded 
 down, and the birds not over-fed. It is still a 
 change; it is fresher than where they came from ; 
 and the droppings of a few selected larger birds 
 are easier swept up and removed than those from 
 many small chickens. The breeder who knows 
 things, makes the best in this way of his limited 
 space, if it is limited, and takes care not to 
 grapple with more stock than he can manage in 
 some such manner. 
 
 We need not follow the rearingof ordinary stock 
 any farther, and the special care of birds destined 
 for exhibition will be more fully and appropri- 
 ately dealt with in a later chapter. Chickens 
 reared for other purposes will be either gradually 
 drafted into the older stock, or in larger numbers 
 be placed in larger or smaller flocks, with a house 
 to sleep in at night, larger than a coop,^ but 
 which need not be so large as an ordinary fowl- 
 house. So long as growth is proceeding they 
 should be still fed oftener and more liberally 
 than adult poultry, but otherwise they will give 
 
88 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 no trouble, and need no further consideration 
 in this chapter. If it is intended to fatten them 
 for market, it is of considerable importance to 
 rear them to a considerable extent upon the 
 Sussex form of ground oats, which they will 
 then receive ; if they are not so reared, it is 
 found that when the time for fattening arrives 
 they do not improve to the same extent. 
 
 Chickens may have to be artificially reared 
 even if hatched under a hen : but for the 
 immense number now hatched in incubators, 
 30 greatly increased owing to the popularity 
 
 of non-sitting breeds, artificial brood- 
 Broomng '"& '^ obviously indispensable. The 
 
 growth of artificial rearing during 
 recent years is remarkable, and sufficiently 
 shown by the number of appliances now ex- 
 hibited at every large poultry show. The 
 choice of method will be greatly governed by 
 circumstances. The breeder of sitting breeds 
 v/ill need to keep his best hens sitting, and 
 with chickens to some extent, or their vigour 
 may suffer ; and, on the whole, the natural 
 method will generally best suit operations in 
 a small way, if sitters are at command. With 
 non-sitters it is different ; and, moreover, the 
 large breeder will prefer methods which 
 enable him to carry out his plans at fixed 
 times, independent of the caprice of his hens. 
 He will also appreciate the fact that incubator- ■ 
 hatched and artificially reared chicks have a 
 great advantage over others, in starting free 
 from vermin. 
 
 For sudden emergencies, at ordinary seasons, 
 such as April and May, a quite cool or un- 
 healed brooder will often sufifice, and can be 
 quickly extemporised in several ways. We 
 reared a brood of eight, whose mother had died, 
 on one occasion, by tacking a piece of sheep- 
 skin mat, about 14x10 inches, all round the 
 edges alone, to a piece of board, supported on 
 a strip of board at the back and two pegs at 
 the front corners. When placed in position 
 the wool mat sagged down in the middle, 
 and the chicks nestled against it, the pegs keep- 
 ing the front higher than the back. One of 
 the chickens, however, hanged itself in the wool, 
 and it would be better to cut the skin into pieces 
 an inch square, and sew them on a canvas at 
 inch intervals, which would allow free passage. 
 If such a coverlid were tacked to a skeleton 
 frame instead of a board, a rubber hot-water 
 cushion, well wrapped in flannel, could be 
 laid on it at night when required ; or the cold 
 brooder, on a shallow tray of peat-moss, could 
 be brought into the house in severe weather. 
 At one time and another we have known many 
 
 chicks reared with such simple appliances as 
 these, but they are, of course, only sufficient 
 for fairly late brood.s. There is far less need 
 for them now, when a post-office order will 
 bring a proper apparatus at any time by 
 return of post, than in the days when we 
 experimented with such matters. 
 
 The first efficient heated brooder sold in 
 England was brought out in 1873 by Mrs. 
 Frank Cheshire, a successful exhibitor of light 
 Brahmas, who reared all her own stock in this 
 way and by preference, though with 
 Pioneer ^^ many sitters at her command. 
 Its construction will be sufficiently 
 explained by Fig. 56. The top was a zinc tank 
 
 Fig. .56. — Mrs. Cheshire's Coverlet Brooder. 
 
 A B, about an inch deep, ^closed except for 
 a filling and vent aperture, and supported on 
 a light frame, so as to be on a slant. The 
 lower edge of the tank descended round a flue 
 E, encased by the water, and heated at one 
 end by a small lamp, and in the upper portion 
 one or two partitions or baffles were soldered 
 in such a way as to keep up a circulation in 
 the heated water. Under this heated tank 
 was slid a separate light frame of wood made 
 to fit, roofed with canvas, to which were sewn 
 the top ends of strips of flannel K, about 2% 
 inches long and three-quarters of an inch wide. 
 These, warmed from the top, formed the brooder, 
 set as usual upon dry earth. The chicks were 
 kept for the first day or two in a small nursery, 
 consisting of an open-topped box floored with 
 earth or ashes, at one end of which was placed 
 a much smaller hover or brooder made of 
 flannel strips in the same way, and warmed 
 by a rubber cushion-bottle of hot water. Here 
 they learned to run in and out, before being 
 transferred to the larger brooder. 
 
 Several breeders used this apparatus, and 
 we reared all our own chickens by it one season, 
 with quite good results. But the second year, 
 when most of the work had to be left to others, 
 many died and the rest did not thrive ; and 
 others had very similar experience. Much of 
 the failure was traced to want of sufficient and 
 constant care in deodorising the apparatus : 
 it required to be daily turned upside down, 
 clean, dry earth well shaken into the flannel 
 
TYPES OF BROODERS. 
 
 89 
 
 strips, and so left for some hours exposed to 
 the air before the earth was shaken out again. 
 We found also that the heat was too great ; 
 not, perhaps, as. now reckoned and practised, 
 but under the circumstances. With the aid 
 of our many friends and correspondents we 
 were able to make an exhaustive investigation; 
 and it soon appeared that the best results were 
 always accompanied by the lowest recorded tem- 
 peratures, even though, in some cases, the chicks 
 showed evident signs of being somewhat chilled ; 
 in spite of that they did the best, and lived 
 when others died. We know now that the 
 real reason was want of circulation and venti- 
 lation of the air ; it was entangled amongst the 
 flannel strips, and the foul, re-breathed, confined 
 air simply sweated and murdered them, at a 
 temperature which might not have been too 
 great under other circumstances. We mention 
 facts now only historical, for the important 
 lessons they convey. 
 
 For these reasons chiefly, brooders of the 
 " coverlet " kind have now almost everywhere 
 gone out of use. They were, however, and 
 can be, made efficient. The later and more 
 successful ones were constructed so that the 
 nestling cover was lowest in the centre, rising 
 all round, on all sides, like the convex body of 
 the hen, and with tufts of sheepskin, or loosely 
 spun thread lamp-wick, instead of flannel strips. 
 A very efficient one, which was rather widely 
 used for a time, consisted of such a nestling 
 cover swung by cords from a hook above, which 
 moved and swayed a little with the motions of 
 the chicks, thus increasing the circulation of 
 air. A coverlet thus made and slung, with 
 a hot-water rubber bottle wrapped in plenty of 
 flannel laid on top, as we can state from 
 personal knowledge, makes a very efficient 
 apparatus, from material always at hand except 
 the rubber bottle, which can generally be got 
 at any chemist's shop ; such expedients may 
 therefore save a valuable brood on occasion. 
 Heat might be kept up longer and more 
 uniformly by adopting the principle of the 
 hydro-incubator before described, filling the 
 rubber bottle only very slack with hot water, 
 and bedding on top of this warm bottle fresh 
 stone bottles — say a couple of common ginger- 
 beer bottles — filled with boiling water, renewed 
 at intervals, covering the whole with thick 
 blankets. The heat from the hot bottles will 
 gradually percolate downwards through the 
 other. 
 
 All such brooders should, as scrupulously 
 
 as others, be placed upon half an inch of dry 
 
 earth or sifted ashes, renewed daily, or upon 
 
 peat-moss litter. They can only be used out 
 
 M 
 
 of doors when placed beneath a shed or other 
 shelter ; unless enclosed, like those presently 
 described, in a much larger hutch or shelter, 
 to screen them from the wind, and to provide 
 a shelter for the chicks when they need this, 
 but do not actually crave the heat of the 
 apparatus itself. The coverlet portion must be 
 regularly deodorised and disinfected in the 
 way already described, and an occasional fumi- 
 gation with sulphur or chlorine is very advis- 
 able, as the coverlet material, whatever it is, 
 is specially likely to retain various microscopic 
 disease-germs. 
 
 At the present day, and where artificial rear- 
 ing is seriously intended, it is found much the 
 best to rear the chicks in a chamber sufficiently 
 
 heated, but with nothing touching 
 T^pes of their backs. Practice chiefly differs 
 Brooders. ^^ regards the degree to which heat 
 
 is specially radiated from the top, or 
 more evenly diffused ; in whether it is at all con- 
 fined or not under a " hover," as distinguished 
 from an actual coverlet ; and in the method of 
 heating. The varieties made can readily be 
 classified into certain types, of which it will be 
 most useful to give in mere diagram the general 
 type-forms. 
 
 >m,i.iiiiiiiimu/i>>uwuii,mmmmuumiimii,ii«/,,miMI. 
 
 •iiiiii>m>m.,:l/wimim,/ll,„ 
 
 ///»/,///./-./-.///-.././/.^.,///^//w./.,;/-//. 
 
 SPACE UNDER CHAMBER 
 
 A 
 
 rl^ 
 
 Fig- 57- — Circulatory System. 
 
 That indicated in Fig. 57 is more common in 
 America than England. As here shown,- the 
 heat from the lamp L passes through a loop of 
 hot pipes H P back to a flue at F, radiating heat 
 to the chick-chamber C H from above, but from 
 such a height that the chicks cannot touch. 
 Sometimes this kind of brooder has been fur- 
 nished with a thermostat and heat regulator, but 
 this is not usual. In England, brooders of this 
 class are more usually constructed with a water- 
 tank at the roof of the chick-chamber, through 
 which the flues pass and heat the tank : this has 
 the appreciable advantage that if the lamp goes 
 out, or blows out, the brooder will retain warmth 
 for some hours. This makes a tank safer for 
 some inexperienced single amateurs, but amongst 
 experienced rearers such an occurrence ought 
 not of course to occur. Or the flues may pass 
 through a hot-air radiating chamber. The 
 general type may be defined as that in which 
 the heat of the lamp circulates through heated 
 
90 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 flues, and only radiates heat from above the 
 chicks. 
 
 The type shown in Fig. 58 may be regarded 
 as in some degree a simplified form of the fore- 
 going, and in various modifications is rathei 
 
 Fig. 58. — Hot Radiating Chamber. 
 
 common. Here the heat from the lamp L 
 ascends direct through a sheet-iron drum or 
 large flue D, into a flat, extended hot-air chamber 
 above, from which it escapes through an upper 
 flue not in line with the lower one, so that the 
 heat may be more effectual before escape. The 
 chick-chamber is thus heated partly from the 
 drum D as a centre, but chiefly from the top ; and 
 round the drum D is usually fixed at a little 
 distance a wire-gauze guard G, to keep the chicks 
 from touching the hot sheet-iron. 
 
 Still further simplification is effected in what 
 may be called the "radiator" type, which is 
 perhaps most common of all. Here the heat 
 passes up a flue D as before, usually smaller, 
 but protected as before by a wire guard G, 
 and straight up through the exit flue. But in 
 
 /\ 
 
 A^,^^^^^ssW^^^^^^^^^^^.m^^V.W^Vw.^kkAkmkWW.k<^^^^.^W.^^^ 
 
 Fig- 59.— Flue and Radiator. 
 
 metallic connection with the central flue is the 
 radiator R, a circular disk of sheet-iron, extending 
 over the top of the chick-chamber c H, and 
 which is also continued through the flue itself as 
 a. perforated sheet at E, thus " choking " the flue 
 there, and absorbing heat from the lamp. Thus 
 
 the radiator becomes heated, and radiates warmth 
 downwards as before (Fig. 59). 
 
 Finally, in some brooders the central drum 
 or flue D in the above is entirely done away with, 
 and we have merely a lamp in the centre, pro- 
 tected by a wire guard G, as in Fig. 66. We 
 give this diagram in a form that represents the 
 well-known "Cosy Coop" brooder, where the 
 wire guard G is somewhat narrowed in at the 
 top to direct the lamp fumes into the flue above, 
 and on the top of it rests a sheet-iron disk or 
 radiator R, perforated in the centre to allow the 
 
 OH 
 
 
 vWitftf/,»)i'v;aiiy;gWTO»''ftW*w«v; 
 
 Fig. 60. — Central Lamp. 
 
 hot air to pass upwards, as in the preceding 
 figure. Here the sides of the chick-chamber C H 
 are circular and of porous material, which is the 
 special feature of the " Cosy," but the other 
 parts of this arrangement are very common. 
 There is a difference of opinion about the advis- 
 ability of the light from the lamp thus reaching 
 the chick-chamber at all times. It is said, on 
 the one hand, that the chicks can thus "see to 
 feed." We do not think it desirable, but very 
 much the other way, that chicks should be accus- 
 tomed to feed at all within the warmed ■^oxMov^ 
 of the brooder ; we rather want to get them out 
 on every possible occasion, which is defeated if 
 we at all accustom them to expect food there. 
 Of more importance, probably, is the fact that 
 Nature has very evidently arranged darkness for 
 the period of sleep; and we cannot but think that 
 light at this unnatural period must levy some 
 tax upon the nervous energy of those subjected 
 to it. On that account we think this type 
 inferior to the preceding, to which it can be 
 readily converted by any who possess it and who 
 share our views : it is only needful to introduce 
 a dark drum, such as a tin canister with the ends 
 removed, inside the wire guard. 
 
 Another occasional modification of both 
 these types requires a few words. In America, 
 more often than in England, a short curtain ot 
 cloth, cut at the bottom into strips, is often 
 attached to the circumference of the circular 
 radiating plate, as shown later in Fig. 61. This 
 
GENERAL PLAN OF A BROODER. 
 
 91 
 
 prevents the heat from escaping so rapidly 
 
 to the top of the chamber and outer air, and 
 
 makes a warmer brooding place for the chicks. 
 
 Such a curtain, reaching to within 
 
 ^t^'th"* ^" ^^'^ °^ ^^ floor, has another 
 Hovers. ^se, in that chickens instinctively 
 seek to " go under " something ; and 
 it also locates the brooding place for them. 
 These are good points. On the other hand, 
 such a curtain confines the air, and causes 
 some of it to be re-breathed, than which no- 
 thing can be worse. The American experience 
 recorded in a later chapter, according to which 
 health was improved by ventilating the "hovers" 
 of brooding houses, and recent developments in 
 doing away with hovers and curtains altogether, 
 appear conclusive to the effect that it is better 
 either to dispense with curtains, or if retained 
 for the sake of their instinctive help to the 
 chicks, that they should be copiously ventilated 
 by plenty of free apertures all round the top. 
 
 tDnly one other type requires notice, shown 
 in Fig. 61. Here the heat impinges upon 
 the metal roof C of a large lamp-chamber, 
 which we have here shown with a small central 
 flue F, the best form in our opinion, though 
 by no means universal. This is at some little 
 distance from a sheet-metal lining under the 
 bottom of the chick-chamber, which has a 
 large aperture in the centre frorh which rises 
 a short drum, or flue, surrounded by a 
 
 Fig. 6l. — Ventilating Type. 
 
 wire guard G, as in the former diagrams. 
 The outer air enters through the spaces S S 
 between the two sheets of metal, is thus 
 warmed, and passes up the drum against a 
 metal radiator, as shown by the arrows. The 
 radiator is here shown with a curtain, as de- 
 scribed above. In brooders of this construction 
 the wooden floor above the metal lining becomes 
 gently warmed for the feet of the chicks, and 
 pure, warm air is poured gently down over their 
 backs, while the lamp fumes pass out altogether. 
 With various minor modifications, this general 
 
 construction appears rather a favourite one in 
 America for single out-door brooders, and is 
 also used in England. 
 
 Whatever the type, the general arrangement 
 is pretty common to all, and experience has 
 shown it to be desirable. The brooding or 
 warming portion itself is in all our 
 General Plan diagrams supposed to be seen end- 
 Brooders, ways, and should, in reality, occupy 
 one end only of a chamber about 
 double the length. Thus, besides the more 
 heated part, there is the other end farther from 
 the heat, where the chickens can have a warm, 
 but still cooler temperature. This part should 
 have a window. They can then to a great 
 extent suit themselves, and in brooders of 
 modern construction usually do so. This much 
 iis sufficient for what are called in-door brooders, 
 or more properly, such as are meant to be 
 used under a shed, or other adequate shelter. 
 Where this is not the case, another and outer 
 apartment becomes necessary, roofed over at 
 least, and all the better if the roof is glazed, 
 but with one side, or front, open-netted. In this 
 the chicks have a shelter from biting winds and 
 rain, and need only run into the brooder when 
 they really need warmth. In such an outer 
 shed they should always be fed, when not fed 
 in the open air itself; it constitutes, in fact, 
 their scratching shed and shelter when they 
 have no other, and should have all the constant 
 care and cleanliness of such a shed, but in higher 
 degree.. There may be, besides, an outer run 
 only wired over, but this will depend upon cir- 
 cumstances, such as cats or vermin. A brooder 
 thus further furnished becomes what in England 
 is called an " out-door rearer " complete, and 
 many forms of such can be seen at the principal 
 poultry exhibitions. The reader will be able 
 readily to refer any of them to some one of 
 the types above. 
 
 In arranging a brooder for work, people 
 differ. The floors of most are necessarily 
 raised, owing to the requirements of the lamp, 
 and this also keeps them dry. Some prefer 
 to have an inclined chick-ladder or gangway 
 sloping from the entrance to the ground ; others 
 prefer to excavate a hollow, and place the 
 brooder in it so that things are on the ground 
 level. This has some advantage in shielding 
 the lamp from winds ; but on the whole the 
 other is best, especially for changing ground 
 every now and then, and it is easy to arrange 
 a sheltering board if required. A complete 
 "rearer" goes all together on the ground, of 
 course, and in it the lamp is perfectly shielded, 
 and storm-proof from all except flooding. 
 
 In regard to choice of a brooder or of a rearer, 
 
92 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 we will only give one special piece of advice, 
 and that is to choose one which has a thoroughly- 
 reliable lamp, and adequate ventilation. A 
 poor lamp means endless trouble and disaster. 
 The Stemp wicks are now generally used in all 
 brooders, and entirely obviate the need for 
 trimming throughout the brooder-life of a lot 
 of chicks. This little practical advance in 
 lamps -has saved at one stroke, as in incu- 
 bators, a great deal of trouble and vexation. 
 
 As regards feeding and general management, 
 brooder chicks will not require any marked 
 difference in treatment, at least as a rule, or while 
 all goes well. The first thing to 
 Temperature attend to is the heat, and it has to 
 sToodlr. be borne in mind that while a hen 
 
 cannot be either too warm or too 
 cold for her charges, the brooder may easily be 
 either. The greatest care should especially be 
 taken that there is no chill to the chicks in 
 removing them from the incubator or nursery to 
 the brooder, which'must be heated up all ready 
 for them. We have seen repeatedly, that even a 
 slight chill just then may give no end of trouble 
 in all sorts of ways, but is especially apt to start 
 diarrhoea, which when thus started early, weakens 
 them terribly and may never be recovered from. 
 More heat is desirable in any of the modern con- 
 structions with free air-space, than was possible 
 under nestling material. The novice should at 
 first use a spare thermometer, and by this the 
 heat at first, in winter or spring, when the 
 chickens are in, should be about 90". But after 
 about two days this should be reduced to 85°, 
 and by a week later to about 80°. For later 
 broods, if at all warm, less will do, but in cool 
 weather they like warmth. After the first start 
 their behaviour should be watched, and if they 
 crowd up to the heat, all together, a little more 
 will be advisable ; if, on the other hand, they 
 prefer to be at the entrance, or far off the heat, 
 reduce it a little. The thing is, not to run up 
 the heat to a .sweating pitch when only a little 
 more seems required, as is very easily done. 
 When experience has been gained, the thermo- 
 meter will not be needed, and the feeling by 
 hand, and observation, will be sufficient guide. 
 The chicks ought, in early broods, to be glad 
 to go in at proper intervals, but soon come out 
 again ; and to lie about comfortably, without 
 either panting, or over-much crowding together. 
 Two or three very weakly chicks will sometimes 
 start a habit oi crowding, which then works much 
 mischief: for this reason it is better to kill at 
 once any weakly chick that shows any such dis- 
 position, for the sake of the others. The first 
 day, the young chicks should be confined almost 
 to the brooder proper, a little wire screen, or 
 
 pieces of board, being arranged so as to give them 
 a run of a few inches only from the entrance. 
 Once or twice they may even need guiding a 
 little through it. The secoifd day a little more 
 scope may be allowed. Generally, after that they 
 will know their way, but brooders dififer in the 
 facility with which the entrances are found and 
 entered at first. 
 
 The chief chicken complaints will be the 
 same as already mentioned, with the exception 
 of insect vermin, from which the chicks ought to 
 be quite free. The others are very apt to become 
 emphasised when chicks are reared by this 
 method, under any error in respect of tempera- 
 ture. A chill will almost always set up 
 
 diarrhcea ; and, on the other hand. 
 Feeding ^qq much heat will do the same, 
 
 Management, while it also increases the tendency 
 
 to " cramp," the general causes and 
 prevention of which have already been- treated. 
 It may also, and often does, cause pneumonia 
 from subsequent exposure. Particular care 
 should be taken that brooder-chicks are fed, 
 during the warm stage of their career, rather 
 decidedly on the side of spare diet. They will 
 be none the worse in the end, and we can state 
 positively that this simple course will often save 
 an infinite amount of trouble. A small pan of 
 granulated charcoal is also a valuable preventive 
 of bowel complaints ; and with brooder-chicks, 
 a little chicken-grit mixed in one feed a day is 
 decidedly advisable. A great many American 
 breeders have found that after all other means 
 of checking mortality from diarrhoea had failed, 
 entirely dry food for the first three weeks, except 
 a little animal food, relieved them from all their 
 difficulties ; and this point may prove valuable 
 to some. Coarse dry oatmeal, dry Spratt or 
 other biscuit-meal, whole groats or hulled oats, 
 chopped with a knife for the first two days, 
 crushed or cracked wheat, millet-seed, etc., will 
 bring chicks on well in this way. Americans 
 use dry bread-crumbs a great deal, but quite 
 differently from us ; the refuse bread is spread 
 out till it dries hard: then it is crushed and 
 fed to the chicks. 
 
 The food should be given outside the-hover on 
 every occasion ; and although at first, in severe 
 weather, or for a day or two, feeding in the 
 outer chamber or end of the chamber may 
 be allowed, as soon as possible it should be 
 always in the open air. To get them out is a 
 main object to keep in view, and chicks that 
 won't come out freely at feeding-time, are in 
 a bad way. However little food it may seem, 
 if they do not seem hungry at feeding-time, 
 feed less and less till they do. It is quite 
 astonishing how little they need in the very 
 
CAUTIONS ABOUT BROODERS. 
 
 93 
 
 early days, and it is in the first weeks that 
 most mischief is done. Brooder chickens also 
 especially requi-re green food regularly and 
 freely, unless there is plenty of clean grass run 
 for them, and even then they should have the 
 small-cut grass for a week, to get them into 
 a habit of eating it. 
 
 The chickens as they grow should be system- 
 atically hardened off from the heat, till they 
 can do without any, but the age for this will 
 of course depend upon the season ; in April 
 they will often do very well in a coop without 
 heat at four to five weeks, while early in the 
 year it may take two months. The heat will 
 be gradually brought down to 70° ; then the 
 lamp will only be lit at night ; then later at 
 night ; then only once or twice a very small 
 flame allowed for cold nights ; and then they 
 are independent, and the anxiety is over. In 
 large establishments it is more convenient to 
 have separate and larger " cool " brooders, but 
 still warmed, to which the partly grown chicks 
 can be transferred at the proper time. Such 
 brooders are furnished with smaller lamps in 
 proportion, by which the lower temperature is 
 more easily controlled. 
 
 Our advice is very decisive to all ordinary 
 breeders, not to place more than fifty chickens 
 together in one brooder, but to rather multiply 
 brooders than increase their size. 
 Number p^^ regards many people, twenty- 
 One Brooder. ^^^ o*" thirty would be a sounder 
 course; If anything goes .wrong, 
 it is very apt to go all through the lot, and then 
 in a large lot the loss is heavier ; and the 
 larger the lot the more is apt to occur, upon 
 any provocation from one or two weakly chicks, 
 that habit of crowding already referred to, which, 
 whenever it happens, is a great drawback to 
 the brood. In choosing a brooder for a given 
 number, again, spare space should be provided, 
 so that there shall be enough when, say, three 
 weeks old. It is, of course, possible to operate 
 on a much larger scale, and the methods by 
 which this is done will be explained a little later 
 
 in discussing American poultry-farming. But 
 even in America, where such operations are 
 common, the ordinary breeders of stock, by 
 a large majority, find the limit of about fifty 
 suit their purposes best in the end. 
 
 One more caution may be needed. The 
 young chicks especially should never be allowed 
 upon any smooth hard floor, in brooder, or 
 chamber, or run. We have seen a plate of 
 zinc, with only such a sprinkle of earth or 
 peat-moss upon it that the claws went through 
 to the metal. The result is that the birds slip 
 on such surfaces, and the efforts to recover, or 
 to prevent slipping, at best strain the tender 
 joints, and sometimes the two feet will even 
 slide apart, and severe sprains may occur. 
 Many cases of deformity, or lameness, or 
 crooked toes are caused in this way. The 
 peat or other litter should be deep enough, 
 upon any hard surface, to make firm walking. 
 
 When a brood is through, the litter should 
 be emptied out, all swept clean, and the whole 
 opened and exposed to the sun and air, lest 
 any hidden germs of tuberculosis 
 after'use fnay have found lodgment. When- 
 ever there is any real cause for 
 susprcion, it is best to give a thorough double 
 fumigation, which is easily managed, if a large 
 lidless box is provided that will cover the whole 
 brooder, when inverted over it, with space to 
 spare. Then arrange things so, and burn out 
 a "sulphur candle," leaving things to stew a 
 good while in the fumes. Air well after this, 
 and then give a doing with chlorine in the 
 same way, placing chloride of lime in a saucer, 
 pouring on sulphuric acid, and letting down 
 the box to confine the fumes. We are here 
 only supposing that there is definite reason to 
 believe tuberculosis has prevailed in previous 
 broods, in which case no pains are too great 
 to prevent recurrence j but do not, of course, 
 mean that any such measures are commonly 
 necessary for chicken brooders. As a rule, 
 reasonable cleaning and airing are all that can 
 be required. 
 
94 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 POULTRY FOR THE TABLE. 
 
 EVERY breeder of poultry, even for exhi- 
 bition, will have a considerable number of 
 birds whose best destination is the table. 
 The somewhat severe "weeding" upon which 
 we lay stress in a subsequent chapter gives him 
 plenty of such, and there is also a considerable 
 surplus of cockerels. This last occurs also when 
 pullets are bred merely for laying ; so that, even 
 though supply of eggs for market be the main 
 object, the cockerels produced at the same time 
 involve the marketing of a considerable quantity 
 of table poultry, which must be embraced in the 
 plan of operations. In the latter case, the num- 
 ber will probably be too large to be consumed 
 at home, and must be made the best of for 
 market. Lastly, there is the case where supply 
 of table poultry of the best quality is the main 
 object in view, and where both breeding, the 
 feeding, and fattening are brought to bear upon 
 that object with all the skill and knowledge 
 available. 
 
 It may be well to consider first the case of the 
 breeder of prize poultry, who merely wants to 
 dispose of such surplus stock as is not up to the 
 mark. If he is in a small way, the home table 
 may very likely take all he has to spare at 
 merely killing prices, and these may be of all 
 ages. For reasons explained later on, such a 
 breeder may hatch double or treble what he has 
 space to rear, and kill a good portion very 
 young indeed, at only a few weeks old, as soon 
 as ever their worthlessness becomes apparent ; 
 or even the cockerels of a laying stock may be 
 better cleared out, if possible (all but a few of 
 the best), at a similarly tender age. Even such 
 very young birds can be utilised in chicken 
 puddings, made as follows : Take as many as 
 necessary and let them miss their 
 Chicken last feed, and fast the night ; de- 
 
 Puddings, capitate them in the morning, 
 pick clean, and hang in a cool 
 larder for twenty-four to thirty-six hours. 
 Having taken out the crop and viscera, put the 
 necks, and cleaned gizzards, and livers, and hearts 
 in a little water to stew foi gravy ; then cut up 
 the birds, taking the point of a knife from the 
 point of the breastbone to the wing on each 
 
 side, removing thus the half breast with each 
 wing and leaving the carcase bare. Cut the 
 breast-pieces apart from the wings, also take the 
 thighs and drumsticks (separated) and the side- 
 bones, if there is any appreciable meat on them ; 
 chop up the rest of the carcases and stew them 
 also for gravy. Make a nice suet crust and line 
 a basin, and in this pack carefully the pieces 
 of chicken, with the addition of three or four 
 slices of salt pork or ham, also cut in pieces, to 
 which may be added at discretion, or not, a 
 sheep's kidney or two cut up, or a few mush- 
 rooms and oysters. Pour in the gravy, close 
 and tie up the .pudding, and boil long and gently. 
 People who once try this will often be asking 
 themselves, whether their very young wasters 
 are big enough yet for a chicken pudding. 
 
 When the number is more considerable, as 
 with cockerels from a stock bred for layers 
 only, if there be any market, such young birds 
 can be treated and sold as the petits poussins 
 described a little farther on, especially as layers 
 like Leghorns often do better at this very tender 
 age than larger and finer breeds. But the pud- 
 ding is always available, and we can heartily 
 recommend it to all whom it may concern. 
 
 The next available age is from eight to twelve 
 weeks, at which it is not usual to kill in England, 
 though more are killed in America 
 Broilers. at this Stage than any other. Such 
 
 are, in fact, the well-known American 
 " broilers," simply split down the centre of the 
 carcase and the halves broiled on a gridiron : 
 in a frying-pan they are not so good. The 
 " broiler " will be found a novel and most appe- 
 tising dish for the home table, whether or not it 
 may ever attain popularity in the British mar- 
 ket, and will clear out quite a number of birds 
 at a nice early age, leaving the ground free. 
 Moreover, it may be well to remember that such 
 home use of the young birds, through the tasting 
 thereof by friends and visitors, may do some- 
 thing to gradually create a market for a class of 
 chickens which in some respects is — as proved 
 in America — most profitable of all, given only 
 the demand for it. 
 
 By three or four months old, chickens of the 
 
HOME STOCK FOR THE TABLE. 
 
 95 
 
 larger breeds begin to be fit for roasting and 
 boiling, and such breeds, ifroomallows, are most 
 profitable that way. Fed as a fancier feeds 
 his birds, they will be amply plump 
 Naturally-fed enough for the table, and need no 
 Chickens. special penning or fattening, nothing, 
 in fact, beyond eighteen hours' fast- 
 ing. We have killed many Brahma cockerels at 
 four months old which weighed six pounds, and 
 been told repeatedly that both in quality and 
 quantity of flesh they excelled any that could be 
 purchased in the ordinary way. Many English 
 palates prefer chickens which, by high feeding 
 from the shell, are thus well furnished with firm 
 flesh, to fatted fowls ; and from three to six 
 months old the mistress of any establishment 
 will gladly welcome as many birds for the table 
 as the ordinary breeder of prize poultry is at all 
 likely to supply. If any of them do appear 
 somewhat poor, ten days or a fortnight in a 
 sparred coop, in a place neither hot nor cold, 
 and which can be darkened, during which time 
 they are fed in troughs until " half-fat " in the 
 way presently described, will suffice. Care 
 should be taken to place two or three together 
 in the coop, to see they are quite free from 
 vermin, and to fast them for some hours before 
 giving any food at all, in order to ensure good 
 appetite from the start. All other details 
 necessary will be found a few pages farther on, 
 but we emphasise these as apt to be forgotten 
 by the unpi:ofessional amateurs whom we have 
 here in view. 
 
 There is one more case to consider before we 
 leave the case of people with small numbers of 
 fowls. It is that of old fowls — too old to sell 
 for any real price, or to cook in the ordinary 
 
 way. Such birds may be cooked in 
 Aged various ways so as to be tender. 
 
 Fowls. though almost beyond mastication if 
 
 treated in the ordinary way. Sup- 
 posing the bird is to be boiled, the simple rule 
 is to boil slowly for about as many hours as the 
 bird is in years of age. If it is to be roasted 
 there are two expedients. One is to gently 
 simmer it for nearly as many hours as above, 
 and only after that, roast as usual till browned, 
 well basting : it will be quite tender. Or the 
 fowl may be wrapped in large clean dry leaves 
 such as vine leaves (cabbage leaves will not do) 
 and buried in sweet clean earth for nearly 
 twenty-four hours, when it will generally be 
 found tender. Hanging in a wet cellar might 
 probably make it as tender, but it might not 
 keep : the sweet earth keeps away any harm. 
 Or the fowl may be simmered a few hours, and 
 then cut up and baked in a pie. Or finally, if 
 the cook knows how to do it, it can be boned, 
 
 and then stewed into deliciously tender dishes 
 in all sorts of ways. Thus every bird, of any 
 age, is worth fair value for the domestic table. 
 
 It is different when we come to consider the 
 supply of the public market, or the production 
 and sale of table poultry as a business. Here 
 fatted chickens alone command the 
 Fatted best prices, arid by fatted fowls we 
 
 Poultry. mean crammed fowls. Pliny men- 
 
 tions the inhabitants of Delos as the 
 first to prepare fowls artificially for the table, by 
 which no doubt cramming is intended, and in 
 his time there is no doubt that the luxurious 
 Romans patronised crammed poultry exten- 
 sively. The market supply of the best table 
 poultry depends, therefore, upon two main 
 factors, viz. the adoption of the best methods in 
 feeding and fattening, and secondly, the breeding 
 of the most suitable fowls, whether pure breeds 
 or crosses, both in form, and aptitude for laying 
 on flesh. 
 
 As to methods of feeding, these are several, 
 and differ in different countries. The chief 
 English poultry-feeders have gradually made 
 eclectic selection of the best elements from all 
 quarters, and the fowls shown at recent Smith- 
 field Club exhibitions of table poultry, have 
 been pronounced by good foreign and English 
 judges equal to any in the world. For the 
 following practical article, descriptive and ex- 
 planatory of this branch of the subject, we are 
 indebted to Mr. Edward Brown, F.L.S., lecturer 
 on aviculture at Reading College, and secretary 
 of the National Poultry Organisation Society : — 
 
 " The system known as fattening is almost 
 universal wherever poultry have been brought 
 to a considerable state of perfection as food for 
 man, although there yet remains considerable 
 prejudice against it, probably due to the term 
 rather than to the system itself, though possibly 
 
 the methods adopted account for 
 Fattening some of the antagonism with which 
 Practice!'' '*■ '^ regarded. Nor is the practice 
 
 a modern one. In ancient tirries it 
 was followed by the Egyptians in connection 
 with geese, as evidenced by tablets found in the 
 Pyramid of Sakkara, which was erected about 
 4,000 years ago. References are also made by 
 ancient Roman writers, notably Columella, 
 showing that feeding off domestic poultry before 
 slaughter was extensively adopted in Italy 
 nearly two thousand years ago. So far as our 
 own country is concerned, it is impossible to 
 say how long the fattening of poultry has been 
 carried out, but we are justified in saying, from 
 evidence which it would take too long to quote 
 here, that it was understood to some extent at 
 
96 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 least as far back as the sixteenth century. 
 Within what may be termed the modern period, 
 however, it has been practised largely. In 
 Arthur Young's 'General View of the Agri- 
 culture of the County, of Sussex,' published in 
 1808, an account is given of the system then in 
 vogue, from which it would appear that hand 
 cramming only was employed, as there is no 
 mention whatever of machines. A most inter- 
 esting point is the fact that at the time named 
 'the fattening of fowls was not confined to 
 Sussex, for in Mr. Mavor's 'General View of 
 the Agriculture of Berkshire,' we find that 
 Wokingham, as it is now called, was 'princi- 
 pally famous for fatted fowl, by which many 
 persons of the town and neighbourhood gain a 
 living. They are sold to the London dealers ; 
 and the sum of ;^iSO has been returned in one 
 market day by this traffic. Twenty dozen of 
 these fowls were purchased for one gala at 
 Windsor, at the rate of half-a-guinea a couple. 
 At some seasons of the year 15 s. is paid for a 
 couple. They constitute the principal com- 
 merce of the place.' For reasons which have 
 not yet been fully explained, the trade has 
 died around Wokingham, but I have had the 
 opportunity of conversing with people whose 
 forefathers were largely Concerned in it. 
 
 " Till quite recently the fattening industry 
 since that period has been confined chiefly to 
 the counties of Sussex and Surrey, extending 
 about thirty years ago into West Kent. It now 
 embraces an area extending from Ashford in 
 the east almost to Guildford in the west. For 
 •these reasons the best qualities of 
 ^*mT°^ poultry go under the name of 
 Local industry.Surrey or Sussex fowls, and there 
 can be no question that the finest 
 specimens have hitherto emanated from the 
 South-Eastern counties of England, where the 
 industry is a very important as well as a 
 profitable one. It is difficult to estimate the 
 actual value of this branch of agriculture, but a 
 few years ago I obtained figures from the 
 Railway Companies as to the extent of the 
 traffic from the two chief centres, and these 
 figures were afterwards confirmed by the ob- 
 servations of Mr. R. H. Rew, who presented a 
 report to the Royal Commission on Agriculture, 
 in 189s, on the ' Poultry Rearing and Fattening 
 Industry of the Heathfield District of Sussex.' 
 From these figures it was shown that in twelve 
 months there were despatched from Heathfield 
 and Uckfield about 1,850 tons of dead chickens, 
 of an estimated value of about ;£'2oo,ooo. It Is 
 impossible to afford anything like a correct 
 computation of the total returns in all the three 
 counties named, but there is evidence to show 
 
 that it has considerably increased of late years. 
 As an instance, Mr. C. E. Brooke, Past-Master 
 of the Poulters' Company of London, despatched 
 in 1 898 upwards of 30,000 birds from his estab- 
 lishments at Baynards, and other places could 
 be mentioned where the growth has been con- 
 siderable. For a long period of time it was 
 asserted that there must be special conditions 
 favourable to this industry in the South-Eastern 
 counties, but it is needless to consider this point, 
 as it has been proved abundantly that fowls can 
 be fatted elsewhere with equal success. Within 
 the last five years the work of fattening has been 
 extended into several other counties, and we 
 may expect to see this continue to a greater 
 extent in the future. 
 
 " When we look at other countries, we find 
 that amongst those where attention has been 
 given to what may be termed advanced poultry 
 culture, the fattening system is extensively 
 followed. One of the best examples is France, 
 which has hitherto had the character of pro- 
 ducing some of the finest fowls in the world, 
 though it is a satisfaction to know that English 
 fowls now rival many, if not all, of the specimens 
 met with abroad. Of course, there also we 
 meet with special industries, such as the pro- 
 duction of the famous La Bresse fowls in the 
 Ain and Sa6ne-et-Loire districts, and the La 
 F16che, Le Mans, and other grades in Normandy, 
 where the work is carried out to a remarkable 
 degree of perfection, and where prices can be 
 obtained that are practically unknown in this 
 country. But throughout France the system is 
 followed very extensively, and the highly fatted 
 and wonderfully finished specimens to be met 
 with upon the Paris and other markets, place 
 these grades of French poultry in the very front 
 rank. In Belgium the fattening industry is 
 carried out to a considerable extent in the 
 district around the city of Malines, especially 
 at Merchtem, and adjoining villages in the 
 province of Flanders. These birds, up to the 
 present, are not so well finished as either the 
 French or English high -class poultry, but the 
 principle is recognised. In Western Austria, 
 in the Styrian district, there is a good deal of 
 fattening carried out, and in some of the best 
 Central European places of resort very fine birds 
 are sold under the name of Styrian poulardes. Of 
 late, fattening has been taken up to some extent 
 in Russia, whence vast quantities of chickens 
 — usually- of a poor quality — are received into 
 Western Europe. This will account for the 
 undoubted improvement in some of the grades 
 of Russian poultry during the last two or three 
 years. During a similar period something has 
 been done in the direction of fattening in 
 
ADVANTAGES OF FATTENING. 
 
 97 
 
 Canada, due to the efforts of Professor Robertson, 
 the Dairy Commissioner for the Dominion, who 
 has paid several visits to this country, obtaining 
 information which he has disseminated very 
 freely on his return. The quality of the birds 
 at present is not equal to our English standard, 
 but they have been vastly improved as a con- 
 sequence of the adoption of the fattening system, 
 and as that system comes to be better under- 
 stood, Canadian fowls will be much finer than 
 is the case at present. Until recently poultry 
 fattening was practically unknown in the United 
 States, but a few attempts have been put forth, 
 and the result appears to have encouraged those 
 who have made them. 
 
 "In order to appreciate the object of fatten- 
 ing, it is well to consider larger stock, where 
 practically the same system is carried out, 
 though, of course, different methods are em- 
 ployed. We accept without demur that for 
 
 animals, such as cattle, sheep, or 
 Advantages pigs, to be fed off is an absolute 
 Fattening. necessity, if the flesh is to have 
 
 the quality and quantity desirable. 
 Farmers buy store stock, as they are called, 
 feeding them off or fattening them before 
 they are sent to the butcher. To kill a lean 
 animal would be very wasteful ; the proportion 
 of flesh to that of bone and offal would be small, 
 whilst the quality of flesh would be distinctly 
 inferior to that of a fed animal. The reason why 
 fatted flesh is better than unfatted,is that globules 
 of fat are distributed throughout the muscles, 
 displacing to a considerable extent the moisture 
 found therein. Not only, therefore, is the bulk 
 increased, but also when the flesh is cooked the 
 fat does not evaporate to the same extent as 
 the water, but, melting, softens the tissue, 
 making it more digestible and finer in flavour. 
 It may be contended that Nature has no system 
 of fattening, and yet that wild birds and animals 
 killed for food are found to be in good condition 
 for eating ; but this statement is only correct up 
 to a certain point. At seasons of the year when 
 food is abundant, birds and animals are much 
 fatter and plumper, and it is generally at these 
 seasons that they are killed for food. A 'close' 
 time, for — say — pheasants, is not only enacted 
 in order to prevent the birds being killed off 
 during the breeding season, but also because at 
 such periods of the year they do not carry the 
 same amount of flesh. 
 
 "A further point to bear in mind is that, 
 economically, the fattening system adds to the 
 profit of the producer. Some time ago Mr. C. E. 
 Brooke carried out a series of experiments 
 showing the gain in weight, and the results of 
 these were published in my book on Poultry 
 N 
 
 Fattening.* Twenty-four birds in all were put up 
 for fattening, nine cockerels and fifteen pullets. 
 They were subjected to the system for twenty- 
 eight days, which is longer than is usually con- 
 sidered to be necessary, but the prolongation 
 was for a special purpose. The total increase 
 of weight during the process was 55 lbs. 3^ ozs., 
 or a gain of about 2 lbs. 6 ozs. each, the great- 
 est amount of gain in any individual case 
 being 2 lbs. 15I ozs. I have known cases where 
 upwards of 3 lbs. has been added to the weight 
 of a fowl in a little over three weeks, but prob- 
 ably under ordinary conditions the average 
 gain would be from \\ lbs. to 2 lbs. Of course, 
 a certain amount of this would be surplus fat, 
 laid upon the intestines and around various 
 organs of the body ; as in the case of larger 
 animals, this must always be so. Still at the 
 same time the edible portions of the bfrds were 
 enormously increased. The estimated cost 
 of fattening for three weeks is accepted as 
 about 5d. per bird, whilst in establishments 
 where men have to be employed another 
 3d. would be added for labour. Thus, apart 
 altogether from the question of improvement 
 of quality, the increase in weight much more 
 than repays the expenditure. There is, however, 
 a danger of excessive fattening, and birds carry- 
 ing a large amount of surplus fat can only be 
 in very limited demand. We should not like 
 what is called Christmas beef all the year round, 
 nor should we care to have specimens such as 
 some exhibited at the Smithfield Table Poultry 
 Show daily upon our tables. Both large and 
 small animals are often fatted for such a season 
 to the utmost, with a view of showing what 
 can be done in this direction, and also of prize- 
 winning. 
 
 "Another result of fattening is to improve 
 the appearance of the bird. The flesh is not 
 only softer and more abundant, but it is greatly 
 improved in colour. The use of milk and of 
 ground oats, as afterwards explained, has the 
 effect of whitening the flesh ; and even with those 
 birds which have yellow skin, it is remarkable 
 how great a difference is found between fatted 
 and unfatted specimens. 
 
 "With regard to the prices obtained for 
 fattened poultry, these vary considerably. There 
 can be no question that at certain seasons of the 
 year birds can be sold in the London markets 
 wholesale at I2s. to 14s. per couple; but these 
 are the exception and not the rule, the picked 
 specimens, not the general run, and the demand 
 for them must, of course, be limited. But during 
 the spring months good birds will always bring 
 
 * "Poultry Fattening," by Edward Brown, F.L.S. London i 
 Edward Arnold. 
 
98 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 4s. 6d. to 5s. 6d. each, except there happens to 
 be some unfavourable set of conditions or a glut 
 in the market. Prices depend upon so many 
 
 things that it is impossible to name 
 Prices ^ny which may be taken as reliable 
 
 Faued Fowls, in anticipation. The following prices 
 
 can, however, be taken as averages 
 in the Leadenhall or Smithfield Markets, Lon- 
 don, for single birds : — 
 
 January 
 February 
 March 
 April 
 May 
 June 
 July 
 August 
 September 
 October 
 ■ November 
 December 
 
 3s. od. 
 3s. od. 
 4s. od. 
 5s. od. 
 5s. od, 
 4s. od. 
 4s. od 
 2s. 6d, 
 3s. od 
 3s. od. 
 3s. od, 
 3s. od. 
 
 to 5s. od. 
 „ ss. od. 
 „ 5s. 6d. 
 ■,, 6s. od. 
 ,, 6s. 6d. 
 ,, 6s. od. 
 „ 5s. 6d. 
 „ 4S. od 
 „ 3s. 9d. 
 „■ 3s. 6d. 
 „ 3s. 6d. 
 „ 4s. 9d. 
 
 These prices, however good they are, are far 
 inferior to those obtained in France. At Paris 
 20s. to 30s. is frequently paid for picked speci- 
 mens in the Halles Centrales, whilst even in the 
 districts where birds are actually produced, 
 prices range high. I have been asked by a 
 woman standing in the marketplace at Bourg 
 20 francs for a La Bresse fowl which would not 
 weigh more than 5| lbs., and at Le Mans in 
 Normandy some of the fatters can obtain at 
 certain seasons as much as 25 francs for first- 
 class specimens. Such prices are not obtain- 
 able in this country. The explanation is that 
 French systems of cookery are so essentially 
 different from our own, that while a fowl in 
 England would perhaps serve half-a-dozen 
 people, in P>ance, by the accessories provided 
 with it and also the fact that the number of 
 courses in an ordinary French dinner is much 
 greater than in an English dinner, the same bird 
 would probably serve a score of people. Hence 
 the cost of the fowl eaten for each person would 
 relatively be no greater in one country than in 
 the other. Personally I have no hopes that we 
 shall ever be able to secure such prices, and it 
 does not seem at all necessary that we should 
 do so to ensure satisfactory returns. We have, 
 however, in this country a larger population 
 dependent upon others for their food supplies, 
 and we must look rather to the increased num- 
 ber of birds sold to these, than to an enhanced 
 price for each. At the same time, however, 
 there is much to be done in educating the con- 
 sumer, and within the last few years a distinct 
 advance has been made in this direction. In 
 many of the great centres of population, at one 
 time, fowls priced more than 2s. 6d. each could 
 hardly be sold ; but purchasers are beginning to 
 realise that a well-fatted specimen, for which 
 
 a Separate 
 Industry. 
 
 they have to pay 4s. 6d. or 5s., may be cheaper 
 than one at half the price. It is not the size 
 of the fowl only, but also the relative pro- 
 portion of flesh and of carcase which ought to 
 give it the value. There are certain of our 
 large towns where a fatted fowl was probably 
 unknown until a few years ago, and now we 
 see them regularly in the poulterers' shops. 
 
 " We have now to consider the methods 
 adopted in the production of fatted poultry 
 both at home and abroad. In England and 
 Belgium, fattening is carried out almost entirely 
 at special establishments, to which the birds are 
 brought in a lean condition to be fed off. In 
 France this is the case to a more 
 Fattening limited extent, the majority of the 
 fatted fowls there being finished 
 by those who rear them, the farmers' 
 Wives and daughters in that country being mar- 
 vellously skilful in this work. There are, of 
 course, many central establishments, and in not 
 a few cases I have found that the owners only 
 perform a part of the operation, buying the 
 birds from the rearers in what may be termed 
 half-fatted condition. Where the system is 
 carried out as in England and Belgium, the 
 fatters very seldom attempt anything in the 
 way of hatching and rearing, leaving this work 
 entirely ,to farmers and cottagers in the district, 
 from whom they buy lean birds. Whilst it is 
 desirable that more of our farmers should en- 
 deavour themselves to improve the quality of 
 their poultry, it must be conceded that up to 
 the present there have been manifest advantages 
 from this system. The fatteners are very skil- 
 ful, and in some cases families have been famous 
 for their work in this direction for several gen- 
 erations. A fatter is arble to handle a very large 
 number of birds, and his ability and experience 
 enable him frequently to get better results than 
 would be probable by those who only have a 
 few birds to sell. The cost also of labour in this 
 way is considerably reduced. There are also 
 benefits from larger operations in marketing, as 
 buyers receive specimens in greater quantities, 
 and the fatteners can meet market demands in a 
 way that would be impossible to smaller pro- 
 ducers. At the same time, it is a fact that 
 some of the small fatters obtain the best prices, 
 because they give attention to individual birds 
 in a way that is impossible when large numbers 
 are in hand. 
 
 " Those also who raise the birds have not 
 suffered in any way from this system — in fact, 
 it has been all in the other direction. Com- 
 plaints are made by fatters, both in England and 
 in Belgium, that so short is the supply during 
 certain months, and so great the competition 
 
COLLECTING BIRDS FOR FATTENING. 
 
 99 
 
 for suitable birds, that they have to pay prices 
 which leave a very small margin of profit. 
 Some time ago, a farmer living in West Kent 
 gave me figures with regard to what he had 
 done during twelve months in the sale of 
 chickens to higglers who collect for the fatten- 
 ing establishments. Commencing the year with 
 a stock of fifty breeding hens,, he sold in twelve 
 months, as the produce from these birds, £%"] 
 worth of chickens — that is, each hen gave him a 
 return through her chickens equal to about 3Ss. 
 Of course, he had to provide the food for these, 
 but those familiar with the cost of stock-raising 
 will know that the margin of profit in such a 
 case is very much greater than is usual. Hitherto 
 a large part of the deficiency in supply has been 
 made up by Irish lean birds, but the indications 
 are that these may fall off now that fattening 
 has been commenced in that country ; and it is 
 certainly true that of late there has been a de- 
 cided advance in the price of Irish lean poultry. 
 The chief diflSculty experienced by those who 
 have commenced fattening in other parts of 
 the country than the South-Eastern district of 
 England, has been in securing a supply of 
 suitable specimens, but the deficiency will in 
 time be overcome, as farmers and cottagers 
 find it is profitable to rear such birds. 
 
 " Most of the fattening establishments in 
 Sussex send out or have connections with col- 
 lectors, who go by the name of ' higglers.' These 
 men scour the country round, buying up chickens 
 as soon as they are ready, and it is not too much 
 
 to say that the success of many of 
 ^"^^th*"'' the fattening establishments depends 
 Chickens. largely upon this part of the work. 
 
 One old fattener, who has made a 
 very comfortable competency out of the business, 
 told me that he always did the buying himself, 
 as he felt that it was too important to leave to 
 anyone else. Many of these higglers know ex- 
 actly what birds are likely to be ready, and those 
 who raise the chickens have no difficulty what- 
 ever in selling their birds ; in fact, frequently 
 there are as many higglers call as there are 
 birds to sell. The higglers generally have 
 regular rounds on certain days of the week, and 
 the custom is for them to pack the birds in large 
 crates, carrying them away as soon as possible- 
 to the fattening establishments. Sometimes they 
 will travel as far as twenty miles away from 
 their centre, if there is any shortage of supplies. 
 " In Belgium and France a somewhat dif- 
 ferent system is adopted, and one which might 
 with advantage be followed here. On one side 
 of the city of Malines, in Belgium, there is a 
 great district where large numbers of fowls are 
 reared, and it is on the other side that the 
 
 fattening section of the country is met with. 
 A market has been established at a place called 
 Londerzeel, and here producers and buyers meet 
 upon fixed days. The former take their fowls 
 as they are ready, and there dispose of them to 
 the best advantage. In many of the great dis- 
 tricts of France such markets are found, and it 
 would be a manifest advantage if the system 
 could be followed in this country, especially in 
 places more remote from the fattening centres. 
 
 " The prices obtained in England for lean 
 birds vary considerably according to the time of 
 year, and, of course, with the quality of the 
 fowls ; but of late years there has been a dis- 
 tinct tendency towards increa.se in prices. The 
 time of year when prices are highest is in 
 April, May, and June. The prices range from 
 IS. 8d. to 3s. 6d., according to the season 
 and the supply. Both of these extremes would 
 be exceptional, however ; only very poor speci- 
 mens would be sold at the former price, and the 
 season would be a very bad one, with great 
 scarcity of supply, when the latter price was 
 generally obtained. It may, however, be ac- 
 cepted that the majority of chickens suitable 
 for making the best class of fowls, and which 
 range from eight to ten or twelve weeks old, 
 would realise from 2s. 6d. to 3s. each, and at 
 such rates it is evident that the raisers have a 
 considerable margin of profit. In fact, many per- 
 sons add greatly to their incomes by this work. 
 Reference has already been made to Irish sup- 
 plies. At one time birds could be obtained 
 from Ireland costing about 2s. to 2s. 6d. each-, 
 but now 3d. and 4d. per bird more than that is 
 the usual expense, inclusive of carriage. At the 
 same* time, however, it must be acknowledged 
 that there has been of late perceptible im- 
 provement in the quality of the fowls brought 
 from the Green Isle. 
 
 " Birds which are put up for fattening in 
 lean condition give the best results, and the 
 fatteners prefer specimens which are thin. It is 
 undoubtedly the case that such specimens as' are 
 already partially fatted, do not give the same 
 returns as those just described. Of course, it is 
 with poultry as with every other kind of stock ; 
 all the birds do not fatten alike, and there is a 
 considerable difference in this respect. Some, 
 for reasons which cannot be clearly understood, 
 fail to put on flesh to the same extent as do 
 others. This sometimes is a question of tem- 
 perament, but there are frequently causes for 
 which no satisfactory reason can be afforded. 
 The skilful fatter, however, very quickly deter- 
 mines which birds are thriving least satisfactorily, 
 and frequently by giving a greater amount of 
 attention to these, he is abl.e to overcome their 
 
lOO 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 backward condition. When we see in the 
 markets specimens, all equal in quality and very 
 nearly alike in size, this is generally due to the 
 fact that they have been selected from a large 
 number. We must not expect in connection 
 with poultry any different results from what 
 we find in all other branches of stock. 
 
 "A large number of birds are killed in what 
 is called half-fat condition. These have simply 
 been put up for feeding, either in open air or 
 enclosed cages, without being crammed at all, 
 
 and the result is to considerably 
 Half-fatted improve the quality of the flesh. 
 Fowls. and to some extent add to its 
 
 quantity, though, of course, they 
 are not equal to the fully-fatted birds. Some 
 breeders who have never gone in for what is 
 known as the system of cramming, have ob- 
 tained a measure of results by putting the birds 
 into small runs and feeding them upon foods 
 likely to produce flesh. We cannot, however, 
 expect that if the birds are permitted to run 
 about they will ever increase in weight to the 
 same extent as when they are kept in strict 
 confinement. The reason for this is that the 
 latter birds are at rest and, consequently, do not 
 eliminate from the body by exercise those mate- 
 rials which would otherwise be utilised in this 
 way. In many -parts of the country half-fatted 
 birds would be more profitable to produce at 
 first, by reason of the fact that consumers have 
 not been educated to pay sufficient prices for 
 the fully-fed specimens. They might be tempted 
 to pay a little more for the half-fatted speci- 
 mens, and thus gradually be led on to the more 
 expensive birds. 
 
 " In the South-Eastern districts of England, 
 when the birds are brought to the fattening 
 establishments, at any rate during the milder 
 months of the year, they are usually first placed 
 in cages out of doors ; and in the highways and 
 byeways of Sussex, Surrey, and 
 
 Sussex West Kent large numbers of these 
 
 Fattening , ° ... 
 
 Establishments, cages can be seen as we drive along 
 
 the roads, or even from the railway 
 carriage windows. As a rule such cages are 
 placed in sheltered positions where they are pro- 
 tected from wind and, as far as possible, from 
 rain, though this latter cannot always be accom- 
 plished. These cages are about 7 feet 6 inches 
 in length and 20 to 24 inches from front to back, 
 the front, ends, back, and bottom consisting of 
 bars of wood, wide enough apart to allow the 
 birds to get their heads through in front, but 
 nothing more. The tops are usually covered 
 with thin match-boarding, but in some places, in 
 place of this, corrugated iron is employed, with 
 furze bushes laid along the top. The cages are 
 
 raised about 3 feet from the ground, and the 
 droppings fall through the bottom bars. Many 
 of the poultry fatteners make their own. cages 
 during the slack season, and various forms are em- 
 ployed, but the cage described above is generally 
 admitted to be the best. How far this system 
 of using outdoor cages is suitable, is open to 
 question, because during the cold months 
 of the year the birds must take longer to 
 fatten by reason of the exposure, whilst in the 
 hot months of the year it is found in practical 
 experience that the birds do not fatten so well 
 either in-doors or out of doors, owing to the 
 excessive heat. During the warmer months 
 a cool orchard or copse is most suitable 
 for birds fattening, as it is cooler than where 
 more open, or in sheds exposed to the sun. 
 Of course, where outdoor cages can be 
 employed, a much greater number of birds 
 can be handled upon a given capital than 
 if they are accommodated entirely in sheds. 
 There are some parts of the country, especially 
 those districts which are .more exposed, where 
 the out-door system would not answer at all ; 
 and wherever employed the birds should be well 
 sheltered. Some of the best fatteners place 
 these out-door cages in the orchards which 
 abound in South-Eastern England, and such 
 conditions, except in very wet weather, are 
 specially favourable. Many parts of the country 
 could not provide protection of this kind. 
 
 " The customary plan is to keep the birds in 
 these out-door cages for a week or ten days, and 
 during this time they are fed twice a day from 
 troughs. These troughs hang in front, usually 
 upon cords, so that they can be easily removed. 
 They are cut out of a solid- piece of wood, and a 
 7 feet 6 inches cage, such as we have described, 
 with the trough, can be purchased for 6s. 6d. 
 Those birds which are to be killed as half-fatted 
 specimens are finished off entirely in these cages. 
 Where, however, it fs intended to fatten them 
 fully they are then removed to the sheds, in 
 which are placed similar cages ; and by reason 
 of the fact that the birds are kept much warmer 
 and absolutely protected from bad weather, they 
 frtten remarkably well under these conditions. 
 
 " It is needless to describe at very great 
 length the various forms of sheds, as all kinds of 
 places are used for this purpose. Wherever 
 permanent buildings are available, provided that 
 they are well ventilated, their use saves a con- 
 siderable expenditure of capital. Mr. C. E. 
 Brooke, of Baynards, has a large barn which has 
 been turned into a fattening shed, and as this is 
 thatched, it is wonderfully cool in summer and 
 equally warm in winter. There are other fat- 
 teners who utilise similar buildings. The large 
 
FATTENING PENS OR CAGES. 
 
 lOI 
 
 majority of fatteners, however, have special 
 erections for this purpose, some good, some 
 by no means satisfactory. I have been in sheds 
 which were made of corrugated iron, in which 
 the birds were half roasted during the hot 
 summer weather, and equally cold in winter. 
 Conditions like these must militate greatly 
 against the success of the process. In France 
 such fattening establishments as I have had the 
 opportunity of visiting have been accommodated 
 in permanent buildings, and the same is equally 
 true in Belgium. In these permanent buildings, 
 which if properly ventilated are usually cooler 
 than wooden erections, as a rule the cages 
 are only placed one tier high, for the reason 
 that this greatly reduces the labour of keep- 
 ing the place clean. In one or two 
 French fattening sheds I have visited, the 
 cages were two or three tiers high ; but 
 this is certainly not a usual plan. As to 
 this, something is said in the next paragraph. I 
 have also seen in France, especially upon farms, 
 the fattening ca^es placed in rooms adjoining 
 the dwelling-house, but this is a method which, 
 of course, we do not advocate in this country. 
 The main idea is that the birds shall be kept 
 warm, and to some extent in the dark, for, as 
 Professor Warrington says in his ' Chemistry of 
 the Farm,' 'Economy of food is promoted by 
 diminishing the demand for heat and work. An 
 animal at rest in a stall will increase in weight 
 far more than an animal taking active exercise 
 on the same diet. In the same way the increase 
 from a given weight of food will be less in winter 
 than in spring or autumn, a far larger propor- 
 tion of the food being consumed for the produc- 
 tion of heat when the animal is living in a cold 
 atmosphere. Hence the economy of feeding 
 animals under cover during winter. If, how- 
 ever, the temperature becomes so high as to 
 considerably increase the perspiration, waste of 
 food, again takes place, heat being consumed 
 .in the evaporation of water. The temperature 
 most favourable for animal increase is apparently 
 about 60^ Fahr. Quietness, and freedom from 
 excitement, are essential to rapid fattening ; the 
 absence of strong light is therefore desirable.' 
 It will be seen from the above observations that 
 there is no restriction upon the form of shed so 
 long as it is suitable for the purpose. 
 
 "The form of the cages employed during 
 this stage differs considerably. Those generally 
 used in this country have been already referred 
 to. They are usually 7 ft. 6 in. in length, by 20 
 in. high and wide, and are divided into three 
 compartments, each of which has a sliding door. 
 The cage is intended to accommodate fifteen 
 or eighteen birds, one-third in each compart- 
 
 ment. They are built entirely of wooden rods, 
 excepting the framework into which these fit. 
 The rods are about ij in. apart, except in 
 the front, where they are a little 
 Fattening wider, so that the birds can get their 
 Cages. heads between for feeding. The 
 
 bottom bars, upon which the birds 
 stand, are usually of specially cut wood, an 
 inch wide at the top and an inch in depth, 
 narrowing to half an inch below, so that 
 the droppings fall through without catching 
 on the sides of the wood, as would be the 
 case if they were perfectly square. The bottom 
 bars run from end to end of the cage, or 
 from side to side of the compartment, not from 
 front to back. In France this form of cage is 
 sometimes employed, but very seldom. Those 
 generally used there are much more substantial, 
 in some cases having solid sides, back and top, 
 and in the front, except that a long narrow slit, 
 wide enough to permit of the bird's head passing 
 through, is cut in the wood. As a rule, in 
 France, each bird is provided with a separate 
 compartment ; but, for a reason given in the 
 next paragraph, such an arrangement is un- 
 desirable. This form was employed " at firs,t 
 by Mr. C. E. Brooke, at Baynards, but in his 
 further extensions he has adopted the more 
 general and less expensive form of cage. 
 Where single cages are used, fitted below is 
 a sliding drawer or tray to catch the drop- 
 pings. The one advantage of single cages is 
 that they can be used two or three tiers high, 
 though whether this is desirable deserves further 
 consideration. In Belgium the cages are more 
 nearly like those used in England than in France, 
 though such as we have seen have generally been 
 a little more substantial than the Sussex cages. 
 In work of this kind there can be no question 
 that simplicity is desirable, and for that reason 
 it may be fairly claimed that the English form 
 is to be preferred, saving both initial cost and 
 labour in keeping clean. The difference be- 
 tween the more substantial cages used in France 
 and those in England would be as a question of 
 capital considerable, but .under certain sets of 
 conditions, such as extreme cold, the birds would 
 be kept warmer and more sheltered where the 
 solid-sided cages are employed. 
 
 " It may be well here to consider whether 
 the system of keeping one bird in each com- 
 partment, or having several together, is to be 
 recommended. My own opinion is that the 
 truth lies about midway. Where birds are kept 
 in single compartments they can be observed 
 more closely as individual specimens, but at the 
 same time there is greater danger of their pining 
 than when several are together. This has been 
 
IQ2 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the experience of many amateurs, who thought 
 it was only necessarj' to obtain a fattening cage, 
 put some birds in, and have Surrey fowls ; but 
 frequently they find that instead of weight 
 having been gained, it has really been lost. 
 The skilful fatter Understands his work so 
 completely that he is able to overcome this 
 difficulty, and by cramming compels the bird 
 to digest as much food as he thinks necessary. 
 Where several birds are together there is un- 
 doubtedly a strong competition in eating, and 
 this fact must be taken into account. We find 
 the same influence with larger stock. Given a 
 proper supply of suitable food, two or three 
 animals together will feed off better than if 
 each were isolated. But when, say, half-a-dozen 
 fowls are confined in one cage, there is greater 
 danger of fighting and of feather picking, the 
 latter one of the chief troubles fatters have 
 to contend against. This would be minimised 
 if only two or three birds were kept in each 
 compartment. 
 
 "As already stated, in England and Belgium 
 the inside cages are only placed one tier high, 
 which permits of a good circulation of air, and 
 at the same time greatly minimises the work of 
 cleaning. In some cases the ground below the 
 cage is covered with either loose earth or sand, 
 and the droppings are taken away daily. In 
 other cases there is a drop-board about two feet 
 wide, sloping down to the front, below the cages, 
 covered with a thin sprinkling of lime or earth, 
 and thus easily cleaned. The accumulation of 
 manure, especially such as is produced under 
 these artificial conditions, would very speedily 
 cause disease amongst the birds, and all good 
 fatteners realise the importance of absolute 
 cleanliness. In fact, in many of the best-con- 
 ducted poultry fattening establishments it is a 
 surprise to see how beautifully everything is 
 kept. The sheds themselves are regularly 
 hme-washed, and the cages treated in the same 
 way as soon as one lot of birds is removed, 
 before another is placed therein. The work 
 of thus hme-washing the cages is greatly 
 facilitated if a long trough, about a foot in 
 depth, and wide enough to permit of the cage 
 being dipped in, is kept full of lime-wash. 
 
 " Before dealing with the actual methods fol- 
 lowed in the cramming of poultry, it may be well 
 to inquire whether the system is a cruel one, 
 because many charges have been made against 
 it on this ground. With ordinary care there 
 is not the slightest cruelty involved. A careless 
 or inexpert operator, especially one who seems 
 to think that the work must be done in a hurry, 
 might hurt or injure the birds, and if this results^ 
 in consequence of the highly artificial state of 
 
 the body, inflammation takes place and the bird 
 speedily dies. This fact, in itself, is the greatest 
 preventive of cruelty that can be desired, be- 
 cause the loss would be a very serious one. It 
 must be borne in mind that the gullet of aU. 
 animals, and especially of birds, is very flexible, 
 and that in the case of birds mastication does 
 not take place in the mouth, but whatever is 
 swallowed passes down the throat the same in 
 size as when entering the mouth. The chief 
 danger in cramming, when either funnel or tube 
 is employed, is that as the neck naturally is 
 bent, unless it be straightened out, the pressure 
 of the end of the funnel or tube would injure it 
 if forced down. Another danger is lest injury 
 to the tongue should take place when passing 
 the funnel or tube into the throat. But a 
 little care prevents any difficulty, and it may be 
 taken, that so far as pain is concerned, there is 
 no cruelty whatever in the cramming system. 
 Whether the compelling of any animal to eat 
 more than it might otherwise be disposed to 
 take comes under the term cruelty, we need not 
 discuss. 
 
 " The systems of cramming usually followed 
 vary considerably, and may be divided into four 
 sections. We do not call trough-feeding cram- 
 ming, because there is no force or 
 Systems of compulsion whatever when that 
 Cramming. method is employed. It is generally 
 conceded that trough-feeding alone 
 does not give the same results in weight gained, 
 as when the birds are finished by actual cram- 
 ming; but in some cases I have met with it 
 was claimed that equally good results could be 
 obtained without any cramming at all. In 
 Belgium, for instance, very few birds are 
 crammed ; they are fed from the troughs 
 during the whole period of three weeks; 
 fatters, however, find it desirable to finish 
 individual birds by a little hand cramming. 
 It must be acknowledged, also, that Belgium 
 table poultry have not the same finish as 
 our best English or the finest French speci- 
 mens, and this may be put down to the 
 fact that they are not crammed. Recently I 
 was informed by a gentleman, to whom I had 
 given advice as to the preparation of fowls for 
 the table of a well-known noble family, that 
 they had never crammed the birds, and yet in 
 some cases the weight had increased by as 
 much as 2f lbs., entirely as the result of trough- 
 feeding. 
 
 " There are two methods of hand cramming. 
 In one of these the food is made into a stiff 
 paste, and then formed into pellets or finger pieces, 
 varying in size with the birds for which they are 
 intended. As a rule, these pellets are a little 
 
METHODS OF CRAMMING. 
 
 103 
 
 more than an inch in length and about three- 
 eighths of an inch in thickness. The operator has 
 a supply of these pellets before him, with a bowl 
 of milk ; he sits upon a stool, and, 
 Hand taking a bird from the cage, holds 
 
 Cramming. the tips of a wing and a leg in each 
 hand, and then places the body be- 
 tween the knees. If this is properly done the fowl 
 cannot struggle in the least, as wings and legs 
 are firmly held. He next grasps the head of the 
 bird with the left hand, places a finger between 
 the upper and lower mandibles, holding the 
 tongue down, then taking one of the pellets he 
 dips it into the milk, puts it into the mouth, 
 pressing it down the throat as far as he can 
 with the fore-finger ; next, closing the fingers of 
 his left hand outside the throat, he places a finger 
 and thumb of the right hand above the pellet, 
 which can be easily felt in the gullet, and running 
 these down the throat carries it into the crop. 
 To do this effectively the neck must be straight- 
 ened to its full length, and when that is the case 
 the pellet passes down quite easily. In order to 
 fill the crop, frequently ten or twelve of these 
 pellets must be given, and hence it is a some- 
 what slow process, as, of course, the most skilful 
 fatter cannot handle more than forty to fifty 
 birds in an hour, even if he has someone to 
 lift them from and to the cages. Some of 
 the finest specimens that are placed both upon 
 the London and Paris markets are thus hand 
 crammed, and it is acknowledged that each 
 individual bird can be dealt with to a greater 
 nicety than is possible by quicker methods. 
 The system involves, however, a considerable 
 amount of labour, and it is questionable whether 
 it would pay any fatter to engage enough 
 men to fatten a very large number of birds in 
 this way. It is, however, being adopted in 
 Russia, but in that country labour is very cheap. 
 " Another system of hand cramming is that 
 followed in several districts of France, notably 
 the La Bresse country. Here the birds are 
 kept in very dark cages. The fatter first sits 
 down in the way described already. Instead of 
 forming the paste into boluses or pellets, he has 
 a mass of the food before him. Opening the 
 mouth of the bird with the left hand, he takes a 
 piece off the mass of paste, dips it into milk, 
 and places it into the mouth of the bird, and 
 then allows the bird to swallow it. This system 
 is even slower than where pellets are employed, 
 and I have found it is adopted chiefly by those 
 who have only a limited number of birds to 
 fatten, generally women. 
 
 " In Normandy the system of fattening by 
 means ot a funnel is very much in vogue. For 
 this purpose the funnels employed are specially 
 
 made. The bowl of the funnel is about 5 in. in 
 diameter, narrowing to about \ in. The spout 
 is 6 in. in length and \ in. in diameter. The 
 spout, as seen by the illustration (Fig. 62), is cut 
 at the end so as to leave a slanting outlet. The 
 
 spout must be well finished and 
 Funnelling. carefully soldered so that no sharp 
 
 edges remain, and must be perfectly 
 smooth to prevent cutting of the gullet, all 
 sharp edges being soldered over. There can be 
 no question that the funnel system of fattening 
 is the most difficult to learn, but when learnt it 
 is quite easy. Some time ago I suggested to 
 one of the makers of these funnels that the 
 spout of the funnel should be much shorter, and 
 
 Fig. 62. — Funnel. 
 
 that a piece of indiarubber tubing should be 
 fitted thereon, as this is softer and less liable 
 to injure the throat This was found to be an 
 improvement in the hands of those who are not 
 very expert. To introduce the funnel the bird 
 should be held in the same way as described 
 for hand cramming, and the neck elongated to 
 its fullest length ; then the spout is inserted 
 through the mouth, and passes down the gullet 
 into the crop. For funnel fattening the food 
 must be in liquid form, like moderately thin 
 cream, so that it will run freely, and it must 
 be mixed perfectly smooth. In operation, after 
 the funnel is inserted into the throat of the bird, 
 by means of a large spoon or ladle the prepared 
 food is poured into it until the crop is quite full, 
 An experienced operator can cram eighty to a 
 hundred birds in an hour by this system, and 
 therefore it is, as a question of labour, more 
 economical than hand fattening. 
 
 " The third system is by means of a machine, 
 the tv/o chief makes now employed in England 
 being Hearson's and Neve's. These machines 
 differ in a few details, but the principle is practi- 
 
I04 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 cally the same. A hundvedyears ago, so far as we 
 can learn, machine cramming was practically 
 unknown in the South-Eastern counties of Eng- 
 land. Arthur Young, in his ' General 
 Cramming View of the Agriculture of Sussex,' 
 Machines. published in 1 808, mentions only 
 cramming by hand. Later on, as 
 explained in the early editions of ' The Book 
 of Poultry,' an apparatus was introduced for the 
 expediting of this work. So far as I can learn, 
 such a machine was introduced in the 'sixties. 
 This old type of Sussex crammer (Fig. 63) was 
 
 ifig. 63. — Old Sussex Machine 
 
 a very cumbersome affair, resembling a large 
 sausage, machine, and was heavy to work. The 
 food was placed in a reservoir, and forced out 
 through a tube at one end. It required one 
 man to turn the crank handle, whilst another 
 actually crammed the bird. With both the 
 Hearson and the Neve one man only is re- 
 quired. The Hearson crammer (Fig. 64) con- 
 sists of a food reservoir, into which a supply 
 sufficient for 100 to 150 birds can be placed. 
 Below is a pump cylinder in which operates a 
 piston rod, worked by a foot lever. When this 
 lever is depressed the food already in the cylin- 
 der is forced through the nozzle at one side, 
 and as the machine is fitted with a powerful 
 spring, when the pressure is withdrawn the 
 piston rod is drawn upwards again, allowing 
 enough food to pass into the cylinder from the 
 reservoir for the next manipulation. Upon the 
 nozzle referred to is fitted a special form of 
 indiarubber tubing, which is made in various 
 sizes to suit different grades of birds. Some of 
 the fatters in Sussex use instead special tubes 
 made of bed ticking, because they are cheaper, 
 and if carefully made they answer the purpose 
 well, although the seam down one side is rather 
 liable to become hard and to graze the throat of 
 the bird. In the Neve crammer there is the 
 reservoir as in the Hearson, but the force pump 
 IS horizontal. Neve's machine is the more 
 common in Sussex, being made in that county. 
 • 1!'"^° operate with these machines the bird 
 IS held first by the legs and wings as already 
 described for hand cramming, then placed under 
 
 the left or right arm as the case may be, and 
 held firmly between the arm and the body so 
 that the bird cannot struggle. The operator 
 has thus both hands at liberty. Taking the 
 head in the hand connected with the arm 
 holding the bird, the comb lying in the palm, 
 the mouth is opened by one finger, passing 
 between the upper and lower mandibles, and the 
 tongue held down. The other hand is now 
 free to insert the tube into the mouth. As 
 soon as it has passed into the throat the Jiead 
 is changed from one hand to the other, and the 
 neck being elongated the head is drawn on to 
 the tube, really pulling the body after it, and in 
 this way the end passes down into the crop 
 speedily and easily. The slightest pressure of 
 the foot pedal forces food into the crop. 
 The relieved hand, before this is done, is passed 
 to the crop until the end of the tube is felt, 
 and thus the operator can tell how much food 
 is being forced therein, stopping the moment 
 that enough has been given. So soon as this 
 takes place the foot is slipped off the pedal,- 
 and this stops the supply, the bird being then 
 
 Fig. 64.— Hearson's Cramming Machine, 
 
 drawn from the tube. The operation can be 
 carried out very rapidly indeed, and a skilful 
 fatter can cram by either of the machines 
 named 200 to 300 birds in an hour. For this 
 system the food is prepared about the con- 
 sistency of thick cream, so that it will just flow 
 and no more. The great points in cramming 
 
FOOD FOR FATTENING. 
 
 i°5 
 
 by machine are to see that the tongue is held 
 down, otherwise it might be torn by the in- 
 sertion of the tube ; that the neck is straight, 
 or the pressure of the tube against one of the 
 rings of the vertebral column would break it ; 
 and that too much food is not given. Under 
 such a system it is, of course, impossible to 
 treat each bird with the same nicety as is the 
 case with hand cramming. 
 
 " In France machine cramming has not been 
 carried out to the samfe extent as in this country, 
 but there is much more done of it than was 
 formerly the case. Some of the French machines, 
 however, differ distinctly from those 
 French described above, in that liquid food 
 
 Machines. jg chiefly employed. One of these, 
 made by Monsieur J. Phillippe of 
 Houdan, has a long tube attached to it, at the 
 end of which is a spring tap with a long brass 
 spout. The food is about the consistency of 
 very thin cream, and flows quite easily. The 
 fowls are not removed from the cages, but in 
 turn the operator takes hold of each bird, inserts 
 the tube into the throat pretty much in the same 
 way as already mentioned, and by pressing the 
 spring allows the food to flow into the crop. 
 Strange though it may seem, this system is no 
 more speedy than by the Hearson or Neve 
 crammers. Another form is that made by 
 Monsieur Voitellier. He has a rod running 
 the entire length of and above the cages, and 
 upon this rod is hung a vessel containing several 
 quarts of liquid food. The vessel is hung upon 
 the rod by means of a wheel, so that it moves 
 about freely. In the bottom of the food re- 
 servoir is a nozzle and indiarubber tube, at the 
 end of which latter there is fitted a spring nozzle 
 or tap similar to that just named. By means of 
 this the operator can move about freely from one 
 cage to another. Other forms of machines have 
 been adopted in France, but these are the latest, 
 and are chiefly employed. Some years ago a 
 huge revolving cage was introduced by one of 
 the French makers, and was exhibited at one of 
 the early Dairy Shows, where it awakened con- 
 siderable interest. Two of these are still, I 
 believe, in use at the Jardin d'Acclimatation, 
 Paris. But although accommodating 2 lo birds, 
 the cost (upwards of ;£'ioo) precludes their 
 general use, even if they offered any advantage, 
 which is questionable. 
 
 " The food employed is very important in 
 connection with the fattening of poultry, and it 
 will be seen in all cases that what is commonly 
 called soft food is used : that is, meal prepared 
 by mixing with some liquid into the consistency 
 necessary, according to the system adopted. 
 The reason for the use of meal is that when 
 
 so prepared it is much more easily digested 
 than whole grain. This is so in any case, 
 
 but grain is given to fowls that have 
 The Food. the opportunity of exercise, because 
 
 it lasts longer and is more sustain- 
 ing than the soft food. But to ensure successful 
 fattening it is essential that the birds shall be 
 kept in strict confinement, otherwise they would 
 not increase in weight nearly so rapidly, and 
 thus the organs of the body are not in the con- 
 dition to enable rapid assimilation of hard grain. 
 There is a great amount of difference in the 
 meals employed. In England the food chiefly 
 used for the purpose of fattening is what we call 
 ground oats; in Belgium they use generally 
 buckwheat-meal ; and in France buckwheat- 
 meal and barley-meal, with a small proportion 
 of Indian-meal in some districts. There is no 
 question that Indian-meal adds greatly to the 
 bulk of a bird put up for fattening, but it 
 forms yellow oily fat, which is very wasteful in 
 cooking ; and a bird fatted in this way is never 
 so nice in appearance as when the other foods 
 named are employed. ' 
 
 "All the meals mentioned above are good 
 for the pvujpose, but we think that ground' oats 
 stand first. These contain nearly 6 per cent, of 
 fat and a considerable amount of phosphates, 
 (see Analyses, p. 19), which have an influence in 
 
 making the flesh white, or bleaching 
 Ground Oats, it, and at the same time giving it 
 
 a good flavour. These ground oats 
 are prepared specially for the purpose, and 
 several millers in. the district around Tonbridge 
 lay themselves out specially for the preparation 
 of the meal. Up to the present time no makers 
 in any other part of the country seem to have 
 been able to prepare ground oats equal to those 
 produced in west Kent. I well remember many 
 years ago trying to grind oats as good as those 
 produced in the south of England. We used 
 the very finest Scotch oats that could be obtained, 
 and yet it seemed impossible to secure meal of 
 the desired fineness. Moreover, we could not 
 grind the husks, and therefore they were useless 
 for the purpose. The explanation is partly 
 found in the fact that the Kentish millers use 
 high grade stones, which are cut very sharp and 
 run very low ; hence the danger of fire is always _^ 
 greater, and the speed at which they can be run 
 is less than is necessary for the grinding of other 
 grains. But the chief point is in the class of 
 oats employed. English and Scotch oats, 
 though probably better than any kind met with 
 in the world for the making of oatmeal, contain 
 a considerable proportion of moisture, and thus 
 they clog the stones. Therefore the small, 
 hard, plump, fine-skinned Russian oats are used. 
 
io6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and it is upon them that the millers have_ to 
 depend. Ground oats are rather expensive, 
 and absolutely pure cannot be bought, even in 
 large quantities, much under £() los. to £\0 per 
 ton. The cheaper meals sold as ground oats 
 contain an admixture, generally of fine thirds. 
 One maker supplies a meal which I have proved 
 to be very excellent for the purpose, and this 
 contains one part ground oats, one part fine 
 barley meal, and one part fine Indian meal ; 
 and as it can be sold at about £6 los. to 
 £6 15s. per ton, it is extensively employed. 
 
 "Buckwheat meal is not quite so good as 
 ground oats, being rather low both in albumin- 
 oids and in fat, and therefore we do not expect 
 quite the same quality of flesh as the result 
 of fattening by it. In Belgium, where it is 
 generally employed, it is ground up very fine, 
 husks as well as the floury parts of the grain, 
 and I can quite conceive that for trough feeding 
 alone it is excellent, being rather sweet, thus 
 tempting the birds to eat more than they would 
 otherwise do. As already mentioned, both buck- 
 wheat meal and very finely sifted barley meal are 
 employed in France. The latter is not so good 
 as either ground oats or buckwheat neal, being 
 rather stimulating. When used it is always 
 very carefully sifted. I have found in one or 
 two parts of France where barley-meal is largely 
 employed for fattening, that with it was mixed 
 about a fourth of fine Indian-meal. In Russia 
 fatters use ground oats or oatmeal, buckwheat- 
 meal, and a meal made from millet seed ; but 
 many of the fatters in that country are com- 
 pelled to regard that which is cheapest, because 
 the price obtained for their birds is very low. 
 
 " Whilst much of the success in fattening is 
 due to the meal employed, the colour of the 
 flesh is largely determined by whether milk is 
 used or not, and the large amount of phosphates 
 in the solids of milk secures that 
 Milk. whiteness of flesh which is preferred 
 
 in European table poultry. In 
 England skim milk is generally used for this 
 purpose, and as a rule the milk is allowed to 
 sour before it is mixed with the meal. Why 
 this is done is somewhat difficult to explain, 
 and whether the system originated from actual 
 observation, or that it was more convenient 
 because the milk could be kept for use as 
 required, I cannot say. The theory is that the 
 acid generated in the milk in a sour state stimu- 
 lates the appetite, prevents sickness, and gives 
 a flavour to the flesh. Some doubt has been 
 thrown upon this of late, and the disadvantage 
 of that scouring which undoubtedly arises from 
 the use of sour milk has been pointed out. But 
 whether the same results can be obtained with 
 
 sweet milk as with sour has not been practically 
 tested, and is one of the problems that must be 
 left for future solution. In France skim milk is 
 employed, and generally sour ,- and in one dis- 
 trict I have visited they use the whey from the 
 curds. In Belgium buttermilk is preferred when " 
 it can be obtained. Although one may have an 
 open mind as to whether sweet or sour milk is 
 best, at the same time it is suggestive that in all 
 three countries named the same idea appears to 
 have been in the minds of fatters. The great 
 advantage in using either sour skim milk, 
 buttermilk, or whey from the curds, is that 
 what is to some extent a waste product can 
 be put to good purpose. 
 
 " During the last week to ten days of the 
 fattening process, that is, durir^ the time that 
 the birds are in the sheds, it is customary to add 
 a proportion of fat to the food with a view of 
 
 increasing the weight of the birds. 
 Fat. If whole milk were employed fat 
 
 would not be needed, but when 
 skim milk is used because the butter fat in the 
 milk would be too valuable for this work, then 
 other fat should be added. In some places 
 butchers' suet or scrap fat is bought, clarified, 
 and then kept in barrels for the purpose. As a 
 rule, however, it is found much cheaper to buy 
 the fat which comes over from America, and 
 which can be purchased dt about one penny per 
 pound. The quantity usually added varies con- 
 siderably. It is customary during the first day 
 or two after fat is added to give only a small 
 quantity, say a quarter of a pound per diem for 
 every twenty birds. But this . is gradually 
 increased until each bird is getting half an ounce 
 of fat per day. The fat should be melted and 
 mixed with the soft food. This must be properly 
 done, otherwise it will come out in lumps. 
 
 " The method adopted in preparing food for 
 fattening does not vary to any great extent As 
 a rule, it is found desirable to mix the food with 
 milk a few hours before it is intended to be used, 
 allowing it to stand ; during this time a slight 
 
 fermentation takes place, which it 
 Methods jg claimed assists the process of 
 
 Feeding. fattening to a considerable extent. 
 
 In Sussex it is usual to mix the food 
 for the next meal as soon as the morning or 
 evening meal respectively has been given. In 
 this country the birds are only fed twice a day, 
 as early as possible in the morning, and, in the 
 evening, about an hour before dark. Of course, 
 the exact hours are determined by the season of 
 the year. Whatever times, however, are chosen 
 should be adhered to. If seven o'clock in the 
 morning and six in the evening are adopted — 
 and these would be very suitable during the 
 
FASTING AND KILLING. 
 
 107 
 
 spring and autumn — such birds as have com- 
 menced to fatten at these hours should "be 
 finished without variation. In one or two places 
 on the Continent I have found that the fowls 
 are fed three times a day, but this is exceptional, 
 and there appears to be no advantge whatever 
 in doing so. When the food is given either 
 from the funnel or by the crammer, the 
 operator feels the crop of the bird before 
 feeding, and if food remains therein from the 
 previous meal it is usual not to give any at all 
 that time. This would be a sufficient sign to 
 an expert crammer that the bird was unable to 
 assimilate the quantity which he had previously 
 given., As a rule, fatters can gauge to a nicety 
 the amount of food which birds can assimilate, 
 and much of the success of the work will depend 
 upon judgment in this direction. Of course, 
 with trough feeding it is not at all important, 
 because the birds themselves will not eat unless 
 they are hungry. 
 
 " It is frequently found during the process 
 that fowls appear a little sickly, and go off" their 
 food. When this is so, it, is useless continuing 
 the process. If they are fairly well fatted, the 
 wisest thing is to fast them at once and kill; 
 but during the earlier stages the usual plan is 
 to remove such birds from the pens, put them 
 into an outside run for a day or two, giving 
 them very little food and that hard corn, and 
 when they have recovered they may then be 
 returned to the pens for fattening. In the 
 warmer months of the year a difficulty frequently 
 arises, due to the blood of the birds becoming 
 heated, as a result, of course, of the artificial 
 conditions under which they are living. To 
 prevent this many fatters add a little flowers 
 of sulphur to the food, nothing more than a 
 mere sprinkling or dusting ; but the best thing 
 for this purpose is to boil nettles, chop them 
 fine, and mix them, with the liquid in which 
 they have been boiled, in the food. Some fat- 
 ters do this regularly as a matter of course, 
 finding it very beneficial indeed in keeping the 
 birds in a healthy state. , 
 
 " When it is determined that the birds shall ' 
 be killed, they should have no food whatever for 
 at least twenty-four hours before an end is put 
 to their existence. In all districts where the 
 production of table poultry is carried 
 Fasting quj systematically, such a plan is 
 
 KiiUi^. adopted, but in districts where the 
 
 work is not so thoroughly under- 
 stood, there is great neglect as to this precaution. 
 With larger stock it is always carried out by the 
 best feeders. Many people imagine that it must 
 be a cruel thing to keep any bird or animal with- 
 out food for such a length of time, but there is 
 
 no cruelty whatever involved. The fact is that 
 a well-fatted specimen could live for a week 
 upon its food reserves without any positive 
 cruelty. The reasons for fasting previous to kill- 
 ing are obvious, and need only be mentioned. 
 In the first place, starving ensures that the crop 
 and intestines shall be emptied of food. In 
 some districts where this precaution is not 
 carried out we see birds exhibited for sale with 
 crops full of food, and decomposition takes 
 place. very speedily, reducing the value of the 
 birds considerably. Therefore, upon this ground 
 alone the recommendation is one which ought 
 always to be insisted upon. It is a recognised 
 fact that birds starved in this manner will keep 
 much longer than if the food remains in the 
 crop and intestines. Secondly, the flesh of 
 fowls so fasted eats much better. It is less liable 
 to hardness, and we suppose that the arrestation 
 of the process of digestion and assimilation has 
 some influence upon the flesh throughout the 
 body. What that influence is, however, has 
 never been satisfactorily determined. A further 
 point in this connection is that a fowl so starved 
 is much more easily drawn, and certainly is not 
 nearly so offensive during the operation. If 
 people take the trouble to draw two birds, one 
 which has been fasted and the other not, they 
 will be surprised at the difference between the 
 two. In the latter case the intestines are moist, 
 ^nd do not come away cleanly, whilst in the 
 former they are dry and compact. We cannot 
 too strongly impress upon those who are pre- 
 paring fowls for sale, that this question of 'pre- 
 vious fasting is of very great importance. 
 
 " In all countries where birds are fatted they 
 are never sent alive to market, but killed where 
 they are fatted. At one time, in many districts, 
 there was considerable opposition on the part of 
 poulterers to this system. They preferred to 
 buy the birds alive, and kill them as required, 
 which can*be understood where the demand for 
 poultry is small. Such a plan, however, causes a 
 large amount of the gain from fattening to be 
 lost. To send away fatted birds alive in crates, 
 exposing them to cold and draughts, and stop- 
 ping the regular supply of food, causes a re- 
 action, and it has been found, as a matter of 
 practical experience, that a bird will lose in 
 twenty-four hours as much flesh as can be 
 added in a week. Poulterers in various parts 
 of the country who sell fine specimens now 
 generally understand this, and the difficulty re- 
 ferred to has been felt less of late years than 
 formerly. All the fatted birds produced in 
 Surrey, Sussex, and west Kent, and in the 
 best districts of France and Belgium, are killed 
 upon the spot and marketed dead. 
 
io8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 " The methods of killing vary considerably, 
 and some of them are very objectionable. The 
 plan usually followed in this country is disloca- 
 tion of the neck. When swiftly and properly- 
 carried out, there can be no more humane 
 
 method. The operator holds the 
 Killing. bird by the two legs and gathers 
 
 the ends of the wings in the same 
 hand; thus the bird is unable to struggle. When 
 so held the back should be upwards. He now 
 takes the head 'between the first and second 
 'fingers of the right hand, the comb lying in 
 the palm and the fingers closing upon the neck 
 immediately behind the head. The neck is 
 drawn by the right hand to its full length, the 
 head thrown slightly back, and by a sharp but 
 not too vigorous pull the vertebral column is 
 broken, the neck thrown fully out immediately 
 behind the head, the veins and nerves torn right 
 across. Such a system ensures but momentary 
 pain in killing, because, as the brain is the centre 
 of all feeling, separation from the rest of the 
 body means immediate cessation of feeling. 
 When properly done it will be found that there 
 is a break in the column of the neck of about an 
 inch to an inch and a half, the head being con- 
 nected with the neck only by the outer skin, 
 which should not, of course, be torn in any way. 
 In some parts of this country it is customary 
 to cut the throat, and this is a very effective 
 method, but, for reasons afterwards explained, 
 there are objections to this system, which, how- 
 ever, is adopted almost entirely in Belgium. 
 Certainly the appearance of birds in Belgian 
 shops and markets compares very unfavourably 
 with specimens in our own country, as they lie 
 upon the slabs with an open gash in, and the blood 
 marks conspicuous upon the throat. In France 
 there are two methods chiefly in vogue. One is 
 known as the system of paletting. In this case 
 a special knife is used for the purpose, with a 
 long narrow blade sharpened on both sides. 
 The bird is tied by the legs and wings, laid 
 ■down upon a table or block, back downwards, 
 the mouth is opened, and the point of the knife 
 is inserted into the slit which is found in the 
 roof of a bird's mouth ; it is then forced right 
 through the brain to the back of the skull. 
 When properly and firmly carried out this system 
 is a very excellent one, as the piercing of the 
 brain causes paralysis, and practically destroys 
 the sense of feeling. I fear, however, that a 
 good deal of cruelty arises from this method. 
 In many cases, instead of forcing the knife right 
 through the brain, it simply penetrates the 
 frontal part of the skull, and does not effect the 
 purpose; in fact, the bird simply bleeds to 
 death. In the La Bresse country I saw a system 
 
 carried out which appeared to me to be very cruel 
 indeed. The birds were hung up by the legs to 
 wires stretched across the killing room, and the 
 operator — who, by the way, was a woman — 
 opened the mouth, inserted a pair of scissors, 
 and simply cut the veins of the roof of the 
 mouth in a transverse direction. The birds 
 flapped their wings, and it was certainly a con- 
 siderable time before they were dead. When I 
 objected to the method, it was stated as a reason 
 for its adoption that the flesh came so much 
 whiter when the blood was drained in this 
 manner from the body, and that the flapping of 
 wings had the effect of causing the blood to flow 
 more freely. There can be no question whatever 
 that a bled bird looks better than one in which 
 the blood remains in the veins, but where a 
 large number of birds are to be killed and 
 plucked, the flying about of the blood is not 
 only objectionable so far as appearance is con- 
 cerned, but at the same time, if plucking takes 
 place immediately it has the effect of spoiling 
 the feathers, and this is an important point, as in 
 Sussex it is generally considered that the feathers 
 obtained from a fowl should pay the cost of 
 killing and plucking. Up to the present time I 
 have not yet met with any plan which would 
 get rid of the blood speedily from the body 
 without running a danger of loss in this way ; 
 and the system of dislocatirig the neck appears, 
 taking it all round, to be the least objectionable, 
 and to drain the body of blood to a very large 
 extent. If in plucking the operator holds the 
 bird in a proper manner, the head is hanging 
 downwards, and thus the blood is draining into 
 the space between the head and the neck. This 
 system appears the most cleanly, and to give 
 the best results, considering the matter in all 
 its bearings. One of the most objectionable 
 methods of killing which I have ever seen is by 
 hanging, by reason of the fact that this causes 
 suffusion of blood all over the body, and 
 when the bird is plucked the flesh is perfectly 
 red, I should be very sorry indeed to eat a 
 bird killed in this manner. 
 
 "Plucking the fowls is more easily carried 
 out if the operation takes place immediately the 
 bird is dead, and whilst the body is still warm. 
 It is frequently objected, by reason of the mus- 
 cular action which is observed in a bird imme- 
 diately after death, that it must be 
 Plucking. suffering pain ; but upon this point 
 I have the support of the best 
 veterinary authorities in the country, including 
 Sir George Brown, of the Board of Agriculture, 
 that it is impossible for the bird to have any 
 sense of feeling after the brain is severed from 
 the rest of the body. Hence we need have no 
 
PLUCKING AND STUBBING. 
 
 109. 
 
 qualms of conscience upon that score. If, how- 
 ever, it is impossible to pluck the birds as soon 
 as they are dead, then they should be allowed 
 to become quite cold before the work is carried 
 out, for it is found that the flesh of a bird is 
 much more liable to tear when it is half cold 
 than when either warm or entirely cold. The 
 best method of pluckiag is to have a seat about 
 20 inches in height, the operator sitting there- 
 on, holding the bird by the legs and the wings, 
 as already described for the process of killing, 
 the head hanging downwards in front of or 
 between the legs. By so doing it will at once 
 be seen that the blood, during the time the bird 
 is cooling, is draining away to the neck, whereas 
 it would not be so if the bird were head upwards. 
 The operator plucks the feathers the reverse 
 way to that in which they lie upon the body, 
 and the position named enables him to do so 
 with ease. He should start upon the back, 
 taking hold of several feathers between the 
 thumb and forefinger of, say, the right hand, 
 and, giving a sharp pull downwards, they come 
 out quite easily. Of course, the knack of- pull- 
 ing the feathers only comes by experience ; 
 there is a way of drawing them as described, 
 sufficiently sharp to take them out clean without 
 tearing the skin. When the back has been 
 denuded the bird is turned round and the breast 
 treated in the same fashion. By this time all 
 convulsive movements will have quieted, and 
 thus it is not iiecessary to hold both legs and 
 wings, in fact it may be held by one leg. When 
 the breast and under parts have been completely 
 plucked, and the neck up to within two inches 
 of the head, each leg should be taken in turn, 
 held straight upwards by the shank, and if the 
 operator will close his finger and thumb around 
 the shank and run them sharply down the thigh 
 a large number of the feathers will come out, 
 the others being plucked in the usual way. 
 The wings may now be taken, the small feathers 
 drawn in the ordinary way, but the flight feathers 
 must be plucked either two or three at the same 
 time, gathering them between the fingers. These 
 require a sharp pull, given with a backward 
 tendency. Of course, the tail feathers must be 
 completely drawn also. The plucking of a fowl 
 takes a shorter time to accomplish than to 
 describe, and the regular rate in Sussex is about 
 twelve in the hour ; but I have known a turkey 
 completely and beautifully plucked in less than 
 four minutes, though, of course, this speed could 
 not be maintained for a long period. The chief 
 points in plucking are : First, that it shall be 
 done immediately the bird is killed ; second, 
 that the operator shall draw the feathers the 
 reverse way to that in which they lie, with a 
 
 sharp pull, yet not sufficient to tear the skin ; 
 third, that the process shall be carried out as 
 expeditiously as possible. The reason why 
 feathers are left on near the head is simply to 
 cover up the broken part of the neck, and also 
 that the bird presents a rather better appear- 
 ance than if plucked completely up to the 
 throat. 
 
 " In some districts it is customary to dip the 
 bird in boiling water before plucking, and there 
 is no doubt that this makes the feathers come 
 out much more easily, but it is objectionable for 
 other reasons, if the specimens are to be exposed 
 
 for sale. Scalding does no harm if 
 Scalding. it is intended to cook the birds at 
 
 once ; but if this is not the case it 
 gives them a soft, flabby appearance, which 
 reduces considerably their value upon the market. 
 Moreover, there is no need for scalding, provided 
 that the birds are plucked whilst they are wajrm. 
 "During certain periods of the year it is found 
 that there are a large number of what are called 
 stub feathers remaining on the body after the 
 fowls have been plucked, and these must be 
 
 removed. To do so, however, is a 
 stubbing somewhat tedious process, because 
 
 Singeing. it cannot be done by the fingers 
 
 alone. In the poultry districts, as a 
 rule, women are specially employed for the work 
 of stubbing, and they are pretty well paid, 
 frequently receiving a penny per bird. The 
 best method is to have a short knife, pass it 
 under each feather, grip the feather upon the 
 knife with the thumb, and draw it out sharply ; 
 but fatters as far as possible try to avoid kill- 
 ing birds in this stage, although, of course, it is 
 impossible to do so entirely. All fowls, even 
 when in the best condition, are found to be 
 covered with a large number of fine hairs, and 
 the removal of these makes a very great differ- 
 ence to the appearance, in fact, frequently 
 explaining why some specimens look so much 
 cleaner and nicer than do others. To get rid of 
 these the bird should be singed. This is a 
 simple operation, yet one which requires a little 
 care. Some people use paper, but it is apt to 
 make too much smoke, and the best thing for 
 the purpose is straw. A small heap of straw 
 should be made and lighted. At first it will 
 burn with a thick smoke, but as soon as fairly 
 alight there will be a clear flame. The operator 
 then takes the bird by the head in one hand and 
 the feet in the other, and passes it through the 
 flame, turning it over in so doing, by which 
 means it is entirely denuded of the fine hairs 
 named. Unless care is taken, however, the pro- 
 cess would have the effect of blackening or 
 burning the skin, causing it to shrivel ; but that 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of 
 Feathers. 
 
 can be avoided by rapid movements, as proved 
 by the Surrey fowls which come upon our great 
 markets. 
 
 " Before leaving this part of the question 
 a few words may be said with regard to the 
 feathers. I have made inquiries of several 
 feather merchants and find that they do not 
 in any way depend upon our English supplies, 
 in fact they prefer to purchase foreign 
 feathers, because they can obtain 
 them more regularly and prepared 
 in a proper manner. It is true, of 
 course, that fatters sell the feathers, but where 
 they go to is a little difficult to say, and in fact 
 we do not appear to have any firms in this 
 country who treat feathers in the same way as 
 is the case in Russia and Germany. The com- 
 plaints which are made by merchants with 
 regard to our home feathers are that the pro-, 
 ducers do not separate the different sizes. If 
 they would do this, grading them according to 
 size and texture, it would be to their advantage. 
 What is meant is that the fine feathers on the 
 under parts of the body should be kept distinct 
 from the coarser feathers on the back, and 
 certainly from the wing feathers. I suppose that 
 what is really wanted is someone to commence 
 a feather factory in the districts where the largest 
 quantities are produced, and to show that more 
 care would mean better returns. Even when 
 properly separated, there is a considerable 
 difference in the value. The best qualities of 
 feathers can be sold at 3jd. to 4d. per lb., but 
 the preference is given to white. The wing and 
 tail feathers are difficult to dispose of, and the 
 price obtainable for them is very low. If 
 stripped and the quills entirely removed, they 
 may be mixed with those from the body in 
 small quantities. All classes of feathers should 
 be kept free from dust and dirt, be packed in 
 clean sacks, and sent to the merchants whilst 
 fresh. 
 
 " The next step after plucking is the shaping 
 of the fowls, and here there are various systems 
 in vogue. That adopted in this country is 
 simple and very effective. For this purpose 
 a shaping board or trough is made, in size 
 according to the requirements of 
 Shaping. the fatter. The shape of this 
 
 trough varies considerably, but they 
 all appear to have the same effect. Some of the 
 fatters prefer shaping-boards in which the 
 troughs are made V-Shaped, as shown in the 
 illustration, whilst in others the back board is 
 perfectly vertical and the front board is at an 
 angle of about forty-five degrees. So far as I 
 have been able to see, neither form has any 
 distinct advantage over the other, both serving 
 
 the purpose equally well. These troughs are 
 made from 2 feet to 3 feet in length, and often 
 arranged in two or three tiers. Usually the 
 back board is narrower than the front, 5 inches 
 for the former and 6 inches for the latter being 
 a regular size. They are very cheaply made 
 and serve a life-time. When the birds have 
 been plucked and singed they are first loosely 
 tied at the hocks, so as to allow sufficient play 
 at the posterior end of the sternum for the 
 legs to lie at either side of the breast, the legs 
 and feet are now bent downwards at each side 
 of the breast, and the wings folded so as to 
 lie flat against the breast in front. The bird 
 is now held in the two hands, and it is custom- 
 ary to press the stern against a flat board 
 or wall, to force in 
 the breast by press- 
 ing it hard against 
 the operator's thigh, 
 and if it is a round- 
 backed bird, to press 
 in the backbone by 
 the two thumbs, then 
 to lay the bird in the 
 shaping board, breast 
 downwards, the head 
 hanging over the 
 front. The stern will 
 rest against the back 
 board, and the keel 
 lie on the front 
 board, so that any 
 pressure from above 
 will be upon the 
 keel and not upon the legs or feet, as these 
 are really out of the way. Each trough should 
 be filled tightly with birds, and it is better 
 if they are as near as possible of the same 
 size. As the trough is filled, a board, about 
 4 inches in width, is laid along the backs, 
 fitting easily between the upright ends. This 
 is heavily weighted, sometimes two 56 lbs. 
 weights being used to about a dozen fowls. The 
 birds are allowed to remain in the shaping board 
 for six or eight hours as the case may be, and if 
 placed therein whilst warm, it is remarkable 
 what a difference the pressure makes to their 
 appearance when taken out, as they then show 
 that square shape which is characteristic of fowls 
 prepared in the Sussex fashion. Of course, a 
 fat fowl will always come out better than a lean 
 one, and in fact the system is not of much use 
 except the birds have been properly fatted. 
 But when so dealt with it is found that the flesh 
 is forced upwards on to the breast, that the body 
 is contracted, and any air or gas inside expelled, 
 whilst in appearance there is a very distinct 
 
 Fig. 65. — Shaping Trough. 
 
SHAPING AND MARKETING. 
 
 gain, and, of course, the look of an article goes a 
 long way in our markets. An important point 
 is that the shaping board should, during warm 
 weather, be in a cool place, otherwise the body 
 heat will to some extent be retained. If that 
 is so, when packed the birds ' sweat/ and early 
 decomposition is induced. 
 
 " The systems of shaping abroad vary con- 
 siderably, but it is not necessary to deal with 
 them here at any length, for the reason that they 
 are scarcely likely to be adopted in this country, 
 and we do not see that there would be any gain 
 in so doing. In Normandy flat single boards 
 are used, about the length and breadth of the 
 fowl to be placed thereon, and these boards are 
 fitted with a row of three or four pegs or nails 
 at either side. With them are employed pieces 
 of fine linen cloth, fitted with tapes correspond- 
 ing to the pegs referred to. When the bird is 
 plucked it is laid breast downwards upon this 
 board, pads of straw or paper being placed under 
 the crop and below the tail respectively, to keep 
 it level, then the cloth is tied tightly down over 
 the back by fastening the tapes to the pegs. 
 When this is done it is usually soused with 
 cold water, and the cloth is kept damp 
 with milk. The system practically gives the 
 same results as the Sussex method, but the latter 
 is much simpler, though the milk and cloth 
 undoubtedly whiten the flesh and smooth the 
 skin of French fowls. In the La Bresse district 
 a very different method is adopted, and one 
 which is peculiar to that centre. For this pur- 
 pose two cloths are employed. The bird is 
 wrapped in fine linen which is dipped in skim 
 milk, and then is further enveloped in a strong 
 piece of canvas, which is either stitched, or laced 
 up by means of eyelet holes in the canvas. The 
 shape of the cloth- is broad at the stern and 
 narrowing gradually to the neck. The feet, 
 legs, and wings are forced into the flesh, and 
 when the bird is taken out of the cloths, if the 
 head were removed it would have the appear- 
 ance of a small sugar loaf rather than a fowl. 
 Here again the effect of the cloth dipped in milk 
 is to whiten and smooth the flesh, whilst the 
 texture of the linen gives a grain to the skin 
 which is very pleasing. In Belgium the shaping 
 is certainly unique, but it is not to be recom-| 
 mended for that reason. The birds are simply 
 squeezed flat ;, and in many cases, were it not 
 for the head and neck, they would not look like 
 fowls at all. 
 
 "This leads us to the consideration of the 
 practice of breaking the breastbone, a system 
 which unfortunately is carried out to a consider- 
 able extent by poulterers in this country. The 
 work is often very carelessly done, and there 
 
 is no need whatever for this breaking of the 
 breastbone, nor does it deceive anyone. Fre- 
 quently, as a result, the meat upon the breast is 
 cracked right across, and in carving falls into 
 two pieces. A fowl which is not sufficiently 
 improved by the system of shaping already 
 described can never be a good fowl, and every- 
 one, both producers and consumers, ought to set 
 their faces rigidly against the system of breaking 
 the breastbone. What appears to be most 
 required in connection with the finer preparation 
 of fowls, is that the system of shaping shall 
 be introduced throughout the country ; and, 
 further, if fatters would take the trouble to 
 wrap their birds in cloths dipped in milk when 
 placing them in the shaping board, it would 
 have a wonderful effect upon the appearance of 
 the specimens. 
 
 " The method of packing varies considerably, 
 and there is no special advantage in one mode 
 over another, provided that certain points be 
 carefully observed. In Sussex the fatters use 
 what are called ' pads ' ; these are made of light 
 laths fitted into a frame, and the 
 Packing. inside lined with thin strips of wood. 
 
 These certainly carry the birds 
 firmly, but many fatters prefer baskets or ham- 
 pers, and so long as the packing is well carried 
 out either one or the other is equally satisfactory. 
 The baskets should be lined out with straw or 
 wood wool, and the birds firmly packed therein, 
 so that they will not move about. The package 
 must be completely filled up, otherwise there is 
 great danger of barking or breaking the skin. 
 In many cases producers lose money because 
 they do not carry out this part of the work 
 satisfactorily. 
 
 " In the south-east of England the market- 
 ing of the fowls is organised most completely. 
 At Heathfield, Uckfield, and elsewhere are 
 carriers who regularly visit the fatters, receive 
 the packages, convey them to the station, con- 
 sign them to the salesmen, and in many cases 
 receive the money and pay it over 
 , Marketing. to the respective senders. At one 
 time, before the railway period, 
 ivaggons used to leave every night for London, 
 but now the packages are sent by rail, and 
 usually the cost of cartage and of railway 
 carriage does not exceed one penny per bird. 
 The importance of this industry is recognised 
 by the railway companies, who provide special 
 accommodation for it. Some time ago the rates 
 were raised, but a threat was made that the old 
 carrier system would be again introduced, and 
 as a result prices dropped to their old point. 
 
 "The method of disposal usually followed 
 is to consign these fowls to London salesmen, 
 
112 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and on the whole this works satisfactorily. Of 
 course complaints are frequently made, but it 
 must be recognised that salesmen can frequently 
 obtain better prices from poulterers than could 
 the fatters themselves, by reason of the fact that 
 they grade tlie birds in accordance with the 
 requirements of buyers, which would scarcely 
 be possible as a general rule amongst the fatters. 
 This is a point, however, which it is beyond my 
 province to discuss. 
 
 "Both at home and abroad large numbers 
 of fowls, are sold under the name of capons, and 
 these command the highest prices. In France 
 we see quoted capons and poulardes,but the latter 
 term is not met with in our own country. It is 
 
 necessary, before saying anything as 
 Capons. to the system, to consider what these 
 
 terms really mean. The system of 
 caponising, that is, destroying the reproductive 
 faculty, has been carried out for several centuries, 
 and, .so far as evidence, is obtainable, was prac- 
 tised to a considerable extent two or three cen- 
 turies ago, but it must be recognised that the 
 word has now largely lost its old meaning. 
 What are called Surrey capons have not, as a 
 .rule, undergone the operation, but are simply 
 large and more fully grown birds, distinct from 
 what are called chickens. Although some doubt 
 has been thrown upon the statement, there is no 
 question that large numbers of cockerels are 
 caponised in France, but probably not to the 
 same extent as was formerly the case. In 
 America it would appear that of late years the 
 practice has increased, but I am inclined to think 
 that everywhere only a small proportion of the 
 dead fowls which go under this name, either at 
 home or abroad, can legitimately be designated 
 as capons. The term poularde has no real 
 meaning. At one time it would appear that in 
 France it was customary to a limited extent to 
 destroy the ovaries of pullets, with the same 
 object in view, but I have been unable to find 
 that this is now practised, at all. Speaking 
 generally, we may therefore assume that all 
 large, well-grown fowls of either sex, when 
 given the designation mentioned, are chiefly 
 matured specimens, and that these names are 
 used in the same way as is mutton in contra- 
 distinction to lamb, to indicate the a:ge of the 
 animal from which it is obtained. The value 
 of caponising, however, we cannot ignore. All 
 the evidence to be obtained goes to show that 
 the effect of the operation is a beneficial one 
 so far as the quality of meat is concerned, and 
 fowls treated in this manner retain the tender- 
 ness of chickens for a much longer period than 
 would be the case under natural conditions. 
 But there is a further advantage, especially in 
 
 the case of cockerels. Everyone" who has had 
 any experience with the rearing of fowls in 
 large numbers knows the difficulties arising 
 in keeping cockerels, and upon that ground 
 alone there would be sufficient justification for 
 the adoption of this system. Where oper- 
 ations are upon a smaller scale, and especially 
 in establishments where enclosed runs are em- 
 ployed, it is not at all difficult to keep the 
 cockerels altogether apart from the hens and 
 pullets. This, however, is not so upon farms, 
 where the birds have liberty, and many com- 
 plaints have been made as to the trouble arising 
 in this way. The principle is one that is re- 
 cognised in the case of larger stock. It would 
 be an impossible thing to keep a considerable 
 number of young bulls upon a farm, and hence 
 they are castrated at an early age. Whether 
 the process is a paying one must depend upon 
 many things, chiefly whether demand can be 
 obtained for large birds in the autumn months 
 of the year, at prices giving an adequate return 
 for the food and labour expended in keeping 
 them right through the summer. 
 
 " Caponising is of no use whatever for 
 chickens, and should be only employed when it 
 is intended to keep the birds until they are 
 eight or ten months old before killing. A 
 chicken would be in fit condition for fattening 
 about the time when the operation should take 
 place. The effect of this operation is to retard 
 the growth, but at the same time to prolong it ; 
 and although some experiments have been made 
 in America at the Rhode Island Experiment 
 Station which did not warrant the statement 
 that capons ultimately make larger birds during 
 the first year, there is ample evidence on the 
 other side. In France there is a very large sale 
 for birds immediately before the beginning of 
 Lent, as Shrove Tuesday takes the place of 
 our Christmas feast to some extent. For that 
 festival fowls are in considerable demand, and, 
 as these must be nearly twelve months old, it 
 is found that the capons make much the finer 
 birds, larger in size and better in meat qualities. 
 Many people imagine that young birds may be 
 caponised and marketed within a few weeks. 
 This is an absolute mistake, and it will be found 
 that such capons would be less profitable than if 
 fed and sold off as cockerels. There can be no 
 question that the operation is one which requires 
 skill and care, but the amount of pain is very 
 small, and, as a rule, birds suffer a comparatively 
 small amount of inconvenience. In the La 
 Bresse district of France, at certain seasons of 
 the year people — chiefly women — go round to 
 the various farms and undertake the work of 
 caponising at so much a bird, usually, I believe, 
 
CAPONS AND CAPONISING. 
 
 113 
 
 about 20 centimes. When skilfully carried out 
 the loss by death ' is very small, and I have 
 known those who did not lose more than 2 per 
 cent, in this way. Taking all things into con- 
 sideration, it must be acknowledged, however, 
 that the chief value of caponising is found in the 
 ability to retain male birds for killing in the 
 autumn without keeping them in confinement. 
 The gain in weight probably does not make any 
 great difference so far as actual profit is con- 
 cerned. 
 
 "The period at which the birds shall be 
 
 operated upon will depend upon the breed, as 
 
 some mature much earlier than do others. 
 
 ' A few breeds, such as the non-sitting varieties, 
 
 which are rapid in growth, should 
 Caponising. > be operated upon when about ten 
 
 weeks old, but others of the slower 
 developing breeds will not be ready until six 
 weeks later. The best guide is when the comb 
 just begins to spring, showing that the organs 
 are coming into activity. It is usually the case 
 that cockerels commence to crow at this period, 
 and this also may be taken as an indication of 
 the right time for caponising having arrived. 
 When selected, the bird should be kept without 
 food for about thirty-six hours, in order that the 
 intestines may be entirely emptied. A proper 
 set of instruments should always be used, 
 which can be purchased from such firms as 
 Spratt's Patent at los. 6d. the case. These 
 instruments include a knife, a pair of spreaders 
 for the purpose of holding open the cut, and a 
 pair of grippers by which the organs are seized 
 and wrested from their connections. For this 
 work it is desirable to have a good firm table, 
 or if a barrel is placed end upwards and a 
 square board laid on top, it answers the pur- 
 pose excellently. The table or barrel should be 
 placed where there is a good light, otherwise, 
 when the cut is made, we cannot see the position 
 of the organs very easily. An American writer 
 recommends placing a small mirror on the fore- 
 head, and states that by this means he can 
 operate even upon a dull day, but I am inclined 
 to think that this is an exaggeration. Two 
 pieces of soft cord about 3 ft. in length, and 
 also a couple of half-bricks as weights, a sponge, 
 and a bowl of cold water are required.! A 
 running loop should be made at either end of 
 the cords, and to each cord is attached by rneans 
 of one loop the weight named. The loop of one 
 of these cords is slipped around both legs of the 
 bird by the middle joint, and the vacant loop 
 upon the other cord is placed around both wings 
 close up to the body. The bird is then laid 
 upon its side with the back towards the operator, 
 and so soon as the .weights are passed over the 
 
 end of the table or board, hanging down at 
 either side, the bird will be held firmly and 
 cannot struggle or move ; thus the operator can 
 handle it with the greatest of ease. As a rule, 
 I have found that birds treated in this manner 
 do not attempt to move. The operator now 
 plucks some of the feathers from the side, im- 
 mediately in front of the thigh, from the ribs 
 down to the breast. The sponge dipped in 
 water is used for wetting the feathers around 
 the bare place made, thus keeping them out 
 of the way, and it also has the effect of 
 numbing the flesh of the bird. The fingers of 
 the left hand must find the first and second 
 ribs, and a cut is made with the knife between 
 them, from the back downwards to the end of 
 the ribs. If this is properly done, immediately 
 there is a spreading of the skin and thin layer 
 of flesh, greatly assisting the operator. The 
 spreader is now placed between the ribs, and 
 the bent ends of the steel of which it is made 
 grip the ribs, drawing them also apart and 
 leaving an orifice of quite an inch. The first 
 thing seen inside is a very thin skin or mem- 
 brane, which has to be split by the point of 
 the knife. When this is done the testicle will 
 be seen immediately below, but close up to the 
 backbone. It is of the shape of a bean, varying, 
 of course, in size with the age of the bird. The 
 reason why it would not be wise to operate toe 
 early is, that this would be so small that it would 
 be scarcely noticeable, growing with increased 
 age. The usual course is to insert the grippers, 
 pass them around the organ, taking hold of the 
 ligature by which it is attached to the other 
 parts of the body. When this is done a sharp 
 twist detaches it. If larger, I have found that 
 frequently it can be removed more easily by 
 the finger and thumb. It is necessary to take 
 care that it is not lost, otherwise serious com- 
 plications would arise. So soon as all has been 
 done on one side, the bird is turned over and 
 the process repeated on the other. There are 
 some who prefer to operate upon both organs 
 from the same side, but I have never found this 
 so easy or expeditious as making another 
 cut. After the operation, as no stitching is 
 required, the bird is released, and should be 
 placed in a large shed or house, well littered 
 with straw, but with no perches ; and it is a 
 very wise plan to give it a good feed of soft 
 food immediately, as of course it will be very 
 hungry, having been starved previously. It 
 should remain in this place for about a week, 
 but as a rule, in three days it will be found that 
 the cuts have closed up and healed. Such, 
 briefly described, is the method of caponising ; 
 but all those who intend to practise it should 
 
114 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 receive at least one practical lesson, and then 
 experiment at first upon dead fowls, in order 
 to learn the exact position of the various organs. 
 
 " In some of the countries of Western Europe 
 during the spring months of the year a limited 
 amount of trade is done in what are termed 
 petits poussins or poulets au lait, or 'milk 
 chickens.' These birds range from a month to 
 eight weeks old, and vary in weight from 8 oz. 
 to 12 bz. They are dressed in the same way 
 as a pheasant, and each guest is 
 Milk Chickens, served with the whole bird. For 
 such small birds during the London 
 season the demand is fair, but there does 
 not appear any tendency to increase, and, in 
 fact, it is probably not so great as a few years 
 ago, when the dish was fashionable. Still there 
 is a limited market' for really good specimens 
 at excellent prices, but it is not a branch of the 
 poultry industry which is capable of great de- 
 velopment. In France the sale of these birds is 
 much greater, and large quantities are produced 
 in the department of Seine-et-Oise. But in all 
 questions of this kind we must consider the 
 different habits of the people, and French dishes 
 are prepared with less meat and more accessories 
 than is the case in this country. The price 
 varies in accordance with the quality, but i^ to 
 2 francs is paid for ordinary specimens, better 
 birds reaching 3 and 4 francs. In London such 
 birds sell at from is. 6d. to 2s. 6d. each. A 
 large number of 'Cassz poulets au lait are sold in 
 Belgium, and it is a special industry undertaken 
 by a few persons, who are very skilful in bring- 
 ing them forward. Many of the Belgian birds 
 are killed, a little larger than is the case in 
 England and France, but some are very small 
 and dainty. ' In England the sale of these birds 
 is between Easter and the beginning of July, 
 and it is a purely rnetropolitan trade, but in 
 both France and Belgium the season is some- 
 what longer. 
 
 "For producing the best quality of milk 
 chickens it is necessary to have a quick-growing, 
 light-boned fowl, and at the same time one 
 which by habits and temperament is suitable for 
 the restriction necessary. It has been found 
 that crosses between the Indian Game and the 
 Dorking, or the Houdan, make plump, fleshy 
 birds at four to six weeks old, and the Buff 
 Orpington is also very useful for this purpose. 
 In France the petits poussins are chiefly Fave- 
 rolles. At one time the Houdan was chiefly 
 depended upon, but the greater vigour of the 
 Faverolle, and the fact that they have to a 
 very large extent taken the place of Houdans, 
 explains why it is that birds of this class are 
 so strongly in evidence. It is to the Belgians, 
 
 however, that we owe the most advanced know- 
 ledge upon this part of poultry culture. Instead 
 of depending chiefly upon what are known as 
 the table class of poultry for the production of 
 poulets au lait, the breeders of that country find 
 that the non-sitters give better specimens at an 
 early age. For one thing they are lighter in 
 bone, but the chief reason is that they are much 
 more rapid in growth, maturing at a very early 
 age. It is well known to breeders that the 
 combs of the non-sitting varieties spring much 
 sooner than is the case with any other class of 
 fowl, that the chickens are very precocious, and 
 that development is quick. Such has been our 
 experience with Leghorns and breeds of the 
 same class. At the Poultry Conference held at 
 Reading in 1889 M. Vander Snickt, of Brussels, 
 explained the economic value of the cock crow- 
 ing contests which are common in Belgium, 
 namely, that this was a sign of rapid develop- 
 ment and of early maturity. And it is a striking 
 fact that at the Smithfield Table Poultry Show 
 of the same, year, in the class offered for petits 
 poussins or poulets au lait, the exhibits from 
 Belgium were not, as might bave been expected, 
 Coucou de Malines, the great table fowl of that 
 country, but Braeckel, Braeckel cross, and Cam- 
 pines, and the quality of these birds was acknow-' 
 ledged by the most prominent poulterers. 
 
 " So far as the hatching of the small chickens 
 is concerned, this must be done in order to meet 
 the market demands. As already indicated, the 
 sale in this country is from April to the begin- 
 ning of July, and consequently this fact must be 
 kept in view, as it is no use marketing them 
 either too early or too late. It is necessary that 
 the birds shall be specially produced for the 
 purpose^ and hence this is a business requiring 
 exceptional treatment. In some cases when the 
 sexes have declared themselves, provided the 
 variety were one to show sex so early, breeders 
 might keep any of the pullets required for other 
 purposes. As a rule, however, it will be found 
 better not to regard this question at all. 
 
 " Those who go in for the production of 
 petits poussins will require to make provision for 
 the birds, and to start at the very outset to feed 
 them upon food that is calculated to develop 
 flesh rather than bone. It has been claimed that 
 the best method of securing good birds is by 
 keeping them absolutely under cover during the 
 whole period, but such a system has dangers 
 which only the most skilful can avoid. During 
 a cold wet spring there can be no question that 
 a good, roomy, Well lighted, and well ventilated 
 chicken house is of great service. By this means 
 the birds are sheltered against adverse influences 
 which would check their growth, and provided 
 
PETITS POUSSINS OR MILK CHICKENS. 
 
 "S 
 
 that they have plenty of air and are not too 
 strictly confined, will be quite happy and con- 
 tented under these circumstances. Above all, 
 there must not be that check to growth which 
 is the result of conditions such as have been 
 already mentioned. Further, we must bear in 
 mind that as the birds are to be forced to some 
 extent they will not be able to stand severe 
 weather as would those raised under more natural 
 conditions. 
 
 " So far as food is concerned, this varies 
 considerably. For the first fortnight they are 
 fed in the usual way upon good nutritious food, 
 and in this respect there is nothing more valu- 
 able than oatmeal, which contains the elements 
 required for the building up of a framework 
 upon which the flesh will afterwards be laid. 
 At the end of two weeks they should be fed 
 upon ground oats mixed with milk, and if 
 this milk is heated, but not boiled, before it is 
 added to the ground oats, that will materially 
 assist the digestion. A srtiall quantity of fat is 
 added to the food daily. In all branches of 
 poultry raising the wisest plan is to give as 
 much food as the birds will eat readily and not 
 allow it to stand before them, for by so doing 
 there is also a tendency towards sickness. 
 Very fine grit or coarse sand is of service 
 in assisting the process of assimilation, and if 
 the birds are supplied with anything to drink, 
 this should be in the Jorm of sweet milk. In 
 France barley-meal mixed with milk is chiefly 
 employed, and in Belgium also. The following 
 quotation is taken from one of the Belgian 
 papers {Journal des Campagnes), which gives a 
 recipe for breeding milk chickens, and according 
 to the results indicated this is a very remu- 
 nerative industry. ' Milk forms in this process 
 the basis of the food given to the chickens. 
 The diet is exclusively composed of barley-meal, 
 cooked in skim milk, and in such a way as to 
 form a sufficiently smooth paste. One thus 
 obtains specimens with very fine and delicate 
 flesh before being sold for consumption at about 
 the age of two months. According to M. Roul- 
 lier, the well known specialist breeder, the milk 
 chicken will advantageously replace the partridge. 
 There is one condition which is absolutely 
 necessary in order to obtain the best results : 
 it is necessary that the chickens shall be con- 
 stantly and exclusively fed with this milk diet. 
 At the end of six weeks they are plump and 
 heavy ; they should then weigh about 14 ozs., 
 and at two months about i| lbs. These chickens 
 can be sold at high prices, and their production 
 would be advantageous where the breeder 
 possesses a market for them.' It will be seen 
 from this statement that, as already mentioned. 
 
 the size of birds in Belgium is rather greater 
 than preferred in Paris and London, but they 
 can be killed when sufficiently large. 
 
 " Whatever the time selected for killing, the 
 birds should be starved for a few hours, carefully 
 plucked, tied up with a piece of fine string 
 or tape, so as to throw up the breasts, and 
 packed by the dozen in boxes. When sent to 
 market they are not drawn, this work being left 
 to the poulterer. It is most important that all 
 the birds put into one box shall be about the 
 same size, and as near alike in appearance as 
 possible. This considerably enhances the returns, 
 because customers purchasing prefer to have the 
 birds as near alike as they possibly can. The 
 boxes employed should be shallow, so as just to 
 hold one tier, and the French system of having 
 these boxes lined with lace paper adds greatly 
 to their appearance. 
 
 " In Belgium a large trade is done in birds 
 which go by the name of poulets de grains. 
 These are the birds referred to previously as 
 about two months old and weighing about 
 \\ lbs. each. I have found a difference of 
 opinion as to whether the non- 
 Poulets sitters or. the table varieties are 
 
 de Grains. better for this purpose, but the 
 evidence appears to be in favour 
 of the table breeds. At the Smithfield Table 
 Poultry Show of 1899 the first and second prize 
 birds in the class of poulets de grains were Cou- 
 cou de Malines, whilst the third were Braeckel; 
 and some of the Belgian breeders say that for 
 the more advanced specimens the Coucou de 
 Malines is decidedly superior. This seems to 
 be in accordance with what might be expected, 
 because the flesh of the slower growing 
 varieties at eight weeks would be* superior to 
 that found Upon the lighter bodied chickens, 
 the latter having developed more in bone. In 
 America what is known as the ' broiler' trade is 
 a very extensive one, and in the State of New 
 Jersey great quantities are produced every year ; 
 but in England there is only a certain amount 
 of demand for this class of bird used for broiling, 
 or what is frequently known as ' spatch-cock ' — 
 that is the bird, after being drawn, is split down 
 the back and laid open, without being actually 
 divided. It is cooked upon a grill, and certainly 
 there is no more delicious form of preparing 
 birds for eating. At the present time, however, 
 this trade is a comparatively small one." 
 
 In the above article, Mr. Brown has dealt 
 with the chief practical details of producing and 
 marketing poultry for the table, and we have 
 only to add notes upon certain points from re- 
 cent personal investigation, and some remarks 
 
ii6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 upon aspects of the subject which he has not 
 treated of. During late years, poultry fattening 
 in Sussex has been developing somewhat new 
 phases, besides considerably extending ; and in 
 
 the September and October of 1900 
 Recent ^g \Me^\. (by the aid of our trusty 
 
 in SusTex™ "^ tricycle) over a large part of the 
 
 district, with the object of obtaining 
 information about these, and especially about 
 that production of ground oats upon which the 
 Sussex industry so largely depends. Our intro- 
 ductions were sufficient to obtain what we desired 
 in nearly all cases ; but we were sorry to be 
 confronted almost on the threshold of our in- 
 quiries by evidence of the real harm that had 
 been done by certain writers upon this subject, 
 who have sought to strengthen their attacks 
 upon what they are pleased to term " poultry- 
 farming," by exaggerated descriptions of the 
 profits to be made by poultry fattening as apart 
 from it. The result has been to induce persons 
 who knew nothing of the business, to embark in 
 it after perhaps two or three months' " tuition," 
 or sometimes without even that, only to give it 
 up after eighteen months or so, with much loss 
 even to themselves, but having done evil which 
 has not stopped there. These novices entered 
 into competition as regards both buying chickens 
 and selling them, with others who did make a 
 living by it, and by their unwisdom and ignorance 
 have raised the price of the lean and lowered 
 that of the fat ones ; not perhaps to any large 
 extent, but enough to make a perceptible differ- 
 ence to those seriously engaged in the industry. 
 Various examples were mentioned to us ; and in 
 the very rare instances where information was 
 refused in response to our own inquiries, such 
 reasons were avowed for the refusal. 
 
 This business is one of all others not to be 
 rashly entered, least of all by the very class who 
 seem most anxious to do so. It cannot be learnt 
 
 in a few months, as they seem to 
 IlcrUical think.* Much of it can, of course. 
 Business. Mr. Brown has described the pens, 
 
 and the food, and other matters ; and 
 for years we have had all such details at our 
 own finger-ends ; yet we would view the pros- 
 pect Qf having to embark in such a business with 
 absolute dismay. For such knowledge alone 
 will not enable anyone to make it pay ; what is 
 above all needed is that instinct, or rather 
 intuitive knowledge, born only of first-hand ex- 
 perience, which enables the practical fatter to 
 know what is each day required for each bird : 
 
 * Mr. Rew mentions a case where a small farmer in the 
 district itself, determined to add the fattening business to the 
 rearing he was already carrying on. He sent his son, a bright 
 lad, away for two years to learn about this in the fattening sheds, 
 and only then started in it at home. 
 
 if one has rather too much food, or another too 
 little, or another has had what fatting it can 
 stand, or another is slightly ailing. Then the 
 fatter must also know what amount of work 
 ought to be done by his assistants, and how to 
 get that much out of them without ill-will ; what 
 a chicken he buys is really worth ; at what stage 
 his fatted bird will pay best to sell, and so on. 
 To know about these things theoretically, is not 
 really to know them practically ; but in many 
 Sussex families they drink it all in with their 
 mother's milk. Finally, it cannot be said too 
 emphatically, that fattening is neither an easy 
 business, nor a very " nice " business for the class 
 who seem so specially anxious to embark in it. 
 When we come to the sour milk, and rendering 
 the fat, and killing, and plucking, and other 
 things, it is well to consider what the business is 
 like, before going into it ; for it cannot all be seen 
 to by deputy. And it means work early and late ; 
 for idle hands cannot be afforded, and the profits 
 are not what many suppose. The very best, pay 
 the best, and a first-class fowl at 7s. 6d. pays 
 very well ; but the demand for such is only 
 limited, and the top of the ladder is not gained 
 in a hurry. The margin is very n'arrow indeed 
 now, for a large quantity of really good birds ; 
 such as form the greater portion of the birds sent 
 up from Sussex, and always must do so. To 
 take a concrete case : one fatter who usually 
 sends up five dozen three times weekly, and at 
 that season* was sending only four, or twelve 
 dozen per week, had to pay is. gd. each for 
 his chickens ; the carriage and commission 
 would be 3d. more, and he expected to get 3s. 
 That would give him is. on each bird for food, 
 labour, rent, and - his living or profit. It will 
 be seen how little would turn the scale. 
 
 This narrowness of margin is one of the 
 recent phases of the industry. Years ago the 
 same fatter just mentioned, for similar chickens, 
 which were bought in the neigh- 
 Fattening bourhood and not Irish, would have 
 on the . /-J . r . 1 
 
 Increase. got od. more mcrease of cost, and 
 
 had, say, is. 6d. to " play with." The 
 fall has been partly due to the cause above 
 alluded to (which we have emphasised because 
 requested to do so by some of those affected by 
 it) and partly by increased supplies, the demand 
 for which is, after all, qot unlimited. On the 
 other hand, ground oats is now cheaper, and 
 cramming machines save much in labour ; but 
 for these two economies, many stated that 
 they could not now make it pay. In reference 
 to this, several complained of the high cost of 
 
 * September is not a very good time of year, and many 
 fatters, at the time of our visit, did not care to send up more 
 supplies than were advisable to "keep their market." 
 
REARING COMBINED WITH FATTENING. 
 
 117 
 
 cramming machines, and were glad to hear 
 from us that Mr. Tamlin was putting on the 
 market a simpler pattern at the considerably 
 lower price of £2 17s. 6d. In spite of all, 
 however, the industry still increases even in 
 Sussex, to say nothing of growth ih other parts 
 of England. In Mr. R. H. ReW's report of 
 189s,* it is stated that the total of dead poultry 
 sent from both Heathfield and Uckfield Stations 
 in 1893 was about 1,840 tons. In 1899 there 
 went up from Heathfield alone to London alone, 
 the stationmaster informed us, nearly 2,500 tons ; 
 but besides this there had developed recently 
 a quite considerable local trade. Formerly 
 nearly all the poulterers (not quite all) at seaside 
 places ordered their" fed " poultry from London; 
 but in the year 1899 ^lo less than 475 tons had 
 gone from Heathfield to Brighton, Eastbourne, 
 and other places of resort in the neighbourhood. 
 Partly to meet this increased derna-nd, and 
 partly to get a little more margin of profit, the 
 number of Irish chicT^ens imported into Sussex 
 has greatly increased. Some of the larger fatters 
 profess to scorn the idea of ever using Irish 
 chickens, and use some fictitious initial for their 
 crates instead of their real names ; but one of 
 the very largest now buys hardly anything else, 
 and at Three Bridges we traced many crates 
 on their way down to various well-known names. 
 The majority of Irish chickens which reach 
 Heathfield Station itself now come from Kil- 
 kenny, and many of them are nearly equal to 
 the average local product. We have also seen 
 many Kilkenny chickens arriving at Highgate, 
 north of London, for a dairy and poultry- feeding 
 establishment in the neighbourhood. 
 
 But the local rearing of chickens for table 
 purposes has increased most of all, greatly owing 
 to a phase of the industry which is chiefly a 
 
 development of late years. It has 
 
 Eeaxlng often been stated that those who 
 
 ■^t™^ rear do not fatten, and that those 
 
 Fattening.. who fatten do not rear, with the 
 
 exception of such cottagers as rear 
 and fatten a small number each. That state of 
 things has been gradually changing, and there 
 are now a considerable and increasing number 
 of farmers in Sussex who not only fatten, but 
 also rear a considerable number. This is partly 
 owing to the reduction of profits causing a 
 desire to get the double profit upon each bird ; 
 partly to the necessity felt by farmers of finding 
 ,something that " paid better " than their farming 
 (this motive was stated to Mr. Rew so far back 
 as 1894) ; and partly to the knowledge the Sussex 
 
 * Repoi-t by Mr. Henry Rew (Assistant Commissioner) on 
 the Poultry Rearing and Fattening Industry of the Heathfield 
 District of Sussex. Price 3d. London : Eyre and Spottis- 
 woode, 1895. 
 
 farmers have now acquired as to the real value 
 of poultry manure. 
 
 One of the pioneers in this movement was 
 Mr. Nelson Kenward, of Waldron, who was 
 reported by Mr. Rew to be rearing in 1894 
 about 8,oco chickens upon his 200 acres of land. 
 In 1900 we found him still raising about the 
 same, which he regards as about his practicable 
 limit, keeping in view due rotation of other 
 products for sweetening the land ; but he was 
 doing as much as ever, and occasionally realised 
 7s. 6d. for some of his best fowls. Mr. Rew 
 also reported 600 chickens as reared upon 27 
 acres, the same number upon 19 acres, and 
 found 500 at one time (equal to from 2,000 to 
 2,500 during a whole year) upon 56 acres. 
 These were recent developments then ; we 
 found rearing as well as fattening now carried 
 on by many more. On a farm of 80 acres near 
 Uckfield there were (at end of September) 
 about 1,000 chickens of all ages; sorhe nearly 
 ready for the cages, while the youngest were 
 only just hatched, and destined for the January 
 and February market ; this would equal four or 
 five times as many in the whole year. On a 
 small farm^22 acres — near Horeham Road 
 about 2,000" eggs were set every year, and as 
 many reared from them as possible, the balance 
 required being purchased. Another fatter in a 
 fairly large way at Warbleton reared for himself 
 about 5,000 on a separate holding of 40 acres, 
 away from his fattening place; and we learnt 
 from him the simple explanation of what has 
 been so often foolishly laid dbvvn as a mysterious 
 law of Nature, to the effect that rearing and 
 fattening "cannot" be carried on upon the same 
 holding. At the present day it often is so 
 carried on ; but, as Mr. Haffenden pointed out, 
 most of the fatters' holdings are small, and held 
 for the express purpose of using up the manure 
 made by many hundreds of birds fed in pens. 
 Hence that land has already what manure of 
 this kind it can possibly stand, and is " sickened " 
 for running chickens upon' besides ; if they are 
 to be also reared, therefore, there must either 
 be another holding or a much larger one. 
 Incompatibility from any other point of view 
 there is none whatever, and the system of com- 
 bining both profits is greatly extending. 
 
 The marked appreciation of the value of 
 poultry manure, was another interesting point. 
 About 1885, we found no case of any being 
 actually sold in the district for cash, 
 Increased and the larger fatters occupied land 
 Fo^mLure. almost for the sole purpose of doing 
 something with it. Its marked effects 
 upon most crops, but especially upon the growth 
 of good grass on poor and scrubby soil, has 
 
ii8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 however had effect, and a great deal is now 
 sold ; but the curious thing is, that the nearer 
 the customer, the less is realised. The fact is 
 that those who can use it, prefer to do so on 
 their own ground, while those who sell to neigh- 
 bours, are small men who have no land and 
 must get rid of it, but have not enough to be 
 worth sending away, while their immediate 
 neighbours, of course, are already supplied with 
 as much as they can well use. We found various 
 fatters of this smaller class who sold it at from 
 3s. to 7s. 6d. per cart-load, the latter the highest 
 price we met with of this kind. Mr. C. E. Brooke 
 had told us before this, however, that he had 
 himself been offered 20s. per ton, and had 
 refused it ; and we found one fatter who had 
 sent his away at 1 5s. per cart-load, though he now 
 preferred to use it himself. But we ascertained 
 more which somewhat surprised us. Near 
 Worthing and Angmering we heard of poultry 
 manure in railway trucks ; and at once came to 
 the conclusion (as yet only supposition) that 
 this was connected with the large and special 
 cultivation of tomatoes and grapes under glass, 
 which distinguishes that neighbourhood. Re- 
 serving that point for the present, we traced 
 those truck-loads of manure back to Heathiield ; 
 and through the railway authorities there learnt 
 that they came from a very large fattening 
 establishment at Warbleton, which has been 
 often described by past writers on this subject. 
 We did not learn what price was paid for these 
 consignments, but the very next day visited 
 another fatter in a smaller but still considerable 
 way of business, who told us that a year or two 
 before he had sent his own manure away by 
 rail at the price of £2 los. per ton ; until his 
 customer supplied himself elsewhere, and so he 
 had lost that market. And upon this same 
 fatter's farm, now, we found seven glass-houses 
 recently put up, under which he was himself 
 now growing tomatoes. We need not point 
 the practical conclusion ; and will only add that 
 we regarded the upshot of this particular in- 
 vestigation as one of the most suggestive in 
 several ways. 
 
 Increase in rearing, naturally leads to the 
 question of the local stock. We regretted to 
 find that the fowl once known as the "Surrey" 
 breed, a kind of Dorkingised barn- 
 Sufslx* ^°°'^' ^hi'^h made the finest market 
 
 Fowls. fowls in former days, had practically 
 
 died out. This breed, as we knew 
 it, had delicate white legs with, as a rule, only 
 four claws, was very broad and square, and of 
 varying colour, but chiefly brown or bay, more 
 or less speckled with white and black. Un- 
 fortunately, exhibition breeders (so often decried) 
 
 had never taken up this fowl seriously, and thus 
 it has almost vanished. Mr. C. E. Brooke told 
 us that of all the thousands of birds he purchased 
 for his pens at Baynards, not five per cent, were 
 of this race. Other fatters told us the same ; 
 some said there were none at all to be had, and 
 in all the sheds we saw, there were scarcely any. 
 The very few we could find alive, were on the 
 holdings of those who reared as well as fattened, 
 but they did not seem now to be very specially 
 valued. On one farm already mentioned, where 
 2,000 eggs were set — that of Mr. R. Roger, High- 
 lands, Horeham Road — we found about ten 
 really fine hens and pullets, and learnt that a 
 few years back they were kept up, but lately he 
 had taken a fancy to breed lighter colours and 
 whites, and rather let them go. We did our 
 best to impress upon him (and one or two 
 others) the value that was being now set in 
 many quarters upon this old breed, and that 
 perhaps even selling sittings of eggs might be 
 remunerative ; and made so much impression 
 that in this case at least, an effort was promised 
 to breed the stock again, in view of supplying it 
 if required. But there could not be a better 
 illustration of the need there is for the work and 
 enthusiasm of the genuine breeder. 
 
 In place of this old breed, a new local race 
 was manifest everywhere, truly indigenous 
 throughout wide districts. The hens are very 
 light buff or wheat-colour, approaching some- 
 times almost to whitCj the cockerels much 
 darker, of red and black colour. The colour, 
 and the full fluff behind, and the character of 
 feather, show unmistakable Cochin foundation, 
 which in most of them also appears in scanty 
 leg-feather ; but the breasts are deep and long, 
 and the legs have become white, partly owing to 
 selection by the farmers, who choose white legs, 
 and partly to soil and food, which have unmis- 
 takable effect that way. All the fatters told 
 us that they preferred these birds to any others 
 now procurable, as they were " good doers," and 
 shaped well ; and the fact is a curious proof 
 that although the Cochin cross worked havoc 
 in table poultry when first introduced all over 
 England, a foundation of it has since gone to 
 form, when better tempered together, some of 
 the best table birds. The lightest of these birds, 
 with crosses of whites, have been developed by 
 Mr. Godfrey Shaw and others into the Albions 
 mentioned later on in this work, which is there- 
 fore originally a Sussex fowl. Of all the sheds 
 visited, we should say that roughly about one- 
 third of the pens were occupied by these light 
 Sussex fowls, which are generally ascribed to 
 Kentish origin, one-third by crosses with Ply- 
 mouth Rocks, and one-third by crosses of the 
 
GRINDING OATS IN SUSSEX. 
 
 119 
 
 Light Brahma, which was much liked. In the 
 Irish chickens the Rock cross predominates ; in 
 the local, the Light Brahmas (next to the Sussex 
 stock just described). All have gone to white 
 legs on the Sussex ground. The Buff Orpington 
 is also being introduced, and is much liked : here 
 also we have a measure of Cochin blood in a 
 first-class table fowl. Several had tried the 
 cross between Indian Game and Dorking, and 
 with singular unanimity they did not seem to 
 care for it They admitted that the produce 
 made the finest fowls, if reared to the proper age 
 arid properly fatted ; but the birds did not, they 
 said, suit the average Sussex system, or " pay " 
 so well under it, a point which will be more 
 fully discussed a little farther on. A few were 
 kept for special fowls at the top price. 
 
 We may pass now to the food given to the 
 birds, and first of all under that heading to the 
 ground oats so universally used in Sussex, in 
 
 which the entire grain is ground up 
 Sussex jjj(-Q f^jjg meal without taking any 
 
 Oats. of the husk out, yet wfth no husk at 
 
 all visibly apparent. Writers have 
 discussed whether the Sussex poultry fattening 
 arose from the peculiarly suitable Surrey fowl 
 once common, or whether (as Mr. Rew thinks) 
 the industry created the fowl ; the real fact is 
 that this peculiar meal is the" basis of both, and 
 that the poultry industry now dominates the 
 milling of the county, the mills running much 
 more on oats and kindred grains than upon 
 flour.* The more extended production and use 
 of this admirable meal, we are satisfied, is 
 intimately connected with the profitable exten- 
 sion of poultry-feeding into other districts of 
 England ; but many attempts to produce it in 
 other localities have failed, so far as we are 
 aware, and various statements have been made 
 as to the nature of what has been written of 
 as a mysterious secret. Some have said that 
 partially worn stones — neither freshly dressed 
 nor worn down — are employed ; others that the 
 stones must be very closely run, at great risk of 
 fire ; others that special grain must be used, 
 such as the Russian oats mentioned above. 
 
 The great and general importance of this 
 part of the subject deserved special investiga- 
 tion, and by the aid of introductions kindly 
 furnished us by Mr. C. E. Brooke and several 
 others, and great courtesies shown in response 
 by several Sussex millers, we were enabled to 
 learn everything about this matter in the actual 
 mills, where all was explained to us, and we saw 
 stones dressed, and were able to sketch on the 
 
 * Even in France, it will be seen later on thaf increase of 
 poultry production has been accompanied by an increase in the 
 area under oats. 
 
 spot the illustration on the next page. None ot 
 such explanations as mentioned above are 
 correct, the stones being used quite newly 
 dressed until re-dressing is required, and 
 American oats being ground as often as 
 Russian, both being taken chiefly for cheapness, 
 and English oats being also used, though the 
 black oats common in the county are not 
 suitable for this purpose, giving the flesh a bad 
 colour. We also found distinct differences in 
 the meal produced, and in milling practice, to 
 be curiously distinctive of different localities ; 
 and, finally, we found that even in Sussex 
 certain smaller mills turned out samples with 
 considerable husk in it, and that rearers who 
 used such meal complained of deaths amongst 
 their very young chickens in consequence, from 
 the cause stated in our preceding chapter, and 
 welcomed information from us as to mills whence 
 better meal could be obtained. Ignorance of 
 such a kind was however rare, and confined chiefly 
 to labourers or millers who had but recently en- 
 tered the business, and had not grasped its details. 
 
 Before discussing stones and methods, an- 
 other point requires mention. What is usually 
 sold as "pure" ground oats is not absolutely "pure, 
 but contains a certain per-centage of barley. It 
 is not done for economy, for the barley costs as 
 much if not more ; but this grain is so much 
 drier in character, that it assists grinding a. great 
 deal. The usual mixture is one sack of barley 
 to eight sacks of oats for what is conventionally 
 called " pure " oats. This is so little that it 
 would hardly be noticed in a handful of grain 
 casually taken up, and besides the help in 
 grinding, such a mixture is positively preferred 
 and found better as food by most of those who 
 use it. Much beyond this proportion, however, 
 is found to " heat the blood " of the chickens, as 
 it is termed, the birds beginning to peck them- 
 selves and each other, which is most injurious 
 to fattening ; such greater mixtures (not made 
 for economy in grain, but because still easier to 
 grind) are not considered fair if sold as " pure " 
 ground oats. Oats are, however, also ground 
 really pure, but at a rather higher price, because 
 requiring more care as to speed and precise 
 distance of the stones. It will be seen from 
 these facts that a consumer will do well to be 
 definite as to what he is purchasing. 
 
 The really fundamental matter is the dressing 
 of the stones, and Fig. 66 represents a mill-stone 
 as dressed for oat -grinding by the Sussex 
 millers. The stones always used are Peak stones 
 from Derbyshire, and as a rule about four feet 
 in diameter. We found in various mills stones 
 with as few as eight " quarters " or sections, and 
 as many as twelve ; but the ten quarters here 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 shown were the most general, the stone being 
 sketched in the steam mills of Mr. Hampton at 
 Heathfield. What is called the "draft" (or 
 inclination) of the "leading" furrows is laid 
 out from a central circle of about four and a half 
 inches diameter for a four-fefet stone, and the 
 width of the furrows in proportion to that of 
 the " lands " or raised flat portions is about as 
 two to three. So far there is nothing peculiar ; 
 but instead of these "lands" being "cracked," 
 or dressed into parallel fine grooves as for flour 
 milling, they are "stitched" or covered all over 
 with little pits by hand strokes of a very sharp- 
 pointed hard steel pick, as shown in' the figure. 
 The surface or space round the eye of the 
 stone is somewhat lowered or hollowed as usual, 
 that the grain may enter freely and get cracked 
 
 Fig. 66.— Stone Dressed for Grinding Oats. 
 
 before being ground between the closer surfaces 
 as it travels outwards. 
 
 This is the essential characteristic of the oat- 
 grinding Sussex stones, but there are minor 
 differences, as above hinted. Around Uckfield 
 they seem to like a very fine and smooth meal, 
 a beautiful sample of which we found at the 
 steam mills of Mr. Warburton at Buxted. 
 More immediately round Heathfield most of the 
 fatters rather disliked this, preferring a somewhat 
 coarser grain which can be felt between the 
 finger and thumb, but still with no visible husk 
 in it ; they considered that this kept the bowels 
 in better order. In the Buxted mill the stones 
 were accordingly dressed with a lighter pick, 
 run low or close together, and left smoot-her 
 round the margin ; thus the grain is cracked by 
 the inner zone, ground by the middle zones, and 
 the meal " smoothed " just before delivery. The 
 
 result was a meal nearly as fine as flour, but not 
 in the least what is termed " killed," and the 
 stones were run at about 130 revolutions per 
 minute. At Edenbridge in Kent they also use 
 the light fine dress, and grind pure oats into the 
 finer meal. The Heathfield stones were dressed 
 coarser, with a heavier pick ; but there was a 
 further difference in the milling, due to the same 
 desire for a rather coarser-grained meal. The 
 running stone was adjusted rather higher, or at 
 a greater distance, so that the meal came out 
 with a certain small portion of unground husk 
 in it. This was automatically sifted out and 
 returned between the stones along with the 
 unground grain, which it assists, and is the 
 second time entirely ground, so that none is 
 taken out in the end. This method is supposed 
 to yield certain advantages, and the stones in 
 this mill were stated to be run at 170 revolutions 
 — we actually timed it at 168. 
 
 It will be understood that under these cir- 
 cumstances products and prices are not quite 
 uniform. In the district itself meal is chiefly 
 s'old by the "quarter" of two sacks. Taking 
 for illustration the two mills just mentioned, in 
 the Buxted mill, turning out very fine meal, 
 ground pure, they were grinding oats weigh- 
 ing 39 lbs. per bushel, while the meal weighed 
 32 lbs. per bushel (or was at least weighed out as 
 32 lbs. for a bushel) and was sold (September, 
 1900) at 1 8s. per quarter of eight bushels, or 
 256 lbs. At the Heathfield mill, producing meal 
 rather coarser in grain as preferred in that dis- 
 trict, with the slight mixture of barley, they were 
 grinding 40 lbs. A.merican oats, and selling the 
 meal at 30 lbs. per bushel, for i6s. to 17s. per 
 quarter of 240 lbs Prices would of course vary 
 at both mills according to the market. 
 
 Of the mixture described by Mr. Brown 
 above, of oats with barley and maize, a great 
 deal is also ground and used in Sussex, and we 
 
 were at much pains to ascertain the 
 Choice of comparative results. Our opinion 
 Meal and Fat. was decided, at the end, that as 
 
 compared with ground oats, the 
 mixed meal does not pay, in spite of its lower 
 price. We found this the opinion of almost all 
 the moderately small fatters, who combined in- 
 telligence ys\V\\ personal knowledge of the details 
 of their own business: they "could do better" 
 with the pure oats, or what passes for pure (for 
 all agreed that the very small portion of barley 
 mentioned above was quite as good if not better). 
 But we also made personal comparisons. These 
 were necessarily based upon "carrying in the 
 eye " a certain size or class of chicken, since we 
 could not ask busy men to weigh birds for us. 
 But doing this as well as we could, we came 
 
EFFECTS OF SOUR MILK. 
 
 12 [ 
 
 to the conclusion that in whiteness of aspect 
 and more even laying on of flesh, as distinct 
 from deposits of fat, the birds fed on " pure " oats 
 were worth about 3d. more than similar birds 
 fed on " fattening meal," and this was also the 
 opinion of the class ,of men described. Now 
 the cheaper meal certainly does not save 3d. 
 in the three weeks of pen-feeding ; hence there 
 seems a loss rather than a saving from its use. 
 
 The same applies to the fat used, about 
 which the best fatters are particular. Some 
 buy and render down whatever they can get 
 cheapest from the butchers or elsewhere. But 
 
 cloyed the birds, and put them off their feeding. 
 This might have been expected. 
 
 The question of sour milk or sweet is no 
 open one in Sussex, and it is strange to 
 observe how some who presume to teach on 
 
 this subject, decry or sneer at a 
 Question of factor which lies at the very founda- 
 SourMilk. tjon of the industry, next in im> 
 
 portance to ground oats alone. The 
 fact that sour milk is used wherever there is an 
 industry which uses milk at all, may weigh 
 nothing with people of this oracular stamp ; 
 but it determines the question. There is, how- 
 
 CasseU ij- Co., Photo, 
 
 Sussex Cramming Shed 
 
 Curd's Farm, Buxted.) 
 
 such as pride themselves on the high class of 
 their birds, buy " mutton cauls " and other 
 parts which render into clear mutton suet, or 
 if that fails, purchase Australian tallow, which 
 was first introduced into Sussex practice by 
 Mr. Kenward, and is also of course mutton fat. 
 This fat is whiter, and makes whiter flesh and 
 skin. It is best melted and thrown into cold 
 water, which reduces it to a " pin-head " con- 
 dition in which it is easily mixed with the meal. 
 We were told by some that we should find 
 sugar now used in feeding. We only came 
 across a very few feeders who had tried it for 
 a short time; but all had given it'' up again, 
 for the simple reason that the sweet taste 
 
 Q 
 
 ever, of course real dietetic reason for such a fact, 
 and it is simply this : the sour milk keeps, the 
 digestive organs in proper activity, without 
 the use of fresh vegetables, which would other- 
 wise be necessary. Tell a Sussex fatter to use 
 " boiled milk," and the green food which would 
 then be required, and see what he would say ! 
 It is true that the odour can be detected in the 
 manure ; but it is not correct to speak of a 
 ■' stench " as thus caused, and the droppings should 
 be, and generally are, perfectly firm and healthy. 
 The same good results cannot be obtained with- 
 out an adequate supply of sour skim milk ; and 
 in several sheds we visited where there was little 
 odour, and we remarked that they did^ not 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 seem to be using much milk there, the reply- 
 was at once made, that unfortunately milk had 
 indeed been very short that year owing to want 
 of keep for the cows, and that their business had 
 suffered perceptibly in consequence. No attempt 
 is made to check the sourness, but rather the 
 contrary. At one of Mr. G. E. Brooke's farms 
 at Baynards, we found a very large iron tank 
 covered with loose boards, into which all the 
 skim milk was poured as received, and dipped 
 out as required, being kept "going" in this 
 way for weeks together without emptying. 
 We found the same plan on a smaller scale 
 elsewhere. The contents go into a sort of 
 curds and whey, which is well stirred up 
 together before being dipped out for use ; after 
 which the covering is replaced to keep out dirt, 
 rain, or- sun. 
 
 The dietetic effect is illustrated by some 
 experiments in feeding reported by the Hon. 
 A. H. Cathcart, who is himself rather prejudiced 
 against sour milk. He fed a certain number of 
 birds on Neve's fattening meal as used in 
 Sussex, and others on a mixture of sharps, oat- 
 meal, barley-meal, and chopped hay made from 
 tender grass alone, steamed for twelve hours. 
 He found the chickens fed on this made more 
 growth than those fed on the Neve's meal, at a 
 much less cost. He used the skim milk fresh, 
 and found that sour milk " scoured " them. It 
 naturally would do so, being here given in 
 addition to laxative vegetable food ; but the 
 Sussex fatters use it instead, and unless a bird 
 goes wrong occasionally, so used it does not 
 scour. The experiment is certainly interesting 
 and suggestive, but it is doubtful if food mixed 
 with chopped hay could be fed by a machine. 
 We found, however, in many sheds, that the 
 consistency of the food was rather thicker than 
 described in the article above, more resembling 
 what we should describe as rather thin porridge. 
 
 The two illustrations, reproduced from actual 
 photographs, of a cramming-shed and out-door 
 •feeding cages, taken from different farms, will 
 illustrate what has been said by Mr. Brown 
 above, in regard to the rough and cheap 
 character of the cages, and also give a good idea 
 of many establishments themselves. Remark 
 was also made in the article upon two pat- 
 terns of pressing .troughs which may be seen, 
 as shown in A and B, Fig. 6^ . A is by far the 
 more generally used in Sussex, while 
 Pressing B is often seen at demonstrations in 
 
 Troughs. London, and has been undoubtedly 
 
 copied from presses supplied by 
 Mr. C. E. Brooke from Baynards, and with the 
 idea that it was supported by his authority. We 
 asked Mr. Brooke about this matter, and he told 
 
 us that the first being made with the vertical 
 back was purely accidental, but it had somehow 
 got copied 'on his place, and thence by others ; 
 but that he considered, if the question was put 
 to him, that A was undoubtedly the correct form. 
 He, however, considered the modern improve- 
 ment of an interval between the two boards, as 
 shown in the figure, of some real importance, 
 such a trough being better cleaned. Over the 
 backs a very thin board is used, which when 
 loaded with bricks on the top, bends somewhat 
 to accommodate slight differences in size. One 
 mistake we often found was the use of a board 
 too narrow, when the edge of the board makes 
 quite a dent or nick in the back, which if pro- 
 nounced will make a difference of 3d. in the 
 selling price of the bird. As we pointed out to 
 
 Pig- 67 — Pressing Troughs^ 
 
 several, this is quite avoided by using a rather 
 broader board. 
 
 We found considerably more difference than 
 we expected in the return realised for feathers. 
 Some small fatters dig all in or mix it with the 
 
 manure, and very many use the 
 Feathers. quills and larger feathers in this 
 
 manner, but those who have enough 
 .sell the body feathers, which must be kept 
 separate for sale. The lowest price quoted to 
 us was 2\A. per lb., but, as was pointed out 
 to us, this was in September, when they are 
 more brittle and sell worst of all. Several 
 in a fairly large way made 3d. per lb. for their 
 body feathers, and the highest return we found 
 was from a " gentleman " farmer, who got 4d. 
 per lb. for his body feathers, and 2d. even for 
 his quills ; but these last he explained to be 
 bought from him for one special purpose whose 
 demands were fully satisfied, and further market 
 for them could not be expected. What was of 
 interest in these last details, was the fact that a 
 man to whom small economies were probably 
 less important than to many, got a better 
 market for this by-product by superior energy 
 and intelligence. These prices are for average 
 coloured feathers. Very dark or black ones are 
 worth much less, and assorted light ones rather 
 more, while white ones kept apart fetch double, 
 or more. This appears one reason why some 
 Sussex breeders, as already intimated, have 
 shown a little preference for white fowls, besides 
 the fact that a white-feathered one plucks to a 
 much nicer-looking skin, and shows pin-feather 
 
UTJLISATTON AND CURING OF FEATHERS. 
 
 123 
 
 much less. The receipts from feathers did not, 
 however, come to as much as we expected. 
 Mr. Rew gives a whole year's detailed account 
 of a 200 acre farm which sent over 10,000 birds 
 to market and spent ;^25o on labour ; and the 
 feathers only amount to £\/\. in the receipts. 
 They were sold at 2:|d., and except that "3d. per 
 lb. would rather increase the amount, it seemed 
 fairly representative of what was generally 
 realised in proportion. 
 
 We interviewed a very large firm of feather 
 merchants and dressers, who repeated almost 
 exactly what Mr. Brown has said above, but 
 added a few points which are of interest. The 
 minimum quantity they ever purchased was 
 I cwt., and this rule they said was general. The 
 chief thing wanted in England was more 
 cleanliness, and more thorough drying-out of the 
 grease in the shafts before selling. Actually 
 raw feathers they now refused themselves, and 
 such as took them paid a lower price. Proper 
 drying and care would make on any lot a 
 difference of 20 per cent, in what they would 
 fetch. In their factory the feathers as received 
 are placed in a large tank of chemical solution 
 and thoroughly washed, thence when drained 
 from the water in a receptacle of perforated 
 metal, which is whirled round at a high velocity 
 and thus dries them, the drying being finished 
 in revolving steam-heated drums. When thus 
 perfectly dried, they are whirled round again 
 somewhat as at first, to drive out the dust and 
 re-curl them, after which they are sorted out 
 and mixed for sale, an air blast from the last 
 machine doing the first stage of sorting auto- 
 matically, as it carries different feathers to 
 different distances. 
 
 Feathers may be home-cured in a smaller 
 v/ay with considerable .success, and it may be 
 useful to many to describe the best method. 
 
 They should be kept for a certain 
 Home-c\ired time to dry ; then the quills and 
 Feathers. coarse feathers must be all picked 
 
 out, and the feathers steeped in a 
 large tub of lime-water decanted clear from a 
 mixture of about i lb. of quicklime per gallon of 
 water. They should be well stirred about several 
 times in this, and left to steep for two or three 
 days. Take off all impurities first from the 
 surface of the liquid, and then take out the 
 feathers and drain them upon large sieves or on 
 a clean wire frame like a mason's riddle ; then 
 pass them through several waters, the first of 
 which should be hot, in the same way. Finally 
 dry them, first partially upon the wire," and 
 afterwards strewn out more thinly upon twine 
 netting stretched flat at a fair height in a warm 
 rooni ; tap this netting every now and then with 
 
 versus 
 Fat. 
 
 a stick, and the dried ones will flutter through 
 to the floor. This sort of separation of the 
 individual feathers as they dry, and thorough 
 drying, after the first chemical treatment, are 
 the important details. 
 
 We found a good many fatters, even in 
 Sussex, who seemed insufficiently acquainted 
 with what may be called the practical science of 
 feeding. Most knew better, but 
 Flesh some seemed to endeavour to get 
 
 as much food as possible through 
 the birds, so long as the latter could 
 stand it or did not go wrong. The result of this 
 is, that when a bird so fed is trussed a great 
 deal of internal fat is found, as well as deposits 
 of mere fat under the skin. The mixed meal is 
 far worse than the " pure " oats in this way, but 
 even with ground oats, only a certain amount 
 can be converted into flesh, which is the great 
 object — flesh evenly infiltrated with fat — and 
 any surplus can onlyform fat. This makes the 
 bird heavy in hand, but in the end the sender 
 gradually loses reputation for " quality," and his 
 price suffers. This matter of even flesh and 
 feeding is connected with that of the open- 
 air pens, which so many writers have deemed 
 questionable. Some of the Sussex fatters 
 have made experiments on the subject ; for 
 as a class they are wonderfully keen and 
 intelligent men, by no means slow to take 
 in ideas or to test them. It was a real treat 
 to us discussing points with some of them, 
 and to find what a high type of industrious 
 and often Christian families, both as I'egards 
 parents and children, this industry had created 
 and maintained. They have tried in-doors for 
 the early stage, many of them, and the uniform 
 verdict is that in spite of the greater exposure, 
 the out-door pens answer better, unless a shed 
 overhead is open nearly all round. Some of 
 these out-door pens are really picturesque, as 
 in the illustration on next page of those belong- 
 ing to Mr. D. Taylor, Croxted Farm, Framfield. 
 The fact appears to be that during the earlier 
 stages especially, it is above all things needful to 
 have vigorous appetite and digestion ; and the 
 fresher air, wider outlook, and consequent greater 
 activity, tend to this, especially in spring and 
 summer, and the birds lay on more flesh and less^ 
 fat in proportion. The shelter is, however, 
 pretty effectual, as can be seen, against wind or 
 driving rain, and in really bad weather is sup- 
 plemented over the pens. 
 
 In regard to cleansing the troughs used in 
 front of these pens, Mr. C. E. Brooke had a 
 curious plan at Baynards, which may be usefully 
 suggestive. Extra troughs being provided, those 
 not in use were thrown into one or other of the 
 
124 
 
 THE BOOK -OF POULTRY. 
 
 ponds on the farm, there to lie in soak for 
 several days. The same ponds contained gold 
 and silver fish ; and owing -probably to the 
 amount of food thus insensibly added, the fish 
 had swarmed to a great extent, but it was 
 singular that many of the young fish had lost 
 most of their colour. This seems to us another 
 curious example, in a quite different direction, 
 of the effect of ground oats in whitening the 
 skin. 
 
 Another side of the feeding problem is raised 
 by considering the gains in weight during 
 successive weeks of fattening ; coupled with the 
 
 referred to by Mr. E. Brown on p. 97. The 
 average weight of all when put up to fatten was 
 4 lbs. 15!/^ ozs., and the weight gained during 
 successive weeks was as follows :— 
 
 
 Entire 
 24 Birds. 
 
 Average 
 Each. 
 
 During first week 
 
 During second week 
 
 During third week 
 
 During fourth week 
 
 lbs. ozs. 
 
 II 4 
 
 32 II 
 
 S 14 
 
 2 64 
 
 lbs. ozs. 
 
 .09 
 I 5 
 5 
 14 
 
 Total gain 
 
 57 3i 
 
 2 6 
 
 CasstU & Co.t Photo 
 
 Out-door Pens in Sussex. (Mr. D. Taylor, Croxted Farm, Framfield.) 
 
 fact that birds may be brought to the utmost 
 pitch of perfection at 2. pecuniary loss. There is 
 not the slightest doubt that many of the birds 
 
 which take prizes at shows of dead 
 Profit or Loss poultry, such as Smithfield, have 
 Fattening. been prepared at a loss as regards 
 
 any possible market price, though 
 they may pay for purposes of competition. Such 
 a fact, as we must show, has a very important 
 bearing upon advice as to the best breeds and 
 crosses. Both points may find illustration in 
 further figures regarding the same twenty-four 
 fowls fatted by Mr. C. E. Brooke (which were 
 his exhibits at the Dairy Show of 1894) already 
 
 After the second week, it can be observed 
 that the increase rapidly falls off, and that the 
 fourth week added scarcely anything — only 
 ly^ ozs. per bird. If fowls could be sold merely 
 by weight, therefore, they would pay better if 
 killed after the fortnight ; but the further feed- 
 ing, though it adds less, rounds out and finishes 
 off the whole bird, and thus makes a share of 
 the price by giving higher "quality." These 
 particular fowls, however, cost 2s. each to feed 
 for the four weeks, in food only, besides the 
 labour ; and it is clear that at this cost the 
 2 lbs. 6 ozs. of flesh and fat added in four 
 weeks could not possibly pay, except at the 
 
FACTORS AFFECTING PROFIT. 
 
 ".S 
 
 extra price of prize birds at a London show. 
 Many prize birds which are held up by some 
 as the only proper thing to imitate, are thus 
 similarly polished up to the uttermost, quite 
 regardless of what it costs. This pays for 
 competition, and may even pay at the extra 
 prices obtained afterwards, but such fowls could 
 not be sent to market in the ordinary way. This 
 may be further illustrated by some experiments 
 recorded by the Hon. A. H. Cathcart. Out of 
 thirty-two birds he put up to fatten, two failed, 
 and were discarded ; of the remainder, six made 
 in three weeks a gain in weight of 157 per cent, 
 eleven of 3 1 -6 per cent., and the rest, thirteen, 
 of 50 per cent. It is manifest that these last 
 must pay much the best. He also, as others 
 have done, notices the fact that the first two 
 weeks give the best results in weight, but con- 
 siders that the last week adds a penny or more 
 per lb. to the value of the fowl in " quality." 
 
 It is by these market considerations that the 
 real value of breeds and crosses is to be deter- 
 mined, where regular profit is the object in view, 
 and not by winners prepared, often utterly 
 regardless of expense, for a competitive class. 
 Mr. C. E. Brooke, whose long study of this 
 subject is well known, kindly prepared for us, 
 from the books of his firm, the following table 
 showing the cost in different months for lean 
 chickens of various grades, and the average 
 prices realised in London, also for various grades, 
 in 1899. The figures show some of those 
 temporary fluctuations in price for which no 
 very definite reason can afterwards be given ; 
 but on the whole afford, in spite of these, a good 
 general view of the average trade that is done. 
 A feature interesting to many will be the prices 
 obtainable for old hens alive ; another is the 
 rather low market for what the great commission 
 dealers term " small stuff," owing probably to an 
 increased supply of Russian and Irish fowls : — 
 
 The very narrow margin in the Lincolnshire 
 birds known as " Bostons " is owing to the fact 
 that these are simply well-reared chickens merely 
 fed in a pen for a week or so, but not crammed or 
 shaped like the Sussex birds. Essex birds mostly 
 come as they are, and we have seen many which 
 would have added sixpence to their value merely 
 by one week's good feeding in a cage. 
 
 The table further gives an idea of the close 
 margin which feeders now have in regard to a 
 large portion of their business, and also of the 
 seasonal changes in the market. 
 Choice of These are important. In spring. 
 Table Poultry, chickens need not be very large to 
 realise a good price, provided they 
 are well and evenly fed, and nicely prepared ; 
 but people who will pay highly for this class, at 
 this season, are limited in number. As the year 
 advances, birds must be larger to realise the 
 same figures, but at this lower price per pound 
 of meat there is a larger market ; another class 
 of purchasers will now afford good poultry, and 
 their requirement of quantity for their money 
 has to be studied. It is from such practical 
 £ s. d. points of view that we have to consider 
 what are suitable breeds and crosses, concerning 
 which the advice of a certain class of writers 
 has caused so much loss to some engaging in 
 the industry, that it is necessary in a practical 
 work like this to make the matter clear. The 
 most prominent representative of this theoretical . 
 school is, perhaps, Mr. Tegetmeier, who prac- 
 tically recommends only the old Surrey fowl 
 (which is indeed admirable for all times of year, 
 if it can only be had !) and crosses of Dorking 
 with Game or Indian Game. He specifically 
 " cautions farmers " against Brahmas or Lang- 
 shans, and of such crosses says {Journal'K.A.S.) : 
 " It is quite true that size can be gained in this 
 manner, but as the cross-bred birds are deficient 
 in the amount of flesh on the breast, and carry 
 
 Cost of Lean Chickens for Fattening, 1899. 
 
 Best Sussex sorts 
 Good „ locally reared 
 Boston & Cambridge ... 
 Irish 
 
 Jan. 
 
 2/6 3/6 
 2/0 3/0 
 2/0 3/0 
 1/6 2/3 
 
 Feb. 
 
 2/6 3/3 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 2/0 3/0 
 1/6 2/3 
 
 March. 
 3/0 4/0 
 
 2/6 3/3 
 2/6 3/0 
 1/9 2/9 
 
 April. 
 
 3/0 3/9 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/3 3/0 
 1/9 3/0 
 
 May. 
 
 3/0 3/6 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/6 3/3 
 1/9 3/3 
 
 June. 
 
 2/6 3/3 
 2/0 3/0 
 2/0 3/0 
 1/9 2/6 
 
 July. 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 1/6 2/6 
 1/9 2/6 
 1/6 2/0 
 
 Aug. 
 
 2/0 2/9 
 1/6 2/6 
 1/6 2/6 
 
 1/6 1/9 
 
 Sept. 
 2/3 3/0 
 
 1/6 2/6 
 1/6 2/6 
 1/6 1/9 
 
 Oct. 
 
 2/6 3/3 
 1/9 2/6 
 1/6 2/6 
 1/6 2/0 
 
 Nov. 
 
 2/3 3/0 
 2/0 2/9 
 
 1/9 3/0 
 1/9 2/0 
 
 Dec. 
 
 2/6 3/3 
 2/6 3/0 
 2/0 3/0 
 2/0 2/3 
 
 
 
 Prices of Poultry 
 
 in Central and Leadenhall Markets, 1899 
 
 
 
 
 
 Best Sussex, Fatted ... 
 
 3/0 S/o 
 
 3/0 5/0 
 
 3/6 5/0 
 
 3/6 5/0 
 
 3/3 5/0 
 
 3/0 5/0 
 
 2/9 4/6 
 
 2/6 4/0 
 
 2/9 4/6 
 
 3/0 4/0 
 
 2/6 4/0 
 
 2/9 S/o 
 
 ,, veiylarge.orCaponf 
 
 S/6 8/0 
 
 5/0 8/0 
 
 S/6 7/6 
 
 5/6 8/0 
 
 5/6 8/0 
 
 S\o 7/0 
 
 4/6 6/6 
 
 4/4 5/6 
 
 S/o 6/0 
 
 4/6 6/0 
 
 4/0 6/0 
 
 S/o 8/0 
 
 Boston & Cambridge ... 
 
 2/0 3/6 
 
 2/0 3/6 
 
 2/6 4/0 
 
 2/64/6 
 
 2/6 4/0 
 
 2/6 3/6 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/0 3/3 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/3 4/6 
 
 Essex 
 
 2/0 s/6 
 
 2/0 3/6 
 
 2/6 4/0 
 
 2/6 4/6 
 
 2/6 4/0 
 
 2/6 3/3 
 
 1/9 2/9 
 
 1/6 2/6 
 
 1/6 3/0 
 
 1/9 3/0 
 
 1/6 2/6 
 
 1/9 3/9 
 
 Irish ... : 
 
 I '6 2/3 
 
 1/6 2/6 
 
 1/9 2/6 
 
 2/0 2/9 
 
 2/3 3/3 
 
 2/0 2/9 
 
 1/3 1/9 
 
 1/3 1/9 
 
 1/6 2/0 
 
 1/6 2/0 
 
 1/9 2/0 
 
 2/0 2/6 
 
 Last year hens, alive . . . 
 
 2/0 2/6 
 
 2/0 7/6 
 
 2/6 .3/0 
 
 2'0 3/6 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/0 2/6 
 
 1/6 2/6 
 
 1/6 2/0 
 
 1/6 2/6 
 
 1/6 2/3 
 
 1/6 2/6 
 
 1/6 2/6 
 
 Russian fowls 
 
 i/i 1/8 
 
 i/l 1/8 
 
 1/2 1/8 
 
 1/8 2/0 
 
 1/8 2/0 
 
 1/8 2/0 
 
 1/6 2/0 
 
 1/6 1/8 
 
 Little or 
 
 no sale 
 
 after 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Canadian 
 
 1/6 2/9 
 
 1/6 2/9 
 
 1/6 2/9 
 
 1/636 
 
 1/6 3/6 
 
 1/6 3/9 
 
 1/6 2/9 
 
 1/6 2/9 
 
 No sale. 
 
 
 
 
 West Australian: 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/0 3/0 
 
 2/3 3/6 
 
 2/3 3/6 
 
 2/9 4/0 
 
 2/0 2/6 
 
 2/0 2/6 
 
 Very 
 
 little 
 
 sale till 
 
 New 
 
 Year. 
 
126 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 a great deal of offal in the shape of heavy, coarse 
 bones and useless feathers, the proceeding is not 
 desirable. Crosses of this kind have found no 
 favour in the eyes of our practical neighbours, 
 the French, nor are the birds appreciated by the 
 feeders who buy for the purpose of fattening 
 fowls for the market." Of Plymouth Rocks, it is 
 similarly stated that they are " not adapted for 
 market fowl in England," and of Wyandottes, 
 that " they are, as might have been expected, 
 destitute of any merit as market fowls." When 
 we proceed to test such statements, practically, 
 by either the experience of the " feeders," or 
 by the practice of "the French," or finally 
 by the results at good shows of dead pbultry, it 
 will be found rather difficult to compress a 
 greater number of errors within so few lines. 
 
 Taking first the feeders, the extremely small 
 proportion of the old Surrey breed has already 
 been referred to, though that is not from choice, 
 but from necessity : also the curious fact that 
 the cross of Indian Game and Dorking has been 
 tried by them, and not approved for the bulk of 
 their business. It is admitted to make the very 
 finest specimens at a certain cost, if a certain 
 price can be reached ; but it does not meet the 
 greater part of the figures above, or pay at the 
 size the feeder chiefly wants : it needs age and 
 size to show profitably, and does best late in the 
 year. Their own present local breed, as already 
 stated, has a .strong Cochin infusion, shown by. 
 fluff and feathered shanks ; and the rest are 
 chiefly Brahma or Plymouth Rock crosses. The 
 first is specially liked by a large number, who 
 say it "pays" in their particular connection 
 better than any other. Mr. Kenward, who 
 raises and fattens 8,000 of his own birds, still 
 prefers the Dorking and Brahma cross to any 
 other, as making most money, and told us 
 personally that some of his birds realised 7s. 6d. 
 each, about the top price of the London market. 
 These birds are not at all deficient in breast, but 
 on the contrary specially good in that respect, 
 as good Brahma crosses generally are. 
 
 French practice is to the same effect. The 
 bird most in favour of the French feeders of the 
 present day, the Faverolles, is a combination of 
 the Houdan with the Dorking and the Brahma, 
 — two English components to one French ! 
 This cross-bred bird has now nearly displaced 
 the Houdan in the Houdan district itself ; and 
 we thus see that in actual fact a cross of this 
 kind, so far from finding no favour as alleged, 
 is amongst " our practical neighbours " their last 
 and favourite production. And at a recent 
 Smithfield exhibition the Faverolles displayed 
 were considered by all the poulterers, without 
 exception, about the best birds at the show. 
 
 The same conclusion is enforced by the prices 
 realised at the Smithfield shows of dead table 
 poultry : observe, we say by the prices, rather 
 than the prizes, prices being the real 
 Eesuits in criterion of the professional fatten 
 Competition. Passing a few of the earliest years 
 as possibly questionable on the 
 ground of " ignorance " (which has, indeed, been 
 alleged against their results), we take as the first 
 the. year 1894, in which it was known the Duke 
 of York would enter birds, and there was accord- 
 ingly heavy competition. The Royal entries 
 should be omitted, as realising obviously 
 " royal " prices ; of the remainder, the highest 
 price for a pair of fowls was realised by Lady 
 Rothschild's Brahma-Dorking cockerels, weigh- 
 ing 16 lbs. 14 ozs., entered at 15s. the couple, and 
 fetching at auction 30s., while the cup pair of 
 Indian Game and Dorking cockerels weighed 
 12 lbs. ID ozs., and realised 27s. This was the 
 more remarkable because the 1894 show was 
 dominated by the theorists here in view, to 
 the extent that there was only one class in each 
 sex for all cross-breds beside those Games and 
 Dorkings and " Surreys " favoured by them, and 
 only one each for all other pure breeds, the 
 winning pullets in the latter being Wyandottes, 
 entered at 12s. and realising i8s. On the other 
 hand, what is said above about the very highest 
 quality and occasional special prices, was borne 
 out by the Earl of Yarborough's six-group of 
 the Indian Game and Dorking cross, which was 
 bought by Mr. W. Bellamy for the Constitutional 
 Club for six guineas ; this group weighed 
 55 lbs. 14 ozs., averaging 9 lbs. 5 ozs. each, at an 
 average price of 2s. 3d. per lb. We notice these 
 particularly because the prices approximated to 
 French prices, and the fowls accordingly fully 
 equalled French fowls. For years past French 
 feeders have had nothing to teach English, so 
 far as anything like such prices can be obtained ; 
 but it is not reasonable to expect a bird sold for 
 5s. to equal a French one sold for 20s. 
 
 In 1895 the highest of the Dorking cockerels 
 realised 15 s., pullets 13s.; the English Game 
 cockerels i8s. ; Indian Game lis.; and pullets 
 los. 6d. Again there was one class only in 
 each sex for all other pure breeds, Langshans 
 winning in each, and realising 13s. and 13s. 6d. 
 Of crosses, top prices were in Game Dorkings, 
 14s. and 15s. ; Indian Game ditto, i8s. 6d. (very 
 large) and 14s., while in the one class each for 
 all other crosses, two pairs of Dorking and 
 Brahma cockerels realised i6s. and 153., and 
 the best pullets 14s. We have no notes of 1896, 
 but by 1897 the merits of other breeds had 
 made themselves felt, and competition in all 
 was stronger, with high prices as the result all 
 
CHOICE OF BREEDS AND CROSSES. 
 
 127 
 
 round. In Dorkings, pairs of cockerels fetched 
 21S., pullets 23s. and i6s. ; English Game 
 cockerels 14s., pullets 24s. and i6s. ; Lang- 
 shans (one class) i8s. and 15s., both pullets ; 
 Orpingtons (one class) 40s. and 1 6s. (cockerels) ; 
 Rocks (one class) 19s. (these were pullets from 
 a Sussex feeder, Mr. Kenward of Waldron). 
 In the crosses, Game Dorkings fetched 21s. (two 
 pairs) ; Indian and Dorking, I'Ss. (two pairs) for 
 cockerels, and 27s. pullets ; the class for all 
 others, 23s. in cockerels for Indian and Lang- 
 shan, 15 s. in pullets for same cross, and another 
 iSs. for Indian and Sussex. 
 
 In 1898 there was again strong competition, 
 and we append the results in fuller tabular form, 
 which show some interesting variations, though 
 the main conclusions remain as before. Pure 
 Dorkings beat all other pure breeds both in 
 highest price and average ; next come Lang- 
 shans in highest price and Plymouth Rocks in 
 average. Again the competition value of the 
 Indian Game cross is manifest in higher prices, 
 but it also gives nearly the lowest price ; and 
 the winners and most of the others in Surrey 
 and Sussex fowls had feathered legs. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 fl 
 
 fa 0^ 
 
 I'SS 
 
 
 
 •at 3 
 
 is 
 
 til 
 
 
 
 Dorking cockerels 
 
 16 lbs. 
 
 12 ozs. 
 
 22/- 
 
 7/- 
 
 10/74 
 
 pullets 
 
 15 lbs. 
 
 60ZS. 
 
 22/- 
 
 7/6 
 
 10/6 
 
 0. E. Game, either sex ... 
 
 10 lbs. 
 
 14 ozs. 
 
 10/- 
 
 6/- 
 
 8/1 1 
 
 Indian Game, either sex . . . 
 
 17 lbs. 
 
 
 13/- 
 
 7/6 
 
 9/6 
 
 Langshans, either sex 
 
 19 lbs. 
 
 2 ozs. 
 
 13/6 
 
 5/6 
 
 9/-4 
 
 (second prize) 
 
 21 lbs. 
 
 8 ozs. 
 
 13/- 
 
 
 
 Orpinglons 
 
 14 lbs. 
 
 8 ozs. 
 
 10/- 
 
 7/- 
 
 8/7 
 
 (No. 103, V. h. c.) 
 
 
 
 13/- 
 
 
 
 Plymouth Rock 
 
 14 lbs. 
 
 12 ozs. 
 
 12/- 
 
 8/- 
 
 10/6 
 
 (third) 
 
 17 lbs. 
 
 4 ozs. 
 
 13/- 
 
 
 
 Wyandotte 
 
 14 lbs. 
 
 2 OZP. 
 
 II/6 
 
 8/- 
 
 9l2h 
 
 (third) 
 
 16 lbs. 
 
 
 1 1/6 
 
 
 
 Any other Breed: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lincolnshire Buff 
 
 IS lbs. 
 
 6 ozs. 
 
 13/- 
 
 
 
 Faverolles 
 
 13 lbs. 
 
 2 ozs. 
 
 9/- 
 
 
 
 Cross Breeds : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0. E. Game-Dorking ... 
 
 1 5 lbs. 
 
 
 13/6 
 
 8/6 
 
 9/8 
 
 Indian Game-Dorking 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cockerels 
 
 20 lbs. 
 
 12 ozs. 
 
 21/- 
 
 6/6 
 
 9/- 
 
 pullets... 
 
 1 3 lbs. 
 
 14 ozs. 
 
 16/- 
 
 6/6 
 
 9/10 
 
 Any other Cross cockerels 
 
 16 lbs. 
 
 14 ozs. 
 
 is/- 
 
 7/- 
 
 9/3 
 
 pullets . . . 
 
 15 lbs. 
 
 8 ozs. 
 
 15/- 
 
 7/- 
 
 8/11 
 
 Surrey or Stissex cockerels 
 
 20 lbs. 
 
 4 ozs. 
 
 16- 
 
 7/- 
 
 9/z 
 
 pullets ... 
 
 14 lbs. 
 
 6 ozs. 
 
 11/- 
 
 6/- 
 
 7/10 
 
 In 1899 the prize 
 auction but left to be 
 being sold at the close, 
 different, quality being 
 cockerels realised i6s. 
 I2S. ; English Game, 
 Game 15s. (two pairs. 
 
 birds were not sold by 
 
 claimed, only the residue 
 
 The results were not 
 
 high all round. Dorking 
 
 per couple and pullets 
 
 I2s. (cockerels); Indian 
 
 both cockerels) ; Lang- 
 
 shans, 1 6s. (three pairs) and 15s. (two pairs) ; 
 Black Orpingtons, i6s. and 153. (cockerels); 
 Buffs, 153. (two pairs); Plymouth Rocks, 15s. 
 (two pairs) ; Wyandottes, 15s. ; any other breed, 
 14s. and 123. 6d. for Faverolles, which would un- 
 doubtedly have fetched more. In the crosses, 
 Game and Dorkings made i8s. and 153.; Indian 
 and Dorking, 24s. for cockerels, and 1 83. pullets ; 
 any other cross, 24s. in cockerels for Sussex- 
 Dorking ; i6s. in pullets for Indian-Langshans ; 
 Surrey or Sussex 20s. and i8s. for cockerels, i8s. 
 and 15s. pullets, nearly all these being more or 
 less feather-legged, according to what we have 
 said before. 
 
 The intelligent rearer and fatter will learn 
 from such facts as these to select his own breed 
 or cross according to the size, price, and market 
 he is working for, and his own cir- 
 Practioal cumstdnces and experience, and not 
 
 Selection. for any one point alone. Such 
 shows as have been cited have done, 
 perhaps, as much good in promoting greater 
 freedom in this respect, as in teaching the public 
 what good poultry is, and the cash value of it ; 
 and it should be more generally known than it 
 appears to be, that the Worshipful Company of 
 Poulters ofifer their gold and silver medals to 
 any County exhibition of dead poultry which 
 comprises not less than fifty exhibits, from 
 which one month's notice and application has 
 been sent to the Clerk of the Company. We 
 have been informed by both several poulterers 
 and salesmen in the wholesale London markets, 
 that the former prejudice against both black 
 legs, and yellow legs and skin, has largely 
 disappeared, though not entirely, and though 
 white legs and skin still have real value. It is 
 remarkable that in America the yellow skin and 
 leg are actually preferred ; and most people who 
 have made direct comparison at the same meal, 
 have admitted that there is a certain kind of 
 moist juiciness in the meat of many yellow birds, 
 which does not as a rule exist in the white 
 breeds. The flesh of the latter is typified in 
 perfection by that of the pheasant, or in fowls 
 of the Dorking, both of which many people 
 think rather short and dry, though very superior 
 in other respects. This is the probable explana- 
 tion of a theory held by nearly all Belgian 
 feeders, that the best results in table poultry are 
 obtained by crossing a yellow race upon a 
 white-fleshed race, which is singularly borne out 
 by the Indian Game or Brahma cross upon the 
 Dorking ; by the Buff Orpington or Lincolnshire 
 Buff, which has. taken the Buff" Cochin into 
 indigenous white-skinned stock; and by the 
 Faverolles, which is admitted by the French to 
 surpass the original Houdan. 
 
128 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Neither can any given breed or cross be 
 relied upon, merely as such, to produce good 
 table fowls. Individual birds or strains of the 
 same breed differ greatly in their table quality, 
 and need to be carefully chosen in reference to 
 this. The flesh of the modern type of Lang- 
 shans may be excellent, but the immense length 
 of limb makes the trussed bird look repulsive. 
 Many Dorkings are short in the breast-bone and 
 coarse in skin, while others are long in body 
 and fine. Many modern Brahmas, since these 
 have been bred to the Cochin model, are unfit 
 for crossing, while others may be found which 
 produce admirable table fowls, having splendid 
 breasts and thin pinky skins. The modern 
 breeds of Wyandottes, Rocks, and Orpingtons 
 differ amazingly in their conformation and table 
 'qualities ; and so do Indian Games as regards 
 their length and size of limb, and their effect in 
 producing white or yellow birds, a question 
 which still has a money value. One Indian 
 Game cock will throw chiefly white skin with 
 Dorking hens, and another yellow ; and one 
 strain of Dorkings will do the first, and another 
 the second, with the same Indian mate. 
 
 The practical breeder will study these things ' 
 more than the precise cross, but chiefly of all 
 keep in view skin, breast, and bone. A thick 
 coarse skin, or which looks coarse from pin- 
 feather, means an appreciable amount off the 
 value of a bird equal in all other respects. 
 Objection to " bone" has been carried by some 
 to a ridiculous extent ; yet too massive shanks 
 also depreciate a fowl. But the chief thing of 
 all is breast. This must be broad, that from a 
 large fowl slices may be cut : this point is 
 judged from the front of the live bird, and is 
 most generally wanting in Langshans, and some 
 other Asiatics. The breast should also be deep, 
 so that the slices may be large ones. This is 
 judged from the side, which should resemble 
 roughly a parallelogram with the corners 
 rounded, as in a good Dorking, or a fir-cone 
 tapering from shoulders to the rear, as in good 
 Games ; and this point is most apt to fail in 
 Brahmas, Langshans, Rocks, and Wyandottes. 
 And the breast should be long, that the whole 
 carcase may be so, and carry much meat ; this 
 is best judged by feeling the actual keel of the 
 bone. Many turkeys fail here lamentably, and 
 so do many Dorkings, Brahmas, and even some 
 Indian Games ; but any student of the Smithfield 
 shows, or of fowls and their prices at a first-class 
 West-end poulterer's, will soon see that, supposing 
 good colour and finish, this point of length of 
 carcase is perhaps of all others most important 
 in determining the apparent size and value of a 
 fowl. Of all the races used, birds can be found 
 
 good in all these respects, quite independently 
 of their feather points, which are of no table 
 value ; from such the intelligent rearer will 
 make his selections. 
 
 Almost equal differences will be found 
 between strains and individuals of all breeds 
 and crosses as regards early maturity, and 
 aptitude to lay on flesh in response to food. 
 Nothing is more vital to the question of profit 
 than this, as exemplified in Mr. Cathcart's 
 results cited on page 125 ; and it has been 
 found that chickens reared upon ground oats 
 do much better upon this food when fattening, 
 than those reared upon grain. The rearer who 
 breeds his own stock will proceed upon his own 
 knowledge and experience in regard to these 
 points ; in regard to purchases he must rely 
 upon either observation or inquiry : if he knows 
 the real age of a bird, he will be able to judge 
 pretty well about its rate of growth and condi- 
 tion. Just as in breeding for egg-laying, the 
 intelligent development of such practical qualities 
 is vital to success, in face of the growing com- 
 petition from abroad and the extension of 
 poultry-rearing at home, and the effects of both 
 upon a market which has its limits, and may be 
 affected by greater production like any other. 
 
 That the market has been affected to some 
 extent already has been shown above, and is 
 sufficiently evident. The greatest opening for 
 successful effort lies in that educa- 
 Opening-up iiQfi ^y {j^g public to appreciate and 
 New Markets. Pay for better poultry, which Mr. 
 Brown has referred to on page 98. 
 It is doubtful if the London market can take 
 much greater supplies at present prices, and we 
 have seen that a perceptible portion of the 
 Sussex product is already going into local 
 markets. Here there is room for expansion. 
 There are large districts, and even towns, where 
 only low-priced common poultry are as yet 
 practically known. The Hon. A. H. Cathcart* 
 reported in 1899 that is. 6d. was the lowest and 
 2s. 6d. the highest price for a fowl in any 
 market in East Yorkshire, while at York itself 
 3s. was thought high, and any more simply 
 exorbitant. Yet by experience people in York 
 had been taught to pay him Ss. each for larger 
 fatted birds, and educated to understand that 
 they were thus actually paying less per pound 
 for actual flesh, and that of much better quality. 
 This arises from the fact that the bone and offal 
 grow comparatively little in the few weeks of 
 fattening, and that the weight added is nearly 
 all to the edible portion of the bird. This has 
 already been illustrated by figures from two 
 English feeders ; it may be further so, perhaps 
 * Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, 
 
JUDGING TABLE POULTRY. 
 
 129 
 
 more clearly, by some experiments made in 
 Canada by Prof. Robertson. He bought ordin- 
 ary chickens in the Ottawa market, of which 
 three fair representatives were killed as they were, 
 and weighed as plucked'; as trussed for cooking ; 
 after cooking ; and finally the weight taken of 
 the bones and carcase left, the rest reckoning as 
 edible meat. The same was done with three 
 similar chickens fed up for 36 days, and the 
 following were the results ; the weights being 
 that of the whole lot of three each : — 
 
 With feathers off 
 
 Ready for cooking 
 
 After being cooked two days 
 
 Bones ■ 
 
 Edible portion 
 
 It will be seen that while the plucked weight 
 of the fatted ones was barely twice, the weight 
 of edible meat was fully three times that of the 
 ordinary birds. Good shows of dead poultry at 
 agricultural and poultry shows, will assist in 
 spreading this sort of knowledge, and may thus 
 open markets in other districts. 
 
 It may be possible also to develop fresh 
 tastes in poultry. As stated in the article above, 
 there has been very little increase, if any, in the 
 demand for petits poussins or " milk chickens," 
 which appear too tender and melting in texture 
 for average English palates, trained mainly on 
 joints instead of the tender stews and entrees so 
 universal on the Continent. We have known 
 many experiments in offering such a delicacy 
 to result in the verdict that it was not worth 
 eating, especially at the price: national palate 
 has "much to do with matters such as these. 
 But when we consider the immense, apparently 
 unhmited, demand in America for " broilers " of 
 I ^ lbs. to 2\ lbs. in weight, the outlook for such 
 a product as this in England may perhaps be 
 different ; and every breeder who, on any 
 possible opportunity, treats a friend or an 
 accidental guest to a broiled chicken, may 
 perhaps be doing something to create a taste 
 and demand for birds of this type. So far we 
 have only come across broiled chicken to any 
 extent upon the upper reaches of the Thames, 
 where it is well known under the name of 
 " sudden death," * and very popular ; and where 
 
 • So called bfecause it is usual to go and catch your chicken 
 and chop its head off, letting it bleed while you boil up a pot 
 of water. You dip it in the boiling water, which enables you 
 to pull off the skin with feathers ^nd all ; then draw, split, 
 and broil it, with pepper and salt to taste, basting with butter, 
 and lulting more butler on the hot bird when seived. 
 
 R 
 
 known elsewhere, it has generally become so 
 through acquaintance with boating men. An 
 active demand for this class of birds would be of 
 great advantage to rearers, as they are marketed 
 earlier, without the risks and critical stages of 
 fattening ; and what boating men have already 
 done should encourage rearers to set a similiar 
 example, and show what this appetising dish 
 is, on every possible occasion. More or less of 
 the American methods described in the next 
 chapter, will no doubt come into operation, 
 should the "broiler" class of chickens ever come 
 into extensive demand; at present the small 
 market in London is chiefly supplied by the 
 smaller class of Irish birds. 
 
 Very little need be said about exhibiting 
 table poultry. It is generally stated that the 
 birds are to be shown " trussed but not drawn," 
 but this is misleading, as they are 
 Exiibiting ^ot really trussed at all. They 
 Judging. should be shaped in the press, or by 
 
 cloths, so that the legs and wings lie 
 neatly, close up to the body, in the proper posi- 
 tion; and most carefully plucked and stubbed, 
 so that the holes of the feathers may not look 
 coarse ; leaving feathers only on the head, and an 
 inch or two down the neck. The shanks should- 
 have been washed or wiped if necessary, before 
 pressing ; and after setting, the head may 
 be wiped if required. Nothing more is allowed 
 or should be done, beyond tying the hocks to- 
 gether, and the birds are shown on their backs 
 upon a flat or slightly sloping board, with their 
 necks and heads hanging down over the front 
 edge, towards the spectator. Breaking the 
 breast-bone, or any other such expedient as is 
 presently described, is not allowed. 
 
 Judging should depend upon fair and pro- 
 portionate consideration of many points. Size 
 and good matching ought to count for a good 
 deal, and it is nonsense to rail as some do at 
 the alleged fact — never true in a real sense — that 
 they have been "judged by weight" It is 
 simply that size has a value ; and the aim of 
 a show should be to teach the feeder to pro- 
 duce, and to encourage the production of, birds 
 of the most value to him, and the purchaser, and 
 the public. It is not the business of poultry 
 theorists to artificially encourage, or compel 
 exhibition of, what they are pleased to pro- 
 nounce superior " quality," but which the public 
 will not pay the same price for. Straightness 
 of breast-bone also counts a great deal in the 
 appearance. That and length of body, well filled 
 up with meat to the top of the keel, have as 
 much as anything to do with the making of a 
 fine table fowl. Breadth, and fulness of the 
 
13° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 wing, likewise count. Fine and delicate-loolcing 
 skin must also be considered, and also white- 
 ness of skin and body, though in less degree, for 
 splendid birds have been shown quite yellow in 
 skin. Another quite cardinal point is evenness 
 of flesh, free from deposits of yellow fat clearly 
 visible under the skin : the latter at once 
 stamps the bird as badly fed and coarse. Really 
 good and even feeding shows specially upon 
 the back, which should be well covered with 
 lean meat ; so reliable is this sign of good 
 feeding, that in France fowls are often ex- 
 posed for sale with the back uppermost. If 
 that is well covered with meat the breast is 
 nearly sure to be so ; but the converse by no 
 means holds good, so that many English house- 
 keepers do not believe in there being much 
 meat on the back at all. Smallness of bone 
 should have some weight given to it, though 
 not nearly what some insist upon. Finally, 
 there is the quality of the flesh, which can be 
 judged by gentle, delicate touches with the 
 tips of the first two fingers of the right hand. 
 Our idea of proper judging is about as follows : 
 
 Size or weight 
 
 Straight breast 
 
 Length of body 
 
 iBreadth of body 
 
 Evenness of flesh and freedom from fat 
 
 Skin and colour 
 
 Fineness of bone 
 
 Touch 
 
 Total 
 
 20 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 The feeder or breeder as such has nothing 
 to do with trussing fowls or preparing them for 
 the table. He cannot have, because the least 
 
 wound would be a centre of de- 
 Trussing composition, and the birds he sends 
 Fowls. luust "keep" as long as possible. 
 
 That is why he fasts them, that they 
 may go to market with both crop and intestines 
 empty. Trussing is the poulterer's business, 
 and is put off till the birds are sold for actual 
 consumption. Of course, now and then a 
 poulterer who is close to his own source of 
 supply may order fowls to be delivered trussed, 
 but this is seldom the case. More often a rearer 
 and feeder in a small way, in a district where a 
 demand for better poultry is growing, may have 
 private customers, and be glad to secure the 
 double profit. 
 
 There are various ways of trussing a fowl ; 
 the old-fashioned plan with skewers, the liver 
 being tucked into one wing while the gizzard 
 graces the other, being described in most cookery 
 books. A much superior method has, however, 
 been more . and more adopted by the best 
 
 London tradesrnen during recent years, and is 
 likely to supersede all others wherever it 
 becomes known. The following description of 
 this method, which has not hitherto been cor- 
 rectly explained, is written from notes of the 
 lectures and demonstrations given during 
 several years in succession at the Dairy and 
 Smithfield London shows of table poultry, by 
 Mr. W. Bellamy, of Jermyn Street, one of the 
 best and probably the largest* of West End 
 poulterers, and by his chief manager (Mr. 
 R. Batchelor), and has been revised by them. 
 
 The first thing is to draw the sinews from 
 the drumsticks. This can be done in two ways. 
 Making a longitudinal incision in either side of 
 the shank with the point of the knife, about an 
 inch above the foot, the end of a skewer is 
 inserted under the sinew, the skewer twisted 
 round it for a purchase, and taking the skewer 
 in the right hand, the sinew is drawn out. The 
 other' way is to treat it like a turkey's leg, 
 cutting across the shank in front, just above 
 the foot, down to the bone, and bending the foot 
 further over till the shank-bone breaks; then 
 hooking the bent-down foot into a V-shaped 
 hook (an ordinary meat-hook does not answer : 
 the angle of the V is required to "jam" and 
 hold the foot firmly), and pulling the limb down, 
 the foot and sinew are left behind. Either now 
 or previously the two points are cut off from each 
 wing, and either all the toes half an inch from the 
 ball of the foot, or some cut off the entire foot, 
 which we think is preferable, even v/hen not done 
 in drawing the sinew. When a fowl is thus pre- 
 pared at home, all these trimmings should, go 
 into the stock-pot along with the liver, gizzard, 
 neck, etc. The sinew above the hock-joint, in 
 front, is also cut across, in order that the shank 
 may " lay out " nicely, instead of doubling up as 
 in the natural position. 
 
 Next we take off the head and neck. With 
 the fowl's breast downwards, pinch up the skin 
 at the back of the neck close to the shoulders, 
 insert the point of the knife longitudinally at 
 the side, and cut upwards so as to leave a small 
 flap about an inch long. Draw this flap back, 
 and pressing the very top of the breast firmly 
 down to the table, cut through the neck-joint 
 close to the root, or level with the shoulders, 
 leaving no neck-bone projecting. This is to be 
 done, however, without cutting through the skin 
 on the lower or breast side, which is simply 
 scraped fairly clean of flesh and the congealed 
 blood which may have collected. We thus have 
 
 * We are informed that 340,000 fowls alone were bought 
 and sold by Mr. Bellamy during the year 1899. Inde- 
 pendently of the public demonstrations above mentioned, 
 the influence of methods thus widely exemplified is necessarily 
 great. 
 
THUSSING FOR THE TABLE. 
 
 131 
 
 a small flap an inch beyond the stump of the 
 neck at the back, and a broad flap from the 
 breast or front, which is cut off about three 
 inches long. In trussing up, the back flap is 
 first folded over the stump ; then the broad flap, 
 when secured over this, keeps in the juice and 
 the gravy. 
 
 The crop can now be easily " peeled " away 
 from the surrounding flesh, always commencing 
 from the left side and going round, and is cut off, 
 with the remnant of windpipe, pretty far in. The 
 forefinger of the right hand is then introduced 
 into the cavity, and worked thoroughly round, as 
 deeply as possible, between the viscera and car- 
 case of the bird, loosening everything all round, 
 as far as the finger can reach ; upon this depends 
 easy "drawing." The fowl is then held tail 
 upwards on the table, and a cut about half an 
 inch deep made across just under the tail-joint 
 or "parson's nose," and above the vent. The 
 hooked forefinger can now be passed round 
 the lower end of the bowel, and a small loop 
 pulled out ; inserting the knife under this, cut 
 upwards, and the vent is cutout without dividing 
 the bowel. The first two fingers of the right 
 hand are then inserted so as to embrace the 
 gizzard, when, if the loosening in front has been 
 properly done, the entire viscera, including intes- 
 tines, lungs, liver, gizzard, and gall-bladder, are 
 pulled out quite easily in one mass, leaving the 
 interior perfectly clean, and needing neither wash- 
 ing, wiping, nor any further operation whatever. 
 
 The merrythought should next be removed, 
 though this is of course optional : if in a family 
 the bird has to be made " go round " as far as 
 possible, and the merrythought is desired for a 
 separate " portion," such a step will of necessity 
 be omitted. Pulling back the skin, the flesh is 
 scraped a Httle down the front of the two bones, 
 after which the point of the knife will lift each 
 out of its seat without any meat adhering. This 
 gives a much better breast, and in the case of a 
 large fowl, enables good slices to be cut as 
 from a turkey. It is really better to do nothing 
 further to the breast, especially for home con- 
 sumption ; and a well-fed Surrey fowl needs 
 nothing even in the way of appearance, the 
 forcing up of the back and subsequent pressing 
 bringing the meat up well. But many people 
 are so accustomed to the look of fowls whose 
 breast-bones have been smashed down by a 
 rolling-pin, that if an ordinary bird were sent 
 them in its natural state, they would indignantly 
 complain that it had " nothing on it." This can 
 be remedied without smashing the keel itself 
 (which ruins the carving); and however futile 
 it may be, until the pubhc are better educated 
 there is no doubt that a difference of threepence 
 
 to sixpence in the selling value of the fowl will 
 often be made by treatment. Mr. Bellamy's 
 method is as follows : Either the poultry-knife 
 is inserted through the vent, in the transverse or 
 flat position, and the point driven by a smart 
 tap through the flat of the breast-bone just 
 under the front of the keel, which is held down 
 on the table ; or a steel skewer may be inserted 
 from the front at the same point, and given a 
 slight wrench right and left, breaking the thin 
 flat bone in the same »vay. In either case, a very 
 slight tapping with the flat of the knife after- 
 wards will then drive in the entire breast-bone, 
 without any fracturing of the keel itself,, and the 
 look of the breast is much improved. We look 
 forward to the time, however, when even this 
 method shall be discarded. 
 
 All is now ready for trussing, for which we 
 require a straight trussing needle eight or ten 
 inches long, threaded with twine. We will first 
 take a fowl for roasting. The bird is laid on 
 its back, with the neck towards the operator, 
 with the first or thigh joint of the legs 
 held down to the table, and the needle with 
 twine is passed straight through both thighs and 
 the body, just above and touching the thigh- 
 bones, and rather nearer the joint than the 
 middle of the bone. The back is then turned 
 
 Fig. 68. — Threading of the Wings. 
 
 uppermost, the pinions turned or twisted inwards 
 so as to point towards each other over the back, 
 and" the same twine taken through the wing- 
 bone (i.e. the double-bone) near the centre and 
 between the two bones, then through the pinion, 
 thence over the end of the doubled-down breast- 
 flap of skin (now doubled close over the stump 
 of neck and its little flap, on to the back), thence 
 the reverse way through pinion and wing-joint of 
 the other wing (Fig. 68). The twine is then drawn 
 up sufficiently tight and tied ; it should not be 
 too tight, or the fowl will not lie firm on the dish, 
 but so that the two wings stand about parallel 
 and square. Threading the needle again, it is 
 next passed just under the bone of the back at 
 the loins or haunches, where there is a small 
 
132 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 hole on each side apparently designed by Nature 
 for the express purpose, which can readily be 
 seen in any denuded carcase of a fowl. Thence 
 the twine is taken over the end of the drum- 
 stick, through the body again, just over or 
 embracing the flat part of the back end of the 
 breast-bone, and over the other drumstick to be 
 tied. The fowl is then finished, as in Fig. 6^. 
 
 Fig. 69. — Trussed for Roasting. 
 
 For boiling the fowl is treated differently. 
 It is beheaded, drawn, and merrythought and 
 sinews removed, as before. The fingers are 
 then introduced through the vent, and the 
 skin loosened or separated from the flesh at 
 the side of the breast, and all round the thighs 
 and drumsticks, down to the hocks. A cross- 
 cut is now made down to the bone, at the 
 back of each drumstick an inch above the 
 hock, and another across the front of the shank 
 an inch and a half below, dividing the sinews. 
 Each foot in turn is then taken, with the bird 
 on its back, and the doubled shank wrenched 
 or twisted inside the drumstick, so as to lie 
 rather under the latter instead of above, in 
 which process the joint is heard to crack. 
 The shanks are then doubled in, when it will 
 be found that, by the aid of the cut made above 
 the hock, that joint can be pushed in and the 
 loose skin stretched and coaxed and drawn over 
 the whole, hiding the entire leg from view, 
 the projecting part of the shanks being finally 
 cut off. Female cooks generally prefer to cut 
 the feet off first, pushing in the doubled limb 
 afterwards. It is customary with some also to 
 crack the shoulder-blades, by a smart blow with 
 the back of the knife between the neck and 
 
 shoulder of the wing on each side, which gives 
 a more rounded shape when the bird is tied 
 together ; but this is not necessary. In trussing, 
 the wing- and thigh-joints are secured and tied 
 the same as already described (Fig. 68). The 
 other tie securing the legs may also be made 
 in the same way, being in no way affected by 
 the fact that this joint is now hidden under the 
 skin, but there are several other methods. One 
 is to make a single tie round the entire stern of 
 the fowl : another to pass the needle through the 
 drumsticks and round the back end of the 
 breast through the body, and tie over the back. 
 For that shown in our illustration, the needle 
 with twine is taken through body and drum- 
 sticks as just mentioned, the twine then taken 
 and crossed round the knuckles, and pulled well 
 in, and the crossed twine tied over the back, 
 which is a very neat tie. Finally the tail-joint 
 is tucked down into the vent, and the bird is 
 
 Fig. 70. — Trussed for Boiling. 
 
 finished as in Fig. 70. While, however, a fowl 
 thus trussed looks nicest on the table when 
 covered with white sauce, some lady house- 
 keepers prefer for carving to dispense with push- 
 ing the leg under a skin apron, simply removing 
 the shank at the hock joint, and otherwise truss- 
 ing exactly as the roasting bird in Fig. 69. 
 
 Poulterers who draw and truss many birds 
 usually sell the livers, which are used for 
 "game" pastes and savouries, at is. to 2s. 
 per lb. The necks and other giblets realise but 
 little over ^d. per lb. The intestines are prac- 
 tically valueless, and have sometimes to be 
 paid for to be taken away ; occasionally a small 
 fraction is realised for some local purpose. 
 
'33 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 POULTRY FARMING. 
 
 THE subject of this chapter is a wide one, 
 which appears to act in a peculiar manner 
 upon some temperaments. The number 
 of people, utterly ignorant of poultry, who believe 
 firmly that a living is to be made by keeping 
 a lot of fowls, and that it is an easy outdoor 
 business anyone can go into and prosper in, 
 and which will exactly suit their health and 
 pocket and disposition, is amazing. At the 
 other extreme are certain writers to whom any 
 mention of poultry-farming, or any advice to 
 farmers to keep poultry more largely and make 
 money by them, seems to act like a red rag 
 upon a bull. It is curious also how people of 
 this type always want to insist that poultry- 
 farming, to be called such, must be " pure and 
 simple," as if other farming was anything of the 
 kind. Farming of any sort is of necessity a 
 somewhat complex pursuit, and no one that has 
 ever advised the production of poultry or eggs 
 upon any extended scale — ^however ignorant or 
 ill-advised he may be — ^has failed to point out 
 the necessity for some other product in con- 
 nection therewith, if only to utilise the manure. 
 Certainly, the poultry-fattening described in the 
 last chapter, when carried on alone, by purchas- 
 ing birds only to be fed in cages, cannot claim 
 such a name, for where there is no land there 
 can be no " farm." But as soon as we find 
 rearing chickens upon land, in connection with 
 even that, and the manure used, and cereals and 
 milk fed to the fowls, and sold through their 
 flesh or eggs rather than direct, there we have 
 more or less of poultry-farming. We shall 
 dismiss all such quibbles by understanding here 
 as " poultry-farming," land worked more or less 
 in conjunction with poultry, or poultry kept 
 otherwise than in a small pen; not for health, or 
 occupation, or as a hobby, or to provide a few 
 2ggs for only family use, but with the declared 
 object of making money by the proceedings, and 
 with no other end in view. 
 
 The most obvious phase of this matter is a 
 great extension of the usual amount of poultry 
 upon a farm, and systematic looking after it ; 
 but we are told by some that even this is not 
 practicable beyond a very small scale. To 
 
 quote one well-known writer, " Neither poultry, 
 pheasants, nor turkeys can be reared year after 
 year successfully upon the same ground," and, 
 therefore, " as many fowls can be kept near the 
 homestead of a small 30-acre farm as can be 
 kept on one of 300 or 3,000 acres," as if health 
 in rearing was not entirely a matter of adequate 
 ground to keep healthy, or as if anyone of 
 common sense would keep the poultry stock 
 of a large farm '' round the homestead " at all, 
 or otherwise than spread out over his fields. 
 This is the mere dogmatism of ignorance ; and 
 not a single case has yet been reported of any 
 farmer who has gone largely into poultry in the 
 manner presently described, having had to cease 
 from tainted ground. The real difficulty is 
 quite different and very simple. Previous pages 
 will have shown that in gross return per bird 
 in proportion to keep, a fowl far surpasses any 
 
 other live stock. But it has the 
 The Real tremendous drawback that it is a 
 Difaouity. small unit : the products have to be 
 
 realised in numerous small detached 
 items from small animals, which yet require 
 more care than sheep. Hence the constant 
 liability to small losses and wastes, and the 
 difficulty of organising such oversight as shall 
 prevent these, and the expense of such separa- 
 tion as shall keep things in hand. The great 
 difficulty is that of labour, and next to that, the 
 cost of accommodation and fencing. Land or 
 rent is no difficulty at all ; even if devoted to 
 laying hens at the rate of an acre per hundred, 
 it is not rent that will cause failure : it is a 
 question of egg-product in proportion to the 
 cost of food, labour, and interest on capital. 
 
 But while grass land will maintain well and 
 in health 100 fowls per acre in perpetuity, run 
 upon half of it for half the time, and then upon 
 the other half, a dozen fowls per acre can be 
 run upon a farm without in any way interfering 
 with other stock or other purposes ; not " round 
 the homestead," of course, but provided they 
 can be distributed over the farm. We stated 
 this fact fifteen years ago, to be repeatedly 
 derided for the statement ; but that same fact 
 is now the commonplace of County Council 
 
134 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 lecturers all over the kingdom, and scores of 
 farmers are proving it true, to their profit. 
 Horses especially, and cattle only less so, 
 actually prefer to graze where such a stock of 
 fowls have most congregated, round their house. 
 This is now an acknowledged and positive truth, 
 and the manure these fowls make on the farm 
 is of the greatest value to the holding, which 
 farmers — slow as they were for years to believe 
 it — are now at last learning for themselves. We 
 are thus brought first of all, therefore, to con- 
 sider the true agricultural value of this poultry 
 manure. 
 
 We were the first to place this beyond doubt, 
 by obtaining an analysis from the late Dr. 
 Augustus Voelcker, Chemist to the Royal 
 Agricultural Society, of two different samples 
 representing different conditions. We found by 
 
 repeated trials that poultry manure, 
 p^^llJ^'"^ "^ ^^'•^'' storing for a few weeks in casks 
 Manure. under cover, was reduced by drying 
 
 to about half its weight. Our birds 
 at that time being kept in pens, Mr. O. E. 
 Cresswell kindly sent for us to Dr. Voelcker 
 samples from his Dorkings, kept on grass ; both 
 fresh as dropped the- night before, and that 
 partially dried by storage. They analysed as 
 follows : — 
 
 Fresh Partially Dried 
 
 Manure. Manure. 
 
 Moisture 61-63 4l'o6 
 
 * Organic Matter and Ammonia Salts... 20'I9 sS'ig 
 
 Tribasic Phosphate of Lime z'97 5'i3 
 
 Magnesia, Alkaline Salts, etc. ... 2'63 3'I3 
 
 Insoluble Siliceous Matter (Sand) ... 12 'sS I2'49 
 
 lOO'OO lOO'OO 
 
 Containing Nitrogen 
 Equal to Ammonia 
 
 171 
 
 2'09 
 
 378 
 
 4'S9 
 
 There is a fully recognised method of valuing 
 such manures according to the ammonia which 
 they contain, and by this standard Dr. Voelcker 
 valued the fresh moist nianure at £2 per ton, 
 and the drier stored sample at £\ 4s. per ton. 
 For years these were sneered at as fancy values; 
 but there is no mistake about them, and how- 
 ever slow the conversion has been, they are at 
 last becoming recognised. The manure from 
 fatting-sheds, owing to the nitrogenous food, is 
 of perceptibly higher value. Dr. Voelcker ex- 
 pressly reported upon ordinary droppings as 
 " a much more concentrated fertiliser than the 
 best description of ordinary farm-yard manure." 
 
 We have next to consider its quantity, its 
 application, and its results. We found that 
 our Brahmas dropped from 3 ozs. to 4 ozs. per 
 night; while Mr. Cresswell found his Silver 
 Grey Dorkings (on nine days' average) produced 
 slightly over 2 ozs. each per night. This is 
 
 46 lbs. per annum, while the Brahmas gave 
 68 lbs. of moist fresh dung. We thus find that 
 the night manure alone of the largest birds is 
 worth one shilling per annum, while that of 
 smaller breeds may perhaps be taken as half 
 There is that dropped during the day to be 
 added to this ; and we thus found and calcu- 
 lated, so far back as 1881, that every bird on 
 the farm was worth one shilling per annum in 
 manure alone. This calculation also is now 
 endorsed by all competent authorities, and by 
 actual experience on scores of farms. 
 
 The full value of such manure may, however, 
 be partially lost, and often is, by injudicious 
 treatment. Repeatedly in Sussex we found 
 lime used under the pens, as an antiseptic. 
 Nothing could be worse ; for lime liberates and 
 thus loses ammonia, and Dr. Voelcker expressly 
 cautions against its use. We were not sur- 
 prised that when so managed, the farmers found 
 it best to " get it on the land as soon as 
 possible," which really meant, before more 
 ammonia was lost. Dr. Voelcker recommends 
 
 various methods, which may be 
 ^f th*^ ^^® selected according to circumstances. 
 Manure. It may be simply mixed with about 
 
 twice its own weight of such dry 
 earthy matters as dry earth, burnt clay, or weed 
 ashes, into a compost, occasionally turned over, 
 which may be used for garden produce or green 
 crops. For roots he would prefer it mixed 
 with an equal quantity of super-phosphate of 
 lime, and the mixture, in a dry and powdery 
 state, drilled in with the seed at the rate of 
 S cwt. per acre. For sale, he advises that as 
 little earthy matter should be used as will assist 
 in drying it, soot or weed ashes going far and 
 being valuable in this way. But on the whole 
 he advises to keep a mixture of two parts burnt 
 gypsum to one part of mineral super-phosphate, 
 mixing three parts of fresh poultry manure 
 with one part of this mixture, and turning over 
 occasionally under cover. It is thus rapidly 
 reduced to a dry and friable condition, which 
 makes a good manure for most crops when used 
 at the rate of 8 cwt. to 10 cwt. per acre. In 
 Sussex most of it is used directly upon the land, 
 simply scattered broadcast, with admirable 
 results upon most crops, and specially upon 
 poor pastures or scrubby land. Its value for 
 toiTiatoes has been already alluded to. This 
 fruit does not require a highly nitrogenous 
 manure such as guano, and therefore actually 
 thrives better with poultry manure, which may 
 be either applied in water, or the above mixture 
 with a little super-phosphate further diluted by 
 dry earth, and applied as a mulching to the 
 plants. Grapes may be treated in the same 
 
POULTRY UPON FARMS. 
 
 135 
 
 way. As a general rule poultry manure is 
 applied too copiously or freely. 
 
 During the last few years very many farmers 
 have been going more and more into poultry- 
 keeping in the way here indicated, distributing 
 the fowls over the farm, and not exceeding the 
 
 proportion stated, when no rent at 
 PoStey Mi"^ all becomes chargeable. Every 
 Farms. County Council lecturer to whom 
 
 we have spoken on the subject has 
 been able to give us successful instances, and 
 we here select a few kindly supplied to us by 
 Mr. George A. Palmer, lecturer to the Councils 
 of several counties in the Midlands of England. 
 Mr. J. Haynes, Rock Farm, Inkberrow, 
 Worcester, has six pens of fowl, containing in 
 all 210 birds, averaging thirty-five to a pen. 
 They have the run of 100 acres, and he has 
 kept the same number or thereabouts for twelve 
 years. The movable houses are taken into 
 the corn-fields after harvest, where they get 
 their own living entirely for two months. He 
 thinks that with the universal use of the self- 
 binding reaper, which often means three bushels 
 shed to the acre, it will pay farmers more than 
 formerly to stock the stubbles with fowls. He 
 gets 20,000 to 25,000 eggs per annum, and 
 they are marketed at Birmingham by the local 
 carrier (working on commission). He rears ijo 
 to 200 chickens. The cockerels are sent to 
 market as fast as they get ready, and the old 
 hens are cleared off in September. He con- 
 siders that the manure covers all labour. He 
 stores it in a shed for the year, and uses it in 
 spring to grow mangolds, with such effect that 
 in 1899 (by no means a good year) he grew 
 about forty tons to the acre. He uses dry 
 ashes in the fowl pens, and keeps them lime- 
 washed, and for twelve years has been free 
 from any disease. He hag now a splendid lot 
 of pullets, Leghorn crossed with Wyandotte 
 (whites both), which commenced laying in 
 November, and on February ist, 1900, were 
 still at it, not one being broody. The gross 
 return is ;^90 to £100 per annum, and the total 
 cost of feed £40 for the ten months they have 
 to be fed. He feeds in winter barley-meal, 
 sharps, and bone-meal, given hot, early in 
 morning ; at afternoon maize, peas, beans, and 
 wheat. He states that the fowls never do any 
 damage, but " improve every foot of land they 
 run on." 
 
 A gentleman in Warwickshire keeps 200 
 head on 130 acres, on the scattered field system, 
 and has done so for six years. He markets 
 locally, but sells a few eggs for setting and 
 cockerels for stock birds. He keeps Silver 
 Grey Dorkings, Black Orpingtons, and White 
 
 Leghorns. He considers the laying hens the 
 most profitable branch of poultry keeping, and 
 averages 100 eggs per hen, taking one year with 
 another, and is satisfied with his profit, as it is 
 " the best paying item on his farm." 
 
 Mr. Ferryman, Copston, Hinckley, keeps 250 
 adult stock scattered about the fields in small 
 lots of ten to' thirty, and has done so on the 
 same land for seven years, marketing his eggs 
 and late cockerels locally, and rearing about 
 200 chickens per annum. Uses chiefly maize 
 and wheat. He keeps the non-sitters at field 
 houses, and the sitters at farm buildings. Finds 
 they are most productive where run thinly — not 
 more than five or six to the acre — and prefers 
 White Leghorns, Silver Wyandottes, Black 
 Orpingtons, and Buff Rocks. He says that the 
 manure more than pays for the labour, and that 
 he is satisfied with his profits and shall increase 
 his stock. 
 
 Mr. Goodacre, Stockton, Rugby, keeps about 
 300 fowls in lots of thirty scattered about 208 
 acres of grass land. He gets 26,000 eggs per year, 
 selling some at 2s. 6d. per nest for setting, and 
 marketing the rest locally after destroying the 
 germ. He considers laying hens the best paying 
 branch of poultry-keeping, but goes in for a 
 certain quantity of table fowl in addition, 
 rearing 400 to 500 chickens annually. He feeds 
 the field birds chiefly on maize, but only once 
 daily in summer, and avoids overfeeding. He 
 keeps Orpingtons, Leghorns, and Minorcas for 
 eggs ; Dorkings, Plymouth Rocks, and Orpingtons 
 crossed with Indian Game for table birds. He 
 does not give figures, but says his poultry " pays 
 better than any branch of the farm." 
 
 A gentleman in Leicestershire farming 500 
 acres of his own land, of which 120 are arable, 
 states that in 1897 he started poultry-keeping 
 in earnest with 222 hens, on the scattered field 
 system, and realised ;^8o profit on the year, 
 manure, as usual, being set off" against labour. 
 In 1898 a stock of 372 left a profit of £100, 
 but in 1899 440 fowls only left ;^92. The 
 reason was that in the two former years he 
 attended to them himself, but illness prevented 
 his doing so the last year, so there was " more 
 expense and less management." 
 
 Another gentleman, farming about 900 acres 
 in Leicestershire, keeps about 400 old stock, 
 at liberty, at different farm buildings, and 
 scattered in field houses. He has kept that 
 quantity on the same land for thirty years. In 
 1899 he sold 44,000 eggs and set 850 for 
 chickens besides. He markets the cockerels 
 and old hens locally. His total return for the 
 year was ;£^250, from which had to be deducted 
 expenses, but he says that they leave a handsome 
 
136 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 profit. This gentleman is one of the best 
 farmers in the county, who breeds high-class 
 shire horses, and cattle for show, and has one of 
 the best cultivated farms in the Midlands. He 
 uses chiefly wheat, oats, and maize, and prefers 
 the system of small houses in the fields. He 
 keeps Golden Wyandottes, Leghorns, and 
 Houdans. He considers egg production much 
 more profitable than table fowl, and that it 
 works in better with general farming. 
 
 Mr. Passmore, Wootton Wawen, Birming- 
 ham, who occupies about 200 acres of mixed 
 land, keeps fowls in small houses about the 
 farm in lots of ten to twenty-five, preferably of 
 seventeen to twenty, which are kept in houses 
 5x5 and 6 feet high, made of f inch tongued 
 boards, with roofs of corrugated iron lined 
 beneath with carbolised straw, renewed and 
 replaced once a year ; the houses have mov- 
 able perches and two glass slides (to cover 
 ventilators if required), and there is for cold 
 weather a shutter 2 feet square, which' when 
 removed leaves an open netted space for free 
 ventilation in summer. He prefers to keep, 
 one lot of birds in the same house for life, 
 without removing them. In 1898 he thus kept 
 280 laying hens, which in 1899 were increased 
 to 380. He has kept fowls on the same ground 
 for six years, and his predecessor had kept a 
 considerable number on one field of four acres 
 for years previously ; and his largest egg-pro- 
 duction per hen lately had been from a pen of 
 Silver Wyandottes in that very field. In 1899 
 his birds had the use of about ninety acres, 
 and he was preparing to stock another ten acres 
 with poultry, only increasing his stock as it 
 pays its way, and buying fresh houses, etc.,, out 
 of current profits. In 1898 he marketed no 
 eggs per hen, and in 1899 120 per hen, besides 
 what were used in the house and for setting. 
 In 1899 he reared 575 birds, out of which he 
 replaced the old ones and increased stock by 
 100, selling the balance. Early in the year 
 cockerels are sold alive ; later on the birds are 
 dressed and sold to private customers ; a few 
 are sold at 4s. to los. for stock birds to neigh- 
 bours. He feeds once a day only, unless snow 
 is on the ground, when a second feed is given ; 
 averaging about 3 ozs. of grain per bird per day, 
 less in summer and more in winter; using in 
 winter one-third each of wheat, peas, and maize 
 (ratio about i : 4|), and in summer two-thirds 
 of wheat 'and one of peas (ratio i : 4^). An 
 iron corn-bin is kept near and for the use of 
 ^v& houses, and replenished fortnightly, and he 
 feeds when walking round the farm in the 
 morning. It takes him one and a half to two 
 hours daily, and his children collect the eggs. 
 
 Extra labour for the chickens is charged, but 
 he considers the manure more than pays for 
 the labour, an opinion which we have seen is 
 very general. He reckons that the fowls pay 
 a profit of 5s. to 5s. 6d. per bird, besides eggs 
 and poultry for the house, which is a consider- 
 able item; The houses are gas-tarred every 
 year, which he states keeps away the foxes, 
 and he puts in each house about 9 inches deep 
 of sawdust on the bare earth floor. This is 
 turned and sprinkled with carbolic powder 
 weekly, and renewed every six months, each 
 house being also tarred inside whenever vacated 
 for a few weeks by the inmates being discarded. 
 Special details are given of this case, because 
 when mentioned in more general terms by Mr. 
 Palmer at the Reading Poultry Conference of 
 1899, as that of a farmer who had made a 
 "clear profit of £\(X>" it was sneered at in 
 the Field as one concerning which "no names 
 were given." 
 
 Mr. James Fuller, of Framlingham, Suffolk, 
 has been engaged in poultry-farming more or 
 less for over twenty years, and for the last ten 
 his operations and his profits have steadily 
 increased. For several years his accounts have 
 been published in the local papers, and elicited 
 many applications for advice from other farms, 
 where he has found the old tale of chance 
 feeding, foul water, old, small, inbred stock, 
 the worst corn given for food, and no manage- 
 ment. The principal figures of his own results 
 during the last three years are as follow : In 
 
 1897 he sold 538 birds for £\7 8s. sd. (about 
 IS. 9d. each), 48,055 eggs for £111 os. 4d. at 
 market prices, and £\\ los. 3d. for extra prices ; 
 total receipts £ig^ 19s. Food and expenses were 
 ;£"74 3s. io|d., gross cash profit ;£'i20 15s. io|d., 
 nothing being charged for rent or labour. In 
 
 1898 he sold 51,279 eggs for £\'j\ 8s., 439 
 birds for £i^i is. 7d., and had 114 more fowls 
 in stock value (2s. 6d.), say ;£-i4 ss. ; total, 
 ;^238 14s. 7d. The food was £■&() i6s. 8d., and 
 other expenses £i-i, 19s. 4d., leaving gross 
 cash balance of ;^i34 i8s. 7d. In 1899 he 
 sold 51,453 eggs for ;^20O i6s. 2d. (getting 
 rather better prices) and 625 birds for ;^70 2s. ; 
 total cash, £2^0 i8s. 2d. ; while food cost 
 ;£'io7 i6s. id., and other expenses ;^i9 4s. 8d. ; 
 cash balance, .^143 17s. sd. This left him with 
 675 birds to begin operations in 1900, almost 
 exactly the same as the year before. The 
 birds are kept on about twelve acres of pasture, 
 and are taken off a part of this for six weeks 
 or so, to grow hay ; the fine stack of this, and 
 the feed at other times for horses and sheep, 
 more than pays any fair rent. As regards 
 labour, Mr. Fuller himself has a coal business. 
 
POULTRY UPON FARMS. 
 
 137 
 
 and the fowls take all his own spare time a 
 great part of the year ; the rest a sharp lad 
 does the work ; of course, this ought to be 
 charged, but on the other hand nothing is 
 credited for the large quantity of valuable 
 manure. All the birds are hatched and reared 
 naturally, and eggs for market made the leading 
 consideration, the cockerels being sold young, 
 and the hens at two years, unless unusually 
 good birds. The laying stock is fed about 
 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on grain only, the eggs being 
 all gathered at 3 p.m. after the last feed. He 
 prefers Houdan-Minorcas, Houdan-Leghorns, 
 and Houdan-Orpingtons, as making splendid 
 layers and fair table fowls, the last cross being 
 specially good as winter layers, as shown by 
 the fact that 3,600 of his eggs were laid during 
 the last three months of the year. He con- 
 siders that these crosses can with care be 
 brought up to nearly 200 eggs per annum each ; 
 and his own rough-and-ready test for the poor 
 layers to be discarded, is those " the last down 
 from roost in the morning." 
 
 Other instances of this kind of poultry- 
 farming, previously mentioned by ourselves, 
 have now stood the test of long experience. 
 Twelve years ago we -published that of Miss 
 Robson, near Gateshead, who had a dairy farm 
 of 120 acres, half in grass, and had then for five 
 years enlarged her poultry operations to 103 
 laying hens and a few waterfowl and turkeys, 
 realising a profit of ;^20 to £^0 a year. She 
 writes us again, at the end of 1899, to say that 
 she still continues, and is perfectly satisfied. 
 She has lately introduced Buff Orpingtons, and 
 uses an incubator, chiefly to hatch ducklings, of 
 which she prefers half-breds between common 
 ducks and Indian Runners, because with her 
 medium-sized plump ducklings pay better than 
 larger ones, and these fatten well. Her dairy 
 customers still take all her eggs, for which she 
 realises a shilling per dozen in summer, and 
 two shillings in winter. 
 
 It is the same with Mr. Knox Lyall, of 
 Peepy Farm, Stocksfield, whose farm we de- 
 scribed so far back as 1887. This farm is of 
 700 acres, and at that date 220 hens and 17 
 ducks had produced 28,300 eggs in the year. 
 An old man was then solely employed to look 
 after the fowls, and his wage and cottage 
 charged to them, the expenditure, including 
 food, coming to about £2 per week : a cash 
 outlay which would horrify many farmers. 
 Besides eggs, above 250 birds were sold off the 
 farm, and the profit was about ;^30, besides eggs 
 and fowls used in the household. Mrs. Lyall 
 writes us at the end of 1899, to the effect that 
 their poultry-farming is still carried on. They 
 
 have since gone into dairying to some extent, 
 selling cream ; and the poultry benefit from the 
 separated milk, which has rather modified the 
 course of operations. Friends in Newcastle 
 having started incubators, they now get chickens 
 and rear them artificially, sending in some of 
 their own eggs, and also buying newly hatched 
 ones at 6d. each. Experimenting with brooders 
 against hens in all sorts of ways, Mrs. Lyall says 
 that their results are invariably in favour of 
 artificial brooders, of which they prefer the 
 Westmeria. The chickens have a great deal of 
 the separated milk, and to this is attributed 
 much of their quick growth and early maturity. 
 
 The reasons why poultry are still thought 
 nothing of upon many farms are nOt far to 
 seek ; but the curious thing is that they pay 
 the worst just on that system of " a 
 Conditions fg^ round the homestead " so re- 
 Success, commended by certain writers. In 
 days when other branches of farming 
 paid well, a few fowls were kept just to supply 
 the house, and left to the women : thus the, 
 farmer never knew anything about them, and 
 never thought of them as having money in them. 
 Any outlay was never thought of, or return for 
 it believed in ; the fowls were kept on till very 
 old, left to breed together indiscriminately, the 
 stock was mostly of bad layers, and half the 
 eggs were stolen by the farm hands. All this 
 must, of course, be changed if profit is to be 
 realised. A paying stock must be selected, 
 and thereafter bred for laying or for table ; 
 necessary food and expenses must not be 
 grudged ; and eggs especially must be system- 
 atically collected and marketed promptly. 
 
 As to the stock, it is doubtful if a hen or 
 pullet that lays less than 100 eggs in a year 
 pays at all, while it has been proved over and 
 over again that beyond 150 is perfectly attain- 
 able ; while many farm hens lay under 60, and 
 do not account for all of these. All old stock 
 must first be got rid of, and then selection must 
 follow. There are strains now bred and ad- 
 vertised for laying properties, as distinct from 
 mere "fancy" points, from which a good start 
 can be made in breeding stock : but if any 
 farmer has a prejudice against " pure breeds," 
 there is another course. Let him watch any 
 neighbouring market, and get birds or eggs 
 from any neighbour who brings in a good lot 
 of eggs in winter. After that he must select for 
 himself, hatching chickens only from his best 
 layers, and crossing his pullets or hens with 
 cockerels also from his best layers, and so on. 
 It is simple as ABC, and in this way the 
 average — that is, the " thing his hens lay on " — 
 will be infallibly raised. If he or his people 
 
138 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 cannot watch the birds sufficiently to know the 
 best layers, he can still do much by the three 
 simple tests of which lay early in winter or 
 spring ; which are down earliest from the perch ; 
 and which lay earliest in the day. Broadly, 
 these tests will at least pick out the better 
 layers, and enable him to discard the really 
 bad ones. 
 
 Food and expenses raise an important and 
 interesting question in regard to farm poultry. 
 The example of Mr. Passmore above cited is in 
 one respect rather peculiar : that of the one 
 daily feed only, of hard grain. The 
 Question of egg-average resulting is, perhaps; 
 Expe^ef^' fair, and as it was raised from no 
 to 1 20, it might probably be further 
 raised by the selection described above ; but it 
 is certainly not high. It is, however, argued 
 with much show of reason, that such an average, 
 with such economy in food and labour, pays as 
 well or better than an average of 160 might do 
 with more expense in these items. It is re- 
 markable that the same question has struck 
 some American egg-farmers in the same way. 
 One in Massachusetts writes to an agricultural 
 paper in New York : " There is just as much 
 profit in producing eggs at a cost of 10 cents 
 per dozen and selling them for 20 cents, as there 
 is in producing more at a cost of 20 cents and 
 selling them for 30 cents." The same argument 
 may or may not tell in any given case against 
 the cost of producing winter eggs by high feed : 
 it is a question of figures, and therefore depends 
 for its answer upon prices and markets, and 
 cannot be positively answered for all cases. 
 Mr. Passmore evidently knows what he is about: 
 but on the whole we think he would find it 
 profitable to give in winter a good allowance of 
 cut bone. 
 
 The same applies to another point. In 
 Mr. Palmer's own lectures, we notice that he 
 strongly advises the plan of broadcasting the 
 grain upon different strips or portions of ground 
 on successive days, a point we have not seen 
 suggested before. Where this plan can be 
 carried out it must undoubtedly be beneficial in 
 two ways : the. food falling upon sweet ground, 
 and the manure dropped during the day being 
 also more evenly distributed. On the other 
 hand, it is obvious that there must be many 
 cases in which such a plan, carried out thoroughly, 
 would involve moi'e walking and expense in 
 time than can be afforded. To some extent, 
 however, it will always be possible, and the 
 point should decidedly be kept in view, and 
 feeding on the same spot carefully avoided. 
 
 In regard to the marketing of birds killed, 
 there is nothing to add to the preceding chapter; 
 
 but an emphatic caution is necessary about the 
 marketing of eggs. Ten years ago there was 
 no wholesale market in London for " new-laid " 
 eggs, and even now private custom pays the 
 best, where sufficient ; such private 
 ones y. custom is generally well treated, 
 because the consequence of any other course is 
 felt directly. Where there is no private market, 
 however, there is now, as shown in our next 
 chapter, a London wholesale market ranging 
 from 9s. to 20s. per 120 according to the 
 season, and with a tendency to increase both 
 in demand and price. But this altogether 
 depends' upon the farmers'- — upon their sending 
 up really new-laid eggs twice or thrice a week, 
 with rigid honesty. We regretted to find from 
 a large salesman that the greatest difficulty 
 was with the farmers themselves ; some of them 
 were in such a state of besotted ignorance, that 
 in their short-sighted greed they would retain 
 their eggs till they had a large lot, or for a 
 better price, and then se-ixA them up as "new- 
 laid." Very recent correspondence in almost 
 the entire daily press of London has proved 
 the same thing. That sort of thing at first 
 nearly killed the new and promising market, 
 and was only checked by relentless refusal to 
 receive any more from proved offenders. It 
 still. checks the market and the price more than 
 anything; and only the absolutely honest con- 
 signer, who sends up exactly what he under- 
 takes, can expect to reap the benefit of extra 
 " English " prices. 
 
 Poultry-farming may also be carried on, if 
 not " pure and simple," at least in a much 
 
 larger and more exclusive sense 
 opelations. than that above considered. As 
 
 mentioned later in this work, there 
 are several establishments where ducklings are 
 reared and marketed by thousands even in 
 England, known to be remunerative ; but ducks 
 are in some respects easier to manage. Much 
 of the business described in the preceding 
 chapter, ^gain, can only be properly described 
 as poultry-farming. It is ridiculous to refuse 
 such a title, as some would do, to cases where 
 600 birds are reared on nineteen acres, and the 
 milk from the few cows is separated and all 
 given to the chickens ; or to Mr. Kenward's 
 200 acres, where 8,000 are reared, and the 
 main cereal crop is oats, all fed to the birds, 
 with all the skim milk also ; or to many others 
 where the oats and the cows are complementary 
 to the chickens. The poultry are in all these 
 cases the centre and mainspring of all the 
 operations, which alone have made the hold- 
 ings pay, and without which the whole would 
 
FAILURES IN POULTRY-FARMING. 
 
 139 
 
 collapse ; not at all the mere " bye-product " 
 so constantly asserted. With education of a 
 wider purchasing public, and the opening up 
 thereby of fresh urban markets, it may be 
 hoped that there is room for the extension 
 of the Sussex system in other districts near 
 the larger provincial towns. 
 
 Whether still more exclusive devotion of 
 land to poultry products will be profitable, is 
 a question of more difficulty and uncertainty, 
 and depending far more upon personal quali- 
 ties. Absolutely " exclusive " poultry-farming, 
 we have already seen, is impossible, since it 
 is absolutely necessary that something should 
 consume the manure, to keep the land sweet 
 and to pay the rent while it is sweetening; but 
 it may be broadly admitted that in "poultry- 
 farming " more technically so-called, there 
 would not be much more of other products 
 than assisted in this, or to keep cows whose 
 milk was wanted for the chickens. So much, 
 however, would be essential, and must there- 
 fore be taken into the scheme. It would also 
 generally be the case, that such farming would 
 partake more of the character of egg-production 
 than of chicken- rearing, the market being 
 steadier and better for new-laid eggs, in pro- 
 portion to the vast mass of inferior imported 
 eggs, than it is for chickens. Can such a 
 farm be made to pay } 
 
 We are constantly told that it cannot. A 
 very recent article* states that "it is utterly 
 impossible for a poultry-farm to compete with 
 the cottager, who has neither land, rent of 
 buildings, labour, nor cost of conveyance to 
 market to pay for," because a farm must pay 
 for all these things. The argurnent itself 
 shows the folly and ignorance of such dogmat- 
 ism ; for Heathfield is cited in the article as the 
 type of the cottager system, and we have just 
 seen already how in that district the "farms," 
 which have to pay rent and all the rest, do 
 "compete," and that more and more every 
 year, with the cottagers who are said to pay 
 none. Thus real knowledge, and practice, and 
 figures, are rather conspicuously at variance on 
 the very threshold, with this particular i priori 
 theory, and we have found it much the same 
 in regard to other theories which have been 
 put forward in the same confident manner. It 
 is further to be remembered that in America the 
 question of poultry-farming has long ago been 
 solved in the affirmative ; and though this 
 fact does not prove at all that it would ever 
 be so in England — we presently point out great 
 differences in the circumstances — it does prove 
 that the matter is one of figures and circum- 
 
 * Live Stock Journal Almanac, 1899. 
 
 stances, which in regard to cost of land, and 
 food-stuffs, and incubation, have changed mate- 
 rially in favour of poultry during recent years. 
 
 Failures have been numerous, however, and 
 especially amongst such as have rashly "em- 
 barked " all at once in considerable 
 Failures. operations, without preparation, or 
 
 knowledge, or apprenticeship. In 
 their case it is hard to see what else could be 
 expected. No other business would ever be 
 attempted in that way. Some of the alleged 
 failures have, however, taught much to those 
 able to learn their lessons. In 1879 we met 
 personally, on one of the Clyde steamers, a 
 gentleman who was introduced to us as having 
 taken up egg-farming in Scotland, failed, and 
 given it up. He told us that if he could have 
 averaged twenty eggs more per annum from 
 each bird it would have paid him, and he 
 should have kept on ; anything over that would 
 have paid very well. He got about no each. 
 It is absolutely certain now that 150 to 170 
 can be secured, and such an average would 
 have put an entirely different face upon that 
 particular attempt 
 
 Another case, much paraded as a failure at 
 the time, was that of Mr. Carrington, reported 
 by Mr. Druce to the Royal Commission on 
 Agriculture in 1882. He gave up a large farm 
 owing to the depression, and tried a large stock 
 of poultry on 100 acres, at Kinibolton ; his 
 stock in October 1 881 being 1,800, soon to be 
 reduced to 1,500. A man and boy were engaged 
 and charged, with £'}^% for rent, .^18 lOs. depre- 
 ciation, ;^IS interest on £yx> sunk in capital, 
 and the food. The receipts summarised were, 
 £\6\ IIS. for birds and eggs, ;^3 for feathers, 
 and £1"] for manure ; and the profit was only 
 £7,^, which was rightly pronounced ■" not very 
 satisfactory." On the other side it is to be 
 said, that in the first place, and even with the 
 mistakes to be mentioned, the fowls did pay 
 this beside the interest and the rent, and in -point 
 of fact paid better than any ether branch of the 
 farming: that surely is a startling fact. But 
 the practical mistakes were serious. The num- 
 ber of eighteen per acre is not nearly enough 
 to work land to advantage in poultry-farming, 
 while too much for such poultry merely increased 
 on a farm, as we were just now discussing. 
 The fowls, again, were all light Brahmas, and 
 were fed three times a day ; a most wasteful 
 system in every way, and a bad selection of 
 stock, such as would most of all suffer from 
 such feed. And the bulk of the birds were kept 
 in flocks of 150 each, a number far too large. 
 Any practical breeder, or even farmer, will see 
 that mere common-sense applied to these details 
 
140' 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 alone, would soon have worked a .tremendous 
 difference in the receipts. 
 
 A third case of failure we select, because 
 it has been specially mentioned by Mr. Teget- 
 meier, and points a moral which it is very 
 necessary to enforce. It was a poultry-farm 
 started on 114 acres belonging to Sir Robert 
 Buxton, at Rushford, in 1882. A brick incu- 
 bator house was built and stocked with eight 
 200-egg machines ; the ground was fenced by 
 wire : the land, it is said, well adapted for 
 poultry. To quote the further description 
 exactly : " Ample provision was made for the 
 artificial supply of heat for the rearing of the 
 chickens, which were not to be overcrowded 
 on the land, and were not to exceed from 
 60 to 100 per acre. The breeding birds were 
 to be located in runs separated by wire-work, 
 and not more than from a dozen to twenty 
 kept together. The manure was to be care- 
 fully collected and utilised. There was to be 
 an intelligent poultry-keeper; two labourers, 
 their wives, and a boy under him. Although 
 the poultry was chiefly to be bred for the 
 market, a careful selection was to be made 
 of the best stock. . . . It is difficult to imagine 
 a poultry Jarm conducted under more advan- 
 tageous conditions" 
 
 Such an assertion as the last, from any 
 man pretending to a knowledge of poultry, is 
 simply astounding ; for nothing could possibly 
 be worse, more absolutely certain to end in a 
 dismal failure. Just observe the conditions. 
 Here was a sudden rushing into large opera- 
 tions, in practical ignorance of the whole busi- 
 ness ; a stock collected of no special excellence ; 
 an " intelligent poultry-keeper " and two men 
 and two wives and a boy to pay for, and on 
 whose management and work all depended ; and 
 as the foundation of all, to be run by one or 
 other of the above, or all combined, eight 
 200-egg incubators and corresponding heated 
 brooders, with only the knowledge and experience 
 in incubators of that day I What does almost 
 pass belief, is the folly that could launch out in 
 such a way. Beyond doubt, there is no shadow 
 of a hope for any such adventures in poultry- 
 farming as here described. 
 
 Wherever success is to be attained, it must 
 be reached by methods widely different from 
 this. It must be recognised that the business 
 is not an easy but a difficult one, 
 Conditions demanding apprenticeship and per- 
 Success. sonal knowledge of it, and commer- 
 
 cial aptitude as well. It demands 
 steady and progressive preparation and founda- 
 tion beforehand, which will itself absorb time 
 and capital, if only for subsistence in the mean- 
 
 time, because one cardinal condition of success 
 in an egg-farm is a stud of birds bred for laying, 
 which cannot be purchased right off at any 
 commercial figure, though good breeding stock, 
 which shall be its foundation, may and should 
 be. And, moreover, the intending poultry- 
 farmer has to make or find his market. We are 
 constantly asked where produce " can be sold " 
 at good prices, and people seem to think there 
 is an absolutely unlimited market always wait- 
 ing at top prices, to absorb any fresh supply at a 
 day's notice. There is no such market : a new 
 supply has to " work in " by degrees, and make 
 its own reputation, so that merchants and dealers 
 may know by experience what they can rely 
 upon. All this work is gradual, and as it pro- 
 ceeds, so should expansion keep pace with it. 
 Of course, all this may go on together. Begin- 
 ning' in quite a small way to breed a stock of 
 good layers from a pen of good layers, may give 
 practical apprenticeship, and send ^few birds and 
 eggs to market ; the first few paying as they go, 
 though not enough to make a living. Then, as 
 things open out, may stock and plant and 
 operations be extended ; or perhaps on the other 
 hand the operator may find that he is not suc- 
 , ceeding, and no't likely to succeed, in which case 
 he had better find that out before sinking much 
 money in the attempt. All the time he must 
 be breeding up his layers, and as soon as things 
 get beyond his own hands, training each one of 
 his staff, and so on. It will all work together, 
 and eventual success will mainly depend upon 
 how this preliminary work is done ; and those 
 who are deterred by the prospect of such slow 
 proceedings, are simply those who ought to be 
 deterred, and who would only incur ruin by pro- 
 ceeding in a rash way. A large paying business 
 is only to be built up out of a smaller business 
 which already pays, and which will teach ex- 
 pedients and methods as one goes along. 
 
 The scale to which such poultry-farming 
 might be capable of extension, would differ 
 widely in various cases. Labour remains the 
 great difficulty, for there is an 
 amount of hard work which few 
 have any idea of. In Sussex, many 
 of the people engaged in the industry work 
 hard from dawn to dark ; and organising power 
 is required, as well as practical knowledge, to 
 manage subsidiary labour. We have been 
 repeatedly struck by statements from successful 
 poultry-farmers in America, to the effect that 
 they did well up to a certain point, where they 
 could manage all by themselves, or with a 
 labourer immediately under their own eye, but 
 that when they got beyond that, efficiency fell 
 off, and profits with it. Our own experience 
 
 The Labour 
 Difficulty. 
 
DIFFICULTIES OF POULTRY-FARMING. 
 
 141 
 
 of the 
 Buns. 
 
 was that in our absence all, day it was peculiarly 
 hard to get even such a simple thing as. cleanli- 
 ness maintained by a man — and we had three 
 in succession — in the sense we understood it ; 
 these American farmers say exactly the same ; 
 and efficient and faithful labour remains the 
 chief practical difficulty. One man might suc- 
 ceed here — i.e. in controlling labour — where 
 another would utterly fail. But a very import- 
 ant point to consider, before entering into any 
 enterprise of this kind, is the peculiarly exacting 
 character of the labour required. There can be 
 no holiday ; the birds can never be left. It is 
 work that never ceases, for long hours, day 
 after day, with no relaxation : absence of the 
 labourers would mean disaster, and of the 
 superintendent, peril and neglect. This is an 
 aspect of the business which we have never 
 seen pointed out, and which never seems to 
 strike some who desire to embark in it. 
 
 Management of the ground is better under- 
 stood at this date than formerly, and in connec- 
 tion with this point, fencing is the chief difficulty. 
 It is perfectly well known now that 
 Majiagement j^nd double-stocked for half the 
 year, or if need be every alternate 
 whole year, to the extent of fifty 
 birds in a quarter of an acre, keeps perfectly 
 sweet, and will raise a good crop from the 
 manure meantime. So far back as 1880* we 
 suggested, with some hesitation, the cutting and 
 selling of hay in combination with poultry, but 
 the suggestion had never then been carried out 
 that we are aware of In several cases known 
 to us since, this method is piractised. We were 
 staying for a day or two recently with a gentle- 
 man who owns 123 acres, of which some is 
 wood and coppice for shooting, and who for 
 several years sold nothing off the land but 
 poultry products and hay. He could not be 
 called a poultry-farmer strictly ; for he had not 
 his living to make by it, and was fond of ex- 
 perimental changes in his operations. One year 
 he reared little but chickens and some turkeys ; 
 the next fewer chickens and a large number of 
 ducklings ; and he was then thinking of largely 
 breeding pigs. But he was confident that he 
 made more by this simple system out of his 
 holding than he could have made in any 
 other way, the only drawback being the diffi- 
 culty of extra labour in the hay harvest. 
 The land was scrubby and worn out when 
 bought, but about ninety tons of hay had 
 been cut the preceding season, worth say 
 ;£'3 5 s. per ton, and this hay had been made 
 by the birds. One year 8,700 chickens were 
 marketed from the farm, which was not fenced 
 * Live Stock Journal, 1880. 
 
 in runs except for the breeders, but was 
 managed in natural fields. 
 
 With flocks in defined runs, management 
 will be more difficult. Fowls fall off in egg- 
 production when in too large flocks, and cost 
 too much in labour when in too small. The 
 best compromise is generally reckoned to be 
 about fifty birds together. Double-stocked, such 
 a flock needs a quarter' of an acre for six to 
 twelve months, thence to be removed to another 
 sweet run. If scythe-work can be managed, 
 double runs are easy enough, but there must be 
 removable lengths of fence to allow of a cart 
 passing for loading the hay. Cows and goats 
 and sheep have also been grazed in such vacant 
 poultry runs. Moving the entire stock to 
 another half of the whole farm would be best of all, 
 but the fences of the runs hinder operations of 
 that kind. It is to be remembered that the mere 
 value of the manure, or of the extra crop, is not 
 the only point involved in this question of alter- 
 nating a crop with the poultry ; it is that the manure 
 is thus constimed, and the land kept permanently 
 sweet, which can be done in no other way except 
 by an excess of land beyond what is needed. 
 
 From time to time the proposal is revived to 
 economise plant and labour on an egg-farm by 
 ignoring fences and separation of flocks, and 
 keeping a large number together. 
 SactteaWe. During quite recent years this 
 calamitous system has even been 
 recommended upon official authority. It is 
 greatly to be regretted that the Lancashire 1 
 County Council in 1898 adopted the plan and 
 endorsed the teaching of Mr. Thomas Carr, 
 who had been several years employed as 
 their lecturer, and who stated in that year 
 that he had kept for twelve years 500 head 
 in one house on two acres of land, during the 
 last two years the number being 700. He 
 fed them largely on cockle-seed or corn screen- 
 ings, with the contents of condemned tins of 
 preserved meat as animal food, and the house 
 was cleaned out once annually, being bedded 
 with mill-dust (refuse out of flour-mills), which 
 was raked over and occasionally added to. The 
 County Council carried out a small experiment, 
 and this was supposed to confirm the claims of 
 this method of management, which was exten- 
 sively discussed in P oul Iry dwnng the year 1898. 
 There is no doubt that overcrowding of this kind 
 does occasionally go on for quite an unexpected 
 time with apparent success, and such success 
 may do much mischief in the way of evil 
 example. But, as stated in our first chapter, 
 sooner or later Nemesis comes. So it was in 
 this case, the discussion in the journal referred 
 to being finally closed by a gentleman who 
 
142 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 stated that in- one year Mr. Carr had lost 750 
 chickens out of 1,000 ; that one of his " pupils " 
 had made such a miserable failure, no one was 
 allowed to look at his farm ; that another 
 "pupil," who apparently prospered one year, and 
 published a "balance-sheet" often cited with 
 approval at various " lectures," found his ground 
 so poisoned that next winter and spring he got 
 practically no eggs at all, lost many by death, 
 and could hardly rear a chicken. It is simply 
 hopeless to attempt poultry- farming, with in- 
 adequate run. 
 
 In every case of failure in egg-farming known 
 to us — and we have investigated ev^ry one we 
 could hear of — the failure has plainly resulted 
 from neglect of one or the other of the essentials 
 here stated, and generally of more than one of 
 them. The thing has been rushed into ; or there 
 has been inadequate run to keep sweet ; or 
 nothing has been done to secure a high laying 
 average ; or a good market has not been 
 securedj or a location whence the product could 
 be got to market with facility ; or things have 
 been carried on in a lie-a-bed,. take-it-easy 
 fashion, which never pays in managing fowls. 
 But in spite of what is so often alleged by 
 people who really know nothing about it, cases 
 
 of more or less success are not 
 Examples. wanting, even in this country, if 
 
 people really look for them. A 
 small scale is, of course, most common. Years 
 ago, we published one of a tenant near Chester- 
 field, who had an acre and two roods of land, 
 and the run besides of two acres of wood. The 
 two roods were used for fruit and vegetables, 
 kept going by the manure, and fruit trees were 
 also planted in the acre divided into runs, a pig 
 being also kept. The wife looked after things, 
 and from this holding, as nearly as possible 
 50,000 eggs per annum were sent to London, 
 mostly to direct customers, with whom a con- 
 nection had gradually been built iTp. Other 
 somewhat similar instances, both on a somewhat 
 less and also somewhat larger scale, have been 
 reported from' time to time. 
 
 Another case that might be cited is that 
 of Mr. Simon Hunter, mentioned presently 
 in connection with a poultry-farm of quite 
 another kind. Previously to that, he had occu- 
 pied another farm in Wensleydale for fourteen 
 years. On this, he informs us, he bred and 
 kept flocks of hens especially to lay eggs for 
 market, and found them pay reasonably well, 
 though less profitable than the line into which 
 he was gradually led. From the first he bred 
 his birds from selected layers, and got his 
 average up gradually to 160 or 170 each, and 
 after allowing for labour, he reckoned the profit 
 
 at about 5 s. per bird : it was, in fact, the repu- 
 tation of these birds which gradually led him 
 into the other line presently described, and it is 
 manifest that a stock which is known to give 
 such results, will as suck have a value, and fetch 
 enhanced prices for stock, quite apart from show 
 points. He had a stock on this farm of 70 to 
 80 birds per acre, and at the end thought the 
 land was getting rather foul, which could, how- 
 ever, be easily prevented by the systematic rest 
 and crop on which we have been insisting. We 
 have no definite figures of the results, but we 
 have the significant statement that the farm 
 presently described, at Northallerton, was " pur- 
 chased out of the profits of the other farm," 
 which is tangible enough in regard to the 
 question of success or failure. 
 
 There are some examples, even in England, 
 on quite a large scale, though from the nature 
 of the case few and little known, for the simple 
 reason that the owners very much object to be 
 either pestered with useless correspondence, or 
 to have their methods and markets and arrange- 
 ments discussed by press-writers, who have 
 often done much mischief. In an interview so 
 lately as December, 1900, we were given a few 
 particulars, however, of a poultry-farm which 
 may probably be the largest in England. It 
 is in a district where land is very cheap, and 
 300 acres are occupied by the fowls alone, with 
 the exception of the rabbits which share some 
 of the ground with them. There is a much 
 larger holding altogether, on which a great 
 deal of the food is grown, and a herd of Short- 
 horns kept, etc ; but the 300 acres are devoted 
 to the fowls, and at the date mentioned there 
 were 3,000 Buff Orpington pullets on the farm, 
 two-thirds laying or very nearly on the point of 
 laying, while the others were younger; some- 
 times there are perhaps 5,000 birds. The soil 
 is dry and sandy, and so far the runs have kept 
 sweet. A thousand layers are kept in one build- 
 ing on the double corridor plan which cost ;^300 
 to erect. The building is divided into pens as 
 usual, the sheds being outside the houses. 
 This makes the runs very narrow, as pointed 
 out in our first chapter, and is the portion of 
 the arrangements which we should regard with 
 most doubt. The stock birds are in more 
 open runs, with detached houses arranged so 
 that each stands at the meeting-corner of four 
 adjacent runs, and is divided into four sections 
 accordingly. The birds sent to market are not 
 crammed, but fed in troughs. 
 
 This concern is remarkable as falsifying 
 every one of the categorical statements so often 
 made. So far from failing at the end of two 
 years, the owner told us that he was three years 
 
LARGE POULTRY FARMS. 
 
 143 
 
 in getting it into working order, and only in the 
 fourth year began to reap really satisfactory 
 results. He is a thorough business man in 
 every way, and has employed energy and 
 capital freely, planning large operations from 
 the first, but beginning on a small scale. He 
 learnt poultry- management practically fifteen 
 years back ; but when he started this farm 
 began with an incubator or two in quite a small 
 way: then when he was ready, got one man, 
 and trained him thoroughly ; then another, and 
 another, paying them very highly for that 
 locality as soon as they satisfied him. He also 
 started a mill, and grinds his own oats. He 
 has further built up his own selling agency 
 and created his own market, quite independent 
 of the wholesale dealers ; increasing his plant 
 and production as the business grew. Pro- 
 ceeding thus gradually, he has sunk in the 
 poultry branch alone a very large capital, 
 amounting to thousands of pounds. 
 
 This gentleman pointed out to us a rock on 
 which many have split. In starting poultry- 
 farming, for two years there are practically no 
 returns. Paying stock could rarely be bought, 
 and there was market to create, and stock to 
 breed and grow ; and all the time there were food, 
 and rent, and subsistence, and wages going on. 
 Some early returns could be got from ducklings, 
 which give a product more quickly and help a 
 little while egg-production and market are 
 growing ; and a few cows could be kept on 
 land not yet stocked ; but all this was not 
 enough. Money had also to be sunk in the 
 selling machinery, and some cannot carry on 
 till that has turned the corner. After all, 
 this is only to insist that there are similar 
 risks and expenses to those incurred in es- 
 tablishing any other new business of much 
 magnitude • and complexity. But the most 
 serious matter of all was the kind of' labour 
 and care involved, concerning which our infor- 
 mant dwelt strongly upon a point we have 
 already mentioned above, and which ought to 
 be well considered by all who contemplate any- 
 thing of the kind. There is no rest, no inter- 
 mission. Incubators must have unfailing care ; 
 every pen its food, and attention, and cleaning ; 
 every chick its regular feeding : intermission of 
 even a few hours means loss, if not disaster. It 
 is terribly .exacting and monotonous. There is 
 no relief for the hands unless extra labour is pro- 
 vided to afford it : none for the principal, unless 
 there is some one with actual personal interest to 
 take his place. This necessity for incessant 
 attention to detail of all sorts, will be for many 
 temperaments a most formidable objection to 
 poultry-farming. 
 
 The 
 Stock, 
 
 We have addresses of two other farms in 
 Berkshire which sell eggs from two thousand or 
 more laying hens, but have not been able to 
 obtain any particulars, beyond the fact that they 
 have been carried on even longer than the above. 
 It is indeed well that particulars cannot be 
 given ; for we do know that details in some re- 
 spects differ materially, and any mere imitation 
 is not desirable. Each must work out for him- 
 self his own plans to suit his own intentions and 
 circumstances. If he cannot do this, it is cer- 
 tainly no busine.ss for him, and it is essential in 
 all cases that the concern should be biiilt up 
 gradually, and only extended as the market de- 
 mands more, and organisation can be increased 
 without -becoming ineffective. We also know of 
 one gentleman, who has spent years in America 
 studying the methods presently described, who 
 is about to commence operations ; and altogether 
 we have reason to believe that the early part of 
 the twentieth century will see some interesting 
 developments of poultry-farming in England. 
 
 Stocking a farm largely devoted to egg- 
 production calls for some judgment. Table 
 quality is here not the first con- 
 sideration by any means ; but yet 
 it is of some importance, for cock- 
 erels and hens .will have to be marketed, unless 
 disposable as breeding stock. Size of eggs must 
 also be taken into consideration, and even the 
 colour, since brown eggs fetch a better price 
 in this country. Leghorns and Anconas, hardy 
 as they are, rather discount a market in these 
 points, and such crosses as mentioned by Mr. 
 Fuller above, of the Houdan with Minorca, 
 Leghorn, or Buff Orpington, deserve attention 
 as either giving table quality or colour to the 
 eggs. The layers must either be found by 
 observation, or in a farm of this kind it may 
 be worth while to employ register laying-boxes, 
 as described in a later chapter and used in 
 America. 
 
 Whatever differences there may be in many 
 points of management, care should be taken 
 to make up a flock of hens or pullets of the 
 same age, and about the same time of hatching. 
 This is essential towards being able to manage 
 the entire flock as a tmit ; otherwise every single 
 bird has to be watched, which greatly increases 
 care and anxiety. When, on the other hand, 
 all are of similar age and breed, if one or two 
 show signs of ceasing to lay, or of moult coming 
 on', it will be known that the others are likely to 
 follow, with other flocks according to age ; and 
 arrangements can then be made in good time 
 for slaughter or sale if necessary. 
 
 But anyone who can run a poultry-farm of 
 any kind ought certainly to aim at getting 
 
144 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 products of some kind which shall find purchasers 
 at more than market rates, and in addition to 
 these. Eggs or stock from really proved layers 
 always find more or less demand, and can be 
 sold with advertising and management ; and if 
 the birds are true to points, they will be worth 
 still more, even though no attempt be made at 
 exhibition standard. During recent years quite 
 a' demand has grown up for newly 
 l^!Sifi*= hatched chickens, sent off within 
 
 Froaucts, . , • . • i r 
 
 twenty-four or tmrty-six hours oi 
 being hatched in incubators, at which age they 
 travel better as a rule than later, when they have 
 become dependent upon feeding. The prices of 
 such birds generally range from 9s. to about 
 1 8s. per dozen, and as they are turned into 
 money with no further risk, or cost of food, 
 or liability, when the stock is strong and fertile 
 they pay well. It is of course a rather ticklish 
 business to manage, and a connection and repu- 
 tation are only built up by time and character 
 and advertising; but results show that a very 
 large number of people are anxious to purchase 
 stock of this kind, partly as stock, and partly, 
 to all appearance, for the pleasure of rearing 
 them. The following remarks on the despatch 
 and management of such infant chicks are sup- 
 plied , by Miss N. Edwards, of Coaley Farm, 
 near Dursley, who has worked up a connection 
 
 develop farther each year. The selling of set- 
 tings of eggs is so often unsatisfactory both to 
 the vendor and the purchaser. If a brood of 
 healthy chickens arrives safely at its destina- 
 tion, the purchaser sees at a glance that he has 
 what he ordered. 
 
 " The chickens should be despatched as soon 
 as dry and strong enough to stand. Any not 
 strong on the leg are likely to be crushed by 
 the others, so it is necessary to pack in the 
 order in which they are hatched, as a few hours 
 makes a great difference in the strength pf the 
 chick and its ability to stand and walk. The 
 number which will travel best together is twelve ; 
 less are not enough to keep each other warm, 
 and if more are packed together, some are likely 
 to suffer. A box g\ inches long, 6 inches wide, 
 and 5 inches deep is the best size for the dozen. 
 Below the lid, at back and front, half an inch 
 of the wood should be taken off, or a number 
 of half-inch holes pierced, thus allowing plenty 
 of ventilation. 
 
 " The method of packing varies according to 
 the season of the year. In the very cold months 
 a warm round nest of hay is made in the box, 
 and a piece of cotton wool lines the nest. A 
 nice thick piece of flannel is caught with tin- 
 tacks at the four corners of the box, low enough 
 down \o rest on the backs of the chicksj' and 
 
 Shed and Wall Shelters at Sowerby Grange, Northallerton. 
 
 of this kind amounting to several hundred 
 chicks weekly in the spring, and also in eggs 
 and stock, at moderate prices, as well as a 
 limited number from exhibition stock. 
 
 "There is no doubt that the business of 
 selling newly hatched chickens is greatly on 
 the increase in this country, and it is likely to 
 
 beneath the opening nlade for ventilation. This 
 covering answers two purposes, (i) the chicks 
 are more comfortable with something resting on 
 their backs, and (2) should the box get over- 
 turned in transit, the chicks do not come in 
 contact with the hard wood, as the covering is 
 some way down from the lid. When the 
 
AN ENGLISH BREEDER'S FARM. 
 
 145 
 
 weather becomes warmer, thinner flannel can 
 be used, and the cotton-wool be discarded ; 
 and in the summer the chicks can be covered 
 with open canvas. It is most essential that 
 the nest should be round or oblong, and the 
 corners filled up with separate wisps of hay, 
 so that wherever the chicks nestle none can 
 
 described, and the box tied to the inside of a 
 hamper with the hen beside it. She hears the 
 chicks, and keeps quiet on the journey." 
 
 A more impressive example of the same 
 kind of business on a much larger scale is the 
 poultry farm carried on by Mr. Simon Hunter 
 at Sowerby Grange, Northallerton, since the 
 
 .^^^ 
 
 ,,,;■'■ ■■■■- : .■ ,??^_!^^P?^^?S?I''?~'T:EnK:»-^>; 
 
 ^^^^^^fm^nms^sm 
 
 ^^^ii^W^^MtMW^f^ 
 
 tB^nwH^^M^^^i^HaB 
 
 Spinney Shelters at Sowerby Grange, Northallerton. 
 
 get into a corner, as this would mean crushing 
 and death. As they are provided by Nature 
 with food for twenty-four hours, they travel 
 long distances before feeling hunger, and so 
 do not trample each other in search for food. 
 When despatched by night express trains they 
 arrive at their destinations for their first meal, 
 and I have sent successfully to remote parts 
 of Scotland, Ireland, and the Channel Isles.. 
 
 " Should there be any delay in transit during 
 intensely cold weather, and the chicks arrive 
 seeming somewhat lifeless, they should be im- 
 mediately placed near the fire and thoroughly 
 warmed, and afterwards will show no ill effects 
 for being delayed en route. If it is intended to 
 rear them with a- hen that has been sitting three 
 weeks or thereabouts, one chick should be given 
 her at dusk, and by the morning it will be seen 
 whether she means to take to the brood or not. 
 She usually does, provided she has sat the 
 usual time. When a brood of chicks is ordered 
 with a hen, the chicks should be packed as 
 
 year 1891. Demand for eggs and stock from 
 his birds bred for laying in Wensleydale, as 
 mentioned in a previous paragraph, showed an 
 opening and market at much better than mere 
 market prices. This was, gradually extended, 
 with corresponding deci-ease of the other branch, 
 until now only about .£'100 worth of eggs for 
 consumption are sold in a year, and a few waste 
 chickens, while in 1900 over 4,000 sittings of 
 eggs were sold, and (up to November) about 
 1,500 stock birds. The eggs vary in price, 
 averaging 6s. per dozen ; the birds from 5s. 
 to los. for mere stock,, up to as high as ;^5 
 each or more for occasional exhibition speci- 
 mens ; but the bulk of the business is at 
 moderate prices. . A really exhibition standard 
 is not indeed aimed at, double matings being 
 unknown on this farm ; but true type and 
 purity of breed are kept up, and high prices 
 given for birds to renew the stock, so that 
 many good specimens are often produced. 
 The farm, in fact, comes nearest pf any we 
 
146 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 'know to the great American breeding farms 
 
 described further on. 
 
 From the point of health and accommoda- 
 tion, this farm sets a higher standard than 
 almost any we know of. There are forty-three 
 acres of land, the fields near the house bemg 
 devoted to chicken-rearing, for which the coops 
 are arranged in long lines, widely separated ; 
 many Partridge Cochins are used for mothers. 
 Some chickens are raised by neighbourmg 
 farmers. In 1900 there were about a hundred 
 breeding pens, from ten to twenty birds in each, 
 and for these the main part of the farm is 
 divided into runs of a quarter, to half-acre 
 each. To keep the grass down, about forty 
 sheep are kept and grazed in one or another of 
 the runs ; and when the breeding season is over, 
 two or three pens are put together, and the 
 grass of the vacated runs allowed to grow a 
 few weeks and mown for hay, a mower being 
 used, and a length of fence made movable for 
 passage of the mower and the cart. The hay 
 is reckoned to be worth fully ;^iOO annually. 
 After mowing, the birds go back on the clean 
 and sweet ground. The fencing is of wire, 
 some of the runs being boarded up for two or 
 three feet at the bottom, others not so; the 
 wire is i8-gauge and 2-inch mesh, and has a 
 barbed wire stretched along the top to keep 
 it taut. There are six and a half miles of this 
 fencing on the farm. Another special feature 
 is the water supply, which is laid on all over 
 the farm by pipes from a spring and tank, 
 running into deep wells; the drinking-troughs 
 are below the surface and sheltered by boards 
 above, so that they rarely freeze. The cost 
 of this was considerable, but it keeps all sweet 
 and saves much labour. 
 
 But it is in the attention given to shelter 
 that this farm specially excels. We have 
 alluded on p. 11 to the great importance of 
 that point when many runs are involved, but 
 know no case where it has been studied as at 
 Sowerby Grange. Each pen has a house 7 by 7 
 feet with a pitch roof, which is double-boarded, 
 and the space in winter padded with hay. 
 Near each house is a low, open shed, in which is 
 kept half a load of dry coal-ashes for dusting ; 
 but the shed never faces the door of the house, 
 so that the birds must go round into the open. 
 This is not all, however. In some of the runs 
 two board fences or walls project from the sides 
 of the house itself towards the shed, as shown 
 on page 144 ; this results in a partly enclosed 
 space, which, as will be seen, affords protection 
 from wind, whatever be its direction. Some 
 runs are thus furnished ; but another method 
 is also used in many others, still more effective. 
 
 In these an octagonal board fence is; erected, 
 about 3 feet high, closed on all sides except 
 for the one by which the fowls enter, the 
 diameter of the octagon being 16 to 21 feet. 
 In each of these is planted from seven to 
 nine spruce firs or Australian pines, which give 
 complete shade and shelter to the fowls. At 
 the end of 1900 there were fifty-seven of these 
 "spinney" shelters, one of which is shown on 
 the preceding page. 
 
 Four men are in constant work on the 
 farm, with extra assistance at times. The 
 fowls are fed twice daily, with mash in the 
 morning and grain at evening, animal food 
 being fed freely in winter and spring, for 
 which a horse is used weekly, the flesh being 
 well boiled and minced, and mixed in the 
 mash with the broth. In the afternoon the 
 -four men start round,, each with two pails of 
 grain, bringing the eggs back on their return ; 
 but a motor-car is going to be used to save 
 some of this heavy work. Mr. Hunter's tests for 
 his best layers are chiefly, those which lay late 
 into moult, or soon after moult; those which 
 lay in very bad weather when others stop ; 
 those which as pullets started early. If a pen 
 turns out a high number, that is deemed enough ; 
 but if any gives a poor return, the idle birds are 
 watched for and weeded out. 
 
 The houses on this farm cost about ;^3 
 each, and the fencing about £^ more per 
 run ; the money sunk in fitting up, draining, 
 and stocking was reckoned at about ;^3,OCO, 
 but additions are always being made : for in- 
 stance, forty more of the "spinney" shelters 
 described above were added during 1900, the 
 results from those already in use being so 
 favourable. All that is beside the original 
 purchase of the farm. All through, dating 
 back to the former Wensleydale occupation, 
 the fowls were made to pay as they go, 
 and gradually pushed and extended as they 
 did pay ; and the whole has been bought and 
 paid for, besides a good balance at the bank, 
 out of poultry-farming. 
 
 Success like this can of course not be very 
 frequent. The field is as open to one as to 
 another ; but beside thorough practical know- 
 ledge and industry, there is in this case to be 
 easily seen a strong individuality and power of 
 organisation and management, which are never 
 common ; there was ability to see an opening, 
 and quickness to take advantage of ,what was 
 then a comparatively new demand ; and there 
 was skilful and systematic advertising. There 
 are several other large undertakings on some- 
 what similar lines, however, and this particular 
 line of providing stock bred for laying, from 
 
BROILER PLANTS IN AMERICA. 
 
 147 
 
 pure breeds, is one of the branches of the 
 poultry industry. 
 
 There are other establishments which make 
 considerable sums, some which even furnish 
 the entire income of the proprietors, from 
 breeding prize stock at high prices. 
 Prize ^^ock. Success in this branch is not par- 
 ticularly rare, and when it is reaped, 
 means greater profits at less expense of time 
 and labour and buildings than any of the fore- 
 going. But we'have regretted to see this kind of 
 breeding often recommended as if the returns 
 were both large and certain. That is not so ; 
 it demands special qualifications and aptitudes, 
 and any great success must from the very 
 nature of the case be confined to a limited 
 circle. Breeding of this kind will be treated 
 of in later chapters of this work, and scarcely 
 belongs to the subject considered here. 
 
 The most remarkable development of poultry- 
 farming, . both as regards the number of such 
 undertakings and the scale of their operations, 
 is to be found in the United States 
 Broiler-plants of America. This development is 
 Africa. °f comparatively recent years, and 
 
 as it is very largely connected with 
 the rise and extension of the characteristic 
 system of very large brooder-houses for rearing 
 " broiler " chickens, which first originated at 
 Hammonton in New Jersey, it will be well 
 first to describe and explain that system, before 
 giving details of a few specimen American 
 poultry-farms. It is the more desirable to do 
 so, because much ignorance appears to prevail 
 about the system, its methods, and results, which 
 has led to partial imitation without equal suc- 
 cess. One of these attempts, in Germany, was 
 described in the Royal Agricultural Society's 
 Journal (by the Hon. A. H. Cathcart) and in 
 the Live Stock Journal (by Mr. Edward Brown) 
 from personal visits of inspection ; but the un- 
 fortunate chicks were here crammed into small 
 cages ; and though at first some success was 
 attained, and birds were sent to market weighing 
 3 lbs. at two months old, the whole finally came 
 to an end. Had there been no other reason for 
 failure, it does not appear that even the German 
 markets were suitable for such a class of poultry ; 
 but one writer well known for his vehement 
 opposition to poultry-farming ventured upon 
 such sweepings strictures, in a style too usual, 
 as betrayed entire ignorance of the whole sub- 
 |ect. To say the mere "statement that fowls 
 killed at the age of two months weighed 3 lbs. 
 each was sufficient to prove the incorrectness 
 of the whole accounts," is perhaps a comment 
 scarcely civil in any case ; and the obvious reply 
 
 was at once made that dark Dorkings, simply 
 reared as usual, have exceeded the weight-for- 
 age stated by several ounces. But the writer 
 alluded to further affirms,* " The employment 
 of artificial mothers in heated rearing-rooms, 
 to remove the drudgery of poultry rearing, 
 is a very amusing but utterly impracticable 
 suggestion. I should very much like to know 
 where any large number of poultry have ever 
 been reared for the market in artificially heated 
 rearing-rooms. Occasionally a few fancy poultry 
 may be raised in this manner," [which is just 
 the very thing that can not be- successfully 
 done, beyond a few weeks] " but no attempt at 
 rearing large numbers in rooms has ever met 
 with success." Where it has been done, how 
 it has been done, and the extent to which it has 
 been done, we must now briefly describe. 
 
 The brooder-house system appears to have 
 been introduced - at Hammonton between the 
 years 18S0 and 1885, several plants being 
 established in quick succession. The usual 
 
 construction at that time was a long 
 f^^°°*°" building with half-pitch roof, the 
 
 longest slant facing south and reach- 
 ing nearly to the ground, to catch as much as 
 possible of the sun through the numerous 
 windows. There was a corridor all along 
 the back, the remainder being divided into 
 pens for the chickens, each furnished with a 
 brooder, or "hover," as more usually called. 
 Most of the later brooder-houses have rather 
 higher front now, as shown in Fig. 74, but the half- 
 pitch roof is still retained for single- row houses. 
 
 Fig. 71 • — System of Hot- water Pipes. 
 
 The system of heating the brooders has 
 gradually changed, except in regard to the 
 system of piping, which is almost always that 
 shown in Fig. 71, where the pipes run the 
 whole length of the house, or more commonly, 
 of each wing of a long building haying one or 
 more boilers B in the centre. By this arrangement 
 the hotter end of one pipe balances the colder 
 end of another to a great extent, and the total 
 heat only slightly diminishes with distance from 
 
 * Li-oe Stock Jownal, Dec. 6, 1S95. 
 
148 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the boiler. The space thus heated is divided 
 into separate pens or apartments by partitions 
 boarded up for about a foot, and wired above 
 for chickens ; duckhngs only need quite low- 
 partitions. Each compartment or pen has its 
 own "hover" or brooder. The first plan 
 
 Fig. 72.— Ventilation Method. 
 
 adopted to heat these is, known as the " venti- 
 lation " system, and is shown in Fig. 72, taken 
 from a diagram by Mr. G. H. PoUarcJ, a cele- 
 brated American duck breeder, who still uses 
 and recommends it, at least for ducklings. 
 Here the pipes N N (of which, however, four 
 should be shown) are carried in a trench, H, 
 beneath the floor. Air is brought from outside 
 into this trench, which has wooden side's and a 
 cement bottom, and is about three, feet wide ; 
 but the air does not come direct ; it comes in 
 tubes at intervals, which end in a short length 
 of larger tube surrounding the hot pipes, and 
 thus gets warmed by close contact. The wooden 
 floor over the trench is double, and only be- 
 comes gently warmed ; but at proper intervals 
 are apertures with short pipes or nozzles, P r, 
 
 «*•: 
 
 I^'g- 73 —Top piping S)stem. 
 
 which deliver \varmed air from the trench a few 
 inches above the .floor and under the hovers. 
 These in Mr. Pollard's arrangement extend 
 all the way between the board partitions, C C, 
 
 resting on ledges, F F, and are in two separable 
 parts, A being merely a flat board with a back- 
 piece which reaches to the floor behind, B being 
 a flat board, to the front edge of which is tacked 
 a curtain of woollen material, slit into strips, 
 and reaching nearly to the floor. In some of 
 the earlier houses the hovers did not extend 
 between the partitions, but consisted of a square 
 board top, about thirty inches square, with a 
 curtain all round it, and supported at each 
 corner by a peg or leg fitting tightly in a hole, 
 by which means the height could be varied. In 
 both cases fresh, warm air is delivered under 
 the hovers by the inlets or ventilators, P P, which 
 is the supposed advantage of this system. 
 
 It has, however, by degrees been almost 
 universally changed for an overhead system of 
 piping, as shown in Fig. 73. Here the hovers 
 themselves are much as before, A and B being 
 shown, for variety, as not separate, but hinged 
 
 Fig, 74. — Single Brooder House. 
 
 together, which is often done, but is not essential. 
 The piping runs in these hovers almost close to 
 the top, and the chickens brood underneath, but 
 not in contact with the pipes N N. The pipes 
 are laid rather on a slant, so as to be higher 
 from the floor at the end farthest from the 
 boiler ; the hovers also are progressively higher, 
 so that as the chickens grow larger, and are 
 passed on from pen to pen — which is an essential 
 part of the system — they get a cooler tempera- 
 ture and are farther from the heat. They re- 
 quire also more room in other ways, and at first 
 this was given by dividing them out more ; but 
 of late a usual plan has been to make the pens 
 wider and wider in succession. At the back of 
 these hovers are shown wire ventilators, W W, 
 the reasons for which will presently appear, but 
 these are by no means universal. 
 
 Further modifications in detail have been 
 introduced during recent years. In places 
 where the climate is severe, a long set of pipes 
 
AMERICAN BROODER HOUSES. 
 
 149 
 
 floes not give sufficient heat, and a system has 
 been extensively used of what are called " sec- 
 tional brooders," in which a small stove, heated 
 by kerosene oil, supplies a shorter set of pipes 
 for three or four brooders, another stove and set 
 of pipes heating the next four, and so on. The 
 heat is found more under command this way, 
 and the system is extending. Extra piping 
 for raising the general temperature of the 
 entire building is also very general in modern 
 brooder-houses. Some raisers also use detached 
 brooders, more or less resembling one of the 
 types shown in Figs. S7-61, one in each pen ; 
 
 r«fc 
 
 brooder-houses of quite recent date, is the ex- 
 cavation of the corridor half a yard or more 
 below the level cf the brooder pens, or the 
 raising of the floors of the latter above that of 
 the corridor. Such modification of the levels 
 is stated by those who have adopted it to pre- 
 vent much back-aching, and save considerable 
 time and labour in cleansing the brooders. 
 
 Double brooder-houses are far less common 
 than single, owing to the value of a southern 
 aspect in the early months. A few have been 
 built, however, mostly running north and south. 
 Fig. 75 is an arrangement of the Reliable Incu- 
 
 
 
 ■=- \- 
 
 f'S- 75- — Double Brooder House. 
 
 but this plan is chiefly adopted by such as 
 raise breeding-stock extensively in spring, and 
 get the chicks out of doors on fine days as 
 speedily as possible. 
 
 The general arrangement of a single brooder- 
 house is shown in Fig. 74, a corridor running 
 along the back of all the brooders and pens, 
 and the brooders backing into this clear of the 
 partitions, so that the whole or part of the hover 
 can be removed without entering the pen. The . 
 same general arrangements would be found 
 where sectional brooders are in use. The most 
 important further modification, which we have 
 only seen noticed as characterising one or two 
 
 bator and Brooder Company, -Quincy, , Illiriois, 
 which to a great extent obviates the objection, 
 and has met with some favour. The southern 
 side of this building receives the sun as usual, 
 while the gable windows at the pitch also admit 
 sun and warmth to the north side. In this house 
 also the brooders or hovers are half-way in the 
 corridor and half in the pens, so that the chicks 
 can be put in without entering the pens. This 
 is, probably, the most economical form of house 
 for the accommodation ; and the two stoves in 
 the centre, and double set of pipes which serve 
 the brooders, keep the whole interior at a mild 
 temperature. 
 
15° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 The results from these great broiler-plants 
 have been very different in different hands, from 
 first to last. The labour required is considerable, 
 from the nature of the case. The 
 Variable mortality of the chicks has been very 
 
 Results. variable, but usually great, and the 
 
 fertility of the eggs is somewhat un- 
 certain at the time of year when much of the 
 work is done. At Hammonton itself there was 
 for a while quite a "boom," one plant after 
 another being erected ; for the possible profits 
 were great, and the demand for the product 
 apparently inexhaustible. Gradually some of 
 these "shut down," as did others started in 
 other parts of the country, and it is beyond 
 doubt that dozens have failed or been abandoned. 
 But others have been continually started, many 
 with such additional branches as to equalise 
 operations and combine with more general 
 poultry-farming ; such as with eggs for market 
 at a time when broilers are less profitable, and 
 with the raising of breeding stock. Thus, on 
 the whole, the present number of establish- 
 ments is greater than ever, on a scale shown 
 by the list of incubators at page 64, while in 
 Hammonton itself a few of the largest plants, 
 such as that of Mr. H. Phillips, are still in 
 existence and making money. , When it is 
 stated that the average price of a broiler- 
 chicken is about four times the cost of its food, 
 and that, on the other hand, some raisers .who 
 • score a modest success and still hold on at a 
 profit, report a marketable product at ten 
 weeks of less than 30 per cent, of the eggs put 
 into the incubators, it will be seen what a 
 wide margin the business presents for either 
 success or failure, to say nothing of possible 
 differences in the labour-bill. 
 
 Mr. C. H. Payne, C.E., whose own plan for 
 a brooder-house follows presently, made careful 
 investigation into the causes of the heavy mor- 
 tality; and the causes of death among 
 Heavy brooder - chickens have also been 
 
 jjj^'^ examined hy post-mortem on 826 
 Broiler- plants, specimens, by the Rhode Island 
 ' Experiment Station {Bulletin, No. 
 61), using chicks from separate breeding-pens. 
 The latter results were interesting. The causes 
 of many deaths were congenital, one of the 
 pens only giving 27 fertile eggs out of 50, of 
 which only 19 hatched, and 12 died within ten 
 days; while other eggs in the same experiment 
 turned out well. Another class of deaths was 
 traced to imperfect absorption of the yolk, which 
 also caused many deaths in the shell before 
 hatching ; arid this occurrence was further traced 
 chiefly to variation of temperature in the incubator. 
 Some deaths were accidental — overcrowding, 
 
 trampling, etc. But the vast majority of deaths 
 took place from either tuberculosis or digestive 
 complaints. Over 15 per cent, of all deaths 
 were from tuberculosis, some of which were 
 traced, by experiment, to infection from hovers 
 previously occupied by diseased chicks, and the 
 chief preventive of which is more sunlight and 
 air. But 75 P^i" cent, of all were due to errors 
 in feeding, somewhat frequent symptoms being 
 closure of the gall- duct, causing accumulation 
 to an enormous extent. The most general cause 
 of this trouble was found to be insufficiency of 
 animal food ; too much of this and deficiency of 
 grain food, resulted in diarrhoea, which also fol- 
 lowed from chill, and sometimes from deficiency 
 in grit, and seems to be the most general 
 cause of mortality in brooder-houses. 
 
 Mr. Payne's inquiry was on slightly different 
 lines, but in many respects led to similar conclu- 
 sions (Reliable Poultry Journal, 1900). He, too, 
 began with the breeding stock, and purchased 
 pens from four breeders, all with a reputation. 
 From two of these he affirms that it was abso- 
 lutely " impossible " to incubate and grow 
 broilers ; another did better, but poorly; only 
 from, one pen were the results good. Then he 
 promoted fertility by using two cocks for each 
 pen, one at a time for a week, alternately, and 
 by duplicate grass runs, 100 square feet for each 
 bird, turning them off to the fresh run as soon 
 as one got at all foul. He found this " made all 
 the difference " to fertility in the summer. 
 Thirdly, he found that he never obtained con- 
 tinuously good hatching results till after ' the 
 adoption of the "no-moisture" plan and modern 
 improved " no-moisture " machines ; these gave 
 him 90 per cent, average hatches with his strong 
 eggs, and sometimes 96. He further found 
 that ventilation must be attended to in the incu- 
 bator-room. The lamps and the eggs consume 
 much oxygen, and a room that hatched well 
 with only one machine, failed with two or three, 
 until more fresh air was admitted. This point 
 is peculiarly instructive ; and in hot weather still 
 more ventilation was necessary. Last of all, he 
 came to the conclusion that the majority of 
 brooder-houses were wrong in not giving suf- 
 ficient air and exercise to the chicks, and in 
 not graduating space to age ; that, as a rule, 
 the space was too large to begin with, and not 
 enough later on. 
 
 We are thus led to a brief description of two 
 quite recently built American broiler-.plants, 
 both showing considerable departures from the 
 more usual type as figured above^ but planned 
 on different principles, with different objects in 
 view. The chief end of one is to systematise 
 the operations and save labour ; that of the 
 
MR. LOUGHLIN'S BROILER PLANT. 
 
 151 
 
 other, whilst also keeping labour in view, to 
 improve the hygienic conditions and thus reduce 
 mortality. 
 
 The first of these is the establishment built 
 by Mr. John Loughlin, at Sydney, Ohio, to 
 turn out an average of 250 ^0 300 broilers per 
 day ! The buildings and plant cost over 60,000 
 dollars, and were erected complete 
 by a man entirely new to the whole 
 business, who had studied its opera- 
 tions in other establishments ; and a 
 profit of 14,600 dollars is said to have been 
 realised the first year. The rooms for food, 
 incubators, packing the birds, etc., need not be 
 described : the characteristic features of the 
 
 The 
 
 Loughlin 
 
 Plant. 
 
 We give, by the courtesy of the Reliable 
 Poultry Journal of America, a photograph 
 of the entire plant, except that when it 
 was taken the laying-house outside runs had 
 not been divided and fenced ; and Fig. J6 
 shows in semi-perspective the great horse- 
 shoe building, whose arrangement is the key 
 of the whole. This building is 320 feet 
 from front to rear, the greater portion in the 
 rear being in the shape of a lengthened hdrse- 
 sho'e or loop, a range of pens running up on one 
 side of a roadway, turning round at the end, and 
 returning to a shipping room on the other side 
 of the archway in the front building. The total 
 length of this loop is 480 feet, which is divided 
 
 Mr. Loughlin's Broiler Plant. 
 
 plant are the two sets of pens for rearing the 
 chickens. Of these, one, termed the nursery, 
 grows them for thirty days, when they are trans- 
 ferred to another, which carries them through 
 sixty more days ; and on the ninetieth day they 
 are marketed alive, at the average weight of 
 \\ lbs., and the minimum price of three dollars 
 per dozen, upwards, the average being reckoned 
 at 30 cents each, or a little over. The plan of 
 the whole is to provide ninety separate pens, 
 the chicks occupying each for one day only, and 
 passing from that to the next, daily. This is 
 chiefly done in order to bring each lot in daily 
 succession to the shipping room ; but it was 
 also believed that the necessity for the daily 
 change of pen would have an effect in ensuring 
 that the work of each day was thoroughly and 
 methodically done. 
 
 into sijity pens, each measuring 8 feet wide by 
 12 feet deep, with outer runs or yards to each 
 8 feet by 26 feet, planted with small fruit trees 
 and grass, to which the chicks have access in all 
 reasonable weather. The whole is solidly built 
 with brick walls on stone foundations. The 
 building is heated by large pipes extending all 
 round the horseshoe overhead ; and close above 
 the tops of the fences between the pens, which 
 are 30 inches high, other pipes extend to the 
 twentieth pen. As the chicks are already thirty 
 days old when they reach the horseshoe, they 
 thus get some extra radiated warmth till fifty 
 days old, after which the overhead pipes are 
 deemed sufficient. All the partitions are wire, 
 and not boarded. The floors are earth, over 
 which is thrown short straw for scratching litter. 
 Each lot of chicks — varying from 200 to 300 in 
 
152 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 number — occupies one pen for one day, after 
 which the lot is driven or herded through a trap 
 into the next. Finally,' on the ninetieth day, 
 they come back to the main building. Here 
 they are driven for the last time into a long 
 slatted pen in the shipping room. This has an 
 exit at the farther end, towards which they are 
 urged by a movable partition which is pushed 
 up against them from the back end of the pen. 
 Against this exit is placed the shipping-coop, 
 which is closed and taken away as soon- as 
 sufficient chicks are in it ; and in this way the 
 ten or twelve coops which hold the day's output 
 are all filled and loaded on the cart in about 
 lifteen minutes ! 
 
 The chicks, up to thirty days, are treati.-d <in 
 the same mechanical system. The top flo"r >>f 
 the back portion of the front building in Fi--. ~\ 
 is one large room, which is the chicken nursi.-ry. 
 
 thrown cut straw for scratching litter ; and 
 every three days this canvas is taken up and 
 replaced, and well' boiled, washed, and dried 
 before being used again. Round the inside of 
 the loop run the pipes under which the chicks 
 nestle,- gradually raised as usual towards the 
 farthest advanced pens ; but there are no hovers 
 over these as in other plants, all being free and 
 open to the room, the temperature of which is 
 kept at nearly 90°. Mr. Loughlin began with a 
 heat of 80°, but gradually got to 83° and 85°, 
 and finally convinced himself that the warmer 
 
 Fig. 76.— Horseshoe Brooder House of the Loughlin Plant. 
 
 At the back end of this room, next the end of the 
 horseshoe, are two lifts. One of these brings up 
 the day s hatch of chickens from the incubator be- 
 low which is due that day : the other lift delivers 
 those which are thirty days old, down to the first 
 pen in the horseshoe. The main part of the 
 room IS formed into a series of pens, arranged 
 into a horseshoe shape exactly similar to the 
 other, but much smaller, each of the thirty pens 
 measurmg s feet by 10 feet,, with a wide passage 
 between the two rows for the attendant The 
 partitions here are quite low, so as to be reached 
 over easily. The floor of each pen is fitted with 
 a canvas which buttons down, on which is 
 
 temperature was best, which he attributed to 
 the fact of there being nothing to confine the 
 air immediately ovfer the chicks. 
 
 In the nursery the chicks are fed four or five 
 times daily, and in the horseshoe three times. 
 Grain is the principal food, with a proportion of 
 animal food and green food, no soft food being 
 given, and the birds appeared to Mr. Payne, at a 
 visit he paid, to be fed rather sparingly. This is 
 probably one secret of success ; but the result 
 was by no means of high quality, as shown by 
 the low prices quoted above. This might no 
 d.out)t be increased somewhat by killing and 
 dressing, but Mr. Loughlin prefers the simpler 
 
MR. LOUGHLIN'S BROILER PLANT. 
 
 153 
 
 plan of shipping the live birds with no further 
 trouble, all going to one wholesale firm. From 
 the day the chicks come up from the incubator 
 they are never handled, but driven on from pen 
 to pen, till they finally pass in the same auto- 
 matic way into the shipping-coops. The whole 
 plant, including running the incubators for 450 
 eggs daily, and packing into crates, is run by 
 four men, the economy of labour being thus 
 triumphantly vindicated. 
 
 The other building shown in the photograph 
 is the egg- or laying-house. This had not been 
 originally intended, the idea having been to buy 
 eggs from the farmers around ; but these were 
 so unscrupulous in what they supplied, that Mr. 
 Loughlin was driven to breeding his own. This 
 Jjouse is a building 560 feet long, on the double 
 Corridor plan, divided into sixty pens, each 
 measuring 12 feet by 17 feet, and with a run 17 
 feet by 73 feet outside. The whole is warmed 
 by water-pipes, and the water-supply is also 
 piped, as in the brooder-house. In each pen are 
 placed fifty hens, or 3,000 in the entire build- 
 ing, 600 of which were reckoned as breeding 
 stock and the rest as layers for the &'g% market. 
 
 The weak points of this remarkable plant are 
 
 obvious. The crowding is far beyond anything 
 
 before attempted. Starting with, say, 300 chicks, 
 
 c^^.^a;„^ we have six chicks to the square foot 
 Crowding . . 1 t-u- ■ 
 
 in the m each pen of the nursery ! 1 his is 
 
 Loughlin somewhat reduced by mortality. 
 Plant. otherwise there would be in the horse- 
 
 shoe also a bird for every square foot, reckoning 
 open runs and all, and more than two per foot 
 in the pens. On the first publication of the 
 details we pointed out these things, and gave 
 our opinion that the mortality must be great, 
 and that the egg-house also must surely prove 
 a failure, since the space allowed was barely 
 enough for ten hens rather than fifty. To a 
 great extent this has proved true. The eggs 
 were a failure, and the breeding fowls have since 
 had to be located in semi-detached houses 
 placed upon grass. Out of 450 eggs set daily, 
 the average hatch has been about 300 to 325, 
 and the surviving chickens an average of 250 ; 
 and Mr. Loughlin has stated that the mortality 
 is twice as much during the first thirty days as 
 in the following sixty days. But the remarkable 
 thing is that even the 250 survivors exceed $oper 
 cent, of the eggs laid down, and the average of 
 many other broiler-raisers, and pay a good profit 
 up to our latest advices. The first account was 
 by Mr. Grant Curtis, who visited the place in 
 January, 1898, when it had been running over a 
 year : he then found 22,000 chickens alive, and 
 quite as he.Jthy as usual. More than a year 
 later Mr. Payne visited it again ; and while the 
 
 eggs had proved sterile, and he believed, equally 
 with ourselves, that such crowding must sooner 
 or later break down somehow, he still found that 
 the infant mortality was not greater than usual, 
 and that the older birds were practically in good 
 health and the whole in full swing. That was after 
 more than two years. It is only to be explained, 
 we think, by the absence of confined air under 
 hovers, so that the chicks breathe pure air ; by 
 the care taken to keep the floors sweet ; and by 
 the plain and somewhat scanty feeding to keep 
 the birds lively. The very last news we have is 
 not altogether so satisfactory, but it is somewhat 
 indirect, and still points to what must be ad- 
 mitted on the whole to be continued success up 
 to the end of 1899. We believe it will be found 
 necessary yet to allow more room ; but with 
 that proviso, the clock-work system of passing 
 chicks systematically through pen after pen till 
 marketed, each day marking its fixed stage in 
 the process, and all done with such amazingly 
 little labour, is one of the most remarkable 
 developments of the- poultry industry, and 
 worthy of study from many points of view. 
 Whatever difficulties and changes may occur, as 
 we believe they must occur sooner or later, the 
 business energy and method which conceived 
 and carried out such a novel system will prob- 
 ably not be found wanting, and somehow pull 
 the originator through. 
 
 This plant has evidently not been without 
 influence upon the other recent broiler-plant 
 alluded to, the most recent of all lately planned, 
 and built by Mr. C. H. Payne himself at New 
 Bedford, Mass., for Mr. George H. 
 Mr.C.Payne's Dunbar, and which we are enabled 
 Dunbar Plant, ^q describe from an illustrated 
 article by him in the Reliable 
 Poultry Journal. His conclusions as to the 
 previous causes of brooder mortality have been 
 already stated : the establishment here illustrated 
 is destined to carry out a " progressive " system, 
 so far resembling the preceding, but with special 
 regard to health and hardiness as well as 
 economy, so that the chicks may be fit for 
 planting-out, if not intended for the city market. 
 Apart from smaller details, whilst resembling 
 the Loughlin plan in the progression of the 
 chicks from pen to pen, and in the general 
 method of heating, it differs from it in several 
 important particulars. {pi) By allowing the 
 chicks to remain two days in each pen, thirty 
 pens carry them through two months, and thus 
 simplify the plant. By that age they can be 
 turned out upon open runs in colony coops, and 
 if well fed are often fit for the "broiler" market; 
 but it is obvious that by giving thi'ee days in 
 each run, they might be kept on for ninety 
 
154 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 days ; while in three days but little increase in 
 size is noticeable, (b) From "the first, the pens 
 and runs increase in size with the age of the 
 chicks. This grading of the pens is shown on 
 the plan, Fig. TJ. Instead of the pens (for lOO 
 chicks) being averaged 6\ feet wide round the 
 circle, they begin with 3 feet, while the thirtieth 
 pen is 10 feet. It is the same with the radiating 
 outer runs, as shown in the photographed view 
 of the whole, {c) From the first much more 
 ample space is allowed ; an amount which Mr. 
 Payne says was determined by careful experi- 
 ments. The. pens are 14 feet from front to 
 back, the shed is a further addition, and the 
 
 60 feet. This is double what was considered 
 desirable for actual occupation, but each run 
 is divided radially into two, making sixty in all 
 instead of thirty, and these are used in alterna- 
 tion. As soon as one gets foul, the chickens 
 are turned into the other, which has by that 
 time become sweet and freshly stocked with 
 insects; 100 square feet oi fresh grass are thus 
 provided for each bird. Owing to these 
 arrangements, several lots of chickens were 
 carried through to the end without the loss 'of 
 a single individual. 
 
 The general plan of the building is as follows. 
 The circular area inside the row of pens is 
 
 Mr. Dunbar's Broiler Plant, designed by Mr. C, H. Payne, C.E. 
 
 runs outside are far larger, {d) To the enclosed 
 pens are added open " scratching-sheds," to 
 which canvas fronts are affixed, to be used or 
 not as required ; these give fresh air even in 
 stormy weather, with extra space, and break 
 the transition from the warmed pens to the 
 outer air at other times. The sheds extend out 
 another 6 feet. {i) The whole building is 
 circular or polygonal, in the centre of the open 
 runs. 
 
 We have kept for a separate paragraph the 
 most radical difference of all, in the much larger 
 open grass-runs, which it is claimed enable such 
 a building as this to rear healthy stock birds 
 . as well as market broilers. Beginning short, 
 they extend in length as well as width, till the 
 later runs extend 150 feet out from the pens. 
 At this point their outer frontage will be about 
 
 excavated 3 feet deep as a basement, and the 
 excavated earth banked up on the flo\ir of the 
 pens and. sheds, so as to raise them above the 
 level, to which they slope ; this giyes a roomy 
 basement, and keeps the rest dry. In the base- 
 ment are the incubator-room, the boiler for 
 heating, the cooking apparatus, and stores. To 
 reach the basement floor and for shipment a 
 drive-way is carried through one side of the 
 whole, as shown in both the illustrations, by 
 which a waggon can be driven in, there being 
 room in the basement for it to turn. The drive- 
 way comes in from the south-east, so that the 
 small peris with the young chicks are on the 
 sunny side of the building. Round the base- 
 ment runs a. gallery reached from below by 
 steps (Fig. yj), which takes the place of the 
 corridor in other broiler-plants, and is 6 or 8 
 
MR. DUNBAR S BROILER PLANT. 
 
 iSS 
 
 inches above the level of the pens, this difference 
 of level having to do with the system of 
 ventilation. 
 
 The latter must be considered in connection 
 with the heating. Between the pens and the 
 open sheds are sliding windows, and above and 
 below these, hot-water pipes are carried round ; 
 two loops (four pipes) extending as far as pen 
 15, and one loop only (one pipe over windows, 
 returning under windows) all round the pens. 
 
 no hover pipes, but can be warmed somewhat 
 when required by the window pipes just men- 
 tioned, and at all times get diffused furnace- 
 heat from the basement. Thus the chicks are 
 gradually hardened off, the boiler and other 
 pipes moderating the temperature even in the 
 cold pens. The first six pens have plain boards 
 above the hot pipes, to radiate the heat down- 
 wards, but with no fringed curtain to confine 
 the air at all ; in the other pens there are no 
 
 ^ig- 77- — Ground Plan of Buildings of Mr. Dunbar's Plant. 
 
 These arc only' for iise on very cold days^ and 
 warm the air as it comes in from the outside ; 
 more so for the youngest birds. At the inner 
 or back ends of the pens three loops of six 
 pipes are placed, in the usual hover position, rising 
 more from the floor as they go towards the 
 larger pens. One loop or pair of pipes only 
 extends to pen 7 (fourteen days old), a second 
 to pen 14 (four weeks old), and a third to pen 
 21 (six weeks old); the rest of the pens have 
 
 hovers, but the heat radiates from the pipes 
 in free and open air, as in the Loughlin plant. 
 Round the inside of the gallery are vertical, 
 hollow, ventilating shafts, which pass up under 
 the roof to the ventilating lantern. These carry 
 off all impure air from the incubator-room and 
 basement below ; and under the raised gallery 
 floor, horizontal flues also connect the pens with 
 these shafts. The central boiler-chimney creates 
 a powerful draught at the lantern, and in this way 
 
iS6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 a gradual movement of air is kept up from 
 outside to this lantern, all through the building. 
 All the walls are substantial, double-built 
 outside, with air-spaces or packing. The inner 
 circular wall next the gallery is furnished with 
 tight-fitting shutters, which can be opened in 
 warm weather, so as to keep a cool draught all 
 through the house. The watering is all done 
 by a system of pipes, supplying one vessel 
 between two pens ; and a most ingenious plan 
 is provided by which the chicks are transferred 
 from pen to pen without trouble or loss of time. 
 Reference to Fig. J"] will show that the partitions 
 between the outer sheds and the pens do not 
 coincide, one pen partition being to one side of 
 the shed partition corresponding. Each pen 
 and shed is furnished with two communicating 
 entrances, furnished with slides or trap-doors, 
 as in Fig. "jZ. The breakfast is given in a 
 
 SHED N0.8 
 
 PEN N0.7 
 
 ^ — —M^^ -m -/tV 
 
 PEN N0.8 
 
 Fig. 78. — Transference of Chicks. 
 
 trough in the shed, and the chicks rush out to 
 it through one trap which is opened. When 
 they have passed through, this set of traps is 
 shut, and the other one opened ; and without 
 knowing it, the birds have to go back one pen 
 ahead. In herding or driving the chickens 
 through, as had to be done in the Loughlin 
 plant, a great deal of time and labour is 
 •required, which is saved by this ingenious 
 plan, all the traps being raised and lowered 
 by a cord simultaneously, and the chicks 
 being probably unaware that they have gone 
 back to a pen three inches wider. 
 
 Sofar as we know, this is the latest broiler- 
 plant in America, both as regards erection and 
 design. With its greater space, open-air arrange- 
 ments, and open runs planned to keep fresh, it 
 should allow of higher feeding than the pre- 
 ceding, and consequently better prices. Alto- 
 gether, if the business will stand the interest on 
 its cost— with three days in each pen it would 
 market 100 broilers every three days— and the 
 
 labour-bill, it seems to offer more promise of 
 success than any other we have heard of ; but 
 it has not been long enough in operation to 
 speak definitely as to comparative success, 
 beyond the fact that the mortality has been 
 almost nil.* 
 
 In brooder-houses of the usual type, the 
 general management does not differ much, and 
 such variations as occur in feeding have been 
 chiefly made with a view, to reducing 
 Management the mortality. The more experienced 
 Broiler- raisers attribute very much of the 
 
 plants. diarrhoea that so frequently attacks 
 
 the youngest chicks, chiefly to two 
 causes. The first of these is chill in removing 
 to the brooder from the incubator; and the 
 other is the swallowing of more or less con- 
 taminated sand, a newly-hatched bird pecking 
 instinctively at whatever is under its feet. The 
 brooder is therefore heated to 90° under the 
 hovers for the new chicks, which are carefully 
 guarded from cold during transference ; and it 
 is becoming not unusual to floor the brooder 
 and very small run in front, for the first two 
 days, with bran ! Those who have adopted this 
 plan speak well of the results. It does not cost 
 much, because for the first day a board is always 
 kept near up to the front of the hover to pre- 
 vent any wandering, .and moved a little farther 
 off the second day, and so on, till the chicks 
 know their way back to the heat. This is 
 gradually reduced to 8$° and 80" and 75°. 
 Warm temperatures are found best upon the 
 whole ; but while it raises more and better 
 broilers, there is no doubt that too much wrecks 
 -the constitution for permanent growth, and it 
 has been found that many of the "healthy" 
 chicks, when killed and examined, show 
 symptoms of heart disease, as might indeed 
 have been expected. The open uncovered 
 pipes of the Loughlin and Dunbar plants appear 
 to promise better in this respect, and still more 
 in regard to tuberculosis. Short of this recent 
 innovation, as it may be termed, the best results 
 have been secured in those brooder-houses 
 which run their pipes not less than four to five 
 inches above the heads of the chicks, and have 
 the bottoms of the curtains a good distance off 
 the floor; some, again, have removed the cur- 
 tains and only retain the top board as a hover 
 
 *T^^ "^^f'y as we can make' out, this plant was erected by 
 Mr. Dunbar for a city gentleman who had suddenly become 
 enamoured of a rural life and the chicken business, but had 
 1" rj ^^^^ °o'io" of either beyond that imbibed during occasional 
 liohdays. The first winter convinced him that country life an 1 
 work with chickens were better taken in smaller doses ; and lor 
 a short space the plant was shut down. We hear that it has 
 smce been rented or leased, and 'at last accounts was runntng 
 satisfactorily. 
 
REARING OF LARGE AMERICAN POULTRY. 
 
 157 
 
 One raiser's experience was instructive in this 
 respect : his chicks did perceptibly better after 
 the heat of the house had shrunk the boards of 
 the hover so as to leave great cracks between. 
 The hint has been taken by others, and many 
 hovers have been constructed with wire-work 
 ventilating apertures, as shown in Fig. 71. It is 
 the almost universal experience that those who 
 have adopted " no moisture " incubators, have 
 not only hatched a better average, but found the 
 chicks hardier and less subject to disease. 
 
 Temperature will vary with some of these 
 different conditions, and is mainly judged by the 
 behaviour of the chicks. If they crowd too 
 much together, which can be seen by day, 
 and by night judged of by the disposition of 
 their droppings in the morning, it is too cold 
 in the pens ; though the hover may not be, or 
 may even be too hot. This supposes all healthy, 
 however. A few weakly chicks in a batch will 
 generally crowd together anyhow, and there is 
 no doubt that such a commencement often starts 
 a habit of crowding, which then works much 
 mischief. For this reason some experienced 
 raisers prefer to kill all decidedly weakly ones 
 on the first signs of crowding, before they can 
 do harm. While diseased birds which die are 
 burnt or buried, it is customary to mince up 
 -such young ones as are killed for mere weakness, 
 or as cripples, as soon as they are cold, along 
 with the meat or cut bone, and feed to the 
 laj'ing stock. 
 
 Diarrhoea later on may also arise from chill ; 
 one night's chill may start dozens. Too much 
 meat or cut bone, or want of 'cleanliness, or 
 want of grit, or too much drinking, will also 
 cause it. Some of those who feed mash twice a 
 day, have done better since giving no water at 
 all. The majority of reports we have seen 
 seem to give only one soft meal a day ; chicks 
 so reared must have water, and still more, of 
 course, such as have only dry food, with animal 
 food and green food, as we have seen is given by 
 Mr. Loughlin, and also by some other raisers. 
 It is very common now to feed only dry food 
 for the first week or two, or three weeks, after 
 which the mortality from bowel complaints is 
 much less. Those who feed dry in this way 
 depend chiefly on rolled oats the first day or 
 two, millet seed, which is very largely used, and 
 cracked maize and wheat. A pan of granulated 
 charcoal is found to help dry feed, or some wheat 
 or maize is parched, and cracked, and fed in cer- 
 tain quantity. Those who feed mash usually 
 mix a certain portion of sharp small chicken- 
 grit in it once a day, and this alone has often 
 stopped diarrhoea when previously troublesome. 
 Rather sparing food in the first three or four 
 
 weeks always gives the best results. Bran is 
 largely used in the mash to balance maize-meal, 
 two parts of bran and one of corn-meal being 
 common ; and we have already seen that bran 
 may occasionally set up irritation and cause 
 diarrhoea. Those who can get it usually give 
 skim-milk to drink, but taking care that it is 
 sweet and the vessels clean. The sooner the 
 chicks can be got out upon the open ground the 
 better ; but this depends upon the weather, and 
 they must be kept moving, if it is cold, by turn- 
 ing them' out hungry, and scattering millet-seed 
 or the small grain. 
 
 Mr. Loughlin's weight of i^ lbs. for market is 
 below the average, which runs up to 2 lbs., and 
 this weight is often got soon after eight weeks. 
 The bran diet often makes the skin dark, which 
 is not liked in the best markets. To remedy 
 this, the birds are finished on corn-meal, with 
 less bran, adding some cotton-seed-meal. This 
 yellows the skin, but they will not stand such 
 diet long. It must always be remembered that 
 so far the preference in the American market 
 is, in opposition to the English ideal, for a 
 yellow-skinned fowl. 
 
 More recently there has grown up in Massa- 
 chusetts and some other Eastern localities, a 
 somewhat new development (so far as wholesale 
 raising is concerned : of course, large 
 Business fowls have always been bought and 
 Roasting ^'^^^ '" ^ smaller way) in the pro- 
 Fowls, duction of large '' winter chickens " or 
 " roasters," a term which distinguishes 
 these birds from the smaller "broilers." The 
 eggs for these begin to be put in the incubators 
 at the end of August or early in September, 
 after which hatching is carried on till as many 
 are out as it is intended to rear. At three 
 months old, a large proportion of the cockerels 
 are capon ised, which is done more largely in 
 America than anywhere else. The chickens are 
 marketed according to plans and prices, many 
 being wintered and kept growing on until May. 
 A very common weight to market them at is 
 from 7 lbs. to 9 lbs., weighed alive. 
 
 The system of raising these birds is as extra- 
 ordinary as in the case of broilers. The younget 
 ones are in brooder-houses very much as usual. 
 The whole, when old enough to leave warm 
 quarters, are raised to the finish, fifty together, 
 in a house 6 by 8 feet, with a small run about 
 15 by 20 feet. One raiser had ninety-one in a 
 house 7 by 9 feet and a yard about the same 
 as just stated. Another and larger raiser, 
 Mr. Alonzo Osborne, puts 200 chickens into 
 one pen, 10 by 17 feet, in a large, warmed 
 house, and there that number remain through 
 the winter, till seven or eight pounds weight ! 
 
iS8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Yet these same birds have been amongst the 
 very best that ever entered the Boston market. 
 In regard to the scale upon -which this is 
 done, a recent visitor reported about 2,000 
 birds ahve on one place, 3,000 on another, and 
 4,000 on another. In some instances the small 
 6x8 houses are not in separate yards, but 
 set in a row down a field, the chickens and 
 capons having free range. One firm, upon 
 half an acre of ground, have raised and sold 
 an average of 2,000 birds per annum, at a 
 weight ranging from J lbs. to 10 lbs. each, 
 for seven years in succession. 
 
 The system of feeding is by no means uni- 
 form. Most of the very young chicks in the 
 brooders are fed on dry food only, which gives 
 the best results, as in a great deal of broiler 
 experience. Later on there is more variety ; 
 but far the most general plan is another com- 
 plete upset of ordinary methods, the food con- 
 sisting of cracked corn (maize) and beef-scrap, 
 kept constantly by the birds in feeding hoppers, 
 and only green food being given in addition. 
 This plan has the further merit beyond arty 
 dietetic success it may achieve, that labour is 
 reduced to the lowest amount. 
 
 We donot like to pronounce upon this recent 
 development of the American poultry industry : 
 it is too recent to- be approved, and we do not 
 incline to that conceited dogmatism which 
 hastens to condemn because wo cannot under- 
 stand it. For we certainly cannot : such num- 
 bers, in such- spaces, for such a time, upsets all 
 our ideas. Of course, the most rigid cleanliness 
 is practised, but even with that the loss of 
 birds is admitted to be considerable, though 
 in spite of this, which is calculated and 
 allowed for, the profits are large. One raiser 
 is stated by Mr. G. H. Pollard to reckon one- 
 third of the number of eggs set, a satisfactory 
 hatch, and reckons to market two-thirds of 
 what he hatches, at which rate he estimates the 
 profit at fifty to sixty cents each. Mr. Osborne 
 estimated that if he could hatch half and raise 
 tM'o-thirds of the hatch, they would pay a profit 
 of one dollar each ; he had actually hatched 40 
 per cent, and raised about 60 per cent. It has, 
 however, to be remembered in considering these 
 figures, that autumn eggs and chickens are 
 notoriously, for obvious reasons, the least fertile 
 and vigorous of any. Besides this great average 
 mortality, however, which as an average is 
 allowed for in the business, our latest advices 
 tell of sudden losses and dangers, which go to 
 show that our doubt and hesitation are not 
 without -serious warrant. Just before these 
 lines are actually written, we hear that one 
 of the largest and most successful of these 
 
 raisers has lately had, his birds die at an 
 alarming rate, and cannot trace the cause; 
 while quite an independent account, dated 
 October, 1900, relates how two others have 
 had last year the most extraordinary differ- 
 ences in results, one lot of several hundred 
 chicks being reared to maturity with the ex- 
 ception of one, while others, from the same 
 eggs, and hatched within a few days, perished 
 every one. 
 
 These facts suggest caution ; but in spite 
 of them, seven years' successful marketing on 
 this basis is a fact deserving attentive study. 
 Perhaps the most interesting question which 
 suggests itself after reading about these broiler 
 and roaster plants of America, is how far some 
 modification of such systems, with perhaps less 
 forcing diet, and the judicious use of Sussex 
 ground oats, might be capable of supplying 
 material for that Britisii fattening industry, 
 which we have already seen has found such 
 material, of adequate quality, more and more 
 scarce. 
 
 With such industries in progress and need- 
 ing supply, it is not surprising that general 
 poultry farming should exhibit proportionate 
 development, far beyond anything in England. 
 American poultry farms are very 
 Character of various in size and character. Some, 
 PoultiT^ both small and large, confine them- 
 Farming. selves to high-class stock, for which 
 there is a constant demand unknown 
 in England. Others make a chief feature of 
 the broiler business, or add breeding stock 
 mainly to supply eggs for this. Others breed 
 pure but cheaper stock, which they sell largely, 
 or send large quantities of eggs to market* 
 But the majority have to market a portion, 
 and nearly all have a brooder-house of some 
 kind. We can only give here a very few details 
 of some typical examples of various kinds. 
 
 As an example of a distinctively " breeder's" 
 farm on a moderate scale, worked up from small 
 beginnings, that of Mr. C. H. Wyckoff, of 
 Groton, New York, is a good one. He, began 
 life as a machinist, but about 1880, having kept 
 
 * In America, at least, there is no doubt about this paying. 
 A year or so since we cut the following from the Weekly Lowell 
 Journal: " Twenty-iive hens on a farm should net $25 clear 
 of all expenses. This does not prove that one hundred would 
 net $100, however. There is an economic limit to the number 
 which' will be profitable on the ordinary farm." This is the 
 same argument so often repeated in England. But we were 
 amused to see it, in America, reproduced a fortnight later, and 
 replied to as follows by the Maine Farmer: "Come down 
 into Maine, brother Marden, and we will show you flocks of 
 one thousand which have netted $1 each for the past twenty 
 years. It all depends upon the calibre of the man. If he is 
 big enough to comprehend what cne thousand hens need, the 
 results will be forthcoming." 
 
AMERICAN POULTRY FARMS. 
 
 159 
 
 a few hens and learnt to believe in them, he 
 got possession of an old farm, his father 
 standing security and lending him 
 Farm. *'^ ^ f^w dollars cash to buy his first 
 birds, twenty-five scrub hens. From 
 the sale of their eggs he managed to get a few 
 Rocks and Leghorns, from which he realised 
 75 dollars, all of which was invested in white 
 Leghorns, his weekly wages meantime keeping 
 other things going and paying interest on the 
 farm ; all the egg-money was spent on the 
 poultry with a relentless determination. The 
 third year he had 180 whites, which, in January, 
 gave him ninety dollars in eggs, and so on ; till, 
 after six years or so of getting under weigh, 
 his sales averaged 4,000 dollars per annum for 
 pure-bred stock and eggs. He made a special- 
 ity of his own laying strain, which soon became 
 known, and ultimately reached a record of 194 
 eggs per autumn each, from a stock of 600 
 layers, kept in flocks of fifty each. His usual 
 mash has been given,'but it is supplemented by 
 ample green food ; he found by actual test that 
 when this was omitted or greatly decreased, the 
 egg-yield suffered. His hatching eggs are bred 
 from pens of fifteen or twenty. The farm is 
 arranged in equal-sized rectangular runs 33 
 by 84 feet, to every two of which is a 
 double house 12 by 40 feet in area, with 
 a boarded floor. Till the boards were put 
 in, the damp gave trouble and checked the 
 laying. Plums and peaches are planted in the 
 runs. Each year from 1,500 to 2,000 chickens 
 are raised, three 300 - egg incubators having 
 heretofore been used, and a brooder-house 
 16 by 60 feet, with several smaller houses. 
 The most remarkable thing to us is the small 
 amount of run, which really places about 600 
 birds upon one acre ; but for fifteen years no 
 evil result had accrued. In 1900, for reasons con- 
 nected with the education of his family, Mr. 
 Wyckoff sold his farm as a going concern to 
 Messrs. Gray and Storke, who found the demand 
 for eggs and stock so far in excess of the supply, 
 that they promptly ordered several more incu- 
 bators and fifteen new brooders, and arranged 
 fresh houses and yards, in order to increase 
 the production. 
 
 A complete contrast in every respect is the 
 poultry-farming of Mr. Frank Derrick, Troy, 
 N.Y. He has 250 acres in all, and runs a 
 cider mill and other matters beside 
 PcSt^ poultry ; but of the latter he winters 
 Farms. about 2,ooo. These are chiefly Leg- 
 
 horns, Rocks, and Wyandottes, but 
 there is no attempt at fancy, the whole plant 
 being run for eggs and meat alone. Hens 
 only have so far been used for hatching, being 
 
 bought all around every spring ; and every 
 autumn hundreds of pullets are also bought to 
 renew his stock. This is kept in yards of about 
 half an acre each, miles of wire netting being 
 used in fencing them : thus it is impossible for 
 them to want green food except in winter, when 
 cabbage ~ is fed every day. There are over 
 600 feet run of houses. At the date of the 
 last account we saw, a brooder-house 100 feet 
 long was in contemplation, and it is to be pre- 
 sumed that hens would then be replaced by 
 incubators. 
 
 Another farm run on lines quite unusual in 
 America is that of Mr. Prescott, Woburn. It 
 may be called an ^^g farm. About 1881 Mr. 
 Prescott built two houses lOO feet long, then 
 he crossed over a brook and built another 
 plant, the chief feature of which is a big poultry- 
 house, 250 feet long, with an elbow, one arm 
 facing south and the other south-east, to suit the 
 ground. Each wing has ten pens about 12 by 15 
 feet, in each of which roost fifty or sixty birds. 
 But the strangest thing is that all the doors in 
 each wing are left open, and the five or six 
 hundred birds in each wing are allowed to run 
 together ! When they come in, if one roost is 
 full they go to another, and are found to divide 
 up pretty evenly. The run of rough ground is 
 about half an acre for each wing. Hens are 
 used for sitting, and about 1,000 are set in a 
 season, but most of the chickens are taken 
 away to a brooder-house. Here as many as 
 400 are run together in a pen with a small 
 run outside : at four to six weeks old they are 
 moved to out-door brooders. About i^ cwts. of 
 fresh bone is cut every week for the hens, and is 
 by no means all the animal food which they get. 
 We must say that we are at a loss to under- 
 stand how these arrangements can have appar- 
 ently prospered so long. Six hundred fowls 
 running together on so little ground is as much 
 opposed to general American ideas as to our 
 own ; but we have mentioned this farm for the 
 very reason of its wide departure from accepted 
 notions. Mr. Prescott is stated to average 140 
 to 150 eggs per bird all round, and to hatch 
 about 10,000 birds every year, a good portion 
 being sold, however, at one day old. 
 
 We take from the Feather a few particulars 
 of the farm of Mr. W. J.. Kirwin, near Waltham, 
 Mass., as differing from others here mentioned 
 in several particulars, some of which bring it 
 nearer to English methods ; also because it is a 
 case of a man making his entire living by poul- 
 try alone, in a plain way and without advertising, 
 almost entirely by his own work. The main 
 building for stock is 460 feet in length, and there 
 are other detached houses, all on a gentle slope. 
 
i6o 
 
 TBE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 screened on the north by a steep rocky hill well 
 wooded. Steam is used to pump water into a 
 large tank at top of the food-house, to grind 
 food and cut bones, to cook the food, and to 
 warm part of the house when occupied by young 
 chicks. The large house is divided into pens 
 12 feet wide, with no corridor, but double- 
 swing doors. In each pen are about twenty-five 
 -hens and two cocks, of plain " utility " barred 
 Rocks, of which about 500 are wintered. 
 The most remarkable thing perhaps is, that 
 while Mr. Kirwin sells about 12,000 eggs 
 annually to be hatched in incubators by others, 
 he hatches all his own chickens under hens ! 
 These are cooped four days only, and then have 
 liberty with the broods until these are six weeks 
 old, when about sixty are put together into a 
 small house, mostly in a mown field. The young 
 ones are chiefly fed on broken biscuits bought 
 from the bakeries, milk, granulated 'oatmeal, and 
 millet.. They are marketed at about four months 
 old and four pounds weight, at prices ranging 
 from twenty-five cents to forty cents per pound, 
 Mr. Kirwin being a most skilful dresser, and 
 being often employed a portion of his time, at 
 fees, by neighbouring raisers. In June he sells his 
 cockerels, all but a few ■' specials " ; in Septem- 
 ber all his two-year-old hens. He sells his 
 incubator-eggs at 5 dollars per hundred or 40 
 dollars per thousand. During the last year or 
 two a quite new demand has been found by 
 him for what he calls " squab " broilers, hatched 
 in January and February, and sold when i lb. 
 to i^ lbs. each. These are very analogous to 
 the 'Eurppea.n pedis poussins ox poulets de grains, 
 and realize from 80 cents to a dollar per pair. 
 
 Mr. C. Nesmith's Lone Oak Farm, at Reading, 
 Mass., one of the most successful in that State, 
 has also several peculiar features. It was estab- 
 lished in 1892. It comprises about 25 acres in 
 all, and the main part of the plant in 1900 con- 
 sisted of three long-houses for stock and a long 
 brooder-house, all running parallel and facing 
 the south, with another house for stock running 
 north and south. Nothing is kept but barred 
 Rocks, of which six to eight hundred are 
 kept as stock, the eggs hatching in an incubator 
 room (21 machines) 17 by 40 feet. This rocm 
 had to have its first ventilation increased, when 
 hatching results distinctly improved — a lesson 
 that will not pass unheeded. In the brooder- 
 hou.se, the part devoted to young chicks has an 
 independent brooder in each pen ; the other pens 
 are piped ; and the whole house is piped above 
 the windows along the outer wall, to keep the 
 air temperature mild. The pens have floors 
 raised above the corridor level, as described on 
 an earlier page. The chickens raised are 3,000 
 
 to 4,000 annually, and the mortality is singu- 
 larly small, hardly ever exceeding two or three 
 out of a lot of fifty, and being often less. This 
 small mortality Mr. Nesmith attributes in some 
 degree to the independent system of nursery 
 brooders. Besides the ordinary business of a 
 poultry farm, a great deal of hatching is done 
 for the farmers round, and a trade has been 
 developing, as in England, for one-day-old 
 chicks. This is all done at the door, none of 
 these birds being shipped away by the farm. 
 
 Orrocco Farm, carried on by Messrs. Rudd 
 and Son at South Natick, Mass., may be taken 
 as a good example of a " mixed " farm, which 
 supplies a tolerable milk business from a herd 
 of thirty Holstein, Ayrshire, and Jersey cows_ 
 besides its poultry trade ; and also as a proof 
 that while some concerns have steadily developed 
 more ,and more from market into pure-bred 
 stock, there are others which have done the 
 reverse. Mr. W. H. Rudd began poultry- 
 farming over thirty years ago, and the present 
 is after a second removal. It was entered upon 
 in 1894 as an "abandoned" farm, which would 
 not cut a ton of hay from its more than hundred 
 acres ; in 1900 forty tons were cut, and this will 
 soon be doubled. Mr. Rudd was from the first 
 a breeder of Plymouth Rocks, of which the 
 " Orrocco " strain was well known ; but of late 
 the trade in either stock or eggs has been less 
 pushed, till now it is not advertised at all, and 
 only orders from old connections supplied, while 
 more attention is given to the market eggs and 
 poultry. These are sold almost exclusively to 
 private families in Brookline, and realise extra 
 prices, Mr. Rudd never selling his birds, chiefly 
 large " roasters," under 25 cents per pound. 
 There is winter housing for about 600 layers 
 and breeders, and brooding-houses of two> kinds, 
 both long and detached, all these being heated 
 by a brooder-stove which is also sold as part of 
 the business. The incubator -room is mainly 
 dug out of a hill-side, and the projecting part 
 covered with earth. As soon as able to bear 
 running out, the chickens are removed from 
 the brooders to coops scattered all over the 
 farm, these coops being 8 feet by 16 feet on the 
 floor, t\ feet high in front, and 5 feet behind, 
 with roosts. About 3,000 are hatched, of which 
 say 300 of each sex would be selected as layers 
 or to sell as breeders, and the rest marketed at 
 the minimum price per pound above stated. 
 The young birds are fed on rather a peculiar 
 system, having cracked maize and water always 
 before them. Notwithstanding this they are 
 found to come to their regular and varied meals 
 with appetite, only care is taken to give the 
 latter slightly on the spare side in going round 
 
AN AMERICAN PLEASURE FARM. 
 
 i6r 
 
 the coops, so that none can possibly be left 
 when the attendant has gone. 
 
 The Aratoma farm of Captain W. C. Casey, 
 in Westchester Co., Kew York, is well known in 
 America, and is an example of a type that will 
 appeal to many English readers, being more or 
 less what such would call a " pleasure " farm. 
 The particulars here given are of special 
 
 interest, because, being unable to 
 Fann."* find the details we desired in any 
 
 of the several accounts of it which 
 had been published. Captain Casey has been 
 kind enough to supply them as direct answers 
 to our queries, adding a detailed balance-sheet 
 for the year 1898, which it would not be right 
 to give as a whole, but from which we have 
 taken the few figures stated farther on. Captain 
 Casey began poultry breeding about 1884 
 merely, as a hobby, keeping about 100 fowls at 
 a place on the Hudson River, but no accounts. 
 His proper business is in New York, which is 
 also his home and winter residence ; and 
 Aratoma Farm, which was purchased in 1893, 
 is only a country residence for the summer, 
 and can only be visited one or two days a week 
 during winter and spring. The farm is 185 
 acres in all, of which the poultry plant and runs 
 occupy about ten acres. This also was at 
 first begun as a hobby merely, but rapidly grew 
 into such proportions that Captain Casey was 
 obliged to run it upon business methods, though 
 with the same object as before. 
 
 - The soil is a sandy loam, with a slight slope 
 to the south, and the poultry portion is fringed 
 by cedar trees, and has a running stream at the 
 • south boundary. All the buildings face south. 
 There are first, two laying houses 16 by 260 feet, 
 with a 4-feet corridor, and divided into pens, 
 each with a roosting-house 1 2 x 12, and a scratch- 
 ing-s.hed of the same size. The outer runs to 
 each pen are 24 by 125 feet, and in each of these 
 sections is kept thirty hens and two cocks, which 
 thus have each rather less than 10 square feet 
 under cover, and nearly 100 feet outside. After 
 several years this has been found to answer very 
 well. The scratching-shed, Capt. Casey is quite 
 clear now, is the only plan for Aiherica. The 
 same number of birds which in November, 1 896, 
 under old conditions, only laid 245 eggs, in 
 November, 1897, in a scratching-shed, laid 2,403: 
 in the former year.he had many cases of roup, in 
 1.897 none. Every fall the runs are ploughed up 
 ■ and sown with rye, which next spring gives fresh 
 green food and renovated land. Laying fowls 
 do better when thus " yarded " than on free 
 range. Scattered about are six srrialler houses 
 12x40 in area, each divided into two, and with 
 runs about 30 feet in front ; but every day this 
 v' 
 
 is supplemented by one or other of the two pens 
 of birds being given free range. These are for 
 the selected breeding-pens, and by this means 
 fertility is kept at a high standard. The duck- 
 houses or sheds are 16 x 80, and are near the 
 water, to which all the breeders have access. 
 That water is needed for fertility is generally 
 agreed, and Capt. Casey states, as the result of 
 his own observation, that nine-tenths of marital 
 intercourse takes place in that element. Fatten- 
 ing for market is another matter. There are two 
 brooder-houses, 12 by 136 feet and 20 by 196 feet 
 respectively, both heated by pipes. The in- 
 cubator-room is 28 X 40, double-walled, with air 
 space and paper, which gives fairly even tem- 
 perature and is absolutely dry. The incubators 
 are running most of the time, starting in October 
 for broilers and ducklings, to be marketed in 
 January and February, when the broilers fetch 
 60 to 70 cents each, and ducklings of 4 to 5 lbs. 
 from. 20 to 30 cents per pound. Of late there 
 has sprung up a new demand for duckling 
 " broilers " of about 3 lbs., which fetch a dollar 
 each ; these pay well, being ready so soon after 
 hatching. 
 
 .Begun as a hobby by a proprietor much 
 absent, and as one department of the farm, the 
 poultry has grown into a profitable business, 
 though on a comparatively moderate scale. The 
 stock comprised 700 jaying hens and 300 breed- 
 ing ducks. From- the balance-sheet for 1898, 
 which lies before us, we find that 12,000 dollars 
 was sunk in buildings and plant, and the first 
 charge is 480 dollars at four per cent interest 
 on this. There is also 1,380 dollars for labour, 
 and coal and oil stand for 300 dollars ; but a net 
 profit is shown of 553 dollars. This is not very 
 high ; but it is to be remembered that the pro- 
 prietor's absence and absorption in other affairs 
 necessitate a manager at 600 dollars, which with 
 a proprietor on the spot would be added to 
 these returns. Of the proceeds, i ,488 eggs were 
 sold for hatching, and 270 stock fowls alive ; 
 but they mainly consist of eggs and dressed 
 poultry sold to market. Capt. Casey also 
 remarks that 1898 'was a specially bad year, 
 food being exceptionally dear, while produce 
 did nc5t advance to correspond." He had, in fact, 
 got as far as 500 dollars profit in 1896, and 
 to 700 dollars in 1897, besides the items above 
 mentioned. His laying average has been by no 
 means high ; on the other hand, his mortality in 
 rearing has been very small since using his own 
 eggs.- In 1897 he found that out of 880 Aratoma 
 chicks, only ten had died ; while out of 535 from 
 farmers' eggs, 289 died — a curious commentary 
 upon the alleged superiority of farm stock ! His 
 brooder-houses are on the " hardy " system, the 
 
l62 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 pens being larger than usual, i6x i6 each. For 
 the very young chicks a pen is divided into two 
 of 8 X i6, but later they go into the larger, which 
 have open runs loox i6 outside. The floors of 
 the pens are cement, upon which is placed coarse 
 sand, and above all, chaff for scratching material. 
 When old enough they are drafted out in 
 lots of about 200 into detached houses on 
 free range. This is regarded as essential for 
 breeding-stock, and there is stated not to be a 
 sick or drooping chick upon the farm. 
 
 There are several successful poultry farms in 
 "or near Dallas, in Pennsylvania; they seem 
 rather to run in localities, probably from force 
 of example.- One of these, the Meadow Brook 
 Farm of Mr. J. Ford Dorrance, is the largest in 
 at least that State. On it already stand four 
 brooder-houses, one 16 feet by 125 feet in area, 
 and the three others each 16 feet by 200 feet. 
 The incubator-room (forty 360-egg incubators) 
 is 35 feet by 70 feet, and above it is a room of 
 same size for drying and curing feathers. One 
 hen-house is 16 feet by 300 feet, the pens .of 
 which open into runs 125 feet long, and there 
 are also double-houses, each 12 feet by 40 feet, 
 detached. There is erecting, as we write, 
 another hen-house, 16 feet by 1,000 feet, 
 probably the longest in the world, destined to 
 supply market eggs in dozen boxes. There are 
 two large stock duck-houses, each 30 feet by 400 
 feet, besides smaller houses ; and there are 
 building another duck brooder-house 400 feet 
 long, a cold brooder-house 70oieet long, several 
 more smaller duck-houses, and another chicken 
 nursery. The buildings and yards are, at the 
 time we wrke, all being wired for the electric 
 light. The plant also includes complete water- 
 works and piping, and has a minimum staff of 
 eight experienced men, increased at times to 
 fourteen. This farm marketed in 1 899-1900 
 about 25,000 chickens and 20,000 ducklings, 
 and also ships an enormous number of eggs for 
 hatching, being "generally on any one day 
 several thousand eggs behind orders, and having 
 received an order for 5,000 eggs in one letter. 
 The eggs are sold according to quantity, but 
 . at moderate prices, from one dollar per sitting 
 to forty dollars per thousand. Stock birds are 
 sold largely from Pekin ducks, barred and 
 white Rocks, white Wyandottes, and Minorcas. 
 
 We had noted details of several other very 
 large American poultry farms, in which capital 
 varying from 30,000 to 70,000 dollars has been 
 sunk, but have reason to fear that they have 
 recently failed. One we know to be in the 
 hands of a receiver ; and from another, which 
 we felt special interest in, and which in one 
 year marketed 72,000 chickens besides t'housands 
 
 of eggs, repeated inquiries, both direct and 
 indirect, have elicited no response. There have 
 been plenty of " wild-cat " poultry schemes in 
 America as well as in England, A.mericans 
 being far more daring and speculative in com- 
 parison, and making grander " smashes " as 
 well as greater successes. When writing some 
 time since for details of a certain farm in 
 which we felt considerable interest, we were 
 amused to receive in reply a proposal that 
 we should introduce an English partner with 
 large capital to increase the business, for a 
 commission ; and we have reason to believe 
 that in several cases we could indicate, a 
 really good and ' legitimate business on a 
 moderate scale, and while in private hands, 
 has been ruined by injudicious enlargement, 
 and being turned into a company or a partner- 
 ship in this way. It has brought the old labour 
 difficulty into higher relief, and finally worked 
 disaster. 
 
 Fowls are also farmed on what is known as 
 the " colony " plan, recommended by Mr. H. 
 Stoddart so far back as 1872, flocks or colonies 
 
 of laying hens being placed in cheap 
 Colony houses dotted about the farm 150 or 
 
 Farmsf ^oo feet apart, perfectly un fenced, 
 
 or in any ready-made quarters avail- 
 able. Mr. Samuel Cushman, of Pawtucket, 
 Rhode Island, a well-known poultry lecturer 
 in America, strongly recommends this plan, 
 as costing so much less in plant ; and informs 
 us that he knows scores of farmers in that 
 district who keep 500 fowls in this simple 
 way, at least a dozen who have nearly 1,000, 
 and several who have 2,000 to 3,000. The 
 idea is that money is saved in plant, in food, 
 and in labour, and also that as the birds forage 
 so much themselves, a day or twp's neglect 
 works little mischief It is admitted that the 
 egg-yield is poor, but it is asserted that the 
 poor yield at low expense, pays as well or 
 better than a high average at the cost of 
 expensive food and buildings ; this view of the 
 matter we have referred to before. 
 
 One of the best examples of this plan, and 
 probably the largest, is the farm of Mr. Isaac 
 Wilbour, Little Compton, Rhode Island, which 
 is the gradual growth of forty years. The farm 
 is 200 acres, and forty years since the chief 
 produce was beef Mr. Wilbour began by 
 doubling the usual number of hens as kept in 
 the district, to be well ridiculed for it. In 1898 
 there were loo detached houses, each 8 feet by 
 12 feet, placed in rows about 150 feet apart, 
 each roosting about forty hens — say 4,000 hens 
 in all. His birds are, however, regularly fed 
 twice a day, with mash in the morning, a 
 
COLONY SYSTEM AND GRASS RUNS. 
 
 163 
 
 waggon driving round, and bringing back tiie 
 eggs. The houses cost about twenty dollars 
 each, being rough and cheap, of board, and no 
 pains are taken to avoid cracks ! The birds are 
 at perfect liberty to go where they like, but 
 seldom mix much. All the houses in a row are 
 emptied and reiilled at the same date, when the 
 new birds are shut in the houses for two days, 
 and then let out a little before night to be fed 
 close round the house : they return quickly that 
 night to roost, and are then given liberty. No 
 males are with the laying stock. Mr. Wilbour 
 collects eggs from neighbours as well as his 
 own, and ships altogether about 150,000 dozen 
 yearly. The poultry are of the local variety 
 known as Rhode Island Reds, described in a 
 later chapter of this work. 
 
 Of some other examples which have been 
 described, Mr. Hamblin of Mattapoisett uses 
 also houses 8 x 12, with about forty birds in each ; 
 while Mr. Hayward uses houses about 8 feet 
 square, with an average of twelve in each, set 
 only about 100 feet apart. These cost him 
 about eight dollars .each, and he has 300 of 
 them, thus housing, say, 3,600 head, at a cost 
 of only about 2,400 dollars. He thought he 
 cleared about a dollar per annum on each fowl, 
 but we are at a loss to see how this calcula- 
 tion can be correct ; and no other figures are 
 given. These bring into relief the strong 
 points of the system as regards economy of 
 construction and capital. 
 
 There are, however, great objections to this 
 plan. One is the risk of disease ; we have ac- 
 counts of siich a farm of 1,000 hens in Orange 
 Co., N. Y., where " a scourge of roup swept 
 through the flock in 1895," ^"d what this means 
 to a farm business may be imagined. Such 
 rough houses and foraging must also' be quite 
 impracticable for the usual American climate ; 
 the birds could not get out in winter, or would 
 perish if they did, and feeding them in heavy 
 snow would be an awful task. It is essentially 
 a system for Rhode Island, or at least for other 
 districts near the sea, where the snow quickly 
 disappears and temperature is moderated, ,and 
 the fowLs- can run about nearly every day. 
 Then they become hardy, as explained in 
 Chapter I., but the egg-yield must suffer. It 
 does so beyond doubt, and according to a recent 
 article on this very subject in Farm Poultry, Mr. 
 Wilbour and several other farmers hitherto 
 employing this system, were seriously consider- 
 ing the desirability of remodelling the whole 
 upon the scratching-shed plan. 
 
 Even the foregoing selection of examples 
 shows great variation in American practice in 
 regard to one matter which we have always 
 
 regarded as of cardinal importance, viz. the 
 extent of run for each fowl. More express 
 discussion of the point also shows great difference 
 
 of opinion ; but it is practically unani- 
 American mous in the conclusion that moderate 
 GrasB-Euns. flocks "yarded," as it is called,* lay 
 
 much the best ; whereas perfectly 
 free range, when possible, is much the best for 
 moulting fowls and for growing chickens. Mr. 
 E. O. Roessle, for many years poultry expert 
 of the Country Gentleman, considers 10 square 
 feet of covered space and 100 square feet of run 
 the best proportion for laying stock, and quite 
 sufficient. That would give 435 birds per acre ; 
 and Mr. A. F. Hunter, already quoted in these 
 pages, plans out his yards on the basis of 450 
 per acre, giving each pen of twenty-five birds a 
 house and shed 10 by 18 feet (see page 15), and 
 yards in front 125 feet long. This can only be 
 understood, as before explained, in connection 
 with the fact that American grass-runs are vacated 
 for an average oi five fnontks every year. The 
 vacation is not casual or occasional or depend- 
 ent upon caprice, as with us, but systematic, 
 " owing to circumstances over which they have 
 no control." We have pointed out already 
 that much better results are known to follow 
 double-stocking half the grass area, and vacating 
 this in turn for the other half ; but the English 
 experience we have been able to gather does 
 not enable us to say how far a quadruple stock- 
 ing, as here, might be rendered harmless in our 
 damp climate by «^.ft^/?</i?/)/ regular vacation for 
 the same time. Our cases of heavy stocking 
 have so far not been carried out upon that all- 
 important condition, and we should not like to 
 pronounce it impossible that five months' fallow 
 and cropping might purify even a 400-per- 
 acre occupation. In any case, it is always to be 
 remembered that American stocking practically 
 means for half the year only. 
 
 Yet there are authorities who believe more 
 run would be better, and they are increasing. 
 Mr. Grant Curtis, many years editor of the 
 Reliable Poultry Journal, advocatesf the "double- 
 yard " system, and gives a diagram of a range 
 of houses and sheds, each pen 2 1 feet wide for 
 twenty fowls, and a grass^run or yard 21 by 150 
 feet on each front. While the fowls are feasting 
 in one of these, the other is getting a fresh start. 
 There are twenty-eight of such double-yard pens 
 on the farm at Quincy, and of course all is 
 absolutely fresh and pure. Messrs. W. R. Curtiss 
 & Co., of Niagara Farm, N. Y., also write us that 
 
 * By this tenu is usually meant in America the keeping of 
 flocks in separate grass-runs, of no larger size than will maiucain. 
 the grass. 
 
 t " Success with Poultry," Reliable Co., Quincy, IlL 
 
164 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 in their neighbourhood, " most farms have two 
 yards for each pen. When the fowls are in one 
 pen the other is ploughed and sown in rye, to 
 which when six inches high they are turned in, 
 and the other pen treated the same way." Upon 
 the whole, we are inclined to believe that more 
 run than has been usual on some farms, in the 
 earlier stages of development, will ultimately 
 carry the day even in the United States. 
 
 In other respects it does not follow that 
 American results are possible in England. 
 There are several special reasons for special 
 success. Two great elements of cost — food, and 
 land or rent — are much cheaper. On 
 Special the other hand, the prices obtainable 
 FeatureT ^""^ much better, and with an appar- 
 ently unlimited demand for a class of 
 poultry which is ready earlier and with less 
 risk than our fatted birds.' When "broilers" 
 can be marketed at ten weeks, there is not 
 half the risk of loss : they have but to be 
 kept alive and eating for that time, and do not 
 need forcing, much less cramming, to a critical 
 degree. This is due largely to quite different 
 economic conditions among the population. In 
 England, if one stops at a small town anywhere, 
 the first thing suggested for a meal is a steak 
 or a chop. In America, there is not the same 
 general supply of joints, and even their place, as 
 well as that of the ubiquitous British chop or 
 steak, is taken by poultry in some form. It is 
 a question largely of national feeding ; at all 
 events, whatever the cause, there is as yet 
 absolutely no parallel in England to that enor- 
 mous demand for small fowls, as well as 
 " roasters," which has created the gigantic 
 industry here claiming our attention. 
 
 Another feature that has struck us, strongly 
 is the untiring energy of the more successful 
 American poultry-farmers. They sink vast sums 
 in buildings and plant, but much of it is put in 
 by their own hands, and represents work rather 
 than actual cash outlay. The remarkable thing 
 is, that it should be mainly farmers who have 
 gone in for it, and who show these proofs of 
 enterprise, energy, and intelligence. These form- 
 also a more scattered community than with us, 
 raising food for their own families too on their 
 own farms ; and in these circumstances even one 
 to four thousand dollars annually in actual cash, 
 with copious food products for themselves, and a 
 country life, mean a scale of living and comfort 
 very different from an " income " of the same 
 amount in England. Thus, social conditions 
 may have much to do with such questions. 
 
 There are, finally, two differences in the 
 poultry culture of the two countries which have 
 
 Poultry 
 Culture. 
 
 considerable weight. In America most of the 
 actually injurious " fancy " extremes mentioned 
 in subsequent pages have been avoided. The 
 Brahma has not been made a Cochin ; 
 American Minorcas and Leghorns have not 
 been spoiled by such exaggerated 
 combs ; Rocks and Wyandottes are 
 bred, in conformation,to a table standard. Hence 
 the farmers and the breeders work really hand 
 in hand ; and farmers are breeders, and go to 
 breeders and exhibitors for stock, to an extent 
 unknown in England. . This offers to the sound 
 breeder a market and a field of which .there is 
 absolutely nothing on this side except that 
 comparatively new but growing school of 
 " utility " breeders mentioned later on ; and 
 the entire poultry industry is thus e great 
 homogeneous industry, of a magnitude and 
 influence that is unique. 
 
 The other point is the systematic breeding 
 for eggs, which has been steadily pursued 
 more and more with every year. We urged 
 this upon breeders long ago, in the very 
 first chapters we ever wrote ; but even _ now 
 it is only done by comparatively few, whose 
 success has been already mentioned. In 
 America the farmers themselves do it, or else 
 take care to buy eggs or stock from others who 
 have carried it out. Let some egg-farmers who 
 have " failed " in England, consider what an egg- 
 average of 175 per annum would have meant 
 towards the question of failure or success ; and 
 in America some get it. Mr. Wyckoff, we have 
 seen, got 196 from 600 white Leghorns, and Mr. 
 Cox reported 194 from 140 barred Rocks. From 
 smaller breeding pens much higher has been 
 obtained, thirteen white Rocks making 215 
 each, and so on. Such cases as these latter are 
 not of egg-farmers ; but their stock is sought for 
 and gets gradually over the country, where the 
 rate is kept up by scientifically tested, high, 
 nitrogenous feeding, in the way we have before 
 described. 
 
 Such considerations must be remembered 
 if we are to understand the American poultry 
 industry. But there is no doubt that many of 
 them do carry weighty lessons, which we should 
 do well to consider. Those relating to the 
 systematic breeding for eggs, the equally 
 systematic feeding for eggs by the free use of 
 meat or cut bone combined with clover, cease- 
 less attention and industry, efficient feeding 
 and management of considerable numbers in 
 buildings' adapted for the purpose, and organis- 
 ation and efficiency of labour, appear specially 
 worthy of study, and have much to teach any 
 British poultry farmer. 
 
i65 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 NATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL. 
 
 IN considering poultry and poultry products 
 as national food, or as a branch of com- 
 merce, or as an industry, the point which 
 most forcibly strikes any British student is the 
 constant and enormous growth of foreign im- 
 ports, and of eggs especially. Hundreds of 
 writers have, commented upon the fact, and 
 the statement that " millions of British- money 
 goes out of the country for foreign eggs which 
 might just as well be produced at home,^' is 
 a commonplace of leading articles which appear 
 in the leading daily papers with statistical 
 regularity every year. Giving only alternate 
 years for the sake of space, the following simple 
 table gives the number of eggs imported into 
 Great Britain, their declared value, and their 
 average declared value per long hundred or 
 I20, from the year 1856 to 1899. 
 
 Year. 
 
 No. qf Eggs. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Average Price. 
 
 1856 
 
 117,230,600 
 
 ;£278,422 
 
 5/8 
 
 1858- 
 
 134,685,000 
 
 303,617 
 
 5/5 , 
 
 i860 
 
 167,695,400 
 
 478,658 
 
 6/11 
 
 1862 
 
 232,321,200 
 
 593.813 
 
 6/1 
 
 1864 
 
 335,298,240 
 
 835.028 
 
 5/"^ 
 
 1866 
 
 438,878,880 
 
 •1,105,653 
 
 6/oS 
 
 j868 
 
 383,969,040 
 
 1,009,285 
 
 6/3 
 
 1870 
 
 430,842,240 
 
 1,102,080 
 
 6/ii 
 
 t»72 
 
 531.591.720 
 
 1,762,000 
 
 7/ni 
 
 1874 
 
 680,552,280 
 
 2,433, '34 
 
 8/7 
 
 1876 
 
 753,026,040 
 
 2,620,396 
 
 8/4 
 
 1878 
 
 783,714,720 
 
 2,511,096 
 
 7IH 
 
 1880 
 
 747,408,600 
 
 2,235,451 
 
 7/2 
 
 1882 
 
 811,922,400 
 
 2,385,263 
 
 111 
 
 1884 
 
 993,608^766 
 
 - 2,910,493 
 
 7J- 
 
 1886 
 
 1.035.171,000 
 
 2,884,063 
 
 6/8 
 
 1888 
 
 1,126,793,000 
 
 3,083,167 
 
 6/6 
 
 iSgo 
 
 1.234.950.000 
 
 3,428,806 
 
 6/8 
 
 1J892, 
 
 1.336.730,000 
 
 3,794,718 
 
 6/10 
 
 ■ 1894 
 
 1,425,236,000 
 
 3.780,329 
 
 6/5 
 
 'f^^ 
 
 1.589.401.000 
 
 4,184,656 
 
 6/4 
 
 1898 
 
 1,730.952,000 
 
 4,.457,ii7 
 
 - 6/2 
 
 1899 
 
 1,940,971,000 
 
 5,044,392 
 
 6/3 
 
 1900 ■ - 
 
 2,025,820,560 
 
 5,406, 141 
 
 6/Si 
 
 -The immense amount of this import trade 
 is plain enough, as is also the startling fact 
 that the number of eggs thus imported equals 
 about 55 per head of the inhabitants of Great 
 Britain • (excluding Ireland from this figure, 
 as being herself an exporting and not im- 
 porting country). It is further evident that 
 the importation has grown more and more 
 
 rapidly of late years ; and it may seem natural 
 to draw the conclusion, stated in a letter from 
 "a Hampshire poultry-keeper, and published 
 only a week before these lines are written, 
 that the foreigner is " ousting the British pro- 
 ducer," so far at least as regards the market 
 for eggs. The mo/al is often added, that the 
 British producer is doing nothing, and is being 
 to all appearance " hopelessly out-distanced " by 
 the foreigner, owing as supposed to the latter's 
 superior methods or the nature of his farming. 
 Natural as such conclusions may appear,, 
 they are in the main mistakes arising from 
 ignorance. We remember a great statesman 
 once declaring from his place in Parliament, 
 how he had found in his experience that 
 amongst all the different sorts of lies, the worst 
 were statistics. In sober truth, the number 
 of presumed authorities who are capable of 
 truly judging figures and reading their real 
 lessons, appears very small. In this case the 
 foreigner is doing nothing of the kind, as can be 
 readily shown. The first step towards drawing 
 
 true conclusions about foreign im- 
 Analysis of ports is to analyse the gross figures 
 Imports. themselves ; and the following gives 
 
 the value every alternate year for 
 the last ten years, from the five countries which 
 supply the vast bulk of the trade, all other 
 countries together amounting in 1899 to no 
 more than ^754,732, which we will deal with 
 separately. 
 
 Year. 
 
 France. 
 
 Russia. 
 
 Denmark. 
 
 Germany. 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 18S9 
 
 1,181,335 
 
 165,740 
 
 286,917 
 
 893,902 
 
 565,057 
 
 1891 
 
 1,259,099 
 
 383,791 
 
 395,963 
 
 781.903 
 
 539.606 
 
 i*>93 
 
 1.611,495 
 
 426, 106 
 
 376,793 
 
 618,631 
 
 682,636 
 
 1895 
 
 1,069,580 
 
 601,460 
 
 447,709 
 
 916,821 
 
 7'3,458 
 
 1897 
 
 1,022,869 
 
 812,297 
 
 546,282 
 
 813,022 
 
 768,077 
 
 1899 
 
 867,865 
 
 1,183.031 
 
 808,543 
 
 966,641 
 
 759,250 
 
 1900 
 
 868,133 
 
 1,109,553 
 
 923,551 
 
 1,106,719 
 
 733.453 
 
 All other countries till lately included 
 Canada, and in 1891 amounted to ;^ 160,496. 
 In 1893 Canada was tabulated separately as 
 i^7S,5o6, while in 1900 she sent to England 
 ;£^288,945, all other countries amounting to 
 ;£^465,787. The latter amount included chiefly 
 
i66 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 in 1899, America, Egypt, Spain, Portugal, 
 Morocco, Holland. A very few cases came 
 direct from Italy, but this country sends many 
 more through Holland and Belgium, part of 
 whose figures are therefore Italian. Russia 
 also sends many through Germany, and a less 
 number through Denmark, part of which should 
 therefore be credited to her ; she also exports 
 a considerable number to Belgium ; thus actual 
 direct imports from Gerrtiany and Belgium are 
 not so large as they appear on the surface, but 
 on the other hand Russia looms still larger, 
 as now by far the largest exporter of eggs 
 to Great Britain. 
 
 These eggs from various countries are of 
 very different qualities. Those from France 
 are both nearer and more promptly collected, 
 and realise the highest prices ; 
 Prices and those from Germany — many being 
 Quality. Russian — are next to Russian lowest 
 
 in price. In summer, Russian eggs 
 average barely Ss. per "long hundred," while 
 French even then approach 7s. Many Russian 
 eggs are almost rotten when sold in this country, 
 and are chiefly used in various manufactures, 
 for which such eggs answer perfectly, or for 
 the worst class of Italian confectionery. Calcu- 
 lating out from the declared, values, the average 
 price of foreign eggs per 1 20 comes out for the 
 year 1900 thus : France, 7s. 7^d. ; Canada, 
 7s. ifd. ; Belgium, 6s. 2d. ; Denmark, 7s. 6fd. ; 
 Germany, 5s, g^d. ; Russia, Ss. 6d. Allowing 
 for these differences in price, even Belgium 
 now surpasses France in number of eggs sent 
 to England, though France still comes third 
 in value. 
 
 There is yet a further fact to be noted in 
 regard to prices. Those of foreign eggs, owing 
 to these changes in source of origin, are much 
 lower than formerly, as is simply explained 
 by the different figures just given, and the 
 predominance of imports at the cheaper rates. 
 In 1872, when the bulk of imports were French, 
 the average price of the year was nearly 8s. ; 
 in 1874, 8s. 7d. ; and in 1876, 8s. 4d. It did 
 not go below 7s. till after 1884, but in 1900 
 was 6s. S^d. A large part of the better French 
 eggs have thus been displaced by the staler 
 and commoner Russian at a cheap rate, for pun- 
 poses which these adequately fulfil. It is not 
 to be expected that English producers should 
 produce eggs at such a low cost as to compete 
 with these; and as conditions of life improve 
 even in Russia, it is likely that the cost may 
 somewhat rise. But it would be wrong to 
 concede, as some have done, that the foreigner 
 has "busted the Englishman" from the egg- 
 market. There is no grain of evidence that an 
 
 English egg the less has ever been sold for 
 foreign competition. On the contrary, that 
 the foreigner has merely stepped in, so far 
 as regards the better foreign qualities, where 
 the home producer could not or would not 
 supply the enormous demand, is shown by the 
 facts that all English supply of good quality 
 has of late found more and more a better 
 market, at 'higher prices, and that home pro- 
 duction has enormously increased. 
 
 Of that enormous increase there is not the 
 slightest doubt. It is a disgrace to this country 
 that since 1884 there has been no attempt to 
 
 give, official poultry statistics. In 
 Increase in default of them, we have made 
 Consumption, many attempts to get at facts ; 
 
 but while all observers, with ho 
 solitary exception, agree in reporting an enor- 
 mous increase in British poultry and eggs, they 
 differ greatly as to the amount. None has 
 estimated it under twice that of ten years 
 ago ; more have said three or four times ; 
 some even more than that. In a recent 
 article* Mr. Edward Brown -states the same 
 result from inquiries quite independent of ours, 
 one of his informants reporting the increase 
 in his district as "ten times." ..The shops in 
 all large towns tell the same tale. In all lead- 
 ing thoroughfares there are "dairy" and other 
 shops where clean (generally tinted) British 
 eggs are exposed for sale in neat dozen boxes 
 at " new-laid " or " fresh " prices, and very good 
 prices too, ranging up to 3s. per dozen 'in the 
 winter months. Every cyclist knows how often 
 he now gets really new-laid eggs about the 
 country. All this is a recent growth, a new 
 thing : such parcels of eggs at such prices were 
 absolutely unknown when the former edition of 
 this book was written. Twenty years ago, the 
 vast majority of persons, as we then wrote, had 
 never tasted a really new-laid egg, and did not 
 know what it was like : now many thousands 
 do, and are willing to pay for it. 
 
 A more tangible fact of the same sort is 
 that there is now a London market for " new- 
 laid" eggs. In the last edition of this work 
 
 we were obliged to state that there 
 New-laid was none. Mr. C. E. Brooke, to 
 ^ses' whom we have already been so 
 
 many times indebted in our re- 
 searches into recent poultry economics, has 
 once more taken from the books of his firm 
 for us the following prices per 120 paid by 
 them for each month of the last year: Janu- 
 ary, 1 6s. to 1 8s. ; February and March, 12s. to 
 13s. ; April, 9s. to us. ; May, 7s. 6d. to 8s. 6d. ; 
 June, 8s. to los. ; July, 9s. 6d. to los. ; August, 
 * Journal Royal Agricultural Society, December, 1900. 
 
INCREASED EGG PRODUCTION IN ENGLAND. 
 
 167 
 
 8s.6d. to los.; September, ios.6tl. toi2s. ; October, 
 I2s..6d. to i6s. ; November, i6s. 6d. to i8s.; De- 
 cember, 19s. to 20s. The differences depend 
 chiefly upon size and even sorting : if large 
 and small are mixed, the lot only realises the 
 price of small, while all large are worth more; 
 colour also counts, brown eggs being worth 
 more in England. 
 
 All these prices ^re above French prices, 
 the winter ones far above them ; and this 
 market has grown up in face of all the foreign 
 competition. We are told by the same au- 
 thority that the market is steadily growing, 
 and that prices on the whole tend to increase 
 rather than diminish, but that the greatest 
 difficulty is to get absolutely reliable quality. 
 Many of the early consignors of these eggs 
 would hold them back, say in September, to 
 get October prices, and worse. Very drastic 
 measures had to be taken with some, and 
 these practices cramp and check the demand 
 and sale even now. It is essential, for a trade 
 at " new-laid " prices to grow, that the eggs be 
 sent regularly three times a week, or at the 
 outside twice, and all new-laid since the last 
 day of shipment down to date. Of course, 
 such a market might be occasionally glutted, 
 as any market can, by some accidental rush 
 of supply ; but the steady market is growing 
 for such goods, which can never be supplied 
 by foreigners. 
 
 The general course of the egg trade will 
 now be quite clear. It is beyond doubt that 
 the demand for eggs as food in England has 
 lately increased beyond all calcu- 
 British lation, and beyond any prospect 
 
 Supply. of home supply until quite recently. 
 
 Cycling alone has done much ; the 
 growth of town populations has done more,, as 
 Mr. Brown points out in the same article above 
 referred to. The dietetic value of eggs is ap- 
 preciated as it was not before, and the relish for 
 such light food is extending. But meantime the 
 British producer has not been standing still: 
 he is selling many times more eggs than he 
 ever did before, and yet getting better prices 
 for them, not worse. Besides those sent to 
 market, thousands are sent in smaller packages 
 to private customers, and many leading rail- 
 ways now have special terms by which such 
 produce can be sent up by passenger trains, 
 provided it is packed in boxes which can be 
 piled on each other. The Great Eastern Rail- 
 way charges 4d. for 20 lbs., the Great Northern 
 6d. for 20 lbs. and is. for 50 lbs., from any station 
 on their systems to London. The increase in 
 the home egg-trade is simply incalculable ; and 
 it is obvious that, whilst this supply has been 
 
 superseding the best and highest-priced of the 
 French eggs, the Russian supply has been affect- 
 ing the lower grades, but that in the main the 
 home producer need have no fear of holding his 
 own in face of the enormous demand for a good 
 article, now really beginning to be appreciated. 
 
 There are still difficulties to be' overcome. 
 Eggs in summer fetch very low rates in many 
 country districts, because thrown upon a bad 
 market, and also because kept till stale. The 
 egg once stored a week or more, competes only 
 with the foreign article, and summer is always 
 the worst time to sell. There is also, unfor- 
 tunately, no doubt that fraudulent dealers 
 " candle " foreign eggs, and put them in as 
 " new-laid British," thus not only cheating in 
 price, but depraving the public taste, since the 
 really " new-laid " British egg is sui generis. 
 The most amazing fact of all is that producers 
 themselves should. act in the besotted fashion 
 above mentioned. Even the lowered railway 
 rates, however, leave something to be desired ; 
 and producers greatly Jieed some such recog- 
 nised price and system as enables the Surrey 
 fowl to be collected, sent to London, and the 
 packages returned to the sender at the definite 
 net charge of one penny per bird. This is based 
 upon the light, but strong, square crates called 
 " pads," which are stacked solid upon each other 
 from floor to roof of the van. These "pads" 
 fill two vans thus packed, at Heathfield, three 
 times a week in the season. 
 
 The National Poultry Organisation Society, 
 whose offices are at 12, Hanover Square, 
 London, was founded in 1898 with a view to 
 get the home trade in poultry 
 Organisation, and eggs into a better business con- 
 dition. It endeavours to establish 
 local societies and collecting agencies for for- 
 warding and marketing local products, and 
 proposes to stamp the eggs sold under its 
 auspices with its own trade mark, as a guarantee 
 of freshness and quality, which shall at least 
 prevent them from being mixed with foreign 
 importations. Collection appears, upon the 
 whole, to promise more success in England 
 than such local markets as are common on 
 the Continent, and should also transmit 
 eggs more frequently, and therefore fresher ; 
 but in one or two localities, as in Dorset, there 
 are general markets which are recognised and 
 of considerable use. 
 
 Results will much depend upon an adequate 
 winter supply. Not only are prices much better 
 from October till March, but London merchants 
 give marked preference in summer also, to pro- 
 ducers from whom they receive their supply in 
 winter, when wanted most : hence pullets have 
 
i68 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 to be hatched all times of the year for an egg- 
 farm. Even the very early ones, which lay from 
 August till October or November and then 
 moult, are useful in filling up the supply, and 
 are oftea best killed directly moult comes on. 
 March and April birds will fill the winter pack- 
 ages ; andsome late ones are often useful in the 
 summer. Modern results (first obtained in 
 America) from the free use of clover and cut 
 fresh bone, have done much not only to revolu- 
 tionisej but to , systematise, the egg-farming of 
 the present, day. 
 
 We have made special endeavours to ascer- 
 tain what effect the recent introduction of cold 
 storage or freezing is likely to have upon the 
 trade in dead poultry and eggs. 
 Cold There has not been time and ex- 
 
 Storage, perience yet for certain conclusions-; 
 
 but upon the whole, there appears 
 little reason to expect any prejudicial effect 
 upon the price of really first-quality products. 
 Storage of dead poultry has so iar had some 
 effect in steadying the market, as birds are 
 often now placed in the cellars to hold over a 
 day or two, instead of being absolutely sacrificed 
 on. days of too free supply. But it has to be 
 remembered that with this the price goes down : 
 
 . once gone into storage, a bird has to be sold for 
 fid. or even is. less than if it was fresh. As 
 most people know, animal food that has been 
 frozen will not " keep " well, once it is brought 
 out and thawed : it has passed from first-class 
 to a lower grade, and has to be sold quickly 
 and as such. In regard to eggs, the risks are 
 considerable, as mentioned a little further on ; 
 and they too must be soon used when once 
 brought out. Eggs moreover require more 
 careful adjustment of the temperature, for if 
 too cold they burst or break the shells ; they 
 have to be kept at only about one degree below 
 freezing-point. Lastly, we believe they can be 
 detected by testing. A gentleman who markets 
 many eggs, and was therefore 
 Testing personally interested, told us that 
 
 Storage Eggs, a frozen egg could be known by 
 completely filling the shell, without 
 apparently any air-bubble at the end, and that 
 
 , when boiled, the air thus diffused in freezing 
 localised round the yolk, which it clearly sepa- 
 rated from the white, We tried in vain to procure 
 a few. cold storage eggs for further testing' this, 
 there being none obtainable: but we took ad- 
 vantage of a mild frost to freeze some fair shop 
 eggs, possessing quite a large air-bubble. The 
 first assertion was perfectly true : the air-bubble 
 had totally vanished, making the egg apparently 
 "better" than new-laid. Of the second state- 
 ment there remained more doubt, the frost 
 
 having cracked the majority of the shells ; in all 
 cases, however, the definite air-bubble did not 
 return, the air generally separating the white 
 from the membrane over the greater part of the 
 egg. It is satisfactory thus to find that cold 
 storage eggs, however good they may be, cannot 
 be permanently passed off as fresh. 
 
 The imports of poultry and game into 
 England recently are as follows : — 
 
 1900. 
 
 £ 
 199,282 
 213,603 
 
 333,148 
 264,327- 
 
 
 189S. 
 
 1899. 
 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 Russia 
 
 ... 164.498 
 
 139,834 
 
 Belgium 
 
 ... 127,923 
 
 165,803 
 
 France 
 
 ... 217,703 
 
 296,55s 
 
 Other countiies 
 
 ... 127,368 
 
 183,102 
 
 Total , 
 
 Z637,492 ;£78S,294 ;£i,o.lo,327 
 
 This trade does not at present very seriously 
 threaten the British industry, as regards good 
 quality. The cheap Russian fowls will be 
 mentioned presently; of the better poultry, a 
 large proportion consists of turkeys from 
 France and Italy, many Italian turkeys, being 
 credited as from France and Belgium, for the 
 December market. Poultry and t,urkeys from 
 Canada have made the greatest advance of late, 
 but can only compete as cold storage goods. 
 
 Ireland exports considerable quantities of 
 both eggs and poultry to England, and this 
 fact is obviously connected with the predomin- 
 ance in the country, of small oc- 
 Ireland. , cupations, the vast majority of 
 holdings being under 30 acres. The 
 statistics show, however, that too small holdings 
 are not favourable to either production or 
 prosperity. Between the years 1841 and 1851 
 a great change passed over Ireland, holdings 
 under five acres decreasing from 310,436 to 
 88,083, 3,nd those between 5 and 15 acres 
 from 252,799 to 191,854, while those above 15 
 acres had correspondingly increased. Taking 
 therefore 1851 as our starting-point, we find 
 that in that year the number of poultry in 
 Ireland was returned as 7,470,694. By 1889 
 the number had increased to 14,856,517, and 
 in 1899 the number returned was 18,233,520, 
 an increase of nearly 25 per cent, even during 
 the last ten years. 
 
 Such figures must signify a steadily growing 
 and, upon the whole, prosperous industry ; and 
 there is ample evidence that there has been 
 very great improvement in many parts of Ire- 
 land, both as regards quality of the produce 
 and prices realised. Writing in 1886, we had 
 to report with regret that much good that had 
 been previously done by poultry shows, and 
 the distribution of better, stock by owners of 
 
THE IRISH EGG INDUSTRY. 
 
 i6g 
 
 land, had been checked by the disturbed state 
 of the country. These efforts have lately been 
 resumed ; and still more has been done by the 
 Irish Agricultural Organisation Society (22, 
 Lincoln Place, Dublin), which works by estab- 
 lishing local co-operative societies all over 
 Ireland. These collect and forward produce, 
 and diffuse sound information amongst their 
 members, in which latter task they are aided by 
 qualified teachers sent from the central body. 
 Much of this work, of course, deals also with 
 other branches of agriculture ; but many local 
 societies thus affiliated have chiefly to do with 
 poultry matters. These (and the head organis- 
 ation also) distribute plain and practical leaflets 
 bearing upon the production of eggs and table 
 poultry, and other details of the poultry in- 
 dustry. It is especially gratifying to observe 
 the practical and trustworthy character of the 
 teaching now thus disseminated, because at 
 an earlier period the laudable efforts of the 
 Congested Districts Board have been unfortu- 
 nately much frustrated by the incompetence 
 of advisers, destitute of practical knowledge, 
 who have either selected unhealthy stock, or 
 given advice in regard to stock from their 
 own theoretical views, rather than such as suited 
 the real requirements of the country. These 
 practical leaflets, on the other hand, have taught 
 Irish farmers to select the useful Asiatic crosses 
 mentioned in Chapter VII., and described the 
 points of table fowl, with the result that the 
 export of live birds to Surrey and Sussex has 
 largely increased, and prices been, raised to 
 within a few pence of the local Sussex standard. 
 The raising of chickens for fattening is chiefly 
 carried on in Wexford, Kilkenny, and Queen's 
 County, front 2s. to 3s. each being often realised 
 at the best season for Irish birds from 2^ lbs. to 
 4 lbs. weight : but co-operative societies are 
 gradually opening the eyes of farmers in other 
 districts to this profitable trade. A few societies 
 are even encouraging fattening in Ireland itself, 
 for the London and Liverpool markets, but 
 the bulk of the export of spring chickens is of 
 live birds through Kilkenny, as before stated. 
 In the Belfast district many fine fowls come 
 to market at Lisburn, Saintfield, and other 
 adjacent towns. These, as a rule, are well fed 
 but not fatted, and, owing to the greater length 
 of the journey, cannot compete in quality with 
 Sussex birds, which get to London the night 
 of the same day they are killed. Co-operation 
 is however improving the packing, and con- 
 sequently the condition and price of these birds. 
 In large districts, however, there is even yet no 
 regular market, and chickens can only be sold 
 for 6d. to gd. each to local customers. Such 
 w 
 
 chickens are however small, killed as they run, 
 and not perhaps worth very much more. 
 
 The Society above referred to has, however, 
 attained its most definite results in re-organising 
 the Irish egg trade. Formerly the cottagers 
 sold their eggs chiefly to women 
 Irish dealers, who usually added 4d. per 
 
 Egg Trade. 1 20 for collection to what they paid, 
 on selling to the larger dealers, or to 
 local shops, the latter chiefly paying for them in 
 groceries. In either case the bulk of the eggs 
 were generally a week to four weeks old when 
 collected for actual export, and the eggs were 
 often dirty, and of all sizes and sorts. A great 
 deal of the Irish egg trade is still carried on in 
 this way, which keeps these eggs at a lower price 
 than good foreign. The Organisation Society 
 engaged an expert from the export trade of 
 Denmark, Mr. Viggo Schwartz, to instruct the 
 local societies in the best Continental methods 
 of sorting and packing ; and we are glad to 
 record that wherever the teaching of these has 
 permeated, the people have been quick to seize 
 it and understand its pecuniary value. The 
 following account of the work thus being done 
 is by Mr. Viggo Schwartz, and will show the 
 great improvement that is being effected in this 
 important branch of Irish industry : — 
 
 " It is only a few years ago that the egg 
 trade was so much neglected in Ireland, and 
 so ill-managed, that the Liverpool and Glas- 
 gow merchants began to threaten to refuse to 
 buy any more Irish eggs unless the exporters 
 would improve their parcels on lines similar 
 to those which the foreign exporters had 
 introduced. As, however, the merchants were 
 unable to give any guarantee that better 
 prices would be paid for fresher and cleaner 
 eggs than had been hitherto paid, the farmers 
 continued to send their produce to market as 
 before. Very often the eggs, arrived in a 
 stale condition, packed in damp straw and 
 most repellent cases, and such consignments 
 were fast doing great harm to the Irish egg 
 trade in general. 
 
 " It was at this juncture that the Irish Agri- 
 cultural Organisation Society began to form 
 local co-operative societies among Irish poultry- 
 keepers, and to introduce amongst them better 
 methods of carrying on their business. The 
 Society's object is to infuse into the agricultural 
 population of Ireland a spirit of self-reliance, 
 and to show them how, hy combination and 
 mutual help, they could give effect to that 
 spirit in a way calculated to better both the 
 individual and the community. These local 
 Poultry Societies are formed for the double 
 purpose of improving the breeds and methods 
 
170 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of rearing and fattening poultry, and improving 
 the methods of placing poultry and eggs "on 
 the market. Poultry experts are employed to 
 impart technical instruction, and amongst these 
 I myself was brought from Denmark, especially 
 to teach the Societies the Danish methods of 
 selecting, grading, and packing eggs for ex- 
 portation. 
 
 "A number of what may be termed Egg 
 Societies are now in working order. The Sub- 
 societies send the eggs collected during the 
 week, or when eggs are plentiful every second 
 day, to the exporting centre ; these central 
 stores are either at a seaport totvn, or some 
 station on a main line of railway, from which 
 there is good communication to the English 
 markets. The local depots, which are all within 
 carting distance of the centre, receive the eggs 
 from their members daily, by weight only, and 
 none but perfectly fresh and perfectly clean 
 eggs are received. The suppliers are paid cash 
 for the number of pounds weight of eggs sup- 
 plied, and not (as hitherto has been the way 
 in Ireland) for the score or the dozen and 
 paid in tea and sugar. Purchasing by weight 
 has had the effect of making Irish poultry 
 keepers much more ready to adopt the advice 
 given them, and cultivate breeds which pro- 
 duce eggs of larger size and in greater number. 
 The eggs are then placed in large cases with 
 cardboard divisions, holding 1,000 eggs each, 
 and so brought to the central packing station. 
 As soon as received there, they are graded to 
 their respective sizes, which range from 18 lbs. 
 per 120 eggs down to 13 lbs., then tested 
 carefully so as to detect any that may be bad, 
 and finally packed in export cases. 
 
 " The packing cases are of Continental 
 pattern, and are made in three sizes, namely, 
 ' whole cases,' containing twelve long hundreds, 
 or 1,440' eggs, ' half-cases,' containing six long 
 hundreds, or 720 eggs, and 'quarter-cases,' to 
 take 360 eggs. The whole cases are practically 
 two half-cases, these being divided into two 
 equal parts by two centre-pieces, in such a 
 manner that by cutting the case between those 
 centre-pieces there will be obtained two half- 
 cases. The eggs are packed m these cases in 
 layers, and each layer in rows of a certain 
 number ; not, as the custom has been in Ireland, 
 pell-mell. Every case of whatever size contains 
 four layers of eggs, and each layer in the six- 
 hundred cases or half-cases, 180 eggs, arranged 
 18 eggs in a row, and ten rows ; while the three- 
 hundred cases or quarter-cases contain only 90 
 eggs in a layer, 9 in a row, and ten rows. The 
 packing is done with such accuracy that the 
 eggs on unpacking occupy the same position as 
 
 they did when packed. To attain this a layer 
 of wood-wool is placed between each two layers 
 of eggs, and carefully arranged so that it is the 
 same thickness both between the layers of eggs, 
 and the eggs and the sides of case. Its quantity 
 must be such that no empty space is left when 
 the eggs are packed down. When the fourth 
 and last layer is packed, this ought, before 
 compression, to be on a level with the edges of 
 the case. This layer is then also covered with 
 wood-wool of about two inches thickness, and 
 above again is laid a layer of dry, clean, and 
 stiff straw. In order to press down the lid to its 
 position the packer walks on it when nailing, 
 and this can be done without breaking a single 
 egg. If the top layer is on a level with the case 
 edge, the proper pressure will generally be had 
 on packing down, so that the eggs keep their 
 position, but of course either too much pressure 
 or too loose packing would cause breakages. 
 
 " This method of packing is new for Ireland, 
 but has been used on the Continent for a 
 great many years. Several experiments made 
 in Denmark have shown that eggs packed in 
 this manner and forwarded to London by 
 steamer from Copenhagen to Newcastle, and 
 thence by rail to London, have reached their 
 destination without a single breakage. But 
 this implies another matter of importance, viz. 
 that both the steamship company's and the 
 railway company's porters, as on other routes 
 through which eggs are forwarded from the 
 Continent to Great Britain, fully understand 
 the handling of eggs. In this particular their 
 colleagues in Ireland have still much to learn, 
 and no packing, however good, can avoid 
 breakages by careless transport. We hope, 
 however, before long to get this important 
 branch of Irish trade on a sound basis all 
 round, and that it may rise to a height 
 comparable with that in Denmark, where the 
 egg export is now for the most part on co- 
 operative lines, and one society I know has 
 a yearly turn-over of more than ;^ 125,000 
 sterling. 
 
 '.' Some of the local Societies have, in order 
 to prevent bad eggs being brought in, supplied 
 each member wiih a stamp, bearing the number 
 of the member and the letter of the Society. 
 With this the supplier stamps all his eggs, a:nd 
 in this way it is possible to trace a bad z^% 
 to its source. A good many Societies have 
 now been in working order for some time, and 
 some of them — for instance, those at Athlone, 
 Mallow, and Newmarket — are able to export 
 weekly more than 150,000 eggs. No doubt 
 this movement, which has already attained such 
 striking results, will, steadily enlarge as in Den- 
 
POULTRY AND EGGS IN FRANCE . 
 
 171 
 
 mark, and the produce gradually find its way 
 to the best markets, giving satisfaction to those 
 who will help them by assisting their trade." 
 
 Besides the teaching of its chief egg-expert, 
 and those trained by him, the Society dis- 
 tributes admirable leaflets on this subject also, 
 stating the more suitable breeds and details of 
 management, and pointing out in simple words 
 that a good hen pays a profit of over 5 s. per 
 annum. The establishment of creameries is 
 also helping the movement, and the collection 
 of eggs ; and thus by degrees, by the side of 
 the old business at the old low prices, there is 
 growing up a higher class Irish egg trade, which 
 can command an average price of lod. per 
 dozen in the London market, equal to the 
 very best of the foreign supplies. 
 
 Another influence which is improving the 
 Irish industry is the increasing number of 
 winter shows of dead poultry and eggs, many 
 of them established by the same 
 Poultry in local Societies as are referred to 
 Ireland. above. As a rule the Societies 
 
 have given all their prizes in the 
 shape of live birds for stock; in this way good 
 blood was brought into the country, and in some 
 cases the effect has been wonderful. Mrs. F. C. 
 Smith, of Boyle, writes us that at the first show 
 in Mullingar the heaviest turkey was only 1 1 lbs. 
 weight ; the second year the best was 24I lbs. ; 
 and in 1898 there were over a hundred that 
 weighed between 20 and 25 lbs. dressed, and 
 cockerel chickens weighing 15 lbs. to i8| lbs. 
 per pair. Wherever these shows are got up, 
 the effects are seen directly, and both eggs and 
 fowls are of very different size and quality 
 within a year or two. The birds exhibited are 
 chiefly bought by Dublin poulterers and local 
 private gentlemen at high prices, for Christmas ; 
 this shows the Irish farmers what good poultry 
 will fetch, and stimulates their ambition. 
 
 To the really practical poultry expert, per- 
 haps the most significant change of all in 
 Ireland, is seen in the choice of breeds. Years 
 ago, many people had spread amongst the 
 peasantry the most really desirable breeds ; 
 but all alike found that these rapidly dis- 
 appeared, with the exception of Hamburghs 
 and Leghorns. These pleased and were kept 
 on, because they laid well, yet were small and 
 ate little ! That reason has been given to us 
 personally in years past, even near Belfast, and 
 we have heard of it from scores of independent 
 sources ; the people could not get better prices 
 for larger eggs, and preferred the birds that cost 
 the least. The purchase of eggs by weight, and 
 selection of the largest by the creameries, and 
 the demand for chickens from Sussex, and 
 
 practical teaching brought home to them, are 
 now changing this, and rapidly developing a 
 valuable national industry. 
 
 The production and consumption of eggs 
 in France is undoubtedly very large, for which 
 there are several obvious reasons, some of which 
 are common to the other Latin 
 France. countries. One is that these 
 
 are Roman Catholic countries, in 
 which eggs are the only extra-vegetable diet 
 besides fish allowable on fast-days. There 
 can be no doubt that this has had much to do 
 with the creation of non-sitting, laying races all 
 round the Mediterranean, and largely stimu- 
 lated egg-production. Secondly, small o.ccu- 
 pations abound, and these are specially adapted 
 for the general cultivation of poultry. Thirdly, 
 butcher's meat is rare as an article of food, and 
 much of what is used is old and tough ; this 
 turns the national palate to tender stews and 
 entrees, favours the taste for succulent chicken, 
 and increases the demand for it. Lastly, in 
 France especially the women do much work 
 on the small holdings, and poultry-keeping 
 particularly suits their habits, and the general 
 economy of the small farms. A paper by M. 
 Lavergne, published thirty years ago, stated 
 that many farmers in the La Bresse and other 
 districts, made from their poultry at that date 
 from ;£^3 to £^ per acre of their occupation. 
 
 The cultivation of poultry is still extending in 
 France, though it is difficult to say how much, 
 many " official " French reports and figures 
 being worthless. French Government statistics 
 in 1885 made the export of eggs to England of 
 only the value of ;f 556,800, whereas it amounted 
 to ^1,507,099; and we remember another case 
 in which the Government return of the value of 
 poultry products in the three arondissements of 
 Mantes, Dreux, and Nogent was only one-tenth ^ 
 of the municipal return the same year, for their 
 three chief towns alone. The best authority we 
 have been able to find is the result of the de- 
 cennial inquiry made under M. Tisserand in 1892, 
 through the prefects of the eighty-seven depart- 
 ments, and which are certainly more complete 
 than the ordinary returns. Going back for 
 thirty years, this report states -the number of 
 fowls in France in 1862 as 43,000,000, and in 
 1892 as having increased to 54,000,000, besides 
 about 9,000,000 of ducks, turkeys, and other 
 poultry. It is remarkable to find that, as in 
 Sussex, this increase has been accompanied by 
 an increase in the area under oats : while other 
 cereals showed some decline, oats had increased 
 from 8,209,971 acres in 1862 to 9,399,560 acres 
 thirty years later. 
 
172 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Eggs being therefore collected in France 
 from a large number of small occupations, what 
 has given the export trade and Paris trade such 
 a development is the fact that the collecting 
 mechanism is so well organised and efficient. A 
 gentleman in the trade, writing to the Grocer, 
 has described it for the benefit of English pro- 
 ducers. Every small town or large village has 
 a weekly market, and to these the merchants of 
 the district send, their vans with market cases, 
 and buy all that are offered ; if bad eggs are 
 brought, the delinquent is subject to a fine, and 
 for a proved second offence may even be im- 
 prisoned ! The eggs are brought just as they 
 are in these cases to the central warehouse, 
 where they are "candled," and next morning 
 are sorted and packed, according to size, in 
 boxes containing twelve " long hundreds." By 
 evening train the same day they leave for the 
 boat. Thus the eggs bought from the farmers 
 on a Wednesday are packed on Thursday, catch 
 the Friday boat, and are in London market the 
 following Tuesday, and so of other days in the 
 week. They are packed carefully with white 
 rolled straw, in white deal cases, arriving in a 
 nice, clean-looking, saleable condition. 
 
 The home consumption of eggs in France is 
 also very great, and this has made the foreign 
 trade so sensitive to prices and other factors. 
 About 1866 Madame Millet Robinet calculated 
 the consumption in Paris alone at 120 per head 
 of its population ; and as the late Mr. Gibson 
 Richardson soon afterwards found that 6,000,000 
 eggs were sold weekly in the Paris markets, 
 some of these being of low quality used in 
 manufactures, the_ calculation must be pretty 
 accurate for that time. In 1899 the Paris 
 Municipal Council published a return, showing 
 that the consumption per head the previous year 
 had increased to 212 per head. The consump- 
 tion in France for omelettes alone must be 
 something enormous. This home demand, as 
 we see presently in the case of America, keeps 
 up prices for the better quality, and the large 
 export to England was formerly replaced in part 
 by a considerable import from Italy. This was 
 greatly checked by tariff changes; and when 
 prices in England somewhat decreased, owing 
 to English producers beginning to skim the 
 cream of the best market, as above described, 
 a quantity of the French eggs found a better 
 home market in Paris. 
 
 A large part of the French export of dead 
 fowls to England is for the December, and 
 especially the Christmas market, to which many 
 turkeys are sent over ; but the whole of this 
 export is very little, as already shown, in com- 
 parison with the egg trade. 
 
 Of the Belgian trade, a considerable portion 
 is of Italian eggs, merely sent through the 
 country ; but it is impossible to ascertain what 
 proportion. Eggs are also shipped 
 Belgium. direct, but it is curious that many of 
 
 these are laid by Italian fowls — 
 what, in fact, we call Leghorns, imported from 
 Italy in the summer, kept to lay for about twelve 
 months, and then killed. The Belgian table 
 fowl par excellence is the Cocou de Malines, of 
 which a number reach London in December ; 
 but more dead poultry go from Belgium to 
 Germany than to England. In Belgium the 
 rearers of lean chickens chiefly meet the fatters 
 at certain established markets, where the fatters 
 buy what they want or can get, and take them 
 away. 
 
 The most remarkable growth in European 
 poultry industry during the last ten years is 
 undoubtedly in Russia, where the Government 
 has made considerable efforts to 
 Russia. encourage this industry. In 1899 
 
 it held a great international ex- 
 hibition at St. Petersburg for the purpose of 
 making the people acquainted with foreign 
 breeds, many of which, especially German and 
 Belgian exhibits, were taken home by Russian 
 buyers. There is a monthly International 
 Poultry Journal, with departments in Russian, 
 French, German, and English, which must be 
 subsidised, or it could not be carried on. The 
 Grand Duke Nicholas stated a year or two ago, 
 that poultry was recognised as the branch of 
 production which had most rapidly advanced, 
 and the export to England was only a portion 
 of Russia's export trade. This is, of course, 
 returned in roubles, and dividing these by ten 
 (which is almost exactly correct) to give the 
 figures in pounds sterling, the exports for 1898 
 Were reported as follows : — 
 
 Description. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Live fowls ... 
 
 • ■■ .£637,000 
 
 Dead fowls 
 
 ... 141,648 
 
 Dead game 
 
 6,131 
 
 Eggs 
 
 • •• 3.II3.386 
 
 Yolk of egg 
 
 30,612 
 
 White of egg 
 
 3>542 
 
 Down and feathers 
 
 ... 197.951 
 
 ;£"4, I 30,270 
 
 It is of course the vast southern districts of 
 Russia which produce poultry and eggs, the 
 producers being nearly all very small men, from 
 whom their fowls and eggs are collected by 
 travelling dealers or higglers. The birds have 
 little attention and little food beyond what they 
 pick up : hence the cost and prices realised are 
 both very low. In the sprine no more than 
 
POULTRY IN RUSSIA AND AMERICA. 
 
 173 
 
 2s. 6d. a hundred is paid in Russia for eggs; and 
 in summer they may go as low as is. gd., but 
 later they may go as high as 4s. 6d. to 4s. gd. 
 They are sorted through rings of different sizes, 
 and also as to quality ; and when packed in 
 cases are carried by rail at almost incredibly 
 low rates, on the Government railways, to Baltic 
 ports. Vast numbers go to German markets as 
 well as to England, and considerable quantities 
 to Hamburgh, whence they are shipped to 
 England as German eggs. Many other, of these 
 " German " eggs are Austro-Hungarian and 
 Italian, and it is doubtful if Germany herself, 
 except as a carrier, is a factor of much real 
 importance in the British egg trade. The Russian 
 egg supply itself cati never be of very high 
 quality, or seriously threaten that of really new- 
 laid eggs. The distances are va.st, the collection 
 slow, the transhipments necessarily several. 
 Hence the relative prices already noted. They 
 must always be mainly of the cheaper grades. 
 
 The same applies to Russian dead poultry, 
 which necessarily come frozen, and are subject 
 to the depreciation of frozen carcases. They 
 are shaped in cloths after plucking, the legs and 
 wings being folded tightly in, so that the entire 
 fowl is exactly the shape of a fir-cone ; each is 
 then tightly wrapped in thin paper and packed 
 in a case holding 100 birds of uniform size. In 
 April, 1899, we passed a very good class City 
 restaurant, and noticed on the menu at the door, 
 " Half spring chicken, roasted, with bacon, is." 
 Though the hour was absurdly early, and the 
 place nearly empty, we went in purposely to 
 try what such a portion at such a price was like, 
 and found it fully equal to any average, the half 
 being, of course, of a small bird. We investigated 
 further, to be met as usual with perfect courtesy, 
 and found these chickens were Russian, bought 
 that morning in the Central Market for is. 2d. 
 per bird. We do not see how English birds are 
 to be produced at such a price. On the other 
 hand, they are almost entirely sold for a restau- 
 rant trade, neither their size nor their keeping 
 qualities adapting them for sale by a poulterer 
 to private customers. 
 
 The Danish egg trade, it will have been seen, 
 is steadily increasing, but the true Danish pro- 
 duct not at the same rate as the Russian. This 
 is a further proof that the main foreign com- 
 petition is in cheaper grades ; for the better 
 grades there is less room, and may probably be 
 less as the British production increases. The 
 genuine Danish trade has been organised on the 
 same lines as the Irish trade, already described ; 
 but the recent smuggling through of Russian 
 eggs as Danish, unless checked, must sooner or 
 
 later affect the prices obtainable in England, 
 and the reputation of the Danish product. 
 
 The most gigantic poultry industry in the 
 world at the commencement of the twentieth 
 century, is undoubtedly Aat of the United 
 States. According to the census of 1880, the 
 number of fowls in that year was 
 United 102,272,135, and in loQO that num- 
 
 Statee. ber had increased to 286,000,000. 
 
 No actual statistics are available as 
 we write concerning the 1900 census, but in 
 1896 it was calculated that the number was 
 probably about 383,000,000. The nature of the 
 industry, as shown in our preceding chapter, 
 makes it difficult to distinguish between stock 
 birds and products ; but it was calculated on 
 apparently good grounds, that in the year just 
 mentioned the eggs (valued at 12 cents per 
 dozen) were probably worth 165,000,000 dollars, 
 and the birds sold dead about 125,000,000 dollars, 
 making, say, 290,000,000 dollars as the eaten 
 product of that year. What this means is best 
 seen from the statement that in the same year 
 (1896) the total value of the swine product was 
 reckoned at only 186 million dollars, of the 
 cotton crop 259 million dollars, the wheat crop 
 238 million dollars, and of all minerals mined 
 209 million dollars. 
 
 Such figures necessarily denote an un- 
 paralleled consumption, the reasons for which 
 have been already stated. New York State 
 and City together are calculated to consume 
 45 million dollars in eggs and chickens annu- 
 ally, and in the city alone three to four millions 
 of eggs are eaten every day. Eggs are used in 
 all forms, by all people, almost universally. We 
 get from America also the best idea, probably, 
 of the extent to which eggs are used in trades 
 and manufactures, which probably applies more 
 or less to England also. It was calculated that 
 480 millions of eggs were consumed annually 
 in calico printing, 120 millions in wine clarify- 
 ing, and 240 millions in book-binding, glove- 
 making, and other leather industries. It is 
 remarkable that beside the enormous home 
 product, there is quite a perceptible irnport 
 of eggs from China, Mexico, and Japan, which 
 is probably absorbed in these manufactures. 
 There was formerly an import from Canada, 
 but this trade was stopped by the McKinley 
 tariff and diverted to England. 
 
 In connection with this enormous egg trade 
 has grown up a system of cold storage, com- 
 mencing in April and continuing till the winter. 
 This tends to localise in a few centres, pro- 
 minent ones being Kansas City and Chicago ; 
 but there has been considerable exaggeration 
 
174 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 about the extent of it and the commercial 
 results. The eggs have to be very carefully 
 candled, and the superintendent of this process 
 at one Kansas City house, where eggs are cold- 
 stored for Texas, Colorado, California, and 
 others beside the home State, has from ten 
 to thirty men under him according to the 
 season. The overlooking of a single decayed 
 egg in a case may spoil the whole case, and 
 a case with many very bad ones may spoil 
 many others liear it. Prices realised also differ 
 much, according to the season ; and from these 
 various causes, several seasons the speculators 
 have made serious losses. On the whole, how- 
 ever, storage helps to steady the market, raising 
 prices in summer and moderating them in 
 winter, when the stored eggs come out for use. 
 Surplus imports into New York City are also 
 stored there. 
 
 In connection with storage, a great many 
 American eggs are canned, all eggs found with 
 their shells broken or cracked being thus treated. 
 The whites and yolks are separated, and then 
 canned in the same way as meat or vegetables, 
 the product being used by bakers and con- 
 fectioners, who find the separate yolks or whites 
 very convenient, and use a great many cans 
 in winter when eggs are dear. Good eggs are 
 also canned and exported for use in hot coun- 
 tries. The eggs rejected for storage because 
 cloudy, or even rotten, are also canned, and 
 sold to be used in the above-mentioned manu- 
 factures. Egg-shells are broken up small and sold 
 for various purposes, sometimes as a fertiliser. 
 
 It is unnecessary to add at any length to 
 what was said in the preceding chapter about 
 American table poultry. The chief point about 
 it in general, is that the birds are not crammed, 
 but simply fed. Yet many of the larger ones 
 of the best quality, known as " soft " roasters 
 {i.e. the flesh tender, not hard) are really of 
 very fine quality, and raise a very interest- 
 ing question for British producers. The latter, 
 as already seen, depend chiefly upon cramming 
 with semi-liquid food, without fresh vegetables, 
 but with sour milk. Americans simply feed, 
 with large rations of cut clover in addition to 
 grain, and mash and animal food ; and this 
 clover feed, as before remarked, seems to main- 
 tain appetite, cool the system, and enable it 
 to digest large quantities of the more solid 
 food. The question is well worth study and 
 experiment in this country, of how this system 
 of feeding would answer in comparison with 
 the other. There are rumours even as we 
 write, of some American producers having 
 contracted to supply numbers of these " fed " 
 American fowls to the London market. 
 
 Besides the roasters and broilers already 
 treated of, however, a half or quarter of one 
 of the latter being served to each person, there 
 has been since 1898 a new American develop- 
 ment in the shape of " squab " broilers, weigh- 
 ing only from three-quarters of a pound to a 
 pound each, and sold wholesale at from i to 
 if dollars per pair. Wyandottes and other 
 medium-sized breeds make the best- of these. 
 They have originated in a desire for some new 
 poultry dish, amongst the wealthier classes in 
 the large cities, and the trade is confined to 
 this class. In size these small birds closely 
 resemble the petits poussins, which have been 
 already described ; but they are quite different 
 in texture, and served quite differently, being 
 split down the back and broiled just like their 
 larger brethren; the only difference is that a 
 whole bird, instead of half or quarter, is served 
 to each person. They have to be very uniform 
 in size, which varies a little in different cities} 
 as it would cause comment among hotel guests 
 if some were served differently from others. 
 
 Reference has already been made to the 
 gradually increasing import of eggs from 
 Canada, and the table on page 125 records 
 prices for Canadian fowls, which 
 Canada. are of course sent over in cold 
 
 storage. There is no doubt that 
 the industry is increasing in Canada, and it 
 is being encouraged by special instruction given 
 under Government auspices in various ways ; 
 but there are no data available at present 
 for stating the present outlook or immediate 
 prospects of either the industry itself or the 
 Canadian-British trade. One point only may 
 be safely mentioned. While the bulk of the 
 dead poultry sent over hitherto have been 
 such as realised only moderate prices — and 
 indeed no cold storage birds can ever realise 
 the better prices of the market, as already 
 remarked — there has been within the last year 
 or two an obvious attempt to send over larger 
 and better fed birds, such as may fetch more 
 money, or else sell later in the year. 
 
 The Canadian trade in poultry products is, 
 however, a striking proof of the conclusion 
 already expressed, that imports depend more 
 upon relative demand than upon any other 
 cause, and far more than upon actual amount 
 of the home supply. It is absolutely certain 
 that there are far less poultry kept in Canada 
 per head of population than in the United 
 States : the climate is more severe, and the 
 population more sparse, and the home market 
 far less. And yet, before the McKinley tariff 
 stopped the trade, Canada exported eggs con- 
 
CANADA AND AUSTRALIA. 
 
 175 
 
 siderably to the States. They wanted, and 
 consumed, what she did not. Whether the 
 reason be that so many colonists are trained 
 to British meat-eating proclivities, or whatever 
 the cause, every traveller will know how much 
 less eggs enter into the diet of the country than 
 they do in the States. Hence Canada exports 
 them, though the production per head is very 
 far less. 
 
 Australia also has already begun to send 
 a certain amount of dead poultry to England, 
 and experimental shipments have been made 
 of cold storage eggs, but the latter 
 Australia. trade is only in such an experi- 
 mental stage at the close of xgoo. 
 It would have the advantage of opposite seasons, 
 sending off eggs when most plentiful, to arriye 
 when most scarce — but the risks and uncer- 
 tainties of the business have been already 
 mentioned. Poultry- farming is quite a recog- 
 nised industry in several parts of Australia ; 
 one very marked area being the shores of 
 Botany Bay, a few miles from Sydney. Here 
 as much rent is charged for a few acres of poor 
 land and a wooden shanty, as for an equal 
 holding and decent cottage in England, the 
 competition is so great ; three to twenty acres 
 being the usual size of the holdings, and the 
 produce being sent in by cart to Sydney, where 
 the dead poultry are often sold by miction. It 
 is significant that whereas the Sydney Labour 
 Bureau has for several years previously reported 
 poultry-men as wanting engagements, in the 
 annual return issued June, 1900, no person 
 professing such an occupation is registered as 
 out of employ. Some of those Botany Bay 
 farms produce chiefly ducklings, for which a 
 Muscovy cross is largely used, others chickens, 
 - others eggs ; and stock birds to improve stock 
 have been largely imported during late years. 
 
 So far (see table, page 125) dead poultry has 
 chiefly been sent from West Australia; but 
 Sydney is actively moving in the same direc- 
 tion ; and the only definite figures we have are 
 from that quarter. The expenses of shipping, 
 commission, etc., are found to amount to about 
 lod. per bird. The following is an actual sales 
 
 account of a lot sent to London through the 
 Sydney Government Department : — 
 
 Sold on account of Mr. 
 
 London. May ist, i8gg. 
 by 
 
 Charles E. Brooke & Sons, 
 
 39, Leadenhall Markets. 
 
 150 Chickens @ 3s. per bird ;£33 10 o 
 
 To Government Export Depnt 
 
 charges at 3d. each .../i 17 6 
 „ Cartage, and Clearing from 
 
 Docks £0 5 o 
 
 „ Freight and Insurance ;f3 2 o 
 
 ,, Commission,5p.c. on;f22 ioo...;fi 2 6 
 
 ;fi6 3 o 
 
 This lot, therefore, realised net 4s. 4d. per pair. 
 A smaller lot sent previously realised 8s. per 
 pair in London, leaving over 6s. to the con- 
 signors ; and as the expenses on all are almost 
 exactly alike, if such prices are obtainable there 
 must be most profit on the better qualities. 
 
 The latest development of the Australian 
 industry is a recent, and so far rapidly increas- 
 ing export of dead poultry to South Africa. 
 
 Taking a general view of the whole trade, 
 there is nothing to discourage the home producer, 
 who can send to market the better qualities of 
 
 either poultry or eggs. The very fact 
 General of distance, prevents any foreign 
 
 Conclusions, produce from being first-class, and 
 
 the British public are becoming 
 better educated to the higher value of first- 
 class. If attempt be made to fight the question 
 of distance by cold storage, up to the present 
 price, and quality also, suffers. For cheaper 
 grades the outlook is less prorriising ; and so 
 far as these satisfy a public of their own, we are 
 not clear that British growers can compete at a 
 profit, any more than in growing other things. 
 The producer must aim at the best, and at 
 getting it to market in the best condition ; 
 and just as our splendid English hot-house 
 grapes are beginning even to be exported to 
 the Continent, so new-laid English eggs and 
 the best English poultry will, we believe, 
 find a paying market even during the century 
 now begun. 
 
176 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 EXHIBITION POULTRY AND UTILITY. 
 
 BEFORE entering into the practical details 
 of breeding poultry in accordance with 
 recognised exhibition standards, we must 
 consider with some care the question as to the 
 good or evil effects of such pursuits, of such stand- 
 ards, and of the poultry fancy itself, and all con- 
 nected with it. That question has been more or 
 less debated for many years ; but of late attacks 
 upon the whole system of poultry exhibition 
 have been so repeated and carried to such an 
 extreme, as really to put poultry breeders upon 
 their defence, and make it necessary to see what 
 amount of truth, or how much of error, there 
 may really be in the sweeping charges brought 
 against them. 
 
 The controversy is no new one. So long 
 ago as 1872, the Hon. J. Stanton Gould, an 
 eminent American stock-breeder, in addressing 
 the newly formed New York State 
 Early Attacks Poultry Society, complained that 
 on Fancy the standards "tell us nothing about 
 Poultry. ^ijg physiological condition of the 
 
 birds, nothing about their capacity 
 for laying on flesh, nothing about their capacity 
 for laying eggs, nothing about their powers of 
 digestion and assimilation, nothing about their 
 hardihood." He more definitely proceeded : 
 " In the rules for judging Brahmas, I am told 
 the beak must be well curved. I would 
 respectfully ask, Why ? . . . I read further 
 in the same standard of excellence that the 
 Brahma must have a pea-cornb. . . . But 
 why, in the name of common-sense, is it 
 necessary that a Brahma should have a pea- 
 comb? If it is true that the pea-comb is no 
 indication of the excellence of a fowl, or of its 
 profitableness, or of its purity of blood, and if it 
 does not minister to the aesthetic gratification of 
 the owner, is it not simple nonsense to include 
 it among the points of excellence of the breed?" 
 The speaker intimated that "there can be no 
 real advance in poultry breeding until it is 
 removed from the realms of caprice and fancy, 
 and placed upon the sure foundations of 
 anatomical and physiological science." 
 
 That crude stage of the discussion is now 
 almost a thing of the past. It is understood, by 
 
 all who have studied these questions to any 
 purpose, that supposing for the sake of argu- 
 ment a Brahma really is of more value than 
 
 some mongrel or scrub race of fowls 
 What the — ^""^ ^" unspoilt Brahma cer- 
 " Points" tainly is so — if it is to be preserved 
 really are. ^t all as a race, it must at least be 
 
 described as such from characteristic 
 and true specimens, or you cannot distinguish 
 it, as a race, from others. But thus the pea- 
 comb or other points are indications of its 
 " purity of blood." In the main, they are the 
 stamps of the race as such ; while the curious 
 clause about the point not " ministering to the 
 aesthetic gratification of the owner" simply 
 baffles a fancier's understanding, except on the 
 supposition that this was Mr. Gould's first real 
 acquaintance with poultry breeders. So, also, it 
 is now seen that if a race celebrated for laying 
 on flesh is properly described, its standard of 
 form does tell us something about its "capacity" 
 for so doing ; or if a good laying breed be also 
 accurately described in regard to form, and 
 there be any indication at all in outward form 
 of laying capacity, we have, so far, some 
 indication of that too. And thirdly, it is now still 
 further understood that these are the only kind 
 of indications which we can have to decide 
 between fowls in show competition, from the very 
 nature of the case. When Mr. Gould asks why 
 they are not judged by their actual capacity for 
 laying eggs, the simple reply is that it could 
 not be done. That is a matter of experience, 
 or of testimony, which we cannot bring to the 
 show-pen at all. There we are shut up to 
 something we can see before us, to outward 
 features of some kind. The actual laying 
 power can only be tested in other ways, as a 
 poultry organisation is now endeavouring to 
 test them in manner to be presently described. 
 But in the pens we are shut up to outward, 
 visible points, just as in a cattle show or a 
 pig show. These should be, as already said, 
 described from good characteristic specimens 
 of any animal it is desired to cultivate; and 
 when once so described and fixed, it is a mere 
 abuse of terms to call them arbitrary; they 
 
Sn^ HENRY THOMPSON ON PRIZE POULTRY. 
 
 177 
 
 are laid down because found in characteristic 
 examples of the breed, and distinguishing it from 
 other breeds or from mongrels. 
 
 In 1885 much more direct attack was made 
 upon exhibition poultry by a man famed 
 throughout the civilised world as the premier 
 surgeon of England — Sir Henry 
 Sir H, Thompson Thompson, also well known as a 
 Prize Poultry. writer upon dietetic questions. 
 In two long letters he relates 
 how he had begun to breed Brahmas in 1881, 
 erecting one of the most elaborate yards for the 
 purpose ever designed ; but sold off the whole 
 in the summer of 1884. In taking up the 
 pursuit, he said, he " naturally concluded that 
 the most perfect birds were either those best 
 adapted for the table and the most welcome 
 when served there, or those which produced the 
 largest number of the finest and richest eggs 
 for the same purpose. For what other purpose 
 were poultry wanted if not for these .■' " But 
 he very soon discovered, he proceeds, that 
 however it might be in France, in England the 
 object was merely " feathers," and that, as a 
 consequence, " we produce races inferior to those 
 of France, cannot supply the moderate wants 
 of our population, and pay enormous sums 
 every year for the poultry and eggs of that 
 country." To leave no possible doubt of his 
 meaning, after again recounting how prizes are 
 awarded according to the development of 
 arbitrary characteristics, he repeats, '■^ Hence our 
 inferiority to France in the quality and abund- 
 ance of poultry products," and even traces the 
 effect of the " baneful system " to the farm and 
 cottage, alleging the deterioration of " even the 
 farmyard mongrels " by the .cockerel purchased 
 from some- celebrated source. Finally, he pro- 
 nounces that " no compromise is possible " 
 between the two ends, of competitive breeding, 
 and economic objects : for " either infallibly 
 neutralises the other," and so nothing can be 
 done really to improve poultry production 
 " until the prize feather system is swept away." 
 
 This language naturally aroused considerable 
 attention. Those who moved in poultry show 
 circles at the time (for this cult has its peculiar 
 "society" like every other) and who knew details 
 not known to the general public ; who knew 
 something of the sources and cost of Sir Henry's 
 stock, and the results of his " breeding," of the 
 expenses of the establishment as carried on, and 
 the respective shares taken by owner and " man " 
 therein ; and who could intelligently compare 
 the objects here alleged with the elaborate plan 
 of the yard he had built, smiled and shrugged 
 their shoulders Avhen they read this tirade. We 
 h.ive nothing to do with such matters here ; and 
 
 X 
 
 what is, in some measure, true in the charges thus 
 brought against poultry breeders may be best 
 considered after citing the more detailed state- 
 ments of Mr. Tegetmeier. 7 At the moment we 
 we have simply to say that Sir Henry 
 Errors Thompson's assertions betray in 
 
 in these themselves a misunderstanding of 
 
 statements, j-jje whole subject, and a consequent 
 mis-statement of simple facts, which 
 disqualifies him as an authority. Every one of 
 the broader statements is simply a mere error — 
 a mistake as to fact. It has been already shown 
 that quite other causes than those alleged 
 govern the exportation of eggs from foreign 
 countries to this, and that those from France 
 have, since he wrote, greatly declined to far 
 below their former proportion, and to a small 
 proportion of the whole ; while on the other hand 
 English production has enormously increased, 
 and is still rapidly increasing. It is equally an 
 error to say that from the alleged (or any other) 
 causes we " produce races inferior to those of 
 France." Fanciers have some races, it is true, 
 which are so (and which are also kept in 
 France) ; but our races which are meant for 
 eggs and flesh are as good as any in the world, 
 and one of the most ■ celebrated French feeders 
 — Madame Ailleroit — informed us personally, 
 after looking over the exhibition Dorkings at 
 the Crystal Palace, that they were "Perfection!" 
 and that she would desire no better fowls to 
 work upon.. If again it is complained that 
 English feeders do not equal the best produc- 
 tions of the French feeders, one is constrained 
 to ask how they should do so, in default oj 
 French prices. In Paris there is a demand for 
 the choicest fatted poultry at from 12s. to 253. 
 each ; where and what is the demand for such 
 in England? When such pices have been 
 obtainable, we have seen in Chapter VII. that 
 the fowls can be produced, and are equal, 
 if not superior, to any in the world. The 
 neglect of such considerations as these proves 
 that a man may be pre-eminent as a surgeon, 
 and yet be an exceedingly poor authority upon 
 food economics ; and it is the more to be 
 regretted because the same failure to grasp the 
 conditions leads Sir Henry Thompson to deny 
 even the possibility of amendment, which is, on 
 the contrary, quite practicable under exhibition 
 " conditions " if exhibitors can only be persuaded 
 of its necessity, which they are little likely to 
 be by such_ extreme methods. These also tend 
 to obscure the amount of truth which does really 
 lie in such indictments, and which it is desirable 
 to ascertain and recognise with a view to that 
 amendment. 
 
 We shall be helped in this by the later and 
 
iV8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 more detailed accusations made by Mr. W. B. 
 Tegetmeier, in Poultry for the Table and Market 
 versus Fancy Fowls.* The author of this work 
 was, as he states, a poultry judge at exhibitions 
 
 for over a third of a century, and 
 Mr. Tegetmeier's it is remarkable that his .state- 
 Attack, ments should be the most extreme 
 
 of all. ■ He writes : " I do not 
 hesitate to affirm, as the result of my experience 
 of half a century, that no one breed of fowls has 
 been taken in hand by the fancier that has not 
 been seriously depreciated as a useful variety of 
 poultry " ; and again, " Our agricultural societies 
 are doing what I conceive to be considerable 
 injury by giving prizes for useless birds," giving 
 as the reason that " fancy points only have to 
 be considered by the judges." He then pro- 
 ceeds to prove these statements, as he considers, 
 by comparing the fowls of forty years ago with 
 the same varieties as seen to-day. These 
 details it is which are chiefly valuable, as 
 showing the measure of truth and that of error, 
 in regard to both his facts and his conclusions. 
 
 Two important but common mistakes funda- 
 mental to all this should ' first be mentioned. 
 They were both brought into relief at the 
 National Poultry Conference held at Reading 
 in July, 1899, in an able paper by Mr. Oliver E. 
 Cresswell, upon " Exhibition Poultry and Its 
 Influence on the Poultry Industry of the 
 Country," and the discussion which followed. 
 The first of them is to suppose that the 
 " exhibited " races of fowls have any distinction 
 from other and non-exhibited races ; they are 
 simply the best of the same, from a certain 
 exhibition point of view. The second error, 
 and more important by far, touches the state- 
 ment that the cause of all the evils alleged lies 
 in judging by "fancy points only." As Mr. 
 Cresswell clearly brought out, these points, now 
 called " fancy only," were most of them 
 
 originally adopted because char- 
 Fancy Points acterising the best specimens 
 originally of the races, and believed to 
 
 Utility Points. represent some useful quality, or 
 
 to be connected with it. 
 This may be illustrated from Mr. Teget- 
 meier's own pages, in one of the most extreme 
 cases, wherein we have, to frankly admit that a 
 breed once useful as a layer, and even as a 
 chicken, really has been utterly spoilt as a useful 
 fowl — that of the Cochin. The first show we 
 took any personal interest in was during the 
 Crimean War — hence probably in 1855 — and 
 our first buff Cochin chickens were hatched the 
 following year. Mr.. Tegetmeier's drawing quite 
 
 * Horace Cox, Field Office. This work was first published 
 in 1892. We cite from the third edition, published in 1898. 
 
 fairly represents these, much closer feathered 
 and less massive-looking than those of the 
 present day, with, of course, far less shank- 
 feather ; and we can remember distinctly that 
 the flesh was quite, and the skin very nearly, 
 white. We also remember the birds as good 
 layers. As Mr. Tegetmeier quite truly says, 
 
 "Cochins, as at present exhibited. 
 Illustrated ^"^^ ^ mass of useless feathers."t 
 in Cochins. There could be no stronger case ; 
 
 and yet it can be shown that if the 
 fancier has erred, he did so from good motives 
 in the first place. In Mr. Tegetmeier's own 
 Poultry Book of 1866, the late Mr. Hewitt writes 
 upon the earliest Cochins as follows : — 
 
 The reason why some Cochins lay so much better 
 than others is that those which most abound with 
 " fluff," as it is termed, or downy covering towards 
 the roots of the fea theirs, are comparatively less in- 
 fluenced by sudden changes in the atmosphere, and 
 consequently their laying is unimpeded. I have noted, 
 as a rule without exception, that diminution of plumage 
 and a scanty, "weedy" build is always accompanied 
 with, proportionate decrease in the number of eggs 
 produced. I am confirmed in this opinion from the 
 fact that the best layers of Cochin fowls I ever yet met 
 with were white, a colour generally reputed by those 
 who keep any kind of live stock as being the most 
 weakly in constitution. They were the fowls with 
 which I obtained first prize at the Birmingham Exhibi- 
 tion of 1853. They were most extraordinary fowls as 
 to the superabundance of " fluff." 
 
 We know now that this was wrong; that 
 Mr. Hewitt generalised too hastily from insuf- 
 ficient facts ; and that tight plumage really goes 
 with free layers, loose and flossy feather with 
 poor laying and coarse skin. But fanciers did 
 not know it then ; they sought the mass of 
 fluffy feather as a point really good and useful, 
 and Mr. Tegetmeier himself, in a work the most 
 influential of all others for years prior to 1872, 
 helped to spread the error. His responsibility 
 goes, indeed, much farther than this. He was not 
 only acting as a judge for many years, but so 
 acting at a period when, as shown in Chap. XIV., 
 individual judges had far more power in deciding 
 type than any of them possess now. He was, in 
 addition, actually the editor and superintendentof 
 the first Standard of Excellence, which, as further 
 indicated in the chapter just referred to, was the 
 precursor and foundation of its successors. As 
 these earlier errors were discovered, considerable 
 responsibility therefore rested upon him to 
 direct judging into more correct lines. We have 
 repeatedly endeavoured to do so from the first, 
 
 t He adds a very interesting explanation, which would 
 never have occurred to us, that as feathers consist of nearly dry 
 nitrogenous nratter, while flesh consists of such matter combined 
 v/ith, say, three parts water (see Analyses, p. 19), it costs as 
 much in food to produce I lb. of feathers as 4 lbs. of meat, and 
 all wasted in moult annually. 
 
WHAT ''FANCY FO/A/TS" ARE. 
 
 179 
 
 according to any insight permitted us,* and it is 
 in this way only that remedy can be found ; but 
 we can remember no instance in which Mr. 
 Tegetmeier, previous to these wholesale attacks, 
 had done anything in actual detail to remedy 
 mistakes, in stereotyping which he had such a 
 considerable share. 
 
 The same general truth about " fancy " 
 points may be illustrated from another — the 
 exaggerated combs so prevalent in Minorcas, 
 Spanish, and Leghorns, which, in a 
 Exaggerated majority of cases, involves either 
 Combs. whole or partial sterility in breeding 
 
 males, and impairs health and laying 
 in the females. This is known now, and . there 
 is no longer " mystery " about it, as some 
 fanciers seem to think. The hen or pullet is 
 practically blinded on one side, and in both 
 sexes the weight is too great for the brain, 
 causing brain-fatigue, and often headache, which 
 exhausts the nervous energy and so impairs the 
 sexual vigour. But most of the special laying 
 breeds have large combs, and it was believed 
 by all the old fanciers, and is still thought by 
 many, that to breed for the largest combs was 
 to breed for the best layers also ; this opinion 
 came out very strongly in a discussion on the 
 subject in 1899. 'The point was, therefore, not 
 a " mere fancy " one to the early breeders : they 
 regarded it as a "utility" point ; and it was 
 they, not present breeders, who gave that shape 
 and bias to the standards originally, from good 
 motives. Before Minorcas were an exhibition 
 variety, we have seen combs on some as large 
 as any seen now. In spite of all these things, 
 however, Mr. Edward Brown has quite recently 
 stated,f as the result of many observations and 
 inquiries, that in consequence of the improved 
 stock on English farms, obtained from the 
 " fanciers " in every case, the laying average on 
 British farms generally has increased between 
 the years 1890 and 1900 to the extent of at 
 least twenty eggs per annum for each fowl. 
 
 The want of basis for such indiscriminate 
 censures is well shown in Mr. Tegetmeier's 
 statements about Dorkings. These, he main- 
 tains, were spoilt by Mr. Douglas 
 Tlie^Case crossing them with a Malay cock, 
 causing coarseness and "loss of 
 table qualities." The Cuckoo, he 
 says, was one of the best and earliest to 
 fatten, but went " out of fashion " for various 
 reasons ; the extra toe, supposed to be an 
 indispensable characteristic, is a mere de- 
 
 * Thus, we had protested against the disastrous changes in 
 English Brahmas, and against tlie awards that produced them, 
 years before any one else drew attention to the subject. 
 
 \ Journal Royal Agricultural Society, December, 1900. 
 
 of 
 Dorkings, 
 
 formity and a " considerable drawback from 
 a utilitarian point of view " ; and the 
 Silver Greys, by breeding for feather, "have 
 lost the hardihood and plumpness they origin- 
 ally derived from the Game." Finally he quotes 
 Mr. Cresswell (in 1881) as witness to the "long 
 legs, dark feet, want of breast, and other defects 
 which have long been the trouble of the real 
 Dorking fancier." It so happens that Mr. 
 Cresswell himself, eighteen years later, in the 
 paper above referred to, mentions the Dorking 
 specifically as a breed which has been, beyond 
 doubt, much improved by many years of breed- 
 ing for exhibition ! He has seen both Whites 
 and Silver Greys developed from poor layers 
 into excellent ones, and from delicate birds into 
 hardy ones, under his own breeding, whilst at 
 the same time he was improving colour ; this 
 same whiteness of colour being shown, by his 
 experience, to be a sign of freedom from ten- 
 dencies to liver disease.' These two are the 
 specially " fancy " varieties of the Dorking, if 
 any. On the grey or coloured we have already 
 quoted Madame Ailleroit, and could cite any 
 number more, that better fowls for the table 
 never existed, if properly reared J ; and the 
 " fancy " extra toe, so far from being the work 
 of exhibitors, comes down to us, and is described 
 as a mark of the " best " fowls, from the days of 
 the Roman Columella ! It was the " fanciers " 
 who cried out against dark and long shanks, 
 and brought back short legs and white feet as 
 " points " to be insisted upon ; but these faults 
 were not produced by Mr. Douglases cross, not 
 occurring till many years after that ; while the 
 cross itself was not a Malay, but a bird from 
 India of the Dorking, type in all but the extra 
 toe — probably a cross between an English 
 Dorking and some local fowl of the Chittagong 
 kind. Lastly, the Cuckoo variety is a good 
 wittiess. We never heard of a class for it but 
 thrice in thirty years' experience, and it has 
 never been taken up by fanciers at all ; it 
 ought to be the best, therefore, according to 
 all this reasoning. On the direct contrary, just 
 because it has lacked the support and stimulus 
 of exhibition, it is the poorest and most back- 
 .ward, and difficult even to find. It has, in fact, 
 almost perished out of existence. 
 
 The Cuckoo Dorking, and its fate without 
 the fancier's help, also brings out well the great 
 service of exhibitions and breeders : They have 
 preserved breeds and made them known. The 
 
 X On the other hand, it is remarkable to find it stated in 
 Wingfield and Johnson's Poultry Book of 1853, of Dorkings, 
 that "as bad specimens of that family as of any other ha\e 
 prfsented themselves in every guise at our renpsts." They 
 were n )t all good fowls even then ! 
 
i8o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Game affords another illustration of this. 
 What Mr. Tegetmeier alleges about the trans- 
 formation of the old Game fowl into a stilty 
 
 and useless breed, is unfortunately 
 Preservation too correct; we have for years 
 of Breeds attempted to enforce lessons of this 
 by Fanciers. YmA, and have no debate with any 
 
 well-founded attempts on these lines. 
 But when he wrote, in 1892, advising the use of 
 Old English Game instead, as a cross for the 
 table, he was obliged to say that these must be 
 sought in cock-fighting districts, and that a cross 
 was hardly ever seen. That is not so now. The 
 " fanciers " since then have reverted to a new 
 love of the old type ; they have taken it up and 
 exhibited it, and bred it largely. The conse- 
 quence is that, as we write to-day, the breed 
 can be obtained easily from many sources, and 
 is accordingly extensively used now as a cross, 
 which it was not before. So again, Mr. Teget- 
 meier recommends Indian Game for crossing. 
 That breed has been preserved, and even made, 
 by breeders for exhibition, and it is from them 
 it is now obtained. He gives a figure of a hen 
 " of good form," but which he declares, upon the 
 authority of the late Mr. Nichols, would now 
 be objected to by " fanciers " as being '' too 
 prominent in the breast and not sufficiently 
 feathered in the neck." It is only needful to 
 state that the figure is one of an exhibition hen, 
 as drawn by Mr. Ludlow, and of the very same 
 type as in our plate to-day. 
 
 It is unnecessary to ^et out in full detail the 
 similar mixture of truth and error which attends 
 the same writer's remai:ks upon other breeds. 
 It is but too true that the Brahma has been 
 spoilt ; not, indeed, by breeding to a standard, 
 but by breeding to the wrong standard of the 
 Cochin. It is true that the Spanish fowl is now 
 practically useless, but this has not come about 
 by breeding for white face. The Spanish stood 
 that for many years, and so long as the Bristol 
 breeders held together, and Lane, and Parsley, 
 and Rou4 and Jones, and Hyde were able to 
 exchange blood, as they constantly did, it did not 
 seem to lose its laying powers much, though 
 delicate from confinement, and though the 
 faces were then better than any seen lately. But 
 at last one invented the comb-cage, which 
 encouraged still larger combs than before. 
 With that came sterility (and, of course, want 
 of vigour in hatched eggs as well), the cause of 
 which was not then understood ; and finally, 
 when the Bristol phalanx and their stock were 
 all dispersed, single breeders of less experience, 
 and with no change of blood handy, rapidly lost 
 ground. Again, the large comb of the Redcap 
 is mentioned as " useless waste," due to fanccrs; 
 
 whereas the fact is that the Redcap has never 
 " taken " as a show fowl at all, and its comb is 
 generally believed, by those who keep^it for its 
 useful qualities, to be associated with its enor- 
 mous laying powers. It is affirmed that "the 
 size and good qualities of the Houdan have 
 been greatly lessened." In real fact, it is 
 doubtful if the breed ever really took kindly 
 to this climate ; but those still kept are mostly 
 good layers, and at all events are, beyond 
 dispute, far larger than when imported. The 
 Wyandotte is pronounced " valueless," whereas 
 it is a most admirable layer, and when well 
 fed a good market fowl. But it is needless to 
 go farther in this direction, the more so as we 
 have admitted that if there be considerable 
 error, there is also in details too much truth. 
 It is more needful to see the fundamental 
 error ; to see why, instead of seeking practical 
 remedies, so many fly off into vague and whole- 
 sale condemnation which can bear no fruit. 
 
 This was well brought out in Mr. Cresswell's 
 paper, already twice referred to. Mr. Teget- 
 meier throughout assumes that in the early days 
 of shows the fowls of the country 
 The Charges were in all useful respects better 
 Based on a than now, and that without shows 
 Grave Error, ^nd the fanciers they would have 
 remained so. All that is known 
 points the other way. A vast mass of evidence 
 goes to prove that poultry are far more abundant 
 and of higher average quality than they were 
 fifty years ago ; and there is every ground to 
 fear that without the zeal of the fanciers the 
 breeds themselves would have been utterly lost 
 in mohgrelism. None but fanciers (and, in the 
 case of Game fowls, cock-fighters) have ever 
 kept them up. As Mr. Cresswell ably pointed 
 out, locomotion has broken down old limits; 
 and the old pride of districts in their own special 
 products has given place to cosmopolitanism ; 
 and all the rage amongst farmers and feeders 
 lately has been for crosses, and " new " breeds 
 made by crossing. Everyone acquainted with 
 country and cottage life knows how true this is ; 
 and owing to such and analogous causes, the 
 varieties not preserved by fanciers have nearly 
 or quite disappeared. It has been so with the 
 Cuckoo Dorking just mentioned ; it was so with 
 the Old English Game,- until the " fanciers " 
 took up the breed again ; it has bee.n so with 
 the old grey-speckled and with the red Dork- 
 ings. There has been nothing in the world to 
 prevent farmers and market breeders from 
 breeding and keeping up, in their own way, 
 these and other varieties alleged to be so much 
 better ; nay, if there really is the necessary 
 antagonism here alleged between them and the 
 
POULTRY ARE NOT DETERIORATING. 
 
 i8i 
 
 fancier, it was their proper business to do it 
 from first to last, and not his at all. But they 
 have not done it, while he has ; not without 
 errors and mistakes, as we have seen, and as his 
 bitter accuser does well to point out, but still 
 he has done it, and it is his work entirely. We 
 may cite as a crucial witness the Surrey fowl, 
 which Mr. Tegetmeier himself cites 
 The again and again, especially complain- 
 
 Surrey ing that the Royal Agricultural 
 
 ^°^l- Society offers hundreds of pounds in 
 
 prizes to "fancy poultry," whilst " the 
 Surrey and Sussex fowls, which constitute nine- 
 tenths of the very best and- most remunerative 
 birds coming to the London market, were 
 absolutely excluded from competition." The 
 fact is, as shown at length in an earlier chapter, 
 that the old " Surrey and Sussex fowl " 
 as known in the 'sixties has almost disap- 
 peared in the fattening districts ; that at several 
 shows within our recollection the " fanciers " 
 have actually given classes for it, from a desire 
 to encourage it, but there have either been no 
 entries, or nearly all have been mongrels with 
 no Surrey blood apparent in them ; that at the 
 Smithfield Shows of dead poultry, crosses 
 between the pure breeds which the fancier has 
 provided have been the finest specimens, while 
 amongst those actually exhibited as Surrey 
 fowls, most of the very best have been not 
 really Surrey at all, in the sense of the old 
 breed, but the identical feather-legged crosses 
 which are being so industriously condemned. So 
 far from supplying London markets, it is not 
 too much to say that unless exhibitors can be 
 induced not only to again give classes for it 
 (already tried in vain) but also themselves to 
 take it up and exhibit it, the genuine old 
 Surrey fowl will soon be a thing of the past. 
 
 There is another point, always forgotten by 
 those who bring these wholesale accusations, 
 and make such comparisons between the present 
 and the past. That is, the differ- 
 Difference ^^'■^ ^^ markets. In the old days 
 in the demand and supply were small ; 
 
 Maxket. ^q^ they are enormous, and the 
 
 great mass of both is for a cheap 
 product, of necessarily inferior quality. As 
 already hinted, there is no market practically 
 for fowls at the best French prices ; it is not 
 therefore reasonable to expect, at far lower 
 figure, equal birds. But going back only to 
 1865, in that year we personally heard the late 
 Mr. John Baily, whose authority is well known, 
 state at a dinner that the price then and for 
 years past commanded by good early spring 
 Surrey chickens was "four guineas per dozen" ^ 
 or 7s. each. The supply was small, the breed 
 
 was still to be had for it, and the price sure, 
 and relatively equal to at least gs. each now. 
 That price will still obtain as good birds — nay, 
 a less price will do so, and in far larger quan- 
 tities than would have been possible formerly. 
 Such is the work exhibitions have done. But it 
 is hot reasonable, when meat is 60 per cent, 
 dearer than then, to expect that chickens, 
 meant to be sold for very much lower prices, 
 should" equal such as Mr. Baily spoke of. At 
 the Table Poultry Show in December, 1899, 
 however, we saw many pairs of fatted fowls at 
 14s. per couple — the same price ; and one of 
 the foremost West End poulterers told us that 
 no better fowls, if as good, could ever have 
 been found. 
 
 We have discussed this question in some 
 detail, because it is an important one in itself, 
 and also because there really are serious points 
 
 for concern in connection with it. 
 Practical If '^ is matter for regret that a' 
 Bemediea. veteran judge should have shown so 
 
 much want of moderation in discuss- 
 ing it, it is not matter for regret that he should 
 have raised it ; and even his method may 
 perhaps enforce its consideration as more moder- 
 ate treatment might not have done. The practical 
 issue is to find remedies for so much as admits 
 of remedy. It is easy to say that none is 
 possible ; but the contrary is shown by expe- 
 rience. We have shown that points now 
 proved injurious, were first adopted as utility 
 points ; it is not impossible, if' general opinion 
 can be carried along with the change, so to 
 modify the standards as to remove most of the 
 evils now found. Beyond a certain point we 
 cannot of course go. The best show specimen 
 can rarely be the best layer ; for it must be 
 judged by the outward, while laying " is an 
 unseen and unknown point so far as showing is 
 concerned. If careless in-breeding does impair 
 constitution, that too we cannot check in a 
 show pen ; we can only teach methods, as in 
 the next chapter, by which such evils may be 
 avoided. But all these problems need not 
 trouble us miich, since the farmer and the 
 feeder mainly prefer crosses, for many reasons, 
 and in the first cross most of these evils dis- 
 appear ; moreover, we aim also to teach him how 
 to breed fowls upon his own utility lines, from 
 the stock the fancier provides. After you have 
 scoffed at the latter to your heart's content, and 
 though his very best show specimens may not 
 be good layers, possibly — some of them are — 
 we shall still find in practice that tite fancier is 
 getting eggs when the farmer gets hardly any, 
 and that the fowls he kills for his own table are 
 better than most which are bought in the shops. 
 
l82 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 But yet it is desirable, and it is certainly- 
 possible, to modify points in a standard which 
 are now known to have a bad effect. Let us 
 
 briefly summarise the chief :^- 
 Desirable I- A Superabundance of loose 
 
 Changes. plumage is now known to cause poor 
 
 laying and coarse skin ; and exces- 
 sive leg-feather and vulture-hocks have proved 
 correlative with deficiency of breast. Effort would 
 probably be now wasted upon the Cochin, which 
 can no longer be considered a utility fowl ; but 
 attempt should certainly be made so to alter 
 the standard as to restore and encourage tight 
 plumage, moderate feather, absence of hocks, 
 and length of body as points in the Brahma. 
 
 2. Excessive comb is now known to be 
 directly injuring all the Mediterranean races, so 
 far as England is concerned. It has been 
 deplored by every standard writer upon Leg- 
 horns, and several upon Minorcas and Andalu- 
 sians and Anconas, and compels breeders to 
 dub many of their breeding males. It could 
 easily be checked by setting a limit, and deduct- 
 ing points for excess beyond. Being convinced 
 that many sketches of these birds, by artists, 
 really exceeded Nature, and thus increased the 
 evil by setting a pattern beyond the birds 
 themselves, we asked one of the stewards of the 
 London Dairy Show for 1899 to withdraw for 
 us four prize-winners of the Minorcas and 
 largest-combed Leghorns. Adopting as a 
 standard measure the distance from centre of 
 eye to point of beak in each bird, we found that 
 only one of the, four birds reached twice that 
 distance, from centre of eye to the top of the 
 tallest spike in the comb; all the others had 
 something to spare within that measure, which 
 will cover nine-tenths of all present prize- 
 winners, though we see drawings which nieasure 
 two and a quarter times, and even two and a 
 half IL would be perfectly easy to define that 
 no comb should exceed the twice, in vertical 
 height, and that for any more, points should be 
 deducted. Leghorns would be better set at 
 rather less than twice ; but we would dread 
 violent changes, and trust to the steady influ- 
 ence of the penalised points for excess. This 
 would affect hardly a bird of to-day, and yet 
 certainly act gently and steadily towards 
 diminishing the comb. 
 
 3. All breeds of fowl specially valuable for 
 the table, and turkeys, would be the better for 
 points in the standard to be deducted for want 
 of length in the breast-bone. To increase this is 
 almost the chief point wanted in many table 
 fowls, as we have found them at exhibitions 
 during the last few years. 
 
 We do not think that such moderate changes 
 
 as these should be hopeless, and they would be 
 very far-reaching ; much more so than those 
 who have not studied the subject would suppose. 
 There is encouragement for such hopes in what 
 has been done in America, where exhibition 
 
 poultry are now bred and shown by 
 Fancy and standards framed nearer to utility 
 Utility in lines. It is only in England that 
 America. the Brahma has become a Cochin ; 
 
 in America it has still the long 
 •body and moderate leg-feather and close plum- 
 age which it had in older days with us, and is 
 still a magnificent layer and table fowl. There 
 the Leghorn still has a moderate comb, and 
 pens produce their 215 eggs a year. The 
 general result is noteworthy, in the vast increase 
 of the poultry industry. Stock birds are sold 
 to the farmers by thousands annually, and the 
 farmers go to the breeders on a scale utterly 
 unknown in England as yet, providing a 
 steady market at good prices, which is far the 
 best and most profitable support for a pursuit 
 like poultry breeding. Yet in some respects 
 the Americans are more "fancy" even than 
 ourselves, and will disqualify for a hidden 
 feather not visible on the surface, where an 
 English judge would take no notice whatever. 
 There is the sarfte system of exhibition, and of 
 judging by fixed outward points ; it is simply a 
 question of modifying the judging, in quite 
 moderate degree and in certain definite direc- 
 tions shown to be required. 
 
 We have not mentioned crests, because we 
 doubt if any crested fowl really is suitable in 
 general for the British climate, nor are we 
 satisfied that the evils alleged of the present 
 large crests are as stated. If it were necessary, 
 and opinion can be rallied to the necessity, 
 excess could be checked by diminishing the 
 points allotted to crest, and increasing those 
 deducted for want of size or symmetry. All 
 we are concerned about here is to point out that 
 such evils — real or only imaginary — are not 
 necessarily inseparable, as alleged, from judging 
 by fixed outward points, but are definitely 
 remediable by improving the defined standard 
 for judging. It is to these practical, definite 
 directions that effort should be directed ; and 
 the default of the majority of the earlier judges 
 in such directions, at a time when unusually 
 great power lay in their own hands, is the 
 more regrettable, because judicious effort then 
 might have prevented much which it is far 
 harder to remedy now. 
 
 Another real and growing evil is the increas- 
 ing tendency to split varieties in two by mating 
 up different pens to produce the two sexes. 
 The reasons for this are explained in our next 
 
REAL EVILS OF THE POULTRY FANCY. 
 
 183 
 
 chapter; briefly, they lie in insisting upon 
 colours and markings for cock and hen which 
 Nature does not permit to be correlated, or 
 
 produced by the same parents. This 
 Double also could be remedied, but can 
 
 Matings. only be remedied, by modifying the 
 
 standards so as to describe really 
 correlated colours and markings. If this could 
 only be done, we know of no reform which 
 would have such n^fe^ifold good effects upon 
 poultry breeding generally ; and the recent and 
 growing agitation in America for " single 
 matings " may perhaps bear some fruit, though 
 we are not sanguine. It should, however, be 
 pointed out that this evil, grave as it is, affects 
 the welfare of the poultry fancy itself, by driving 
 people out of it in discouragement (as it has 
 notoriously done), far more than it does the 
 practical usefulness of fowls ; since the latter can 
 easily be kept and bred of one of the sexual 
 sub-varieties alone. The evil effects from the 
 " utility " side then almost disappear. 
 
 There are yet other evils now connected 
 with the poultry fancy to which one cannot shut 
 one's eyes. When fowls come to be looked 
 
 upon in certain' circles as mere 
 other Evils marketable investments, or as in- 
 and Abuses, struments for exciting competitions 
 
 in which great money interests are 
 at stake ; when, in fact, they are shown by any- 
 one for mere pecuniary advantage alone, the 
 proper purpose of poultry exhibition is per- 
 verted, exhibition is abused, and evil cannot but 
 result. A new kind of poultry society often 
 met with now — the keen and business-looking 
 men who combine exhibiting with extensive 
 dealing, and judging, and borrowing, and lend- 
 ing, and " advice " for which fees are charged, and 
 other ways of making money — are not altogether 
 pleasant to reflect upon. Such men can rarely 
 be called true fanciers, though some of them, 
 with all their faults, certainly are. Evils of this 
 kind too, however, affect the poultry fancy 
 itself more than the utility of poultry, for the 
 birds these men exhibit to death do not enter 
 the stock of the country. Those of them who 
 are also breeders, may do some harm by in- 
 breeding carried on without knowledge, and by 
 that early breeding which has done so much to 
 sap constitutional vigour ; and these ill-services 
 to utility are shared by others, real fanciers, 
 who ought to know better. Such evils we can 
 only hope to check by the spread of better 
 knowledge. Thus it is that we must strive to 
 teach some how to breed systematically without 
 the evils of incestuous alliances ; to enforce upon 
 others the strong reasons for avoiding summer 
 shows, and even the stock of their usual sup- 
 
 porters ; to urge upon all breeders and fanciers 
 of the true stamp the study and sedulous avoid- 
 ance of the class of shows particularly affected 
 by the shadier class of exhibitors and judges. 
 If this class of really worthless exhibitions, 
 which any amateur can easily learn about for 
 himself with a little inquiry and experience, 
 could only be extinguished by such want of 
 popular support and the growth of public 
 opinion, and good local shows substituted, for 
 local breeders only, like the district vegetable 
 and flower shows so common in England, quite 
 appreciable aid would be given to the cultivation 
 of useful poultry. 
 
 Direct effort can also be made, and we are 
 glad to know is being made, to "improve the 
 useful qualities of pure-bred poultry. As 
 already observed, this improve- 
 Work of the ment in useful qualities belongs 
 "Utility" properly to those who. want 
 
 Poultry Club. poultry for those qualities, and 
 the field has always been open to 
 them. The "Utility" Poultry Club was 
 founded in 1897, its primary object being "to 
 encourage the breeding of pure and cross, breeds 
 for utility purposes." It provides classes for 
 naturally fed as well as crammed table poultry, 
 for eggs of various colours, and for systems of 
 packing and marketing. It has another very 
 interesting feature in direct " laying competi- 
 tions," pens of fowls from different members 
 being started on the same day in small yards 
 and fed under the same conditions, the results 
 of one or two or more months' competition 
 being published. The Club also provides 
 skilled advice for members, facilitates " change 
 of blood " from good laying strains, and has 
 been greatly instrumental- in stimulating the 
 cultivation and advertising for sale, of strains of 
 pure breeds bred specially for laying purposes. 
 This is really practical effort, which has already 
 produced result. We need hardly say that 
 all the leading members of this useful body 
 were drawn from the much-maligned poultry 
 exhibitors, and that their utility fowls were bred 
 from exhibition stock. The honorary secretary 
 of the " Utility " Poultry Club is Mr. R. W. 
 Home, 49, Gloucester Gardens, Hyde Park, 
 London, W., of whom all further particulars 
 may be obtained. 
 
 Exhibitions of dead table poultry offer 
 another very practicable method of effecting 
 improvement in table qualities. In France such 
 exhibitions were established by market breeders 
 and feeders, whose proper business it is ; but 
 in England these classes had utterly neglected 
 all matters of the kind. Again it was the 
 much maligned "fanciers" who came to the 
 
i84 
 
 THE' BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 rescue, and established classes of this descrip- 
 tion, but for years utterly without support from 
 those who should have been interested. De- 
 sirous to do their best, they be- 
 Exhibitions gan by appointing poulterers as 
 
 of , judges, and tried to fill classes 
 
 Table Poultry. t,y entering' themselves ; but they 
 could not compete with practical 
 feeders and their practical knowledge, and their 
 exhibits were derided, while the prizes went 
 to just such large and "coarse" specimens as 
 move Sir Henry Thompson's wrath. By de- 
 grees fanciers were associated as judges ; then 
 the judging at once improved, and with it the 
 fowls too, and these shows began to spread. At 
 length the poulterers also have come to aid the 
 movement, and the Table Poultry Show at the 
 London Agricultural Hall in December is now 
 one of the features of the year. But it was the 
 fanciers who initiated this movement, and 
 wofked at it for years against sore discourage^ 
 ment, and without support from those on whose 
 behalf it is supposed to be that they are so 
 persistently attacked. It is they, also, who 
 provide the stock' which produces the best birds 
 now shown ; and one of the most significant 
 
 features of these shows has been the steady 
 displacement or disappearance of the so-called 
 " Surrey fowls," for avowed (or unavowed) 
 crosses between the fancier's pure breeds, and 
 even by the pure breeds themselves. 
 
 As usual, then, the real truth about this 
 question lies between the two extremes. The 
 work of the exhibitor is absolutely' essential 
 to the poultry industry, and cannot 
 Practical be dispensed with. He has done 
 Conclusions, most valuable work, and is doing it 
 still, though his motives are his own. 
 Nevertheless, besides some serious evils in the 
 present exhibition system, manifest injury is 
 being done by the present judging in some of 
 the classes. Judging must be by outward 
 points ; yet some of these points, once adopted 
 from • good motives, are now known to be 
 pernicious. But the remedy does not lie in 
 wholesale tirades, which, on the contrary, 
 obscure the real issues, and actually prevent 
 what ought to be practicable reforms, or the 
 alteration of present judging in certain definite 
 points. On these should attention be fixed, 
 and to these effort directed ; and such reforms 
 we would earnestly urge upon all concerned. 
 
i85 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PEDIGREE OR LINE BREEDING. 
 
 EVERY desired quality which has become 
 characteristic of a race or strain of animals 
 
 is the result of repeated and continuous se- 
 lection, year after year, of breeding stock which 
 possesses that particular quality in more or 
 less perfection. This is equally true whether we 
 consider some purely " fancy " point such as the 
 pencilling of a Hamburgh pullet, or some useful 
 quality such as the laying of over i6o eggs in a 
 year, or the profuse milk yield of a highly bred 
 Jersey cow. Such a point may sometimes 
 occur occasionally, or as if by accident, in some 
 individual animal ; but if it occurs habitually, as 
 one mark of a strain or family, it has been bred 
 into it by many generations of selection. Some 
 seem to think that such is not the case with 
 wild animals ; but in reality it is in their case 
 even more so. Darwin has taught us that the 
 " natural selection " effected by surroundings, 
 food, struggle for bare existence, and competi- 
 tion amongst surplus numbers, is most severe ; 
 it is unmodified by pity or caprice ; and Nature 
 does not vary her methods save in long periods 
 and by imperceptible degrees. She does not 
 select like man, making one choice this year and 
 another the next, but her conditions are the 
 same for generations, and often for ages ; hence 
 the wonderful uniformity and permanence of 
 her patterns, as in the plumage of a partridge 
 when uncrossed by any foreign strain. 
 
 It is in this sense that the proverbial phrase 
 of the breeder — " Like produces like " — is true. 
 The "family likeness" of children to their 
 parents is familiar to all. In most 
 Features cases it can be clearly traced, and 
 
 ■b^^"" it can be seen that it does not lie 
 
 Inheritance. as a rule in one feature only. In 
 other cases some very strongly 
 marked feature is the predominant mark, and in 
 others no obvious likeness can be traced at all, 
 while there may be obvious" mental or moral 
 resemblances. Supposing the father to have a 
 pronounced Roman nose, the feature will prob- 
 ably be recognised in a portion of his offspring, 
 while it may fail in other children, whose bodies, 
 however, show other resemblances, complicated 
 perhaps by stronger resemblances to the mother, 
 
 Y 
 
 or to other members of the families of both 
 parents. So much is apparent to all ; and in 
 many cases, where no obvious resemblance can 
 be traced to the direct parents, a very striking 
 one often appears to the grandparents, or even 
 to other ancestors still farther back. Thus we 
 see that features have a greater or less tendency 
 to reappear in posterity, even beyond the next 
 immediate step in the family pedigree ; and 
 some extraordinary features, such as the posses- 
 sion of six digits instead of five,. are often thus 
 transmitted through successive crosses with 
 great pertinacity. Many facts of this kind go 
 to prove that every feature in every animal has 
 some tendency to repeat itself, and would do so, 
 more or less, were it not counteracted by other 
 tendencies. If one human parent has black hair 
 and the other brown, the black-haired parent 
 has a tendency to cause that feature in his 
 children ; but this is modified or counteracted 
 by that of the other to transmit brown ; and 
 both are modified by the colour of the hair in 
 ancestors farther back. And the result here in 
 any case is impossible of prediction, because 
 there are so many discordant tendencies, and 
 marriages have taken place quite irrespective of 
 the-colour of the hair. 
 
 The breeding which is to succeed in produc- 
 ing valuable animals, consists in throwing all 
 these tendencies into one desired direction, so 
 
 that the influence of remote ances- 
 ^^at tors, of great-grandparents and 
 
 the Breeder grandparents, as well as of the 
 does. parents, combine towards the desired 
 
 point. Let us take a case. It would 
 be very easy to find a fowl which, from some 
 cross with the Dorking generations back, and 
 never repeated, exhibited the fifth toe. Though 
 really due to the long-back cross, such a fowl 
 may be so rare in that farmyard stock of to- 
 day, that we may almost call "it an individual 
 variation ; however, we have got it. Breeding 
 from such a hen it is probable that a few (and 
 only a few) of her chickens may show the fifth 
 toe, the greater part reverting to the common 
 type. Mating a five-toed cockerel of this 
 produce to a five-toed pullet, the number of five- 
 
i86 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 toed progeny 'will be increased ; but still (sup- 
 posing, as we have done, no appreciable Dorking 
 blood in the farmyard), not so very many ; and 
 the four-toed progeny will still have little 
 tendency to produce five toes. iBut from these 
 five-toed chickens again select a pair to breed 
 together ; we shall now find the tendency much 
 increased ; probably half the progeny might be 
 five-toed, and even the four-toed ones would 
 produce more or less five-toed chickens. In the 
 next generation the tendency would be so 
 increased that probably very few four-toed 
 chickens would occur ; and in a generation or 
 two more a four-toed bird would be as rare as 
 the five-toed one originally was. We have 
 
 accumulated into one direction the 
 A strain. transmissive tendencies of many 
 
 successive generations, and we have 
 now a strain, a race which we can depend upon 
 with almost absolute certainty to produce birds 
 with five toes. 
 
 Now suppose, we will not say the first hen 
 herself, but even our first pair of birds from her, 
 with five toes, to be still alive after six years, as 
 might easily be the case, we might probably 
 select from our last progeny a pair that as 
 nearly as possible resembled them both in that 
 and other points : we might be unable to see 
 any difference at all between them as to the 
 point in question. But their breeding value 
 would differ enormously. The first pair have 
 no tendency to be relied upon to any extent ; 
 the last pair can be depended upon as regards 
 nearly every chick. The first gives us nothing 
 beyond individual features, on which we were 
 able, by care and system, to build a " strain " ; 
 the other pair represents work done, a point 
 fixed, the " strain," which only requires ordinary 
 care to preserve its character. 
 
 Breeding for one point only is thus an abso- 
 lutely simple matter ; but every fowl is bred for 
 many points, which must be combined. Here 
 
 the difficulty begins, and the novice 
 The usually finds that as he attempts to 
 
 Breeder's deal with any one of those points 
 
 which need improvement, he is apt 
 
 to lose in some other "already 
 attained. The reason for this is of course the 
 fact that the faults as well as the good points in 
 a parent tend to be reproduced ; and it is 
 impossible to say when the tendency to revert 
 to any past fault apparently overcome is prac- 
 t>ically lost ; absolutely lost it never is, and the 
 fault may crop up again on any provocation, 
 after even twenty generations of absence. And 
 the novice in breeding is almost constantly 
 offering such provocation towards the reappear- 
 ance of apparently banished faults. As each 
 
 Difficulty 
 
 defect becomes distinctly apparent to him, he is 
 apt to select or buy a bird to correct it. Every 
 time he does this some influence really is 
 exerted, and if this were followed up the 
 ground gained might be secured. But little is 
 done to^z.KA% fixing the point by only one step ; 
 while the following season some other point 
 probably appears to need correction, and he goes 
 off" after that. And so he goes' on, apparently 
 getting little farther at the best, and too often 
 confronted by the unexpected appearance of 
 new faults which fill him with as much amaze- 
 ment as despair. 
 
 The greatest service Mr. Darwin ever con- 
 ferred upon breeders was to accoufit for these 
 unexpected reappearances of long-banished 
 defects, and to explain the kind of 
 Effects of " provocation," as we have termed 
 Crossing. it, that recalled them into being. 
 He clearly showed, by a large 
 amount of evidence, that the mere fact of cross- 
 ing between two entirely alien families has a 
 peculiar tendency of itself to produce reversion 
 to such long-lost characters. Thus it is that 
 when two different breeds of poultry are crossed, 
 there is always more or less production of that 
 black-red plumage which it is believed was the 
 colour of the wild jungle race of fowls ; or, when 
 two non-sitting breeds are crossed, there is often 
 a considerable recurrence in the progeny of the 
 long-lost instinct of incubation. In less degree, 
 but still in a very great degree, the same applies 
 to unrelated families of the same breed, which 
 have tendencies to different defects, or even 
 which have gone through a different course of 
 breeding (as illustrated presently) in regard to 
 the points bred for. We knew a case in which 
 the mating with first-rate Spanish hens of a 
 cockerel of the finest quality from another 
 strain, produced an amount of red in face 
 sufficient to make a genuine Spanish fancier 
 tear his hair. This and many similar occur- 
 rences Mr. Darwin has made perfectly clear, 
 upon the simple principle that the mere act of 
 crossing — the mere fact that it is a cross in the 
 strain at all — has a strong tendency to cause 
 the reappearance of long-lost characters, which 
 will generally of course be bad ones from the 
 breeder's point of view, and this in great degree 
 independent of the individual merits of the 
 birds crossed. 
 
 Successful breeding, therefore, such as builds 
 up a real "strain," or maintains a high standard 
 of excellence already attained, will consist 
 mainly of two factors. We must study on 
 the one hand such a course of selection as will 
 work steadily towards the desired end, with- 
 out frittering away the ground gained by 
 
COURSE OF SELECTION. 
 
 187 
 
 unsystematic little side-efforts which leave no 
 ■permanent mark. And we must also work out 
 such a course of breeding, or family 
 TheFactors mating, as will protect us from 
 Biesding. those dangers which Mr. Darwin 
 has so clearly explained. 
 The first of these factors will appeal most 
 directly to the eye and to our individual 
 choice, and we will take it first, beginning with 
 a little consideration respecting differences in 
 faults. There are many which a breeder half 
 anticipates, or dreads to see in his chickens, but, 
 when he does find them, puts down to his own 
 bad luck or want of skill. There are others 
 which, if he found, he would not account for on 
 that ground, but would justifiably conclude that 
 he had been swindled as regards the stock itself. 
 In Brahmas he may dread want of pencilling, 
 or colour, or striping, but he has no dread that 
 he will find a Cochin's single comb. Here, then, 
 is a difference, and it must have a cause. 
 Thinking over it — and every real breeder must 
 learn to think about things — he will discover 
 that the difference lies in this : That the pea- 
 comb has long been regarded as such an abso- 
 lute requirement in a Brahma, that for many 
 generations birds which did not possess it were 
 never bred from. It was not so once ; we can 
 remember single combs, which were figured 
 occasionally in the earlier books. But now, for 
 generations not one single link in the chain of 
 succession has ever been dropped as regards the 
 pea-comb, ahd every one of these generations 
 has added to its fixedness. Such an unbroken 
 chain of succession, in which parents, grand- 
 parents, great-grandparents, and so on, all add 
 their respective tendencies towards the desired 
 point, is therefore what we require to fix our 
 good points. 
 
 Here of course the breeder's difficulty begins ; 
 for he has to keep up the continuous attention 
 and selection necessary for any particular 
 point, consistently with the claims 
 Course of of Other points also wished for, the 
 Selection. whole being too seldom found 
 together, in perfection. It is a hard 
 task enough ; still the true principle, and the 
 proper course, are quite clear, and utterly 
 opposed to such arbitrary and piecemeal work as 
 was alluded to above. He must first consider 
 all his principal desired " points " in regard to 
 their comparative difficulty and value. As a rule, 
 the difficulty of a point very much determines 
 its value, and it-varies much. Some points are 
 obtained with comparative ease, and are readily 
 transmitted even from parents, so that a single 
 mating will produce- them in a fair proportion 
 of chickens others will need years of work, and 
 
 one unhappy mating may upset much work 
 already done. Comparing many breeds and 
 varieties, we have found that about four points 
 will in nearly all of them cover those which 
 cause real difficulty and require serious breeding 
 for, those beyond four giving little anxiety or 
 trouble. Let us consider these, therefore, and 
 suppose that, taking all things into account, we 
 have determined their order in difficulty and 
 value, to be expressed by the letters A, B, C, D. 
 The breeder must, then, take first of all the 
 point A, and if possible also B, and fastening his 
 attention chiefly upon these, keep it there ; in his 
 very first mating, and ever afterwards, giving of 
 course such heed as may be also possible to C, 
 and then to D and other less material features, 
 but always keeping as chief in his selections 
 first A and then B. Thus out' of his first 
 produce the best are selected primarily in regard 
 to A and B ; next to these choosing from the 
 best in C and D also, but not allowing choice 
 for these to overcome the choice for A and B. 
 That is what we mean by our " course of 
 selection" 
 
 As a corollary to this, for the first year or 
 two at least, the breeding must only be froni a 
 few of the best. If, as is probable, more hens 
 are wanted merely as mates in a pen, they 
 should be of some variety which is distinguish- 
 able, or other means taken that their eggs are 
 not hatched with the others, such as the re- 
 cording nest-boxes presently mentioned. With- 
 out such precautions, where inferior hens of 
 the same variety are used, if the cock is first- 
 rate and of strong influence, or " prepotent " 
 (as such strong transmitting power is called), 
 they may " throw" a few good birds — the word 
 exactly expresses the chance nature of such a 
 result. The novice is apt to think this a clear 
 gain ; and in the sense that he may have a bird 
 or two more to sell, it perhaps is so ; but we 
 consider here only the breeding point of view. 
 From that, it will be seen that unless this chance 
 progeny can be clearly distinguished, and only 
 reserved for sale, it puts back the power and 
 value of his strain, and is a loss of ground and 
 valuable time ; since he may breed from some 
 of the birds thus produced, and then they 
 " throw back " or revert to their poorer parent, 
 and he has lost ground. At the earlier stages 
 especially, a man who really means to breed 
 good stock for himself can only afford to breed 
 from the best he has, even though it be a single 
 pair of birds ; such a pair are indeed, as we 
 will show presently, if absolutely healthy afld 
 vigorous, of themselves sufficient to found a 
 strain. Neither can he afford to sell his really 
 best birds at an early period. Later on he may 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 sell stock far more perfect in points, and really 
 of higher breeding value too, because his work 
 will then be largely done ; but in the earlier 
 stages he is losing the very work itself, if he 
 loses the best embodiments of it. 
 
 The second and, still more, the third year's 
 breeding will show a marked advance ; but it 
 should be understood where this is to be sought 
 
 and how measured. If our breeder 
 Effects of was able to afford first-rate speci- 
 such a mens at the start, there may not be 
 
 '^"'^f^- one chicken apparently a bit better 
 
 now. But the proportion of good 
 ones in the produce will be increased, and it is 
 this proportion which is the chief test of real 
 progress ; moreover, as this increases, in the 
 long run the " very best of the best " must l?e 
 better too, which bears on the question of prize- 
 wirming. In any case, out of those good in 
 points A and B we shall have much less difficulty 
 now — perhaps very little — in selecting specimens 
 good, or fairly good, also in C and even D. Thus 
 we reap the advantage already of never .dropping 
 the main points A and B. Though imperfectly 
 fixed, even yet, they are so far fixed that we 
 find we have a wider choice in regard to C and 
 D as well ; and it will be more and more so in 
 each succeeding generation. It will even be 
 found that when the most cardinal points are 
 thoroughly secured, a little may be occasionally 
 risked ; and this is another great advantage of 
 such a course of breeding as here described. 
 Our points A and B will have become at last so 
 fixed that a bird a few degrees worse in one of 
 them may occasionally be bred from for the 
 sake of some other point badly wanted. But 
 let the nature and reason of this procedure be 
 understood. It is simply that the main point, 
 known to be so fixed, is probably only accident- 
 ally somewhat deficient in the bird so chosen, 
 which is therefore trusted to revert to the more 
 perfect type in his or her progeny. Such a step 
 should only be taken with caution, and never 
 repeated through two generations ; nor should a 
 bird absolutely bad in point A or B be so used. 
 It is only that one not quite so good in the first 
 points may be occasionally risked ; and that 
 even so it is a risk should not be forgotten. 
 
 Such is what we have termed " a course of 
 selection " in forming a strain, and in default of 
 which there is little deserving the name of a 
 
 strain at all. There is just one 
 Different more point about it which is worth 
 
 Courses and mention, especially as it will lead us 
 their Eesults. naturally to the other of the two 
 great factors referred to above. It 
 will be obvious that two breeders, in starting to 
 breed the same variety, may adopt "courses" 
 
 somewhat different, led thereto by the tenden- 
 cies of their original stock. Suppose two men 
 starting in Buff Leghorns. One may have birds 
 from a stock in which much colour-work has 
 been done, but good combs are rare ; while the 
 other's first stock may be generally good in 
 comb, but very rarely indeed good in colour. 
 Both would probably place colour and comb as 
 the first two points ; but comb might probably 
 be the A of the one, and colour of the other 
 This difference in the course of selection has a 
 consequence whenever such two strains are 
 crossed, which we have never seen pointed out 
 clearly. We will suppose both breeders to have 
 bred for some years, with care and success ; then 
 at the last their birds will probably be to all 
 intents and purposes alike in appearance, equally 
 good now both in colour and in comb. We 
 proceed to cross these strains — a bird from each, 
 and both good birds, assuming that the blood 
 has never been mingled before, but that it is 
 what is known as a " raw" cross. The result of 
 the cross — merely as a cross — in conformity both 
 with what Mr. Darwin ha,s taught us and with 
 wide experience, is more or less reversion to the 
 ancestral characteristics ; and here these are 
 governed largely by the two " courses of selec- 
 tion" in the two strains. In one the more 
 remote tendency is to a bad comb, in the other 
 to a bad colour. The result of the cross is 
 therefore very likely to be, in the first progeny, 
 a great deal of reversion to both these faults, so 
 sedulously bred out. 
 
 We thus see the importance of finding out 
 that a bird purchased, for " fresh blood" is not 
 only good in itself, but the product of a " course 
 of selection" similar to that in the 
 Fresh Blood, home yard ; that it has not only 
 reached about the same point, but 
 reached it in about the same way. It is this 
 which throws light upon a very common disaster, 
 after some rash use of fresh blood from another 
 yard. We find something in our stock needs 
 remedy, though secondary to the all-important 
 point to which our own chief attention has been 
 directed. We find a cockerel that gives us what 
 we want, and also seems all we could wish for 
 in what is to us the all-important point. All, 
 therefore, seems safe, and it may be so — happy 
 for us if it is ! But, on the other hand, the bird 
 may be almost the only one in the other yard 
 that has our own point A near perfection — only 
 a happy and rare exception. If so, we shall 
 have trouble, for his progeny will tend to the 
 more average and lower standard (in that point) 
 of the yard from which he comes. Or the matter 
 may be looked at in another way. The pro- 
 ducts of any carefully bred strain are the 
 
BREEDING IN LINE. 
 
 189 
 
 embodied result of a number of characteristic 
 tendencies struggling together, some stronger 
 and some weaker. Some of these have only 
 been made strongly predominant by the long 
 and repeated selection of the breeder ; others, 
 on the contrary, regarded by him as defects, 
 have been kept down or made subservient — 
 what he calls "bred out." Still, as subservient 
 tendencies they still exist ; he does not know in 
 what way or in what proportion. But when we 
 introduce a sudden cross from another yard, 
 quite a new set of characteristics are introduced 
 into the struggle for predominance. It is no 
 matter for surprise if some of these combine 
 with those of the home strain in new ways, and 
 that so one or other of the subservient or sup- 
 pressed tendencies may acquire fresh power. 
 For some or all of these reasons, a cross with 
 totally alien blood too often entails more or 
 less reversion to something long left behind 
 and overcome — something, we do not know 
 what ; and so far it has a distinct tendency to 
 undo (for the time) what may be the work of 
 years already done. 
 
 These facts and their reasons must modify 
 very considerably what used to be insisted upon 
 in all the earlier works upon systematic breeding, 
 concerning the necessity for continually intro- 
 ducing • " fresh blood " into a strain. Such 
 instructions are never pressed now by authorities 
 who have ever bred any animal whatever with 
 success. On the contrary, it is well known that 
 the introduction of such fresh blood into any 
 strain which has once been brought to high 
 excellence, is a most serious matter. In small 
 yards it may be necessary, from inability in such 
 small space to preserve sufficient independent 
 lines of breeding, which alone can supersede it 
 for any length of time. In large yards, which 
 are able to do this, the necessity should be rare, 
 provided proper care is taken to stamp out 
 diseased or weakly stock. Whenever the neces- 
 sity does arise, be it often or seldom, no pains 
 are too great in the way of inquiry or personal 
 visit to the other yard, or anything that may 
 possibly give information, to ascertain what the 
 purchased bird is likely to breed, or if any 
 known tendencies to particular faults exist in 
 the strain. Having, done all that is possible in 
 this direction, it is best in general, where feasible, 
 to let the purchase be a hen or pullet. Then, if 
 the experiment be even an utter failure (as on 
 rare occasions it may be), the rest of the yard is 
 not tainted by it, and in the more usual result 
 of partial failure and partial success, the wasters 
 can be discarded without further harm, and the 
 more perfect progeny bred back to the home 
 strain with success. If a cockerel is introduced 
 
 he is better mated with one or two hens most 
 carefully selected, making up the pen if required 
 with others whose eggs will not be confused with 
 theirs. Then his produce will be similarly 
 selected, and " bred back " to the strain by the 
 general method presently explained. In all 
 cases birds from the cross should be selected for 
 further breeding with unusual care, with even 
 most rigorous severity, because the newly intro- 
 duced tendencies have become fresh dangers to 
 be guarded against. 
 
 A yard known to be more or less allied in 
 blood is much less dangerous. Thus, a bird 
 may be bought from some one to whom eggs or 
 stock have been previously sold, or from a yard 
 to which the strain partially or wholly owed its 
 origin some years before. Two breeders, who 
 are well acquainted with each other's yards and 
 sell or exchange birds every now and then, can 
 help each other materially in this way, keeping 
 up enough common blood to remove most of 
 the danger from the mere cross, and so irhposing 
 n® task beyond that of ordinary selection alone.. 
 To this interchange of stock amongst five or six 
 breeders in Bristol, was chiefly due the excel- 
 lence and vigour of the Spanish fowl during so 
 many years. To reap such benefits, however, 
 neither party must strive to reap all of it, deny- 
 ing his brother any. Such foolish jealousy will 
 quite defeat its object, since there must be 
 mutual help, and a real willingness to give it, if 
 any real mutual benefit is to be secured. 
 
 It is most important, however, to understand 
 the manner in which, given only a sufficient 
 amount of room, line or pedigree breeding may 
 
 be carried on without a cross. The 
 Line genuine breeder cannot do without 
 
 Breeding. such line breeding ; while, on the 
 
 other hand, if "in-breeding," which 
 is allied to this, be carried on indiscriminately 
 or to excess, a limit is found in physical weak-, 
 ness, deterioration, or infertility. Darwin's 
 researches have made it doubtful whether this 
 is any necessary result of in-breeding in itself. 
 It appears, on the contrary, most probable that 
 the cause lies rather in the fact of both parents 
 having the same constitutional taint where there 
 is any at all ; such taint is therefore intensified, 
 like any other point possessed by both parents 
 alike. Where Nature's own severe selection for 
 greatest strength and vigour is carried outj there 
 are many proofs that much and repeated in- 
 breeding seems to cause no ill-efifect. But the 
 breeder cannot kill off in Nature's wholesale 
 way, and must fight the danger by other 
 methods. The essence of that danger lying in 
 two parents possessing the very same elements. 
 
igo 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Felch's 
 
 Breeding 
 
 Chart. 
 
 the union of own brothers and sisters should be 
 worst of all. Experience proves this to be the 
 case ; and two generations of such mating 
 in succession will generally work conspicuous 
 evil. The union of parent and offspring is 
 much less injurious, the offspring having only- 
 half the blood of one parent ; but this, too, 
 must be kept within limits. Other relation- 
 ships may be carried far, provided only that 
 variety be found between the blood of the 
 two individuals mated ; and by bearing this 
 principle in mind a 
 strain may be suc- 
 cessfully established 
 from two individuals 
 alone, and carried on 
 for years without a 
 cross. 
 
 Mr. I. K. Felch, 
 the veteran judge 
 and breeder of 
 America, rriany years 
 ago published in a 
 little bookof his, called 
 Poultry Culture, a 
 kindof chart 
 showing at 
 a glance the 
 main prin- 
 c i p 1 e on 
 which this should be 
 done. We have 
 evidence that this 
 chart has actually 
 been of practical 
 benefit to several well- 
 known breeders in 
 England, even as then 
 published ; but in 
 some subsequent cor- 
 respondence Mr. 
 Felch has kindly sent 
 us an improved form 
 of it, which we here 
 reproduce, making a 
 little further modi- 
 fication to make its meaning more clear. We 
 suppose the strain to originate from two in- 
 dividuals only, though in the case of fowls, 
 of course, several hens or pullets might be used 
 as one of the units. In that case, however, 
 all should be of the same breeding.* The 
 two original units must, of course, be perfectly 
 
 * It need hardly lie pointed out that in this case the scheme 
 may be carried out with less in-breeding at the first stages, as a 
 cockerel might be bred back to an aunt instead of to the mother. 
 But unless the hens or pullets are full sisters, the result will not 
 be the same or have the 'same certainty. Hence the utility 
 of the recording; nest-boxes mentioned further on. 
 
 Fig- 79-— Mr. Felch's Breeding Chart, 
 
 vigorous and healthy, and either unrelated or 
 only distantly related in blood. They should 
 always be from different yards, for it is found 
 that even change of ground has some effect in 
 producing that " different blood " which has so 
 much to do with avoiding constitutional disease. 
 Taking our two original units, then, Mr. Felch's 
 chart shows how they may be bred so as to 
 maintain health and vigour. 
 
 In reading this chart, every dotted line 
 means a female — i.e. a hen or pullet, and every 
 
 unbroken line a male. 
 Wherever two such 
 lines meet at a point 
 the circle at that point 
 denotes the produce 
 of the mating, bearing 
 a number distinguish- 
 ing it as a group or 
 product ; while the 
 fraction outside the 
 circle denotes the 
 mixture or proportion 
 in that product of the 
 blood of the two 
 original units from 
 which is bred the 
 strain. The first year, 
 for instance, the 
 original pair produce 
 group 2, whose blood 
 is half- and - half of 
 each. The second 
 year the original fe- 
 male, or one of them, 
 is bred to a cockerel 
 from group 2, and 
 the original male to 
 a pullet from group 
 2. Thus are produced 
 groups 3 and 4, each 
 of which possesses 
 three-fourths of the 
 blood of the unit on 
 its own side of the 
 diagram. Here begins 
 the real work of the breeder, since these mates 
 now taken from group 2 must be most care- 
 fully selected to type, according to that " course 
 of selection " which we have already discussed. 
 From the very first all depends upon this, 
 and, of course, the two original units have 
 been chosen with equal care, so far as money 
 and opportunity allowed. The third year a ' 
 cockerel from group 3 is mated with the 
 origmal hen to produce group 5, and pullets 
 from group 4 to the original male to produce 
 group 7, all of which possess seven-eighths of 
 
SINGLE AND DOUBLE MATING. 
 
 191 
 
 the blood on their own side, and are to be 
 rigorously selected true to type as before. 
 
 But the most noteworthy mating this year, 
 to which we would call special attention, is that 
 of a pullet or pullets from group 3, with a 
 cockerel from group 4, producing group 6. It 
 will be seen that all the members of group 6 
 possess equal or half-and-half blood from the 
 original parents, as much so as group 2. We 
 also mate a pullet from group 5 and a cockerel 
 from group 7, each of these owning seven-eighths 
 of the blood of one ancestor, and we again pro- 
 duce in group 10 a progeny whose blood is half- 
 and-half. Now suppose we had mated brothers 
 and sisters from group 2 to produce the half- 
 and-half blood and age of group 6, and brothers 
 and sisters from these to produce similar equality 
 of blood at the age of group 10, the result of 
 such incestuous in-breeding would have been 
 swift degeneracy. As it is, we have made our 
 matings from lines characterised mainly by the 
 original male and female, and yet preserved the 
 same mathematically exact equality of blood in 
 our group 10. A generation farther on we can 
 produce group 15 as shown, from groups 9 and 
 II ; or we might have mated groups 8 and 12 ; 
 or the produce of the former may be mated with 
 that of the latter. We have thus seen how it is 
 possible to keep up the half-and-half blood of a 
 cross, intact and exact, without any loss of size, 
 fertility, or vigour. 
 
 We also see plainly from this chart that by 
 the time we have reached the stage even of 
 group 10, we have got in our hands practically 
 
 three strains ; for while group 10 
 
 Three Strains possesses equal blood of both sides, 
 
 from group 8 has thirteen-sixteenths of 
 
 One stock. j-jig \Aood. of the hen, or practically 
 
 represents' the female line ; while 
 group 12, in like proportion, possesses the blood 
 of the male line. Yet all are related sufficiently 
 to prevent evil; and all have gone through the 
 same "course of selection" towards our own 
 fixed type. From this point we have ample 
 material to go on with indefinitely, and need not 
 pursue that matter farther. The bottom row of 
 groups simply shows some of the results in the 
 next generation. But one point more may be 
 illustrated. Suppose that for some reason — as 
 for special cockerel or pullet breeding- — we want 
 to establish also a line of sires in which pre- 
 dominates the blood of the original female. The 
 chart shows a cockerel from group 5 mated with 
 a pullet from group 3, and a cockerel from the 
 produce in group 8 mated with a pullet from 
 group 10. The result in group 13 gives us the 
 same proportions of blood, but derived through 
 a cockerel line of breeding. 
 
 Whenever a cross is necessary in a strain, 
 such a chart also shows the procedure that 
 should be followed. The cross is treated as a 
 new unit, and its produce re-mated back to the 
 home strain in the same way, carefully selecting 
 for the desired type as before. This is what 
 breeders and fanciers term " breeding back " to 
 a strain, and the philosophy of it can be clearly 
 understood from such a diagram as that before 
 us. Every cross thus involves more or less 
 breeding back to the " line " afterwards ; but 
 this need not be carried to the extent of inces- 
 tuous matings, or interfere with vigour in any 
 degree. The out-cross is not used as immediate 
 material, but to provide either pullets or cockerels 
 for really breeding into the strain the following 
 year. 
 
 We have now considered the two main 
 factors of line or pedigree breeding, as carried 
 on by those who really understand it and prac- 
 tise it with success ; but a few 
 Single Matings remarks should be added respect- 
 er ing the question usually described 
 Double Matings. ^g that of "single or double 
 matings." Did the exhibition 
 standard of the fancier for the two sexes of any 
 variety correspond with the relations Nature is 
 ever seeking to establish, the same mating 
 ought to produce birds of equal excellence in 
 both sexes. But unfortunately in many varieties 
 this is not so. The reason for this in most cases 
 is pretty obvious, primarily in the differences of 
 distribution in the colours in the two sexes 
 respectively, and secondarily in the propensity 
 of fanciers either to accentuate or to diminish 
 these differences. There are instances of his 
 doing each of these. 
 
 As a type of one case we will take the Dark 
 Brahma. This is a variety in which, like Dork- 
 ings, several colours in Game, Partridge Cochins, 
 etc., the colour is distributed in the hen amongst 
 small markings ; while in the cock it is collected 
 in large masses, of which the dark are mainly 
 upon the under, and the light coloured ones 
 upon the upper portions of the body. The 
 fancier has exaggerated this, and now seeks in 
 the pullet a uniform dark pencilling all over a 
 dirty white ground ; whilst for the cockerel he 
 wants a glossy solid black breast and fluff) with 
 nicely striped white hackles and clear wings. 
 The two, in this degree, are largely incompatible 
 as regards breeding from one pen. The nearest 
 we could come to it would be to mate with 
 pullets as described a cockerel with good striping 
 in the hackle and black breast, but the fluff 
 laced with a white edging. We might get some 
 really good pullets, such as won twelve years 
 
192 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 ago, though too dark for present fashion ; but a 
 majority of the cockerels would be either laced 
 with white on the breast or have white ticks at 
 the tips of the feathers there. This, then, is the 
 type of cockerel which corresponds to the type 
 of pullet sought, while the darker pullets corre- 
 spond with the type of cockerel sought. It is but 
 natural for the breeder to mate up his exhibition 
 or black-breasted cockerels with the darker 
 females, though deficient in marking, for 
 cockerel breeding ; whilst with his best-marked 
 and lighter pullets he mates a ticked or laced 
 •cockerel 'for pullet breeding. If he will insist 
 upon such strong contrast, he must do so ; but 
 one cannot but reflect how much better it would 
 be to recognise a nicely laced or evenly ticked 
 breast in the cockerel, as was once the case ; for 
 the practical result is that any variety, when 
 thus treated to excess, becomes practically two 
 breeds instead of one, to the confusion of the 
 novice, theinconvenience of those who have not 
 space enough for both, and the driving of many 
 out of that particular breed altogether. 
 
 As an example of the opposite tendency, to 
 obliterate natural sexual differences, the barred 
 Plymouth Rock may be cited. This fowl has 
 now been bred for a quarter of a century and 
 more, and all experience shows that the natural 
 correlation of the sexes is for the cockerel to 
 show a much lighter as well as more narrowly 
 barred plumage than the female, which is by 
 comparison coarser in marking and darker in 
 colour. Not much has yet been done as regards 
 scale of marking, though some progress has been 
 made in giving the females a smaller pattern ; 
 but persistent efforts have always been made to 
 lighten the females and darken the males. From 
 this upset of the natural relations we again 
 encounter the necessity for double matings, if 
 the best results are to be produced in the 
 greatest numbers. The laced Wyandottes, of 
 both colours, in which the natural relation is for 
 the cocks to be much darker in breast and less 
 open in lacing than the females, furnish another 
 instance of the craving of the fancier to obtain uni- 
 formity in the face of natural differences, which 
 has similarly involved a system of double mating. 
 
 Other instances, and their details, must be 
 left to their proper places, but two general 
 renfiarks may be added on this subject. We see 
 first the need there may be to pre- 
 Evils of serve a line of cockerels in the 
 
 Double female strain, or vice versA. The 
 
 Matings. manner of doing this has been 
 
 already described and illustrated by 
 reference to Mr. Felch's chart. Secondly, how- 
 ever, it must be insisted upon, and is self-evident, 
 that although it may be made necessary by the 
 
 demands of the fancier, such a .system of double 
 matings is in itself a sore evil, and all that can 
 be done should be done to keep it within 
 bounds. The male and female lines should not, 
 if possible, be allowed to become absolutely 
 divorced or separated, as it is in some cases. 
 Much can often be done if really attempted and 
 carried on through systematic line-breeding 
 from one strain of blood. In the very year 
 before these lines were written, at the Crystal 
 Palace Show, we happen to - know that the 
 second-prize Dark Brahma hen, the second-prize 
 adult cock, and the first-prize pullet, stood to 
 each other in the relations of grandmother, her 
 son, and her grand-daughter in the same jine- 
 bred family, though the cock was not available 
 for exhibition until he had moulted out black. 
 
 One means by which this object may some- 
 times be at least partially secured is to mate a 
 cock or cockerel with hens or pullets of two or 
 more types. It is often done by some breeders 
 merely as a speculation. They hope that if one 
 hen does not " hit " with the male, another per- 
 haps may do so. This does, in fact, often occur, 
 and is another good reason for starting a Felch 
 chart with a pen of females. If the eggs and 
 chicks are identified, the bird or birds which 
 " nick " best can be preserved, and the others 
 and their progeny discarded. We are not, how- 
 ever, referring to that, but to more systematic 
 procedure, as when a Dark Brahma cockerel, 
 ticked as a cockerel but moulted black on breast 
 his second year, is mated to one or two pullets 
 of fashionable light ground colour, and one or 
 two much darker birds. Such a mating may 
 very likely produce some good pullets from the 
 first lot, and some good cockerels from the 
 second ; but there are many cases where it is 
 not practicable, as failing to produce a suffi- 
 ciently high type of excellence according to 
 the present recognised standards. 
 
 For many of the reasons or purposes referred 
 to in the preceding paragraphs it is often needed 
 to know not only the pen from which any 
 
 chicken is bred, but the hen which is 
 Recording the mother. People constantly about, 
 Nest-Boxes, -with only a few fowls, soon get to 
 
 know the egg of each bird ; but in 
 the United States for several years past there 
 has been increasing use of what are termed 
 "recording," "registering," or trap nest-boxes. 
 These are so arranged that the hen can enter, 
 but her entering closes the door behind her, and 
 there she remains till she is liberated, when her 
 number or name is noted. Mr. A. Silberstein 
 was probably the first to design such a nest-box, 
 and sold his pattern by scores ; since then many 
 
RECORDING OR PEDIGREE NEST-BOXES. 
 
 '93 
 
 have been brought out by others, but there 
 seems still room for improvement. We illustrate 
 here one published in the Feather by Mr. C. H. 
 Payne, C.E., which will sufficiently explain the 
 essential action of all such contrivances. Fig. 80 
 is a section and plan, and Fig. 81 shows the 
 entrance both open and shut. The hen steps 
 up a trip-board pivoted about two inches out of 
 centre, the upper or further end of which has 
 
 -I\ 
 
 ^ 
 
 SLIDE 
 
 Fig. 80. — Plan and Section of Trap-JJest. 
 
 two catches which hold open or apart two half- 
 doors through which she enters. These doors 
 are hung by hinges (which must work very 
 freely) rather slanting or out of plumb, so that 
 when the bird walks on to the further end and 
 depresses the board and catches, they swing 
 back and imprison her ; they do not quite meet 
 in the centre, so as not to grip her tail. The 
 door at the other end is opened to take her out, 
 when the slide is pulled forward to open the 
 entrance doors again, acting as a " spreader " 
 between the leaves, and forcing them over the 
 catches, which gently slant from the centre of 
 the trip-board, but are square' at the holding 
 end. The slide is then pushed in again, and 
 the nest is re-set ready for the next. 
 
 Such nests need, of course, constant atten- 
 tion to take the hens out and re-set them. 
 They are understood to be looked up about 
 pvpry Vinni-- TVif\7 rpay tb'^refore suit large 
 
 is always on the 
 
 spot, better than average English practice. They 
 are most largely used of all, however, to pedi- 
 gree the best layers, and the time consumed in 
 looking after them is reckoned time well spent. 
 As Mr. Boyer writes in Farm Poultry, " Is it 
 as costly to spend five or ten minutes every 
 hour looking after a lot of traps, as it is to feed 
 and care for u lot of hens that are not paying 
 board?" Also the handling of every hen by 
 herself, so frequently, is found a good thing 
 every .way. At all events, it" is in this way 
 that the pedigree laying strains of America are 
 being built up. There is however a less exact- 
 ing system sometimes pursued, the further end 
 of the nest having similar doors without any 
 catch, which the hen can open for herself, and 
 
 Fig. 81.— Nest Open and Closed. 
 
 giving her exit into a separate " detention " pen, 
 where she remains till seen and allowed back to 
 the other, while the first door is made so that 
 she can enter at will, but cannot return when it 
 is closed after her. A flap-door hung from the 
 top, with a (Tshaped aperture for the' hen's 
 head to enter in the bottom of the flap, which 
 she pushes open, is generally used for both 
 doors of such " automatic " nest-boxes, and the- 
 hens are said to learn their use readily, if the 
 doors are kept raised for them a few days, at 
 first entirely, and then less so. This method 
 gives knowledge in most cases of the "birds 
 which have laid ; but unless the . eggs are 
 distinguished, not of the layer of each one, 
 nor quite always of laying at all, since hens 
 sometimes gc^ on a nest without laying. It is 
 deemed sufficient by many people, and saves 
 much time; but only the release of every bird 
 singly, as first described, can give really strict 
 record of the breeding. 
 
194 
 
 CHAPTER. XII. 
 
 PRACTICAL BREEDING AND REARING OF PRIZE POULTRY. 
 
 THE present number of breeders of prize 
 poultry vastly exceeds the figures of a 
 quarter-century ago, and every year shows 
 additions to that number ; but it is as true as 
 ever that the measure of success attained by 
 them differs widely. All cannot equally succeed, 
 in fact, and much harm has been done by the 
 advice of some authorities, who have constantly 
 taught in journals devoted to these subjects 
 that, with capital to purchase a few good birds, 
 properly mated, at adequate prices, a consider- 
 able profit can practically be "assured" from 
 breeding exhibition stock. 
 
 There are -many people who do really make 
 a living by breeding, selling, and exhibiting 
 prize poultry ; but this is generally the result of 
 years, and in many other instances 
 Prize Breeding the would-be breeder is fain to 
 not a retire with more or less loss. While 
 
 Certainty. some take up the poultry fancy 
 
 merely as a pleasant and fascinat- 
 ing relaxation, others make it the serious 
 business of their lives, and study it as such in 
 all its branches of breeding, exhibiting; adver- 
 tising, and selling — the last being perhaps as 
 important as anything, since such a man, if he 
 has a decent reputation, may get two to five 
 guineas for a bird quite readily, where a 
 beginner would find great difficulty in disposing 
 of the same fowl for ten shillings. This difficulty 
 in selling produce until a certain standing has 
 been gained and reputation created, is not taken 
 account of by advisers of the school above 
 alluded to. If it be remembered that the prizes 
 at a great show go chiefly to a few birds picked 
 from hundreds bred by old and experienced 
 breeders, and that the novice, withhis produce from 
 the pen mated up for him at a fee by one of these 
 advisers, has to take some respectable position 
 amongst them before he can find a market, the 
 folly of such wholesale promises and anticipa- 
 tions will be realised. Nevertheless, the field is 
 perfectly open, and upon the whole — spite of 
 what is so often written by disappointed parties 
 — free from favour. Although genuine breeders 
 are so much more numerous than formerly, the 
 combination of qualities which make a success- 
 
 ful one is still so rare, that anyone possessing 
 these (amongst them sufficient patience and 
 perseverance) can make his mark. We cannot 
 promise success in the indiscriminate manner 
 above censured, and it would be presumption to 
 attempt to instruct such as know already more 
 than we can tell them ; but assuming that these 
 chapters may be read by many persons with 
 some knowledge of fowls, who are thinking of 
 further attempting to breed prize stock, we will 
 endeavour to make, clear the general course that 
 should be pursued, and what should be 
 avoided. 
 
 If the preceding chapter has been under- 
 stood, it will already be seen how it is and why 
 it is that it seldom answers to claim the first- 
 prize cock, and hens or pullets occupying the 
 same position at some prominent show, and 
 mate them up together for a "start" If it can 
 be afforded, when the time comes by all means 
 let first-class specimens be purchased, though as 
 a rule they will need quite different mates from 
 their fellow-winners of the other sex. But for 
 a novice this time has not come, for the .simple 
 reason that he does not know enough to begin 
 breeding ; and his first object should 
 study be to get the points and true ideal 
 
 of the of the breed really into his mind and 
 
 Type. eye jjg has first to study the 
 
 standard description, with the aid of 
 an ideal illustration. The description should 
 then be compared point by point with winners 
 in the pen, and shows should be visited with this 
 object in view. Information should be sought 
 in detail of any exhibitor or other amateur,- and 
 will almost always be freely imparted respect- 
 ing any definite detail concerning which it is 
 asked. Pleasant acquaintances and occasionally 
 a friendship may be made in this way. Disap- 
 pointed exhibitors are especially free in pointing 
 out where their bird surpasses the actual winner, 
 and often with truth as regards that one definite 
 point ; but the inquirer will be provided with a 
 grain or two of salt, and especially remember 
 that most likely there are additional points which 
 bear the other way. Perhaps he may be able to 
 get the judge's or the winner's views also, and 
 
PURCHASE OF EGGS FOR SITTING. 
 
 195 
 
 then, like Dickens' celebrated writer upon 
 Chinese metaphysics, he can "combine his 
 information," which will both inform his mind 
 and be great fun. 
 
 Until a man has thus got the type itself 
 thoroughly into his own mind, he cannot breed 
 it successfully. It is not enough to know the 
 variety when he sees it, or even good birds 
 when he sees them ; he must know definitely 
 what makes these last better than others. That 
 is why we have spoken, advisedly, of one variety, 
 or possibly two varieties but of the same breed. 
 Not only, by attempting more, are all the 
 practical difficulties and problems of breeding 
 and selection increased enormously, so that 
 what might be a pleasure becomes an anxious 
 care burdensome to mind and body, but each 
 one needs the eye to be thoroughly trained in 
 all its points, and some varieties very much bias 
 the eye in regard to others. Old and experi- 
 enced breeders and exhibitors may manage 
 more, but they are constantly studying at shows, 
 and have their past successful experience to 
 guide them ; and even these always make some 
 special study of a fresh breed before they 
 actually meddle with it. At the same time, the 
 intending breeder need not keep away from 
 actual specimens of the fowl he fancies, and this 
 early stage is the proper one for sittings of eggs, or 
 the purchase of a brood or two of newly hatched 
 chickens, to be reared by hand. If an absolute 
 novice, he will be thus getting his practical 
 knowledge of chicken rearing and some know- 
 ledge of the breed itself at the same time ; can 
 see how the chickens feather and grow up ; will 
 understand the " points " better and better as the 
 birds become familiar to him ; and finally, when 
 full grown, comparing these chickens with prize 
 specimens, will learn the points that need 
 development or improvement,' studying system- 
 atically to see where lies the great difference in 
 exhibition value. Cheap specimens unfit for 
 the show pen, but still typical, may be pur- 
 chased and bred from, with thesame objects and 
 results. 
 
 In one season and at very small expense, 
 anyone with real aptitude ought thus to have 
 acquired a practical and sound knowledge of 
 the variety he proposes to take up ; 
 Purchase ^^^ something also of how the 
 of Eggs. beauties and defects develop them- 
 
 selves as the chickens grow. If he 
 has bought eggs from good breeders, he may' 
 probably have a good chicken or two from them 
 in his own yard ; but too much must not be' 
 expected from such sources. Many people are 
 utterly unreasonable in regard to sittings of eggs, 
 -so much so that some of the best breeders now 
 
 refuse to sell any. Such people expect every 
 egg to hatch, and every sitting to produce at 
 least one if not several " winners," whereas the 
 man who sold the eggs will be well content if 
 out of the many he himself hatches, and which 
 have not travelled, he gets a real winner or two 
 himself for the great shows of the year. Many 
 vendors undertake to "replace unfertile eggs," and 
 the offer is liberal and fair where such are sold in 
 numbers, from flocks of typical and pure bred 
 but not first prize stock, but a seller of really 
 prize eggs simply cannot afford to do this. We 
 often wonder people do not recollect how we 
 used to hear proverbs about " a hen with one 
 chick," and about "countirg chickens before 
 they are hatched," long before eggs for sitting 
 from prize poultry were even thought of. Of 
 real fraud' we are sure there is very little, and 
 four or five chickens from good eggs are well 
 worth the price of a sitting, even if there be not 
 one actual winner amongst them. Actual 
 winners must be scarce from the very nature of 
 the case ; but they do occasionally occur, quite 
 often enough to show a really high standard of 
 honour among at least a good number.* Thus a 
 beginner who has purchased eggs may -probably 
 have at least a decent bird or two, true to 
 type and of fair quality, at the end of the season, 
 and if he has, we strongly advise entering it at 
 the best show he can manage to attend ; not in 
 the hope of winning (though now and then an 
 agreeable surprise may occur) but that he may 
 compare, on the spot, this best specimen which 
 he can select, with those which do win. He will 
 be a more intelligent critic by this time, and 
 begin to see things ; and the comparison with 
 his. own bird, which he has learnt to know, will 
 make it all real, and stamp it on his mind in a 
 way which nothing else can. 
 
 Now at last he is ready to purchase bjrds, 
 and will be able to do so with some judgment of 
 his own as to their real value. His year, so far 
 
 * As it is many years since we sold a fowl or an egg of any 
 kind, we may without impropriety mention a few instances 
 from the days when we had Dark Brahmas. A pullet repur- 
 chased from our own eggs was in our first-prize pair at Birming- 
 ham in 1871, and the unpurchased remainder established the 
 purchaser (Mr. John Evans) in a strain that was prominent for 
 three seasons. A cockerel repurchased from another egg 
 customer won second prize at Bristol in a class of forty, and 
 was the father of our cup winner at the Crystal Palace and 
 Birmingham shows of 1872. A hen hatched from our eggs won 
 the cup at Yarmouth in (we think) 1872, was pronounced by 
 the judge the best he ever saw, and purchased by Mr. Horace 
 Lingwood for ;^20, the highest price given for a single hen up 
 to, that date since the early Cochin mania. A cockerel hatched 
 from another sitting of our eggs was purchased by the same 
 gentleman, and expressly mentioned in the Poultry Review as 
 the immediate progenitor of eleven cup and first-prize winners, 
 and of a strain of cockerels which proved almost invincible for 
 years. Similar cases are known to us in connection with other 
 Weeders and varieties of poultry. 
 
ic6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of 
 Stock. 
 
 from being wasted, has done valuable work 
 which has to be done before he can succeed, and 
 may just as well be done at small expense as 
 at a great loss. We do not advise 
 Purchase further purchases of eggs at this 
 more advanced stage, unless there is 
 money to spare and room to keep 
 the produce separate ; in fact, not even then; 
 The drawback is that you do not know what the 
 result is worth till months later, and if then it 
 does prove satisfactory, you are still ignorant of 
 the mating and breeding which produced each 
 bird. It is better to purchase actual stock, and 
 so have something definite ; though if any of the 
 chickens already hatched from purchased birds 
 are worth breeding from, as may well be the 
 case, by all means let them be considered as 
 stock, and proper mates procured, spending the 
 more of what can be afforded upon the new 
 purchases. It will depend upon circumstances 
 whether or not these latter are prize exhibition 
 specimens. Much advice is given 
 Exhibition upon this head also, as to the sums 
 of the to be "got back" by prize-win- 
 
 Purchases. vi\T\% towards their cost ; . and an ex- 
 perienced exhibitor does often make 
 a profit from exhibiting a specimen, which also 
 keeps his name before the public. But a novice 
 has little skill in caring for birds thus shown, 
 which in his hands will probably lose condition 
 rapidly, or may even die ; and in any case, and 
 if he so far succeeds and does get back a great 
 part of the cost, he has missed his real object, 
 since fowls thus frequently shown have too 
 much taken out of them to produce eggs with 
 strong and fertile germs. If the birds are good 
 enough to win at one or two of the really 
 principal shows, that will do them no harm, and 
 will do useful work in bringing a new breeder's 
 ram6 before the public as owner of good stock, 
 which will help him later on ; but to buy good 
 stock and work- its strength out in exhibition 
 before breeding is — we have seen it often — a 
 mistake in the end. 
 
 Yet as good as can be afforded should be 
 obtained by all means, now the start is made. 
 Details of mating belong to other portions of 
 this book, and must be sought in 
 Mating proper place ; but onegeneral point 
 
 of the applies to nearly all cases of 
 
 Stock. "double mating." In these, as a 
 
 rule, the cockerel or cock of a 
 cockerel breeding pen, and the pullets or hens of 
 a pullet breeding pen, are desired of the highest 
 possible exhibition excellence; thus the better 
 that can be afforded, the less uphill work the 
 breeder has to do. So much is mainly a matter 
 of money, and the choice of the exhibition com- 
 
 ponents can be made personally from what is 
 seen. But the mates for these birds cannot be 
 so selected, and are seldom or never seen in the 
 show pen, being such as are bred by, and pro- 
 duce in their turn, such specimens as those to be 
 now mated. The chief difficulty, then, lies in 
 procuring these mates for the exhibition speci- 
 mens, which can only be done from a breeder, 
 and hence the quickest way to produce good 
 chickens is to procure a breeding pen, properly 
 mated, from one breeder's yard. This can never 
 be done except at a good price ; and its success 
 depends upon the character of the vendor, and 
 his honesty in also giving correctly the exact 
 amount of relationship there may be between 
 the male and female elements of the pen. 
 Without this knowledge, the new owner does 
 not know how far he can safely carry in-breeding, 
 or what dangers he has to guard against. On 
 the whole, on this last account it is better to 
 procure the two components, if results can be 
 waited for, from different yards. The breeder 
 knows then that he can start safely so far as 
 relationship goes ; and although his produce 
 the first year will be uncertain, for reasons 
 explained in the preceding chapter, as soon as 
 he begins to re-mate from the produce things 
 will mend, and his progress will be steady. 
 
 Good stock can rarely be picked up cheaply, 
 but now and then it can, and the novice who 
 has spent a year as advised will be able to judge. 
 for himself whenever such a bargain comes 
 before him, in a selling class or otherwise. 
 There are varieties in which second-rate stock 
 will breed better than in others. Thus, Dark 
 Brahma pencilling is so good now, that a pullet 
 may often be picked up in a selling class good 
 enough to breed really good chickens; while, on 
 the other hand, in Spangled Hamburghs it will 
 be weary and disheartening work unless a first- 
 class specimen can be secured. One . caution 
 
 ought to be given, viz. not as a 
 Summer general rule to purchase chickens. 
 
 Exhibitors however apparently good, which 
 
 to be Avoided, ^j^ ^t the very early autumn or 
 
 late summer shows, or from 
 breeders who chiefly exhibit at such shows. 
 There are people who lay themselves out 
 specially for such exhibitions, as the competi- 
 tion then is small, and winning with a certain 
 quality pretty easy. The birds they exhibit are 
 very pretty looking in most cases, but rarely 
 large and fine, being hatched exceedingly early, 
 when fertility and vigour are not at their best. 
 They very often moult in their first autumn, 
 after laying and breeding early, and are thereby 
 debilitated by next spring, when really wanted 
 for breeding; and even later hatched chickens 
 
POINTS ABOUT A BREEDING PEN. 
 
 '97 
 
 from these regular summer exhibitors are 
 produced from the stock when partly worn out 
 by previous breeding. Of course no such rule 
 is absolute : for instance, marking may offer of 
 ■such an extraordinary quality as to override all 
 other considerations ; but the need for such a 
 general caution is very real. One of the great 
 shows of the year is generally the best time and 
 place for a beginner to buy, and there he will 
 meet plenty of breeders quite willing to sell ; 
 there also he can buy in actual presence of the 
 best of the year ; and there he has the best 
 chance, short of actual visit to the yards, of 
 picking up what he wants to know of family- 
 details • concerning any purchases. An actual 
 visit to a good yard is, however, the best way of 
 all to purchase what is required. There rela- 
 tions can be pointed out, and the tendencies of 
 the strain observed, and there can also be seen 
 the faults which it is either safest to tolerate or 
 most necessary to avoid. 
 
 One or two guiding rules have been found to 
 have very general application. It has been 
 found that the hen or pullet has more prepon- 
 derating influence upon size, form, 
 Influence ^^j^j constitutional qualities ; the 
 ■the Sexes. cock upon colour, markings, neat- 
 ness of ^ comb, and eyes. One or 
 two exceptions to this rule are, however, also 
 general, mostly in giving more influence to the 
 male. Thus, cushion in Cochins is a point of 
 form, but has long been known to depend very 
 largely upon its correlative point of saddle in 
 the cock, so that a male bird too narrow in sterq 
 has often ruined the produce of a season. A 
 characteristic head, or a small " blood-looking " 
 head, is also a point of form ; but seems to 
 depend upon the male bird especially. In 
 regard to general carriage or symmetry, as a 
 rule the cockerels tend to follow the father's 
 type, and the pullets the mother's. These facts 
 assist in choosing between defects, some of 
 which perhaps iimsi be tolerated ; but their 
 general truth may be upset by some unusual 
 prepotency of one parent. Such prepotency, or 
 stamping power, depends usually upon previous 
 consistent selection and in-breeding. 
 
 In regard to the ages of breeding stock, no cast- 
 iron rule will hold good. Amongst those who have 
 bred many years the opinion is general that the 
 finest fowls of the larger breeds, and 
 Ages of especially those to feather most 
 
 Breeding kindly, are produced by parents in 
 stock. their second season. Unless forced, 
 
 however, which such birds do not 
 stand well, these, would often fail to produce 
 early fertile eggs, and it is more usual to mate 
 the cocks with pullets, and a cockerel with 
 
 second-year or older hens. We have, however, 
 bred Brahmas from young birds on both sides ; 
 and smaller breeds mature earlier, and are often 
 so bred — in fact, the old Game breeders had a 
 fancy for putting "youth to youth." But in 
 regard to this much depends upon the time of 
 breeding. Supposing fertile eggs are not wanted 
 before March, and the sexes are kept separate 
 until the beginning of February, and the pullets 
 kept back from laying as far as possible, young 
 birds, even of Asiatic breeds, will breed as 
 vigorous stock as any, though perhaps not quite 
 so fully feathered. It is when mated and 
 breeding earlier, in an unnatural season, and 
 forced accordingly, that immaturity entails some 
 degree of weakness. When a mating has really 
 " nicked " extraordinarily well, which sometimes 
 happens, it is generally wisdom to keep the 
 birds so mated as long as they will breed, or 
 until the cock can be replaced by a son showing 
 the same points. To what age fowls will breed 
 depends much upon how they have been treated 
 and to what extent their powers have been 
 taxed. We have known of a hen breeding in 
 her seventh year. An aged hen should not, as 
 some suppose, be mated with a cockerel : such 
 mating is generally too much for her, and may 
 destroy any chance of produce, and a two-year- 
 old bird is far better. 
 
 This leads to the question of fertility, which 
 must naturally depend much upon the number of 
 hens allowed to one cock. Experience proves that 
 the best number, for good results, differs enor- 
 mously according to circumstances. It has been 
 shown over and over again, beyond question, 
 
 that want of fertility may be caused 
 Number- of by too few hens, as well as by too 
 Hens to many. We knew one case in which 
 
 One Pen. fQ^j- hens with a cockerel gave very 
 
 poor results, which, were at once 
 remedied by making them up to fifteen. No 
 definite rule can be given, except that, as a 
 nearly universal one, a cock on a good range 
 may have at least double what could be 
 allowed him in a very small run. In this 
 country, in confinement, four hens is usually 
 enough for alarge male in a small yard, until 
 warm weather comes on, when the more safe 
 number may be five or six ; on the other hand, 
 an old cock in cold, wet weather may do better 
 with three, or even two. For much also 
 depends upon climate, and in America, during 
 the normal season, less than twelve Plymouth 
 Rock hens are rarely allowed to one male,_ 
 which in our cooler climate might possibly' 
 be too much for, at least, an old bird. Hij^h 
 feeding, as in America, also makes a great 
 difference, and rwill do so wherever adopted. 
 
igS 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Breeds also differ a great deal, and large combs 
 may cause sterility, and call for dubbing to 
 remedy this, as will be noted in its place. If 
 hens appear worn-out and partially stripped, 
 harm is being done, which will affect fertility as 
 well as health. The lighter breeds of fowls are 
 generally most fertile, and require most mates, 
 unless the cock's vigour is affected by ex- 
 aggerated comb. This matter is of importance 
 to a breeder newly beginning, as he may only 
 be able to afford, or to procure, one or two good 
 hens for his pen. In that case the number 
 should be made up by others, choosing birds, 
 as before advised, whose eggs or else whose 
 chickens can readily be distinguished. If this 
 precaution is not taken, his one or two hens 
 may be so overtasked as not to yield him half 
 the result they should, either in numbers or 
 vigour. Another expedient in this case is to 
 separate the male bird except for half an hour 
 morning and evening. 
 
 The established breeder also has much to 
 arrange for in securing the all-important object 
 of strong as well as fertile eggs. He will have 
 
 learnt by experience how many 
 Fertility. females to allot at different seasons 
 
 to his males of various ages ; but 
 he has also learnt the necessity for preserving 
 sexual vigour for the breeding season. Some 
 have carried this too far, and one writer has 
 even advocated separating the male of a breed- 
 ing pen at the end of April. We have seen the 
 evil of this upon several occasions ; thus to 
 frustrate the natural instincts at their very 
 height is a peril to health (even life in some 
 cases), and does more harm by the fret and 
 worry than it can possibly prevent. By the end 
 of June this danger has much lessened, and if 
 the male be then separated to lord it over a lot 
 •of young cockerels, he will be quite sociable 
 and happy, recuperate during the' intervening 
 months, and be far more vigorous when mated 
 again than if left with his harem. As a rule, he 
 should not be thus re-mated until about four 
 weeks before the first fertile eggs are desired 
 and expected, and a little before this some 
 animal food or liverine, and iron tonic, will be 
 of benefit, especially to adult birds. It should 
 also be seen that he gets enough to eat, for 
 many a gallant bird, if only fed with his hens, 
 will not in their company eat eagerly enough to 
 get his share. The cock in a valuable pen 
 should always be felt frequently while roosting, 
 and if he is getting the least thin or light should 
 be carefully given extra food by himself, but, of 
 course, avoiding gross fatness. Birds are not' 
 all alike in this respect, and only feeling their 
 condition can ensure that they are sufficiently 
 
 supported. In no case should a bird be mated, 
 until quite through his moult. With one thing 
 and another, the end of November, or "after- 
 Birmingham," is a very usual time to mate up- 
 pens destined to give fertile eggs for the New 
 Year. 
 
 It does not seem quite sufficiently recognised 
 that the hens ileed conservation of their breed- 
 ing powers as well as the cocks, and should be- 
 equally considered in relation to- 
 Vigour the time when their eggs are desired 
 
 of for hatching. When very early eggs. 
 
 Females. ^re planned for, as in order to hatch 
 
 on New Year's Day — the earliest 
 legal day for chicken-showing — it is a heavy 
 tax on .both sexes, but many people appear to- 
 forget that the female system is liable to ex- 
 haustion equally with the male. High and 
 careful feeding will effect wonderful results 
 in maintaining both production and vigour, as- 
 shown by constant and heavy duck produce 
 during the early months. But there are,, never- 
 theless, many proofs that by early spring — the 
 best time for prize stock — the produce from, 
 birds which have already been breeding for 
 months is not equal to that from parents which 
 - did not begin till nearer the natural season. 
 This is, in fact, the chief great reason — far more 
 than in-breeding — for the decline in vigour of 
 much prize stock : it is produced from parents 
 already worn out by previous production. It is- 
 also one reason why the produce of grown hens,, 
 which lay later, and nearer the time when the 
 real work of bi-eeding is done, is often stronger 
 and better than that of pullets ; the pullets have 
 been laying and partially worn their strength 
 out, when the hens are only freshly beginning. 
 A breeder should therefore " nurse " his best 
 birds, so that they are not taxed till as near as- 
 possible to the time when he really wants their 
 produce for his own yard. It is also for this 
 reason that moderately late pullets, hatched in. 
 April or early May, produce the finest stock, if 
 kept back a little so as not to lay till the winter 
 is fairly advanced. Very early breeding may 
 be necessary for early chicken showing, and 
 other purposes of the high-class breeder ; but it 
 should be clearly recognised that it has neces- 
 sary evil results, and most of all in its effects- 
 upon size and vigour. Hence the stress we 
 have laid upon not obtaining first breeding stoclc 
 from those who chiefly support the early chicken 
 shows. 
 
 Sometimes special measures are necessary^ 
 to ensure fertility. Extraordinary fluff and 
 heavy vulture hocks very often interpose 
 mechanical obstacles to successful intercourse.. 
 In that case cutting the hocks short and con- 
 
COJ^TROL OF SEX. 
 
 199 
 
 ^siderably trimming down the fluff will make a 
 marked difference in the produce. The exces- 
 sively large combs, now bred so often in Minorcas, 
 Leghorns, and sometimes Dorkings 
 Special and other birds, also cause a great 
 
 <3auses of deal of sterility. In such cases 
 Infertility. dubbing at once remedies the mis- 
 chief, which is common among 
 breeders of these varieties who do not know the 
 ■cause. Many experienced breeders systematic- 
 •ally dub all their breeding males of these 
 varieties, as soon as the exhibition season is 
 over. A very cold and at the same time wet 
 and dull winter is peculiarly prejudicial ; this is 
 ■often helped by iron tonic and a little cayenne, 
 ■or even \iiY a few drops of tincture of damiana 
 •daily. Sometimes one particular season will be 
 mysteriously and generallydistinguished by wide- 
 •spread infertility. The year 1899 was unusually 
 remarkable for this in America, and only less so 
 in England also. In the former country many 
 breeders, who usually sell thousands of eggs, 
 were obliged to withdraw them from the market, 
 and complaints came in from all sides; the 
 ■calamity was as prevalent amongst Leghorns as 
 in the larger breeds, and .extended to the middle 
 -of June, after which things mended. Opinions 
 as to the cause were various. The only ex- 
 planation we can give is that the season was a 
 ■dry one ; and we had occasion to notice about 
 twenty years before that a very dry season, 
 ■especially if accompanied by dry feeding, had 
 •on that occasion also been accompanied by 
 wide complaints of barren eggs, which must be 
 ■distinguished from poor hatching. 
 
 A point to be considered in regard both to 
 the time for breeding and the composition of 
 the breeding pen, is the sex desired in the pro- 
 duce, concerning which the breeder 
 •Control has on an average (with, of course, 
 
 numerous exceptions in detail) some 
 measure of control. Of course, he 
 ■will rather desire pullets in pullet breeding pens, 
 and vice versd in most cases. As a rule, also, 
 ■cockerels require quite a couple of months more 
 growth to bring them into full feather for 
 •exhibition than pullets do, especially in the 
 larger breeds, which take longest to mature. In 
 small breeds chickens mature more quickly, and 
 ■cockerels are less behind. Thus a breeder likes 
 to get his exhibition cockerels out earliest, and 
 large cockerels earliest of all. Now amongst 
 the larger Asiatics it has generally been found 
 that a vigorous cockerel mated to three or four 
 adult hens in winter produces a high proportion 
 of cockerels in the early broods, this proportion 
 ■diminishing later. With an adult coclc mated 
 to three pullets, pullets more predominate, 
 
 ■of Sex. 
 
 though sometimes, if the male is unusually 
 lively, cockerels will be numerous there also. 
 If there are more pullets than three or four, and 
 the eggs are fertile, the pullets are usually in 
 the majority ; but here, also, there are usually 
 more cockerels in the early broods than later. 
 When young or adult stock is mated together 
 the result is impossible to predict, save that 
 experience seems to show that the more 
 vigorous the stock and the fewer the females 
 (so long as evil is not produced), the greater on 
 an average the proportion of cockerels. Of the 
 small breeds we have little personal experience, 
 but the broad results will probably be on the 
 whole similar, with a somewhat higher number 
 of females to one male. In regard to the larger 
 ones, however, such facts suit the breeder very 
 well, as he can easily get a few of his early 
 moulted- hens ready for early laying, while a 
 cockerel will ensure him fertile eggs for his 
 earliest cockerels ; and the rest, with his pullets 
 and older stock birds, will come on later for 
 his other champions, and provide progeny not 
 weakened by too early breeding. 
 
 Time of hatching has also some influence 
 upon the bodily character of the produce. Early 
 hatched cockerels from adult hens are usually 
 
 fully furnished in tail and hackles, 
 Season and ^"'^ °f good Stature. On the other 
 Bodily hand, chickens hatched really late 
 
 Character. jjj ^-^g season — say at the end of 
 
 May or June — are, as a rule, less well 
 supplied with feather, and very often also more 
 short legged in comparison. Occasions some- 
 times occur when these facts may be useful. 
 
 The first year's produce from newly pur- 
 chased and mated stock may very likely prove 
 of a most disappointing character. It is not 
 
 always so, since among the best 
 Further breeders there is now generally 
 
 Breeding some amount of blood common to 
 Operations. ^u^ which prevents the worst results, 
 
 such as were frequent in earlier days. 
 But, as a rule, the reversion caused by the fresh 
 cross will be but too evident, and only a minority 
 of the first year's produce may be fit to use. 
 These will now have to be mated up again, 
 according to the principles explained in the 
 preceding chapter, and thus the new breeder 
 will go on to form his strain ; but he will be no 
 longer a novice, and no more need be added 
 with reference to such a stage of experience. 
 Mr. Felch's chart, with what has been said in 
 connection with it, will explain the methods by 
 which line breeding can be carried on for years 
 without injury. He has only to remember that 
 any point, bad as well as good, and weakness of 
 constitution as well as anything else, will be 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 intensified by line breeding just as surely as the 
 points he is seeking to breed, unless he rigorously 
 discards specimens which manifest them. It is 
 by such signs that he knows when " fresh blood " 
 really may be needed. If health or size are 
 failing, or if some fault persists in appearing, so 
 that he cannot find mates altogether free from 
 it, then he may need a fresh introduction. Here, 
 again, the first produce will probably disappoint 
 him, and it is the second season of his cross, 
 after " breeding back " that produce to his old 
 strain, which gives him the real result of his 
 work. We need only add that in the earlier 
 stages especially, whether of a new strain or 
 after any fresh cross, the more severe he is in 
 rejecting all but such as come up to a yery high 
 standard, the quicker will be his progress, and 
 the higher percentage of really prize-winning 
 stock will he get in the end. 
 
 Every year, of course, the more experienced 
 breeder devotes most painstaking consideration 
 to the mating of his birds for next season. 
 Weeks, or even rnonths, before actual 
 Careiu Pairing he begins to think about 
 
 Yearly " what he shall do." He thought- 
 
 Matings. fully scans his best chickens, as 
 
 their good points or their deficiencies 
 become manifest to him ; and if certain pre- 
 dominant failings are too apparent, he tries to 
 trace out the bird or the mating to which they 
 are due. This tracing back of faults, if possible, 
 is all-important, for everything of the sort has 
 some definite reason. He may think that he 
 must have a cross, or he may decide that his 
 own stock provides all that is wanted : but all is 
 conditional until the Palace, or Birmingham, or 
 other show which to him sums up the results 
 and record of the year. He may have been 
 rather disappointed with his own stock, to find 
 at the show that some falling back is general, 
 and that his best birds are as good as any 
 others. Or he may have anticipated victory, to 
 find some one else has so much better that, if 
 he can afford it, he determines to buy at _any 
 price. Or his champion bird which he depended 
 upon may be •' claimed " at a big price, and his 
 plans so far upset. When all his actual mate- 
 rial is selected, be it at home or from outside, 
 no pains are spared in the final mating-up. 
 Sometimes a point previously overlooked will 
 suddenly strike the eye, and take a given bird 
 out of a breeding pen at once, perhaps to go into 
 some other. Of course one grand rule is that 
 no fault should be present in both of a pair. 
 
 What adult birds have done already is also 
 to be considered ; and with a view to that, it is 
 not a bad plan, when a pen has not seemed to 
 " hit " well, to change the mating and hatch 
 
 a few thus bred late in the season, when the ■ 
 main breeding is over; these chickens will be 
 no use, but serve to show what the effect of 
 
 the different mating has been, and if 
 Experimental good this can be repeated the next 
 Changes season. Except for such a serious 
 
 of Mating. object as this, however, and at a time 
 
 when the first ardour of the birds is 
 exhausted, birds once mated up should not be 
 disturbed, nor capricious changes made. Such 
 may entail disaster. Even fowls often form 
 strong attachments in their way, and a cock 
 separated from his mates and put to others may 
 not infrequently turn sulky and thrash his new 
 wives, instead of paying them proper attention. 
 If this occurs as the result of emergency, it may 
 sometimes be remedied by smearing a little oil 
 of aniseed over the plumage of the rejected or 
 obnoxious hens ; but the wise breeder will, 
 unless actually obliged, leave his birds in peace. 
 Even removals often upset fertility and vigour a 
 great deal ; and of the folly of exhibiting brood 
 stock when once put up we have already 
 spoken. 
 
 This leads to the important question of the 
 duration of the cock's influence over hens with 
 whom he has been mated. Many experiments 
 and observations upon this head 
 Duration have shown that there is no 
 
 of the absolute or definite rule. The 
 
 Male Influence, most general one appears to be 
 that if one male is directly re- 
 placed by another, about the fourth or fifth egg 
 afterwards usually shows the change of parent- 
 age. We have many records to that effect, both 
 from English and American sources. We have 
 also records of about half a dozen cases in which 
 the cock was simply removed, and after from 
 four to eight days the eggs became clear ; these 
 being chiefly of the larger breeds. The latter 
 fact may possibly be significant, for we have 
 also records of cases in which the male's influ- 
 ence lasted much longer, these being chiefly 
 amongst the smaller and lighter breeds. Game 
 breeders found, as a rule, that after a cock's 
 removal all eggs were fertile to the end of the 
 " batch," and even a Cochin is reported as laying 
 sixteen eggs after separation, of which fourteen 
 were fertile. Of many such records the last 
 which has reached us is that of a Leghorn 
 cockerel, which was taken away for roup on 
 March 29, 1899. As eggs had only been laid 
 for a few days then, his stock was much desired ; 
 all laid after were saved, but none could be set 
 for a fortnight, incubators not being used. The 
 earlier ones hatched freely, though so stale ; 
 later, fertility gradually fell off amongst them, 
 until of the last lot set, which were laid a month 
 
OBSCURE INFLUENCES IN BREEDING, 
 
 after separation, ana set a month after laying, 
 none were actually hatched ; but five even of 
 these were fertile, and lived in the shell till 
 about the ninth day. 
 
 In regard to change of parentage, results 
 give similar discrepancies with what we have 
 stated as the general rule. Two Spanish pullets 
 having been running with a Spanish and a 
 Cochin cock, no eggs were saved till six weeks 
 after separation of the Cochin ; yet the chicks 
 had still feather on the legs. A Brahma hen 
 taken from her mate and put with a Hamburgh, 
 bred pure Brahmas for ten days, then half-breds. 
 We have other cases wherein the former parent- 
 age has been manifest for from one to three 
 months. There is no reason why such anomalies 
 should surprise us, when we consider how sus- 
 ceptible the reproductive system is of modifica- 
 tion ; so that, for instance, one breed may lose 
 the instinct of incubation, whilst another 
 develops it in extraordinary degree. We know 
 that one visit to a turkey--gobbler fertilises the 
 whole batch of eggs laid by a hen turkey ; and 
 after beginning to lay she, as a rule, avoids the 
 male bird. The hen does not so avoid him ; 
 and the inference is that his company is more 
 or less necessary. When, therefore, we duly 
 remember that we have multiplied natural egg- 
 production tenfold, we need not wonder that 
 there should be no uniform rule about these 
 phenomena. Differences may depend upon the 
 breed, the vigour of the male, the number of 
 hens with him, and the period or stage of her 
 " batch of, eggs " at which union or separation 
 takes place, as also upon the definiteness in 
 number of such a batch or laying of eggs, which 
 is more defined in most Game fowls than in the 
 forced laying breeds. On the whole, however, 
 from three to five eggs, or a week in time, will 
 generally be sufficient to ensure the parentage 
 for practical purposes. 
 
 There may, however, be more at stake than 
 direct actual parentage. Here we are on less 
 certain ground, and discussing supposed facts 
 
 which are disputed altogether by 
 Influence of many breeders, and on which 
 Former opposite opinions are expressed by 
 
 Matings. some scientific investigators. But 
 
 there is a large amount of presump- 
 tive evidence for the belief that in a sense it is 
 possible for a chick or other animal to have two 
 fathers ; not to be the offspring solely of the 
 actual parent, but to be also influenced by 
 previous unions with the mother. Doubtless 
 much of the alleged evidence is open to all sorts 
 of objections : nearly all the evidence of practical 
 breeders is so. But most experienced breeders 
 who have really managed their own yards, not 
 
 leaving them to others, believe in the occasional 
 more or less permanent results of previous un- 
 desirable alliances, and take strict precautions 
 that their most valued stock is not exposed to 
 such. We can only allege one experience 
 personally, relating to one of several Dark 
 Brahma pullets which were reared for us on a 
 farm. One of these was frequently producing 
 traces all next season, and may have done later, 
 for all we know, of a common dunghill cross 
 there experienced by all of them. There were 
 no signs but in the produce of this one, and such 
 rarity and uncertainty may well account for 
 differences of opinion. The late Mr. Frederick 
 Wragg related to us a very similar experience of 
 his own. It is much more difficult to under- 
 stand such consequences in the case of birds, 
 where the germ is quickly enwrapped in an 
 impermeable shell, than in that of mammals, 
 where a half-bred offspring is for months con- 
 nected by direct blood-circulation with the 
 mother ; but it is at least safest to be on the 
 safe side, and not allow a valuable pullet to be 
 contaminated by undesirable society. 
 
 Equally disputed by many is another influ- 
 ence, which we are personally quite convinced 
 of, and which may indeed be possibly a cause 
 of that just alluded to. It is that of 
 Influence ^.ny strong impression upon the 
 
 of the imagination or sight of the birds. 
 
 Imagination, j^- jg difficult to see the point of 
 some sneers about Jacob, which 
 have been worded in certain cases as if his 
 results were ascribed to special Providence ; on 
 the contrary, the whole is simply related as the 
 crafty expedient, with more or less result, of an 
 experienced and successful flock-master. We 
 were convinced by what seemed, and still 
 seems to us, the conclusive case, personally 
 known to us, of a breeder of white Cochins at 
 Bristol, who also kept some Minorcas for further 
 cg^ supply. He got many chickens with black 
 splashes when black hens were added to one of 
 his pens, and on removing them the black 
 splashes ceased. He was so struck by the 
 coincidence, that he repeated the experiment 
 again, with the same results. Here, too, all the 
 chickens did not come with black splashes by 
 any means, and in this diversity lies endless 
 room for doubt and contradiction ; but he and 
 we were both convinced, once for all. We also 
 acquired the conviction, when first breeding from 
 a heavily hocked Brahma cockerel, that after 
 cutting his hocks quite short (done in the first 
 place merely for fertility) the percentage of 
 hocked chickens, not then allowed for exhibi- 
 tion, decreased by an evident, marked percentage. 
 Doubtless any such phenomena are various and 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 uncertain, and offer ready occasion to County 
 Council lecturers for cheap ridicule ; but nearly 
 all practical breeders have come to believe in 
 them, and again it is well to keep on the safe 
 side.* 
 
 We turn now to the chickens themselves. In 
 regard to feeding, there is nothing to add to 
 what was said in Chapter VI., except that 
 
 cheapness of any food takes a very 
 Care of the secondary place in the case of prize 
 Chickens. stock, and as there, can be no doubt 
 
 of the superiority of oatmeal and 
 ground oats as food for obtaining size, wherever 
 that is valued these should be mainly used in 
 preference to cheaper substitutes, though such 
 may come in as changes. Oatmeal alone mixes 
 up hard, but a little biscuit-meal added will 
 make it friable, and be also less dry ; dry meal 
 stirred with boiled porridge is also greedily 
 relished. It may be well to remark that such 
 choice of food and care in giving it is of great 
 effect in restoring size and bone to a strain 
 which has degenerated. Thus, let pencilled 
 Hamburghs, which have become almost Bantams 
 through long in-breeding for narrow pencillings, 
 be carefully subjected to such a regimen, and 
 size may be recovered by feeding alone, to a 
 very perceptible degree. 
 
 Prize poultry are not reared by people who 
 lie in bed in the morning. The chicks must 
 have their first meal as soon as it is broad day- 
 light, and for the earlier broods there is no 
 better material for it than Mr. Douglas's custard 
 squeezed from the whey, mixed perhaps with a 
 little oatmeal. In some yards the incubator 
 wasters will furnish eggs for this ; if not, a drink 
 of hot milk goes a long way, with the breakfast, 
 which in this case is perhaps best of porridge 
 and added dry meal. What is needed for rapid 
 growth is a first meal quickly digested, so as to 
 allow of keen appetite for the next one. The 
 exti-a feed at night, by lamplight, has been 
 already treated of, and we only add here that 
 this early and late feeding has a bearing upon 
 size and vigour which does not seem generally 
 understood. The object is not, as some suppose, 
 merely to get in an extra meal. While very 
 young it has that effect, but at a later period, 
 supposing that a stage when four meals a day 
 
 * During December, 1900, since the above was in type, 
 some interesting correspondence bearing on this subject has 
 appeared in the Lancet. One medical gentleman relates a visit 
 to a professional friend, a cup- winner with pigeons at the Crystal 
 Palace. One of the divisions of the latter's loft faced a lawn 
 generally covered with white linen being dried ; and the inmates 
 of this pen, whatever they were, were specially subject to 
 albinism. It was also found that some Turbits and Owls next 
 to a pen in which Pouters were kept were more or less subject 
 to Pouter markings. 
 
 are deemed best has been reached, the lengthened 
 time between first and last feeds will enlarge the 
 time between each two meals, and shorten the 
 night interval, which is longest of all. Meals 
 thus more divided are better assimilated, main- 
 tain keener appetite, and result in better growth. 
 We have already mentioned the use of bone 
 dust or dry bone meal, and its beneficial effects. 
 In deciding for or against its use, the postpone- 
 ment which it causes of the final 
 Use of make-up of the bird must be taken 
 
 Phosphates, j^to account. There is another way, 
 however, in which phosphates can 
 be added to the food of any young stock in 
 which experience has shown that leg weakness 
 is to be dreaded, and it cannot be too well 
 remembered that this ailment is more easily 
 guarded against, than cured when it actually 
 occurs in any marked form. This is to add to 
 the food (which is better than with the water) 
 a little of " Parrish's Chemical Food," a syrup 
 of the phosphates of lime, iron, and soda. A 
 teaspoonful may be added to each feed of soft 
 food amongst a dozen chicks a fortnight old, or 
 half a dozen at the age of three months. - The 
 effect is most marked in cases which require it, 
 and this valuable medicine, since we first intro- 
 duced it to poultry breeders in 1872, has well 
 established its merits all over the world. So 
 incontestible have these been, in fact, that they 
 have led to the use of Parrish's Food occasion- 
 ally in a manner simply ridiculous, for acute 
 ailments, such as rheumatism or cramp. It is 
 of no use whatever for such cases. It is essen- 
 tially a slow-acting method oi feeding phosphates 
 to a system deficient, or known from experience 
 to be likely to prove deficient, in them, and acts 
 solely by the long and gradual assimilation of 
 these ingredients. Its effects are seen only after 
 weeks or even months, not after hours or even 
 days. 
 
 Such additions to ordinary dietary, which 
 may or may not be advisable, owing either to 
 delicacy in prize stock or greater size desired in 
 it, lead us naturally to the question 
 CondimentB of condiments or spiced foods, so 
 and widely advertised as specially bene- 
 
 ficial to stock of this kind. The 
 question is a little complex, and it 
 is not so easy to state the truth in a way 
 unmixed with error. There is no doubt that 
 fowls on_ a wide range, and especially in the 
 tropical jungle which was the original home of 
 the species, eat much of the leaves and fruit 
 of heather and other wild shrubs and plants of 
 an aromatic nature, which give the well-known 
 aromatic flavour to our "game" birds. Such 
 merely aromatic principles, in moderation, can- 
 
 stimulants. 
 
CONDIMENTS AND STIMULANTS. 
 
 203 
 
 not be injurious, and it is common experience 
 with ourselves that they aid appetite and improve 
 digestion. It is universal experience, also, that 
 the occasional judicious use of more stimulating 
 spices is often of great service, and, on cold or 
 wet days especially, may prevent or obviate ill- 
 effects in either very young or older stock. To 
 give really stimulating condiments continuously, 
 however, is like giving medicine regularly to a 
 healthy man, and, like that, any effect at all can 
 only be a bad one as regards health and vigour. 
 Such treatment, with ample nitrogenous food to 
 support it, may indeed force a pullet into earlier 
 and more profuse laying, which is legitimate in 
 a bird meant to be so used up as quickly as 
 possible. But though that may be profit, it is 
 not health, and health is what we v/ant in 
 rearing prize poultry. 
 
 The general conclusions must be that real 
 stimulants should not be given constantly ; that 
 those for special occasions should be adapted 
 for those occasions ; and that any stomachic 
 condiments, designed for more or less constant 
 use, to supply the lack of what a wild bird 
 would pick up, should be of the milder aromatic 
 kinds. As the composition of advertised com- 
 pounds is not published, the only guide to 
 selection that can be given is to avoid for any- 
 regular use such as to the taste are very hot or 
 astringent, choosing rather the mildly sweet and 
 aromatic, while the hot and astringent may 
 serve for special occasions. No one can be 
 equally good for all purposes, so far as we 
 can see, and we give here certain prescrip*- 
 tions which have now been tested for many 
 years. 
 
 Suppose, first, that a change in the weather 
 has produced symptoms of a decided cold 
 amongst some of the birds, but slight, and not 
 appearing to demand any strong treatment ; 
 then the following would be a suitable condiment 
 to mix in the soft food of all, the ingredients (as 
 in all other cases) being carefully powdered and 
 mixed by a pestle and mortar, and sprinkled a 
 little freely : — 
 
 Cinnamon 
 
 Ginger 
 
 Gentian 
 
 Aniseed 
 
 Carbonate of Iron . . 
 
 2i „ 
 
 I. Liquorice ... 
 Ginger 
 
 Cayenne Pepper 
 Aniseed 
 Pimento 
 Sulphate of Iron 
 
 Here the liquorice, cayenne, aniseed, and iron 
 are chiefly active, the ginger and pimento (all- 
 spice) tending to rally the digestive system, 
 which is apt to be a little affected. Suppose 
 next that we have wet or cold weather, likely 
 to last a little time ; to guard our young birds 
 against it we may use : — 
 
 We first published this in 1872 as the prescrip- 
 tion of a French apothecary, Mr. Mills, for 
 turkey rearing ; since then it has been more and 
 more widely used in France to bring turkey 
 poults through the critical period, and for moult- 
 ing, and so lately as 1899 we have seen it again 
 recommended for bad moulting seasons by Dr. 
 D. E. Salmon, the well-known American 
 authority upon poultry diseases. For more con- 
 tinuous use the following is as good as any : — 
 
 Cascarilla Bark 
 
 2 oz. 
 
 Aniseed 
 
 i „ 
 
 Pimento 
 
 I „ 
 
 Malt Dust ' 
 
 2 „ 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 
 
 I „ 
 
 Here there are no strong stimulants, but solely 
 more or less carminative aromatics, with a little 
 malt dust and iron. This powder may be mixed 
 with three or four times its bulk of sugar, or as 
 much more of malt dust, at discretion. With 
 either addition it is sometimes useful during the 
 last few weeks before exhibition, helping to fill 
 out a little, and being much relished by the birds. 
 Of the mixture as it stands above, just enough 
 should be mixed in the food^to give a slight 
 characteristic taste, and no more. Of the No. 
 I , if wanted for a cold, as much as will lie on a 
 sixpence may be mixed with a little butter and 
 flour, and given as a bolus or pill. 
 
 The question of meat, or later on green cut 
 bone for prize chickens, or the quantity to be 
 given, must be answered differently according to 
 circumstances. A diet mainly of 
 Meat or groats and oatmeal, with grit and 
 
 Cut Bone. bone dust, without appreciable 
 animal food, except insects and 
 worms, will rear chickens of very large size, but 
 takes time, and they will be slower in maturing. 
 Animal food given pretty freely, but not excess- 
 ively, also promotes size, and pushes the birds on 
 much faster and with fuller furnishing in plum- 
 age ; hence such a diet is so far preferable, and 
 numerous careful experiments proved that the 
 same results cannot be got by any dietary of 
 purely vegetable products, even though made 
 up to as high a nitrogenous ratio. 
 
 But free meat or green bone feeding is un- 
 doubtedly a cause of increased growth in comb, 
 leading to coarseness, falling over, and other 
 faults in that member. If, therefore, small neat 
 combs are desired, as in Brahmas, Wyandottes, 
 or Hamburghs, or if the breed has tendencies 
 to crooked or falling combs, as in Minorcas or 
 Leghorns, much meat may be very injurious, 
 
204 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 though on the other hand, it may be advan- 
 tageous in promoting the large falling combs 
 of the females in the latter races. Great excess 
 sometimes has another and very curious effect. 
 In America the large quantities of blood from 
 the great slaughter establishments are dried 
 and granulated, and sold as dry " blood meal," 
 which causes rapid growth, and on that ac- 
 count is sometimes fed in large quantities. We 
 have collected quite a number of instances in 
 which such feeding has been followed by an 
 extraordinarily heavy growth of feather, even 
 to an extent that has so overtaxed the bird 
 as to cause death : chickens have been reported 
 which were dying off daily at two months 
 old, covered by an extraordinary growth of 
 feathers. In other cases results were less fatal, 
 though the increase in plumage was marked ; 
 and inquiry in England has elicited evidence 
 that free meat feeding, on a somewhat less scale, 
 has also been sometimes noticed to cause hasten- 
 ing and greater abundance of plumage. There 
 are cases in which this effect might be turned to 
 advantage. However, meat or green bone feed- 
 ing must always be watched in regard to its 
 effects in enlarging comb, which cannot be 
 I'emedied if once allowed to reach an injurious 
 extent. 
 
 The best of all substitutes for actual animal 
 food is probably sunflower-seed, of which we 
 have already spoken,. It appears far better 
 assimilated than other highly nitro- 
 Sunfiowei genous foods of the pulse kind, an.d 
 Seed. the large quantity of oil promotes 
 
 furnishing and good condition of 
 feather. Where mea.t is inadmissible, this seed 
 may be of service, and many poultry-breeders 
 would find it worth while to grow a portion for 
 their stock. As a crop, the produce is variously 
 stated. Some report a return of fifteen quarters 
 from an acre ; the Board of Trade Journal, in 
 printing a report on this crop as grown in Russia, 
 where it is cultivated for the oil-mills, states that 
 an acre requires about 20 lbs. of seed to sow, 
 and should yield about 1,600 lbs. In Russia 
 the peasants eat the seeds as light refreshment, 
 which is another illustration of their excellent 
 quality, and of the reasons why poultry are so 
 fond of them. Land for this crop should be 
 ploughed in autumn and harrowed in spring, 
 the seed being sown in April or May in every 
 second or third furrow, or say in rows three feet 
 apart, the seeds a few inches distant, or it may 
 be very thinly broadcast, so that every seed has 
 two or three square feet to itself upon an average. 
 Poultry manure suits it very well while growing. 
 For a smaller quantity, some prefer to start in 
 hotbeds early in March, and plant out early in 
 
 May. One caution should perhaps be added. 
 Rats are as passionately fond of sunflower-seed 
 as the fowls are, and wherever it is stored they 
 are apt to come about the place. It should only 
 be kept in iron receptacles, and special care 
 taken to leave no loose grain about the floor. 
 
 The combs of many, breeds require care in 
 other respects than avoiding excess of animal 
 food. Heat is quite as injurious, so that two 
 days in a hot gas-lit showroom will 
 Care of sometimes " draw up " the comb of 
 
 Combs. a bird apparently mature and safe, 
 
 and ruin it for ever. In all cases 
 where combs are wanted small and- neat, as 
 in Brahmas, the chicks should therefore be 
 brought up in cool and airy sleeping-places as 
 soon as taken from the mother, and not allowed 
 to get overheated or sweated in artificial 
 brooders. The same applies even more to single 
 upright combs, which must be kept straight, as in 
 Leghorn cockerels ; but these in addition should 
 be taken from a hen, if so reared, before the 
 combs get any height. If this is not done the 
 mere pressure of the hen's body tends, during 
 the youngest and most susceptible stage, to 
 bend over or twist the comb. Brooders which 
 have any nestling material in contact with the 
 head are injurious for the same reason. To take 
 the chickens' heads out of danger early, and rear 
 them with plenty of room in a cool though not 
 chilly brooder or other sleeping-place, makes 
 a great difference to this type of comb. 
 Rather later, when the combs are growing 
 fast, if there is reason to fear disaster it is 
 often of the greatest service to sponge the 
 comb gently every night with hazeline tinc- 
 ture, or to smear it with hazeline cream. This 
 is not only a mild though effective astringent, 
 but has a specific action in repelling congestion 
 of blood to the part where applied, and will help 
 much to keep a comb firm and within bounds. 
 It is of course only before twists or thumb-marks 
 actually appear that such means can be of use. 
 A slight twist, if treated at once, can sometimes 
 be cured by affixing a stiff piece of cardboard on 
 each side, with sufficiently adhesive material, 
 and pressing close. A Spanish breeder we 
 knew used as cement, material scraped from 
 Alcock's Porous Plaster, which he said " held " 
 better than anything be had tried. If the card 
 is varnished on the outer side with French 
 polish, it will be stiffer and not get soft. Combs 
 actually fallen over belong to a later stage, to 
 be dealt with in pur next chapter. 
 
 Another deformity has been much more 
 common since artificial rearing became so 
 general, and should be guarded against from the 
 first. We refer to curved or crooked toes, 
 
VARIOUS BLEMISHES AND THEIR CAUSES. 
 
 205 
 
 the middle toe especially curving round in- 
 stead of being straight. This has thrown 
 many an otherwise good bird, and is generally 
 
 due originally either to a smooth 
 Crooked hard floor in the rearer, or later, 
 
 Toes. tQ perches too broad and flat, or -a 
 
 shelf with too little bedding. Newly 
 hatched chickens are sometimes ruined for life 
 even in the drying box, the two limbs slip- 
 ping apart on a smooth floor, with consequent 
 strains which are never recovered from ; many 
 knock-knees and loose hock joints are also 
 caused in this way. But the more common 
 result is crooked toe. The nail being unable to 
 sink into the floor, raises the toe near the point ; 
 and to avoid slipping, relieve strain, and get 
 more " grip " on the ground, the toe turns rather 
 sideways so as to lie on the floor. We have 
 seen many a brooder and rearer with wooden 
 or zinc floors, and a mere sprinkle of peat moss 
 or other litter which slips about loosely, allows 
 the claws to reach the smooth hard surface, and 
 is of no real assistance except to cleanliness. 
 Enough material should always be supplied to 
 lie firmly as a bedded floor ; not so little as to be 
 blown about with a puff of air. On this the 
 chickens can walk firmly and comfortably, the 
 toes not being strained ; and if later on such as 
 roost are given perches which the claws can 
 really grasp, without being stretched flat, there 
 will be very few cases of this annoying disfigure- 
 ment. Some advise curved toes to be treated 
 by binding them to splints, and appliances are 
 even sold for that purpose ; but this belongs to 
 a class of advice and treatment chiefly given in 
 display of pretended superior knowledge. We 
 have known such means faithfully used on 
 various occasions, but have never known a case 
 cured yet ; and a moment's thought must coht 
 vince any breeder of the injurious effect of 
 binding or fastening into one rigid line, mem- 
 bers meant to be flexed and reflexed at every 
 .step. We have known disease of the hock joint 
 to follow from such unnatural proceedings, but 
 not the cure of the crooked toe. 
 
 We have mentioned overcrowding in a 
 brooder as apt to cause overgrown combs at a 
 tender age ; it has in some varieties, a marked 
 effect in another way, causing the 
 A Cause of appearance of white feathers in un- 
 White desirable places. Many in England 
 
 Feathers. have suspected this result, in Brown 
 Leghorns especially ; but in Ameri- 
 ca, where this breed is often reared in large 
 nnmbers, the fact has been established beyond 
 doubt. One breeder reported that whilst chicks 
 reared by hens were all right, those in a large 
 brooder had white feathers on their backs and 
 
 breasts as well as wings ; others have found that 
 where a few in a brooder kept sound, others 
 more crowded, from the same stock, would show 
 white in nearly every chicken. Some think the 
 reason is in greater liability to vermin ; others 
 that the tender young feathers are bruised by 
 close contact ; others that it is a consequence of 
 general loss in vigour. The main point is the 
 fact, which should be kept in mind. 
 
 There can hardly need any reminder of the 
 absolute necessity for a stud book, in which the 
 parentage and descent of every chicken hatched 
 
 is carefully recorded for present and 
 Necessity for future consultation. It is a great 
 Records. assistance if all the males used, and 
 
 at least the best of the hens or 
 pullets, have names given to them ; or one 
 family may have one common name, and the 
 individuals be distinguished by numbers, as Bates 
 did with his Duchess line of Shorthorns. If 
 the breeder also sells eggs, sending them out 
 honestly from the same stock he himself uses, 
 he will record particulars also in his register of 
 egg sales, if he is a wise man. We reproduce 
 from the first edition of this work the following 
 specimen, because in all but the proper name 
 it was an actual transcript from our own egg 
 book of 1870, which is now destroyed. We 
 were breeding from three cocks that year, and 
 the pullets Princess and Countess were the 
 pick of the' females in our opinion. 
 
 April 10. 
 
 May 2 
 
 Mr. John Smith, 10* 
 
 Blankville, 
 
 Blankshire. 
 
 3 Goliath (i Princess), 4 Uncle Sam (2 
 Countess), 3 Sambo. 
 
 Result — 7 ; ( i Uncle Sam and 2 Goliath 
 were clear)^ 
 
 The result of the sitting is very often stated, as 
 it was in this case by the purchaser on May 2, 
 and generally the names are reported also, as 
 here, if marked on "the eggs. The possible 
 advantage of all this will now be very obvious. 
 Suppose, as is possible, we had very bad luck 
 ourselves from. Uncle Sam, who is perhaps too 
 old to breed again, and that in December 
 Countess is either dead or sold, and we seem 
 " out " of that strain, and want it. Looking 
 over the egg sales book, we find Mr. John Smith 
 must have had one, and may have had two 
 chicks from the best bird in Uncle Sam's pen ; 
 
 * From experience, we never allowed a purchaser more 
 than ten Brahma eggs in any one sitting. It was the same 
 number we used ourselves. Incubators are of course quite 
 another matter, but were scarcely used then. 
 
206 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and if he reared them we stand a good chance 
 of getting back at a fair price a bird which 
 circumstances may then have made invaluable. 
 
 Of course the chickens, as they grow, must 
 be marked in some way, or all this is useless. 
 Those hatched in incubators can often be iden- 
 tified in regard to mother as well 
 Marking 3-S fatherj but if such identity is 
 
 Chickens. to be preserved it must be marked 
 at once. The readiest means for 
 this is one we saw practised by a very ingenious 
 breeder who used nothing but artificial brooders. 
 He kept by him an assortment of Judson's dyes 
 (a set of any aniline colours would do) and each 
 chick, as soon as dry, received a dab of colour 
 on the down ; with light chickens the back or 
 saddle is a good place, with dark or striped ones 
 the head or the stern may answer better. These 
 colours give ample variety, and are distinguish- 
 able for several weeks, when the chickens are 
 larger and hardier for more permanent marking. 
 Single rings round the legs giwefour categories, 
 as applied to the right shank, left, both, or none ; 
 two rings will give many more varied with one^ 
 Such rings are easily applied in the shape of a 
 bit of coloured worsted, or of tea-lead, or soft 
 tin wire bent round, quite loose, but so that it 
 does not slip over the foot. Pedigree rings of 
 various patterns, to which a number can be 
 affixed, are also procurable. In America it is 
 common to punch small holes in the web 
 between the toes, but in England this would not 
 be tolerated. It is better to extend the wing, 
 and in the triangular web of skin between joint 
 and shoulder to make apertures with a red hot 
 knitting-needle, rather stout ; the pain seems 
 only momentary and very slight, for the next 
 instant the chick seems to take no notice what- 
 ever. The needle should be " pecked " through 
 and back with an instantaneous motion, arid by 
 thus making apertures as . : •.• .-. :: in right or 
 left wings, both, or none, any number of separate 
 lineages can be marked. 
 
 Shade, and change, and fresh ground, and 
 care according to the weather, have already been 
 treated of in a preceding chapter, and it only 
 need be added here that the 
 Separation separation of the sexes should be 
 of Sexes. carried out early in prize stock ; the 
 
 smaller the runs the earlier should 
 this be done. Our own opinion always was 
 that, in most breeds, the best results were 
 obtained on moderate grass runs with sufficient 
 shade. In large numbers on unlimited grass 
 the condition and plumage are of the best, but 
 large breeds are apt to mature too quickly and 
 not grow so large : without any grass, it is' more 
 difficult to get gloss and hard feather. Breeds 
 
 like Game and Hamburghs, however, do best 
 on unlimited range, if it is available. Large 
 Asiatics need not be separated till ten weeks old 
 or even a little later ; but with the smaller and 
 more precocious breeds, the sooner the better 
 after they are removed from the hen or the 
 warm brooder. It may not make much differ- 
 ence to ultimate size in their case, but they 
 become precocious and lay early when left 
 together, and are ruined for the later and better 
 shows. The sexes can generally be distinguished 
 at an early age. As a rule the heads of cockerels 
 are larger, carried higher, and look bolder, with 
 larger combs, the whole carriage being loftier. 
 In most breeds our experience also is that the 
 pullets fledge m.ost quickly, especially on the 
 back and down the breast. In Asiatics and 
 some other breeds, we have noticed that the first 
 wings of the little cockerels are generally narrow 
 and pointed and more of a self colour, while 
 those of the pullets are broader and rounded at 
 the end, and with more pencilling or marking. 
 No one sign is infallible, but generally a true 
 judgment can be formed. 
 
 The same period is convenient for "weeding," 
 or looking the chickens over and picking out 
 those which are only good enough for killing. 
 Happy is the fancier who has but 
 Weeding few of such ! — though with every 
 
 the Stock. year the proportion should decrease ; 
 but at commencing, the proportion 
 of such " wasters " will almost inevitably be very 
 large. This is a point in which all beginners 
 fail, without exception. They do weed out and 
 kill just a few of the worst ; but the rest, they 
 think, do not look so very bad, and perhaps may 
 improve ; and so they are kept on, crowding the 
 yard so that there is neither fresh ground nor 
 fresh air for what good birds there may be. 
 Now the beginner may make up his mind that 
 only his very best fowls will have the slightest 
 chance ; and that to keep all these birds alive 
 destroys what chance he has, besides " spoiling 
 his eye." If he knows enough to really select 
 the best quarter of those he has reared past 
 chickenhood, he may be absolutely certain he 
 has retained more than all really worth keeping ; 
 and those few will grow into finer birds for such 
 severe weeding, to which the experienced 
 breeder with limited space always subjects his 
 yard. 
 
 Where grass-run is unlimited this does not 
 much matter, and chickens may be kept without 
 much detriment till full grown for table use. 
 But the owner of a limited yard, who wants to 
 make and maintain a reputation, cannot afford 
 this. The matter is very simply illustrated. 
 Let us suppose he can manage to rear really well 
 
CARE OF THE BEST BIRDS. 
 
 207 
 
 for the show pen two dozen full-grown chickens, 
 - and no more, besides what adult stock he must 
 hold over for next season's operations. A 
 novice will probably hatch about forty, and after 
 losing half a dozen, weed out barely a dozen 
 more of the worst. He cannot expect much 
 from the rest, for the first year or two. But the 
 experienced breeder, even with better-matched 
 stock, would act differently. He would hatch 
 at least sixty, and very likely eighty birds, 
 killing a fair proportion as soon as their very 
 first feathers, at a fortnight old, told him they 
 would -be no good ; and then, at a still early 
 period, he would kill half the remainder. Keep- 
 ing only the pick, he can hatch more. Later on, 
 when his breeding has become more certain, he 
 can be less severe ; but experienced breeders 
 will weed out much earlier and more severely 
 than novices can find it in their hearts to do. 
 Another reason for doing it pretty rigorously is 
 that a run-containing only pretty good birds has 
 a wonderfully more pleasing effect than another 
 consisting partly of inferior specimens, and also 
 assists in that training of the eye to perceive and 
 demand excellencs, which is perhaps the real 
 secret of permanent success. 
 
 The chickens thus drafted should also be 
 sorted into lots of approximate age ; especially 
 should a young lot of cockerels not be introduced 
 amongst an older lot already possessing the 
 ground. They would in that case never be free 
 from persecution, or get their share of food, and 
 the wings of Asiatics would probably be spoilt. 
 First possessors generally remain masters of a 
 run, therefore all its intended tenants should be 
 introduced together. All will then shake down 
 speedily, and if a full-grown cock can be turned 
 in with a lot of cockerels, it will be all the 
 better. 
 
 The larger breeds are better not allowed to 
 perch till at least four months old, Cochins and 
 Brahmas even till six. It is to be remembered 
 that many generations of forcing 
 Roosting. diet and more or less confinement 
 have produced a weight of body 
 much greater than Nature would have attained, 
 with a softness of texture also greater than hers. 
 Hence the result of rash perching is often the 
 deformity of a crooked breast. A fowl on un- 
 limited range, sleeping out of doors or in trees, 
 would take no harm from perching ; but for 
 most large stock it is not safe, and the better 
 plan is soft bedding down, either on a dry floor, 
 or a shelf arranged as a roost. Dry ashes are 
 as good as anything for very young birds, or 
 peat moss litter ; later on plenty of straw keeps 
 the plumage cleaner, but is unnecessary till the 
 adult or exhibition plumage begins to grow. All 
 
 through, however, care should be taken to give 
 enough soft material for the claws to enter 
 easily, as crooked toes may be caused by a hard 
 fiat surface as easily at this period as during 
 fledgling days. 
 
 The first appearance of the permanent 
 feathers, which do not replace the nestling 
 feathers by a definite moult as in adult birds, 
 but slowly and gradually as new 
 Care of leaves replace old on an evergreen 
 
 Adult tree, brings the breeder a new and 
 
 Plumage. different -set of cares as he studies 
 to avoid or prevent anything that 
 may impair colour, or condition, or development 
 when full grown. Shade now becomes more 
 important than ever, almost all-important. 
 Exposure to the sun turns white plumage 
 yellow, while buff and other colours are faded 
 or bleached, and even black loses its lustre for a 
 shabby dull colour, sometimes distinctly brown. 
 White lobes will suffer also from either free sun- 
 shine or strong winds, the latter causing rough- 
 ness as well as tinges of red. A piece of coppice 
 divided into runs is the best shade of all for 
 this period, but few can command it. Some shade 
 is always possible, but it needs to be remembered 
 that while maturing for exhibition it must not 
 only be provided, but the birds kept out of the 
 summer sun except for a very limited time. In 
 many varieties a good yellow in the shanks is 
 also of importance, and is best pre- 
 Colour served by habitual running over 
 
 of fresh grass, especially if on ferru- 
 
 ginous soil. Almost any shanks will 
 be bleached by running on chalky 
 soil or loose lime rubbish, which otherwise is con- 
 ducive to dryness and health in a shed ; hence such 
 must be avoided for yellow-legged breeds. Some 
 have advised making a run damp, or compel- 
 ling the birds to walk through a water-pan in 
 entering or leaving the houses ; but treatment 
 of this kind is dangerous to health in several 
 obvious ways, and (although moisture has some 
 undoubted effect in preserving a rich yellow) is 
 not so successful as supposed. Shady grass is 
 usually sufficient, but if it is thought that more 
 is required, about all that can really be done 
 will be secured by carefully sponging the shanks 
 each night with a sponge nearly wrung out of 
 tepid water containing a teaspoonful of glycerine 
 to the pint; or slightly with petroleum oil, spong- 
 ing off so as to leave as little as possible. If more 
 be used, dirt collects underneath the scales, but 
 by applying at night and sponging almost off this 
 is avoided, and perceptible improvement effected 
 in many instances, while the smell of the oil will 
 greatly repel insects. 
 
 Colour leads us to another very important 
 
 Shanks. 
 
zo8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 question, which has caused much controversy, as 
 to how far it is possible, and how far permissible 
 if possible, to alter the colour of fowls by the 
 
 food given to them. It has long 
 Colour been known that food has consider- 
 
 Feeding. ^\^ effect upon colour. Yellow or 
 
 red maize will make most white fowls 
 perceptibly more yellow than white maize or 
 other grainj and much hempseed will darken 
 the ground colour of a moulting Brahma hen. It 
 has also been known for many years that the 
 constant use of iron, whether in natural chaly- 
 beate streams or given artificially, tends generally 
 to intensify colour, whether in legs, plumage, or 
 yolks of the eggs. The most definite effect of 
 food upon colour generally known is in canaries, 
 in which (or rather in some of which, for the 
 effect varies greatly in individuals) the constant 
 administration of cayenne throughout the whole 
 period during which the feather is growing con- 
 verts a rich yellow into very deep orange-red. 
 This fact, coupled with the success of some 
 breeders in showing rich deep buff in the many 
 buff varieties of fowls which have become so 
 popular since 1890, has led many to the conclu- 
 sion that the best specimens owe their fine buff ' 
 colour, and other colours like the bay of Golden 
 Hamburghs, their richness, to special feeding 
 even more than to careful breeding, and " colour 
 feed " for poultry is occasionally advertised in 
 the poultry papers. 
 
 The question has hitherto only practically 
 concerned buff varieties of poultry, in which 
 English taste about 1 897 began to show a strong 
 inclination — perhaps spasmodic — for very rich 
 and deep colour, verging upon what was once 
 termed cinnamon, instead of the beautiful rich 
 orange-lemon once so carefully sought by all 
 buff Cochin breeders, and which we still think 
 the choicest colour for a buff fowl. But even 
 in that limited field it is difficult to say what 
 actual result can be accomplished in this way. 
 Mr. E. Cobb, a well-known writer and County 
 Council lecturer, has stated as of his own per- 
 sonal knowledge that "many" birds too light 
 for successful exhibition, but otherwise . good, 
 have been converted into winners; adding, how- 
 ever, that out of a number subjected to the 
 process only some will respond to it, as is also 
 the case with canaries. We have seen three 
 additional independent testimonies beside, from 
 exhibitors who state the same as their own 
 experience, after carrying out Mr. Cobb's advice. 
 On the other hand, we ourselves suggested 
 experimenting with cayenne feeding upon buff 
 Cochins twenty years ago, and we knew this to 
 have been done with no perceptible effect ; and 
 in a long controversy upon the subject during 
 
 1898, several large breeders of buff varieties, 
 whose word there is no reason to dou"bt, stated 
 that they had experimented extensively, and. 
 given it up as yielding no result. It is abso- 
 lutely certain that no better buffs have been 
 produced in general since "feeding" was prac- 
 tised than were bred before it was known ; but, 
 of course, this does not prove that their number 
 has not been increased by specimens which 
 would only have been inferior otherwise. Also 
 in the early experiments above alluded to, 
 cayenne alone was used, whereas it is now 
 believed that iron and some amount of fat are 
 also advisable. Our own opinion is that in a 
 certain number of cases there may probably be 
 appreciable gain, but that it has been" greatly 
 exaggerated; and certainly no breeder who will 
 breed with sufficient care need be afraid of being 
 beaten by mere colour feeding. Attentive 
 scrutiny of buffs generally at exhibitions, since 
 publication of the colour feeding process, has 
 led us to surmise that the more usual effect 
 when^ marked (for in many birds none at all is 
 admittedly produced) may probably be to 
 deepen the colour in localised patches rather 
 than all over — in pullets usually at the sides of 
 the breast and of the cushion near the tail, 
 sometimes on the flat of the wing, the deepened 
 colour being of a peculiar " bricky " tint by no 
 means attractive. It appears probable, however, 
 that in individual cases colour may be so gained 
 without this patchy effect. 
 
 The ethics of the question cannot be discussed 
 here beyond a few words. Earnest and even 
 violent efforts have been made in England to 
 induce the Poultry Club to pronounce colour 
 feeding fraudulent. As the means for this 
 kind of improvement, if any, have long been 
 published and open to all, while, on the other 
 hand, it is utterly impossible of proof by any 
 known test that colour feeding has been 
 employed, such a course would be obviously 
 impracticable, and could only handicap the 
 more virtuous breeders in favour of the dis- 
 honest ones, to the extent of whatever was 
 gained by the process. Till some method of 
 detection is known, nothing of the sort could 
 have other than calamitous effect. But there is 
 another insuperable difficulty as to drawing any 
 line. Iron undoubtedly has some effect, many 
 people think the principal effect. Yej: we have, 
 ever since first writing on poultry matters, con- 
 stantly prescribed iron tonic, and that during 
 the entire period of moult ; and if iron tonic 
 or yellow maize are not prohibited, how is a 
 distinction to be made? 
 
 The difficulty becomes greater still when we 
 consider the general law governing colour in 
 
EFFECTS OF COLOUR FEEDING. 
 
 2og 
 
 animals ; for there is such a law traceable. If 
 we heat a coloured oxide, we are expanding it 
 and also, as a scientific man calls it, "adding 
 energy" to it; and even in this 
 Laws of simple case, the usual result is to 
 
 Animal change its colour towards a tint 
 
 Colouration, nearer what a physicist terms " the 
 •red end of the spectrum," in order 
 of the rainbow colours. Heating a globule of 
 copper borate, which is blue, it turns green ; if 
 we heat the yellow oxide of mercury, it gradually 
 turns orange, red, brown, and finally almost black. 
 Now, very curiously, it seems as if a general rule 
 can be traced by which animal colours also, 
 starting from the highest degree of vitality or 
 energy, as we diminish this tend to change in 
 the converse order of black (the highest), brown, 
 red, orange, green, blue, white ; this law explain- 
 ing most changes as an infant gains strength, 
 and again declines in energy with old age, or 
 from privation. Various monkeys, e.g. in in- 
 fancy are greyish yellow, then reddish brown, 
 and finally black. Childi-en's hair generally 
 changes from very light or yellow to red or 
 brown or black ; while with age comes grey and 
 white. At the wreck of the Strathmore it was 
 observed that not only did ordinary colours 
 become grey and flaxen, but black' hair became 
 for a time red and brown. Thus it seems as if 
 richer colour may be probably the effect of 
 either more vitality or heat of blood. Eastern 
 breeds lay brown eggs, and the early native 
 Cochins were darker, more cinnamon, than the 
 colour became in our colder clime. Canaries 
 were green ; our rooms and more stimulating 
 food made them yellow; fed on still more 
 stimulating food, we have seen that many 
 become orange-red. Budgerigars are similarly 
 changing from green to yellow. Cayenne was 
 probably first given to canaries as a beneficial 
 stimulant, just as iron in various forms was long 
 ago prescribed by us for fowls ; and it iapossible 
 that the main colour effect of these things may 
 be a tonic effect. As to special ingredients and 
 effects, we remember personally the time when 
 the use of linseed for gloss, as described in our 
 next chapter, was a jealously guarded secret, 
 which we first made public : where is the differ- 
 ence between this, for one special end, and 
 heating tonics for another ? 
 
 Colour feeding for enriching buffs, if carried 
 on at all, must be so from the first beginning of 
 the growth of the plumage to the very end of 
 that growth, whether in chickens or moulting 
 adults. The regimen usually recommended is 
 half a teaspoonful of cayenne, of which the 
 cool kind is just as good as the hot, given 
 every day in the soft food, along with about 
 
 two grains carbonate or three grains saccha- 
 rated carbonate of iron. A little fat should 
 be mixed also along with the cayenne. Merely 
 
 for enriching bays and crimsons, 
 
 Colour Feeding ^^ in a Partridge Cochin cockerel, 
 
 for there can be nothing gained by 
 
 Buff Fowls. anything more than saccharated 
 
 carbonate of iron ; plain carbonate 
 is cheaper, but saccharated is more readily as- 
 similated by the animal system. On the other 
 hand, there is .some reason to think that iron may 
 be occasionally injurious to a buff bird, in accen- 
 tuating the slightest difference of colour. While 
 a uniform colour would probably be slightly 
 deepened in tone, any deeper patches, or the 
 slightest tendency to black specks, would prob- 
 ably be brought into stronger relief by iron, while 
 cayenne would be less likely to have this effect. 
 One or two people have recommended the 
 " yellow " cayenne or colour feed sold to canary 
 breeders ; and we have also seen Silk's and 
 Sandiford's canary feeds recommended. We 
 repeat, however, that if by careful breeding an 
 even and rich buif has been produced, there is 
 not the slightest reason to believe it will ever be 
 surpassed by colour feeding: the sole question 
 is as to how nearly inferior colour may be made 
 to equal or approach it. 
 
 As a field for experiment, colour feeding is 
 a tempting one, on which account we should be 
 sorry to see it barred, though we do not antici- 
 pate much direct result from it. The principal 
 facts known up to the present may be worth 
 summarising, and are full of interest. There is 
 a family of African birds known as Turacos or 
 
 Plantain-Eaters, containing twenty- 
 Eemarkable ^^^ species, of which eighteen 
 Facts manifest the following extraordin- 
 
 Concerning ary phenomena. On certain wing 
 Colour in Birds, feathers, of dark violet ground 
 
 colour, are patches and spots of 
 bright crimson ; also in some, on a few head 
 feathers. This crimson soaks out into cold 
 water, and birds kept in captivity wash out 
 these patches to a dirty white in their bath, 
 while the wild ones become a dirty grey or very 
 pale pink in the rainy season ! In, dilute am- 
 monia it dissolves easily. Analysis shows this 
 colour to contain 7 per cent, of its weight, when 
 precipitated from ammonia solution, of pure 
 copper, probably deposited from bananas, in 
 which copper is found, and on which the birds 
 feed. So full of copper is it that a red piece of 
 feather burnt gives a green flame. Copper is 
 also found in a green pigment got from the same 
 family; and Mr. Lupton has found copper in 
 the feathers of some Australian green parrakeets. 
 It is remarkable that these latter are found in 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the copper districts, and that in captivity the 
 birds prefer, and constantly mouth and peck at, 
 brass rails. Yet these strong metallic colours 
 are strictly localised, no colour, nor any copper, 
 being found in adjacent parts of the very same 
 feather. Also in some species of Turaco which 
 have none of this colour, the same patches 
 instead of being crimson are white ; where for 
 some reason this colour fails to deposit, there 
 is no colour at all ! From many other birds, 
 other colours have been extracted by Mr. 
 Church and others, by alcohol, ether, alkaline 
 solution, and other solvents. 
 
 The Brazilians have an extraordinary method 
 of modifying the colour of certain parrots, 
 which are naturally green about the head. 
 When these feathers are just showing, they 
 apply to them the secretion from the skin of a 
 certain native toad, with the result that the 
 feathers then become, not green, but bright 
 yellow ! This is no exhibition matter ; simply 
 a custom or fashion the people have. The result 
 and the process are alike extraordinary, and 
 still more, perhaps, how it can have been dis- 
 covered in the first place. Here we perhaps 
 have an example of colour-feeding individual 
 feathers, for it certainly is not a dye in any 
 ordinary sense, only affecting the growing 
 plumage. 
 
 The most interesting results, as ascertained 
 by direct scientific experiment, were communi- 
 cated by Dr. Sauermann to the Vienna Ornitho- 
 logical Association.* He ascertained definitely 
 in regard to cayenne, that the piperine or hot 
 ingredient of hot peppers had no part in the 
 result ; that the coloured component given pure 
 had also very little effect ; and that it was only 
 efficacious when given in chemical combination 
 with albumen or fat. Feeding cayenne to 
 twelve white Leghorns, two only of the birds 
 showed results, these two beginning to do so 
 after ten days. In their case the plumage was 
 turned red, but chiefly in two places only, the 
 breast and the hackles, the body much less so, 
 and the flights and tail remaining white to the 
 last. The colour only appeared on the surface, 
 where exposed to the light. The second season 
 or moult the same Ipirds were cayenne-fed again, 
 but now became a duller reddish brown in the 
 coloured portions. The legs and feet were also 
 coloured orange red. The yolks of the eggs also 
 became red, in some cases bright blood red. 
 Such yolks could not be boiled hard, the soluble 
 <at being increased at the expense of the solids. 
 All the fatty parts revealed the presence of 
 colouring matter. On hatching the eggs, the 
 
 * Die Schwalhe, April 30 and May 15, 1890. An English 
 translation appeared some lime after in the Feathered World, 
 
 chickens showed no colour in the down, but 
 were decidedly red in the first feathers, which, 
 however, soon faded unless they were themselves 
 fed on cayenne. It was remarkable that while 
 only two out of the twelve pullets origin- 
 ally fed were able' to absorb the colour, all 
 the chickens hatched from these two coloured 
 birds inherited the tendency. 
 
 A series of experiments were then made 
 upon canaries with aniline dyes, which it was 
 found were rarely poisonous when pure. Given 
 in water, a few birds only were slightly affected, 
 and the effect lasted only during the growth of 
 the feathers. By rather difficult processes the 
 dyes were then combined chemically with oil, 
 but little result was obtained in the way of 
 colour, owing (as was afterwards found) to excess 
 of the colour feed. But a most extraordinary 
 result was established in the way of direct 
 connection between colour feed and moulting 
 itself, which may possibly prove of use in regard 
 to the latter, and which Dr. Sauermann thought 
 probably due to the soluble fats combined with 
 the colour. The canaries fed with coloured oils 
 did not moult. Whenever the feed was stopped, 
 moult continued ; when resumed, they " stuck " 
 again. Similarly, by feeding cayenne in larger 
 quantities to fowls, their moult also was post- 
 poned till the end of December. These facts 
 probably explain why some insectivorous birds 
 cannot moult in captivity. On the contrary 
 side, one colour was found — gentian violet — 
 which had the property of inducing moult at 
 any time, even quite out of the ordinary course. 
 
 Finally a few of the dyes were combined 
 with albumen, and in this form, and given more 
 sparingly, striking results were obtained. At 
 first the dyes were boiled with grain, with whose 
 albumen they then combine ; but it was found 
 sufficient to mix them in ordinary bread before 
 baking the latter. The dyes thus treated lose 
 their bitter taste, and crumbs are eaten freely. 
 Only two dyes are reported on in the paper. 
 By feeding fawn-coloured Isabel pigeons with 
 methyl-eosin (known to chemists as methyl- 
 tetrabromofluorescein) the colour was changed 
 to red, and was fast. By feeding Budgerigars 
 with methyl-violet (chemically a combination of 
 the hydrochlorides of pentamethylpararosaniline 
 and hexamethylpararosaniline), they became 
 bbie. These blue Budgerigars are the most 
 striking result yet produced in bird culture, and 
 in their case the dye was combined with millet, 
 or baked with egg-bread to be given to the 
 young. Only 30 per cent, of the birds experi- 
 mented with were affected, whilst of white fowls 
 fed with cayenne only 20 per cent, responded. 
 It will be remembered that amongst canaries 
 
CHICKENS NEARING MATURITY. 
 
 21 I 
 
 the Norwich chiefly is affected by cayenne, and 
 not all alike, among even these. The patchy or 
 local effect on the white fowls will also be 
 noticed, and so far corresponds with what we 
 have thought observable, as above noticed, 
 amongst buffs. 
 
 Leg feather requires care, else it will be worn 
 off or broken. The grass runs for feather-legged 
 fowls should be mown short and frequently, so 
 
 as to keep it not only short but soft 
 Care of and lawn-like in condition, and the 
 
 Leg Feather, shedding should contain nothing 
 
 but absolutely fine and dry material. 
 We do not think the plan adopted by some of 
 allowing no dusting material at all, and depend- 
 ing upon insect powder or other treatment to 
 avoid vermin, a good one. The vermin may be 
 avoided, we admit, but it is not good for either 
 feet or carriage to keep a heavy fowl on a hard 
 floor, and here again we have a cause of the 
 recent increase in crooked toes. We found a 
 mixture of either fine dry sand or finely sifted 
 coal ashes, with plenty of finely cut straw chaff, 
 several inches deep in a large shed, keep both 
 the plumage and leg feather of our Brahmas in 
 admirable condition, and they never had any- 
 thing else except their grass run or outer yard. 
 Long dry straw, on the other hand, which has 
 been advised by some, does appreciably wear 
 away the feathering if allowed continuously. 
 
 The age at which chickens mature varies, 
 from less than six months to eight or nine, large 
 Asiatic cockerels being the slowest to mature, 
 
 and pullets and smaller breeds re-' 
 Nearing quiring less time. As it approaches, 
 
 Maturity. t^g taller birds may suffer from 
 
 some leg. weakness if they have 
 grown fast, though the bone dust already spoken 
 of is a great preventive. Should it occur in 
 spite of this, its direct treatment must be sought 
 amongst that of other ailments. When near 
 maturity, meat or other stimulating food should 
 be withdrawn from pullets which it is not desired 
 should lay early, and laying may also be post- 
 poned somewhat by changing them every two 
 or three weeks to a fresh run. Pullets hardly 
 ever look so well as just before they lay. 
 Cockerels are better rather older, as already 
 hinted. As they attain the final stages every 
 possible care should be taken to avoid any 
 accidental injury. The holes into the houses 
 should be of ample size, every door that is open 
 be left wide open and fastened so, and care 
 taken if they perch that neither tails nor bodies 
 come against a wall. Every night they should 
 be visited to see that all are right and none 
 squatting in dirty corners. They should never 
 be driven about or frightened, and whenever 
 
 anything has to be done, be taken quietly from 
 the perch at night. Much damage may occur 
 from neglect of even such simple and obvious 
 precautions as these. 
 
 All through let the chickens be kept tame, 
 taking every chance of petting them. An odd 
 grain or two of groats or hemp-seed 
 Tameness every time of passing will establish 
 and Docility, pleasant relations ; so does wait- 
 ing in the run whilst the food is 
 eaten. Stillness and quietness of manner soon 
 remove fear, and our own pullets, for some years, 
 during the time we were able to lunch at home, 
 were as tame as cats, would stand still to be 
 stroked, and crowded round like children, alive 
 with curiosity, if we stooped down for any trivial 
 operation. They should also be often handled 
 at night, taking them quietly from the perch, 
 and after a look putting them back again ; and if 
 a grain or two of some little delicacy be given 
 after, they lose all dislike of being thus handled, 
 and may be taken up out of a run with perfect 
 unconcern. Such a temperament is of great 
 advantage for exhibiting. 
 
 There is one danger to which the larger 
 Asiatic breeds are particularly liable during this 
 maturing period, and which often disfigures an 
 otherwise fine bird. We allude to 
 Slipped what poultry men call " slipped " 
 
 Wings. or "turned" wings; the primary 
 
 feathers, or, those which ought to 
 be nicely tucked away out of sight when the 
 wing is closed, protruding in more or less dis- 
 order outside the others. The tendency is to 
 some extent hereditary, no doubt, and it mars 
 the beauty of a bird completely. Pullets are 
 far less liable to it than cockerels, and therefore 
 when it occurs in the female sex it is propor- 
 tionately more serious in character. In the 
 most aggravated form the flight feathers appear 
 actually twisted, so that the proper inside of the 
 feathers becomes outside, and in this form the 
 affection is both strongly hereditary and we 
 believe incurable. But when it merely amounts 
 to failing to tuck the flight feathers in, without 
 any great disorder among those feathers them- 
 selves, it may generally be cured if taken in due 
 time. The usual cause we believe to be the 
 buffeting of cockerels by their stronger neigh- 
 bours, which causes rapid flapping followed by 
 imperfect closing, and after a few times this 
 becomes habitual and the mischief is done : at 
 least, it more rarely occurs in a wide run, or in 
 the master-bird of the yard. 
 
 The treatment is simple. As soon as any 
 displacement of the new feathers is observed the 
 wings should be carefully tucked up every night 
 at roost ; but nothing further can be done till 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 they are grown enough to hold a ligature, when 
 one or both wings, as required, should be care- 
 fully bound up with each feather in proper 
 position. The manner in which this is done is 
 shown in Fig. 82, the wing being bound round 
 rather tightly near the middle, after which the 
 cord is carried from the knot at A, round the 
 shoulder at B, to the inside part of the ligature 
 at C ; this is, of course, simply tp prevent the 
 ligature from slipping off, which the bird will 
 use all his endeavours to effect. Soft string 
 about the thickness of stout whip-cord should 
 be employed, and the operation be performed at 
 night for the sake of quietness. A little judg- 
 ment in tying is necessary, as if the retaining 
 cord A B C be too slack the bird slips the 
 
 Fig. 82. — Tying a Wing, 
 
 bandage off, while if too tight it may cut and 
 become embedded in the web at the shoulder, 
 causing irritation and distress. Patience and 
 tact are also required, and we have had birds 
 we were obliged to tie up afresh for five or six 
 nights before the feathers were retained in place, 
 to our satisfaction. The greatest care is to be 
 taken that every feather is in position, on which 
 all depends, and the bird is then to be left with 
 his wing or wings tied till it is supposed the 
 feathers are properly set. The ligature may 
 then be cut, when if the result is satisfactory all 
 is of course over ; if not, the wings are to be 
 again confined. There are few but may be 
 thus cured if taken in due time. The ligature 
 has a tendency to cut the feathers, but this may 
 be avoided by folding a piece of stiff paper 
 under the wing at D, and tying the ligature 
 over that,- which will preserve the wing from 
 injury. There is some slight danger of Asiatic 
 cocks acquiring the same fault during the moult. 
 If the wings are seen properly tucked up every 
 
 nigHt at roost nothing further will commonly be 
 needed ; but if the blemish should appear to be 
 becoming habitual, it must be treated in .the 
 manner just described. 
 
 As winter approaches it is often of great 
 benefit to return to special night feeding; but 
 on this point judgment must be used. 
 Night Feeding If the chickens have made their 
 for Older growth, and are of good weight and 
 Chickens. substance, and fairly set, there is no 
 reason for it, and it may even do 
 harm by making them too fat. But if cockerels, 
 especially of the large breeds, are still immature 
 and lanky, though promising, very much may be 
 gained, when the days are short, in putting on 
 body and weight by getting in an extra feed. 
 We recollect once getting some Brahma pullets 
 hatched late in May up to another lot hatched 
 in April, so that one of each went as a pair to 
 Birmingham. Suppose the three ordinary meals 
 8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m. Then if 
 the chickens are lanky, much is 
 gained by another feed at 10 p.m.; 
 and, even if an extra full feed is 
 not thought needful, much may 
 be gained in appetite and profit- 
 able assimilation of the food, by 
 giving the breakfast as before, a 
 mere sprinkle at noon, another 
 feed at 3 p.m., and the final feed 
 at 9 or 10 p.m. In immature birds 
 such night feeding does indubitably make size. 
 Our own plan at last was to pour boiling water 
 upon heavy oats in a bucket about 6 or 7 p.m., 
 cover with a cloth, and give the warm steeped 
 grain at ten o'clock, when it was eagerly looked 
 for. We had tried other things, but the steeped 
 oats pushed them on better than anything else, 
 were eaten eagerly, and did not swell in the 
 crops afterwards. The birds themselves were at 
 that time bedded on straw, and when the lan- 
 tern was put down it was curious to see them 
 march forward, and when they were satisfied 
 get back to 'bed again as quietly as a lot of 
 children. 
 
 With such care and attention, if the stock 
 and mating have been fairly good, there ought to 
 be in due time some really good birds available 
 for the show pen. Of course they may not win ; 
 for they are not the only chickens in the 
 country, and however good they may be, some- 
 one else may have still better. But there 
 ought to be some that will not disgrace the yard ; 
 and we will hope for the best, and proceed to 
 consider their actual exhibition. 
 
213 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 EXHIBITING. 
 
 XS the actual time for exhibition approaches, 
 /-\ it is well that a.ttention and preparation, 
 and to some extent actual treatment, 
 should be focussed upon it, especially if for an 
 important show ; yet there is much error pre- 
 valent on this subject. Owing in some degree 
 to the advice of writers in poultry journals 
 desirous to give an impression of their special 
 ability to impart supposed secrets to their 
 readers, it comes to be thought by many, that 
 two or. three weeks of more or less occult 
 "conditioning" is the main secret of success- 
 ful exhibition. In many cases special treat- 
 ment for condition is useful ; but it cannot be 
 said too plainly that it all amounts to nothing 
 in comparison with that general care in rearing 
 and treatment already described, that many 
 birds require no more, and that such as do not 
 are those which show best. Most of the very best, 
 in all classes, have owed little or nothing to the 
 arts and dodges about which some people make 
 so much fuss. First-rate show condition means 
 simply perfect health, cleanliness, that amount of 
 flesh which looks best, and uninjured plumage, 
 in a fowl tame enough to show well in its pen. 
 There is no mystery in any of these ; and 
 though lack in one or another may be to some 
 extent remedied by special measures, the fowl 
 which needs none, as thousands do not, is the 
 best fowl still, for showing as for anything else. 
 
 It will be convenient to consider the younger 
 stock first. Here the time of hatching a bird 
 will have been considered in reference to the 
 
 exhibitions at which it is desired to 
 Sunimer appear. Some exhibitors lay them- 
 
 Shows. selves out specially for summer 
 
 chicken shows, which entails hatch- 
 ing at New Year, or as soon after as possible. 
 There is much extra trouble in rearing such 
 chickens, and the breeding stock and constitution 
 of the strain are exhausted, as already pointed 
 out ; but on the other hand, competition at these 
 early sjiows is very small, and winning is now 
 so difficult in the heavy competition of autumn 
 and winter, that it is found by some worth while 
 to pay the price for the sake of the easier victory. 
 The chief care of those who engage in this class 
 
 of showing is ample shade for their young stock, 
 as the plumage will be maturing during the heat 
 of the summer, and the sun tells more than upon 
 the later birds. Ample green food is uneqiialled 
 for giving condition to these forward chickens, 
 and if some lettuces can be grown and fed regu- 
 larly to them, they will be eaten with appetite 
 even upon a grass run, and have marked effect 
 in giving smoothness to the plumage. Such 
 chickens should only be penned up a few days 
 before exhibition, and if they can be kept clean 
 enough to be shown without washing, they look 
 much the better. These early birds mature 
 soon, because they finish their growth during 
 warm weather, being often in full feather at 
 from five to seven months old. 
 
 Chickens hatched later require more time, 
 especially the large Asiatics ; and for the chief 
 exhibitions much can be done to 
 Preparing "nur.se" them, or have them just ready 
 for a for the time required. The furnishing 
 
 Given Date. Qf ^jjg cockerels may be rather post- 
 poned by the use of dry bone dust, oi 
 hastened (if the combs will admit of it) by fresh 
 bone or meat, and some sulphur twice or 
 three times a week ; also if a fine but raw- 
 looking cockerel be put with a couple of hens 
 for a few weeks before a show, it will often set 
 him up and "make" him up faster. Such a bird 
 cannot, however, be put back with the others 
 again, and this expedient should only be em- 
 ployed when needed, and when proper arrange- 
 ments can be made for him afterwards. Time 
 is still more important in the case of pullets, 
 which are at their very best just before laying. 
 That time would naturally vary with the breed 
 and the feeding ; and if it does not come right, 
 effort should be made to postpone laying by 
 changing the best pullets from one pen to- 
 another every ten days, and leaving off all 
 stimulating food ; in this way laying may often 
 be kept at bay for a month or two. 
 
 Special treatment is much facil,itated by 
 plenty of runs and classification. We strongly 
 advise that, if accommodation permit, before the 
 season for exhibition or sales (and sales from the 
 yard itself involve a kind of exhibition to the 
 
2 14 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 purchaser) the chickens be sorted out, not only 
 as cockerels and pullets, but into lots according 
 to their value, as well as age. It is distinctly 
 prejudicial to sales to show a purchaser birds 
 far superior to what he is able or willing to pay 
 for— it makes these latter appear distinctly worse 
 by comparison ; and for this reason some breeders 
 keep their very best away, where they are never 
 seen by visitors at all. On the other hand, a 
 successful breeder requires to keep even his own 
 eye in training, and critical to demand a certain 
 high standard of perfection ; this is far better 
 done if his very choicest are kept in one run 
 together. Such a plan, moreover, keeps the best 
 birds more constantly under the eye, and makes 
 any weak point apparent early, when perhaps 
 something may be done to remedy it. 
 
 Thus, in regard to the final furnishing or 
 feathering out, it may happen that the tail 
 and other feathers seem to hang 
 Backward in development. This should al- 
 Plumage. ways receive attention, but its 
 proper treatment will depend upon 
 circumstances. If iron tonics and meat have 
 not hitherto been given, these and a little sul- 
 phur every other day will often put matters 
 right. But if they have been part of the regi- 
 men already, it is no use giving more ; possibly 
 they may have already been overdone. More 
 benefit is likely in such a case to follow a daily 
 dose of 6 to lo grains citrate of potash, which 
 is not lowering, but often has a wonderful effect, 
 purifying and invigorating the blood. Above 
 all, however, the bird should be most sedulously 
 examined for insect vermin, which is a most 
 frequent cause of these apparent stoppages, es- 
 pecially where dust baths are denied to the birds 
 for fear of injuring the plumage, and insecticides 
 relied upon instead. A fowl infested with 
 vermin cannot be matured into good condition. 
 
 Among the many large-combed breeds now 
 so popular, an apparently good comb may 
 appear to be falling over, and if treated at once, 
 may often be saved, at all events for 
 Comb one particular show. This danger 
 
 Falling Over, ^as much increased since the pre- 
 judicial craze for exaggerated combs 
 has been in vogue, and really bad cases are 
 not curable, especially when they have ensued 
 upon warm housing and free meat feeding. 
 Even when a bird is reared upon a moderate 
 regimen and in a cool house, however, the mere 
 strain of feathering out will sometimes cause 
 a flabbiness or lassitude of comb that denotes 
 evident danger. Here tonic, or if iron tonic has 
 already been given, change of it to a tonic pill 
 of I grain sulphate of iron and \ grain of 
 quinine, or better perhaps i grain citrate of 
 
 iron and \0 grains citrate of potash, will be of 
 assistance; and the comb should be placed in a 
 support or cage. Such supports are advertised 
 pf slightly different patterns, which may be 
 suitable for different heads and combs ; but all 
 are founded upon that formerly used by the 
 celebrated Spanish breeders of Bristol, devised 
 by the late Mr. Sydenham Rou4 which is equal 
 to any of them, and is shown in Fig. 83. 
 
 The wire should be of aluminium or tinned 
 iron, not copper, and is bent in one piece from the 
 centre at A. The portion from A to B is care- 
 fully fitted to the skull at the base of the comb, 
 so that B exactly reaches the nostrils, and the 
 curve from B to C should about follow the base 
 of the serrations, the ends at C • being a little 
 opened to avoid chafing. The wire should be 
 first covered with thin red worsted to prevent 
 
 Fig. 83. — Comb Support. 
 
 sores. To put it on, the thin horn or cartilage 
 between the two nostrils is pierced with a needle, 
 which does not appear to give any pain at all ; 
 then A being drawn forward as far as it will go 
 under the back of the comb, a bit of silk thread 
 (or carbolised ligature would be better) is passed 
 through the nostrils and corners B, and tied in 
 a knot, tightly enough but not too much so, 
 over the nostrils. _ If necessary, the wires at 
 some point in the curve between B and C can 
 also be tied together, by a thread through near 
 the bottom of the notch between two spikes. 
 Some tie to the wires between B and C, inside 
 and next the comb, curved slips of card. As a 
 rule, a bird thus decorated must be kept from 
 hens, who have a propensity to peck at any knot 
 and so destroy the arrangement. The legitimate 
 usefulness of such a support as this is great, 
 since cockerels often return from a heated show 
 with a comb relaxed and drooping, or it may 
 fall over during moult, or the frame may tide • 
 a cockerel over the temporary critical period of 
 lassitude here in question. There are, however, 
 birds which rarely have it off except during 
 exhibition, whose combs "will stand about a 
 week " and no more ; and it was the deliberate 
 
CARE OF COMBS AND EAR-LOBES. 
 
 2IS 
 
 opinion of the old Bristol fanciers who first used 
 comb 'cages, and tested them in all degrees most 
 thoroughly, that their constant use to assist 
 really flabby combs, as is so widely the case to- 
 day, rather than breed good ones, brings sure 
 retribution in a weak-combed strain of birds. 
 
 On the other hand, the comb of an otherwise 
 promising pullet may seem backward, and need 
 encouraging, especially if she has been brought 
 up hardy, in a cool house. Here a 
 Combs of fsw weeks in a sheltered and 
 Pullets. slightly warm pen, with rather 
 
 more animal food, will bring her up 
 to the mark if the parents have been so ; but 
 birds so treated should always be gradually 
 habituated to a cool temperature again, before 
 winter comes on. Some have advocated work- 
 ing and extending a pullet's comb between the 
 fingers, as is practised upon the ears of lop-eared 
 rabbits ; and we have seen a comb enlarged 
 considerably in this way. Nevertheless, such 
 dodges are not worth while. No lop fancier 
 would dream of treating thus any rabbit with 
 really small ears ; and as it is, the result in his 
 case is hard callosity and loss of circulation in 
 the part so treated. So in pullets, really decent 
 combs are plentiful, and need nothing of the sort ; 
 and combs thus abused, owing to the efiTect upon 
 the blood circulation, are terribly subject to 
 frost-bite. As comb is not a really difficult 
 point in pullets, and decently bred birds need 
 nothing at all beyond possibly a little temporary 
 extra warmth and feeding, it is a great pity to 
 spread the impression that such dodges are 
 largely practised by extra " knowing " ones ; in 
 reality they are almost confined to novices who 
 know no better than to do as they are told by 
 some one in a poultry paper. 
 
 Ear lobes which appear somewhat deficient 
 
 in growth are more susceptible of extension 
 
 without injury, the part being softer and more 
 
 elastic, with less of natural vitality. 
 
 Ear Lobes. Much depends, however, upon the 
 
 manner of it, as was discovered by 
 
 those old Bristol Spanish breeders already 
 
 mentioned, who brought white ear lobes to a 
 
 perfection that has never been equalled since 
 
 their day, much less surpassed. They had tried, 
 
 and abandoned, working about the lobes between 
 
 thumb and finger, as advised by some. This 
 
 will enlarge a lobe ; but they discarded it 
 
 because — so they said — it tended to enlarge the 
 
 surface more than the structure, and so increased 
 
 folds on that surface, which they desired smooth 
 
 and even. Their plan was rather, not only when 
 
 cleansing a lobe, but at roost and as opportunity 
 
 offered, to very gently stretch a lobe by pulling 
 
 at the ed,ges. It was essential to be'gentle, never 
 
 stretching tightly, which also caused wrinkles or 
 folds ; but the lobe was so held at very gentle 
 tension for a little while, giving the principal 
 stretch in the direction where more size was 
 specially wanted. Such was the method, they 
 found, by which most could be done, being useful' 
 in promoting even surface as well as greater 
 size. It is best to let well alone, if nothing is 
 needed in this way ; but if a little more is really 
 wanted, or a fold threatens, matters can often be 
 improved by a little care and manipulation in 
 good time. 
 
 There is also colour of the lobes to be looked 
 after, and if red threatens upon such as should 
 be white, it is time to give the birds shelter, 
 especially from the wind, or in particular cases a 
 rather darkened run and slightly warm temper- 
 ature. A strong wind will often roughen and 
 redden a fine smooth lobe in three days ; but 
 it can generally be recovered by these means. 
 Where smooth whiteness is a great point, lobes 
 which have matured satisfactorily should be 
 carefully cleaned every day, usingthefirsttimemild 
 soap and tepid water, with a very soft bit of Turkey 
 sponge ; afterwards tepid milk and water. The 
 lobes should be gently but thoroughly dried 
 afterwards with a soft woolly towel, and when 
 quite dry dusted with violet powder, or if there 
 are any signs of soreness, with oxide of zinc. 
 
 A red lobe, on the other hand, may develop 
 evident tendency to an undesirable white or pale 
 centre. Here exposure to air and wind is the 
 natural remedy, which may often be assisted by 
 the citrate of iron and potash tonic above men- 
 tioned, and by brisk friction of the weak spot as 
 often as convenient with a piece of rough towel. 
 The rubbing is not to be hard, but of a quick 
 character, calculated to cause a hot glow under 
 it, and so cause more flow of blood to the part. 
 Some allege benefit from application of stimu- 
 lants, such as capsicum vaseline, and it is not 
 improbable, these applications also bringing the 
 blood to the capillaries at the surface, which is 
 the effect desired. 
 
 A promising cockerel may sometimes develop 
 all of a sudden a tendency to wry tail, or 
 squirrel tail. Where this has appeared gradually 
 from an early age, the cause is 
 Wry Tail. curvature of the spine, and such birds 
 should be executed. But in other 
 instances it seems a habit, or due to some sudden 
 strain, as from a bird backing up against a wall, 
 or from some slight inequality of a muscle or 
 tendon, due originally perhaps to such a cause. 
 Such cases are not hereditary as the first class 
 are, and as they are often removable by a simple 
 operation, many think it as permissible to do 
 this as to operate for a squint in the human 
 
2l6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 subject. It is perhaps rather debatable ground, 
 which we must leave to each to decide for him- 
 self; but we certainly think such cases differ 
 radically from attempts to imitate fancy points, 
 which present real difficulty in breeding them to 
 the required standar.d. Nothing should be done 
 till the tail is grown, as sometimes it will appear 
 awry when only partly grown, but be all right 
 when fully out. Then if it still persists, in 
 slight cases it is often enough to make a small 
 
 scar or eschar at « or ^ (Fig. 84) 
 
 I / on the side of the neck of the tail 
 
 \ / joint, commonly called the "par- 
 
 \ J j^ son's nose." A scar is made by 
 
 "~' ' snipping out a bit of the skin half 
 
 an inch long by almost a quarter 
 
 of an inch wide, the longer diameter 
 Fig. 84. being downwards ; an eschar by 
 
 well rubbing wetted lunar caustic 
 over a space the same size, and it should be 
 done on the side opposite that towards which 
 the tail is carried. The scar or eschar will tend 
 to slightly contract, and as if stretched it will feel 
 a little sore, to avoid this the bird will ease his 
 tail more to the desired side, and often the end 
 will be attained. If this is not effectual, when 
 the tail is strongly bent away from its undesired 
 position, very often a tight cord or tendon will be 
 felt, rising as it were against the finger, and if 
 this be cut (the same applying to the top of the 
 joint in some sudden cases of acquired squirrel 
 tail ; chronic cases are not fit subjects for 
 tieatment) a cure probably follows. The cut 
 should not be made from the surface, but a very 
 narrow sharp knife (called by surgeons a 
 bistoury) dipped in diluted carbolic acid should 
 be inserted under the cord, and the cut made 
 with a sawing motion from beneath, but without 
 cutting through the skin above. After either 
 operation the tail should be worked a little 
 daily, till it sets in the proper position. 
 
 At last the birds for exhibition at a given date 
 have to be finally selected. The usual error 
 is to send too many, which an experienced 
 exhibitor never does unless he wants 
 Selecting them On the spot for the probability 
 Speomena ^f selling them, or to show what a 
 Exhibition. team he has, or because, knowing 
 he is stronger than usual, he wants 
 for some reason to make a grand coup, as was 
 the case amongst the Dark Brahma chickens 
 at the Crystal Palace Show of 1899. Here 
 one exhibitor carried off the challenge cup, 
 third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth 
 prizes in the cockerels ; and another the cup, 
 second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and 
 ninth in the pullets. But such cases are rare, 
 and the beginner had better make up his mind 
 
 that only his very best have a real chance of 
 winning, and that more will be waste of money 
 in entry fees. He may have more, really good 
 and worth money ; but a good show collects the 
 best, and his own best will make the best record 
 for him. These he should carefully select and 
 compare in pens, with a set of which, greater or 
 less in number, every sensible exhibitor provides 
 his establishment, being highly necessary for the 
 training of the birds as well as the selection of 
 them. We think it much better to have larger 
 pens than are used for exhibition, as the speci- 
 mens are equally well seen, and stand the con- 
 finement better; for our own Brahmas we adopted 
 three feet square. In such wired pens all the 
 possible candidates are closely scrutinised, and it 
 will often be found that those which look best 
 as they run do not appear so when in the pen, 
 for some reason or other.* 
 
 But all are better for some training in a 
 pen before showing, and the same proceeding 
 has further uses in promoting cleanliness and 
 
 condition. A fowl just picked up 
 Pen off a run, and penned up at a show 
 
 Training. for the first time, is wild and 
 
 frightened, and will never catch a 
 judge's eye ; want of symmetry alone would 
 throw it out. A week before the show will be 
 sufficient, a.id before being placed in the pen the 
 bird should have its legs and feet washed clean, 
 using soap and a nail brush if necessary ; and 
 also the head, for which a softer tooth brush is 
 more convenient. The pen should be first 
 sprinjded with good grit, over which is thrown 
 straw chaff ; this chaff will keep them clean, and 
 is most important, the grit for digestion being 
 equally so. As often as possible the birds 
 should be visited, and if unusually wild, first a 
 little starved, in order that they may welcome 
 the feeder with food. But as much as possible 
 of passing and repassing, standing in front of 
 them, stroking them down the back with 
 the end of a stick, and occasional throwing of 
 a grain or two of hempseed, will soon quiet 
 them, till they will let themselves be turned 
 about with a cane into all different positions 
 without making a fuss, and stand composedly 
 to be looked at, and comQ to the front of 
 the pen. The object is then attained, and the 
 
 * We recollect upon one occasion possessing two cockerels 
 clearly ahead of the others, one of which we had almost deter- 
 mined upon for the Crystal Palace Show. We had, however, 
 both placed in pens, being too ill to do more at the moment than 
 wipe their heads and feet. We were confined to bed for the 
 next few days, but tliey were carefully fed, and on the day be- 
 fore sending off, we were able to get down to look at them, 
 wrapped up in shawls. We instantly reversed our former con- 
 clusion, selecting the other bird, which won the cup of the year, 
 as we feel sure our first choice would not have done, though' in 
 other hands he won at Edinburgh afterwards. 
 
CLEANING AND WASHING FOWLS. 
 
 217 
 
 birds are "trained." Those which have been 
 petted and kept tame all through, however, make 
 the best show of themselves, and manifest a 
 calm aplomb which is seldom quite reached by 
 those pen-trained alone. 
 
 Some little modification in diet and regimen 
 is often advisable, not only during this training 
 time, but even perhaps for two or three weeks 
 before the show. There is no mystery about 
 this, nor is it a case for a table of directions ; all 
 is simple enough, and to be governed by reason- 
 able judgment. Many bird.s, even chickens, 
 look better for a little more flesh than they 
 usually have while running at large ; that will 
 be a case for liberal though careful feeding. 
 Gloss will in most cases be increased, as well as 
 
 flesh rather promoted, if every other 
 Gloss of day for two or three weeks the mash 
 
 Plumage. jg mixed with thick linseed tea, well 
 
 stewed, and with sufficient water to 
 make a thinnish jelly j using this instead of water, 
 seeds and all. A velvety lustre is often added by 
 this means, and no measure of quantity is neces- 
 sary, taking enough of the hot linseed tea and 
 seeds to mix the meals into proper consistency. 
 Active and sprightly birds, from a good-sized 
 run, but not required " hard " like Game fowls, 
 benefit most from this regimen, while full-fleshed 
 ones previously kept in confinement might be 
 deteriorated in health and condition ; one must 
 use judgment. When it can be borne, some- 
 times a little fat or linseed cake carefully added 
 to the daily food improves lustre ; and on the 
 other hand, birds which have been kept in 
 confined runs are occasionally improved in 
 gloss by giving, for about ten days, two grains 
 daily of saccharated carbonate of iron and about 
 half a dozen cloves. 
 
 If the colour of comb and face be somewhat 
 pale,a little underdone meat, and one of the before 
 mentioned (p. 2 14) citrate of iron and potash pills 
 
 daily, or 10 grains of the iron citrate 
 Colour of and I drachm of the potash citrate 
 Combs. jjj iialf a pint of drinking water, will 
 
 improve matters, as will sometimes 
 a little toast soaked in old ale, or a teaspoonful 
 daily of port wine. Mr. Cobb recommends 10 
 drops daily of colchicum wine in such cases for a 
 week to ten days, and we • have known marked 
 improvement in colour from its use ; but colchi- 
 cum is a rather risky drug, whose after effects 
 are sometimes bad, in depressing the action of 
 the heart. Citrate of potash and iron is safer, 
 we think quite as generally effectual, and can' 
 only be of benefit in any case, purifying and 
 enriching the blood. Chopped onions and dan- 
 delion leaves daily in lieu of other green food 
 are also of service in reddening combs. Birds 
 
 with dark combs, from confinement and bad 
 feeding, are not fit for exhibition at all until they 
 have been brought into a better state of health. 
 
 What is needed in the way of cleaning will 
 depend upon the colour. Dark or rich plumage 
 will "require nothing beyond the washing of heads 
 and legs, and the confinement in the training 
 pen, which is better rather out of the full light. 
 Kept clean upon chaff, as here recommended, 
 the plumage will become clean and bright 
 and glossy, if the birds are healthy. We never 
 needed any more than this with our Dark 
 Brahmas. The ground colour may be light 
 enough or bright enough to require rather more, 
 as in some shades of Partridge Cochin pullets, 
 or laced Wyandottes ; in this case the best pro- 
 cedure, where there is accommodation, is to put 
 the birds into a room deeply littered with straw, 
 amongst which some wheat is scattered'; a week 
 or two of this will clean them up a great deal, 
 and still preserve the natural oil, the loss of 
 which is the great objection to washing rich 
 coloured birds. Even buffs may often be suffi- 
 ciently cleaned in this way, especially when from 
 country runs ; nay, we sometimes see pure whites, 
 reared far from city smoke, which are all that 
 can be desired, though evidently unwashed. The 
 owner must judge about this ; but as a rule 
 white fowls, and other light colours like buff, do 
 require washing all over. 
 
 Before washing birds of his own, a novice 
 will do well, if possible, to get d. practical lesson, 
 otherwise he will be slow to grasp the very 
 
 thorough character of the process. 
 Washing This thoroughness is the secret of 
 
 Fowls. success, and most people fail in their 
 
 early efforts because too nervous or 
 squeamish about damaging the feathers. It is 
 little or no use just to sponge down the outside 
 plumage. At least one large oval tub, not much 
 short of a foot deep for large fowls, must be 
 provided, and unless there be facility for rapidly 
 emptying and renewing the water twice, it is 
 better to have three at once. Anyhow, plenty 
 of hot water must be at command. Also provide 
 a basinful of soap solution, such as washer- 
 women use, made by cutting up some good soap 
 into thin slices and dissolving in hot water into 
 almost a thin melted jelly. There is also wanted 
 a good compact sponge, rather soft and just as 
 large as the hand can squeeze easily, and some 
 soft dry towels. In commencing operations the 
 feet and legs should be washed first, and separ- 
 ately. Then the tub is filled about two-thirds 
 with water about the heat of an ordinary hot 
 bath, and the bird stood in this ; it should be at 
 least deep enough to come well up about the 
 body, and if when the fowl is pushed down it 
 
2l8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 covers the back, all the better. The first thing 
 of all is to be sure that the bird is thoroughly- 
 drenched to the skin ; just dipping in does not 
 do this. The plumage must be parted and worked 
 about with the bare hand under the water, or 
 the sponge, till every feather is soaked to the 
 root. Then we begin with the soap, taking some 
 up with the sponge, and thoroughly rubbing it 
 into the fowl, one place at a time. It is to be a 
 thorough good rubbing, all sorts of ways, except 
 that we would not go straight against the lie of 
 the feather, though we doubt if even that would 
 do much damage. But down, and across to and 
 fro, and energetically too, with the idea always 
 of getting down to the skin ; keeping on at one 
 part till more dirt ceases to come off. There is 
 really no danger at this stage, and no difficulty 
 provided the operator is not afraid to do his 
 work, and sticks to the one point that he has got 
 to get his bird clean. About the breast it is 
 necessary to rub almost up and down, which is 
 best done with the bare hand ; indeed, we have 
 seen a bird well washed with hands alone, not 
 using a. sponge at all. The fluff also requires 
 the hand, well worked about. Some use a brush 
 to scrub, but this is not free from risk ; not to 
 the feather as a whole, but to the proper webbing 
 afterwards ; several times we have seen birds 
 scrubbed with a brush, which did not seem to 
 web smoothly when dry, and believe that the 
 bristles brush out or off some of the tiny micro- 
 scopic barbules which hold the web together. 
 One very good washer we knew used chiefly a 
 sponge wrapped in flannel, especially for the 
 secondaries of the wings, and the tails : the 
 slight roughness, he said, brought the dirt off 
 well. It is best to wash the head last, in our 
 opinion, for the simple reason that most fowls 
 stand quietly till the head is done. This may 
 be done with a nail brush if preferred, in that 
 case only working it down the hackle of the 
 head, but the late Mr. Elijah Smith, one of the 
 best exhibitors of White Cochins, used to take 
 the head between the palms of both hands, with 
 soap, and wash it like a ball, using nothing 
 else. 
 
 Here ends the first stage, on which most of 
 all depends ; for if the bird is not clean now, 
 it cannot be so later on. It may be worth 
 remarking that if a fowl has to be left for a 
 minute to get anything, and there be no assist- 
 ant, the. wet sponge laid across its back, between 
 the wings, will generally keep it quite quiet, 
 believing it is being held. Sometimes a heavy 
 patient will appear faint in the hot water, or 
 even go dark in comb as if about to die; in that 
 case a good douche of cold water should at once 
 be given, which will bring it round, and it is 
 
 curious that it never, or hardly ever, faints a 
 second time. The soap is now as far as possible 
 sponged out in the bath (which is, however, itself 
 very soapy by this time), and the fluid also pressed 
 out by hand, after which the bird is placed in 
 another bath of clean warm water, and most 
 thoroughly rinsed. This is the second import- 
 ant point — to be sure the soap is all really 
 rinsed out, in default of which the plumage 
 clogs, and does not web nicely. This water will 
 of course do for washing the next bird. Pressing 
 out the slightly soapy water also with the hands, . 
 the bird is finally to be transferred to a third 
 tub, and again rinsed, rather quickly but thor- 
 oughly, in cold water, which closes the pores and 
 prevents it taking cold. In the case of white 
 fowls, it is advisable to put a very little blue in 
 this final water ; not of course enough to look 
 the least blue when finished, but just a trace, 
 which adds considerably to the brilliance of a 
 white bird. 
 
 The washed and rinsed bird is now to be 
 taken out upon a table or board, and the water 
 got as far as possible out of it with the sponge 
 
 squeezed dry. Many prefer to 
 Drying Fowls dry still further with dry towels ; 
 after Washing, personally we prefer only to dry 
 
 the head, wipe down the neck, and 
 just sop up the rest. Anything at this stage 
 should be done the way of the feather. The 
 bird is now to be transferred to a drying cage or 
 box before a good but not fierce fire. A large 
 box open on one side to the fire, and open or 
 with a lid on the top, is best, or an exhibition 
 hamper just large enough, unlined, may be 
 stood in such a box. Considerable care is 
 required at this stage, as the bird must be turned 
 round from time to time, the wettest part to the 
 fire, and not exposed to a strong heat, which is 
 apt to blister the face, and will almost certainly 
 warp and twist the hackle and other feathers. 
 If room is scanty in front of the fire, its glare 
 should be shielded from the birds by a screen of 
 coarse linen ; what is wanted is a strong glow of 
 dry \yarmth, not a fierce heat, and for the bird, 
 in its basket or without, to be turned about with 
 the wettest parts to the warmest side, so long 
 as any evident wet remains. This may mean 
 hours of labour with a team of birds washed in 
 due succession ; one or two, of course, are done 
 with sooner. Be it few or many, however, this 
 final care is the third of the' secrets in good 
 washing ; and when the birds are nearly dry but 
 •still perceptibly damp, they should be placed in 
 lined exhibition baskets, in a warm but not hot 
 place, to finally dry out, The object of this is 
 to have the final drying in a slightly moist or 
 steamy atmosphere, somewhat confined by the 
 
MOULTING OF PRJZE POULTRY. 
 
 219 
 
 lining; in such atmosphere experience shows 
 that the plumage webs again best of all. 
 
 Rain or soft water should always be used for 
 washing poultry, and really good mild soap, not 
 a coarse alkaline quality. White fowls of loose 
 plumage like Cochins may be shown next day 
 if necessary, and we know that Mr. Elijah Smith 
 on one occasion washed his birds in the morning, 
 took them a few miles to the first railway 
 junction (where he had in those early days 
 several hours to wait), and dried them on the 
 floor before the waiting-room fire ! But the 
 birds should, if possible, have at least a day to 
 preen themselves and get the plumage in order 
 in their own way ; also, if anything is not 
 properly done there is time to put it right. 
 We would prefer two or three days, and they 
 will keep perfectly clean if the pen has plenty 
 of chaff as above advised, and the droppings are 
 frequently removed. Another reason for a little 
 time to spare, is that often slight laxity of the 
 bowels may follow for a day or two. The reason 
 for this, we believe, is either soap being swallowed 
 or a slight chill ; usually the latter, which might 
 probably be prevented by five or six drops of 
 essence of camphor on a bolus of meal first 
 thing next morning, and taking care that they 
 are not put direct from the warm drying basket 
 into a cold pen. They should always be 
 watched, and fed carefully the following day, 
 food in the least sloppy being especially avoided. 
 Management of adult fowls for exhibition 
 resolves itself mainly into care of the plumage 
 for the summer shows, good moulting for the 
 
 winter ones, and the attainment of 
 Adult Fowls a proper amount of flesh. While 
 for Exhibition, chickens can be fed freely at all 
 
 times, older fowls so treated would 
 be fat and useless for stock ; to be useful they 
 are best kept considerably more spare than the 
 most effective show condition. Hence actual 
 breeding stock often requires perceptible feeding 
 up before it can be considered in show trim. 
 It is better by far to treat them thus, than to 
 keep them in such condition for long periods, 
 especially if of the larger breeds; and this is 
 one of the reasons why old fowls of such breeds 
 do not stand continuous showing. Here again, 
 however, constant and ample green food is the 
 greatest help and preservative. Most of the 
 extra feeding should be given whilst still on the 
 runs, and adult fowls which have had any expe- 
 rience will require less time in the training pen, 
 a very few days being usually sufficient. What 
 has been said already regarding gloss of feather, 
 and colour of combs and lobes, will apply to 
 them. also. 
 
 Great care of their plumage is needed for 
 
 stock. 
 
 summer competition. The hens may require 
 seclusion from the cock during most of the day, 
 and when serious breeding is over, are better 
 taken away altogether. The male bird should, 
 however, have a couple or more common hens 
 left with him till about the end of June, during 
 morning and evening ; deprived altogether, he 
 often becomes listless and dispirited. Both sexes 
 should be shielded from hot sun, which bleaches 
 or tans the plumage, and makes it brittle. If 
 hens become broody, their management as to 
 being allowed to sit a little, or turned off the 
 nest at once, will have to be considered in con- 
 nection with the date when they may be wanted, 
 and how far the season is advanced, as any time 
 after the early part of July it may possibly bring 
 on a moult. 
 
 A fairly quick and good moult is the chief 
 thing to aim at in regard to the later shows, and 
 the fact just mentioned is of value in regard to 
 hens. These should always be allowed 
 Moulting ^ f^i'' nieasure of rest in the summer. 
 Exhibition for if they are not, the mere want of 
 strength thus caused may prevent 
 their moulting quickly and well ; 
 but should any become broody after the first 
 week in July, to allow them to sit for a month 
 and then turn them off will often result in the 
 casting of the feathers almost together, and the 
 rapid growth of the new coat whilst the weather 
 is still warm. This is the sort of moult a breeder 
 likes. Much depends upon the date of hatching, 
 and the experienced breeder lays his plans 
 greatly in reference to this. Chickens hatched 
 late in March and through April, and well cared 
 for, may be expected to moult well and fairly 
 early all their lives ; but late hatched birds are 
 apt to be late in moult, and on the other hand 
 pullets hatched very early, too often lay very 
 early and moult in their very first season, but 
 late in the autumn. When this happens, the 
 time of the bird's future moults is frequently 
 upset for life, but not always. 
 
 Valued specimens, then, should be prepared 
 beforehand for a good moult, by giving the hens 
 rest, when occasion offers, and separating the 
 male birds for a reasonable time ; but not over- 
 doing this last, as already remarked. Their con- 
 dition should also be carefully examined, with 
 a view to feeding up, as already hinted in 
 Chapter III. They need extra food and sup- 
 port through this period, but if already on the 
 fleshy side, this might be disastrous ; therefore 
 take special care that they are in full vigour, but 
 not in the least fleshy, and ready for the system 
 of feeding there described. If they seem to re- 
 quire it, the tonic powder No. 3, page 203, may 
 often be given with benefit, and if they are to be 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 exhibited soon after, the stewed hnseed for 
 giving gloss should not be forgotten. Gloss is 
 best promoted in moulting birds by keeping 
 them in pens not exposed to full light, and giv- 
 ing linseed judiciously with carbonate of iron 
 (unless given in the above tonic, which will 
 suffice) to all except white or buff fowls, and 
 sulphur as already mentioned. The effect of 
 partial shade upon gloss is not understood, 
 but is very real; and extreme green gloss, as 
 desired in Langshans, Black Hamburghs^ and 
 other breeds, cannot be attained without it. 
 
 In spite of all, valuable birds may " hang " in 
 the moult, or have difficulty in growing the new 
 plumage. A very usual cause of this is insect 
 vermin, which wide experience shows to take a 
 larger and larger place as the real 
 Vermin and cause of many poultry ailments. 
 Moult. Pains should therefore be taken to 
 
 ensure that the birds are entirely 
 free before moulting and during the process. 
 The skin is naturally in an irritable and feverish . 
 condition, and anything of this sort is more felt 
 than at any other time, while the young feathers 
 are particularly liable to be attacked, and thus 
 prevented from girowing out properly. This 
 cause of bad moulting was little known at one 
 time, when a dry dust bath was freely allowed 
 to exhibition poultry ; but too often this is now 
 discarded — more's the pity — for insect powder, 
 petroleum washes, and other devices, and unless 
 these are sedulously kept up, the birds suffer. 
 Indeed, we have strong doubts whether they do 
 not suffer even then, the friction of the dust 
 bath being doubtless needed to cleanse the 
 scurf-skin, as well as to destroy the parasites. 
 Be this as it may, we do know that insect 
 vermin as a cause of bad moulting has greatly 
 increased since the new order of things. 
 
 Where moult seems to delay unaccountably, 
 or to stand still after just a beginning, a change 
 of temperature is generally a remedy. If the 
 bird has been in a warm house, and it I's not too 
 cold, it may be placed in a cool one for a week 
 or two ; or, more commonly, it may be taken up 
 and confined in a warm house. If with this 
 change of abode there be coupled some sun- 
 flower-seed — about half the last feed of grain 
 daily— the process will often be started satisfac- 
 torily. Hemp-seed has been used for the same 
 purpose, but sunflower-seed is much better and 
 more strengthening. 
 
 The shanks also may need attention at 
 moulting time. Most fowls moult the scales on 
 the shanks as well as the feathers on their 
 bodies, and all are probably intended to do 
 so. There appear to be exceptions, however, 
 and in cases where the appearance or colour 
 
 suffers from the persistence of old, dry, and horny 
 scales, it is well to assist nature, which can usually 
 be done. If such an old scale be nipped be- 
 tween the thumb-nails, it can usually 
 Moulting ^^ removed, and when the required 
 of the action has been thus understood, 
 
 Shanks. i^^ breeder will find no difficulty in 
 
 selecting at any surgical cutler^s a 
 pair of tweezers or small forceps which will do 
 the work better and more quickly. Birds are 
 often seen in a pen in their old scales, which 
 might easily have been removed in this way, to 
 their great benefit in appearance. We also be- 
 lieve that leaving on these old and somewhat 
 loosened scales is a great predisposing cause to 
 the lodgment beneath of the little mite which 
 causes scaly leg. 
 
 In regard to training and washing, nothing 
 need be added to what was said above. Experi- 
 enced old birds often need hardly any training 
 or penning at all, so far as their manners are 
 concerned; they have gone through the mill 
 already, and know all about it ; but penning is 
 in most cases useful for cleaning purposes also, 
 as before indicated. Special care should however 
 be taken in feeding them up to the proper 
 degree, any extra feed being given steadily and 
 uniformly up to the desired point, not all piled 
 on during a week or two. Though given more, 
 appetite must still be carefully preserved. Large 
 Asiatics need peculiar care to guard against 
 over-fattening for exhibition, as they are wanted 
 to look large and massive, whilst any approach 
 to lazy torpidity must be eschewed. Here malt 
 dust and ample green 'food are valuable aids, 
 and an occasional lo grains of citrate of potash 
 will often clear the blood and pick a bird up if 
 he seems to begetting dull and lazy. Underdone 
 meat chopped small, and a little toast soaked in 
 strong old ale, will also help to impart spirit 
 to an old bird. 
 
 The final preparation before sending off will 
 be very little, if the cleaning of the shanks and 
 heads was done, as it should be, when putting 
 into the pens. If not, it must of 
 The Final course be done now ; and in many 
 Preparation, cases where birds have been pre- 
 pared and already shown recently, 
 and have been refreshed between by a small 
 grass run carefully kept, nothing more may be 
 needed than to take them up and again cleanse 
 the head and feet ; they will not have forgotten 
 their previous training. Wl\ere the birds have 
 been treated already, however, and then penned 
 upon a floor of grit and clean chaff, the shanks 
 will now only need wiping over, after which dark 
 legs may be greased with olive oil, but to be wiped 
 as free of it as possible. The face and comb, if 
 
FINAL PREPARATION FOR EXHIBITION. 
 
 bright, also only need sponging over ; but some- 
 times a tooth brush brings the colour out better. 
 After that most exhibitors apply something to 
 the red parts ; some using salad oil, others vine- 
 gar, or vinegar and water, others cocoanut oil 
 and turmeric. Vinegar is very apt to blister a 
 newly washed comb, and we see many at 
 every show thus disfigured ; moreover, though 
 it brightens at first, the comb is apt to go dark 
 ten or twelve hours later. Dilute vinegar is 
 safer, and suits some birds very well, but the 
 best thing for most is plain oil, applied by a bit 
 of soft sponge. Whatever it is should be wiped 
 off as dry as possible. A white lobe must on no 
 account be greased or scrubbed, but gently 
 gone over with a sponge, as gently dried 
 
 If 
 
 ■sS: 
 
 
 Fig. 85.— Exhibition Hamper. 
 
 thoroughly, and when dry puffed with oxide 
 of zinc, this too being carefully and softly 
 rubbed off again as far as possible ;" the object 
 is to dry and soften the skin, not to stain 
 it, and white powder found on it would amount 
 to artificial colouring. Finally the fowl is looked 
 over, any broken or bent body feather removed, 
 and the whole bird groomed over with an Indian 
 silk handkerchief or, failing that, the bare hand. 
 A common handkerchief is useless, but even the 
 hand, and still more a good silk handkerchief, 
 perceptibly increases the polish or gloss of the 
 plumage, so much so that we have thought it 
 might pay to thus groom a bird every day. It 
 is then ready to be placed in the basket. We 
 always did this at night, when it was done 
 peacefully and quietly; and preferred night 
 trains where possible, as usually going through 
 more quickly, but the birds are easily fed, if 
 necessary, in the morning. For the last feed, 
 wheat steeped in hot water, in moderation, is as 
 
 good as anything. The straw in the baskets, 
 for single birds, should be well bruised till 
 soft, put in deep, and so hollowed out, or deep- 
 ened in the centre, as to keep the bird there 
 and avoid danger to the tail. 
 
 The basket or hamper for a single fowl is a 
 survival of the fittest, and is shown in Fig. 85. 
 The wicker is only a skeleton, lined with coarse 
 linen or calico, or any other cheap 
 Exhibition material can be used. For very 
 Hampers. severe climates thicker material, or 
 a double lining, will give more pro- 
 tection on a long journey. The cover should 
 always be hinged in the middle, and is fastened 
 down with string, or soft wire, or sometimes 
 (when not meant for sale) a strap and buckle. 
 Many exhibitors add in the lining a pocket for 
 the expected prize-card. For a large cockerel 
 the proper size is about twenty-two inches dia- 
 meter and twenty-six inches high, other birds in 
 proportion. Regular exhibitors largely employ 
 baskets made with several compartments, the 
 freight of which comes cheaper. In such cases 
 special care must be taken that each is placed 
 in the compartment under its proper label ; 
 every show, almost, presenting examples of 
 mis-penning due to carelessness in this matter. 
 As a rule, the birds will not require any 
 special treatment after return from exhibition, 
 but should be taken from the basket and given a 
 moderate feed of soft food, also a 
 Treatment moderate drink, and then placed in 
 after the training pen for the night, or the 
 
 Exhibition. rest of the day and the night, feed- 
 ing again before night if necessary. 
 For every one should be most carefully looked 
 over before putting back in the run, lest any 
 complaint may have been contracted at the show ; 
 and if the owner happens to know that it has 
 been close to the pen of a diseased bird, a 
 quarantine of a few days may save much trouble. 
 This is only given as a caution, and not a scare, 
 for such mischief seldom follows. If the state 
 of the bowels warrants it, the sooner some 
 chopped green food is given the better, but here 
 judgment should be used, according to any 
 symptoms. Evident constipation and feverish- 
 ness maybe the better for 15 to 30 grains of 
 Epsom salts. If a bird seems quite done up, a 
 tablespoonful of port wine the last thing at night 
 will often give a good sleep and work wonders. 
 More can hardly be needed except after over- 
 showing ; but fine specimens are shown by some 
 people till they are regularly broken down, and 
 we have often been disgusted to see a once 
 magnificent cock who literally could not stand 
 in his pen. This kind of unbridled competition, 
 from merely sordid motives, is simply sickening. 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and there is too much of it in certain circles. 
 If a bird comes home apparently done up, or on 
 the verge of such a breakdown, give it at once 
 one of Henson's cuca pellets, or a third of a 
 teaspoonful of the same chemist's fluid cuca, or 
 a teaspoonful of Hall's coca wine, and another in 
 the evening or after three hours. Cuca extract 
 is much used by cyclists, and (in reason) we know 
 it by experience to be a wonderful nerve restora- 
 tive ; but to go on with it, keeping up the strain 
 continuously, and trying to remedy the effects 
 by resort to drugs, means even worse ruin in the 
 end. The only real remedy is rest. 
 
 After a crowded show, it is safer in winter to 
 shut birds up in a dry shed for a day before 
 allowing them out, to harden them a little 
 towards the open air. It should be needless to 
 repeat that a cockerel once taken away and 
 shown cannot be returned to his old companions 
 without a fight ; and such a fight under the 
 circumstances involves considerable danger of 
 apoplexy, the bird having been highly fed and 
 in exciting circumstances. We have personally 
 known three cases in which birds thus care- 
 lessly treated have dropped down dead, almost 
 before a blow had been really struck on either 
 side. 
 
 Some exhibitors who reduce showing to a 
 regular business system, differ much as to the 
 manner in which they make it pay. To get any 
 
 remunerative sale at all for prize 
 
 Profit and Loss stock, the owner must show him- 
 
 of self capable of taking fair rank in 
 
 Exhibition. ^hg exhibition ring; but it is 
 
 sufficient for this if honours are 
 consistently taken at the few great shows of the 
 year. Many of the more genuine amateurs 
 confine themselves to these, which do not over- 
 task their best breeding birds, and are quite 
 sufficient to keep up their reputation. Beginners 
 generally try first in easier competition, and 
 there are plenty of second class but still good 
 class shows, at which a few wins gradually get a 
 new name recognised. But there are a distinct 
 class who buy to exhibit, and exhibit the bought 
 stock constantly, reckoning to get their money 
 back out of birds before they have used them 
 up, and at the same time keep their names 
 before the public. The increase of these regular 
 circuit-goers during late years has very much 
 affected the poultry fancy and exhibition matters 
 generally. These men have vast experience, can 
 appraise their birds as well as any judge, and 
 rarely waste entry fees. Some of them act as 
 judges in turn, which at times provokes scandal. 
 A certain number of them make exhibiting itself 
 
 pay well, often picking up first class birds 
 cheaply at out of the way shows, in their visits 
 to nearly all ; and to some extent arranging in 
 concert where they shall appear, and forming a 
 sort of inner circle of their own. 
 
 The majority of skilled breeder-exhibitors 
 probably about make their prizes pay entry fees 
 and carriage. That more is almost impossible, 
 may be seen at once on comparing the average 
 sum given in prizes to a class, with the fees and 
 average freight charges added up of the entries 
 in that class. But it pays in countless other 
 ways — by promoting sales, by keeping up personal 
 connection, by constantly keeping the eye and 
 judgment in training, and by opening the way 
 to advantageous purchases and sales. Many of 
 the best sales are made personally at the shows. 
 The novice cannot hope at first to clear his 
 expenses. But he may reduce these by training 
 his own critical faculty, and sending only the 
 pick of his best birds, in good condition, till he 
 feels his feet and finds his place. Notwithstand- 
 ing what is said above as to the " inner circle " 
 and all the rest of it, the field is as open as ever 
 to real merit, and upon the whole this gets fair 
 play. If certain exhibitors do appear at times 
 to "sweep the deck "to an extent almost for- 
 bidding, it is to be remembered that they have 
 often bought their champions at very high prices 
 indeed, and thus make much of his market for 
 the breeding exhibitor, who would not like to 
 lose those high prices, which only winning enables 
 them to pay. It is quite a complicated system 
 now, and not free from evils ; but we still on 
 many occasions see the honours fall to pre- 
 viously unknown exhibitors with new birds. 
 
 The exhibition value of birds bought mainly 
 for exhibition, depends on circumstances, as well 
 as upon the real quality. Some varieties have 
 
 a class of their own at every decent 
 Exhibition show, while others, even of the same 
 Value. major breed, will often have to go 
 
 under " any other colour," into one 
 mixed class besides the leading one. There are 
 breeds, like Hamburghs, where all varieties often 
 ■ compete together at the smaller . shows. And 
 there are breeds — even old recognised breeds 
 like Spanish, Malays, Polish, or Scotch Greys — 
 which have now at most exhibitions no separate 
 class, but compete in that for "Any other 
 Variety." This great inequality in the chances 
 of a prize considerably affects the exhibition 
 value. It is useless to more than hint at 
 these points ; but the hints may serve to show 
 how much has to be considered and learnt before 
 investing heavily in this line of business. 
 
223 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SHOWS. JUDGING. TRIMMING. TECHNICAL TERMS. 
 
 THERE is no need at this date to enter 
 generally into the details of show manage- 
 ment ; but a few points in which im- 
 provement is still often desirable ought to be 
 mentioned. Penning and feeding are generally 
 contracted for now, and many old errors are 
 corrected ; but we are bound to say that cleanli- 
 ness does not seem nearly so well secured now 
 at the great shows as formerly. In the 'sixties 
 it was usual to cover the floors with chaff, 
 which kept the plumage clean ; but the birds 
 were at that time usually fed on grain, and 
 the absence of grit was prejudicial to health. 
 Grit is now substituted at most shows, but with 
 nothing else, and the birds too often become 
 filthy. A very small quantity, of 
 Cleaniineas. grit is required, and if this were 
 covered with chaff, as we have" 
 indicated for the training . pens, the inmates 
 would be kept in perfect health and cleanliness 
 so far as flooring was concerned. This is not 
 too much to ask of a show committee ; but we 
 have attended one of the largest shows of the 
 year where the pens were not even cleansed 
 daily. We have seen still worse eff"ects, though 
 fortunately this is more occasional, from gaps 
 carelessly left between the boards which, in most 
 shows, have to form the roof of the lower and 
 floor of the upper tier ; the filth from the upper 
 will descend upon the occupant of the lower pen, 
 with results too well known to many an exhibitor. 
 Usually a wash when the bird gets home will 
 remedy matters ; but we have seen cases, at the 
 Crystal Palace itself, where copious discharges 
 from above have corroded the plumage so as to 
 absolutely ruin birds for the rest of the season. 
 We are not sure a committee, and through them 
 the contractors, might not be made liable for 
 damages in a case of this sort, since such evils 
 would be absolutely prevented by the simple 
 expedient of half-lapped or match- boarding. 
 
 Feeding is much improved compared with 
 early practice, and at least one feed a day of soft 
 food is generally given. Still there is room for 
 improvement, this being usually biscuit meal, 
 often scarcely moistened. It is very much 
 better, though rarely done, to mix a certain 
 
 portion of barley meal or oatmeal or ground 
 oats with it, and mix it properly, so that it can 
 be eaten comfortably without all falling to dry 
 
 meal on the floor. It is also still 
 Feeding the usual custom to fill the water 
 
 at Shows. tins for the birds on arrival, which 
 
 they will often drink entirely, to 
 their serious injury; in particular such thirsty 
 drinking has a uniform tendency to darken, it 
 may be to almost blacken, the combs. A third 
 full is quite enough for the first drinking. The 
 whole grain — wheat is best — is much better 
 given in two small feeds than one large one, 
 and gives the birds some exercise and occupa- 
 tion if well scattered about the pen, as it should 
 be, not just thrown down. 
 
 We hardly know a show yet where green or 
 fresh vegetable food is given. It would be much 
 better if it were, and really very easily manciged 
 by such firms as do the contracting now, by 
 slicing up roots into small dice in a hopper 
 machine, and giving a sprinkle to each pen. 
 This is almost the only thing worth fussing 
 about by an exhibitor- personally. Should he 
 be attending the show, it is well worth while to 
 take in some lettuces daily for his pets, and a 
 little chopped meat will not come amiss if they 
 have been used to high diet ; but it is worse than 
 useless to fuss about mere food, as some seem to 
 do, apparently anxious lest their birds get 
 enough. They may rest assured that they are 
 far more likely to be overfed than underfed, 
 while they are much better underfed than over- 
 fed ; only such extras as mentioned, which are 
 probably missed, are worth attending to if 
 occasion serves. 
 
 The most important point in some, respects 
 of good show management, absolute fair play to 
 all, is unfortunately lacking at many shows, 
 
 particularly in regard to allowing 
 Unfair exhibitors or their men to pen their 
 
 Privileges. own birds. This manifestly gives 
 
 such birds a considerable advantage, 
 since — to take only one point — their heads and 
 combs can be " freshened up " at the very last 
 moment. These men very often make large 
 entries, and are well known personally through a 
 
224 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 large circle all over the country, and it is easy to 
 see how strong is the personal pressure in favour 
 of granting such advantages. But they are dis- 
 tinctly unjust to such as have to trust their 
 specimens to railway and show officials ; and 
 there are, moreover, occasionally distressing 
 cases of malicious injury to formidable exhibits 
 sent unprotected, which can hardly be due to 
 any other than some of the parties thus illegiti- 
 mately admitted. Things are not as they have 
 been painted by some for reasons of their own, 
 and supposed by others to account for their own 
 want of success ; but unbridled rivalry and the 
 business interests at stake in some quarters are 
 the greatest curses of the poultry fancy, and such 
 admissions and favours present too many oppor- 
 tunities of many kinds to just the class which it 
 is most undesirable should have them. 
 
 The same rule should be applied to packing 
 birds when the show is over ; and for the same 
 reasons constant supervision over every alley or 
 promenade in the exhibition should be main- 
 tained. This ought to be a travelling or 
 peripatetic supervision, if only to see to the 
 prompt removal and breakage of eggs laid ; if 
 they are long left in the pen, breakage is sure to 
 occur there, and the bird may acquire the habit 
 of egg-eating. It is also necessary to prevent 
 unauthorised meddling with exhibits, which in 
 the exhibitor's absence have an absolute right to 
 be protected from all rival exhibitors, so far as 
 their private capacity extends. On the contrary, 
 we often see birds allowed to be taken out of 
 their pens by rival exhibitors, quite unchecked, 
 at even first-class exhibitions. This is simply 
 disgraceful, and must damage the plumage, if 
 nothing else, for which reason it is no doubt 
 often done. If any fraud is suspected, it is 
 right and necessary for the matter to be in- 
 vestigated ; but this should only be upon due 
 protest, with caution money,* and in the pres- 
 ence and with the sanction of 'officers and 
 judges — at least one of each. We have actually 
 known an exhibitor, on his own mere motion 
 and responsibility, take out a buff bird belonging 
 to a rival in the same class, and apply what he 
 presumed to consider a "chemical test" to the 
 plumage; a test which was worthless as such, but 
 which dyed the plumage afterwards ! 
 
 A point merely of good management, but 
 which is too often neglected, is the sending 
 notice of all sales of pens exhibited, at farthest 
 the same evening on which the show closes. 
 
 * At the best English shows it is usual to require a guinea 
 with any protest on the ground of fraud, which is not returned if 
 the protest be decided to be frivolous and unjustifiable, as some 
 are. The fee is of course returned, if either the protest be sus- 
 tained, or even if not sustained, if the authorities consider there 
 was fair, frimA facie, or plausible ground for it. 
 
 Neglect of this causes endless anxiety when 
 the sold pens fail to arrive along with the 
 others. Where a show lasts more than two 
 days, notice ought to be posted every evening 
 of sales made during the day. 
 
 At Birmingham a list of sales is posted out- 
 side the office, and also the awards as handed in 
 by the judges from time to time. Whenever 
 the public are admitted during the 
 Notice of judging, or. on the first day at any 
 
 Sales and time, this prompt posting up of the 
 Awards. awards, from which exhibitors can 
 
 mark their blank catalogues, and 
 the prompt posting of the cards upon the pens 
 themselves, is of the greatest importance, but 
 not always attended to as it should be ; at the 
 largest show of the year we have on some occa- 
 sions known many awards not to be obtainable 
 even at nightfall, though handed in lorrg before. 
 The question concerning what is called 
 "open judging" will lead naturally to the next 
 section of this chapter. All exhibitions of poul- 
 try were at one time privately 
 Open judged; but the public judging of 
 
 Judging. cattle and horses doubtless started 
 
 the other idea, and Birmingham first 
 began the system, since carried out at most of 
 the larger and some even of the smaller British 
 shows, of admitting the public at an enhanced 
 fee "to witness the judging." The judges them- 
 selves at first much objected to the new method, 
 but experience has endorsed it, especially as a 
 check upon the unauthorised influence of large 
 and habitual exhibitors, as above alluded to. 
 When we say that we have ourselves seen,atthe 
 chief show of the year, a large exhibitor acting 
 practically as "steward" (or manual assistant) 
 to one of the judges, and that this would not 
 have been seen except for the " open judging," 
 solid reasons for the system will appear. Of 
 course the class which is actually being judged 
 is always temporarily fenced off from the public, 
 who can only watch the proceedings from the 
 ends of the alley or from adjoining alleys, and 
 the judge is not impeded, though his proceedings 
 and method of work are under review. What 
 the public really care most about, however, is the 
 earlier knowledge thus possible of the principal 
 awards, in advance of the published prize list, 
 and which to some of them may be of consider- 
 able importance. The higher fee for admission 
 also ensures a less crowded and more quiet exam- 
 ination ; and for all these various reasons " open 
 judging" is likely to remain an institution at 
 the large shows. Except under such equitable 
 conditions, open to all alike, exhibitors ought 
 to be most rigidly excluded previous to the 
 admission of the general public. 
 
EARLY POULTRY JUDGING. 
 
 225 
 
 Good and upright judging is the greatest 
 object to be desired at all competitive exhibi- 
 tions. In poultry judging very great changes 
 in method and practice have taken place since 
 the first edition of the Illustrated Book of Poultry. 
 At first it was customary to exhibit a cock and 
 three hens, and after that the rule was a cock 
 and two hens, known as a " pen " of birds. As 
 a pen rarely contained the best in all its inmates, 
 this made judging complicated, and often 
 questionable. For years after that, when the 
 males were separated, a pair of hens or pullets, 
 were shown together, and we often find ourselves 
 still regretting this, as a better test of the 
 breeder's skill ; though on the " whole single 
 birds are better, both for the exhibitor, and in 
 making the judge's task so far simple and clear. 
 
 The early system of judging differed 
 Changes of entirely from that known to the 
 Method present generation of exhibitors, 
 
 in Judging. ^^ ^^g ^ime we speak of, two or 
 
 even three judges always acted in 
 concert, and excepting one or two of the very 
 largest, usually made all the awards through 
 the entire show, in all classes alike, often 
 arbitrating upon as many as a thousand 
 pens. This system was only possible on 
 account of the little general skill in breeding 
 at that date, which made a few good pens stand 
 out so clearly from the rest as to be selected 
 with far greater celerity and ease. Even pens 
 worthy of being "highly commended" were 
 scarce in those days, so that at a large show 
 even such cards had a considerable money value 
 in selling stock ; and it was easy for any judge 
 then to judge more than double the number of 
 pens he could possibly manage now. The 
 gradual increase of birds of real merit made 
 necessary the suggestion of an extra grade, 
 originally due to us and now everywhere adopted, 
 of " very highly commended " cards, of which it 
 is understood that such a card, however freely 
 bestowed, should be restricted to specimens not 
 unworthy of a prize in a good class, but for which 
 prizes are not available. Since then a yet higher 
 grade has been invented, in a "reserve" card, 
 ranking next after the actual prize list, and 
 which also has conveniences should any prize 
 bird be disqualified after judging. At the Crystal 
 Palace show as many as ten actual prizes are 
 sometimes given in a few of the principal classes, 
 and there will be "very highly commended" 
 specimens outside even of these. Such great 
 changes in the very conditions of competition, 
 which many of the yoynger generation can 
 scarcely realise, may make clearer how it ^vas 
 that one or two pairs of judges could at that 
 early period perform with more or less efficiency 
 
 a task which no judge whatever would dream of 
 attempting to-day. 
 
 But another reason was the entire absence of 
 public criticism, and therefore of any due sense 
 of responsibility. Even the nominal responsi- 
 bility was joint or corporate ; and if 
 Evils of the anyone protested, with evidently 
 Early System, much reason, against some award,. 
 Jorkins said it was Spenlow's fault, 
 and Spenlow said it was Jorkins's. This was 
 convenient, and created in both an indifference 
 to dissatisfaction which at times was almost 
 lordly in its grandeur, since there was absolutely 
 ,no check upon it. The prize list, and one or two 
 lines (from one of the judges) as to whether a 
 class was good or poor, or some particular pen 
 " very fine," was all that appeared in the one 
 or two journals which gave 'even so much to 
 poultry shows ; of independent skilled criticism 
 there was none. The evils resulting from all 
 this had become manifest, and led us from the 
 first, as soon as able to exert any influence in 
 such matters, on the one hand to advocate single 
 judging, each judge being solely responsible for 
 his own awards and those only; and on the 
 other to endeavour to show by actual example 
 what intelligent criticism of exhibits and awards, 
 so detailed as to be Capable of being itself judged 
 in the light of day, might and ought to be.*" 
 The first innovation we felt would halve the 
 work and double the efficiency of the judging 
 staff; the other must in time enforce a more 
 
 * Gur critical notes upon a few of the principal shows in the 
 Journal of horticulture (then the only British poultry organ) 
 for several years previous to 1874, were the first and only ones 
 attempted up to that time. They were then succeeded by 
 similar ones over a wider area in the Live Stock Journal and 
 Fancier's Gazette, which was for years, and while under our 
 direction, the leading poultry organ in Great Britain. In these 
 we still shared, but aided by a staff trained as far as possible to- 
 follow the same system, the essence of which was not to pro- 
 nounce mere dogmatic opinion, but to give details and reasons, 
 above all whenever any award was seriously questioned. Thus 
 was commenced that metho'd of show reporting in England, 
 without which the present vast exhibition system would speedily 
 languish, and whose present scale may be judged from the fact 
 that a current issue of the Feathered World, contains reports 
 of 19 shows, occupying 37 large columns of small type. Our 
 own reports testify that in every case we gave detailed reasons 
 for any opinion expressed, but that on no occasion is ttere a. 
 word to indicate that any exhibit of our own ought to have 
 stood any higher than it did. It can be staled now without 
 offence, that this is no small boast. The fact will seem strange 
 to-day, when no judge dreams of resenting criticism that is part 
 of the accepted scheme of things ; but it is a fact, that in those 
 earlier years they did — especially the two of them who judged 
 the greater number of shows at that time — fiercely resent having^ 
 their long unquestioned infallibiliiy called in question ; and as. 
 soon as our personal share in it became known, they taught us. 
 effectually that it was absolutely necessary either to (.ease from, 
 our criticisms, or from telling the truth, or from exhibiting under 
 them. There were other reasons, including heavy pnssure ol 
 work ; but that was the main reason which drove us out of 
 breeding poultry for exhibition. That the price had to be paid 
 is some measure of the work that had to be done in those days, 
 and of the necessity for doing it. 
 
226 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 serious sense of obligation and duty. Both 
 expectations have been realised, and have 
 gradually worked a revolution in this depart- 
 ment of poukry exhibition. 
 
 Though the gain has been great upon the 
 whole, however, it would be a mistake to sup- 
 pose it an unmixed gain. It is all gain to have 
 an adequate number of judges — 
 Evils of the sixteen, acting singly, were employed 
 Modern at a recent Crystal Palace Show — 
 
 System. ^j^o can therefore take adequate 
 
 time. It is great gain to know that 
 any considerable miscarriage in the awards is 
 pretty sure to be detected by the skilled 
 reporters of the poultry press. But the very 
 number of arbitrators now required, and ' the 
 necessity imposed by fiercer competition that 
 many varieties should be judged by those who 
 possess a breeder's knowledge of them, and the 
 far greater number of shows, have introduced 
 some evils of their own. A large portion of 
 the judges are necessarily now drawn from 
 "the ranks of exhibitors themselves, and this has 
 had a perceptible tendency towards the creation 
 of certain circles, or " swims " as they might be 
 called, whose members work in with one another, 
 and reciprocate favours. We have seen too 
 evident signs of this^ especially in certain Mid- 
 land and Northern districts of England ; and 
 there are one or two judges to-day, of un- 
 doubted ability, who have never gained a good 
 reputation. As regards the larger shows, grave 
 miscarriages are kept in check by the press, 
 whose vigilance keeps minor matters also 
 under control ; but such vigilance has certainly 
 been required, and cases of mutual favour do 
 undoubtedly occur. The old school of judges 
 -were most certainly not above showing personal 
 resentment, as we too often had occasion to 
 !know,* but they were mostly far above mutual 
 
 * After we had personally ceased to compete at- shows, as 
 ; stated in a previous note, one of the most valued members of' 
 
 ■ our staff was compelled on one occasion to take serious objec- 
 tion to an award, the judge having himself sold the birds to the 
 
 ■ exhibitor, which occasionally happened even in those days. He 
 
 ■ consulted us over the pen, and we have not the slightest hesita- 
 tion in saying that his strictures were both perfectly legitimate 
 
 . and imperatively called for, while he was not himself exhibiting 
 at all on that occasion. For a year afterwaids that reporter was 
 treated unmercifully as we had been, though confessedly ihe 
 most eminent breeder of the day ; and the judge concerned 
 
 • carried his almost constant colleague with him in the same 
 
 ■ course. After about a year of it, the reporter at last went up 
 boldly to the judge and said, "Mr. * *, don't you think you 
 
 have abgut taken it out of me for that report of mine?" 
 
 The judge laughed, simply replied "Nonsense," and turned 
 
 : away. But the appeal was successful, and the next show at 
 which he appeared found our reporting friend once more in his 
 
 , accustomed place, somewhere near the top of the tree. This 
 judge was a very large seller of the stock he judged— as bad a 
 
 . case as any now, though such was then decidedly the exception. 
 Both parties are long since dead, and this statement can now 
 
 liiarm no one. 
 
 " understandings," doing their work chiefly for 
 the love of it, or for the prominence it gave 
 them. There has also been evident of late a 
 kind of competition for public favour amongst 
 some who act as judges, not altogether pleasant 
 to a disinterested onlooker ; evident attempts to 
 pose as possessors of superior knowledge, or of 
 greater honesty of purpose and zeal for purity, 
 at the expense of others whose uprightness and 
 capacity are quite as great It is well to open 
 one's eyes to all these things, and amongst new 
 . conditions to seek for the highest ideals of the 
 older school, so far as those were good. But 
 upon the whole modern poultry judging, carried 
 out as it is by an adequatestaff of practical men, 
 under the vigilant eyes of a whole staff of 
 skilled critics, is better and more consistent 
 than the old, and any clear miscarriage is sure 
 to be canvassed in the poultry press, which in 
 the long run ensures that justice is done. 
 
 This naturally leads to a few words upon 
 press criticism, or show reporting, which needs 
 quite as much care to keep it up to a high 
 
 standard as judging itself. The 
 Press Criticism question of anonymous or signed 
 or reports has been much discussed 
 
 Reporting. ^t times, but it is hardly , worth 
 
 discussing. A journal of repute, 
 with adequate means behind it, makes itself 
 responsible for its unsigned reports ; and when 
 the character of its conductors is known, that of 
 itself is the best guarantee. On the other hand, 
 sometimes it is an advantage, if the criticisms tifi 
 some important breed at an important show are 
 signed by a name of well-kn&wn weight, pos- 
 sibly greater than that of the judge; andthere can 
 be no possible objection to it whenever thought 
 advisable. On the whole, we think that anony- 
 mous criticism under editorial responsibility is 
 the best general rule; and this opinion is the 
 result of many years' experience. But the 
 .system cannot be divorced from editorial respon- 
 sibility ; and although the painful necessity only 
 occurred to us upon two or three occasions in 
 six years, there should not be any hesitation in 
 acknowledgment and frank repudiation, when- 
 ever any abuse of a reporter's position has been 
 fairly proved. 
 
 In the early days of critical reports the 
 judges often (especially at show dinners) used to 
 scoff bitterly at the presumption of careless 
 critics who, as they said, in a " skurry through 
 the classes " assumed to "set right in an hour 
 what had taken the judges the whole day." 
 There was here both, a misrepresentation and a 
 misconception. Being present when the above 
 words were used at Birmingham, we had the 
 curiosity to make examination at the hands of 
 
SHOW CRITICISM OR REPORTING. 
 
 227 
 
 the stewards, to find that our rough pencil notes 
 on the Brahma classes, at that very show, had 
 occupied us longer time, by a good proportion, 
 than the two judges had taken over them ! But 
 a really competent critic is also in a better 
 position to judge, from the nature of the case. 
 He has the judge's work prepared for him as a 
 basis, and in the second place he has a cata- 
 logue. The latter, with its names, places him 
 in a position of very great advantage in many 
 respects, if he really knows the breed and its 
 chief breeders, as he ought to do. It teaches 
 him what to look for, in so far that good points 
 usually shown by a given breeder are not likely 
 to be overlooked by him. He has no motive for 
 disagreeing with the judge (apart from any 
 special cause of jealousy, against which his 
 editor will of course be constantly on the watch), 
 but will rather desire to agree with him ; and 
 with all this help he is really able, if of the right 
 sort, very often to form the best judgment. It 
 is not at all that he is personally the better 
 judge ; on the contrary, if he were the judge and 
 the other man the reporter, then the latter 
 would be in the better position, other things 
 being equal. 
 
 So great is this advantage, that we have for 
 long been inclined to advocate placing cata- 
 logues in the hands of the judges themselves. 
 Transcribing words written so long ago as 1875, 
 " Whatever may be said as to a good judge being 
 able to judge a specimen without knowing whose 
 it is, after many actual experiments made as 
 fairly as we have been able to make them, we 
 are more than ever convinced that it is much 
 easier to form a just estimate of the real merit 
 of a class when in the full possession of such 
 particulars as a catalogue affords, than without 
 them. We feel this so strongly, that often- 
 times we have felt almost ashamed to find fault 
 with the work of gentlemen who have had to 
 decide under such disadvantages." It is, of 
 course, easy to ask what guarantee there would 
 be for impartiality under such a frank system, 
 and it is not easy to reply ; but, on the other 
 hand, one may ask what guarantee there really 
 is under the present, beyond the character of the 
 judges. That these recognise many exhibits 
 from memory, and are glad to catch at such a 
 memory as leading to awards which shall at least 
 appear " consistent," is notorious. That judges 
 of " shady " character do also get to know the 
 exhibits of their friends, is equally so ; straws or 
 chaff in the pens, handfuls of grit, etc., have been 
 identified as methods of telegraphy. Now the 
 main evil of this has lain in the fact that the 
 judge who really did know was supposed — but 
 only supposed — not to know ; if he was chal- 
 
 lenged he affirmed that he knew nothing, and 
 had done his best honestly, the merely presumed 
 ignorance being thrown over his collusion as a 
 shield. If he admittedly knew all the entries, 
 that excuse would be stopped ; he would have 
 no defence but the real merits of his award, and 
 his own interest might compel him to guard 
 against suspicion of being influenced by mere 
 names. However, the present point is simply 
 the vantage ground thus occupied by a really 
 competent and skilled reviewer of the judge's 
 awards. 
 
 Two points — we write it from long and ample 
 experience — need constant care, as regards crit- 
 ical reports: Impartiality and competence. The 
 
 principal journals keep a certain 
 Essentials of Staff in their permanent employ, 
 Good who are quite independent ; but 
 
 Criticism. no journal can adequately report the 
 
 great number of poultry exhibitions 
 now, without the additional aid of some who are 
 themselves exhibitors. Many such make the 
 very best of reporters, from special knowledge 
 of their special breeds. But flesh is weak ; and 
 if anyone upon this outside staff of a journal is 
 lound stating or hinting in his reports that his 
 birds, or the birds of those whom it may 
 gradually be discovered are his friends or col- 
 leagues, do not get their deserts, or should stand 
 higher, the position is abused. It is equally 
 abused if an exhibitor is found bragging of his 
 commission, or using it to obtain favours from 
 breeders, or to obtain admission where he has 
 no business to be, or to handle birds as if the 
 show belonged to him ; all which things have 
 happened. A competent and scrupulous re- 
 porter will always be quiet and modest in 
 manner and proceedings, and take care to 
 keep himself on safe ground by procuring 
 official presence and sanction for any examin- 
 ation which he deems it his duty to ask for. One 
 or two offences may pass, as the result of inex- 
 perience or want of consideration, but should 
 receive notice and caution ; if such a course be 
 persisted in, a journal that values its reputation 
 will sever the connection, in discharge of its own 
 duty and responsibility to the poultry fraternity. 
 That there are fairly honest and very skilful 
 critics who yet succumb to such temptations we 
 know ; that there are some who rise above them, 
 quite sinking the mere exhibitor in the critic for 
 the time being, we also know ; and it is a serious 
 part of the responsibility of a poultry journal to 
 know the staff, who hold so much of its reputa- 
 tion in their hands. 
 
 Competence or ability also requires sedulous 
 concern. Many most capable and honourable 
 critics cannot write genuine " criticism " without 
 
228 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 hints or training, and much that is published 
 is far from what it ought to be. Unless upon 
 occasions when his, notes are signed, and thereby 
 carry the weight of his own name, Hke the 
 decisions of the judge himself, it is sheer pre- 
 sumption, almost impertinence, for a reporter 
 merely to say that ah award is wrong, or that 
 some other bird ought to have received it. We 
 still see more than enough of this ; but it is only 
 dogmatism, and not criticism at all. The latter 
 ought to be so definite and clear that the reader 
 himself can judge to a great extent of the 
 question at issue. A judge almost always has 
 fairly evident reasons for his judgment ; and the 
 reporter's business, whenever he questions this, 
 is to discover and state such points, along with 
 those which in his opinion overrule them. 
 Often the case may be one on which opinions 
 are much divided. When no award is question- 
 ed, much less detail, or even no remark at all, 
 may be necessary ; but all questions really raised 
 should be fairly stated, especially in regard to 
 important classes at an important show. Such 
 a report upon' a class, with such a discussion as 
 is likely to follow in any important case, may 
 clear the air and affect breeding operations 
 through the following year. We have often 
 seen this the case, and it is another of the 
 advantages of the modern system of public 
 criticism. 
 
 Taking the whole system as it stands, it 
 may safely be said that, upon the whole, judging 
 is very good, so far as the principal exhibitions 
 ire concerned, which very often could not be said 
 of the irresponsible work of pairs of 
 Sources of judges as we knew it in 1865-75. 
 Present Evils. There must always be some down- 
 right mistakes, and we fear there 
 will always be some downright rascality, both in 
 judging and reporting. It is mostly at smaller 
 shows, which the most able press reporters do 
 not attend, where anything in the shape of gross 
 abuse is practised. It is at such shows that a judge 
 ventures-to give prizes to birds he has just sold, 
 or even lent from his own yard, or to the friend 
 who gave Iiim first prize the other day. It is such 
 shows as chiefly, in order to save adequate fees, 
 employ judges of this stamp, who take low fees, 
 or even act gratis, in order to make their money 
 in other ways. This class of men and their chief 
 colleagues and supporters are perfectly well 
 known, but it is in the absence of publicity that 
 they carry on their operations, and there is a 
 class of shows in England which it would be 
 most desirable to extinguish altogether ; in 
 default of this, the genuine amateur will do well 
 to sedulously avoid appearing at them. But at 
 the majority of important shows the judges arc 
 
 compe'ent men who know the breeds they under- 
 take, and who do their best; and these are 
 checked by the keenest eyes in the exhibition 
 world, quick to note any evident miscarriage. 
 Between the two justice is done, and the newest 
 exhibitor, if he shows a good pen, at any of what 
 we may call respectable shows, may beat the 
 veteran of years ; we have seen this happen 
 often. Transcribing a ^&w lines we wrote in the 
 first edition of the Illustrated Book of Poultry, 
 we repeat that " It is not ivova judges of doubt- 
 ful integrity that the greatest dangers to the 
 poultry fancy are likely to arise, but rather from 
 the reckless and debasing rivalry which, without 
 either honesty or courage, seeks to win as the 
 sole object of keeping fowls, and sticks at no 
 means to accomplish this paltry end." 
 
 The method and standard of judging have 
 been subject to debate for years. It was some 
 time after poultry exhibitions were established 
 before there was any standard at all ; individual 
 judges simply had their own idea of what a 
 given fowl should be, and selected what they 
 considered " best " by the light of nature. This 
 was made possible by the fewer relatively 
 superior birds of those days. These stood out 
 and spoke for themselves, and gradually evolved 
 such type as was recognised, under the few judges 
 who judged practically all the then existing 
 shows, and who therefore had matters almost 
 entirely in their own hands. Their opinion, 
 gradually crystallised during practice, was the 
 first unwritten " standard " of poultry for exhibi- 
 tion, but had no fixed expression. 
 
 About 1865 a Poultry Club was forined in 
 England,but did not secure many adherents, and 
 was speedily wrecked by the personal animosity 
 which developed between one or two 
 The First •^f ^^^ members. But it issued a 
 Standard of description of the recognised breeds, 
 Excellence. with numerical values for the points, 
 under the title of " The Standard 
 of Excellence," which was a land-mark in the 
 judging of poultry. In spite of many faults, it 
 embodied the principle that fowls ought to be 
 bred to definite points, and judged by them, and 
 that the points could be and ought to be defined. 
 This was a great idea, and a great service, 
 though the first Club's existence was brief and 
 its " standard " very crude. The scales of points 
 only added up to a total of fifteen through all 
 the breeds, which quite shut out the modern 
 system of " cutting " a portion off for defects ; 
 and in the descriptions themselves were several 
 errors — such as attributing red eyes to Malays 
 — which however could scarcely be avoided 
 at that early period. The existing judges 
 
STANDARDS FOR EXHIBITING POULTRY. 
 
 22g 
 
 ostentatiously declined to be bound by this 
 standard, which had in fact no authority; yet 
 nevertheless its definitions or descriptions un- 
 doubtedly had great influence in bringing about 
 greater uniformity of type, and more general 
 acceptance of a real type, in many breeds. 
 
 This influence was accentuated by a Poultry 
 Convention held at New York in 1872, which 
 issued an American " standard." It was mainly 
 based upon the foregoing as regarded the de- 
 scriptions, but increased the total 
 The American numerical value of the points from 
 standard of 15 to lOO. This was an alteration of 
 Perfection. cardinal importance; because the 
 value of every point, being now mul- 
 tiple, admitted of being diminished (or "cut," as 
 the Americans term it) for defects in fair pro- 
 portion. Hence it was held that if the values 
 of points accurately represented proper judging, 
 and they were equitably cut or diminished for 
 any defect, the adding up of the lowered figures, 
 or the "score" of the bird, as it was called, 
 scored on a card, would give the proper relative 
 position of every pen. The convention was re- 
 constituted soon afterwards as the American 
 Poultry Association, consisting of delegates from 
 all parts of the country, and which revises its 
 standard every five years in open session. This 
 is now termed, as in England, the " Standard of 
 Perfection," and - in its present descriptions, as 
 well as values of points, diff"ers from the first 
 English standard pretty widely. The Associa- 
 tion also controls the naming and admission of 
 any new varieties to the American .Standard, and 
 such a history as that of the Buff" Orpington in 
 England, for instance, would in America have 
 been impossible. A few remarks on this standard 
 and its method of application will be found a 
 little farther on. 
 
 In 1 874 the first edition oi the Illustrated Book 
 of Poultry was completed. In this was included, 
 under the title of " Schedules for Judging," a 
 standard of our own which embodied 
 The . several new features, the result of 
 
 Bo"k of ^^^'^ many trials and muchpractical check- 
 Poultry." ingover,beforecompetingpens. First, 
 its basis was different ; for whereas 
 both the previous ones had embodied the 
 " views " of their compilers, we had taken these, 
 or our own revised " views," as a starting point 
 only, and endeavoured to ascertain how far they 
 were borne out by the best judging, as accepted 
 by public opinion, which was by this time crys- 
 tallised into fairly definite shape. Our experi- 
 ence was that what appeared beforehand to be 
 reasonable comparative value of points, in many 
 cases could not be harmonised with evidently 
 correct judging, so that the standard should 
 
 place the birds in the same order as the judges 
 did. We would then attempt to modify figures, 
 or their definition, so that the two should har- 
 monise ; and the modified result was checked 
 again on the next opportunity. Years of de- 
 tailed criticism at shows had prepared us for this 
 work, in which considerable practical success 
 was ultimately obtained ; and our figures were 
 ultimately published, though avowedly upon 
 merely personal responsibility, not as embody- 
 ing our own opinion — for in many points they 
 differed widely from what we would have pre- 
 ferred, and even had previously supposed — but 
 as an analysis of the average acttial judging in 
 England. A second point of difference was, 
 that we were ultimately led to prefer as a 
 system the tabulation of defects rather than of 
 positive points. The third was that, whilst we 
 started from a total of 100, many analyses led us 
 to give considerably more than 100 to the total 
 of possible defects, fully added up together. 
 The reason was that while points must have a 
 certain proportion to one another comparatively, 
 in order to represent correct judging each point 
 must also have a certain proportion to the 100 of 
 perfection. We found often that, if only ico 
 was divided amongst them all, proportionate 
 deductions according to the amount of defect 
 did not deduct enough to give always the true 
 order of merit, as a good breeder-judge would 
 reckon it ; whereas raising the numerical value 
 of all points proportionately to some ' higher 
 ratio, brought nearly all such irreconcilable 
 awards into Jine. Such were the main features 
 of our own standard of 1 874. 
 
 It is only the bare truth to say that this 
 standard has exerted profound influence on all 
 those of the present day, with the exception of 
 the last feature above mentioned — its excess of 
 total added .defects, over the standard total. 
 The reasons for that, proved too subtle to be 
 grasped by the majority of breeders, and we are 
 now convinced that the simple 100 point system is 
 the only one capable of general acceptance, while 
 it will give true results in the majority of cases. 
 The reasons for the other are, however, as real now 
 as in 1874; and if any fancier of a mathematical 
 turn of mind willi on the next exceptional 
 occasion when he cannot possibly square the 
 order of merit per standard with the evidently 
 correct decisions (for it is no standard's business 
 to square with bad ones) of the judge, make the 
 experiment of deducting considerably heavier 
 cuts than the loo-point scale seems to allow, 
 he may probably understand what we mean. 
 Our numerous revisions in d^cription have 
 been mostly adopted in substance, where 
 not in words, on both sides of the Atlantic. 
 
23° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Finally, the system therein adopted, of tabulating 
 points of defect instead of positive merit, has 
 not only been adopted by the Poultry Club of 
 Great Britain, but the American Poultry Associ- 
 ation also, while not adopting it in the scale, has 
 in'i<ts "instructions" and the table entitled 
 " Cutting for Defects," practically accepted the 
 idea, as regards actual use of the standard. No 
 one can compare the English and the American 
 standards as used in 1872 with -those of to- 
 day, without seeing how these schedules of 
 1874 have influenced both. They were, however, 
 expressly put out as individual and temporary ; 
 and having now accomplished all the purposes 
 hoped for, it is with satisfaction that they are 
 discarded for those adopted by a body having 
 real right to express the opinion of the chief 
 breeders and judges in the United Kingdom. 
 
 The present Poultry Club was established — 
 for it was an entirely new body, not a resuscita- 
 tion of the old — in 1878, hiainly by the exertions 
 
 of the late Mr. Alexander Comyns. 
 Tjjg For some years it attracted com- 
 
 Poultry Club's paratively little support, owing to 
 Standard. some undoubted mistakes in policy, 
 
 and various other causes ; but in 
 1886 it issued under his editorship Part I. of 
 a new " Standard of Perfection." This included 
 Cochins, Brahmas, Dorkings, Game, Houdans, 
 Craves, La Fleche, Courtes Pattes, Polish, 
 Minorcas, Leghorns, Plymouth Rocks, and 
 Andalusians ; and was intended to have been 
 followed by Part II., containing the remaining 
 known breeds. This was, however, hindered by 
 minor causes, and finally prevented for the time 
 by the illness and death of this indefatigable 
 editor and secretary of the Club. By the time 
 the project could be taken up again, English 
 judging itself had perceptibly changed in some 
 respects, the Club had become much stronger and 
 more influential, and it was thought better 
 to undertake a new standard altogether, using 
 and incorporating any existing material, includ- 
 ing many standards already drawn up for single 
 breeds by special clubs, as far as found desirable 
 after conference and consideration. The work 
 was only seriously commenced in 1897, under a 
 Standards Committee appointed by the Club, 
 with Mr. T. Threlford for secretary, and which 
 reported from time to time. Progress was 
 necessarily rather slow, and when the work was 
 mainly completed, many differences observable 
 in mere form, owing to the number of special 
 clubs who had framed their own standards inde- 
 pendently of each other, necessitated consider- 
 able further labour in reducing the whole to one 
 common method or pattern. But it was finally 
 completed and published in 1901, and is also by 
 
 arrangement with the Club incorporated in the 
 following pages. 
 
 As regards the proper function, and proper 
 method of using a standard, and the method of 
 judging in itself, there are the widest differences 
 
 of opinion, ranging chiefly into two 
 The Use of a schools on the two sides of the 
 standard. Atlantic. All would now agree that 
 
 the accepted standard should be 
 regarded as the standard or canon of a breed, 
 subject only to detected and obvious acci- 
 dental errors, or to authoritative revision ; and 
 this alone marks distinct advance upon the state 
 of things a quarter of a century ago. No judge 
 would now claim a right, as many did then, to 
 ignore the standard altogether. Nevertheless, 
 in England the eye and judgment of experienced 
 and qualified judges have always been preferred 
 in determining awards, and it has never been 
 customary for any of these, that we know of, to 
 consult the standard on the spot. A few judges 
 always have, in cases of doubt only, used scales 
 of points arranged by themselves. The late 
 Mr. W. F. Entwisle furnished us with the scale 
 card for Game and Game Bantams used by him 
 in difficult cases, which we were not surprised, 
 though he was, to find in closest agreement with 
 what we had already drawn up ; and the late 
 Mr. John Douglas also used a scale of his own 
 in similar circumstances, for the same breeds. 
 But in the main such standards as have here- 
 tofore existed in England were regarded as 
 more descriptive than anything else. The 
 definitions have been accepted, but the judging 
 has remained personal, under the system of 
 organised public criticism already reviewed. 
 
 One reason for this was probably the want of 
 authority in previous standards. The framers 
 of the first worked with the avowed idea that 
 the points might be added ; but their number of 
 points was impracticable, and the sponsors were 
 too few in number to have any authority at all. 
 Our own scales never pretended to any, being 
 only intended to pave the way towards some- 
 thing more authoritative, which might, it was 
 hoped, be framed in due time, as is now the case. 
 Hence the English system of personal judging 
 continued of necessity till an authoritative 
 standard should be adopited, and barring occa- 
 sional abuses (which are not confined to this 
 system), we doubt if there is better or more con- 
 sistent judging in the world. But there was 
 another subsidiary reason. Owing to the same 
 absence of authority, there have been consider- 
 able changes in type amongst many breeds. In 
 some respects this is an evil, and when carried to 
 such an extreme as from nearly bare legs in 
 Asiatics to heavy vulture-hocks, it is absolutely 
 
AMERICAN SCORE-CARD SYSTEM. 
 
 231 
 
 pernicious ; but in smaller degree there are 
 constant fluctuations as to the faults which 
 prevail at a given period, and thoughtful 
 breeders have held it distinctly desirable that a 
 judge should have freedom, and be able to lay- 
 more stress upon some fault which is becommg 
 prevalent, and which it is therefore desirable to 
 meet with a more decided check. 
 
 In America it was different. Though the same 
 imperfect standard formed the original basis 
 there also, its total " points " were from the first 
 raised to a practicable figure ; the 
 Score-Caxd most evident errors were corrected. 
 System in and it was adopted in public con- 
 Amenca. vention, with the intention, from the 
 
 start, of being actually put to use. 
 There was not available a personnel with the 
 knowledge and experience of English judges, 
 and such judging as had been possible had 
 given ample cause for dissatisfaction. Here, 
 therefore, the experiment was made under far 
 more favourable conditions. We did not at the 
 time think it practicable ; but the event proved 
 otherwise, and set aside all a priori British 
 notions, for the leading American shows were 
 actually judged by standard and score card for 
 years, and the judging became admittedly far 
 better and more consistent than it had been. 
 A printed score card is under this system 
 supplied for every pen, on which the " cuts ■" for 
 defects are written for every point, and the 
 totals added up, and when this is done the 
 prizes are awarded accordingly. Experienced 
 breeders are able to score their own birds pretty 
 nearly ; and a system has moreover grown up of 
 selling birds by their " score," and of judges, for 
 a fee or otherwise, " scoring '" specimens, for the 
 express purpose of sale. The development of the 
 whole system is both interesting and instructive, 
 and proves that judging in this way is perfectly 
 practicable under the necessary conditions. 
 
 Nevertheless, there has been some gradual 
 reaction against it, and in favour of the English 
 personal system, termed in America " compari- 
 son " judging. We will not venture 
 Keaotion to predict the ultimate issue, since 
 
 Against the the reaction itself may be only a 
 Score Card. temporary phase ; but during the 
 last few years one after another 
 of the largest American shows has returned to 
 the personal system, and the subject is one 
 constantly discussed in American poultry papers. 
 The first reason for this reaction was undoubtedly 
 that of tiine* Again and again it happened that 
 
 * It is probable that an equal number of pens could be 
 scored almost as quickly as they could be judged by comparison. 
 But in the latter system the judge does not waste time over all 
 the birds alike, whereas at score-card shows every pen is expected 
 to be scored. 
 
 the scorings and consequent awards were not 
 completed even when the show closed ! That 
 would never have been endured in England ; 
 it began to be unendurable in America. People 
 wanted to know what had won, while they could 
 still compare the birds. There were probably 
 further reasons, in what we think the unsatisfac- 
 tory scale of cutting laid down in the standard 
 itself, as immediately indicated ; but however 
 this may be, the whole question is now matter 
 .of debate. It is curious to observe that one of 
 the chief reasons for maintaining the score 
 system, constantly urged by very many of its 
 advocates, is its cash or selling value to the 
 recipient of the score card. The writers aver 
 that they can sell upon a score card, whereas 
 they cannot upon a mere award, unless it be one 
 of the prizes. This they term " intrinsic value " 
 of the score, and so long as it really exists it 
 will probably keep the score card in favour. 
 But the press has been full of cases of the 
 alleged worthlessness of fowls scored fairly high 
 in this way ; and altogether we would not like 
 to predict the system of American judging ten 
 years hence. 
 
 Part of the reaction, as we have already said, 
 we think is due to the faulty method of using 
 it laid down for judges in the standard, and 
 which might be improved. In many 
 Faults in Cases, when birds had been duly 
 
 American scored and placed by it, somehow 
 Scoring. q^ other (except the winners them- 
 
 selves) no breeder preferred tlievi. 
 Something was wrong ; and it is pretty easy for 
 any student in, these subjects to see what it is. 
 Another proof of the same error lies in the 
 absurdly high scores which are the present 
 result. Scores of 96 are habitual, and the 
 standard itself lays down that no bird below 85 
 should receive a prize, and that a first prize 
 ought to score 90 or more. All English 
 breeders, who are (allowing for differences in 
 their standard itself) quite as skilful as Ameri- 
 can, know that such approximation to perfection 
 is not in practice generally attained, upon any 
 valid system properly carried out ; and will 
 know equally that even 92^ birds (92^ seems 
 quite an orthodox and customary " selling 
 score ") are not really plentiful as blackberries, 
 though in America they are made to appear so. 
 But when we come to the directions given to 
 judges, the mystery is made clear, for many 
 of the "cuts" made as directed in the standard 
 are obviously far too small. Judges are " asked," 
 if they find too few or too many serrations 
 in a comb, to cut half a point for each ; if 
 side sprigs, one point for each ; if a thumb mark, 
 not less than one ; if rear of comb " turns 
 
232 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 around," one point. Now take a Minorca witli a 
 twisted comb and two spikes too many, enough 
 to give him what in England are called "pencil" 
 serrations ; one point deducted for the pair o'f 
 them, or three points in all if, beside, his comb 
 "turns around" at the back and has a thumb 
 mark, still leaves him 97 points, though no 
 breeder would have him at a gift. This is 
 perfectly absurd, and sheds considerable light 
 upon " intrinsic value " and the high American 
 scores. There is plenty more of the same sort. 
 Take absence of sickles in a cock ; the judge is 
 requested for that to cut one point for each. 
 Take, again, an absolutely bare middle toe in 
 Brahmas ; the judge is to cut one point for 
 each — each foot we presume. Take, again, 
 eyes: for permanent "injury" he is to cut half 
 a point ; for an eye totally " destroyed, leaving 
 only the socket," one point. It is manifest 
 enough that such trivial deductions for such 
 faults are merely nonsensical, and cannot give 
 judging which will permanently satisfy.* Some 
 alteration will inevitably become necessary, 
 sooner or later ; but whether in the direction 
 of comparison judging, or in somewhat drastic 
 revision of the number of points to be cut, 
 and consequent general lowering of the scores, 
 it is at present impossible to say. 
 
 It will be found, in fact, by anyone who 
 will take the trouble to work the problem 
 out between three or four of the best pens in 
 a good class, that such small cuts as are 
 usual in America entirely upset the proportionate 
 value of sections as laid' down in a standard. 
 Any point that is given great weight in the 
 table of points, such as perhaps 25 points, 
 has not its proper value in the judging unless, 
 for serious fault, really heavy cuts are made 
 in it. A curious proof of the small degree 
 in which many American breeders and judges 
 have realised this, is the fact that Mr. I. K. 
 Felch publishes a " decimal " score card of 
 his own, and urges it on all possible occasions 
 for universal use. In this, every variety of 
 every breed is divided into ten sections, each 
 valued ten points. Several authorities have 
 commented on the proposal to give the same 
 part equal weight in all breeds, which every 
 breeder knows is not so in fact ; but the curious 
 thing is, that it never seems to have occurred 
 to either those who attacked this card, or to 
 
 * One poultry periodical remarked (September, 1900), " The 
 tendency in the past among judges has been to score too high, 
 and 96-point birds have been numerous, but we believe that 
 fanciers now realise the fallacy of these inflated scores." Another, 
 themost thorough-going of all inadvocacy of thescore card, writes, 
 " No doubt we have in this country many birds scored too high ; 
 some of our best breeders say that all our birds are scored too 
 high." 
 
 the patentee himself, that such a decimal set 
 of points, honestly "applied, would radically alter 
 the judging from what it is under points widely 
 different in proportion. It is assumed on all 
 sides that the result in placing birds would be 
 the same ; and probably it would, in practice ; 
 but such a result would be due to the trifling, 
 perfunctory, unproportionate character of cuts 
 for defects as carried out hitherto in much of 
 American scoring. 
 
 In some other respects, curiously enough, 
 American judging differs from English on the 
 side of strictness. In England, with some excep- 
 tions, as a broad rule the judge goes 
 American ^Y the plumage that is seen, and 
 strictness. takes little or no account of what is 
 beneath the surface. In America 
 more and more stress is laid,- in many quarters, 
 upon the plumage being barred, or buff, or what- 
 ever it is, "down to the skin." At the great 
 Chicago show of 1899, there was shown a beau- 
 tiful White Plymouth Rock pullet, by common 
 consent the best in the class, and by many 
 thought the best ever seen up to that time. 
 After she had " scored " out, well on top, the 
 judge happened to pass his hand through the 
 plumage, and found one feather near the root of 
 the tail, with a bar across it halfway down — a 
 sign of the barred descent. It did not show in 
 the least, and there was but this one speck all 
 over her. But the standard gives amongst its 
 general disqualifications, " in all white varieties 
 any feather on a specimen having positive black 
 or red in any part of the plumage," and the 
 judge disqualified her. Some upheld him, 
 others protested; the veteran Mr. I. K. Felch 
 said if he had been the judge he would have 
 pulled that feather out and said nothing ; then 
 many of course sat upon him for that. It was a 
 beautiful discussion, in which we personally 
 rather agree with Mr. Felch in the circum- 
 stances ; but in England there would have been 
 no need. An English judge would have taken 
 no notice of such an invisible feather, unless he 
 too had gone over to the Felch view of 
 things. 
 
 It is admitted by all, now, that a recognised 
 standard is both necessary and of the highest 
 use. To begin with, it defines a variety beyond 
 dispute. A judge by the comparison system 
 often meets cases of real difficulty — much more 
 often now than formerly ; and in such cases the 
 actual addition of points will guide him to a 
 sound decision. Study of it will train a judge„ 
 and teach him to seek and to find reasons for 
 preferring one bird to another. It will show an 
 experienced breeder about his fair chance of 
 winning. It is a canon to which criticism may 
 
APPLYING THE STANDARD. 
 
 233 
 
 appeal in case of any marked error in judging. 
 On the whole, without attempting prophecy, we 
 are inclined to think that probably the standard 
 may be given in the future a more prominent 
 position in England, and a less so in America, 
 than in the past. 
 
 Supposing that the standard is actually used 
 in judging — and as above indicated, even with 
 comparison judging, or in criticism, individual 
 
 cases often occur where it is very de- 
 Method-of sirable to do this — a few words upon 
 Applying the that use may be of service, the fruit 
 Standard. ^f \^^^ ^^j frequent experience. 
 
 The American system of scoring all 
 down one card, finishing one bird before going 
 on to the next, is bad, and will be found worse 
 when any correct proportion of cutting for 
 defects is adopted. The judge in this way often 
 cuts the same point more severely in one speci- 
 men, than for the same degree of defect in 
 another. This is perhaps the most frequent 
 cause of evident failures ; the eye to some ex- 
 tent forgets its judgment' in a former case, 
 perhaps a dozen pens back. In all the pens 
 which compete closely, the same points — as, for 
 instance, head and comb taken together^should 
 be scored or cut by themselves alone, through 
 the entire number. In this way only, real com- 
 parison can be made, and each point should get 
 fairly dealt with. Not till all have thus been 
 gone through, one point at a time, should the 
 totals be added. Then finally — and we lay 
 special stress upon this — it should be noticed 
 whether the birds as thus placed seem to satisfy 
 the eye and general judgment. If they do, 
 there is' an end. But if not, further scrutiny 
 should be made, to see if some tangible reason 
 cannot be found for this; it may be found that 
 there is error in the comparison of some point, or 
 some point has been overlooked, or some evident 
 defect may have been overlooked by the standard 
 itself, and needs noting for the future. Care is 
 needed that 130 personal partiality comes into 
 play ; but in direct opposition to some Ameri- 
 can advice, we strongly insist that no apparently 
 unsatisfactory result ought to. pass unquestioned. 
 It does not prove the apparently wrong bird 
 really the better^ as seems assumed by Ameri- 
 can advocates of the score card " pure and 
 simple " ; no real breeder on the spot would 
 agree to that at all. There is some reason for 
 it, which ought to be looked into, and accounted 
 for or else corrected. Our experience is that it 
 generally can be, provided the scale of points 
 itself be sound, though there are cases, as already 
 indicated, in which harmony can only be arrived 
 at by increasing the total possible cuts to over 
 a hundred, an expedient, it will be seen, the 
 
 exact reverse of the present American method 
 of making trivial cuts for defects of a serious 
 character. 
 
 The figures given in the new English stand- 
 ard are intended to represent the cuts which 
 should be made for defects as great as can exist, to 
 still leave a bird a chance of winning. Of course 
 a defect might easily be so great as to leavp a 
 bird quite out of consideration. Taking as an 
 instance comb, if that is so bad that no judge 
 could award a prize, merely to deduct five points 
 would not ensure correct judging; the bird 
 would be ruled out, and no question occur. The 
 five points (in a scale giving that number) are 
 for the worst degree that may allow a win ; 
 while one point or even half a point will be 
 allowed for slight defect, and so in proportion. 
 The very intention is to give the judge more 
 latitude than such rigid detailed small cuts 
 mentioned above as laid down in America, and 
 that for serious defects really serious deduction 
 should be made. 
 
 One more feature of many shows, and one of 
 the most troublesome and responsible duties of a 
 judge in connection with his work, must receive 
 
 some notice before closing this 
 
 Faking chapter. We refer to the artificial 
 
 and trimming or faking of show speci- 
 
 Trimming. mens, which demands constant 
 
 watchfulness, and when detected 
 should always receive, what unfortunately it 
 does not in some cases, immediate retribution. 
 For various reasons — mostly notoriety, perhaps 
 — a great deal of folly has been written about this 
 subject from time to time, calculated to give a 
 false impression about the actual state of things. 
 Every two or three years some exhibitor or 
 judge writes a series of frothy letters' declaiming 
 against the iniquities practised, and prophesying 
 that " unless something is done " the fancy must 
 come to an end, that ''all honest men will go 
 out of it," etc. Usually the exhibitor is one less 
 successful than others, and the letters imply that 
 his ill success is mainly due to the iniquity of 
 competitors ; or the judge is one new to the 
 ranks, and obviously desirous of establishing by 
 a short cut a first-class reputation for honesty. 
 However this may be, very little ultimately 
 comes of it, and the discussion' dies down with 
 wearisome monotony, the real check to these 
 practices lying all the while ready to hand. 
 
 The evil has always existed ; for its springs 
 lie deep in human nature, and not altogether 
 amongst the baser motives. But it has not the 
 magnitude which these interested correspondents 
 usually represent ; and it is also greatly kept in 
 check by the public criticism, which in fact 
 
234 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. ^ 
 
 chiefly brings its developments to light. That 
 many birds win which ought not to win, because 
 their faults are removed by faking, and that some 
 of these cases are practically impossible cf de- 
 tection, is true. That the majority of winners 
 are so faked, or that faking has produced any 
 standard of perfection which would not have 
 existed otherwise, or which the honest breeder 
 cannot breed up to, is not true ; and winners are 
 honest in the majority of cases, in the majority 
 of classes ; one or two exceptions there certainly 
 are. It is also the fact that the worst .cases are 
 generally brought to light sooner or later, and 
 that there now exists recognised machinery for 
 dealing with them, which is able to exert more 
 and more steady pressure in that direction. 
 While there is probably more skill in faking to- 
 day than ever,' the state of things on the whole 
 is certainly better and not worse than formerly, 
 owing to the circumstances above indicated. 
 
 There was a time, years ago, when energetic 
 agitation was required, and about the year 1 870 
 we organised and obtained numerous signatures 
 
 to a written prote&t against the then 
 Agitation tacit toleration of these practices, 
 against which was printed and sent to the 
 
 Trimming. executives of the principal shows. 
 
 This had some perceptible effect, 
 hiefly in the wide adoption of our proposed 
 .ule, to the effect that at the show adopting the 
 rule all cases detected by the judges would be 
 marked " Disqualified," and the prizes, if any, 
 withheld. That was something, but it did not 
 prove nearly enough ; for it was found over and 
 over again, that even when the judges had done 
 their duty, committees would not do theirs. 
 At the then principal English show of the year, 
 Messrs. Hewitt and Teebay had their attention 
 specially drawn to this rule. As stated by Mr. 
 Hewitt himself in the Illustrated Book of Poultry, 
 they found it necessary to disqualify nearly one- 
 third of the class of Dark Brahma pullets for 
 gross plucking of vulture-hocks, and reported 
 accordingly. The committee would, however, do 
 nothing, and when remonstrated with replied, as 
 Mr. Hewitt stated, that they had declined to re- 
 cord the penalty in any way, " as it might injure 
 future shows." We remonstrated personally in the 
 very same case, and were told that "as the guilty 
 parties had taken no prizes with the trimmed 
 birds, no harm had been done," so low was the 
 general tone of feeling at that time. Such is 
 obviously not true ; for whereas, if punished, a 
 faker may be deterred from trying again, and is 
 at least debarred from immediately selling his 
 faked stock, while the public are warned of him, 
 impunity even if unsuccessful emboldens him 
 to renew the attempt elsewhere. However, it 
 
 became necessary to set on foot yet another 
 press campaign for the " Suppression of Fraud," 
 the object of which was to provide some 
 machinery for action. This was steadily main- 
 tained, the chief burden falling upon us for 
 a year or two, until at length the personal 
 exertions of the late Mr. Alexander Comyns, 
 aided by a few leading exhibitors who collected 
 around him, especially Mr. Oliver E. Cresswell, 
 resulted in the establishment of the Poultry 
 Club, which made the systematic suppression 
 of fraud one of the most cardinal of its objects.. 
 For some time the progress of this body was 
 slow, and lack of power compelled it to be 
 cautious ; but as it gradually grew in numbers 
 
 and influence (numbering now over a 
 
 Poultry Club thousand members) it became better 
 
 and able to carry out its consistent policy 
 
 Suppression of inducing committees, by more or 
 
 of Fraud. j^^g ^^ jj.g support, to hold their shows 
 
 under its rules. The number of shows 
 so held is now very great, and the influence thus 
 exe'rted has compelled even the few larger shows 
 which refuse formal adherence, to adopt as 
 their own rules very similar in form and object 
 to the Poultry Club's rules. These provide that 
 no person under present disqualification by the 
 club shall be allowed either to judge or exhibit 
 at the show ; that no exhibitors or their servants 
 may pen their own birds, or be admitted before 
 the public ; that entries may be returned or 
 refused (which is chiefly enforced to prevent 
 disqualified persons from exhibiting under false 
 or altered names); that no exhibitor shall act as 
 judge ; that the judges shall disqualify for any 
 detected fraudulent treatment, or for being oyer 
 the proper age ; that anyone may lodge a protest 
 against an exhibit with a fee of ;^i is., which shall 
 be, however, only retained if it is held that the 
 protest was without reasonable ground ; and 
 the case protested shall be carefully examined, 
 and if necessary be disqualified ; that any 
 exhibitor disquaUfied for fraud, either by the 
 original judge or upon protest, shall forfeit all 
 other prizes won at the show as well, and 
 may be either temporarily or permanently pro- 
 hibited from exhibiting at all shows held under 
 Potdtry Club rules ; that any so disqualified pens 
 shall be detained by the show committee for 
 three days after the close, within which time the 
 exhibitor, who is notified of the penalty, may 
 appeal to the committee of the Club, in which 
 case the exhibit is sent direct to the Club offices, 
 and the case again examined and finally deter-, 
 mined. At many shows thus held under its 
 rules an accredited representative of the Club, 
 wearing a badge, attends to direct any necessary 
 proceedings ; and cases brought before it are 
 
FAKING AND TRIMMING. 
 
 235 
 
 also reported amongst the committee's proceed- 
 ings in the poultry press. 
 
 Such is the machinery actually in existence 
 in England at the present time for the suppres- 
 sion of fraud. And it is anything but a dead 
 letter. Month after month cases 
 Effects of ai'e reported of exhibitors being 
 
 Poultry Club's suspended from exhibiting at shows 
 Legislation. j^eld under Poultry Club rules 
 (a large number now) for periods 
 of one to three years, and several unusually gross 
 cases have been disqualified for life. We specially 
 recollect one remarkable case in which a very 
 prominent Cochin exhibitor of that particular 
 time — a woman, by the way — was disqualified 
 permanently for her. birds being "fluffed" in 
 the manner presently described, with suspicion 
 of other matters. Her Cochins were then shown 
 by a female relative, who was also shortly dis- 
 qualified ; and finally a third family connection 
 earned the same distinction. It took time ; but 
 the whole guilty circle were ultimately, to all 
 intents, driven out of exhibition. Many exhibi- 
 tors seem still unaware of the completeness and 
 efficiency of this machinery, and we trust that 
 the short statement here given may spread the 
 knowledge of it, and increase its efficiency, still 
 more. For honest exhibitors should do their 
 part by entering " protest " against obvious 
 fraud, and by the vigilant use of the keen eyes 
 with which Nature has endowed them. During 
 the few most recent years, happily, they have 
 done so more and more, and this has partly led 
 to the idea that such practices are increasing ; 
 whereas it is quite the other way so far as the 
 best shows are concerned. 
 
 That a great deal of fraud still goes on, at 
 more out of the way shows especially, is true 
 enough ; and whereas formerly, as we have seen, 
 when the judges had done their duty commit- 
 tees often deliberately refused to do theirs, we 
 regret to say that much of the blame now rests 
 with the judges at such shows. That there'is a 
 class of these who " work in " with exhibitors, 
 and who judge many shows gratis because they 
 have other ways of making money by it, is true 
 beyond doubt, though difficult of proof Men 
 of this stamp wink at frauds they see plainly 
 enough ; and give prizes to birds which they 
 know are fraudulently dealt with. The fact is that 
 there is much which really cannot be detected, 
 or pronounced actual fraud with certainty ; and 
 some judges take shelter under that. The 
 danger is real, and it is better for three guilty 
 ones to escape for adoubt, than for one innocent 
 one to be falsely condemned. Mr, Ernest Cobb 
 and others have suggested that since the card 
 " Disqualified," though in itself most proper as 
 
 a mere statement of fact, has come by i]saf;e 
 to be regarded as a charge of fraud, another 
 card should be introduced, simply denoting 
 that a bird was " pasised " for some 
 "Passed" alleged reason stated. Thus, sup- 
 Cards. posi;ig a Partridge Cochin cock 
 which apparently is otherwise in full 
 feather, has scarcely any tail. It may be that 
 the tail really has not grown yet — we have 
 known such cases ; or it may be that there was 
 much white in it, and it was plucked. No one 
 can absolutely prove which it is ; but the card 
 would simply denote that the bird was " passed " 
 for deficient tail, for the matter of fact which all 
 could see for themselves. The exhibitor would 
 have no direct charge made against him, and 
 could not complain, since it may be very strongly 
 held that no one has a right to win with a bird 
 that really looks suspicious in regard to honesty, 
 however honest the exhibitor may privately 
 know it to be. The same holds good about 
 ages ; a pullet may have moulted ' out a second 
 time, so as to loolc like a hen. The exhibitor 
 may know that she is a pullet ; but for a bird 
 to win in such a class that looks in every point 
 a hen is unfair, because it places the judge, and 
 the show, and every other exhibitor, in a false 
 position. Thus even mere appearances have 
 much to do with right in such matters, and we 
 point this out because it does not seem to be 
 recognised as it should. If the introduction of 
 such a card would really induce judges gener- 
 ally to mark suspicious pens, and refuse prizes 
 for the reason stated, their use would be 
 valuable ; and we repeat distinctly that, what- 
 ever it may be in the knowledge of the owner, 
 a bird that does not look honest should not be 
 exhibited, and if it is, should not be awarded 
 any mention beyond that of a " Passed " card. 
 
 The upright judge must therefore be con- 
 stantly on the watch against attempts at 
 deceiving him by artificial faking. All he cannot 
 detect, and he is not called upon to go ruffling 
 through the plumage of all the birds to see what 
 he can find. That would seriously damage the 
 birds themselves, besides the question of time. 
 And a good judge may, especially at first, be too 
 " innocent " to discover what others can find. 
 A case has just occurred as we write these lines, 
 wherein a judge who had disqualified one or two 
 faked combs, and presumably " meant business," 
 passed without discovery three Buff Orpingtons 
 which were most beautifully dyed ! It is easy to 
 scoff at such an oversight ; but the judge might 
 very well reply that he was not " up " yet to all 
 the tricks of the Buff Orpington men, and could 
 only learn them by degrees. ,He can but do his 
 best, and bring an open mind to any evidence 
 
236 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Need of 
 Moderation. 
 
 subsequently placed before him. It not unfre- 
 quently happens that some gross case of fraud 
 gets "blown upon" by some private informer; 
 and though the motive for this is far more 
 usually malice than honesty, the public benefits 
 all the same. On the whole, we repeat that 
 things are improving, not deteriorating ; that 
 there is adequate machinery, which only needs 
 to be more freely used ; and that the proper 
 direction for effort is towards the more free use 
 of that machinery, and greater public vigilance, 
 not strong language, however fine and large. 
 
 Reasonable moderation must be also borne 
 in mind. We have already hinted that some 
 trimming was not done altogether from the baser 
 motives. We knew a man who 
 never exhibited, though he sold 
 winners largely to those who did, 
 yet who always removed single 
 foul feathers. The reason he gave was that he 
 " could not l~"ar to see them.." There are many 
 who have that instinctive fancier's feeling very 
 strongly, whether or not they act upon it ; we 
 once read in a New England journal, " It is im- 
 possible not to draw a little hard upon a feather, 
 when you know that but for that one your bird 
 would be a perfect beauty." Whoever does not 
 understand that feeling, has never been a true 
 fancier ; hence it is, also, that the best fanciers 
 generally feel a little gentle tolerance for that 
 kind of thing ; the iancmr's passion for perfection 
 in appearance, they know, is partly at the root 
 of it. While no club, or standard, or code of 
 morals can draw any line or make any dis- 
 tinctions^for if even one feather may be 
 removed, surely a second may, and a third, and 
 so on — all the same this minor degree of trim- 
 ming has palliations, and stands on a different 
 practical level from much else; the White Rock 
 we wrote of but now, was just as good and Valu- 
 able a bird with that one feather in, as with it 
 out. However, it is needless to discuss this ques- 
 tion beyond pointing out that there is ■ some 
 distinction ; because the abstraction of such rare 
 and stray feathers, of any kind, unless cardinal or 
 key feathers in wings or tail, cannot possibly be 
 detected even by the closest scrutiny, and the 
 propriety of removing any broken or bent small 
 tody feather which merely mars the smooth 
 outhnc, has always been generally acknow- 
 ledged. It may, however, be useful to indicate 
 the chief kinds of more serious fraud, capable 
 of detection, which have been at one time or 
 another recorded. 
 
 Symmetrical and neat comb is a very import- 
 ant point in many breeds ; and when a bird is 
 good otherwise but defective here, the knife or 
 dissecting scissors are often employed to cut 
 
 it into better shape. Side sprigs on single 
 combs are frequently removed by a razor, and 
 we have often seen signs in Minorcas that small 
 
 or ugly spikes or serrations have been 
 Trimming cut into better ones. But it is in 
 Combs. Hamburghs thatoperations on combs 
 
 have been most general, the ends of 
 the little projections being sliced to an even 
 plane, and more extensive cutting off of entire 
 portions practised, in ways that had better not 
 be definitely indicated. We will only say that 
 we have known (for it is remarkable that, being 
 known never to break individual confidence, we 
 have been oftentimes given information freely 
 on these points, and even shown them) several 
 cases in which a large piece of wedge shape has 
 been cut out of the centre of a Hamburgh comb, 
 which was then sewn up so as to draw together 
 and make the whole much smaller.; and we 
 once heard of a horrid case — to this day we 
 hardly know whether to believe it or not — in 
 which one otherwise inferior bird having an ex- 
 quisite comb, while the show bird had a coarse 
 one, both were amputated by a horizontal cut, 
 and the two being at once transposed, were 
 sutured and reunited. Several cases have 
 actually occurred, and been recorded in print, of 
 the judges finding Hamburghs in the pens with 
 long pins or needles through the combs, in order 
 to hold parts in better position, or which may" 
 have been inserted to hold cut portions together, 
 and been forgotten. It is needless to -declaim 
 about the unbridled rivalry and greed which 
 could perpetrate a cruelty that turns one 
 sick ; unfortunately Hamburghs are more often 
 victims to it than any other breed. We can 
 only state here that when a comb is cut, the 
 place of the scar covers over with smooth skin, 
 slightly glossy, and this is the chief sign of the 
 operation. If such a case is challenged, the ex- 
 hibitor usually says that the bird has torn his 
 head in fighting, or wire netting, or something 
 of that sort. But a bird with such signs in 
 suspicious places ought certainly to be refused 
 a prize, even if want of absolute demonstration 
 prevents the judge from going farther. 
 
 Dyed plumage is not so very uncommon, the 
 usual colours being black or buff; the recent 
 boom in buff breeds has produced at least half a 
 
 dozen convicted cases in England in 
 Dyeing of twelve months. Tail feathers which 
 Plumage. should be black, but have much 
 
 white in them, are sometimes stained 
 with nitrate of silver, and there was at least one 
 case in which too much white in the foot- feather 
 of a Dark Brahma was treated in the same way. 
 A chemical test is unnecessary here. A tail 
 often passes unnoticed, for, as already said 
 
TESTS. FOR DYED FEATHERS. 
 
 237 
 
 judges cannot possibly go overhauling all the 
 plumage of the birds ; but if anything does 
 excite suspicion — as if a bird previously shown 
 with the white, again, turns up apparently ortho- 
 dox — mere close inspection will show that all 
 the supposed black is not alike. Buff dyeing 
 has been so far chiefly found in Leghorns and 
 Buff Orpingtons, and has usually been done by 
 washing in Maypole soap, or some other form of 
 what is really aniline dye. What a lady would 
 term a '' really lovely " buff should excite sus- 
 picion ; but a chemical test is of course the 
 criterion. Much harm \vas done at one time by 
 a school of amateur detectives, who professed 
 to test buff dye by solutions of caustic potass ; 
 and years ago we remember the late Mr. 
 Blakston disqualifying a canary on that account 
 with the deepest pain and regret, the owner 
 being a man whom he had always believed 
 honest as the day ; but the colour came off, rich 
 and undeniable, in the fluid, and he deemed that 
 there was no escape. It is now known, and the 
 reader may prove for himself, that an honest 
 feather also dissolves and produces coloured 
 solution just the; same, and we fear that in Mr. 
 Blakston's case the poor canary exhibitor was 
 an innocent victim. We have known an exhi- 
 bitor take a rival's Buff Leghorn out of the pen, 
 and apply this "test," not even to a pulled 
 feather, but to the plumage on the bird, with 
 the result that, the feathers touched were really 
 dyed much darker, as shown to us by the 
 victim at the London Dairy Show of 1899. We 
 cannot put it too strongly, that potass solution 
 dissolves out colour from honest plumage, and 
 is no test for aniline dye. 
 
 There is fortunately a real test, however, as 
 published by Dr. Mossop in Poultry. Test- 
 tubes should be provided, about six inches long 
 and three-quarter inch bore, and if possible a 
 genuine feather tested in another tube, along 
 with the suspected one — for only plucked single 
 feathers ought ever to be tested ; no one has a 
 right to risk disfiguring the bird itself. The 
 feather should be pushed down to the bottom of 
 the tube, strong hydrochloric acid poured in a 
 half inch or more deep, and the tube a little 
 shaken about (without spilling the strong agid) 
 so that the feather, at first greasy, may become 
 wetted by the acid. A feather dyed buff with 
 Maypole soap or aniline dye will quickly turn a 
 beautiful violet colour ; the genuine feather is 
 unchanged beyond the , darkening from being 
 wetted. Dr; Mossop found one or two dyes that 
 resisted this test, but these responded in another 
 way, by losing all the dyed colour to a solution 
 of crystals of protochloride of tin dissolved to 
 saturation in hydrochloric acid diluted with its 
 
 own bulk of water. This solution spoils by 
 keeping, and should therefore be freshly made, 
 dissolving a few crystals when wanted in the 
 diluted acid. Sometimes a feather that seems 
 to resist will bleach out the dye if the test tube 
 containing the tin chloride is warmed over a 
 spirit lamp. If no decided bleaching takes place 
 then, and the feather has not been turned violet 
 by the acid either, the plumage is probably 
 honest, and at least no ordinary dye has been 
 used. 
 
 The shanks are sometimes coloured, either 
 for yellow, or willow, or black. A handkerchief 
 or clean white rag, successively applied with 
 water, methylated spirit, and benzol, will usually 
 detect either of these, if appearances seem 
 suspicious. 
 
 Plucking is the most frequent kind of fraud. 
 As already indicated, it may be of a very mild 
 and comparatively innocent character ; but as 
 such cases could not possibly be 
 detected even if suspected, or even 
 if known, such cause no questions. 
 Tail feathers are mostly plucked for 
 white or black in them where it should not be, or 
 wing feathers because twisted or out of place ; 
 counting will reveal these, if suspicion be aroused. 
 If the whole tail be absent, or apparently far too 
 short, the judge will act according to his view of 
 the case, since at some periods it might be 
 natural enough, as in an adult cock early in 
 November. The most difficult cases are per- 
 haps those of wholesale plucking of body feathers, 
 which is too usual in some laced and spangled 
 breeds, especially silver spangled Hamburghs. 
 Here also a fair number of single feathers might 
 obviously come out without detection, but we 
 have seen a bird so plucked that bare patches of 
 skin were exposed even on the feather tracks.* 
 Instances not so extreme as this give most diffi- 
 culty ; but so peculiar is this special case of 
 Hamburghs that we have sometimes thought it 
 might be better if Hamburgh trimming were 
 legitimatised, as in trimming Spanish faces. 
 The simple fact is that the " largest " spangles 
 are desired by some breeders, and they have 
 been bred so large that a pullet with all the 
 feathers left in would show no spangling at all, 
 but her breast especially would appear almost 
 black. Enough feathers are therefore plucked 
 to show the spangling separated, and a good 
 Mooney will sometimes lose half a basketful. 
 Birds can only be shown naturally in this 
 breed, either- by breeding spangles rather smaller, 
 or allowing them to- appear almost entirely 
 
 * Some.writeis seem to suppose that the feathers grow equally 
 all over. That is not so ; they grow or are arranged in certain 
 binds or tracks, which differ in diiiferent genera of birds. 
 
238 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 black in the pen, which hides their mark- 
 ing and prevents their winning. Hamburgh 
 men are a peculiar set, who have kept much to 
 themselves for pretty nearly half a century, if 
 not more, and it is quite certain that every good 
 pullet or hen with spangles of the largest size 
 is plucked more or less before she can show her 
 pattern. Anyone can see for himself, in some 
 other breed, how much of any single breast 
 feather is naturally exposed, and that this is not 
 enough to show separately a large Mooney 
 spangle, and there we must -leave this particular 
 matter. 
 
 Vulture hocks were largely plucked at one 
 time, but their admission in England has put a 
 stop to that for many years. It is easily de- 
 tected by passing the hand up against the 
 feathers ; if the remainder are felt too stiff and 
 jagged, close inspection will reveal the_ plucking, 
 either by the holes or the young shoots of new 
 quills. 
 
 The greatest triumphs of the faker are per- 
 haps the insertion of perfect feathers instead of 
 imperfect, especially in regard to the sickles of 
 Hamburghs and Bantams. There 
 False have been men who always treasured 
 
 srokles. an unusually fine pair of sickles for 
 
 further use, and even now it is done 
 occasionally. The natural quill is cut off about 
 an inch long, and cleared out, the perfect plume 
 being then inserted in the stump as. in a socket. 
 In one case the pair were found fastened in with 
 cobbler's wax ; in another the two were bound 
 round with thread. The. more usual plan now 
 is to either fasten^ the feather in with some 
 transparent cement, or use extremely fine waxed 
 silk with an " imping " needle. This fraud can 
 always be seen on blowing into the roots of the 
 tail, to expose them to view; but a judge cannot 
 be always putting birds under the microscope, as 
 it were, because fraud is perpetrated occasionally. 
 The best ground of suspicion is, perhaps, if a 
 bird exhibiting much gloss generally, appears in 
 the sickles a little dull or faded in comparison. 
 In that case an examination should certainly be 
 made, in all breeds wherein sickles are a leading 
 point. 
 
 The chief other practice which has come 
 under our own notice we may perhaps term 
 " fluffing," or adding to the fluffy appearance of 
 Asiatics. In Cochins especially. 
 Fluffing. great globular masses of soft plum- 
 
 age are highly valued. In a case 
 already alluded to, wherein the Poultry Club 
 had been successful in excluding successively 
 three representatives of one family and of the 
 same yard, amongst other frauds this one was 
 very prominent. In several well-known birds. 
 
 when carefully examined, it was found that over 
 large regions of the body the buff plumage 
 had been gone over, feather by feather 
 almost, each being bent back by thumb and 
 finger, or perhaps forceps, and then re-bent in 
 the opposite direction rather higher up, so as to 
 stand out from the body more than naturally, and 
 thus deepen the fluffy mass. It was calculated 
 that* one disqualified fowl must have occupied 
 many hours in this treatment. Here, again, the 
 fraud was plain enough when suspicion was 
 aroused ; and the lack of suspicion is the chief 
 reason why such things may go on unpunished 
 for a while, though Nemesis generally comes at 
 last. A minor form of fluffing we would hesitate 
 to call downright frayd, but certainly it is highly 
 objectionable. After washing a Cochin or Light 
 Brahma, it is very easy so to keep working the 
 fluff of the thighs outwards whilst drying, as to 
 make it protrude much more, loose and flossy, 
 instead of lying down naturally. We often see 
 birds so, and much dislike it ; and as this is 
 obvious to the naked eye, we think judges 
 should deduct points for it, rather than allow 
 anything for the supposed fuller fluff of the 
 birds. 
 
 It will be seen that both the judges and 
 committee of a poultry show have very serious 
 responsibility, arid that the judges' task, in 
 
 particiilar, is no easy one at best 
 Duty of Whatever can lighten it should be 
 
 the Public. most sedulously studied. The press 
 
 also has its heavy responsibilities, 
 and is waking up more and more to these every 
 day ; some of its representatives rank as author- 
 ities with the best judges in the land. But 
 when all these duties have been discharged, 
 more or less perfectly as the case permits, the 
 exhibiting public still has its share of respoti- 
 sibility also. It is not only responsible for 
 using upon occasion the machinery ready to 
 hand for the suppression of real fraud, but for 
 keeping up a tone in the fancy adverse to it, and 
 in favour of such effective proceedings. "For 
 many years this was much lacking. In our own 
 earlier battles with fraud, our experience too often 
 was that after taking up some flagrant case upon 
 distinct promise of the necessary personal evidence, 
 this was ultimately refused for cowardly or in- 
 terested reasons, and we were left to face the 
 issue unaided by those who alone could ensure 
 full success, and at whose own urgent entreaty we 
 had moved in the matter. It does not lie with 
 people like this to rail at judges, or exhibitors, 
 or committees, or the press. The state of things 
 is neither so good as one could wish, nor nearly 
 so bad as it is often painted ; but such as it may 
 be depends far more upon the great mass of 
 
TECHNICAL POULTRY TERMS. 
 
 239 
 
 exhibitors than upon anything else. There are 
 exhibitors and judges both, well known or who 
 can be known, with whom it is no credit to be 
 on particularly intimate terms ; there are many 
 shows, ascertainable by inquiry, which the 
 genuine amateur should refuse to support by 
 his entries. In default of other information, 
 and though such a rule might in some cases be 
 - too strict, a novice will do well not to enter at 
 any show which is not held under Poultry Club 
 Rules, or at any show which advertises very 
 short entries, and extension of time for them. 
 In some cases the circumstances and appeal are 
 genuine, and such a ru]e should not be pressed 
 to the prejudice of a show with a past good 
 character. But we have known post-cards with 
 such an appeal to be printed and ready, as part 
 of the policy of a show, before the ordinary 
 entries were closed ; and too often the appeal 
 simply means that more entry-fees are wanted 
 to find prize-money for the "swim," for whose 
 benefit the wretched little affair is carried on. 
 Mere declamation is of' no use ; it is the quiet 
 performance of one's own duty as it comes in 
 one's way, on the side of justice, that is required; 
 and to have largely modified public feeling in 
 this direction is not the least of the good work 
 which the Poultry Club has effected during 
 recent years. 
 
 Before passing from these general chapters 
 to detailed treatment of various breeds and 
 varieties, it will be convenient to present a 
 glossary of the technical terms constantly 
 employed by fanciers and breeders, with a 
 diagram to assist in their understanding and 
 definition. 
 
 Barred, Barring. — Alternate stripes of light and dark 
 across a feather. 
 
 Beard. — A bunch of fea-thers under the throat of some 
 breeds, as Houdans or Polish. 
 
 Breast. — In a live fowl, the front of the body above the 
 point of the breast-bone, up to the throat. (No.-5.) 
 In a table fowl (dead) the breast is below this, and 
 would be called the under part of the body in the 
 live bird. 
 
 Breed. — Any variety of fowl in all its distinct character- 
 istics. The breed includes all the varieties of colour 
 which are found in it. 
 
 Brood.— The family of chickens under one hen or 
 brooder. 
 
 Broody. — Desiring to sit or incubate. 
 
 Cape. — The feathers under base of the back hackles, 
 between the shoulders. 
 
 Carriage. — ^The bearing, attitude, or " style '' of a bird. 
 
 Caruncles. — Fleshy protuberances, as on the neck of a 
 turkey-cock. 
 
 Chick. — A newly hatched fowl. Used only till a few 
 weeks old. 
 
 Chicken. — This word is often applied to any age in- 
 definitely' until twelve months old. 
 
 Cockerel, — A young cock. 
 
 Comb. — The red protuberance on the top of a fowl's 
 
 head. (No. i, Fig. 86.) 
 Condition. — The state of the fowl as regards health and 
 
 beauty of plumage — the latter especially. 
 Crest. — A crown or tuft of feathers on the head. The 
 
 same as Top-knot. 
 Crop. — The bag or receptacle in which food is stored 
 
 before digestion. Can be easily felt in any fowl 
 
 after feeding. 
 Cushion. — The mass of feathers over the tail-end of a 
 
 hen's back, covering the tail ; chiefly developed in 
 
 Cochins. 
 Deaf-ears. — ^Same as Ear-lobes. (No. 4.) 
 Diamond. — A term sometimes applied by Game breeders 
 
 to the wing-bay. (No. 15.) 
 Dubbing. — Cutting off the comb, wattles, etc., so as to 
 
 leave the head smooth and clean. 
 Ear-lobes. — The folds of skin hanging below the ears. 
 
 They vary in colour in different breeds, between 
 
 red, white, blue, and cream, and also greatly in 
 
 size. (No. 4.) 
 Face. — The bare skin round the eye. (No. 2.) 
 Flights. — The primary feathers of the wing, used in 
 
 flying, but tucked under the wing out of sight when 
 
 at rest. (No. 17.) 
 Fluff. — Soft downy feathers about the thighs, chiefly 
 
 developed in Asiatics ; also the downy part of the 
 
 feather. 
 Furnished. — Assumed the full characters. When a 
 
 cockerel has obtained his full tail, comb, hackles, 
 
 etc., as if adult, he is said to be " furnished." 
 Gills. — This term is often applied to the wattles, and 
 
 sometimes more indefinitely to the whole region ol 
 
 the throat. 
 Hackles. — The peculiar narrow feathers on the neck o[ 
 
 fowls, also found in the saddle of the cock. In the 
 
 latter case they are called "saddle" hackles 01 
 
 feathers ; . hackles alone always referring to the 
 
 neck-feathers. (No. 5.) 
 Hen-feathered, or Henny. — Resembling a hen in the 
 
 absence of sickles or hackle-feathers, and in 
 
 plumage generally. 
 Hock. — The joint between the thigh and the shank. 
 
 (No. ig.) 
 Keel. — The vertical part of the breast-bone. Also 
 
 applied to dependent flesh and skin below the 
 
 latter, as in many ducks. 
 Knock-kneed. — The hocks standing near together, instead 
 
 of well apart. 
 Laced, Lacing. — A stripe or edging all round a feather, 
 
 of some colour different from its ground colour, as 
 
 in Sebrights and Wyandottes. 
 Leg.-^ln a live fowl. this is the scaly part, or shank. In 
 
 a bird dressed for table, on the contrary, the terra 
 
 refers, as is well known, to the joints above. 
 Leg-feathers. — The feathers projecting from the outer 
 
 side of the shanks in some breeds, as Cochins. 
 Mossy. — Confused or indistinct in marking. 
 Pea-comb. — A triple comb, resembling three small 
 
 combs in one, the middle being the bighest. 
 Pencilling. — Small markings or stripes over a feather. 
 These may run either straight across, as in 
 
 Hamburghs, or in a crescentic form, as in Part- 
 ridge Cochins. 
 Poult. — A young turkey. 
 
 Primaries. — The flight-feathers of the wings, hidden 
 when the wing is closed, being tucked under the 
 visible wing composed of the " secondary " feathers. 
 
 Usually the primaries contain the deepest colour all 
 over the body, except the tail, and great importance 
 is attached to their colour by breeders. (No. 17.) 
 
240 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTFA'. 
 
 , \\\V' 
 
 Fig, 86.— Points of a Fowl. 
 
 
 
 REFERENCES. 
 
 
 
 I. Comb. 
 
 10. 
 
 Sickles. 
 
 16. 
 
 Lower wing butts. 
 
 2. Face. 
 
 II. 
 
 Tail-coyerts. 
 
 17- 
 
 Primaries. Hidden by Second- 
 
 3. Wattles. 
 
 12. 
 
 True Tail-feathers. 
 
 
 aries when the wing is 
 
 4. Deaf-ear or Ear-lcbe. 
 
 13- 
 
 Wing-bow. 
 
 
 closed. 
 
 5. Hackle. 
 
 14. 
 
 Wing-coverts, forming the 
 
 18. 
 
 Thighs. 
 
 6. Breast. 
 
 
 " bar." 
 
 19. 
 
 Hocks. 
 
 7. Back. 
 
 15 
 
 Secondaries, the lower-ends 
 
 30. 
 
 Legs or Shanks. 
 
 8. Saddle. 
 
 
 forming the wing or lower 
 
 21. 
 
 Spur. 
 
 g. Saddle-hackles. 
 
 
 butts. Wing-bay. Diamond. 
 
 22. 
 
 Toes or Claws. 
 
TECHNICAL TERMS. 
 
 241 
 
 20.) 
 
 a cock's 
 
 tail. 
 
 Pullei.-K young hen. Some think the term is not 
 properly applicable after December 31 of the year 
 in which a bird is hatched; others that it is so 
 up to one year old. 
 
 Rooster.— ka. American term for a cock. 
 
 Rose-comb. — A broad solid comb, the top of which is 
 nearly level and covered with small points. It 
 becomes broader as it recedes from the front, 
 ending with a spike or " leader " at the back. 
 
 Sfldrf/'e.— The posterior part of the back, reaching to 
 the tail, in a cock, answering to the cushion in a 
 hen. (No. 8.) 
 
 Secondaries. — The quill-feathers of the wing which are 
 visible when the bird is at rest. (No. 15.) 
 
 Self-colour. — A uniform tint over the feather or the 
 bird. 
 
 Shaft. — The stem or quill of a feather. 
 
 Shank. — The scaly part of the leg. (No. 
 
 Sickles. — The top curved feathers of 
 
 Properly only applied to the top pair, but "some- 
 times used for one or two pairs below which can 
 hardly be called tail-coverts. (No. 10.) 
 
 Spangling. — The marking produced by each feather 
 having one large spot or splash of some colour 
 different from the ground-colour. When apphed to 
 a laced breed, as in Polish, the word is explained 
 by the much broader lacing at the tip of each 
 feather. 
 
 Spur. — ^The sharp offensive weapon near the heel of a 
 cock or hen. (No. 21.) 
 
 Squirrel-tailed. — The tail projecting in front of a per- 
 pendicular line, ov«r the back. 
 
 Stag. — Another term for a young cock, chieily used by 
 Game breeders. 
 
 Station. — Another term for symmetry, but rather 
 markedly in connection with height or reach. 
 
 Strain. — A race of fowls which, having been carefully 
 bred by one breeder or his successors for years, 
 has acquired an individual character of its 'own 
 which can be more or less relied upon. 
 
 Surface-colour. — That portion of the feathers exposed 
 to view. See Under-colour. 
 
 Symmetry. — Perfection of proportion. 
 
 Tail-coverts. — The soft, glossy, curved feathers at the 
 sides of the bottom of the tail. Usually the same 
 colour as the sickles. (No. 11.) 
 
 Tail-feathers.-— The straight and stiff feathers of the 
 tail only. The top pair are sometimes slightly 
 curved, but they are always nearly if not quite 
 straight, and are contained inside the sickles and 
 tail-coverts. (No. 12.) 
 
 Thighs. — The joint above the shanks ; the iirst joint 
 clothed all over with feathers. The same as the 
 drumstick in dressed fowls. (No. 18.} 
 
 Top-knot. — Same as Crest. 
 
 Tri-coloured. — A term often applied to cockerels which 
 should be of one uniform colour, when their 
 hackles and saddles and tails are much darker, 
 and the wing-bow darker still. Chiefly in buff 
 varieties. 
 
 Trio.— A cock or cockerel, and two hens or pullets. 
 
 Under-colour.— Tbut portion of the feathers under the 
 surface, only seen when the plumage is opened 
 or separated. That of the fluff of the feather. It 
 often differs greatly from the surface-colour, and is 
 of great importance in breeding. 
 
 Variety.— Some definite division of a breed known by 
 its colour or marking. Thus the breed includes all 
 the varieties. 
 
 Vulture-hock.— Stm projecting quill-feathers at the 
 hock-joint. The feathers must be both stiff and 
 projecting to be thus truly called and condemned. 
 (See Fig. 87, drawn from a Brahma pullet.) 
 
 Fig. 87.— Vulture Hock. 
 
 Wattles. — The red depending structures at each side of 
 the base of the beak. Chiefly developed in the 
 male sex. (No. 3.) 
 
 Web. — This term is indefinite, expressing a flat and thin 
 structure. The web of a feather is the flat or 
 plume portion; the web of the foot, the flat skin 
 between the toes ; of the wing, the triangular skin 
 seen when the member is extended. 
 
 Wing-bar. — Any line of dark colour across the middle 
 of the wing, caused by the colour or marking of 
 the feathers known as the lower wing-coverts. 
 (No. 14.) 
 
 Wing-bay. — The triangular part of - the folded wing 
 between the wing-bar and the point. (No. 15.) 
 
 Wing-bow. — The upper or shoulder part of the wing. 
 (No. 13.) 
 
 Wing-butts. — The corners or ends of the wing. The 
 upper ends are more properly called the shoulder- 
 butts, and are thus termed by Game fanciers. 
 The lower, similarly, are often called the lower- 
 butts. (No. 16.) 
 
 Wing-coverts. — The broad feathers covering the roots 
 of the secondary quills. (No. 14.) 
 
242 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COCHINS. 
 
 THOUGH less popular now than formerly, 
 Cochins well deserve still to head the 
 list of breeds in any book of poultry. 
 Independent of their own merits, which have 
 doubtless fallen into the background since the 
 modern standard of breeding has impaired their 
 utility as layers and table-fowls, they have been 
 •the chief progenitors of a whole family of 
 poultry, justly valued for their useful qualities, 
 and all alike founded on a Cochin cross. And 
 apart from even that, their introduction was the 
 most memorable event that has ever happened 
 in the poultry world : there has been nothing 
 like it before or since. Previously, very few 
 people indeed except farmers kept fowls, and 
 those only scrubs or mongrels ; and one or two 
 shows which made attempts to attract public 
 interest, were only looked upon with a good- 
 natured contempt. In 1850 Cochins we^e 
 exhibited at Birmingham, and changed every- 
 thing. Every visitor went home to tell of the 
 new and wonderful fowls, which were as big as 
 ostriches, and roared like lions, while gentle as 
 lambs ; which could be kept anywhere, even in 
 a garret, and took to petting like tame cats. 
 Others crowded in to see them, and the excite- 
 ment grew, and even the street outside the show 
 was crammed, and Punch drew and wrote about 
 the new birds ; and before people knew where 
 they were, they were in the midst of the curious 
 "poultry-mania" of the middle of the nineteenth 
 century. That, in its acute stage, of course 
 could not last ; but the breeding and exhibition 
 of. poultry did, to such an extent that ever since 
 there has never lacked a market for a really 
 good bird. And the Cochin did it all. He is 
 the father of the poultry fancy, and none may 
 dispute his place of honour. 
 
 Books of much pretension have traced the 
 origin of this breed to some fowls imported in 
 1 843, which afterwards became the property of 
 Queen Victoria, under the name of 
 Origin of Cochin China fowls. As regards the 
 Cochins. fowls themselves this is a total mis- 
 
 take. A drawing of those birds 
 was given in the Illustrated London News- oi 
 that date, from which and the description it is 
 
 manifest that they had absolutely no points of 
 the Cochin at all, save perhaps yellow legs and 
 large size. The shanks were long and bare, the 
 heads carried back instead of forward, the tail 
 lai'ge and carried high, the back long and 
 sloping to the tail, the eyes black, the plumage 
 close and hard. Of what we may call Malay 
 blood they probably had a great deal ; of Cochin 
 blood none, or but some trace in a cross. But 
 one thing about them there was : these fowls 
 were not only big, but they probably did really 
 come from Cochin China, and from them and 
 that fact came undoubtedly the name, which will 
 now belong, while poultry breeding lasts, to 
 another fowl that has no right to it at all. 
 
 The real stock first reached this country in 
 1847, Mr. Moody, in Hampshire, and Mr. Alfred 
 Sturgeon, of Gray's, Essex, both receiving stock 
 in that year. Mr. Moody's, so far as we can 
 learn, were inferior in character and leg-feather 
 to Mr. Sturgeon's, but were very large and of 
 the same broad type ; and all alike came from 
 the port of Shanghae or its neighbourhood. 
 The birds were undoubtedly Shanghaes, and 
 had never been near Cochin China ; and for 
 years attempts were made to put this matter 
 straight. The first Poultry' Book of Wingfield 
 and Johnson (1853) wrote of them as Shanghaes, 
 and all American writers strove for the same 
 name years after the attempt had been aban- 
 doned in England; but it was no use. We 
 never knew a case yet where facts struggled 
 against a popular name, but the name won in 
 the end, and so it was here. The public had got 
 to know the new big fowls as Cochins, and 
 would use no other word ; and so the name 
 stuck, in the teeth of the facts, and holds the 
 field to this day. 
 
 Mr. Sturgeon's stock, with subsequent im- 
 ports from Shanghae, has been the main source 
 from which Cochins were bred in this country ; 
 America has had many independent importa- 
 tions. Mr. Punchard's stock was mainly from 
 Mr. Sturgeon, the latter keeping from choice 
 the lemons and buffs, while Mf. Punchard had 
 the dark birds which originated the partridges^ 
 colour being very uncertain in the breeding of 
 
THE EARLY COCHINS. 
 
 243 
 
 those days. Mr. Sturgeon gave, in 1853, the 
 following account of the origin of his stock : — 
 
 The history of my Cochins is a very absurd tale, and 
 full of ill-luck or, perhaps, carelessness — a term for 
 which ill-luck is often substituted. I got them in 1847, 
 from a ship in the West India Docks. A clerk we 
 employed at that time happened to go on board, and, 
 struck by the appearance of the birds, .bought them on 
 his own responsibility, and at what I, when I came to 
 hear of it, denounced as a most extravagant price — 
 some 6s. or 8s. each ! Judge of my terror, after my 
 extravagance, when I found a younger brother had, 
 immediately on their arrival, killed two out of the five, 
 leaving me a cockerel and two pullets ; nor was my 
 annoyance diminished on hearing him quietly remark 
 that they were very young, fat, and heavy, and would 
 never have got any 
 better ! The cock shortly 
 after died, and beyond 
 inquiring, for another, 
 which 1 succeeded in ob- 
 taining shortly after the 
 original died, together 
 with a number of hens, 
 which reached this 
 country under peculiar 
 circumstances, I person- 
 ally took but little interest 
 in them till the eve before 
 their departure for Bir- 
 mingham in 1850. Neither 
 my brother nor myself, 
 before we obtained these 
 birds, had taken very par- 
 ticular interest in poultry, 
 and why we came to 
 prefer the light-coloured 
 birds still remains a mys- 
 tery to me ; but so it was, 
 for to Mr. Punchard and 
 to all others we parted 
 with none but the smaller 
 and darker-coloured 
 birds. I have often 
 laughed at the dreadful 
 passes my now famous 
 breed has been reduced 
 to, and the very narrow 
 
 escapes it has had of utter extinction — first the at- 
 tack of my brother already narrated ; then the death 
 of the cock ; and in the third year the desperate incur- 
 sions of some mischievous greyhound puppies, who 
 killed one morning five young birds just as they were 
 getting feathered, besides many more on different occa- 
 sions. Our birds- all came from Shanghae, and were 
 feather-legged. It is to the cock of our second lot that 
 I attribute our great success. I have had fifty others 
 since, in four or five lots, but not a bird worthy of com- 
 parison with my old ones, or that I would mix with them. 
 
 Mr. Sturgeon priced his first-Cochins at 
 Birmingham at £\ per bird, as a prohibitive 
 price ; but Mr. Punchard deemed that sum 
 ridiculously extravagant, and entered his at 
 ^5 per pen of three. According to an 
 account given by Mr. Sturgeon to Mr. Norris- 
 Elye,* Mr. -Punchard's pens were all claimed, 
 
 * Brahmas and Cochins, by L. C. R. Norris-Elye. Published 
 at Feathered World Office. 
 
 Cochins of 1853. 
 
 and Mr. Sturgeon's would have been also, 
 over and over again, but the would-be buyers 
 waited in the supposition that he would take 
 less, as Mr. Punchard's were so much lower 
 in price. Mr. Sturgeon was thus enabled to 
 claim the entire lot, and keep them in his 
 own hands ; and a year or two later, when 
 he had a sale — the first poultry sale of the 
 kind ever held — which was conducted by 
 Mr. Henry Stafford, the late well - known 
 Shorthorn auctioneer and the publisher of 
 the Shorthorn Herd-hook, his surplus stock 
 of 120 birds realised a net total of £60^. 
 The Cochins thus introduced into England 
 were perceptibly dif- 
 ferent from the present 
 type of bird, though 
 exhibiting in the main 
 the chief character- 
 istics which distin- 
 guish them still in 
 the broader fea- 
 tures from other 
 races of fowls. The 
 accompanying illus- 
 tration, which is re- 
 duced from a drawing 
 by Mr. Harrison Weir 
 in the Illustrated . 
 London News of 1853, 
 will show the char- 
 acters of the birds 
 after they had settled 
 down a little from a 
 year or two of ex- 
 hibition. There will 
 be remarked in this 
 contemporary drawing 
 the globular masses of 
 fluff over the hen's 
 cushion and the thighs of both sexes ; the short 
 and soft tail ; the moderately feathered shanks ; 
 the medium-sized single comb ; the low and for- 
 ward carriage ; the short legs set wide apart. Yet 
 there is one difference of a marked character, 
 apart from the less amount of shank-feathering 
 and absence of vulture-hock. The fluffy masses 
 of the hen stand out in even more globular pro- 
 tuberance than they do to-day ; and considering 
 this further, we observe that the plumage of 
 \h& fore-part of the body in both sexes is more 
 tight and close-fitting than now, and hence this 
 appears smaller in proportion to the hinder-parts. 
 The difference is due more to plumage than 
 anything else, for Mr. Sturgeon, writing in the 
 same year, insists on "great depth from the 
 base of the neck to the point of the breast- 
 bone," and also on length of the latter. To 
 
244 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 this comparatively greater closeness of plumage 
 over the forward portions of the body, while 
 the hinder parts only were covered with deep 
 fluff, we now know was due the greater laying 
 powers of the Cochins of those days (see p. 178), 
 One or two other details about these early 
 Cochins are very interesting. Mr. Sturgeon 
 wrote (of buffs) even in 1853, that "the eye 
 should be red and full," since it had already been 
 found that " in all cases of contracted pupil and 
 bhndness, the pearl or broken-eyed birds have 
 been the sufferers." This weakness of the pearl 
 
 
 stock as Mr. Sturgeon's buffs, one breeder pre- 
 ferring the light and the other the darker 
 colours. To the same mixture of colours is no 
 doubt due the number of varieties recognised 
 in the early "standards," buff, lemon, silver- 
 buff, silver-cinnamon, and cinnamon being all 
 separately described. 
 
 Ten or twelve years did not make much 
 change in the general characteristics of Cochins, 
 yet a little is observable, as will be seen from 
 the accompanying drawings made in 1865 by 
 M. Jacque, the leading French poultiy artist 
 
 <,»■ ■ '•< -.' Q 
 
 Cochins in 1865. 
 
 eye, and even of light yellow, still remains. The 
 early birds also bred most amazingly in regard 
 to colour, and the finest of the early blacks were 
 bred from a white cock and buff hen. From 
 one brood of ten chickens of this cross, two 
 pullets were pure black ; two pullets and three 
 cockerels black, with more or less gold in 
 hackles, and marked wings ; the other three 
 darkly pencilled birds. Another breeder put a 
 buff cock with dark partridge hens; the pullets 
 from this cross were all light fawns. It has 
 already been noted that Mr. Punchard's par- 
 tridges were originally selected from the same 
 
 of that day. Though the head is ill-drawn, the 
 cock here shows more "type" than the 1853 
 drawing, being more like the Cochin as we 
 know it ; and both birds show more softness 
 and looseness of feather over the whole of the body 
 than in the original type. It is this latter 
 change which was to proceed so much further 
 in later years, as shown very strongly in our 
 plates of to-day, and reaching its climax, per- 
 haps, in the American Cochin as bred in 1900. 
 
 The last marked change which took place 
 was the admission of vulture-hocks, due to the 
 passion for heavy shank-feather, together with 
 
CHARACTERISTICS OF COCHINS. 
 
 245 
 
 most inconsistent conduct on the part of the 
 then leading judges. These had carried prac- 
 tical disqualification for vulture-hocks to . such 
 
 an extreme, that birds with the 
 Vulture least fulness of shank-feather were 
 
 Hocks. repeatedly passed over for what 
 
 was really only nice covering with 
 quite soft and well-curled feathers. That pro- 
 voked reaction to excessive shank-feather, and 
 birds were exhibited with hocks heavily plucked ; 
 and then almost of a sudden the judges gave 
 way and went to the other extreme, and vulture- 
 hocks sprang in with a bound, so far as England 
 was concerned. It always seemed to us that 
 heavy and stiff quill-feather was inconsistent 
 with the idea of a Cochin ; and it has been 
 proved in America that heavy shank-feather 
 can be bred without stiff hocks ; but in England 
 the hocked fashion has now prevailed since 
 about 1875. As the Cochin, with this and other 
 changes, has now become almost entirely a 
 "fancy" fowl, kept up by fanciers solely, 
 nothing can be said in objection to the standard 
 they adopt ; but the few birds now exhibited 
 in comparison with the large classes which 
 formerly appeared at large shows,* are an 
 eloquent testimony to the change which has 
 taken place in general appreciation of this once 
 popular breed. 
 
 Turning next to tlfe Cochin as it is bred 
 to-day, its great characteristic, above all, is 
 massiveness of appearance, especially in .the 
 buffs, which are superior to the 
 ChaxacteristicB other colours, as a rule, in Cochin 
 of character. The bird really is very 
 
 Cochins. large and heavy, a full-grown cock 
 
 weighing from 11 lbs. to 13 lbs.; 
 but a good bird looks larger for his weight than 
 any other breed, owing to the fluffy plumage. 
 This is thinner in the quill, broader in the web, 
 and with more length of loose fibrils from the 
 root than other breeds, thus standing out more 
 from the body, and making it look larger, even 
 on those parts where it appears to lie close. The 
 comb is single and straight, only medium in 
 size, with neat top outline and serrations ; and 
 these and the wattles and . the face and lobes 
 should be smooth and fine in texture, not red- 
 pimpled all over. The head should be small, 
 with a gentle and intelligent look ; the neck 
 rather short, and very full towards bottom of 
 the hackle, which flows well over the shoulders. 
 These are wide and flat, and the back so short 
 that the saddle or cushion seems to rise to the 
 stern almost from the base of the hackle. The 
 saddle or cushion must be very broad, and rise 
 
 * There were 58 buff cockerels at Birmingham in 1874. 
 
 well, all but burying the short tail of the hen ; 
 the tail of the cock should be as short, and the 
 coverts or sickles as soft as possible, the whole 
 forming a sort of smooth line with the saddle 
 hackles. The body is deep and large every 
 way, the fluff on cushion and thighs standing 
 out as profusely as possible ; but the wings are 
 not now so tight-feathered, or clipped in so close 
 as formerly, but themselves carried more loosely 
 from the body, so that the thigh-fluff in most 
 birds does not show such marked " globes " as 
 it did some years ago. The breast should come 
 down very deep, and be well covered with soft 
 plumage. The shank-feather should be very 
 abundant, and stand well out from the shanks, 
 especially at the weak place just under the 
 hocks. In the hocks, as little oi projecting stiff 
 quill as possible is preferred, and to be sought 
 for. Practically, vulture-hock is not now objected 
 to, but there are different types of it : some point 
 well downwards, and in some degree curl round 
 the hocks, while in other birds it sticks out 
 straight behind in a most offensive way ; the 
 first of these types is to be preferred. The 
 shanks must be short and set wide apart, and 
 the feather extend to the end of outer and 
 middle toes. The attitude is rather forward, 
 with the stern carried high, and the head (in 
 comparison with most breeds) rather low, and 
 the carriage is quiet and dignified. 
 
 Coming now to the varieties of Cochins, at 
 the head of them all stands the class of colours 
 now all known as Buffs. As already observed, 
 at an early date the buff colours 
 Buff 'wtxi much sub-divided, ranging from 
 
 Cochins, the lightest silver-buffs and silver- 
 
 cinnamons, through lemons and buffs, 
 to the deep-coloured cinnamons, which would 
 now be called almost red. The lightest of these 
 colours were very pretty, the breasts being so 
 pale as to be almost a French grey, while the 
 hackles and top plumage of the cockerels were 
 much darker. The propensity for uniform 
 colour all over displaced these variegated 
 colours, and then for some years the classes 
 were headed " cinnamon and buff." T-he colour 
 of many birds was still lacking in uniformity, and 
 for several years cockerels occasionally won, 
 which would now be called " tri-coloured," the 
 breast being lemon or orange buff, the hackles 
 and saddle much darker, and the wing darker 
 still, even a red. Such birds did not breed well, 
 besides their variegated appearance, and would 
 not now be tolerated in any decent competition. 
 It may be stated broadly that the chief thing 
 now desired is uniformity of colour all over in 
 buff Cochins. Of course the hackle, from its 
 
246 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 different texture, has a somewhat different 
 appearance, and more solid, if not deeper tint 
 than the body colour, but the tone of the whole 
 is desired as uniform as possible. The following 
 valuable remarks upon mating and breeding 
 buff Cochins are kindly contributed by that 
 well-known exhibitor, Mr. George H. Procter, 
 Flass House, Durham : — 
 
 " A good buff Cochin should be as large as 
 possible, and should look bigger, than it really 
 is, owing to the plumage being so loose, fluffy, 
 and soft. A tight-feathered bird I dislike very 
 much, and consider such far from the true type. 
 
 " The head should be neat and nicely curved, 
 and free from coarseness. The comb should. not 
 be very lai'ge, but evenly serrated, and free from 
 thumb-mark and side sprigs. It should be of 
 fine texture, and, as with the wattles and ear- 
 lobe, a bright red. White in the lobe is a very 
 common defect, which gives a cross-bred appear- 
 ance to an otherwise good bird. The eye 
 should be yellow or orange, though pearl is not 
 objectionable. The beak must be short, strong, 
 curved, and of a bright yellow. 
 
 " The neck must be short, nicely curved, and 
 covered with long flowing hackle. The back 
 should be very broad, the saddle or cushion 
 rising towards the tail, with an arch in the hen ; 
 in the cock the saddle hackle is very long, 
 reaching well over the wing points. The wing 
 must be short, the tips well tucked up, and, as I 
 have said before, buried under the saddle hackle 
 or cushion, but not carried too close to the body, 
 as this does away with the loose feathery look 
 a Cochin should always have. A slip or loose 
 wing is a most serious fault, and the most 
 certain to appear in the next generation. The 
 tail of the cock should not be carried too high, 
 but rather obliquely, with full, flowing, soft, 
 ribbon- like feathers. Some birds are shown 
 minus part of their stiff tail feathers, which I 
 consider a great mistake, as, instead of improv- 
 ing their appearance in the eyes of a breeder 
 (who can see at a glance the unnatural moult), 
 it spoils the outline. The breast must be very 
 full and broad, the feathers on the under side 
 soft and curly. 
 
 " The thighs should be covered with long, 
 soft fluff, and on the front curly feathers. The 
 fluff must stand well out, and not cling to the 
 sides, else, however good the bird might be, I 
 should hesitate to use it in a breeding pen. 
 There has been much written in days gone by 
 about vulture-hocks, but I have always allowed 
 a good deal of latitude in this point, and would 
 rather have a stiff hock than a lightly covered 
 joint, as this with scant shank- and foot-feather 
 generally goes hand in hand. At the same time 
 
 nothing improves the look of a Cochin more 
 than a hock properly covered with soft feathers, 
 curling round the joint. The shanks should be 
 strong and set well apart. The feathers should 
 stand well " off" on the outside, sometimes quite 
 six inches, but on no account pointing down- 
 wards, as such are much more liable to be 
 broken, and although there may be a great 
 amount of feathers, they do not show to the 
 same advantage in the exhibition pen. I 
 strongly object to any break or scarcity of 
 feather between the hock and shank. The 
 feet are yellow in chickens, but in many old 
 birds flesh-coloured, which I think quite admis- 
 sible. The feathering should be very profuse 
 and running to the end of the middle toe, which 
 should be quite hidden from view. A badly 
 covered middle toe I look upon as a great 
 defect, and ©ne likely to increase in the next 
 generation. 
 
 " The colour of the cock is as follows : The 
 neck and saddle hackle, in fact all the top 
 feathers, should be of a bright rich golden buff, 
 free from any red or bricky tinge, as well as any 
 suspicion of mealiness. The breast, thighs, and 
 fluff a sound, dense buff down to the skin, and 
 not showing the rib of the feathers. A washy - 
 coloured breast or chalky fluff is considered 
 fatal in a breeding bird. The tail coverts must 
 be rich chestnut, and the stiff feathers free from 
 black or white. The former is a fault many 
 otherwise good birds have, but as pure buff tails 
 can be bred, I consider that the black should be 
 heavily penalised. The flight feathers, in a 
 cockerel to breed from, must be of a sound, 
 rich buff, without white or black ; but in an old 
 bird a little white is almost certain to appear, 
 and, 'although by no means desirable, I should 
 not penalise it much. Foot and shank feathers 
 should be the same colour as breast and fluff, 
 also free from black or white in a cockerel ; but, 
 like the flight feathers, in many cases a little 
 white appears in the second year. 
 
 " The colour of the hen should be of an even 
 soft buff throughout, with no suspicion of red or 
 bricky tinge. All wing, foot, and shank feathers 
 must be free from black. In no case should 
 the rib of the feathers show, but the buff colour 
 must run down the fluff to the skin. I dislike 
 a hen with a chalky fluff much more than one 
 of lighter top colour. 
 
 "For some time I noticed in the poultry 
 journals a controversy going on respecting 
 colour feeding. I am no believer in the system, 
 for, in the first place, perfectly coloured buff 
 birds can be bred without any artificial feeding, 
 and in the second, I should say birds so fed 
 would be useless for breeding purposes. As a 
 
BREEDING BUFF COCHINS. 
 
 247 
 
 matter of fact my buff Cochins have never been 
 subject to any such treatment, and I am quite 
 certain I shall never allow it in my yards. 
 
 " In mating up a breeding pen, I select a 
 cockerel that has not been exhibited, if possible, 
 and do not mind if rather late hatched. He 
 must have a neat, well-serrated comb, short, 
 heavily feathered shanks and feet, especially the 
 middle toe, together with a broad back, full 
 breast, and plenty of fluff. He must be perfectly 
 sound in colour, with a small, clear buff tail. 
 The flights and fluff buff to the skin ; if just a 
 shade darker on the wing I do not object, but 
 at the same time I strongly object to a red 
 backed or tri-coloured bird, many of which 
 have been awarded prizes and used for breeding 
 by the inexperienced breeder, much to the detri- 
 ment of the colour of the offspring, more espe- 
 cially of the pullets bred from such, as they 
 come mottled, and show unsoundness on wings 
 and streaky breasts. It is a mistake to think a 
 dark-winged cock mated with light hens will 
 breed sound, medium-coloured chickens. This 
 mistake, I notice, is being made in other buff 
 varieties, and so long as these dark cocks are 
 allowed to win prizes, we will see faulty-coloured 
 hens and pullets. 
 
 " When I am satisfied with the selection of 
 the cockerel, for choice I should say put with 
 him five two-year-old hens, large, roomy birds 
 with neat heads and plenty of feather and shape, 
 and of the same strain if possible. I do not 
 mind if a bit pale in colour or mottled, so long 
 as the colour runs down to the skin, and they 
 are not chalky in their fluff. They should be 
 as free as possible from black in tail. I con- 
 sider the cock is mostly answerable for the 
 colour and feathering, and the hen for size and 
 shape, of the offspring. 
 
 " My old birds are fed twice a day, in the 
 morning on sharps or middlings, mixed with a 
 little scalded cut bone, or any of the patent 
 poultry foods, given warm, and about 3 p.m. a 
 good feed of sound wheat, a few acres of which 
 I grow for the purpose every year, and find this 
 suits my birds best. The chickens are fed every 
 .two or three hours for the first few weeks, mostly 
 upon oatmeal, mixed with a little scalded meal 
 and some chopped bone and hard boiled egg, 
 but I soon begin to substitute sharps or mid- 
 dlings, mixed with some of the patent poultry 
 foods. I get chickens on to small wheat for 
 a change, and find nothing brings them on 
 quicker than a judicious use of this grain." 
 
 The Buff Cochin being, as already intimated, 
 the real progenitor of a whole tribe of buff 
 poultry, it will be convenient to enter here 
 fully, once for all, into the essential principles 
 
 of breeding all-self-coloured buff fowls, ignorance 
 of which has led to nmch failure and disap- 
 pointment, the more so since a certain change 
 
 of fashion already generally indicated 
 Breeding above. Formerly some difference in 
 Buffs. colours on various parts of the body 
 
 was recognised, the silver-cinnamons, 
 for instance, having very light under parts, with 
 much darker colour in the hackle and cock's 
 upper parts, and in the tails. Such colours 
 have now quite disappeared in favour of 
 a self-colour, as uniform as possible all 
 over. It may range from cinnamon to pale 
 lemon in tint, but the tint is desired the same 
 all over, with only the difference in shade or 
 richness which the difference of hackles in tex- 
 ture of feather necessarily makes. This stand- 
 ard of colour has brought the natural tendency 
 to black in tail into stronger relief ; and nothing 
 has been more common than for purchasers to 
 insist, above all other points, upon any bird sent 
 them having no black in tail. It cannot be too 
 well understood that while a buff or bronzed 
 tail is the ideal for a perfect bird, a cockerel 
 with dark tail may be a valuable breeder, while 
 one with no black in tail may be absolutely 
 worthless. 
 
 The great essential in breeding self-coloured 
 buffs, is freedom from any " meal " in the buff, or 
 white anywhere in the plumage so far as growing 
 stock is concerned (there may be some come in 
 good old birds, as indicated by Mr. Procter 
 above), and good buff under-colour. The latter 
 means that the fluff at the base of the feather 
 is to be buff, not white, or " buff to the skin,", as 
 it is termed, and the shaft of the feather also 
 buff, not white. The web of the feather and 
 surface of the bird may be buff, but if the under- 
 colour be white or nearly so, good chickens will 
 be very few. Many birds in any new strain 
 may be very pale buff in the under-fluff at first, 
 almost white ; but as selection proceeds darker 
 and darker should be chosen, until fairly rich 
 colour is obtained. After that the breeder will 
 have less trouble. 
 
 Mealiness in colour does not mean mottling, 
 as when feathers bleach in the sun ; it means a 
 most minute speckle of white among the buff, 
 like specks of flour, so fine as almost to need a 
 magnifying glass to see it, and leaving the bird 
 apparently quite a nice even buff, looked at 
 carelessly. Such a bird will never breed good- 
 coloured stock ; but it is just such as are most 
 generally free from black in tail, and often get 
 chosen on that account ; while on the other hand 
 a cockerel with black in his tail, of the proper 
 sound colour, and " buff to the skin," may breed 
 most successfully, and be a very valuable bird, 
 
248 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 as may a pullet a little ticked in her hackle or 
 dark in tail. There is so much tendency to 
 "breed lighter," that these faults are far less 
 troublesome than white under-colour, or any 
 approach to "meal" on the surface. 
 
 Another point to be borne in mind, is to 
 breed so far as possible from darker birds than 
 the progeny are desired. One only has to mate 
 two really pale buffs, to get chickens with a 
 great deal of absolute white in them : that 
 shows the tendency in this colour. If hens and 
 pullets can be selected on the dark side, all the 
 better ; and even then the cock or cockerel 
 should be decidedly dark — he may even be 
 almost a rich red. This is still more essential if 
 the females are not dark. But whatever colour 
 the birds are, they must be even all over if the 
 result is to be good, mottled or uneven colour in 
 different parts being strongly hereditary. Even 
 colour is, if anything, still more important in 
 the male bird than in the female. One form of 
 unevenness in colour is lacing on the feathers, 
 with either lighter or. darker buff, especially on 
 the breast or wings. We have often thought 
 that the darker lacing, which is most common, 
 might easily be developed with care into a very 
 beautiful variety ; but in breeding for self-colour 
 at least, it must be carefully avoided, being very 
 apt to perpetuate itself 
 
 Twenty years back the fashion in buffs was 
 for what were called lemons, the under-parts being 
 a rather pale yellow buff, while the hackles were 
 a bright lemon. Of late it has set strongly for 
 the richer, deeper, orange buffs, at times verging 
 on a shade of cinnamon. These require very 
 deep-coloured parents to produce them in any 
 numbers, with rich under-colour ; and even then 
 there will be sufficient of the lighter shades. 
 Birds have been shown almost bricky in colour ; 
 but of late some signs have been manifest of a 
 disposition to regard, with more favour again the 
 brighter orange and lemon shades. 
 
 Buff chickens usually become darker in 
 colour with the adult plumage, and in their first 
 feathers often show a mottled and pale surface, 
 which is very disappointing, but which moults 
 out all right. This is rather curious in con- 
 nection with the necessity for depth of colour 
 in the parents, and must be borne in mind. 
 Chickens which iook dark enough in their 
 chicken feathers, will very often moult too dark. 
 This is to be remembered, and if they are bred 
 from good parentage, such light chickens should 
 not be discarded. After one season's rearing of 
 his own birds, if from good stock, a breeder 
 new to 3uffs will know about what to expect 
 in this way, and be able to do his weeding 
 accordingly. 
 
 Partridge Cochins have been duririg late years, 
 if anything, more generally shown than Buffs, 
 the reverse of what was formerly the case. One 
 reason probably is that this variety 
 can be kept in town yards, and if well 
 attended to may be shown without 
 washing. They have seen great 
 changes since the early days, most of Mr. 
 Punchard's early cocks having been brown in 
 
 Partridge 
 Cochins. 
 
 Fig. 88.— Partridge Hen's Hackle Feathers. 
 
 breast. Black was however preferred, and we 
 have been told by several old breeders who 
 remember those early days, including the writer 
 of the following notes, that the origin of the 
 black breast was a cross with Mr. Lacy's brown 
 Brahmas of that time, which also tended to 
 improve the marking of the hens. Most of the 
 early Partridge hens were light brown, finely 
 pencilled with dark brown, the shaft of the 
 feather showing white over most of the body. 
 Along with these were shown hens known as 
 grouse, from their solid grouse pencilling with- 
 out any streak in the shaft of the feather ; some 
 of these being distinctly traced to the cross 
 mentioned just above. The streaky-feathered 
 hens have since died out, and the grouse- 
 feathered type, more or less modified, is the 
 modern Partridge Cochin, with a black-breasted 
 cock as show companion. The grouse marking 
 was gradually bred to great perfection, and 
 about 1868 — the precise year is difficult to 
 ascertain — there was introduced another cross 
 
BREEDING PARTRIDGE COCHINS, 
 
 249 
 
 of more modern dark Brahma, which imparted 
 the beautiful pencilling of that variety and a 
 somewhat lighter ground colour, almost verg- 
 ing on yellow in some birds, with black 
 markings. Still later there is evidence that 
 there was at least one marked introduction 
 of Brahma blood for the third time, with a 
 view still further to "clear" the pencilling. 
 With this cross came a smaller size and a 
 narrow weedy build, which has not bred out 
 yet, so that many Partridge pullets are the most 
 inferior of any of the varieties in Cochin .type 
 
 Cochins, from the days of the late Mr. Edward 
 Tudman downwards : — 
 
 " To breed Partridge Cochin cocks is now a 
 very difficult task, the reason of which is I 
 believe that they have got mixed up with the 
 pullet strain, which tends to brown 
 Breedmg ,„ the fiufif, and too plain hackles. 
 
 CocMnsf* I have not bred the cock strain 
 
 now for many years, but believe 
 there is always danger in breeding from birds 
 not black up to the throat and darkly striped 
 in the hackle. 
 
 BCD 
 
 Fig. 89. — Partridge Cochin Pencilled Feathers. 
 
 and massiveness. This point needs special 
 attention from the breeder. All strains have 
 not been so crossed, and the result is apt to 
 be, unless care is taken, some anomalies in 
 breeding owing to such great differences in 
 blood. We were told by the writer of the 
 following notes of one very curious case, 
 that of the best cup Partridge pullet perhaps 
 ever seen at Birmingham up to even now, 
 claimed at the price of £2,4, which was bred 
 from a cock-breeding hen, of a mere mouse 
 colour ; but this mother of that splendid bird 
 never bred another good one either before or 
 since. 
 
 The following notes are from Mr. Richard 
 Southern, of Worsley, well known as one of the 
 oldest and most successful breeders of Partridge 
 
 " To breed pullets the first thing is to choose 
 your hens, which should, of course, be the largest 
 and best-shaped possible, short on the leg, and 
 plenty of foot feather, with, if possible, nice soft 
 hocks ; but above all things must be heavily 
 pencilled from head to foot, the breast in parti- 
 cular. I have always bred my very best pullets 
 from hens heavily pencilled in the hackle, and 
 find these always breed the best pencilled ones, 
 so that my strain of Partridge Cochins may be 
 called a pencilled-hackled strain, and I have had 
 it for over twenty years. These hens breed the 
 striped hackle as well, and the three hackle 
 feathers in Fig. 88 show this. Feather A is a 
 heavily, pencilled hackle from a hen three years 
 old, which is the mother of both the hackles in 
 B and C, one being a partially pencilled hackle 
 
250 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and the other a striped. I have won scores of 
 times with pencilled hackles, but prefer the 
 striped hackle for a show hen ; but until you 
 get them to breed both in this way, you do 
 not get so many -well-pencilled pullets. 
 
 " The cocks to mate with these hens should 
 have a rich orange-coloured hackle, broadly 
 striped with black, with a few brown spots on his 
 breast, but not brown patches ; he should also be 
 just a little tinged with brown on his fluff, and 
 if his tail feathers have a very narrow edging 
 of brown or bay I like him all the better, as this 
 tends to breed pencilled tails in his pullets. The 
 hens should be chosen a little darker than is 
 required, as they will breed pullets lighter than 
 themselves in regard to the greater portion. I 
 have always chosen my breeding cocks from 
 one to two or three years old, and the hens 
 the same, and never breed from cockerels and 
 pullets. One reason is that I have had many 
 pullets that did not moult out as I should have 
 liked, and it is much safer to breed from those 
 hens which have improved in pencilling up to 
 one or two years old. I also choose my hens 
 and cocks (for breeding) with the shaft of the 
 feather almost black to the skin." 
 
 Fig. 89 is photographed from feathers of this 
 old grouse strain, and will show the perfection 
 of its marking, the colour of these being almost 
 black on a light brown ground. But the 
 specimens have also been selected-, out of 
 quite a numbor sent us by Mr. Southern, to 
 show how remarkably a strain bred for m.any 
 years for pencilling, without a cross, tends 
 gradually to approximate to the Hamburgh 
 type of pencilled -marking, or equal straight 
 bands across the feather. The hackle of the 
 mother hen in Fig. 88 also shows this character' 
 strongly. In Fig. 89 A and E are a breast 
 and cushion feather from the same hen, and 
 in the Ir.tter Hamburgh-like bands of pen- 
 cilling appear at the base of the feather. 
 But the tendency is shown still more strongly 
 in B, C, and D, which are all breast feathers ; 
 B from one, and C D both from another or 
 different pullet : the two last are specially 
 suggestive in regard to possibilities of pen- 
 cilling. 
 
 The Brahma-crossed pullets, which are more 
 often seen, exactly resemble Brahma feathers 
 in the character of their marking ; and the 
 ground colour, though not yellow, generally 
 partakes of a brighter tinge approaching that 
 colour, while the marking really is black, and 
 varies from narrow markings to broad bands, as 
 in strains of Brahmas. What is said above as 
 to pencilling of the hackles also applies to these 
 birds, though marking so nearly approaching 
 
 that of pencilled Hamburghs is rarely founa 
 amongst them. Good pencilling should be 
 looked for in fluff and foot-feather, as well as on 
 the body and breast. The males for these 
 birds will have as a rule orange red hackles, 
 and should be marked on the breast and fluff, 
 the black feathers having either an edging or 
 lacing of brown, or a small pear-shaped tick at 
 the end of each breast feather : either will do, 
 provided, of course, the bird be of the pullet- 
 breeding strain, and have hackles densely and 
 sharply striped, especially on the saddle. If 
 there is a little fine black edging round the tips 
 of the hackles, as well as in the centre stripe, it 
 is none the worse for a pullet-breeding cockerel. 
 
 Apart from the glossy black breast, and 
 dense black fluff and foot feather, which are now 
 expected in him, the exhibition Partridge cock 
 is deeper or richer in colour than the one for 
 pullet breeding. His hackles are preferred of a 
 deep reddish orange, or even red, while the 
 wing-bow and shoulders and back are of a 
 glossy red, almost crimson in tone. When the 
 condition is good and the gloss on the feather 
 is perfection, the upper part of a Partridge 
 cock is a gorgeous display of colour, which 
 hardly has a parallel in any other breed for 
 its beautiful waxy lustre and brilliance. 
 
 To breed these birds it is no use now to use 
 exhibition or grouse-marked pullets. The male 
 must, of course, be chosen as perfect as possible 
 in all exhibition points, including Cochin 
 character as well as colour, the most common 
 fault in the latter being white in tail, which 
 clings to this breed with extraordinary persist- 
 ence. The hens to mate with him are very dark 
 all over, the ground-colour of the feathers being 
 dark brown nearly as dark as roasted coffee, 
 covered over with very small and minute pencil- 
 ling, too close to be distinguishable as bands, 
 and almost black. The feathers of such a hen 
 are shown in Fig. 90, and the great difference 
 between them and the grouse-marked feathers 
 on p. 249 will be observed. These feathers very 
 often show a little white in the shaft, which does 
 not matter much ; and altogether it is very 
 obvious that this strain contains more than the 
 other of the older Partridge blood. The entire 
 bird is very dark and dull looking, and the 
 cushion feathers are often almost dull black, 
 except for a narrow lacing of the brown ground ; 
 birds without that lacing breed cockerels not 
 bright enough. It does not of course follow that 
 all dark and dull-looking hens like this will 
 breed exhibition cockerels ; but if they are the 
 next relatives of such, and therefore of the 
 right blood, there will be little disappointment 
 after the strain has been bred a year or two. 
 
CO 
 
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 I 
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 Ui 
 
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 I- 
 
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 D- 
 
BLACK COCHINS. 
 
 251 
 
 The hackles of these hens should be deep red- 
 dish orange, with a broad and dense black stripe 
 resembling c in Fig. 88. 
 
 These dark hens are often of noble and 
 massive proportions, and hence the males of 
 this variety are at present often better than the 
 females, which, since the last Brahma cross for 
 pencilling, have too often been small and weedy. 
 It was very striking, until the older style of 
 marking had died out, to see the two side by 
 side, and mark the grandeur of the older .type 
 compared with the modern. The increase of 
 size and Cochin shape in the exhibition females 
 is the most pressing desideratum in Partridge 
 Cochin breeding, and much might be done by 
 selecting the fine.st birds, and systematic feeding 
 
 tridges and Whites in size and form, and 
 awakened quite a new interest in this variety 
 amongst Cochin breeders. For their slow pro- 
 gress in early years there were several reasons ; 
 one being the predominant rage for buffs and 
 whites, and another the scarcity of stock, which 
 led to in-breeding, and caused want of size and 
 weediness of build, the proper methods of line- 
 breeding not being then understood. Another 
 reason was the attempt to keep up bright yellow 
 shanks, which all black fowls strotigly resist. 
 From one cause and another they had become 
 
 Breast. 
 
 "Wing. Back. 
 
 Fig. 90. — Feathers of Cockbreeding Partridge Hen. 
 
 Cushion. 
 
 for size, as treated of in the earlier chapters of 
 this work. Even a cross from the browner and 
 more massive type of Dark Brahma hens might 
 possibly prove useful ; it being obviously the 
 smaller paper-ground birds, chosen for beauty of 
 marking, which have done the mischief, and 
 whiteness of ground not being necessary in the 
 Partridge Cochin. 
 
 Black Cochins have been known from the 
 earliest days, but until comparatively recent 
 years have been little bred in comparison with 
 other varieties, and generally be- 
 Black hind them in Cochin quality. At 
 
 Cochins. the shows of 1899 and 1900, how- 
 
 ever, the specimens shown by Capt. 
 R. S. Williamson and the Rev. F. Sutton Dodd 
 have^ in several instances, surpassed both Par- 
 
 nearly extinct, when the introduction of Lang- 
 sbans in 1872 gave strong fresh blood, renewed 
 size, and better colour. Such a cross now would 
 be hopeless ; but the illustration of the original 
 Langshans on a later page will show that 'at 
 that date the poor existing Black Cochins had 
 little to lose even in model from the new blood 
 as then known, and the chief change really 
 wrought by it was in the question of leg colour. 
 For a time this was generally quite dark, as in 
 the Langshan, but gradually a very dusky 
 yellow came to be generally recognised as the 
 correct type, and the strengthened stock has 
 been, with the aid of other Cochin crosses, bred 
 up to its present standard. 
 
 The following notes on Black Cochins have 
 been kindly contributed by Capt. R. S. William- 
 son, of Rawnsley, Hednesford, well known as 
 
252 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 one of the most prominent breeders and ex- 
 hibitors : — 
 
 " Seeing the popularity of the Buff and 
 Partridge Cochins amongst poultry fanciers, it 
 is somewhat remarkable that Black Cochins are 
 not more largely kept. They possess many 
 advantages over the other varieties from an 
 amateur's standpoint ; they are nothing like so 
 troublesome to keep in show form, and in smoky 
 and dirty neighbourhoods they can be kept 
 where it would be impossible to keep the other 
 varieties. Again, in exhibiting Black Cochins it 
 is not so necessary for the would-be exhibitor 
 to be an 'expert,' as beyond taking proper 
 care of the foot-feather^ very little is required. 
 And as regards a utility point of view, they will 
 compare favourably with any of the Cochin 
 varieties, and for hardiness they cannot be 
 beaten. 
 
 " Many years ago exquisite Blacks were 
 shown. Some writers consider they were bred 
 from Buffs and Whites. More recently the 
 crossing of a dark male Partridge Cochin with 
 female Black Cochins had been known to pro- 
 duce most excellent birds ; but oddly enough 
 only the pullets came pure in colour, the 
 cockerels, in nearly every case showing red or 
 coloured feathers in their neck hackle. The 
 introduction of crosses has no doubt been the 
 means of getting size into the breed, but at the 
 expense of disgusting many would-be breeders 
 and exhibitors, by the appearance of discoloured 
 feathers amongst their stock. Once these red 
 or discoloured feathers get introduced, it takes 
 considerable time and trouble to breed them 
 out. If a cross has to be tried, it should be of 
 Whites, as by crossing two distinct colours like 
 black and white, an improvement may be given 
 to each variety. No doubt some years ago the 
 Langshan blood was used to get colour ; but 
 this spoilt the shape and type, and accounts 
 for the huge tails some of the Black Cochins 
 possessed years ago. 
 
 " The chief characteristics of Black Cochins, 
 apart from their being a lustrous green black, 
 are much the same as in the other varieties of 
 Cochins. The question of colour of leg is how- 
 ever one that has not yet been definitely settled. 
 Some breeders maintain that they should have 
 bright yellow legs, others dark slate colour, and 
 by others again the "lizard" or dusky yellow is 
 preferred. The latter colour is, I consider, the 
 correct one. The yellow leg has no doubt been 
 got by crossing with the other varieties of 
 Cochin; and from a breeding experience of 
 over twenty years of this variety, I invariably 
 find that the bright yellow legs bring discoloured 
 feathers. The dark slate-coloured legs may be 
 
 attributed to the Langshan cross, but stock with 
 this coloured leg produce a much larger pro- 
 portion of pure coloured birds. The lizard 
 cofoured leg birds have also been found to be 
 much more reliable to breed from than the 
 yellow, and, from an extended experience, 
 should, I think, be taken as the standard, as 
 they are much more characteristic of the Cochin 
 than the black or slate-coloured. 
 
 " Regarding the other points, a pure and 
 bright colour should be insisted upon ; either red 
 or black eyes ; and the shape should be similar 
 in every way to the other varieties of Cochins. 
 
 " It is most gratifying to see the progress 
 Black Cochins have made during the last few 
 years, a very great improvement in size, shape, 
 foot-feather, and colour being noticeable; and in 
 addition, at our large shows, where only; unfor- 
 tunately, classes are given in the majority of 
 cases, the entries in many instances have out- 
 numbered those in the Partridge or White 
 classes." 
 
 There is not the slightest doubt that a large 
 proportion of the early Black Cochins really 
 were bred from Buffs and Whites, as stated in 
 the early part of this chapter : the fact is 
 recorded both as fact, and actual personal expe- 
 rience, by the authors of the Poultry Book of 
 1853, as also the fact that other specimens had 
 been imported direct. These latter appear to 
 have been the inferior of the two, for the same 
 authority states that " some of the best " had 
 been bred- from the cross. At a Bristol show of 
 185s we distinctly remember the Black Cochins 
 as having bright yellow legs. No breeder of 
 any black fowl need be told how the attempt to 
 keep up this must handicap a black breed ; but 
 now the dusky leg is finally acknowledged as in 
 the " Standard," there is no reason why Black 
 Cochins should not enter upon a new career. 
 
 In this respect the modern Black Cochin 
 possesses several present advantages over the 
 other colours. The hardiness above spoken of, 
 is beyond doubt due to the several recent 
 infusions of new blood already referred to. Its 
 superiority to the other colours as a layer, which 
 is noticeable, is partly due to the same cause, 
 but is further due in part to the desire for lustre 
 in the plumage. This cannot be attained with 
 too soft and fluffy body-feather, but demands a 
 certain closeness of texture over those parts of 
 the body, where lustre is desired ; hence in this 
 respect the Black Cochin approaches rather more 
 the older and better laying model, whil-e at the' 
 same time fluff and cushion can be developed in 
 ample proportion. 
 
 In regard to colour, it is possible to over- 
 estimate the effect of crossing in producing the 
 
2 
 
 I 
 O 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 < 
 
WHITE COCHINS. 
 
 253 
 
 red or golden feathers which are so tiresome in 
 breeding. Crossing would of course increase 
 these ; but all black fowls, however well bred, 
 have _more or less tendency that way — even 
 Spanish and. Hamburghs manifest it occasion- 
 ally. In one way, red may be regarded as a sort 
 of excess in lustre; and though the colour should 
 as a rule be bred out rigorously, and green gloss 
 selected for in breeding, it is an undoubted fact 
 that if lustre has become deficient in the females 
 of black races, it can sometimes be restored by 
 the use of a male with a little red in his hackle. 
 The lustre of these birds is best attained and 
 preserved for exhibition by keeping them for 
 some weeks out of the sun and strong light ; 
 the rest is health and condition. 
 
 White Cochins were shown of very high 
 quality from quite early days, those exhibited 
 by Mrs. Herbert then, not being surpassed for 
 many years : in regard to hens, 
 White indeed, many good judges considered 
 
 Cochins. that the Whites surpassed all others 
 in Cochin points and development 
 at this period, though of the cocks so much 
 could not be said, the tails in particular being 
 as a rule too long. One reason for this 
 curious superiority of White hens over other 
 Cochins, probably lay in the fact that much 
 heavier leg-feather was bred for, and perceptible 
 approach to vulture-hock tolerated in White 
 hens, at a time when it was ruthlessly stamped 
 out in all other colours, and not even allowed in 
 cocks of the same colour. Since feather and 
 vulture-hock have been bred in other colours 
 also, this superiority has ceased, the Buff bird 
 - being now probably the best representative in 
 England of the Cochin race, especially in size. 
 
 The following notes on breeding and exhibit- 
 ing White Cochins are from a lady whose 
 marriage has taken place since they were 
 written, but who was, previous to that event, 
 well known as their most prominent exhibitor 
 under the name of Miss Edith Rouse, Lost- 
 withiel, Cornwall : — 
 
 " This beautiful breed has many admirers, 
 and nothing can be more pleasing to the eye 
 than to see a flock of White Cochins on a 
 lawn, with their brilliant red faces and combs, 
 which look very lovely against the green grass. . 
 
 " To start with, the first thing is the mating 
 of the breeding pen. As colour is the leading 
 feature, and that is influenced greatly by the 
 cock bird, he should always be of a silvery 
 white. In this I am very particular, not only 
 as regards the bird himself, but to see that his 
 father also came from birds very sound in 
 colour. We must not forget that our sire, in 
 
 order to breed birds to win, must have the ideal 
 Cochin shape, with a very neat comb, and an 
 abundance of feather. I am not so very par- 
 ticular about mere size in the cock, provided he 
 is of the above stamp. For breeding , early 
 chickens I find nothing better than a cockerel, 
 and should prefer one that has not been kept 
 up for the show pen, but bred and kept for 
 stock. But for my principal hatching I use a 
 two-year-old cock, with my best typical hensr 
 
 " Respecting hens, I do not study colour so 
 much, provided they are large, with plenty of 
 feather. In the breeding pen, to secure strong 
 healthy chickens, the pen should consist of not 
 more than four hens in the early spring, and five 
 later on, with one male bird. The breeding pen 
 should be fed sparingly, otherwise the chicks 
 will hatch out weak, and often die. 
 
 " My most successful broods have been 
 hatched when the nest has been made of earth, 
 just covered with a layer of hay on the ground. 
 
 " To prepare White Cochins for exhibition, 
 they should be kept in a shaded run, and scrupu- 
 lously clean, and a fortnight before being shown 
 should be placed in a pen similar to an exhibi- 
 tion pen, only larger. Here they should be 
 bountifully fed ; and handle them often to make 
 them familiar with the show pen, when they will 
 show themselves to a great advantage. 
 
 " Two days before sending to the show 
 the birds should be washed [see p. 217], finish- 
 ing the neck and head last of all. Have 
 another bath by your side with clean cold 
 water, to which add a little blue. When the 
 bird is properly washed, throw a little cold 
 water pver its head ; then plunge it in the cold 
 water (keeping its head above water), and 
 properly rinse out all the soap from the feathers 
 and place it on a small table ; have a quantity 
 of dry towels ready ; then squeeze out all the 
 water from the feathers with the towel, when 
 one is wet taking a dry one ; by this means you 
 can wipe the bird nearly dry. Now place it in 
 an exhibition pen, on a platform in front of a 
 good fire — near enough but not too close — and 
 if attended to it should be dry in two hours, 
 but it will take quite twelve hours for it to 
 flufi" out quite perfect. I consider it will take 
 about fifteen minutes to properly wash a bird 
 that has been on a run." 
 
 The chief difficulty in breeding White Cochins 
 is of course that of colour; and beyond that, 
 the greatest desideratum at present is probably 
 size. Twenty years ago there was a strain of 
 Whites which had a well-known tendency to 
 show a kind of reddish-sandy colour as a faint 
 stain in the cocks' wings, quite distinct from 
 that yellow tinge \yhich is the more common 
 
254 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 fault ; but this sandy strain seems to have died 
 out or been bred out, for we have not seen it 
 lately. The main point is to select birds which 
 were not only white as chickens, but have 
 moulted white, and kept white in moulting. 
 The last test will probably prove too severe for 
 any new strain, the great majority of cockerels 
 showing yellow — what is called " sap " in the 
 feathers — while the latter are growing out of 
 the quills ; but as soon as possible this crucial 
 test should be applied, and the very few which do 
 grow the j^^oung feathers white throughout, given 
 the preference. When once this stage is reacht d 
 there will be less trouble in regard to colour ; 
 but shade will always be necessary for the male 
 birds as soon as the permanent plumage begins 
 to appear. The late Mr. Elijah Smith, who 
 wrote the notes on this variety for the first 
 edition of the Illustrated Book of Poultry, was 
 also very particular about the dusting material 
 which he supplied : he found some sand and 
 road-dust injure colour very much, and always 
 carefully selected a pure white sand or sifted 
 gravel, as was also done by a friend of ours 
 who bred these fowls successfully at Bristol. 
 
 In regard to size, we cannot help thinking 
 that great benefit might be derived from a cross 
 with the Light Brahma. Many of these have 
 now some Cochin blood, and we have seen 
 plenty of late far superior in size and width 
 to the Cochins, and with ample fluff. By select- 
 ing one or two such hens with the least possible 
 of black colour, with light under-fluff, and with 
 that broad and soft body-feather which shows 
 most Cochin character (very frequently seen in 
 Light Brahmas now), we feel sure that great gain 
 might speedily be made. There would really 
 be very little to breed out again except colour, 
 the width of saddle and cushion being often 
 superior in such Brahmas as are here described ; 
 and altogether the size and the fresh blood 
 would speedily work startling improvement, if 
 judiciously used. 
 
 Other points of colour should receive a word 
 or two. Orange or red eyes are greatly to be 
 preferred in Whites, the pearl eye appearing in 
 this variety to be even more prone to blindness 
 than in the others. It is also rather unusually 
 subject to a stain of white in ear-lobes, which 
 should be carefully avoided : very slight cases 
 may sometimes be cured by frequent friction, or 
 a stimulant to the surface as described on p. 215. 
 Bright yellow shanks should also receive atten- 
 tion, as pale shanks are apt in their turn to 
 breed white ones, and the next stage may be 
 that green tint which is fatal. Rich colour 
 in the beak should accompany that in the 
 shanks. 
 
 Cuckoo Cochins have now and then been 
 .shown, but have never met with favour. They 
 were no doubt produced by a mixture of dark 
 and white blood, which sooner or 
 Cuckoo later always produces this colour. 
 
 Cochins. ^n\'Csx a constant tendency to repro- 
 
 duce the black, or white, or coloured 
 feathers which have been its components. To 
 get rid of these foul feathers requires much care 
 and skill in breeding, and the Cuckoo 'Cochin 
 has never had sufficient admirers to make the 
 attempt very successful. In fact the colour does 
 not appear to suit the Cochin type very well, 
 and has now become so identified with the 
 Plymouth Rock, which it does suit so much 
 better, that we have not seen a decent Cuckoo 
 Cochin for years past. Were it ever to become 
 popular, it would have to be bred in the same 
 way as the barred Plymouth Rock in regard to 
 colour, looking after Cochin points as usual. 
 Most of the few we have seen have been 
 deficient in these latter points, and altogether 
 this variety, if not so already, seems likely 
 to become extinct ; but if birds should appear 
 of really fine Cochin character, they would 
 probably win in the class for mixed colours 
 now so common at many shows. 
 
 Cochins in America are in 1900 bred to a 
 perceptibly different type from that recognised 
 in England, and the difference and its history 
 are interesting. Up to about 1890 
 American American breeders had adhered 
 Cochins. strictly to the older fashion of 
 
 English birds, vulture-hocks being 
 still rigorously disqualified, long after they had 
 been tolerated at British shows. But about 
 the year just mentioned, a pair of very heavily 
 feathered Buff cocks were sent over by 
 Mrs. Scriven to be exhibited at the New 
 York Show. These birds were disqualified for 
 their hocks, but were much admired for their 
 grand appearance, and purchased by American 
 breeders, others of the same type being also 
 imported in consequence of the impression 
 which these had made. These importations 
 woke up quite a new interest in Buff Cochins, 
 and for a couple of years there were separate 
 classes for both the ordinary American type, 
 and what were called the "full-feathered" 
 birds. This stage was however only ephemeral, 
 American breeders speedily setting themselves 
 down to the problem of producing the heavy 
 foot-feathering and full plumage generally, 
 without the quilled vulture-hocks which in 
 England have been the accompaniments of 
 these points. 
 
 That they have successfully solved this 
 
AMERICAN COCHINS. 
 
 255 
 
 at least as 
 ers and their 
 
 problem there is no doubt— so far 
 regards the best American breed, 
 best birds. The choicest specimens amongst 
 the Cochins exhibited by the brothers Sharp 
 ni Buffs, and Mr. Mitchell in Partridges, are 
 pronounced by those who have seen both to 
 be nearly if not quite equal to English Cochins 
 m foot-feather, but entirely free from stiff quills 
 about the hocks. There is not only ample 
 testimony to this effect, but it is confirmed by 
 the American merhod and canon of breeding 
 which has produced per- 
 ceptible change in other 
 details of the type, as will 
 be seen from the accom- 
 panying illustration, which 
 we take from the Reliable , 
 
 Poultry Journal. The \ /-, L 
 
 genuine fluff of the thighs 
 has been developed lower 
 down, so as to cover the 
 hocks and upper part of 
 the shank-feather ; and the 
 breast plumage is also in- 
 creased so much towards 
 the bottom, and is so 
 profuse and fluffy in char- 
 acter, as almost to produce 
 a kind of frill. This has 
 generally been disliked in 
 England, but is preferred 
 in America ; and the ulti- 
 mate result has been to 
 produce a Cochin even 
 more developed in total 
 roundness of form, with the 
 hollows and angles still 
 more filled up, than in 
 England, with the fluff 
 further developed, and 
 coming more down over 
 the hocks and shanks 
 towards the ground. We 
 have already noticed the 
 changes in this direction which have taken 
 place here ; but in the modern American 
 type we find that change carried to its furthest 
 degree. 
 
 This model has been produced by systematic 
 cultivation of what we may call " fluffy " 
 plumage. Feathers differ greatly in the propor- 
 tion of fluff to solid webbing, the Cochin having 
 always been remarkable for weakness of quill, 
 width with shortness of web, and ample fluff. 
 Americans have systematically developed these 
 points, until one or two breeders now express 
 as their opinion and practice that, so far as 
 possible, stock should be selected in which the 
 
 body feathers possess only about one-fourth of 
 their length in solid webbine, the remaining 
 three-fourths being loose fibrils or " fluff." At 
 all events they select birds in which that is the 
 main character of the plumage, and by this 
 course, and the rejection of stiff quills, they 
 have succeeded in banishing vulture-hocks, 
 while yet retaining heavy foot-feather, which 
 IS unquestionably a very great achievement 
 in breeding. 
 
 It is worth)' of remark, that years ago there 
 
 American Buff Cochins. 
 
 would appear now and then in strains of Buff 
 Cochins, specimens in which all the feathers 
 consisted of loose fibrils, resembling those 
 figured later in these pages, of the Silky 
 fowl. We have ^seen none now for twenty 
 years, but they were mentioned as far back 
 as 1853, and at one time were known as 
 Emu or Silky Cochins, but were considered 
 delicate, as well as difficult to keep in nice 
 order. This entire " silkiness " of feather is 
 the extreme limit, perhaps, of the kind of 
 plumage which American breeders have sought 
 to develop to the extent above stated, with 
 the result of so much increasing the fluffiness 
 
256 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and apparent bulk of their birds. We have 
 it on good authority from several sources, 
 that the best specimens at the chief shows 
 do exceed cdnsiderably in this fluffiness of 
 plumage, any English stock that has so far 
 been imported. 
 
 As regards colours, in America the taste has 
 remained for lemon? or rich lemons in Buffs ; 
 but in Partridges there is a considerable differ- 
 ence from English fashion. American Partridges 
 are often most beautifully pencilled, and so far 
 different from ours that many of the hens show 
 beautiful Cochin development as described 
 above ; but the colour is very dark indeed, 
 described as a ".mahogany " ground by almost 
 all writers upon the subject. In this point there 
 can be no question of either better or worse. 
 Pencilling being equal, the colour is matter of 
 taste ; and we have been assured by both 
 American and British fanciers who have seen 
 both, that it is impossible to say whether the 
 richer ground-colour in America, or the more 
 brilliant contrast as in England, is the more 
 beautiful. 
 
 The bodily characteristics of Cochins require 
 some special care in rearing and management. 
 They are above all breeds prone to lay on fat, 
 both externally and internally : hence maize 
 should be carefully avoided for them., and a 
 most careful watch kept upon too great weight, 
 or signs of laziness. When kept in confinement 
 they require even more than other fowls to be 
 regularly and plentifully supplied with green 
 food : if this is not attended to they are pecu- 
 liarly apt to suffer from liver disease in some 
 form, though in other respects the breed must 
 be classed as hardy. The same ample supply 
 of green food has much to do with the successful 
 rearing of chickens, keeping the system in a 
 healthy-growing state, and preventing premature 
 deposit of fat. Over-crowding is perhaps more 
 prejudicial in rearing chickens of this breed than 
 almost any other, and wasters should therefore 
 be picked out early ; there will always be suffi- 
 cient even as regards Cochin character and 
 plumage, independent of faults in colour. 
 
 The plumage naturally requires great care to 
 preserve it in good condition, owing to its pro- 
 fuse and soft character, which makes it easily 
 injured. More than in any other breed, pullets 
 intended for show should therefore be separated 
 in good time from the cockerels. So in regard 
 to washing, while we have already said that as a 
 rule it is little matter how or in what direction 
 feathers are rubbed about, a little care not to 
 rub violently too much against the lie of the 
 feather is advisable in the case of Cochins, the 
 
 feather being so much weaker than in other 
 breeds. To preserve foot-feather, the bird must 
 never be allowed to run in long or stubbly grass, 
 which rapidly wears down the lower plumes. A 
 grass-run for Cochins meant to be exhibited 
 should be mown and kept like a lawn, short and 
 tender. Neither should they be allowed to 
 scratch much amongst long straw, a course 
 which cleans many other fowls so admirably, 
 but which tends to injure heavy foot-feather 
 by friction. 
 
 One of the most tiresome difficulties in 
 Cochin breeding is the propensity to " loose " 
 or " slipped " wings, a propensity more common 
 in them than in Brahmas, which also share it, 
 owing to the greater softness of the plumage. 
 The very first birds imported showed this so 
 strongly, that some of the newspapers of the 
 time described such wings as a peculiar forma- 
 tion, enabling the bird to " double-up " and fold 
 its wing in a peculiar manner. It is strongly 
 hereditary, and should, therefore, be sedulously 
 guarded against in breeding stock ; if this be 
 done, individual cases can often be cured as 
 described on p. 212. But special care .should be 
 taken of any unusually promising cockerel, that 
 he be not driven about or flurried, which we are 
 quite certain has often started this blemish at a 
 critical age. 
 
 From a utility point of view it cannot be 
 denied that Cochins have deteriorated : but they 
 still have useful qualities in their size, hardiness, 
 and capacity for winter laying, which 
 Qualities of some Strains have never lost. The 
 Cochiiis. great size of the drumstick and de- 
 
 ficiency in breast detracts of course 
 from their table value ; yet we have had cockerels 
 pronounced " delicious," and not without reason, 
 the large drumsticks being much more juicy 
 than in an ordinary fowl. The small space in 
 which they can be kept, and the little fencing 
 which will confine them, would make them, with 
 all their faults, very suitable for many small 
 yards, were it not for two serious drawbacks, in 
 the crow of the cocks and the constant broodi- 
 ness of the hens, which often want to sit after 
 laying a dozen to twenty eggs. This could of 
 course be bred out by selection, but is not worth 
 that trouble when so many breeds with less of 
 it already exist ; and such a quality almost dis- 
 qualifies the breed for many of the small runs 
 where it would otherwise be most suitable. It 
 does not answer to deny such a strong instinct 
 altogether, and the best plan is to " dodge " it 
 by letting one hen hatch the eggs, and by 
 removing one or two when nearly hatched, to a 
 second, get her to take to the other chicks when 
 all are out, thus letting one bi^ood satisfy and 
 
JUDGING COCHINS. 
 
 257 
 
 rest two hens. Cochins are so tame and affec- 
 tionate and easily cheated, that this can nearly 
 always be done with them, as it could not be 
 with other fowls. Any birds thus kept for 
 utility will probably be far less furnished with 
 fluff and foot-feather than is necessary for 
 exhibition stock, and will on that account be 
 generally found more profitable. 
 
 Their size and hardihood make Cochins 
 even yet of some value as a cross, provided care 
 and judgment are used : without that the result 
 is ruin. Cochins were turned down on farms all 
 over the country in the days of the " mania," 
 the progeny being a lot of scraggy, coarse, long- 
 legged rnongrels which did the chicken industry 
 distinct harm. With good Dorking hens the 
 cross produces rather coarse but large and useful 
 fowls, which any housekeeper is glad to buy, 
 though the Brahma is certainly better still. The 
 cross between a really short-legged Cochin and 
 the Cr^ve is finer in bone, and very good indeed. 
 The Houdan cross is also well spoken of by 
 those who have tried it. On the other hand, 
 our notes in Chapter VII. have already shown 
 how even the disastrous primary cross of the 
 Cochin on local fowls, when further overpowered 
 and tempered down by further crosses of the 
 local blood, has entered into some of the most 
 useful stock of table poultry in the country. 
 
 The Cochin has, however, had far more 
 marked influence as one of the progenitors, the 
 real foundation, of quite a'group of other breeds, 
 which owe to it size, hardihood, yellow legs, and 
 in many cases buff" or other plumage. We 
 should have known nothing of Plymouth Rocks, 
 Lincolnshire Buffs or Buff" Orpingtons, and 
 Wyandottes, but for the Cochin, to say nothing 
 of such American varieties as Rhode Island 
 Reds, Danvers Whites, and others, which may 
 or may not achieve some day a wider popularity. 
 If he is himself less popular than formerly, he 
 has cut his mark deep in the poultry world 
 even of the present day. 
 
 The judging of Cochins has altered a great 
 deal since the breed was first introduced, most 
 of all in regard to shank-feather. At first a 
 very moderate amount of a rather 
 Judging soft character satisfied fanciers and 
 
 of judges; and for years after more 
 
 Cochins. began to be sought, vulture-hocks 
 
 were practically disqualified, though 
 not avowedly so. So many birds were then 
 shown with plucked hocks, that as a lesser evil 
 toleration crept in, and hocks seem now no 
 detriment whatever for English shows. Person- 
 ally we agree with the American opinion that 
 stiff" quills, except in wings and tail, are incon- 
 
 sistent with the fundamental Cochin idea of 
 soft plumage, and that Brother Jonathan has 
 shown the more excellent way. 
 
 The chief points which require vigilance as 
 regards trimming and faking are tails, wings, 
 and "fluffing." Tails are sometimes plucked 
 because too long, sometimes because of feathers 
 the wrong colour — especially white feathers. 
 Wings are sometimes plucked to get rid of 
 twisted feathers, which occur oftener in Cochins 
 than in any other breed. And after the case 
 alluded to in our last chapter, it is certainly as 
 well just to see whether any artificial amount of 
 fluff" has been imparted by ingenious tampering 
 of the kind referred to. 
 
 The Poultry Club Standard of Perfection 
 for Cochins is as follows : 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Rather small and neat in 
 proportion to the size of the bird. Beah : Short and 
 stout at base, tapering to the point and slightly curved. 
 Eye : Bright and expressive. Comb : Single, rather 
 small, fine in texture, perfectly straight and upright, 
 evenly serrated, free from side sprigs, and symmetric- 
 ally curved from base of the beak to the back of the 
 head. Face : Smooth and fine in texture. Ear-lobe : 
 Well developed, fine in texture, hanging nearly as 
 low as the wattles. Wattles : Rather long, fine in 
 texture, and neatly rounded at the bottom. Neck: 
 Short, well curved, carried rather forward, and 
 abundantly covered with long hackle feathers, which 
 should reach well on to the back. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Very broad, deep, full, and rounded 
 in appearance. Bach : Short and broad, rising 
 toward the tail, and well furnished with saddle feathers, 
 which should be soft and long. Wings : Small, the 
 primaries tightly clipped up under the secondaries, the 
 ends hidden by the saddle. 
 
 Tail.— Small and full, rising slightly from the saddle, 
 free from -sickle feathers. Tail Coverts : Soft and 
 abundant, curving over and nearly covering tail. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short, thick and wide apart, 
 abundantly covered with soft feathers. Fluff: Very 
 full, abundant, and soft, standing out so as almost to 
 hide the thighs. Hochs : Completely covered with 
 soft feathers, which should curl round the joint and 
 stand well out. Legs: Short, thick, and heavily 
 feathered on the outside. Leg Feather: The feathers 
 should stand well out from the leg. Toes : Strong and 
 straight, the middle and outer toes well feathered to 
 the end. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Broad, deep, massive, 
 and rounded in appearance, the carriage bold, the head 
 carried rather forward and the forepart of the body 
 rather low. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Large. An adult bird should weigh 
 at least la lbs. 
 
 Plumage.— Very soft, loose, and fluffy. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and ^eck.— Head, Beak, Eye, and Face as in the 
 cock. Comb : Small, single, straight, evenly serrated, 
 and fine in texture. Ear-lobe : Rather large. Wattles : 
 Small and neatly rounded. Neck : Short, carried rathei 
 
258 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 forward, and abundantly covered with soft hackle 
 feathers reaching well on to the back. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Broad, deep, full, and rounded. 
 Back . Short and broad, first rising into an abundant 
 cushion and then falling slightly to the tail. Wings : 
 Small and tightly clipped up, the points buried in the 
 cushion. Tail Coverts : Very abundant and soft. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short, strong, set wide apart, 
 and abundantly covered with soft feathers. Fluff: 
 Very abundant and soft, and standing out well from 
 the body and thighs. Hocks : Well covered with soft 
 feathers curling round the joints. Legs and Toes as in 
 the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Broad, deep, massive, 
 and well rounded, the head carried rather forward, 
 the forepart of body slightly drooping, the cushion 
 carried rather high. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large. An adult bird should weigh 
 at least lo lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Very soft, loose, and fluffy. 
 
 COLOUR IN BUFF, LEMON, OR CINNAMON COCHINS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Deep yellow. Eye : Orange 
 or pearl, the former preferred. Comb, Face, and 
 Wattles : Bright red. Deaf Ear : Bright red, free from 
 any tinge of white. Plumage : Any shade of buff from 
 lemon buff to rich buff, on the one side avoiding washi- 
 ness, and on the other side a reddish tinge. The colour 
 to be perfectly uniform throughout, allowing for the 
 greater lustre on the hackle and saddle feathers, and of 
 the wing bow in the case of the cock only ; the wings to 
 be free from splashes of black or white, and the tail 
 free from white or black. Legs : Bright yellow. 
 
 COLOUR IN PARTRIDGE COCHINS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow shading to horn colour. 
 Eye : Orange or pearl, the former preferred. Comb, 
 Face, Deaf Ear, and Wattles : Bright red. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head : Dark red or orange. Hackle : 
 Orange or golden red, with paler shade at back com- 
 mencing half way down, each feather having a glossy 
 black stripe down the centre. Back and Shoulder Coverts 
 and Wing Bow : Rich, dark red. Greater and Lesser 
 Coverts : Metallic black. Primary Quills : Bay on the 
 outer web, black on the inner. Secondary Quills : Part 
 of outer web forming " wing bay " bay colour, re- 
 mainder of feathers forming "wing butt " black. Saddle: 
 From a bright golden colour to a rich orange red, each 
 feather having a metallic black stripe down the centre. 
 Breast : Rich black. Underpart of Body and Thighs : 
 Black. Tail : Glossy, metallic black. Legs : Yellow, 
 feathers black. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head: Light brown or yellow, iinely 
 pencilled. Neck : Golden yellow, each feather striped 
 with greenish black down the middle. Remainder of 
 Plumage : Light brown, every feather to be distinctly 
 pencilled with a darker shade and uniform over the 
 whole body, the pencilling to follow the outline of the 
 feathers ; a light shaft objectionable. Legs : Dusky 
 yellow. 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE COCHINS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. —Eye : Orange or pearl,the former pre- 
 ferred. Comb, Face, and Wattles : Brilliant red. Deaf 
 Ear: Brilliant red, free from any tinge of white. Plumage: 
 Pure snowy white, glossy, and free from all creamy or 
 yellow tinge. Legs : Bright yellow ; pale legs in old 
 birds a fault, but not a fatal defect. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK COCHINS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Eye : Red or black. Comb, Face, 
 Deaf Ear, and Wattles : Brilliant red. Plumage : Rich 
 glossy raven black, perfectly free from feathers of any 
 other colour and sound to the roots, the more metallic 
 sheen the better. Legs : Dusky yellow preferred, dusky _ 
 legs without the yellow not a fatal defect. 
 
 COLOUR IN CUCKOO COCHINS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow, sometimes black mark- 
 ings. Eye : Red. Comb, Face, Deaf Ear, and Wattles : 
 Red. Plumage : Light bluish grey ground, each feather 
 barred across with bands of darker grey or blue. The 
 marking to be uniform throughout, and the colours 
 shading into each other so that no distinct line or 
 separation of the colours is perceptible. Legs : Pale 
 yellow. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN COCHINS: 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defective colour, or marking in partridge or cuckoo 
 
 Want of size ... 
 
 Bad head and comb 
 
 Slipped wings 
 
 Want of fluff 
 
 Want of cushion 
 
 Length of leg ... 
 
 Defective leg feather 
 
 Want of general shape 
 Want of condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 20 
 
 15 
 10 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 10 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 A perfect bird to count... 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed ; 
 Any bodily deformity ; total absence of leg feather. 
 
2S9 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BRAHMAS. 
 
 THERE never has, perhaps, been such long 
 and acrimonious discussion upon any 
 poultry subject as upon the origin of 
 this breed of fowls, and there never was 
 so little real reason for any at all, or more 
 practical certainty about the facts, 
 °'^f" as established by all the really 
 
 Brahmas. respectable evidence. This proves 
 the Brahma to be quite one of the 
 earliest imported of the feathered Asiatic races, 
 having, in fact, been introduced into America in 
 the very same year that Cochins were imported 
 into England. The controversy is now closed, 
 and it will not be necessary to recapitulate it at 
 such length as was imperative in the second and 
 subsequent editions of the former Illustrated 
 Book of Poultry, which had the effect of placing 
 the facts beyond any further doubt, or even 
 disputation. At this date, therefore, a brief 
 summary will suffice. 
 
 In a letter to Dr. J. C. Bennett, dated 
 March 2nd, 1852, Mr. Virgil Cornish, of Con- 
 necticut, gave the following account of these 
 birds : — 
 
 In regard to the history of these fowls very little is 
 known. A mechanic by the name of Chamberlain, in 
 this city, first brought them here. Mr. Chamberlain 
 was acquainted with a sailor, who informed him that 
 there were three pairs of large imported fowls in New 
 York ; and he dwelt so much upon the enormous size 
 of these fowls that Mr. Chamberlain furnished him 
 with money, and directed him to go to New York and 
 purchase a pair of them for him, which he did. The 
 sailor reported that he found one pair of light grey ones, 
 which he purchased ; the second pair were dark 
 coloured, and the third pair were red. The man in 
 New York, whose name I have not got, gave no 
 account of their origin, except that they had been 
 brought there by some sailors in the Indian ships. The 
 parties through whose hands the fowls came, so far as 
 I have been able to trace them, are all obscure men. I 
 obtained my stock from the original pair brought here 
 by Mr. Chamberlain, and have never crossed them in 
 the least. These fowls were named Chittagong by Mr. 
 Chamberlain, on account of their resemblance, in some 
 degree, to the fowls then in the country called by that 
 name ; but it is certain that they never bred until they 
 reached this town. 
 
 A valued American correspondent, Colonel 
 Mason C. Weld, then associate-editor of the 
 
 American Agriculturist, forwarded for us to Mr. 
 Cornish a series of questions on the subject, 
 and transmitted to . us that gentleman's reply, 
 as follows : — 
 
 New Britain, Connecticut, U.S., 
 November gth, 1869. 
 Mason C. Weld, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I have your letter of 5th. I give below 
 all the facts relating to the early history of the Brahma- 
 P'ootra fowls I can call to mind at this late day. At 
 an earlier day I could have given a history of these 
 fowls more satisfactory to myself, i.e. more fully than 
 I can now ; nevertheless, so far as it goes, -the truth of 
 it cannot be questioned. I will at once answer your 
 questions. 
 
 1st. — Mr. Chamberlain's Christian name is Nelson H. 
 
 2nd. — The sailor's name I never made note of, and 
 cannot give it. 
 
 3rd. — The ship arrived in New York in September, 
 1846. The first brood came out in May, 1847. I 
 purchased the most of that brood in August, and the 
 old pair the April following. 
 
 4th. — The name of the port from which the ship 
 sailed with the fowls on board is Luckipoor. This port 
 is up from the mouth of the Brahma-Pootra river, in 
 India. The name of the ship I cannot give, neither 
 can I give the name of the captain. Did not at the 
 time think it of importance, and made no record of it. 
 
 5th. — The Brahmas were first exhibited in Boston by 
 Mr. Hatch, of Hampton, Conn., under the name of 
 Grey Chittagongs, in 1850. I declined exhibiting mine 
 at that time ; I believed them to be a bi'eed diiferent 
 from the Chittagong, and preferred to accumulate stock 
 and test them further before bringing them out publicly. 
 
 6th. — I attended the exhibition at Boston, and con- 
 tended that they differed from the Chittagongs, and 
 should pass under a different name. A committee was 
 appointed, and the name Brahma - Pootra given ; it 
 being the name of the great river from the banks of 
 which they came. The name was then established. 
 
 7th. — Weight of cocks, full-sized, twelve to fourteen 
 pounds ; cocks, six to seven months, nine to ten pounds. 
 Hens when first introduced, nine to ten pounds. 
 
 8th. — I did notice the "pea-comb" on the first birds. 
 It was small. It was not so with all, and yet it appeared 
 different from the comb of the Chittagong. 
 
 gth. — There was no degeneracy in the birds of my 
 breeding. I had some specimens larger than the 
 imported birds. I sold no birds until December, 1850. 
 I sold at first at twelve dollars per pair, and soon after 
 from fifteen dollars to fifty dollars per pair. The price 
 went up as the fowls became better known, and recog- 
 nised as a distinct breed. 
 
 10th. — I bred them eight years, when my health 
 failed, and I was obliged to leave all care for a time. 
 
 nth. — There was a tendency to throw dark chickens, 
 
26o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 but a greater tendency to become lighter, and yet not 
 white like the White Dorking. All breeds of fowls 
 having dark and light feathers can be varied either 
 way, to darker or lighter, by choosing always the 
 darkest or the lightest for breeders. If your stock of 
 ]?rahmas are pure, and they are allowed to breed 
 together promiscuously, the variation in colour will be . 
 slight. I never bred to either extreme. 
 
 Yours truly, VIRGIL CORNISH. 
 
 The most important point in relation to this 
 testimony is, of course, the position and trust- 
 worthiness of Mr. Cornish ; concerning which 
 we will quote part of another letter from him 
 to ourselves, dated April 12th, 1870, but we 
 ought to add that we carefully verified its 
 statements from independent sources : — 
 
 As my name has appeared in this country and in 
 England in connection with the history of the Brahmas, 
 I beg you to allow me a word for myself. 
 
 My letters to Dr. Bennett and others, from which you 
 make extracts, were called for, written, and published 
 at an early day, when the parties who brought them 
 (the Brahmas) from India to New York, and from 
 thence to Hartford, Connecticut, were living and to be 
 seen by all men. They mere often seen and inquired of 
 by parties interested, and their statements were never 
 discredited, nor doubted by anyone except Mr. 
 Burnham, and by him only by falsely stating that he 
 originated them in his own yard. 
 
 At the time the original, pair of Brahmas were brought 
 to Hartford, Connecticut, I was an officer at the Retreat 
 for the Insane in that city ; having in charge all the 
 business of that Institution, except that which belonged 
 strictly to the medical department. I had purchased a 
 farm of fifty acres for the institution, and thereon fitted 
 up a large yard for the accommodation of rare animals, 
 flowers, and birds ; and had placed in them more than 
 sixty distinct breeds (of fowls and other animals), in 
 which I took much interest and pleasure. This I had 
 done for the amusement of our convalescent patients. I 
 had no pecuniary interest in bringing out the Brahma 
 fowls, but saw at once that they were a distinct breed, 
 and worthy of a high place. 
 
 As far as any record has been preserved, 
 these birds were first shown at Fitchburg, Con- 
 necticut, in 1850, under the name of Grey Chit- 
 tagongs, by Mr. Hatch, who had purchased stock 
 of Cornish ; Dr. Bennett, at the same time, 
 exhibiting some cross-bred birds from Chitta- 
 gongs, which he called Burram-pooters. He 
 liked Mr. Hatch's birds so much better than his 
 own crosses, that he dropped the latter, bought 
 birds from both Mr. Hatch and Mr. Cornish 
 direct, and thenceforth " boomed " the new stock 
 for all he was worth under the name of Brahma- 
 Pootras, speedily contracted to Brahmas. All 
 the early exhibitors belonged to Connecticut, 
 which, of itself, corroborates their direct testi- 
 mony that this State was the head-quarters and 
 centre of the new breed, and that all were from 
 ■Mr. Cornish's stock. 
 
 Against this uniformly consistent testimony 
 there never was any protest except that of the 
 
 most notorious charlatan ever known in the 
 American poultry world, who did not receive 
 any credence amongst respectable authorities 
 until Mr. Tegetmeier, in his Poultry Book, 
 rashly endorsed him as follows : — 
 
 Those who maintain this theory say they originally 
 came from Luckipoor, a port on the Brahma-Pootra 
 river, but they have forgotten alike the name of the 
 ship, that of the captain, and also that of the sailor who 
 brought them over. It is also acknowledged that they 
 were first exhibited in Boston under the name of Grey 
 Chittagongs in 1850. There is not a particle of evidence 
 to show that they came from India.* ... In fact, 
 Brahmas originated not in India but in America, and • 
 the two varieties of the breed now known as Dark 
 and Light Brahmas, had unquestionably very distinct 
 origins. 
 
 The light Brahmas undoubtedly originated in or were 
 identical with, those grey birds that from the very first 
 importation came over from Shanghae with the buff 
 and partridge birds now universally known as Cochins. 
 But public attention was first called to them in con- 
 sequence of an acute American fancier,. Mr. George 
 Burnham, presenting a consignment to her Majesty. 
 ... Of the origin of these birds it wiU be best to let 
 Mr. Burnham tell his own tale. In his amusing and 
 unscrupulous work, entitled, A History of the Hen Fever, 
 published at Boston in 1855, lie s4ys : " An ambitious 
 sea captain arrived at New York from Shanghae, bring- 
 ing with him about a hundred [!] China fowls of aU 
 colours, grades, and proportions. Out of this lot I 
 selected a few grey birds that were very large, and con- 
 sequently very fine. I bred these with other grey stock 
 I had, at once, and soon had a fine lot of birds to dis- 
 pose of, to which I gave what I have always deemed 
 their only true and appropriate title (as they came from 
 Shanghae) to -wit. Grey Shanghaes. In 1851 and '53 
 I had a most excellent run of luck with these birds. I 
 distributed them all over the country, and obtained very 
 fair prices for them ; and finally the idea occurred to 
 me that a present of a few of the choicest of these birds 
 to the Queen of England wouldn't prove a bad advertise- 
 ment for me in this line." 
 
 . . . The origin of the Light birds has already been 
 given. Of the Dark breeds, Mr. Burnhjm states that 
 they were grey Chittagongs crossed with Cochins. " Of 
 this," he says, "no one now entertains a doubt: they 
 were the identical fowls all over — size, plumage, and 
 characteristics." 
 
 Unfortunately the late Mr. Charles Darwin, 
 who in one or two other cases also has somewhat 
 too rashly adopted statements from the same 
 quarter, received without doubt or question Mr. 
 Tegetmeier's view of this case, and wrote f that 
 "Dark Brahmas, which are believed by some 
 fanciers to constitute a distinct breed, were 
 undoubtedly formed in the United States 
 within a recent period by a cross between 
 Chittagongs and Cochins." Such scientific 
 endorsement of the mere unscrupulous self- 
 advertisement of a foreign poultry dealer 
 necessitated correction, and in the very first 
 edition of the Illustrated Book of Poultry, 
 
 * Mr. Tegetmeier seems not to have noticed that even 
 Cliittagong also is an Indian name. 
 
 t Variation of Animali and Plants under Dotnesticaiion. 
 
"A LITTLE ONPLEASANT DIFFERENCE." 
 
 261 
 
 from such material as was then available, 
 we presented sufficient reason for concluding 
 that Burnham's claims could not be regarded 
 as truthful statements, and were perhaps not 
 even meant as such. To have gone further 
 then (as we could have done even from 
 material then in our hands) would have seemed 
 ungenerous, as we did not know that any 
 p^irties to the old American controversy of 
 1850-SS were still alive. But Mr. Burnham 
 
 made the fact that he was very 
 The Final much so, speedily evident by a 
 
 Controversy, series of letters in all the poultry 
 
 journals of America, during many 
 months of 1874, which he got together and 
 reprinted in a book called The China Fowl* 
 dated the same year, the style and tone 
 of which will be sufficiently shown by the 
 following brief specimens : 
 
 I repeat it : I was utterly ignorant of the virulence, 
 the total falsity, the bitter misrepresentations, the 
 carping, silly, unwarrantable language you had adopted 
 towards me in your two books [the Brahma Fowl 
 and the Illustrated Book of Poultry are here re- 
 ferred to] until the last few weeks, when I, for the first 
 time, had access to these ignorantly composed and 
 miserably spirited volumes! Wherein have I ever 
 offended you, that you should thus in your books black- 
 guard, malign, vilify, and prate like a hen with a sore 
 head about Burnham this, and Burnham that ? I am 
 a gentleman, sir, by nature, education, fortune; and 
 never did a human being wrong, so help me God, to 
 my knowledge, in my life. 
 
 When you — 3,000 miles away — undertake to com- 
 mingle and involve me in this cursed, obnoxious, Burram- 
 pooter, Brahma-pootra, B^rmah-pater, Bahama-poodra, 
 sailor, Cornishj» Chamberlain, Bennett, Hatch, Wright, 
 Plaisted, Knox, balderdash — I protest, . . . and 
 shall endeavour, in my own way, to answer and refute 
 your infamous and spiteful tirade against me. Before I 
 get through I have no doubt I will succeed in impress- 
 ing upon Mr. Lewis Wright, of England, if upon no 
 one else, that that gentleman had much better have 
 informed himself of the facts in this case, ere he so 
 maliciously and so stupidly ventured to assail and 
 malign the undersigned. 
 
 I should say you penned these sentences with the 
 Fiend at your elbow. 
 
 As Mr. Burnham had this all to himself for 
 many weeks, it is not surprising that for a short 
 space of time it produced some impression. One 
 gentleman wrote about the "little onpleasant 
 difference, which B. so far seems," he said, " to 
 have the best of " ; and another, " the personal 
 strictures in that lengthy extract upon Mr. 
 Burnham [from first edition. Illustrated Book of 
 Poultry\ I think are highly prejudiced, as well 
 as unwarranted " ; while others adopted his 
 arguments in detail, one paper openly exulting 
 over the spirited way in which the American 
 
 * This curious production is in the library of the Poultry 
 Club. 
 
 was " standing up to the Britisher." It was this 
 which necessitated a more thorough dealing 
 with the matter, with the aid of much more 
 ample evidence then in our hands. This time 
 the result was final. Without of course imkating 
 the style of the above quotations, by a series of 
 contemporary extracts the whole of Burnham's 
 statements were so demolished that no one has 
 since ever attached the slightest credence to 
 them, and the result in America itself, where he 
 had been permitted his full fling of statement 
 and abuse, may be summed up in the later 
 comment of one of the same papers cited above 
 for its earlier impression, that " Burnham had 
 much better not have gone upon the war-path, 
 since the only result has been that the English- 
 man returned from it with the scalp of the 
 other hanging to his girdle." The Cornish 
 account has ever since been thoroughly accepted, 
 in America as well as in England, as the 
 true history of at least the Light Brahma. 
 
 This being so, we need only now very briefly 
 summarise the points and the results of that 
 direct controversy between Burnham and our- 
 selves.f He began with long statements to the 
 effect that he never in those earlier days had 
 used the 'name of Brahmas, or ever referred to 
 them by that name at all ; and with further 
 denials that he had ever had any controversy 
 with Dr. J. C. Bennett or with Mr. Cornish, or ever 
 had any of their fowls, though he said he had 
 better ones ; the whole when put together boldly 
 assarting that he had his own distinct birds, 
 which he never put in comparison with the 
 others, and that he had let the other party go 
 on their way with theirs. This was met by 
 ample quotations from contemporary papers, 
 and letters in our possession also of that old 
 time, showing that Burnham was in hot and 
 bitter controversy with Dr. Bennett and Mr. 
 Cornish over both the name and the fowls ; that 
 he always averred their fowls were the, same as 
 his own, and derived from his, and were grey 
 Shanghaes ; and that he had himself often used 
 the name of Brahmas, before we had done so at 
 all. After that had been exposed, Burnham 
 threw off any mask, and coolly stated concerning 
 Dr. Bennett and the sailor story — Dr. Bennett 
 having been many years in his grave — that 
 "Dr. John C. Bennett coined this sailor's yarn 
 originally, and the others tacitly agreed to it. 
 The fowls were from my yards or out of 
 my stock; and Bennett never denied this in 
 America, or England, for he couldn't" (China 
 Fowl, p. 114). On a later page he reiterates 
 
 \ For fuller details, see Illustrated Book of Poultry, second 
 and subsequent editions ; and still more fully, a series of articles 
 in the Fancier's Gazette, 1874-75' 
 
262 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 how. Dr. Bennett had shown him this "pre- 
 pared account " months before ; and once 
 again he asserts how Dr. Bennett had prac- 
 tically forged the entire account. In reply 
 to this we cited reiterated statements by Dr. 
 Bennett to the direct contrary ; while Burn- 
 ham had never dared to say in his lifetime, 
 what he ventured upon now he was dead. But 
 more occurred in America itself; for the dis- 
 cussion brought out Mr. C. l^laisted, Dr. Ben- 
 nett's old partner,, who professed to correct 
 certain "errors" both in Cornish and Bennett, 
 while confirming their narratives as a whole ; 
 but only succeeded in showing that they might 
 possibly be one year out in some of their dates, 
 they being however proved right and himself 
 wrong in one alleged case by almost contem- 
 porary documents which were better evidence 
 than Plaisted's mere memory a quarter of a 
 century later. It also brought out the very 
 man who had bought the fowls in New York — 
 a Mr. Knox, who turned out to be not a 
 " sailor " but a sort of ship-clerk — who added his 
 evidence. And finally we received, and possess 
 still, quite a bundle of letters from Mr. C. Plais- 
 ted and Dr. Bennett to Miss Watts, the editor 
 of the English Poultry Chronicle, most of 
 whioh are still unpublished, containing ample 
 evidence to the same effect, and showing how 
 they had combated Burnham's statements from 
 first to last, and all along the line. 
 
 But it also appeared that Burnham had been 
 breeding birds of his own, quite distinct from 
 the others, from either grey Shanghaes or from 
 grey " Chittagongs " so-called, and an important 
 question arose of how they stood related to the 
 others. Mr. Burnham alleged that his birds, 
 sent to the Queen as above, were the first sent 
 to England, and were, as stated in a letter by 
 Dr. Gwynne, " admitted by Dr. Bennett to be 
 precisely similar to his own." He manipulated 
 Dr. Gwynne's statement so as to read that 
 Dr. Bennett had admitted Burnham's stock to be 
 precisely similar to his ; but we discovered and 
 proved by ample evidence, that what Dr. Ben- 
 nett always alleged was the fact that those 
 sent to the Queen were birds not of Burnham's 
 own, but of the Cornish strain, purchased from 
 Mr. George Smith of Rhode Island. Bennett 
 gave plenty of evidence of this in letters above 
 alluded to, which we cited ; but we also proved 
 from Burnham's own statements in a paper 
 which he edited in 1853, that (on his own 
 showing) he had purchased from Rhode Island 
 two pens for Lord Northby ; and later that the 
 Queen's birds " were from the same stock as 
 those lately sent to Lord Northby." They 
 were not the first sent to England, Dr. Bennett 
 
 himself having sent over a pen to Mrs. Hosiei 
 Williams previously ; but they had great in- 
 fluence in spreading the breed, being exhibited 
 by Prince Albert soon after their arrival ; and 
 this proof of their real origin is therefore of 
 considerable historical importance. 
 
 Still there is no doubt at all that Burnham 
 did breed and exhibit birds of his own, and 
 that he had some at the Fitchburg show of 
 1850: the only remaining point of importance 
 is to disentangle the separate exhibits at this 
 exhibition. About that there is no difficulty. 
 Burnham alleged that Dr. Bennett's " Brahmas " 
 were bred from a grey Chittagong cock bought 
 from Dr. Kerr. Dr. Bennett always admitted 
 that those he showed at Fitchburg in 1850 
 were so bred, and shown as Burram-pooters ; 
 but he always denied that he bred them after 
 that ; he then dropped them in favour of the 
 Hatch stock, which had been bought from 
 Cornish, and which he thought infinitely better. 
 That Bennett and Burnham were both trying 
 to " boom " poultry against each other, is 
 perfectly clear ; and it was to further this 
 self-advertisement that the latter affirmed that 
 all the Brahmas came from his stock, arid that 
 his was the original. The following sentences 
 will settle all these points clearly : — 
 
 At the Fitchburg Depot Show in 1850, my original 
 " Grey Chittagongs " [already described] were in the 
 possession of G. W.. George, Esq., of Haverhill, to 
 whom they had been sold by the party to whom I 
 had previously sold them. Nobody thought well of 
 them; but they took a first prize there, alid the 
 " Chittagongs " (so entered at the same time) of Mr. 
 Hatch, of Connecticut, also took a prize. My friend 
 the Doctor then insisted that these were also " Bur- 
 ram-pooters " ; but, as nobody but himself could 
 pronounce this jaw-cracldng name, it was taken little 
 notice of at that time. 
 
 Mr. Hatch had a large quantity of the Greys at 
 this show, which sold readily at ft 12 to $20 the pair; 
 and immediately after this exhibition the demand 
 for "Grey Chittagongs'' was very active. I watched 
 the current of the stream, and I beheld with earnest 
 sympathy the now alarming symptoms of the fever. 
 "The people" had suffered a relapse in the disease, 
 and the ravages now promised to become frightful— 
 for a time ! 
 
 An ambitious sea captain arrived at New York from 
 Shanghae, bringing with him about a hundred China 
 fowls, of all colours, grades, and proportions. Out of 
 this lot I selected a few grey birds, that were very large, 
 and (consequently) " very fine," of course. I bred 
 these, with other grey stock I had, at once, and soon 
 had a fine lot of birds to dispose of — to which I gave 
 what I have always deemed their only true and appro- 
 priate title (as they came from Shanghae) — to wit, Grey 
 Shanghaes. — Hen Fever, date 1855. 
 
 Burnham alleges that he fought against the 
 claims and the name of Brahmas, because he 
 always objected to the " needless multiplication " 
 of either breeds or names. It was felt that some 
 
BURNHAM ON PURE BREEDS. 
 
 263 
 
 reason had to be given, and this was the one 
 given ; it appears rather curious in the h'ght of 
 the following, from his own pen {Hen Fever, 
 p. 274). A gentleman wrote him in these 
 words : — 
 
 I have read much on this subject of poultry, and 
 I want to hegin right, you perceive. I have made up 
 my mind that there are not so many varieties of fowls 
 extant as many breeders describe. I am satisfied that 
 these domestic birds hail originally from China, and 
 that all of them are of one blood. What is your 
 opinion ? 
 
 Write me your views, please, and let me know if you 
 can furnish me with what I seek, upon honour, bearing 
 in mind that I am ready to pay your price, whatever it 
 may be, but that I want only pure-blooded stock. 
 
 What followed is best described in his own 
 words : — 
 
 I informed my correspondent that I agreed with him 
 in the ideas he had advanced, precisely (I usually did 
 agree with such gentlemen), and I entertained no doubt 
 that he was entirely correct in his views as to the origin 
 of domestic fowls, of which he evidently knew so much. 
 (This helped me amazingly.) I pointed out to him the 
 distinction that existed (without a difference) between a 
 " Shanghae " and a " Cochin China," and finally con- 
 cluded my learned and «reselfish appeal by hinting (barely 
 hinting) to him that I felt certain he was the best judge 
 of the facts in the case, and I would only suggest that, so 
 far as my experience went, there were in reality but ten 
 varieties of pur'e-hied fowls known to ornithologists (I 
 was one of this latter class), and that these ten varieties 
 were the Cochins, the White, Grey, Dominique, Buff, 
 Yellow, Red, Brown, Bronze, and Black Shanghaes — and 
 these were the only kinds I ever bred. 
 
 As to their purity of blood, I could only say that 
 I imported the original stock myself, and " enclosed " 
 he had their portraits, to which I referred with pride 
 and confidence and pleasure, etc. etc. 
 
 He then quotes the letter he received in 
 reply, of which it is only necessary to state 
 that it ordered six chickens of each of the 
 varieties he had named. The fulfilment of the 
 order he relates as follows : — 
 
 I sent this anxious purchaser sixty chickens, at ten 
 dollars each (cheap enough, to be sure), in accordance 
 with his directions, and he was delighted with them". I 
 do not now entertain a shadow of doubt that every 07te 
 of those ten " different varieties " was bred from white 
 hens and a black cock, one of the ordinary " Shanghae " 
 tribe. 
 
 That was not quite the last, however, of this 
 transaction. In the renewed controversy of 
 1874 an American fancier roundly taxed Mr. 
 Burnham with the affair : and he might possibly 
 have rejoined that he wrote it to amuse, or 
 invented it, or exaggerated it. He did nothing 
 of that kind, but replied as follows : — 
 
 I said I had no doubt of this. I have not now. 
 Those white, light-coloured, and black imported 
 Shanghaes of mine produced all sorts of colours in my 
 hands — in breeding. Could I help that ? I imported 
 the birds at heavy cost, and did the best I could with 
 
 them. In those years we had not got this thing 
 down so fine as you and I have in these later days of 
 improvement in poultry-raising. Where exists the 
 harm or the deceit in- this confession, pray ? I sent 
 my customers what they wanted to buy ; and bred all 
 colours very frequently from the very same birds, in 
 those days, as everyone else did. And we did not 
 know any better. Bless you, Mr. Athole, this was 
 but the commonest result everywhere. It did not 
 change the purity of the bloocf, but simply the colour. 
 
 If this were so, he surely might have swal- 
 lowed the Brahma also, name and all, and 
 admitted one more " pure breed." And it 
 would be also somewhat like a miracle that if 
 his " Shanghaes" bred like that, just one lot of 
 birds which he says were bred from these same 
 Shanghaes should have bred with the uniformity 
 of colour and purity of race which he too 
 always claimed for this otie variety, the Brahma. 
 But it was not so. The very same book re- 
 cords a conversation between himself and Dr. 
 Bennett, who had been relating his production 
 of " new varieties " by crossing ; and that he 
 clearly pointed out to the doctor how impossible 
 it was to avoid chance results from mixing 
 varieties. He did know better, and was fully 
 aware of the results of crossing colours, and had 
 described these birds as " pure bred," knowing 
 they were not so ; and he had further described 
 Cochins as different from Shanghaes, yet sent 
 Cochins from the same stock. Honest breeders 
 found differences, and curious results, in the 
 produce of early Cochins, as recorded in the 
 preceding chapter, but they did not find their 
 stock vary in this extraordinary way : Sturgeon, 
 and Punchard, and Fairlie, and others did "not 
 breed " all " colours from the same stock : but 
 then neither did they advertise " ten varieties 
 of pure-bred fowls " all from the same, nor mate 
 white with black in order to produce them. 
 
 To go back however to the Fitchburg Show : 
 so far from the Burnham stock being either 
 the first, or the best, we have it above under his 
 own hand that " no one thought well "-of either 
 Dr. Bennett's original cross-made birds, or of his 
 own shown by Mr. George ; but that the third 
 stock-^Mr. Hatch's — which came from Cornish, 
 "sold readily" at good prices, and at once 
 created an - active demand for " Grey Chitta- 
 gongs," under which name they were entered. 
 rt is also proved that it was seeing this Hatch 
 stock, and its success, that gave Burnham the 
 idea of himself breeding Greys, which he only 
 began after seeing them at that show ; that he 
 then bred them and sold them in imitation of 
 the Chamberlain strain ; but that when he 
 wanted really fine birds to send to the Queen, 
 he had recourse to a stock of that strain itself in 
 the possession of Mr. Smith, of Rhode Island. 
 
264 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 There are many independent testimonies to the 
 effect that Hatch called his birds " Chittagongs " 
 because they were grey and had some resem- 
 blance so far to fowls already known by that 
 name in America, with evident Malay blood in 
 them; but the same testimonies make it clear 
 that these original Chittagongs, or at least their 
 crossed produce, were of an " owl " colour as 
 described, probably what we now know as 
 cuckoo or barred, whilst the Hatch stock was 
 mainly cream-white, with pencilled hackles and 
 black tails. This, with the more detailed proofs 
 elsewhere given of the above facts, settles all 
 questions connected with the early American 
 shows and the Light Brahmas. 
 
 It is not so certain that it equally settles the 
 origin of the Darks ; and the upshot of the con- 
 troversy left us, as stated at the time, rather 
 
 disposed to believe that in regard 
 Origin of to tJum we might have done poor 
 
 Dark Brahmas. Bumham Some injustice, and that 
 
 he really had originated these in 
 his own yard. If more than this cannot be said, 
 the reason is simply that the flat self-contradic- 
 tions of the man absolutely prevent any positive 
 conclusion : it is only possible to grope through 
 a fog, most of which he himself has made. 
 Previous to that controversy and the fresh light 
 it threw on this curious old bit of poultry history, 
 we had always thought that the Lights and the 
 Darks were from the same stock, and Burnham 
 himself has also written, "both the Dark and 
 Light were bred from the same originals, pre- 
 cisely, at first," so that he could not complain 
 of such a conclusion on our part. There is 
 ample evidence, too, of the possibility of this. 
 Miss Watts never crossed her strain, from Dr. 
 Bennett, and assured us that she had bred 
 by selection both Dark and Light ; and Dr. 
 Joseph Hinton, a well-known breeder in 1870, 
 told us how his original strain was Light, but 
 that from a darker (though only medium- 
 coloured) bird bred by Mr. J. K. Fowler he bred 
 a most beautiful dark cock, and hens even 
 darker than were then often seen, the next 
 generation producing his " Champion," a well- 
 known show-bird of those days. There is other 
 evidence of the same fact, but of less definite 
 authenticity ; and to show how recklessly Burn- 
 ham himself has made it impossible to come to 
 any conclusion at all with absolute certainty, he 
 published in America in September, 1874, the 
 statement : " I now say that neither the Dark 
 Brahmas nor the Dark Grey Shanghaes are 
 alluded to in The Hen Fever " ; while at the very 
 same date (since it was published in England in 
 November, 1 874) he wrote, contrariwise : " In 
 The Hen Fever I referred to the Grey Shanghaes, 
 
 Light ««^ Z>flr,^, which I have bred from 1849 
 to 1874, and which we now call Brahmas." It 
 is further to be noticed, that if any real distinc- 
 tion is to be established between the origin of 
 Darks and Lights, it is necessary to exactly 
 invert Burnham's own statements about both, . 
 since he affirms of the first ones shown (Lights) 
 that they were the " Grey Chittagongs," while it 
 was later that, as he affirms, he bred from his 
 "Grey Shanghaes." And yet, in spite of all 
 this — which it is best to dismiss as simply 
 worthless either way — we do think, upon the 
 whole, that there was a difference, and that 
 Burnham did originate the Darks. Take such 
 a passage as the following : — 
 
 I originated the Dark Brahma fowl in my own yard 
 at Melrose, Mass., Lewis ! . . . The Barh Brahma, 
 or Dark " Grey Shanghae," k my patent, Mr. Wright. 
 I originated it, in 1853. -I never saw them till that year, 
 but it was the result of a studied experiment of mine ; 
 and I raised a great many of these fine Dark birds in 
 the succeeding years. Look over the records and see 
 if you can find any " Dark Brahmas" spoken of — any- 
 where on earth — until my first splendid trio went out to 
 John Baily, of Mount Street, London, in 1853. And 
 tell me too if, subsequently, at any time before the war, 
 anybody but G. P. Burnham, of the United States, sent 
 to England one single specimen of this Dark variety to 
 any living man. You can't name him, sir 1 He doesn't 
 exist. Nobody had that stock but myself in all those 
 years. — China Fowl, p. 163. 
 
 There are several other passages like this; 
 and after a lifetime spent in examining docu- 
 ments, it still appears to us, as it did in 1875, 
 that there is a ring about them rather different 
 from the reckless assertion and abuse of other 
 passages such as are cited above. There seems 
 a ring of real truth, of genuine indignation that 
 something really done had received no recogni- 
 tion. Supposing that to be the case, the truth 
 of the matter does not appear difficult to dis- 
 cover, if once we disregard the maze of Burn- 
 ham's own contradictory statements ; and the 
 secret lies apparently in the birds previously 
 known in America as " Chittagongs." 
 
 These fowls Burnham always admitted that 
 he had from Dr. Kerr, of Philadelphia, as Dr. 
 Bennett had his ; but he always added the state- 
 ment, carelessly adopted by Mr. Tegetmeier, 
 that those birds also came from Shanghae. On 
 this point, however. Dr. Kerr himself is the 
 proper authority, and he states that they came 
 from Calcutta; in fact, the Indian name alone 
 is sufficient proof of their Indian origin. Now 
 it is remarkable that even recently, direct Indian 
 testimony has been given to fowls resembling 
 the earlier Dark Brahmas being still found in 
 the Chittagong district. The Broad Arrow, a 
 Civil Service journal, reviewing in March, 1874, 
 our monograph on the Brahma Fowl, attributed 
 
OLD STRAINS OF BRAHMAS. 
 
 265 
 
 the Darks to the big fowls found around the port 
 of Chittagong ; and an old Indian officer now 
 dead, wrote us in 1872, "The fowl you make 
 so much fuss about is the Grey Chittagong, of 
 which I have seen hundreds in India," and we 
 have seen other letters in MS. and print making 
 similar statements. 
 
 If in this light we.turn over Burnham's many 
 contradictory assertions with a discriminating 
 eclecticism, we find one that seems significant. 
 He says, for instance {China Fowl, p. 97), that 
 " the Dark and the Light varieties both came 
 out of the Philadelphia greys, and the lighter 
 coloured grey birds I subsequently obtained." 
 There seems truth here as to the Darks, because 
 if it were made up, he would be more likely to 
 say that it was by a darker cross he got them. 
 We have seen that Dr. Bennett had shown grey 
 birds cross-bred from Chittagongs at Fitchburg, 
 and that Burnham had done the same ; Hatch's 
 Cornish Light Brahmas beating both these in 
 popularity, and causing Dr. Bennett to drop his 
 entirely for the new stock. We have seen further, 
 that later on Burnham also purchased Cornish 
 Brahmas, from Smith of Rhode Island. We 
 have seen also that Hatch called his Cornish 
 birds " Chittagongs," because they " in some 
 degree resembled " the Indian fowls already 
 known by that name ; and we know that birds 
 from Luckipoor would pass Calcutta (from which 
 the ship probably cleared as a port), the very 
 same place from which Kerr's Chittagongs had 
 come. It seems probable that after Burnham, 
 had got some of his Cornish Brahmas, he once 
 more tried crossing them with his old Grey Chit- 
 tagongs, and in so doing produced the Dark 
 Brahma. If he did so, he was crossing strains 
 both hailing from the same general locality, 
 with more or less in general of the same Indian 
 blood, and which " in some degree resembled " 
 each other, as Cornish himself admits. In this 
 way we seem to best harmonise all that is 
 known, and as many as possible of even Burn- 
 ham's own statements, and we also account for 
 the undoubted common element in both breeds 
 and for the pea-comb, which probably came in 
 the first instance from the Indian bird now 
 known as the Aseel. It is some corroboration 
 of this conclusion that Mr. Teebay undoubtedly 
 received all his earlier Dark Brahmas also from 
 near Boston, whiclj was the nearest large town 
 in Burnham's neighbourhood. 
 
 Summing up the whole in brief, that the 
 Light Brahmas originated in the Cornish- 
 Chamberlain birds there is now absolutely no 
 doubt : the controversy brought forward an 
 absolute wealth of evidence to that effect. In 
 all the old disputes, Mr. Cornish alone comes out 
 =1 
 
 clear of suspicion. In all the others, Dr Bennett, 
 and Plaisted, and some others, we find more or 
 less of questionable motive, and even of proceed- 
 ing ; Cornish alone never exhibited the fowls, and 
 as a respectable public official his evidence alone 
 outweighs the other, but has been triumphantly 
 corroborated. On the other hand, we think it 
 probable that the Dark Brahma was really 
 originated by Burnham, most likely by cross- 
 ing this strain with the darker grey Chittagong 
 already in America from the same original 
 locality, and the earlier crosses of which had 
 failed to make any impression, as bred by either 
 Burnham or Dr. Bennett. If more than prob- 
 ability is impossible for this conclusion, the 
 reason lies in the maze of absolute contra- 
 diction in which Burnham himself has involved 
 whatever did take place. 
 
 In the United States there appears to have 
 been somewhat more variety in strains of 
 Light Brahmas than in England, where all 
 have been practically derived 
 American from the stock sent over by 
 
 strains. Dr. Bennett or Mr. Burnham ; 
 
 the latter being, as shown above, 
 practically identical so far as those sent to the 
 Queen were concerned. Mr. Felch* traces 
 various strains as follows : (i) Burnham's, 
 later known as Phillips', and later still as the 
 foundation of the stock of Mr. E. C. Comey 
 and Mr. Philander Williams; but as Mr. 
 Phillips , always affirmed this stock to be the 
 same as "the Queen's," this must now be 
 referred really to the Cornish or Chamberlain 
 strain. (2) Rankin's strain, affirmed to be 
 from a fresh Indian importation ; quite probably 
 correct, as this strain was marked by a peculiar 
 blue vein down the inside of the shanks, which 
 it strongly transmitted, and which distinguished 
 it from all others. (3) The Philadelphia or 
 Tees strain, said to be the produce of Indian 
 birds with Dr. Kerr's birds ; the latter formerly 
 regarded by Felch as Chinese,. after Burnham, 
 but which have been shown above to be also 
 Indian on Dr. Kerr's own authority. (4) The 
 strain from "Autocrat," bought in New York 
 as imported from India ; which is probable, as 
 he also stamped on all his progeny a special 
 tendency to dark under-colour ; he was used by 
 Mr. Felch and Mr. Williams, and his blood is 
 highly valued. (5) The Chamberlain strain, 
 believed now to be purest in Mr. Felch's, with 
 the cross of " Autocrat " just mentioned. It will 
 be observed that we have here more or less 
 evidence of three fresh independent importa- 
 tions, all from India; and that when we correct 
 Burnham's old Statement about Dr. Kerr's birds 
 * See Poultry Culture: Chicago, U.S. 
 
266 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 being Chinese, and trace the " Queen " section 
 of Burnham's stock, at least, to their proper 
 source of the Cornish-Chamberlain blood from 
 Rhode Island, the evidence is stronger than 
 ever of the entire race tracing back, threugh 
 one importation or another, to the Chittagong 
 district of India, save only as it may have been 
 contaminated by crosses with Burnham's or 
 other Shanghaes. 
 
 If this origin of the Brahma be borne in 
 
 but more or less cropping up in all Indian 
 races. In such a composite race there are 
 always the two types contending for the 
 mastery, and yielding to man's selection ; 
 and it is instructive to see the Shanghae and 
 Indian types (or in that case Indian archipelago 
 type) similarly contending for emergence in the 
 fowl treated of in our. next chapter. How 
 different from the first Cochin type the earliest 
 Dark Brahmas were, can be seen from the 
 
 
 t'^^-:«! 
 
 
 
 .'*' 
 
 The First Dark Brahmas sent to England. 
 
 mind, it will be easy to understand how it has 
 varied in model according to the selection of 
 breeders. The feather-legged Chittagong fowl 
 was obviously a mixture gradually 
 Variation formed to some rough type, of the 
 in Type. single-combed, more fluffy, feather- 
 
 legged, indolent Shanghae fowl, 
 with a far more tight-feathered, active, and 
 agile Indian stock, whose signs are found in 
 the longer tail, tighter plumage, and that 
 .pea-comb, found most perfect in the Aseel, 
 
 accompanying illustration, reproduced from the 
 Fie/d of December 24, 1853, of the first sent by 
 Mr. Burnham to Mr. John Baily, of which a pair 
 were speedily re-sold for ;^iOO. It will be 
 noticed at once that the birds are far more bold 
 and active-looking, have far more tail, quite 
 different carriage, (upright instead of forward) 
 and in particular, far more length of body. 
 
 In what a noble form the Indian type some- 
 times came out, may be seen from the con- 
 temporary portrait of our own old. " Favourite 
 
CONTENDING TYPES IN BRAHMAS. 
 
 267 
 
 2," of 1 87 1. He was the son of a bird even 
 more slim and agile than himself, of a strain 
 (Mr. W. Hargreaves, of Bacup) renowned for 
 breeding beautiful cockerels, many of which were 
 of course of much more orthodox sort, or they 
 would not have been successful. This one of 
 his progeny won second prize at Bristol in a 
 class of forty, the largest class of Brahma 
 cockerels ever exhibited up to that time, and 
 was in his turn the sire of the cup-winner at the 
 Crystal Palace and Birmingham in 1872. 
 Artists who could draw fowls were scarce in 
 those days, and his head is not " fine " enough ; 
 but the contour is true, and the bird appears 
 " alive " in the drawing. Looking at it critically, 
 one sees the same greater proportionate length 
 of body ; but the most striking feature, next to 
 the full and sweeping tail, is the niagnificent 
 " balance " of the bird, and the supple vigour of 
 his attitude. He flew to the top of a six-foot 
 fence with ease; in fighting struck with the 
 spur like a game cock ; and it would have been 
 dangerous for any stranger to touch one of his 
 hens. Mr. Teebay, who judged at Bristol, told 
 us that though not of the customary style for 
 exhibition, he also knew that type of bird well, 
 as appearing from time to time in the Dark 
 Brahma; and we have also seen the same 
 general pattern, with less tail, but the same 
 grand sweep of outline, active lissomeness, and 
 noble carriage, in the yards of Lady Gwydr 
 and others, though of course the slimmest and 
 longest-tailed ones were kept at home as not 
 likely to find favour with the judges. 
 
 It is difficult now not to regret that even 
 this more pronounced development of the Indian 
 type, rather than the Chinese, had not been 
 encouraged ; for it was full of good qualities 
 which the Chinese type does not possess. The 
 skin was thin and pinky-white ; the pullets were 
 often magnificent layers, and showed only 
 moderate broodiness at long intervals ; the breast 
 was long and deep, so that the fowl on the 
 table looked like a small turkey. Such was the 
 more Indian type of the original Brahma fowl ; 
 but, in spite of the early lesson presented by the 
 question of comb, none of us understood then, 
 as we have learnt since, the significance of the 
 choice in our hands between the mixed com- 
 ponents in its blood. For the struggle came out 
 plainly in that question of comb. Some chickens 
 had single-combs, some pea-combs, and either 
 could have been bred with ease amongst English 
 stock; in America there were strains which 
 chiefly bred one or the other, owing to the 
 rivalry of Bennett and Burnham. In this point 
 the Indian feature was fixed without the 
 slightest difficulty, and there is little doubt that 
 
 fixing it had some influence in a tendency 
 towards other features of the Indian model ; 
 but in regard to Brahmas, English judging has 
 been unfortunately more erratic than in the case 
 of almost any other breed. For years any 
 approach to a covered hock was so persistently 
 disqualified, that shanks almost as bare as 
 present-day Langshans became the rule.. When 
 breeders had at last got good leg-feather to be 
 
 " Favourite 2." 
 
 accepted, the two leading judges began giving 
 prizes to pullets which only weighed about 6 lbs. 
 each, and were narrow weeds with nothing 
 Brahma about them except pea-combs, for a 
 new style of broad and very rich marking ; none 
 of these birds ever reappeared as hens, and their 
 encouragement did much harm in many yards. 
 Then the awards went, in flat contradiction of 
 this, to a very .silvery pencilling, usually found 
 with white heads, which was exhibited (chiefly 
 by one exhibitor, who it was notorious had 
 his stock from one of the judges) in birds larger 
 than the preceding, but still narrow and weedy 
 in build, and short of leg-feather as those also 
 had been. Finally, and probably in sheer 
 reaction from this fashion, the pendulum swung 
 right over from it to breadth of body and loose 
 plumage, and tremendous leg-feather (with 
 
268 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 vulture-hocks) which had already found toleration 
 amongst the Cochins of that day. With this 
 change in fashion, the Chinese element began 
 to over-power the Indian, and the Brahma to 
 assume more and more of Cochin character ; 
 losing far too much at the same time, unfortu- 
 nately, of its former good qualities. There was 
 a time, indeed, when many winners were little 
 else than Cochins of another colour, with the 
 constant broodiness, thick skins, and coarse 
 flesh which generally accompany that model ; 
 but some reaction from that extreme has lately 
 been observable. 
 
 Under these circumstances the general 
 characteristics of Brahmas cannot be described 
 with quite the same definiteness as in the case 
 of some other breeds. Both the 
 Characteristics Dark and the Light are supposed 
 of Brahmas. jq be exactly the same in size, 
 shape, and carriage ; but this has 
 not always been the case, and can hardly be 
 said to have been absolutely so at the end of 
 1900. In the earlier days of the breed the 
 Lights were considerably inferior to the Darks, 
 possibly owing to mixture with Cochin strains ; 
 now the Lights as a rule are more broad and 
 massive and fluffy than the Darks, with more of 
 the Cochin type. This should not be so ; but 
 the truth really is that the Dark Brahma 
 breeders have made rather a more successful 
 fight for the Brahma model, and it is too, true 
 that under many judges a Light Brahma cock 
 of the same model as is still often seen in Darks, 
 would stand little chance. Still, the leading 
 points may be preserved in both colours, and 
 may be described as follows. 
 
 The Brahma as a rule looks smaller than a 
 Cochin, but is in reality very often heavier, 
 because the Cochin's loose fluff adds to its 
 apparent bulk. On the other hand the Brahma 
 plumage, though far more abundant than 
 formerly, is still desired to be close-fitting. 
 -Cockerels six months old should weigh 8 or 
 9 lbs., and pullets 7 lbs. or more ; really pure- 
 bred strains are never remarkable for early 
 weights, though these may be forced ; but on 
 the other hand they grow more than most other 
 breeds the second year. Adults sometimes 
 reach great weights. We once knew a cock 
 weigh 18 lbs., but he was a brute; 14 lbs. and 
 15 lbs. we have come across several times in 
 exhibition specimens, but 11 to 12 lbs. is more 
 usual. The heaviest hen we possessed was 
 ii^lbs., but we knew several over 12 lbs. As 
 a rule these enormous birds are deficient in 
 symmetry. 
 
 The head of the cock should be small, short, 
 and rather wide over the eyes ; not enough to 
 
 give a cruel or Malay expression, but a sort of 
 peculiar archness or intelligence : the beak also 
 should be thick and short, in harmony with the 
 grouse-head model. Many birds lately have 
 had large and coarse heads, or else long and 
 slender face and beak, either of which looks 
 very mean. The comb — the "pea-comb" — 
 resembles three small combs pressed into one, 
 the centre being the highest. This should be 
 small, with the centre ridge straight, and the 
 shape preferred is to rise somewhat from front 
 to centre or beyond, and then decrease a little, 
 with a slight arch. Formerly a very common 
 shape was to rise towards a peak behind, and 
 this is still occasionally seen, but looks very 
 ugly. In some cases we have seen a comb 
 evidently of this type originally, with the rising 
 portion at the back cut off, as shown by the 
 glossy scar : trimming of this kind should not 
 pass unnoticed. The face should be fairly 
 smooth, not too hairy. The ear-lobes in all 
 early Brahmas which we can remember were so 
 long as to fall below the wattles, which ought to 
 be rather small, not long and pendulous ; this 
 should be sought therefore as a Brahma point. 
 They should be smooth and bright red. 
 
 In the neck we come upon rather debatable 
 ground. All agree that it should be very full in 
 hackle, so that it stands out and. makes a sort of 
 junction with the head. We think it should be 
 long, and well arched, which gives grandeur and 
 nobility of appearance ; but the more Cochin- 
 shaped birds generally have rather short necks. 
 The shoulders should be wide and flat, not too 
 much gable-shaped, and the back short, the 
 saddle starting from very little behind the base 
 of the hackle. The saddle is, however, to be 
 very long as well as wide, rising uninterruptedly 
 to the tail, with hackles long and abundant, 
 flowing well over the points of the wings. 
 However massive and thick the bird is other- 
 ^yise, or even fluffy, the saddle feathers should 
 lie close and hard-looking, and rise more and 
 more with almost a concave profile towards the 
 tail, which rises still more upright so as to form 
 part of the same graceful " sweep " of line from 
 end to end. The tail may be nearly upright, 
 but should not be quite so, and in any case 
 should work in with the contour of the saddle, 
 not stand up " out " of it. However profuse in 
 plumage and thick in shape, this Brahma 
 " sweep " should be well seen, and is faithfully 
 depicted in the coloured illustrations, which at 
 the same time should be massive enough for 
 anybody. 
 
 The real Brahma tail is itself characteristic, 
 but only seen occasionally. It is sometimes 
 described as if the upper sickles diverged, but 
 
DESCRIPTION 01 LIGHT BRAHMAS. 
 
 269 
 
 this IS not correct. It is the upper pair of true 
 tail feathers which curve outwards, like the tail 
 of a black-cock, and the fine sickles curl over 
 between their opened ends. In another type 
 of tail, the whole group of feathers appears 
 to spread out laterally. Neither type is very 
 common now, and if we get a handsome tail, 
 with a good sweep, we may be satisfied. The 
 saddle should on no account get narrower 
 towards the tail. 
 
 The breast should be deep, broad, and rather 
 prominent, coming well down between the 
 thighs. These and the legs ought to stand wide 
 apart, and the latter be fairly short ; but they 
 certainly may be too short, though this does not 
 often happen. They are to be feathered as 
 heavily as possible down the outside of the 
 shanks, and to ends of outer and middle toes, 
 with the feather sticking out well, especially 
 under the hocks, which is the difficult place to 
 get good feather. As a rule the inside of shank, 
 and back toe and inner toe also, are more or 
 less fluffed or feathered too, which is not a 
 beauty. The required leg-feather is practically 
 always accompanied in England by vulture- 
 hocks, for which we have already expressed 
 regret, as usually accompanied by coarser skin 
 and deficiency in breast. But there is a great 
 difference in vulture-hocks, some of them pro- 
 jecting far more than others for the same 
 amount of real feather ; and very offensive-look- 
 ing hocks should certainly be penalised, as 
 against those in which more downward direction 
 or curling in, diminishes their prominence. The 
 fluff" should be fairly abundant and well covering 
 the thighs, though neither so full nor so downy 
 as in Cochins. The wings are of medium length, 
 considerably longer than a Cochin wing, and 
 should be tucked up rather tightly. The toes 
 should be well spread apart and straight: a 
 curved toe is rather often seen in this breed, 
 perhaps from its weight. 
 
 The hen should present the same small head, 
 which in her case looks particularly arch and 
 coquettish when of the right model, yet with a 
 sweet and gentle expressioil also. The body 
 should present the same deep-breasted general 
 outline ; and in her case also there is the same 
 characteristic difference between her cushion and 
 that of a Cochin, the cushion of the Brahma 
 rising more and more to the tail, which stands 
 out at the end, instead of drooping as in the 
 other Asiatic breed. The fluff is abundant, but 
 should not be globular, the general appearance 
 being rather square than rounded. The cushion 
 should also grow wider and wider towards the 
 tail, though of late many Dark birds have tended 
 to run off narrow and weedy. The Light pullets, 
 
 on the direct contrary, have often shown such 
 enormous fluff and cushion as closely to resemble 
 the Cochin type. Some breeders and judges 
 evidently prefer this stamp of bird, which is often 
 of great size ; but such a model is foreign to the 
 original Brahma. 
 
 We must now deal with the colours 
 separately, and will take Light Brahmas first. 
 In this breed the real ideal of colour has not 
 
 varied much, though different faults 
 Light have appeared at different times. 
 
 Brahmas. ^jje comb and face have been 
 
 described above; the rest of the 
 head of the cock is pure white, and the hackle 
 below silvery white, more and more striped 
 towards the bottom of the neck with black. 
 This stripe should be as intense and sharp as 
 possible, and run well up the feather, the edges 
 being sharp and the edge of the hackle white. 
 We have seen magnificent birds on the rather 
 daj?k side, with a black edging as well as striping 
 to the lower hackles, and are bound to say we 
 thought it looked very handsome, but it is 
 considered a fault, and is also a sign of too much 
 colour in the stock. The most difficult part of 
 the hackle to get good marking is where it 
 comes round to the front of the neck. The 
 hackle cannot be too full and flowing, and 
 should slide like glass, over the shoulders and 
 back. The head and neck of a Light Brahma 
 cock, both literally and in fact, form the frontis- 
 piece to the entire work. Red or bay is the 
 best colour for the eyes, but the lighter colour 
 is fully recognised. 
 
 The shoulder-coverts and back between them' 
 are preferred white on surface, but are black 
 quite as often underneath the hackle, at the 
 part often called the cape. The saddle hackles 
 are by most preferred white, but these also are 
 allowed to be striped, though it should be much 
 more thinly than the neck, and general harmony 
 requires that a striped saddle should accompany 
 a rather dark and brilliantly - coloured neck- 
 hackle : personally we rather prefer the striped 
 saddle. The tail is black, except that the top 
 feathers may be narrowly laced with white : tail 
 coverts black, edged with white. The primaries 
 are black, edged or not with white on the outer 
 web : secondaries, white on outer web, and 
 generally on a little of inside web, rest of the 
 inner web black. The rest of the body and fluff 
 is pure white on the surface, with either white or 
 bluish grey under-fluff"; the shank-feather may 
 be either white, or preferably with some black 
 mottling. The shanks should be brilliant 
 yellow. All the black except in shank-feather,, 
 should have as much green gloss as possible. 
 
270 
 
 THE BOOK OJ' POULTRY. 
 
 Light 
 Brahmas, 
 
 The hen is the same general colour, the head 
 being white, and the hackle lower down broadly 
 and densely and sharply striped with black. 
 Her tail is black, or may be laced with white, 
 and primaries and secondaries of the wings, and 
 shank-feathers, are as in the cook. The rest of 
 the body pure white all over in surface-colour, 
 except the rearmost tail coverts, which are black 
 edged with white, and the cape between 
 shoulders, which is often more or less black. 
 The under-fluff may be either white or grey as 
 in the cock. 
 
 We have now to consider how su.ch birds are 
 to be bred : a task which is not easy according 
 to the high standard of the present day. To 
 have any chance of success, a cock 
 Breeding q^ cockerel must be selected with 
 
 neat head and comb : the male bird 
 is all-important in these points, and 
 the day is gone by when a coarse head and a 
 bloated mass of red can win at good shows. 
 The bird must, of course, also be typical 'in 
 shape and size ; but on the other hand, if he 
 is really good in other points, there is no need 
 that he should be large. Size is the one point 
 in which, if necessary, expenditure may be 
 saved. 
 
 The next most important point to look 
 after is the quality of his colour ; by which we 
 mean, not the amount of black he may have, 
 but that his white is clear skim-milk white, and 
 the black a dense black. The same remarks 
 about what is called "sap in feathers" while 
 growing, made in the case of Cochins, apply here 
 also. If such a bird can possibly be got, one 
 that has been white as a cockerel, and moulted 
 white, and grown his feathers white whilst in the 
 quill, will save a lot of trouble in breeding out 
 yellow tinge later. The point is not quite so 
 vital in hens, but in their case also this pure real 
 white, not cream, is the point of greatest value. 
 Brown or indistinct striping in the hackles, will 
 also entail tedious work later on to breed them 
 good. 
 
 The amount of colour in the birds mated 
 is the final thing to be considered, so far as 
 colour is in question. If a cockerel as first 
 described can be secured of the exhibition type, 
 and also pullets or hens of the ideal exhibition 
 type, that is, with hackles really sharply and 
 densely striped like Fig. 91, and nicely edged 
 tail coverts, and both sexes are really free from 
 all surface splashes or ticks in undesirable places, 
 this mating will usually produce good chickens of 
 both sexes, unless too " raw " a cross (as ex- 
 plained in Chapter XI.). But such mates are very 
 hard to get. The standing difficulty remains 
 where it was years ago, in getting sufficient 
 
 marking in the hackles and about the tail, 
 without ticks or splashes of black where not 
 wanted. Of late birds have been shown with 
 darker hackles and saddles than formerly, and 
 pullets with their hackles almost black ; and as 
 a result there have been too many in the pens 
 showing black specks all about the body, or at 
 the ends of the wings, or splashes on the hocks 
 or amongst the fluff. This may occur from 
 mating either dark Tiacfcles together, or when 
 both of the pair have grey under-fluff, which is 
 undesirable with the present stock of to-day. 
 Both sexes being of exhibition, standard in 
 colour, therefore, if one sex has dark under-fluff, 
 
 Fig. 91. — Show Hackle. Fig. 92. — Dark Hackle. 
 
 the other . should have white ; and if the cock 
 has a striped saddle and somewhat dark hackle, 
 both may often have white under-colour with 
 advantage. The result will then depend chiefly 
 upon the density and sharpness of the hackle- 
 striping, particularly in the hens. If the cock 
 is not particularly dark, but what may be called 
 a nice average, it is as well to have one or two 
 of his mates with rather too dark hackles, the 
 produce of which may often be amongst the best 
 of the bunch. 
 
 The above may be termed exhibition mating 
 or single mating, and this is a breed in which 
 with care that may at least be bred up to, if not 
 always possible at first. But there are other 
 ways of mating whfch are quite successful, 
 balancing too much colour on one side by less 
 
J^pP^Srt 
 
 BREEDING LIGHT BRAHMAS. 
 
 271 
 
 on the other. Fig. 91 shows a hackle such as is 
 desired in a light Brahma pullet or hen, and 
 Fig. 92 another such as is very often seen, and 
 which has even won at times, though seriously 
 faulty owing to the black extending almost or 
 quite to the edge of the feather. It is the tolera- 
 tion of such hackles in winners, with striped 
 saddles in the cocks, and breeding the two 
 together, which produces so many birds with 
 black ticks or splashes all over the body, but 
 especially the back or the hocks. But if a 
 female with such dark hackle and free from 
 black splashes be mated with a cockerel clear in 
 saddle with rather narrow stripes in his hackle, 
 while not more than one of the pair has grey 
 under-colour, the produce is usually quite satis- 
 factory in regard to pullets ; and there is often a 
 certain portion of very fair cockerels, though 
 mostly, like their father, rather on the light- 
 hackled side. 
 
 The converse mating is also often satisfactory 
 to a large extent, putting a very dark-hackled 
 cock with striped saddle to hens deficient in 
 striping. Success will depend upon the striping 
 in both cases being sharp and dense, what there 
 is of it ; and the greatest difficulty in Light 
 Brahma breeding has been the undefined or 
 cloudy hackles, which have been tolerated in so 
 many hens. Such cloudiness gives no end of 
 trouble, and can only be bred out of by degrees. 
 But where the hackles are sharp, this ^mating 
 also often breeds very well. Perhaps in this 
 case more cockerels may be expected good 
 than pullets ; the number good and quality of 
 the latter will largely depend upon whether the 
 mothers are free from ticks and splashes, 
 especially on the back, and a proper balance of 
 under-colour. 
 
 We lay stress once more on the absence of 
 black elsewhere than in the standard places. It 
 is mere common-sense, one would think, though 
 some do not appear to see it, that if a pullet not 
 too dark in hackle, also has a lot of black show- 
 ing all about her, she is full of surplus black 
 blood, sure to come out in all ways, but 
 especially in that same way which it is so 
 desirable to avoid. On the other hand, if we 
 get hold of a bird which is too full of colour in 
 hackle or tail, or both, but clear white all over 
 where it should be white, and maybe light in 
 under-fluff as well, such a one may be invaluable. 
 Her colour is too great, but all of it is where 
 colour is wanted to appear, and this tendency is 
 of all others most valuable. 
 
 There is no doubt that many strains of 
 Light Brahmas have been produced by crossing 
 with White Cochins ; it may be doubted whether 
 the Cochin blood has not got into all strains by 
 
 now, though we do not know of any recent 
 cross. Many years ago, however, we were in- 
 formed at Birmingham by a well-known winner 
 there, that his birds there had been bred from 
 a Dark Brahma cock and White Cochin hens ; 
 and we think it not unlikely that the greater pre- 
 valence of black ticks and splashes for many 
 years past may be due to this infusion of all-over 
 dark blood. The result has been increased size, 
 width, and especially fluff about the thighs, many 
 Brahmas now shown being far more wide and 
 fluffy on the thighs than Cochins themselves. 
 There is besides to be seen in many birds, a 
 body-plumage of very wide, soft, fluffy feathers, 
 entirely different in size and texture from the 
 closer plumage which may generally be seen 
 only one or two pens off, and so compared with 
 the other. Some breeders evidently like this 
 Cochin model, heavy and torpid as it is com- 
 pared with the more square, compact, and active 
 Brahma type, and no one has a right to pro- 
 nounce as to matters of preference. We would 
 only urge, as indispensable, whatever the width 
 or the fluff, that at least the rising cushion and 
 tail in the hens, and- the grand sweeping out- 
 line in the cocks, be preserved. How these 
 points may be shown even when combined with 
 great massiveness, Mr. Ludlow has shown in 
 the illustration. 
 
 The head of a Dark Brahma cock should be 
 almost similar to that described for the Light, 
 but though correctly called- white, there is 
 
 a sort of pearly grey about this 
 Dark white rather different from the snow 
 
 Brahmas. white of the other. In the neck 
 
 hackle there is less latitude of colour 
 than in the Light variety, it being essential 
 that the neck hackle should be broadly and 
 densely striped with brilliant black, extend- 
 ing well up the feathers as in Fig. 93, and with 
 any white shaft showing as little as possible, 
 the rest of the feather being a brilliant white, 
 unless occasionally the txtreme edge may show 
 a sharp and very fine black edge near the tip, 
 as also shown in Fig. 93. The saddle hackle 
 is also brilliant white, more finely striped, and 
 generally showing rather more white shaft in 
 the feather, as in Fig. 94. What little there 
 is of back should be silvery white, but between 
 the shoulders, where the hackle flows over it, 
 the feathers are black laced round with white : 
 a cockerel has much more black here than a 
 bird in his second year, and black often mixes 
 partly in the white of the back also. The 
 saddle hackles gradually .merge at the rear 
 into the tail coverts, which are more and more 
 broadly striped with black, until next the tail 
 
272 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 they become quite black, the tail and sickles 
 also being black, unless the upper pair of black- 
 cock feathers are thinly laced with white : 
 white in the tail otherwise is a great blemish, 
 not uncommon the second year. The shoulders 
 and wing-bows are silvery white in old birds, 
 usually mixed with black in young ones, but 
 should be free from brown or red feathers : 
 the wing-coverts form a brilliant black bar 
 across the wing : the secondaries are white on 
 the outer web except a large spot at the end, 
 this and the inner web black, leaving the wing 
 very white : primaries black, with or without a 
 white edge on outer web. All the black feathers 
 of these upper parts should be brilliantly glossed, 
 
 Fig. 93. — Hackle of Dark Brahma Cock. 
 
 Fig. 94. — Saddle Hackle of Cock. 
 
 a green gloss being best, but a purple tinge 
 is not a very serious defect. The breast and 
 thighs and underparts are preferred solid black 
 in an exhibition bird, but small mottling on the 
 breast and lacing on the fluff, or fine white 
 lacing on ' breast and fluff, are in theory and 
 standard admissible, though practically they 
 seldom win : the shank-feather should mainly 
 correspond with the other underparts, but 
 with even a black breast, a little white there 
 is quite permissible. A real silvery whiteness 
 in the white, free from yellow or straw, is one 
 of the chief points in colour. The shanks 
 should be deep yellow or orange, but any 
 distinct yellow is sufficient. 
 
 The colour of hens and pullets has varied 
 more than in any other breed. Up to about 
 1870 there were two distinct schools, Mr. Boyle 
 advocating a " dingy-white ground " closely 
 pencilled with dark steel-grey, and Mr. Lacy, 
 whose birds were usually largest in size, openly 
 preferring very dark brown pencillings on a 
 dark brown ground. This preference is his- 
 torically very significant, because Mr. Burnham 
 
 has often asserted* that his birds were always 
 free from brown or any colour but fine steel- 
 grey ; while Mr. Lacy wrote us personally in 
 1867, that he had then been breeding Brahmas 
 fifteen years, ten of which were in America : 
 he therefore bred them there from 1852 to 1862, 
 and either Burnham's must have b^en brown, 
 or there was, as early as 1852, other Dark 
 Brahma stock obtainable, which originated the 
 strain he brought over. For years Mr. Lacy 
 was a most successful exhibitor, and his birds 
 were used to cross Partridge Cochins as already 
 related ; but this absolutely brown Brahma 
 has now practically disappeared. For many 
 years now, the pencillings at least have always 
 been black or dark steel-grey, but 
 the ground-colour has varied greatly. 
 For a good while it was a grey 
 which had a slight tendency to 
 brown on the sides, and usually 
 moulted rather browner in the hen ; 
 while there was also exhibited almost 
 a slate or bluish ground, with black 
 markings, the two schools being 
 . equally beautiful. The latter was 
 known as the blue-grey, and Fig. 95 
 represents a set of feathers from 
 one of the birds which won at 
 Birmingham in 1871 : it will be 
 noticed that the markings are finer 
 than those photographed on a later 
 page from birds of to-day. Then 
 for a time the judges went for a 
 new marking which burst out 
 suddenly, broad green -black bands, on a 
 darkish ground with perceptible brown in it, 
 but the whole so rich as not to look the least 
 dingy. The colour would have passed well 
 enough, but the pullets themselves were quite 
 small birds, of no Asiatic shape at all, narrow 
 and weedy and nearly bare legged — there 
 simply never was such a farce in poultry-judg* 
 ing. After a few years of this, the judges threw 
 it over and went for a pale silver-grey pencilling : 
 these birds were better than the others, but 
 moulted very dingy, and also lacked substance : 
 this also could not last, and was succeeded 
 by the massive hocked type that has since 
 prevailed. 
 
 The colour of the pullets now fashionable 
 is a pure grey ground colour with black or 
 nearly black pencillings, as nearly uniform as 
 possible all over the body, breast, back, wings, 
 fluff, and leg feather, with black tail and 
 striped hackles. This colour used generally to 
 show brown areas or patches, and moult brown 
 in the hens, but recently many birds are practi- 
 * In 'Die China Fowl, and many places elsewhere. 
 
CO 
 
 < 
 
 X 
 
 < 
 
 DC 
 CO 
 
 cc 
 < 
 
 Q 
 
BREEDING DARK BRAHMAS. 
 
 273 
 
 cally clear all over, and the best breeders have a 
 fair proportion that moult out as clear; but those 
 shown at present have two great defects. 
 Nearly all hitherto have been rather small 
 and weedy in build ; and have also shown long 
 snaky heads, as far as possible removed from 
 the old Brahma type. This want of shape 
 and grandeur was apparent in the beautifully 
 marked pullets shown many years ago by 
 the Rev. J. D. Peake and Rev. T. C. Peake, 
 from which we believe most of the present 
 clear-grounded birds are descended ; and much 
 
 Elye and Mr. J. Martin Longe have been 
 prominent exhibitors of the paper-ground birds. 
 These changes in colour have very much 
 altered the breeding of Brahmas for exhibition, 
 so that it is now impossible to breed the fashion- 
 able colours good in both sexes, 
 from the same breeding pen. This 
 is, however, entirely owing to the 
 change in colour, and it is quite 
 wrong to assert, as some breeders 
 do, that black-breasted cockerels and well- 
 pencilled pullets — so far as pencilling only goes 
 
 Breeding 
 
 Dark 
 
 Brahmas. 
 
 Hackle 
 
 r 11 
 
 Breast, Wing. 
 
 Fig- 95- — Dark Brahma Pullet Feathers in 1871. 
 
 Cushion. 
 
 as we admire the marking itself, we scarcely 
 ever see a hen of it, which in size or shape can 
 be compared to those of a former period. 
 Another serious drawback, in our opinion, is 
 the loss of the old striped hackles. Birds bred 
 for this marking become more and more 
 pencilled in hackles, as in Partridge Cochins, 
 and several breeders profess now to admire 
 this marking, and consider it the proper one : 
 but this is evidently the old case of the fox 
 who, lost his tail, and because they cannot help 
 themselves. 
 
 A dark grey ground also holds its own to 
 some extent, and most of such birds are 
 superior in size to the preceding, and some of 
 them make really fine hens. Some of these 
 have very fair striped hackles, and are usually 
 better layers than the paper-ground birds. 
 Mr. Henshall has often shown fine Brahma 
 pullets and hens of this type, while Mr. Norris- 
 
 7 
 
 — cannot be bred together successfully, or from 
 the same stock. Mrs. Hurt's celebrated strain 
 of thirty years ago was beautifully marked and 
 everywhere successful, and a large portion 
 of the cockerels always came black-breasted ; 
 and going back to our own experience, a son 
 of our old " Favourite 2 " which won the 
 cup in 1872 at both the Crystal Palace and 
 Birmingham, after his purchase by Messrs. 
 Newnham and Manby became the sire of a 
 number of pullets that were well known for 
 several years. The real incompatibles are 
 the extremely light ground-colour in pullets, 
 combined with solid black underparts, espe- 
 cially black fluff, in the cockerels. People 
 who wish to exhibit birds of these colours, 
 must breed from two pens. 
 
 To breed exhibition cockerels, the first 
 essential is, as in all cases of double mat- 
 ing, a sufficiently good exhibition cockerel 
 
274 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 or cock in all points of head, shape, colour, 
 and plumage : the one point which may be 
 perhaps spared to save the pocket, is size, 
 which is not very important if his hens are 
 massive and large. The points need not be 
 repeated in detail, laying emphasis only 
 upon the colour of the white, which is all- 
 important. Nothing but vexation can come 
 of breeding from yellow birds, or any with 
 red about the back or shoulders ; and while 
 the exhibitor saves the colour of a good 
 bird all he can by keeping him out of the 
 sun, on the other hand, if in his choice for 
 breeding he can pick up one that has been 
 out a great deal in all weathers, and yet 
 kept his silvery colour, such an one is twice 
 the value. There are such birds, and there 
 is that difference in strains. This bird v/e 
 choose on his own merits, and no more need 
 be said. 
 
 Of the hens to put with him, among all 
 the mixture of strains one important point 
 is that they be more or less of the same 
 cock-breeding strain : for this we have to 
 trust to personal knowledge or inquiry. 
 The only " points " that can be certainly 
 laid down are, that they must have good 
 heads with small neat combs, and solidly- 
 striped hackles. The body-colour of good 
 cock-breeders varies enormously. We have 
 seen some nearly black, others black pen- 
 cilled on brown, others covered with minute 
 microscopic pencilling, hardly visible, on a 
 dark slate-colour ; very rarely a really well- 
 pencilled blue-grey hen will breed good 
 cockerels, but generally the offspring of such 
 are spotted on breast. As a rule these 
 hens are pretty dark, and at least very 
 poorly marked ; and supposing they have 
 good hackles — that is one point which really 
 can be seen and is essential — the blood of 
 good exhibition birds in their veins is the 
 main thing. If the cock is short of shank- 
 feather, they must of course have abundance, 
 but that is obvious. In starting a new 
 strain, if the cock or cockerel is really good, 
 however poor the first year's produce may 
 be, breeding back to the cock the next 
 season will generally give an adequate reward, 
 and so on while line-breeding is carried on. 
 
 The pullet-breeding pen will be entirely 
 different. Here we must select the females 
 from the exhibition point of view, at least as 
 regards colour and marking, and be especially 
 severe as regards breast-pencilling under the 
 very throat. It is an excellent plan to have 
 one or two birds rather darker than the rest in 
 starting a new pen, and to keep watch which 
 
 hit the best. The great point is uniformity of 
 marking. It is very common to see good breasts 
 with cushion-markings so small as to be indis- 
 tinct ; or there may be a brown patch on the 
 wing. A hen which was clear as a pullet arid 
 moulted clear, is especially valuable. If possible 
 select some striped hackles and some pencilled, 
 with a view to avoid getting the whole strain 
 pencilled all up the neck. Most pullets from a 
 clear ground strain, will have what may be 
 called partly-pencilled hackles, which moult 
 out more [pencilled still. Pullets of the darker 
 steel-grey type are much more easy to obtain 
 with properly striped hackles. The great faults 
 of the clear pullets at present are want of size, 
 and long narrow backs, and these faults should 
 as far as possible be avoided. 
 
 The feathers photographed in Fig. 96 from 
 a prize bird of 1500, the specimens being sup- 
 plied by Mr. J. Martin Longe, represent the 
 exhibition type of the present day, and it may 
 be interesting to compare them with those 
 shown in Fig. 95 of nearly thirty years before. 
 It will be seen that the pencilling has become 
 broader, and the bands, upon the whole, are 
 more solid and sharply defined. The two 
 hackles exhibit a greater and less degree of 
 pencilling, which increases in most birds the 
 second year, and is tending to increase more 
 and more as the pencilled strain is bred more 
 exclusively by itself We have seen hackles in 
 some hens recently, and now and then even in 
 pullets, far more pencilled than this, and 
 with that straight-across barring (like that of a 
 Pencilled Hamburgh) which we have already 
 referred to in the case of Partridge Cochins. 
 The law of Nature appears to work out the 
 same way in all cases of breeding for purely 
 pencilled marking, and there is little doubt that 
 a straight-pencilled Brahma could be ultimately 
 produced, and perhaps one day may be the 
 accepted type of bird. 
 
 In choosing the, male bird, again we must 
 start with the condition that he be of the right 
 strain ; because even cock-breeding strains 
 occasionally produce a mottled or laced- 
 breasted cockerel, and such an one will not 
 answer. Supposing that, his chief points are 
 dense striping in his hackles, and all the better 
 if with a hair-line edge as in Fig. 93. This 
 should be free from white streak as drawn, and 
 the tolerance of white shaft or streak is the 
 chief cause of the prevalence of pencilled 
 hackles in the pullets, which may to some 
 extent be kept in abeyance by choosing solid 
 striping in the cockerels. The cape, or back 
 under the hackle, should be black feathers well 
 laced with white ; and the edges of the lacing 
 
SINGLE AND DOUBLE MATING. 
 
 275 
 
 at the tail coverts should be sharp and clear, 
 The best colour for the cockerel's breast is a 
 narrow lacing with white on each feather ; but 
 another marking which answers well, especially 
 with the darker pullets, is a small pear-shaped 
 white spot on the tip of each, with the shaft 
 showing as a black line up its centre. The 
 cockerel or cock should also be compared with 
 his mates in regard to^ their respective colour 
 fore and aft. If the hens have perfect breasts 
 but poorly-marked cushion, the cock should 
 have narrow but intense stripes in his saddle and 
 tail-coverts, and sharply laced fluff; ifthehensor 
 
 and live in hopes of the fashion changing to the 
 darker shades ;• it is such a satisfaction to see 
 one's hens improving, if anything, after each 
 moult. 
 
 " I have been much out of it the last two 
 seasons in Brahmas ; two years ago that dreadful 
 fire at my place burnt all my early chickens, and 
 last year unfortunately I tried fresh blood, with 
 disastrous consequences ; I ate all the chickens, 
 not one worth keeping, and the whole year 
 wasted. But a few years ago, at the ' Royal ' 
 show held at Chester in 1893, I won first in 
 cockerels and pullets with own brother and 
 
 '■^jt^r^^^^'m-i^ ,^^^-s^.^..»W ' 'a ' r^/^' ^ 
 
 H 
 
 jji^fj^vi, ^.iji^A -M 
 
 Fally pencilled HacWe. Partly pencilled Hackle. Breast. Wing* 
 
 Fig. 96. — Feathers from Dark Brahma Pullet, 1900. 
 
 Cushion. 
 
 pullets fail near the throat, the male should be 
 narrower in laeing up there, and than he is on 
 the fluff, and on no account have a white cravat. 
 
 Some breeders of Brahmas have always 
 objected to the double-mating system. Amongst 
 them is Mrs. A. Campbell, of Uley, in Gloucester- 
 shire, who writes us as follows : 
 
 "I have always bred my Dark Brahmas of 
 both sexes from the same pen. I do not at all 
 admire the snaky-headed pullets which now 
 win, which have neither the siz^e, nor the shape, 
 nor the feather of the old-fashioned Brahma. I 
 think it a pity that one shade of colour should 
 be thought of more importance than all these. 
 
 sister, and a splendid layer she was ; she laid 
 before the show in June, and when she came 
 back laid seven days running ; and in her second 
 year laid about 23 eggs per month in the 
 four months of January, February, March, and 
 April, before getting broody — so show birds are 
 sometimes ' utility ' birds too. Then I won the 
 Poultry Club medal with both a cock and hen, 
 own broth-er and sister, and in 1894 I won at 
 Tunbridge Wells with brother and sister : in 
 the former case the cock won altogether at 26 
 shdws and his sister at 32 shows. I admit 
 that I get a larger percentage of cockerels tor 
 show than I do pullets. 
 
276 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 " The loss of size frpm this new craze is I 
 think worst of all. The ' two pen ' system I am 
 sure hinders many from taking up the breed for 
 exhibition, for hot every one has space enough. 
 I shall stick to the old way, and believe I shall 
 win with it still." 
 
 Our experience was that it was perfectly 
 possible, with the richer colour, to produce both 
 sexes of the same strain for exhibition. The 
 simple necessities were that while the breast 
 might be perfectly black, and if so must be up 
 to the very throat, the fluff behind the thighs 
 had to be a little laced round the edges. The 
 rest depended upon the strain, and upon a proper 
 balance of striping in the cockerels, as between 
 neck-hackle in front, and saddl-e-hackle and 
 tail-coverts at the other end. We too could 
 heartily wish that the grander and darker birds 
 of former years could be revived.' 
 
 One expedient has sometimes occurred to 
 us, which might perhaps meet the views of both 
 parties, more especially in days when the making 
 of extra varieties seems fashionable. It would 
 consist in recognising the newer colour, and 
 dividing the Dark Brahma into two varieties. 
 If the lighter shades in pullets and hens were 
 called say " silver-pencilled " Brahmas, and their 
 laced-breasted cockerels (which are sometimes 
 very beautiful) shown as their mates, breeders 
 of this type would have a scope for their cockerels 
 which they, have not now, and breeding for 
 marking only might be expected to reach yet 
 greater perfection. On the other hand the 
 " Dark " Brahma could then be restricted to the 
 really dark birds, which also could be bred and 
 shown as in the olden days. Even in these, 
 speckled-breasted cockerels often occurred, and 
 were invaluable for pullet-breeding ; but these 
 often produced black-breasted offspring in turn, 
 and had a sort of deep colour about their black 
 which is very different from such as would be 
 shown in the suggested laced or speckled 
 " silver " class. Generally speaking, whatever 
 system of breeding be pursued, it is better 
 to use a cockerel bred from hens or pullets a 
 shade darker than the colour desired, or those 
 he is mated with, as in the pale-grounded strains 
 especially, the depth of colour tends to run out. 
 
 Weeding out wasters is in one point rather 
 a ticklish process in Brahmas. By the time 
 they are four -or five months old, many of the 
 cockerels are so dreadfully " gawky " that no 
 one could believe they could ever come to any 
 good, whereas these ugly birds often turn out 
 best. But we learnt in our own yard that at 
 ten or twelve weeks old, very often much of the 
 real carriage and gait would be seen, to be lost 
 for several months, and then recovered again 
 
 in the grown bird. An eye should always be 
 kept upon the cockerels at this age, therefore ; 
 and if a chicken has fine body and proportion 
 then, never mind if he gets leggy and ugly later 
 on ; let him make his frame, and by-and-bye he 
 will settle down again. Light chickens often 
 show all sorts of black splashes, which moult out 
 by autumn. Dark cockerels usually have more 
 or less brown in their chicken feathers, which 
 moult out clear; but these are certainly less 
 common than they were, and it is possible that 
 some day we may have a race that never shows 
 other than pure white and black. 
 
 The type of Brahma in America, as we have 
 gathered from attentive comparison of many 
 articles and illustrations, and correspondence 
 with the veteran Mr. I. K. Felch 
 Brahmas (of Natick) and Messrs. Sharp (of 
 
 in Taunton, Mass.), differs very coa- 
 
 America. siderably from the British in both 
 
 varieties. In regard to shape, 
 American breeders have mainly kept to the 
 older model, with less fluff and foot feather, as 
 it was known in England about 1870-4. Es- 
 pecially have they retained the longer body of- 
 the more Indian component in the fowl, and 
 consistently disqualified for stiff projecting hocks. 
 From these causes the Brahma in America has 
 retained much of its popularity and reputation 
 as a " utility " fowl, some of the very best layers 
 recorded — far above 200 eggs per annum — 
 being Light Brahmas, and some of these suc- 
 cessful exhibition specimens. Mr. I. K. Felch 
 writes us, that from the average of many obser- 
 vations, so far as he has been able to compare 
 specimens (derived from English stock) of the 
 more Chinese or short-bodied type, the " long- 
 bodied Brahma will lay at least 40 per cent, 
 more eggs than the shorter-bodied birds." If 
 there is anything in " egg-type " at all, this is 
 probably correct. 
 
 Some prominent breeders have during late 
 years endeavoured to produce profuse shank- 
 feather in combination with soft curling hocks, 
 and have succeeded in great measure, as in the 
 case of Cochins. Messrs. Sharp Brothers have 
 exhibited many birds of this description. The 
 illustrations we have seen of this class of birds 
 appear to indicate a rather shorter body than 
 the older type, but still with more length and 
 sprightliness of form than most English birds. 
 The accompanying illustration by Mr. Franklane 
 Sewell, facile princeps as the poultry artist of 
 America (for which we are again indebted to 
 the Reliable Poultry Journal), exhibits this 
 more modern type of American Brahma. The 
 length of body in the cock will be noticed, and 
 
BRAHMAS IN AMERICA. 
 
 suc- 
 
 the greater squareness and sturdiness of the 
 hen Some American breeders of the old school 
 would however consider her, at least, rather too 
 Cochmy, and both would, we think, if fine in 
 
 Tlr^^f ^TC^'l '^^"^ P''^"y ^^11 at even 
 a great English show. Not many years ago 
 
 they would certamly have won at such ; but, as 
 
 just observed are themselves a somewhat modi- 
 fied type of American Brahma. 
 
 Taking the colours, in Light Brahmas the 
 
 American breeders have achieved greater 
 
 cess than the British, simply 
 
 because they have set them- 
 selves to do it, and refused 
 
 to tolerate faults often seen 
 
 in English prize birds.' Such 
 
 black specks and splashes all 
 
 over as have lately been 
 
 common with us are not 
 
 tolerated, especially about the 
 
 backs of the birds ; and the 
 
 hackles are more uniformly 
 
 and sharply striped, also the 
 
 tail-coverts in the cocks. Such 
 
 black and cloudy hackles as 
 
 we have often seen in hens 
 
 do not pass muster at a good 
 
 American show. Much greater 
 
 attention is also paid to the 
 
 correct colour of ^flights and 
 
 secondaries ; and it is at least 
 
 possible that this particularity 
 
 may have to do with the 
 
 breeding out of faults else- 
 where. We are informed that 
 
 Messrs. Sharp, to whom refer- 
 ence has already been made, 
 keep an album in which these 
 "standard " feathers are pre- 
 served from every mating 
 they have made, with similar 
 feathers of the produce result- 
 ing ; and that by these results 
 they are largely guided. 
 
 In Dark Brahmas the older model is more 
 preserved than in the modified Lights as here 
 illustrated, and little seems to have been done 
 as yet, in comparison, to breed the heavier 
 feather. The fact is that the Dark Brahma is 
 far less bred than the Light in the United 
 States. In colour and marking both American 
 and English breeders who have seen both, con- 
 sider the English birds much superior, so far 
 at least as hens or pullets are concerned ; but all 
 agree that unless size and character can be 
 added to the marking, the clear ground-colour 
 so much valued in England would not be 
 accepted without these points. 
 
 277 
 
 The economic merits of the Brahma cannot 
 be stated with the same confidence as thirty 
 years ago, owing to the changes which have 
 taken place, as above stated. We 
 have known it as a magnificent layer, 
 and in the first edition of The Illus- 
 trated.Book of Poultry we cited cases, 
 some from our own strain, where far 
 above 200 eggs in a year had been recorded. 
 In America there are many such strains still ; 
 but in the old country we fear it would 
 
 Qualities 
 
 of 
 Brahmas. 
 
 .... -.-^i^ 
 American Light Brahmas. 
 
 be difficult now to find such, though Mrs. Camp- 
 bell's evidence above is worthy of note. There 
 are various causes for the decline in laying 
 powers, which is certainly general. Of course, 
 the one general cause of breeding merely for 
 feather has some effect, as in all other cases ; 
 but that alone is usually soon recovered from 
 in " utility " stock, such as gets about the 
 country. In addition to that, however, the 
 Brahma is a breed in which it is particu- 
 larly desirable to keep the pullets back from 
 laying, with a view to the best show con- 
 dition ; and this, repeated for generations, has 
 also had effect. But beyond even these factors. 
 
278 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 all experience goes to show that activity 
 and close plumage are indispensable to any 
 marked laying power ; and the gradual change 
 to looser feather, with w.'der and shorter body, 
 has had probably the greatest share in the 
 deterioration ; the bird hac actually been bred 
 to a model which cannot lay so well as the older 
 one. There a,re still to be found about the 
 country flocks derived from the older stocks, 
 which keep up the old reputation ; but if the 
 Brahma is desired as a layer, some effort should 
 be made to ascertain what the character of the 
 strain really is in that respect. 
 
 Table quality has, we think, suffered less, 
 but is far from uniform. The heavy hock is too 
 often accompanied by want of breast, and the 
 more fluffy plumage is, correspondingly, often 
 associated' with a coarse or evfen yellow skin. 
 But these points are by no means always so, 
 and the older thin, pinky skin is often to be 
 found. Where this is present, with a good 
 shape of body and long breast-bone, the Brahma 
 is a splendid table-fowl, even pure. It is often 
 called coarse ; but such birds as we had to kill 
 in old days never failed to win praise as some- 
 thing better than most of our visitors had either 
 seen or partaken of before ; the meat was (except 
 on the legs) white and juicy. If economic 
 qualities like these are wished, however, they 
 must now be bred for ; they cannot be depended 
 upon in almost every strain as was once the case. 
 
 As a cross the breed is very valuable still. 
 Some of the finest fowls ever seen in London 
 are the produce of Brahmas and Dorkings, using 
 for preference the Dorking male ; and either of 
 the French breeds also produces good crosses. 
 The cross with a Minorca cock usually produces 
 a large and hardy bird that lays splendidly, apd 
 is a very fair table fowl ; and of habits, and 
 dark colour, and hardiness, and general qualities 
 which make it very suitable for runs in a town. 
 In choosing birds for producing economic 
 crosses, however, great care should be taken 
 to select a proper model, especially in regard 
 to the length of body and proper development 
 of breast. Where any fault is to be found with 
 the result of Brahma crosses, the reason will be 
 found in want of care in these respects. 
 
 In judging Brahmas, the most important 
 point is to give still, so far as possible, proper 
 weight to Brahma characteristics as compared 
 
 with Cochin points. That is not 
 Judging so easy now as formerly ; but the 
 
 Brahmas. small wattles and long ear-lobes, the 
 
 short grouse head, close plumage, 
 and chief of all, the cushion or saddle rising 
 more and more into the tail, and grand " sweep " 
 
 of outline in the male bird — these are points 
 which a judge may and should still keep in 
 mind. 
 
 Whether any more can be done, it is never 
 possible to say in the poultry world. We could 
 wish for vulture-hock and excessive leg-feather 
 to be bred out again, and more importance to 
 be laid upon size and character in the pullets, 
 and a return to the longer and more agile body 
 once general in the breed, and an insistence on 
 striped hackles in the females, as once demanded, 
 and which of itself would set right several 
 points ; but wishes count for little. We may, 
 however, point out here, once for all, an import- 
 ant matter which this breed well illustrates, and 
 which we need not further mention again. 
 While it is perfectly true, as explained at length 
 in Chapter X., that the " standard " of judging 
 at any show must always be and can only be a 
 " fancy " standard, and that fanciers alone pre- 
 serve breeds .in their entirety, the fact remains 
 good on the other hand, that fancy alojie never 
 keeps a breed widely popular. There must be 
 a utility basis also for this ; and if ever the utility 
 basis is really deteriorated or bred actually away 
 ftom, winners may still sell at high prices, but 
 general demand is gone. We see pure " fancy," 
 as divorced from any utility, in pigeons, some of 
 which attract many entries ,and sell at high 
 prices ; but at any large shc^w the comparative 
 attendance is far less than in the poultry division, 
 which has also a utility interest. It will also be 
 observed that all the new " breeds " which have 
 been lately introduced, and achieved such 
 popularity, have based their claims upon being 
 " utility " breeds, either as layers or table-fowls. 
 From this point of view, the relative popularity 
 of Brahmas at a time when the breed was and 
 could be described without hesitation as one of the 
 most generally useful in existence, and since it 
 has been bred away from a type that could be 
 broadly and generally so described, is very 
 instructive. 
 
 The Poultry Club Standard pf Perfection for 
 Brahmas is as follows : 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. —Hcflrf; Small, rather short, of me- 
 dium breadth, well rounded, with a slight prominence 
 over the eye. Beaft .■ Short, curved, very strong. Eye: 
 Large, fairly prominent ; in many Brahmas the eye 
 is set so far towards the back of the head that a notice- 
 able space exists between the coloured part of the eye 
 and the front part nearest the beak where the two 
 eyeUds meet. Comb : Triple, or pea, erect and firmly 
 set, as small as possible, the centre ridge slightly the 
 highest, all three ridges perfectly straight and evenly 
 serrated, fitting very closely to, and drooping behind 
 to follow the line, of the head. Face: As smooth and 
 
STANDARD FOR BRAHMAS. 
 
 279 
 
 - free from feathers or hairs as possible. Ear-lobe : 
 Long in proportion to the size of the wattles, fine in 
 texture, and .free from feathers. Wattles: Small, well 
 rounded, fine in texture, and free from feathers. Neck : 
 Long, well arched, covered with ample flowing hackles 
 reaching well down to the shoulders, and free from 
 twisted feathers. A depression should be apparent at 
 the back of the head between the head feathers and 
 the upper hackle feathers. 
 
 Body. — Breast: Very full, broad and square, with 
 great depth, carried well forward. Back : Broad 
 throughout, short, flat, or slightly hollow between the 
 shoulders ; the saddle to rise about halfway between 
 hackle and tail, and to continue to rise until it reaches 
 the. tail coverts. Wings : Of medium size, carried 
 horizontally, free from twisted or slipped feathers, 
 tucked up under saddle feathers, which should be of 
 ample length. 
 
 Tail. — Of medium length, rising from the line of the 
 saddle, and nearly upright ; the quill feathers to spread 
 well out. Tail Coverts : Broad, abundant, well curved, 
 nearly covering the quill feathers. 
 
 Legs and Feet.— Thighs : Large and powerful, well 
 covered with feathers, so set on that the lower feathers 
 of the breast cover the thighs in front. Fluff : Soft and 
 very abundant, covering the hind parts, and standing 
 out well behind the thighs. Hocks : Amply covered 
 with soft rounded feathers, or with quill feathers, pro- 
 vided the latter be accompanied with proportionately 
 heavy foot and shank feathering. Legs : Of medium 
 length (not too short), powerful, with plenty of bone, 
 wide apart, the scales to be as smooth as possible. Leg 
 Feather : As profuse as possible, standing out well from 
 the leg and toe, and extending well under the hock 
 feather, and to the extremity of the middle and outer 
 toes. Good foot and leg feather without vulture hock 
 to have a preference. Toes : Straight, large, and 
 spreading. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — When viewed in profile 
 very deeply and squarely built; when viewed from 
 front or rear, broad and compact. Carriage lofty, 
 bold, and active ; the breast bone to be carried hori- 
 zontally. 
 
 Size and Weight. — As large as possible without coarse- 
 ness. An adult bird should weigh 11 lbs. and upwards; 
 a cockerel g lbs. and upwards. 
 
 Plumage. — Profuse, but harder and closer than that 
 of the Cochin. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, Eyes, Comb, Face, Ear- 
 lobes, and Wattles, as in the cock, comb and wattles 
 being very small. Neck : Rather short, otherwise 
 described as in the cock. 
 
 Body. — Breast and Back as in the cock. The Cushion 
 to rise about halfway between hackle and tail, and to 
 continue to rise until it reaches the tail coverts. Wings 
 as in the cock, well tucked up under the cushion 
 feathers. 
 
 Tail.— Of medium length, nearly upright, the quill 
 feathers to spread well out, those below gradually 
 diverging like a fan. Tail Coverts : Full, and extending 
 nearly to the extremity of the tail. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs, Fluff, and Hocks as in the 
 cock. Legs : Short in proportion to size of bird, strong, 
 and wide apart. Leg Feather and Toes as in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. —When viewed in profile, 
 very deeply and squarely built, the body carried very 
 near the ground. When viewed in front or rear, broad 
 and compact. Carriage sedate, but fairly active; the 
 breast bone to be carried horizontally. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large, but without coarseness. 
 Hens should weigh 9 lbs. and upwards ; pullets not less 
 than 7 lbs. up to 10 lbs. 
 
 Plumage.— As in the cock. 
 
 COLOUR OF DARK BRAHMAS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Black, or yellow and black. 
 Eye : Orange red, pearl, or grey ; orange red preferred, 
 the pearl or grey eye being generally a sign of weaker 
 constitution, and having a tendency to blindness. 
 Comb, Face,.Ear-lobes, a.nd Wattles: Bright red. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head: Silvery white. Neck Hackle: Pure 
 silvery white, densely and sharply striped with brilliant 
 black in the centre of each feather, as free from white 
 streak as possible. Breast : Intense glossy black, or 
 such black evenly mottled or laced with white. Under- 
 part of Body, Thighs, and Fluff : Corresponding in colour 
 with breast. Back and Shoulder Coverts : Silvery white, 
 except between the shoulders, where the feathers should 
 be glossy black, laced with white. N.B. — In cockerels 
 there is usually a band of black feathers across the 
 shoulder ; this moults clear in cocks. There should be 
 no grizzling, nor feathers other than black and white. 
 Saddle : Silvery white, striped sharply with glossy black, 
 and free from streak. Wing' Boies : Silvery white. (See 
 N.B. as to shoulder.) Greater and Lesser Wing Coverts : 
 Forming a distinct bar of glossy black. Secondaries : 
 Part of outer web forming " wing bay " white, remainder 
 of feathers forming " wing butt " black. Wing Primaries : 
 Black mixed with occasional feathers, having a narrow 
 white edge on outside of web. Tail : Black,[or black 
 laced with white. Tail Coverts : Glossy black, some 
 laced with white. Legs : Orange yellow, or yellow ; the 
 legs often show a deep red tinge between the scales, 
 and at back of hock joint. Leg Feather : Black, or black 
 slightly mottled or laced with white. A certain amount 
 of white feather is permissible in the foot feather, but 
 it should not be excessive. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head : Silvery white, or white striped 
 with black or grey. Neck Hackle : Silvery white, sharply 
 striped with black or pencilled as on body. Tail : Black, 
 or black edged with grey, or with pencilling. Remainder 
 of Plumage : Ground colour of puUets, any shade of 
 clear grey. Hens, the same, or may be more chestnut 
 in tint, if not too brown, but the former clear grey 
 colour much preferable. The colour to be uniform through- 
 out. Pencilling : Black, or a darker shade of grey than 
 the body colour, very clearly defined, following the outline 
 of each feather, as uniform in character as possible 
 throughout ; the bands to be as numerous as possible, 
 and fine, not coarse. Legs : Shanks as in the cock, the 
 feathers to be well pencilled. White feathers on leg 
 a decided fault in a hen. 
 
 COLOUR OF LIGHT BRAHMAS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Yellow or yeUow and black. 
 Eye : Orange red, pearl, or grey ; orange red preferred 
 as in Darks. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright 
 red. Legs : Orange yellow or yellow ; the legs often 
 show a deep red tinge between the scales and at back 
 of hock joint. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head : Silvery white. Neck Hackle : 
 Silvery white sharply striped with black, the striping 
 being more dense at the lower part of the hackle, and to 
 run as far up the feather as possible, the edge of the 
 feathers as clear white as may be. Breast, Underpart of 
 Body, and Thighs (including hocks) : Clear white, but 
 the fluff may be grey in the under part, though this 
 should not be visible when the feathers are undisturbed. 
 Back and Shoulder Coverts : White. Saddle : White, or 
 white slightly striped with black, not brown in tinge ; 
 white preferable, and the dark saddle only admissible 
 
28o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 in birds with very dark neck hackles. Wing Bow and 
 Coverts : Silvery white. Primaries : Black, or black 
 edged with white. Secondaries : White on outside web, 
 black on part of inside web. Tail : Black, or black 
 edged with white. Tail Coverts : Glossy black, some 
 evenly laced with white. Leg Feather : White, or black 
 and white mixed. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head : Silvery white. Neck Hackle : 
 Silvery white striped with black, the striping being more 
 dense at the lower part of the hackle, and the black centre 
 of each feather to be entirely surrounded by a white 
 margin. Breast : White. Back : Pure white, with or 
 without grey under feather. Thighs (including hocks) : 
 Clear white. Fluff: White on surface, but may be grey 
 in underpart, as in cock. Wing Bow : Silvery white. 
 Primaries: Black, or black edged with white. Secondaries : 
 White on outside web, black on part of inside web. 
 Tail : Black, or black laced with white. Tail Coverts : 
 Black laced with white. Leg Feather : White, or black 
 and white mixed. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN LIGHT BRAHMAS. 
 
 Deduct fot 
 THE COCK. Defects 
 
 up to 
 
 Bad or coarse head 3 
 
 Defective comb 5 
 
 Scanty hackle 4 
 
 Want of saddle, or Cochiny carriage of saddle ... 5 
 
 Want of fluff 3 
 
 Defective leg feather 6 
 
 Bad shape or carriage of tail ... ... ... 3 
 
 Splashes of white in tail 5 
 
 Primaries out of order 6 
 
 Pale legs 2 
 
 Curved toes 3 
 
 Stain of white in deaf ear 2 
 
 Black in breast ... ... ... ... ... 4 
 
 Much black in hock 4 
 
 Black in fluff 3 
 
 Impure colour of white 10 
 
 Want of stripe in hackle ... ... ... ... 5 
 
 Striping on saddle 2 
 
 Other defects of colour ... 4 
 
 Want of size 8 
 
 Defects of symmetry or carriage 8 
 
 Want of condition 5 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 THE HEN. 
 
 Deduct for 
 
 Defects 
 
 up to 
 
 Bad or coarse head 4 
 
 Bad comb 4 
 
 Scanty hackle ... ... ... ... ... ... 4 
 
 Want of cushion, or Cochiny carriage of cushion 5 
 
 Want of fluff 4 
 
 Defective leg feather 7 
 
 Bad shape or carriage of tail 3 
 
 Pale legs ... 2 
 
 Curved toes 
 
 Much black in hock 
 
 Stain of white in deaf ear 
 
 Cloudy, pale, or streaky hackles 
 
 Black splashes 
 
 Impure white 10 
 
 Other faults of colour 6 
 
 Want of size 8 
 
 Defects of symmetry or carriage ... ... ... 8 
 
 Want of condition 5 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 3 
 4 
 2 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Comb other than pea; badly twisted hackle; total 
 absence of leg feather ; deformity of any kind ; twisted 
 wing feathers : white legs ; buff on any part of plumage ; 
 great want of size in adults ; total want of condition ; 
 if shown together, birds not matching fairly well. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN DARK BRAHMAS. 
 
 Deduct foi 
 THE COCK. Defect" 
 
 up to 
 
 Bad or coarse head ... 3 
 
 Defective comb --. .. 6 
 
 Scanty hackle ... 4 
 
 Want of saddle, or Cochiny carriage of saddle ... 5 
 
 Want of fluff 3 
 
 Defective leg feather .' ... ... ... 6 
 
 Bad shape or carriage of tail .; 3 
 
 Splashes of white in tail ... ... 5 
 
 Primaries out of order 6 
 
 Pale legs ... ... , 2 
 
 Curved toes ... ... ... 3 
 
 Excessive white in feet or shank 3 
 
 Stain of white in deaf ear ... ... 2 
 
 Breast patched or splashed with white 7 
 
 Impure colour of white ... ... ... ... 10 
 
 Want of stripe in hackle 5 
 
 Other defects of colour ... 6 
 
 Want of size ... ... ... 8 
 
 Defects of symmetry or carriage 8 
 
 Want of condition ... 5 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 _ Deduct for 
 
 THE HEN. Defects 
 
 up to 
 
 Bad or coarse head ... ... 4 
 
 Bad comb 4 
 
 Scanty hackle ... ' 4 
 
 Want of cushion, or Cochiny carriage of cushion 6 
 
 Want of fluff 4 
 
 Defective leg feather ... 7 
 
 Bad shape or carriage of tail 3 
 
 Pale legs ... 2 
 
 Curved toes 3 
 
 Stain of white in deaf ear a 
 
 Streaky or hollow breast .". ... 9 
 
 Want of clearness and evenness in ground colour 9 
 
 White in foot feather 4 
 
 Shank feather not pencilled 3 
 
 [The pencilling on shank and foot should as much as 
 possible resemble the pattern of body marliing.] 
 
 Want of uniformity in pencilling 10 
 
 [N.B. — The marking sometimes is seen, to have two or 
 even three distinct shades of ground colour ; this is most 
 objectionable, and should be avoided both by breeders and 
 judges.] 
 
 Other faults of colour ,,. 5 
 
 Want of size ... ... g 
 
 Defects of symmetry or carriage 8 
 
 Want of condition [.' ^ 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 Comb other than pea ; badly twisted hackle ; total 
 aibsence of leg feather ; deformity of anv kind ; twisted 
 wing feathers ; white legs ; great want of size in adults ; 
 total want of condition ; if shown together, birds not 
 matching fairly well. In Cock : Much red or yellow in 
 plumage ; much white in tail. In Hen : Utter ivant of 
 pencilling ; patches of brown or red in plumage 
 
28l 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 LANGSHANS. 
 
 IT seems more than probable that birds very 
 similar to Langshans had been imported as 
 Black Cochins in the early days of those 
 fowls ; but the fowls now known under this 
 name were first received in 1872 by the late 
 Major Croad from the district whose name they 
 bear, and exhibited in the Variety Class at the 
 Crystal Palace show the same year, where they 
 received a V.H.C. card. Reporters and judges, 
 without exception, wrote of and described them 
 as Black Cochins ; that was the impression the 
 birds themselves then made upon everyone who 
 saw them ; but the question of their distinctness 
 from that breed, and what they really were, 
 gave rise to a controversy which for rancour 
 and almost ferocity on one side has had no 
 parallel in poultry history. Now that it can 
 be seen how much real distinctiveness there 
 really is in the Langshan, and that its advocates 
 had some truth on their side, it is impossible 
 not to regret more than ever that such a spirit 
 should not only have retarded the object they. 
 desired, but also, in the end, given to the fowl a 
 type which its early advocates dislike and con- 
 demn, but which has come about as a natural 
 consequence of the line of conduct pursued. 
 
 It may seem strange to breeders who look 
 at Langshans of to-day, or at the illustration to 
 this chapter by Mr. Ludlow, that the fowl should 
 ever have been confounded with the 
 "^^ . Cochin. Such birds, indeed, never 
 
 L^shans. would have been so ; but the fact is 
 that birds like these were never then 
 seen. What the Langshan was in the early 
 days is shown by the accompanying illustration 
 (kindly supplied by Mr. Gedney), which was pub- 
 lished as the frontispiece to two editions of T^e 
 Lmigshan Fowl,'*' and which can be compared 
 with the drawing of early Cochins on page 243. 
 It was inevitable that when such birds were 
 seen in the show-pen they should be classed as 
 Cochins. All the judges— including Messrs. 
 
 * In the last edition Miss Croad writes : " The birds pour- 
 trayed by Mr. Gedney were faithful likenesses of a type that 
 does appear, but not our favourite." The former editions stated : 
 " The accompanying illustration conveys a very accurate idea 
 of the style and carriage." From personal recollection, we can 
 vouch for its entire correctness, some of Miss Croad's own birds 
 being even more heavily feathered, and slightly vulture-hocked. 
 
 Hewitt, and Teebay, and Leno, and Dixon, and 
 Tegetmeier, and Nicholls' — considered them 
 such ; all the reporters of all the poultry journals' 
 formed the same impression : we ourselves- 
 shared it to the 'fullest extent. The only real 
 difference to be observed was the pure black 
 colour of the shanks ; and on this point it was 
 remembered that Black Cochins also had been 
 long ago reported* as coming with black legs, 
 and that the yellow shank, though striven for, 
 had always been a difficulty, as it is with Black 
 Leghorns to-day. Black Cochin breeders, at all 
 events, gladly resorted to the new blood, which 
 blended with the .old in the kindliest way, and 
 speedily worked a most marvellous improve- 
 ment in that breed, which has continued to the 
 present time. 
 
 In spite of all this, we now know that the 
 Langshan really possessed a very distinctive 
 extra-Cochin element indeed, though amalga- 
 mated with Shanghae blood, as such 
 L^ h ^^^ been in the Brahma, and as sus- 
 
 Coutroversy. ceptible as in that breed, of more or 
 less development by wise or unwise 
 selection. It was their intuitive experimental 
 knowledge of this real distinctiveness, that 
 caused so much feeling amongst early Langshan 
 breeders ; but there was no excuse for the way 
 in which that feeling found expression, even 
 though it may have had one good result in 
 preventing the absorption amongst Cochins of 
 a fowl which had better and distinctive qualities 
 of its own. What ought to have been done was 
 to select and exhibit the most distinctive type, 
 and thus to show wherein the difference existed ; 
 but here Langshan breeders gave no help. 
 Birds were shown of the most opposite types — 
 some quite fair Black Cochins, with ample leg- 
 feather and vulture hocks ; others almost as tall 
 and bare-legged as a Malay. It was admitted 
 that some were bare-legged; that some had 
 crests, and some rose-combs ; some black, and 
 some brown eyes ; but fanciers were asked to 
 believe that as such variations were found " in 
 our imported stock," they were " accidents and 
 non-essentials," and did not prevent the fowl 
 being " one of the purest, if not the purest breed 
 * Cottage Gardener, t8so. 
 
282 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 we have." The fowl was indeed supposed to 
 be quite sui generis. Said to be a sacred bird 
 in its own country, there arose something like a 
 cultus of the Langshan* in England also ; while 
 in default of distinctive type and explanation, 
 
 some way from others, and believed to be 
 " allied to the wild turkey." When this was 
 justly ridiculed, it was explained away as the 
 belief of the Chinese, forgetting that the wild 
 turkey, is not even known in China. It was 
 
 The First or Original Langshans. 
 
 its claims were supported by statements simply 
 absurd. It was said the fowl was distinct in 
 
 * Miss Croad writes (Langshan Fowl, 3rd ed., p. 17) 
 that if the authorities confounded the Langshan with the Blacli 
 Cochin, it was because " their eyes were holden that they could 
 not see." It is best to add no remark to this, except that the 
 <luotation marks are her own. 
 
 further asserted that Langshans were entirely 
 free " from that essentially Cochin disease, 
 elephantiasis " (scaly leg), and that as this alone 
 was a " conclusive answer " to any connection 
 between the two breeds, " none of our opponents 
 have ventured to say anything about it." More 
 lately Miss Croad reaffirms -that this was true 
 
LANGSHANS. 
 
THE LANGSHAN CONTROVERSY. 
 
 283 
 
 up to 1887* though not since; the fact is that 
 we personally noted and reported f- cases of 
 scaly leg in Langshans so early as the Bath and 
 West of England Show at Oxford in 1878. It 
 was further affirmed that Black Cochins were a 
 mere cross-made bird, and consequently the 
 cocks always moulted out more or less red and 
 yellow in the feathers : it had soon to be 
 admitted that Langshan cockerels also often 
 came with red and yellow hackles, and it was 
 easily proved that Black Cochins had been 
 imported and bred pure, and as free from 
 coloured feathers as other black fowls. This 
 statement of a simple fact was coolly described J 
 as an "impudently false assertion," and as an 
 " unscrupulous editorial canard " of the writer of 
 these lines ; and another concerning the dark 
 legs of former Black Cochins was stigmatised as 
 " effrontery " in the same coarse way. § Stress 
 was also laid upon the longer tails, larger 
 combs, gloss on the plumage, and black legs — 
 points in which we now know there was more or 
 less force ; but which had also been found in 
 early Black Cochins, and all of which are largely 
 matter of selection or condition, while unfor- 
 tunately no attempt was made to select types 
 for exhibition which made them conspicuous. . 
 Instead of the gloss insisted upon, hens were 
 repeatedly shown quite out of condition, with 
 no lustre at all, and almost brown ; a cock 
 high and almost bare on leg would appear in the 
 same pen as a hen very short, heavily feathered, 
 and hocked ; and amid all this confusion and 
 absence of any type at all, judges and reporters 
 were expected to see that which Langshan 
 breeders could not select even for themselves. 
 
 This would speedily have righted itself, as 
 more people bred the fowl ; but unfortunately 
 the members of this peculiar cult attributed the 
 difficulties which had arisen entirely from their 
 own utter want of knowledge and experience 
 with poultry, to mean and base motives on the 
 part of everybody else, which were freely im- 
 puted in the most reckless fashion. When Mr. 
 Ludlow pointed out, for instance, that the lustre 
 said to be so pecuUar was mainly a matter of 
 condition; and that Black Malays and Ham- 
 burghs exhibited as much of it as Langshans, 
 his statement of such an elementary fact was 
 affirmed by these people to be -" utterly false " ; 
 and this tone of ignorant and blank contradic- 
 tion was adopted throughout. We regret that 
 direct attack upon us by name throughout many 
 pages, makes some brief statement of the facts 
 
 * The Langshan Fowl, 3rd ed., p. 72. 
 t Live Stock Journal, June 14, 1878. 
 t The Langshan Fovil, 1st ed., p. 34. 
 § The Langshan Controversy. 
 
 needful. The following sentences are from The 
 Langshan Fowl, third edition of 1889 : — 
 
 All the forces of the Fancy were arrayed against the 
 new-comers, whose formidable rivalry threatened vested 
 interests. The poultry journalists, to a man, ranged 
 themselves at the head of the opposition, and Mr. Lewis 
 Wright, the Cochin champion of that time, threw away 
 the scabbard and went for the Langshans and their 
 importers with a vindictivejiess and persistency which 
 never slumbered. . . . 
 
 He expects too much if he expects us to forget that 
 he did his level best to condemn these birds, and that 
 he exhausted his hy no means limited vocabulary of abuse 
 and innuendo wherewith to brand these birds as mon- 
 grels, and also to stamp their importers as impostors 
 who were endeavouring to impose upon a credulous public. 
 
 Charges like these cannot be passed quite 
 unnoticed, though many readers will already 
 know that they have no foundation, and that 
 most of the statements made to support them 
 are either untrue or gravely misrepresented.* 
 These need not be discussed in detail ; the only- 
 matter of importance is what our attitude really 
 had been, since this also represented that of 
 other authorities without exception. Our first 
 reference to the subject was in February, 1875, 
 when a pen of Langshans had been shown in 
 the variety class at Portsmouth, and described 
 by a reporter as " really a fair pair of Black 
 Cochins." Miss Croad wrote that the Langshan 
 was "quite another affair," and we appended 
 the following note : — 
 
 We should like it stated clearly and definitely in 
 what the Langshan differs from the Cochin, or rather, 
 to what different points attention in breeding should be 
 directed in the opinion of its admirers. 
 
 Replies to this question were confined to 
 statements which no one contradicted, and which 
 
 * An instance or two will suffice as specimens. Miss Croad 
 writes (p. 7), " In November, 1877, we had to pay 17s. 6d. for 
 the privilege of contradicting [in the Live Stock Journal] the 
 false statement that the Langshan hen was snuff-colour." Her 
 letter was sent up as an advertisement because a notice had just 
 appeared that no more letters on the subject could be inserted 
 until the close of the December shows left more space ; and that 
 letter does not contain one single reference to any statement 
 about snuff-colour ; nor had any such statement as alleged been 
 made. She again bitterly complains (pp. 27, 28) that classes 
 -at Birmingham in 1880 which she had "achieved " with much 
 labour and expense, were not reported by us "by some mis- 
 understanding," adding that such facts " tell their own tale." 
 The simple fact is that, sickened by the way our owfl comments 
 were received, we made arrangements with a Langshan breeder 
 to report on the classes that year, and he failed us, not writing 
 till too late for us to repair the omission. So also concerning 
 an illustration published in 1885, she alleges that Mr. Ludlow 
 was " reduced to the necessity of following out Mr. Wright's 
 written instructions as to the make of a Langshan," the result 
 being "birds thus evolved from Mr. Wright's brain," and we 
 were further attacked for not having had drawn Mr. Orme's 
 birds. The real facts are that Mr. Ludlow had been instructed 
 to draw a pair of Mr. Orme's birds at the show, but from press 
 of work failed to do so ; that he, however, took a few notes and 
 made his own sketch, which we scarcely modified at all ; and 
 that we had made earnest endeavour to procure a pair of 
 Mr. Orme's birds after the show, but had failed. 
 
284 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 had reference to points not at all bearing on it. 
 A considerable correspondence was summed up 
 by us as follows, several years later * : 
 
 The writers seem quite to miss the point in dispute. 
 No one — at least in these columns — disputes the Lang- 
 shans being pure, or coming from a particular. part of 
 North China, or being valuable poultry, in many 
 respects superior to the present Cochins. . . . But we 
 have not yet an atom of evidence to distinguish the 
 Langshan from the Cochin stock as it first came to us ; 
 and by a Black Cochin we mean simply a bird of the 
 Cochin race, with that race's main character, and of a 
 black colour. Mr. Gedney's description of " rusty black " 
 [for the old Black Cochins] is contrary to our own 
 recollection, in — we think — 1854 or 1855, when we saw 
 Black Cochins at Bristol as glossy as any Langshans 
 to-day; and at the Palace Show of 1876, Mr. [Miss] 
 Croad's Langshans were the most rusty and brown of 
 all, in either Langshan or Cochin classes.f In truth 
 glossiness depends mainly on condition, and age of the 
 plumage. . . . We still have to ask, what is the 
 Langshan as distinct from a Cochin ? or in other words, 
 if not judged as a Cochin, by what points ought it to be 
 judged ? It cannot be judged for laying, or for white 
 meat, or by where it came from, any more than other 
 fowls can ; in the pens it must be judged by points we 
 can see, and we say again, no one has defined what 
 these points are. We' shall gladly welcome them from 
 any authorised quarter. 
 
 A month later we put this still more 
 definitely as foUows^ : 
 
 Let us explain clearly what we mean by a standard. 
 When we say of a Cochin that it is broad in the back, 
 ■we mean that as far as that point goes we want a bird 
 as broad as possible ; when we say iluff is a point, we 
 want as much as possible. . . . There are so many 
 points, each of which we want developed as far as we 
 ■can, and we give the prize to the best average develop- 
 ment of them all. But no such points are given us of 
 ■the Langshans ; we are asked to award prizes to a bird 
 whose legs maybe "long," or " short," and so on. . . . 
 We have charged no motives, nor disparaged the fowls, 
 "but we have sought to show what are the essential 
 ipoints of this controversy. If our friends r«ally want to 
 mark off the fowl as distinct from Cochins, we can only 
 suggest that they adopt bare legs and as full a breast 
 as possible, and make fluff a distinct defect in propor- 
 tion as it exists. We could understand that, and the 
 result might be a handsome fowl. 
 
 The suggestion at the end was made in 
 response to repeated appeals to ourselves and 
 to the judges to " select a type," and it will be 
 observed that it precisely describes a bird 
 provided later in the Black Orpington. But it 
 •was not accepted, and the confusion went on, 
 so that in 1878 Lady Gwydyr won prizes simul- 
 taneously in Black Cochin and Langshan classes 
 .at the .same shows, with birds of the same 
 breeding. Facts of this kind were no doubt 
 irritating, and such views and arguments may 
 
 * Live Stock Journal, February 22, 1878. 
 
 + The birds referred to were adults, out of condition. It was 
 ■not in the least implied " that the Langshan as a breed was 
 snuff-colour," (a word we never used), but that the question of 
 £loss on black fowls was one of condition, as above in the text. 
 
 have been irritating to people who knew and felt 
 that they had something distinctive, in spite of 
 it, though they could neither define it nor make 
 others see it. But to represent it as coming 
 from " Cochin champions," or say that it was 
 all because the Langshan "threatened vested 
 interests," was farcical in face of the notorious 
 desire everywhere in the fancy, both then and 
 now, for anything really new ; while for Mr. 
 Gedney and Miss Croad to state, as they have 
 done for years, that it "exhausted a by no 
 means limited vocabulary of abuse," or consti- 
 tuted any " virulent attack '' upon either the 
 breed or its breeders, is either an outrage upon 
 truth of a very grave kind, or can only escape , 
 that character as the product of a distorted 
 imagination. The same must be said of their 
 assertion that anything in those old days con- 
 veyed in the faintest way any imputation upon 
 Langshan breeders of being " impostors, who 
 were endeavouring to impose upon a credulous 
 public." There is not a word in it all either 
 vindictive or abusive ; but such language as we 
 have quoted is both, and there was so much of 
 it as to produce a feeling of real irritation 
 amongst those so attacked, regarding those who 
 employed such methods of controversy. There 
 can be no doubt that this feeling of sheer 
 personal repulsion greatly retarded the progress 
 of the Langshan. People preferred to keep at 
 a respectful distance from those who so freely 
 indulged in fierce recrimination over differences 
 of opinion, rather than run the risks of closer 
 acquaintance with them or their birds. Such a 
 feeling does not further the prospects of any new 
 breed ; and it hindered those of the Langshan ; 
 but we gladly leave here this phase of its 
 history, except so far as it had actual effect 
 upon the evolution of the fowl itself, and upon 
 the form which it has ultimately assumed. 
 
 That evolution is rather curious. We still 
 continued to seek for some " type " in the show- 
 pens, and at last, at Birmingham in 1877, while 
 we could see no guiding standard in 
 Changes the class as a whole, we remarked 
 
 that one pair shown by Mr. Heasel- 
 den,* "if they are admitied as the 
 type — whatever that is— we thought the hand- 
 somest pen in the class," There seemed to us 
 there something really distinctive and handsome, 
 and which we had never seen before. At the 
 
 * We have previously stated, from recollection only, that this 
 type was first discovered by us in birds shown by Mr. Thomson 
 at Birmmgham in 1877 and 1878. The first date being 
 challenged by Miss Croad in regard to Mr. Thomson, we have 
 referred to our actual show criticisms, and find that the "type 
 alluded to, which is the only important point, and the only one 
 ■■^g^rded by us, had been observed in regard to two other 
 exhibitors as here stated, one having been confounded with 
 Mr. Thomson's birds. 
 
 in 
 Type. 
 
CHANGES IN LANGSHAN TYPE. 
 
 285 
 
 Crystal Palace show next year we found three 
 pens of that same stamp, reporting of them : 
 "Third prize [W, Morris] and 1611 and 1620 
 (Thomson, unnoticed) struck us as the nearest 
 together to any real type, and one which we 
 last year thought might possibly have given the 
 breed some character of its own." Mr. Thomson 
 stated next week that his birds were from a 
 totally distinct importation of his own, a fact 
 we were entirely ignorant of At the Birming- 
 ham show a week or two later we noted again 
 that "in old Langshans Mr. Croad's and Mr. 
 Thomson's birds were the only pairs, so the 
 utter difference in type could be seen readily." 
 The birds referred to were very bare of feather, 
 and had very moderate to short legs, very full 
 breasts, and a full " flowing " tail and " sweep " 
 of profile, which we compared to that of both 
 the Dorking and the Hamburgh, with a justice 
 that will be seen from the small illustration 
 given. It rapidly became, and for some years 
 remained, the winning type of Langshan, as 
 exhibited by Mr. Bush, Mr. Orme, Mr. Pope, 
 Mr. Housman, and others ; and with its adoption 
 we hoped at one time that the long controversy 
 had been settled. 
 
 But the bitter feeling of the inner cult of 
 this mysterious fowl — deemed "joss" or sacred 
 in China, there really did seem something 
 uncanny about the bird — forbade this, and the 
 recommendation of the type was imputed to us 
 as a fresh offence and jnjury. Judges in general, 
 and ourselves in particular, had been pointedly 
 appealed to for such a selection, and all had 
 agreed upon this model most unmistakably ; but 
 all concerned in it were now attacked tooth and 
 nail. Miss Croad affirmed* that our preference 
 was expressed " as an apple of discord thrown 
 in " ; it was said that we had " attacked her yard 
 through his " (Mr. Thomson's) t ; and when later 
 we noted similar birds as shown by Mr. Bush, 
 we were accused point-blank of " personal 
 hostility" for not stating a fact we could not 
 possibly know, that those birds were from Miss 
 Croad's own eggs, a fact we gladly published as 
 soon as it reached us, That was the first know- 
 ledge we had of her yard ever producing this 
 type ; and when a year or two after we noticed 
 birds of the same stamp to be now and then 
 shown by Miss Croad herself, we gladly said so. 
 But this proved yet another offence. She wrote 
 at once, J " This I emphatically deny" and stated § 
 that she had rejected all birds from eggs Mr. 
 Thonison had sent her, "because they were so 
 
 * Live Stock Journal, June 27, 1884. 
 t Poultry, June 4, 1886. 
 J Ibid, May 7, 1886. 
 § Ibid, June 4, 1886. 
 
 different from my own!' However this may be, 
 the small illustration herewith is reprinted from 
 a bleck prepared for and used by Miss Croad 
 herself to illustrate advertisements of her own 
 stock in the year 1888, and which is the exact 
 type we first observed in 1877. This type of 
 bird was, however, now opposed to the bitterest 
 extreme, for no apparent reason (since Miss 
 Croad's own yard was proved to produce it) 
 except that we had recommended it. She wrote 
 admitting that our advocacy of it "certainly for 
 a short time had the effect intended," but 
 intimated that the victory was not won yet. 
 And it was not. These birds were now furiously 
 attacked as Cochiny ! At the Dairy Show of 
 1884 the chief winners were Mr. Mertou Orme 
 and the Rev. A. C. Davies; it was said of 
 Mr. Orme's winning pullet that "it was a 
 
 As Advertised by Miss Croad, 1888. 
 
 decided Cochin type, short-legged, and if more 
 prolific in feathers might have stood for a Black . 
 Cochin ; second pretty much of the same style."* 
 Mr. Harrison Weir affirmed that the winning 
 cockerel had none of the Langshan character- 
 istics, and " would have passed muster in a Black 
 Cochin class." t It was proved that all these 
 birds were of Croad blood, absolutely uncrossed ; 
 and such reckless assertions are a truly curious 
 commentary upon the, many previous statements 
 that there was nothing in common between 
 Langshans and Cochins ! 
 
 All this is only important now, because it 
 affected the Langshan itself profoundly. For it 
 succeeded, and stamped that type out. The 
 
 inner circle, whose vehement zeal 
 Reaction finally achieved this result, bred 
 
 Further Change. ^°'^ "^o^e and more height of leg 
 
 and of tail, and carried those 
 points. When they had succeeded in this, and 
 the deep-bodied and short-legged model had 
 been fairly displaced, an astute breeder and 
 dealer who saw its superior merits, stepped in 
 
 * Zive Stock Journal, October lO, 1884. 
 t Ibid, November 7, 1884. 
 
286 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and appropriated the type, only with clean legs, 
 for his so-called Orpingtons ; and after that 
 this model became impossible so far as the 
 Langshan was concerned. Langshan breeders 
 were compelled now to breed away from the 
 Orpington, as well as from the Cochin, and. it 
 was inevitable that points as opposite as possi- 
 ble to both breeds should be more and more 
 encouraged. The result of this is the Langshan 
 of to-day, which is now in its turn denounced as 
 a " mongrel " by the very persons whose bitter 
 opposition to the other and better model is 
 entirely responsible for its production. 
 
 We still think that the more Dorking-like 
 type of bird was a better model, from at least 
 the utility point of view. It carried more meat, 
 and was not subject to leg weakness, as all long- 
 limbed breeds are ; when tight-feathered it was 
 as good a layer ; and it presented a better 
 appearance on the table than the long-limbed 
 birds now bred. But the change became 
 inevitable under the circumstances ; and the 
 merits of the modern Langshan are 
 I'^s great enough. Its white skin and 
 
 Langshan. meat, its hardiness, its fine laying 
 capacities (which have become more 
 uniform since tight feather was made a sine qud 
 non) and its noble appearance, are all in its 
 favour. It has been alleged to be crossed with 
 the Indian Game, and we should not like tu 
 pronounce absolutely on that question : our 
 own impression is that some specimens may 
 have been, while others probably are not. We 
 have seen in a few examples a tiarrowness and 
 hardness of feather not seen in others, which is 
 suspicious ; and in such a bird we once noticed 
 several feathers with a kind of lacing of 
 distinctly superior iridescence. Such a fact is 
 very significant in regard to such specimens ; 
 but others we have carefully examined betrayed 
 no such signs, and their points embody nothing 
 beyond what steady breeding could effect in a 
 race of such compound and - therefore plastic 
 nature, and which would respond so readily, 
 as the Brahma also did, to selection by man 
 of one or other of its contending types. 
 
 That the Langshan is such a breed must be 
 obvious. That there is ample Shanghae element 
 in it, is on the very surface ; we have seen that 
 the very people who so furiously denied it, did 
 not scruple to brand as " Cochins " the uncrossed 
 produce of their own birds. But there is in the 
 bird at least one other element, and perhaps 
 more — some strain of dark blood, of a very 
 peculiar stamp, seen in the rich brown eye, the 
 tendency to purplish face, and the peculiar 
 crimson tinge between the toes. The latter 
 colour was the first characteristic point we were 
 
 able to observe ; but curiously enough, when we 
 pointed it out as really sui generis, this was 
 denied, and it was said to be merely due to 
 " thin skin " ; the utter incapacity of early 
 Langshan advocates to see what there really 
 was in the fowl, is one of the strangest things 
 about the whole business. The nearest other 
 exponent of this peculiar, dark, and sprightly 
 element, comparatively pure, seems to be the 
 Black Java of America,* which has the same dark 
 eye and alert disposition ; but it does not follow 
 and is not meant that the present Java was 
 the real progenitor, or that there has been 
 any recent cross. The probability is .rather that 
 some dark-blooded race from which the Java 
 also is descended, long ago amalgamated with 
 the Shanghae. During late years the Chinese 
 appear to have bred for black colour alone, 
 which would lead to great variety in other 
 points, such as combs, leg-feather, top-knot, etc., 
 and the various components would come out 
 under selection, exactly as in the case of the 
 Brahma already discussed. 
 
 We come now to the Langshan as it is, and 
 its breeding. The following remarks have been 
 kindly supplied by the Rev. A. C. Davies, of 
 Antingham Rectory, North Walsham, Norfolk, 
 one of the oldest breeders, and are very interest- 
 ing historically, as well as for the details they 
 convey, though we do not think, as above 
 intimated, that some at least of the discarded 
 type could be justly described as either Cochiny 
 or loose in feather. 
 
 " Having been a breeder of the Langshan 
 for upwards of twenty years, it has fallen to 
 my lot to see the change in type from the 
 looser feathered bird to that of the tighter 
 and closer feathered one of the present day. 
 Many were not satisfied some sixteen years 
 ago with the bird then winning in the show 
 pen, some saying that the true Langshan was 
 or should be a bird of tighter feather and 
 more alert in appearance and general bearing, 
 in contrast to the then "Cochiny" type seen 
 at the exhibitions. The idea took hold 
 quickly, breeders evidently' thinking that a 
 bird of this class would become more 
 popular, and prove more useful so far as the 
 economic properties of the breed were concerned. 
 However, it was not until the Palace Show of 
 
 • Miss Croad maintains that the Langshan made the Java, 
 adding that we do not " seem to be aware " that the Java is a 
 "made" breed, as she learns from various American papers. 
 We prefer more original information than recent American 
 papers, and the Java is mentioned in Dr. Bennett's Poultry 
 book of 1851 as then known in America, from direct importa- 
 tions, some of them being occasionally called Malays. The 
 Java always bred truer to type than the early Langshans ever 
 did until breeders who really knew what type means had pro- 
 duced some uniformity in them. 
 
THE MODERN LANGSHAN. 
 
 287 
 
 1889, that any improvement of a decided char- 
 acter took place, when birds of the closer type 
 came to the front and swept the deck con- 
 sistently for the first time. The change, I well 
 remember, caused quite a flutter of excitement 
 amongst exhibitors, and of course did not please 
 them all ; but the majority were satisfied at the 
 turn things had taken, and it may be said that 
 from this time forward the new and improved 
 type made progress. The ideal might have been 
 reached more quickly had it not been that most 
 of the judges would not forsake their old love 
 for the new, but still gave the prizes and 
 honours to the old and now discarded type — in 
 fact to that which the prominent Langshan 
 breeders were determined to give up, and con- 
 trary to the standard of the Langshan Society. 
 This retarded matters from proceeding as fast 
 as the Society desired, and it was not until 
 specialist judges came more into vogue, who 
 understood better what was wanted, that matters 
 were placed on a more satisfactory basis, the 
 result being that now, through perseverance and 
 in spite of much difficulty, many are the birds, 
 both in and out of the show pen, that are to be 
 found bearing the stamp the standard requires. 
 The Palace Show of 1900 confirms this in 
 some measure. At that show the judge had no 
 difficulty in being consistent in his awards, and 
 placing birds of the correct style in the front 
 ranks. It is to be hoped that this satisfactory 
 state of things will continue, and that the novice 
 will not be so perplexed in the future as he has 
 been in the past, but that now there is some 
 fixity of type, his many difficulties as to what 
 to breed for will be overcome. 
 
 " It may be helpful to many to make a note 
 of some of the chief points a Langshan should 
 above all possess. Richness of colour, I think, 
 stands first; for the chief beauty of the breed 
 lies here, and gives it a charm which is most 
 attractive. This colour should be a pure black, 
 with a metallic sheen of beetle green, the richer 
 and greener the better, and any birds' with 
 even a suspicion of blue or purple in their 
 feathers should be set aside or consigned to the 
 kitchen. It has frequently been stated that 
 breeders run the risk of spoiling the useful 
 properties of the Langshan by breeding too 
 much for colour; but this, as far as my own 
 experience goes, is a certainly mistaken view, 
 for I have always found that those birds are 
 invariably the best layers which carry lustre of 
 plumage in a very high degree. It is thus satis- 
 factory to know that we can safely combine 
 beauty with usefulness, without there being the 
 least danger of impairing the prolificacy of this 
 handsome and beautiful bird. 
 
 " The plumage, besides being pure in colour, 
 should be tight-feathered all through, and 
 especially so if anything, over the back, without 
 any suspicion of cushion. Down and around 
 the thighs it must be the same, fitting down if 
 possible more closely and evenly over the hocks, 
 and from thence passing into a fringe of feathers 
 down the shank to the end of the outer toe. 
 Feathers on the middle toe should be carefully 
 avoided. 
 
 " In regard to the eye, this must be almost 
 black in colour, or at least a very dark brown ; 
 any yellow, orange, or mottled colour being a 
 great disfiguration and blemish. The young 
 fancier should be very particular in selecting 
 birds for breeding that are especially strong 
 and first rate in this respect. 
 
 " The legs and feet are of a dark slate colour, 
 and the skin between the toes of a vivid and 
 delicate pink, and the toe-nails white. The beak 
 is of horn colour, dark at base but running off 
 into a lighter shade. Combs, face, and wattles 
 all should be a very brilliant red. For the rest, 
 I think with the aid of the Standard, and the 
 illustration of the pair of Langshans before him, 
 the amateur will gain all the theoretical know- 
 ledge he requires. He will observe at first 
 sight that the bird is tall, upright, of alert and 
 active appearance notwithstanding its size, and 
 in type also the birds are as nearly as possible 
 a faithful representation. 
 
 " There is one point upon which it is neces- 
 sary for me to issue a word of warning, as it is 
 one whereby the perfect symmetry of "the bird is 
 endangered. There is a tendency in my opinion 
 to get it too long on shanks and thighs, and 
 especially the latter. A moderately and only 
 fairly long shank and thigh should be bred for, 
 otherwise one gets a bird out of proportion at 
 once, and with no counterbalancing advantage. 
 There is not a shadow of a doubt that length of 
 leg is rather overdone in some birds, and there 
 being neither beauty or usefulness in it, a com- 
 promise might with advantage be effected. It is 
 a point that might well be conceded with profit, 
 for besides being a direct improvement to the 
 bird itself, it would gather many more fanciers 
 into the ranks of the Langshan Society, and 
 gain a larger number of admirers. 
 
 "At any rate, despite one or two weak points, 
 which I feel sure in course of time will be 
 rectified, the modern bird is far and away 
 superior to the old type in nearly every respect. 
 As it stands it is a fine, useful, and profitable 
 fowl, with great beauty combined. With more 
 activity and more inclination to ramble and 
 forage for themselves, they have become more 
 interesting, for they make the poultry yard full 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of life, while the grace and dignity with which 
 they carry themselves is both charming and 
 attractive. All this has not been gained at the 
 expense of their useful qualities, for as layers 
 and table fowls they have never been better, and 
 while they lay in great abundance, their eggs are 
 of a good size and of a most delightful colour, 
 ranging from a delicate salmon pink to a rich 
 chestnut brown, and form a most tempting 
 accompaniment to the breakfast table. With 
 regard to their size I have this testimony from 
 America, where I understand the old type still 
 prevails. A gentleman writing to me says : ' I 
 am more than pleased, and wish to compliment 
 you on the splendid large eggs, the largest from 
 Langshans I ever saw on the average! This is 
 quite a feather in the cap of the English breeder, 
 and for the modern type, coming as it does from 
 a country where they are generally prepared to 
 'lick creation,' and have in the main hitherto 
 preferred another type of bird. As a general 
 all-round fowl, too, they are excellent. I know 
 of none better, and I have tried many. They 
 are, not frequently broody, yet they make the best 
 of mothers ; the chicks (which hatch half white) 
 are easy to rear and are very strong ; in fact 
 there is no reasonable test that the Langshan 
 will not stand, and come out of it with great 
 honour and credit to itself." 
 
 The following additional notes are kindly 
 supplied by Mr. F. Onslow Piercy, of The Elms, 
 Lowthorpe, well known as one of the most suc- 
 cessful exhibitors of the modern type of Lang- 
 shan, and whose remarks upon ~ its economic 
 qualities are especially worthy of attention. 
 
 " Perhaps a few remarks on the Society type 
 of Langshan from one who has bred and studied 
 the breed for many years, may possibly be of 
 some use to persons who contemplate going in 
 for that type. In the first place I ought to say 
 that originally I produced my Society type of 
 Langshans from the original, by careful selection 
 in picking out the tallest, finest boned, closest 
 feathered, best coloured, and most stylish looking 
 birds, and breeding from them. Most breeders 
 will be aware that many different types may be 
 produced from any breed ; it is only a matter of 
 time and selection in mating the breeding pens, 
 choosing the birds most likely to produce the 
 type you are aiming for. Briefly, the difference 
 between the original type as imported from the 
 Langshan district, and the modern type, is this : 
 the former is shorter and coarser in bone, 
 much looser in feather, carries much more fluff, 
 and is coarser in feather on the shanks and toes ; 
 also the feather about the hocks is very much 
 heavier ; the body is shorter, and the colour too 
 is not so brilliant as the later type of Langshan. 
 
 " The latter is a tall bird, with a nice length 
 of shank but medium length of thigh, sufficiently 
 strong in bone to carry the weight of the bird, 
 neither too coarse or too fine ; good length of 
 body, with a long, deep, and well rounded 
 breast. It is close in feather and of a brilliant 
 green colour, free from purple ; a tall, stately, 
 deep-breasted bird, with a beautifully rounded 
 outline and good upstanding carriage, in pro- 
 portion all round, and not a bird that strikes 
 one as being excessively leggy, neither should 
 it have a cut-away appearance in the breast, 
 as some specimens have. I consider there is 
 nothing handsome in a Langshan if you can 
 almost draw a straight line from the head right 
 along the keel without catching the breast. 
 The scales on the shanks, etc., of young Lang- 
 shans, till after the adult moult, should be nearly 
 black, turning paler afterwards. The shanks and 
 outer toes should be nicely, although not too 
 heavily feathered, the shoulders should be broad, 
 the shanks set well apart and the tail carried 
 slightly elevated, and in the case of the cock 
 should have an abundance of green side hangers, 
 and of course the two sickles projecting beyond 
 the rest ; the eyes dark, face and comb brilliant 
 red ; the latter firm, erect, and evenly serrated. 
 The cock should be fairly long in the neck, with 
 a full and well rounded hackle. Nearly all of 
 the best Langshans show red between the toes 
 and the scales down sides of shanks, especially 
 the male birds. 
 
 "In breeding Society type Langshans, I prefer 
 to breed from two-year-old hens, although I 
 have bred some of my best pullets from first 
 season hens. I would choose large but not 
 coarse boned hens (there are many modern 
 Langshan hens weighing over lo lbs. each, and 
 not a bit coarse in bone for their size), as green 
 as possible in colour, with shanks well apart, 
 broad across the shoulder, and with a long deep 
 breast and good length of back, close in feather 
 and of good carriage, well, although not too 
 heavily feathered on the shanks and outer toes, 
 and as dark as possible in the eyes ; with neat, 
 small, firm, erect, and evenly serrated combs if 
 for pullet breeding, but for breeding cockerels it 
 does not signify so much if the breeding hens' 
 combs are large and loose, so long as they are 
 evenly serrated. 
 
 " I may say at once that there is not the 
 slightest necessity to have two pens for breeding 
 cockerels and pullets, as one pen can un- 
 doubtedly breed first-rate birds of both sexes 
 if correctly mated ; but occasionally one has a 
 good hen with a large loose comb. Such a bird 
 is not suitable for pullet breeding, but it is quite 
 possible that she might breed some grand 
 
LANGSHANS IN AMERICA. 
 
 2%C, 
 
 cockerels if of good shape, size, colour, etc. In 
 choosing a male bird to mate with the hens, I 
 should prefer to use a cockerel or two-year-old 
 cock, a tall, stylish, well-shaped bird, close in 
 feather, as green as possible in colour, fine in 
 bone, dark eyes and brilliant red face and comb ; 
 the latter firm, erect, evenly serrated, and back 
 part of same carried close to the head. The 
 male bird should be very stylish and have as 
 green a tail as possible, legs perfectly straight, 
 and shanks set well apart. The shanks and 
 outer toes should be well feathered, but the 
 feathers not coarse. Any fault which the hens 
 may have must be counterbalanced by the cock. 
 
 " It is quite possible to breed good-coloured 
 Langshahs supposing the hens are short of 
 colour, if mated to a grandly coloured cock, but 
 I think it is most important in order to breed 
 good-coloured Langshans that you should have 
 the colour to -start with on one side, either in 
 the cock or the hens, the former for preference. 
 Of course, if you have colour on both sides so 
 much the better. You must breed for colour, 
 and will not get it by feeding, only so far that 
 by good feeding you improve the condition 
 of your bird. 
 
 "The modern type Langshan I find is a 
 splendid winter layer. I have one large pullet 
 in a run alone (as I was anxious to breed a few 
 cockerels from her) and for a long time she has 
 been laying splendidly. She lays for nine days 
 as a rule without a miss, she then misses one 
 day and starts again, and she has been laying 
 like this for weeks. Then as regards table 
 birds, not many breeds can surpass this type 
 of Langshan. In the autumn I sent twelve of 
 my Langshan chickens hatched late in April to 
 market, dressed, and the twelve averaged slightly 
 over 6s. 8d. each ; the four finest were sold at 8s. 
 each, and this in a market where the top price 
 for ordinary fowls was 5 s. per couple. The above 
 average broke my record in 1889 of 13s. per 
 couple for the best table birds. 
 
 " Langshan chickens are very hardy, and are 
 very easily reared, and as all breeders of Lang- 
 slians know, are black and yellow when hatched. 
 Generally speaking, the yellowest chickens turn 
 out the most brilliant coloured birds. Lang- 
 shans require practically no preparation in order 
 to exhibit them. Mine are in no way treated 
 differently during the show season, from any 
 other time of the year. Of course the legs, 
 faces, and combs require washing before sending 
 to a show, and it is a good plan to stroke the 
 birds down with a silk handkerchief when in the 
 hampers before sending to a show, but nothing 
 further is required." 
 
 These notes, from two such representative 
 
 breeders, leave us practically nothing to add, but 
 we may perhaps make one remark upon breed- 
 ing for colour. There is no doubt that green 
 parents on both sides are far the best. But 
 there is also no doubt that in glossy green-black 
 fowls, the male offspring of glossy pullets often 
 show red in the hackles ; and if there is no 
 other promising stock available, the experience 
 of Hamburgh breeders goes to show that such 
 a red-hackled cock, bred from a good hen or 
 pullet, may be used for imparting gloss and 
 green colour to his female offspring. His 
 cockerels will be red, and this red gives a great 
 deal of trouble to breed out when once intro- 
 duced directly ; hence the desirability of avoid- 
 ing it and using green stock on both sides ; still 
 there may be cases Svhere the knowledge of 
 such facts may be useful in pullet breeding. 
 
 In regard to the plate which illustrates this 
 chapter, both Langshan breeders and our- 
 selves are under special obligations both to. 
 the artist and to Mr. G. Fielder. Mr. Ludlow's 
 first sketch was based upon various photographs 
 supplied by Mr. Fielder, and all subsequent 
 slight modifications in detail were made under 
 the patient criticism of that gentleman, con- 
 veyed to us personally with the actual birds 
 before us, and illustrated and justified by yet 
 further photographs, in a manner which cost 
 the artist also an amount of time and trouble 
 quite unusuaL But after all that had taken 
 place previously, no pains were thought too 
 great by all parties to procure unimpeachable 
 representation of the type now recognised by 
 a majority of Langshan breeders ; and it has 
 been a satisfaction to all concerned to have 
 received already most emphatic approval and 
 endorsement of it by those interested. 
 
 In America the Langshan is bred to an older 
 type ; not to that we had advocated, and shown 
 in the small block on page 285 from Miss Croad's 
 advertisement, but with the somewhat greater 
 length of limb and higher and taller tail which 
 first began to supplant it, before the reaction 
 had become fully developed. It may probably 
 be taken as representing also the ideas of those 
 in England who stigmatise the present school 
 of winners as mongrels ; though after what has 
 passed, we hesitate to make any statement 
 whatever as to what they would approve. It 
 can only be safely affirmed, that some of them 
 have expressed approval of the American model. 
 Of this, up to quite lately, the accompanying 
 illustration from the pencil of Mr. Franklane 
 Sewell * will give a very fair idea ; whether it 
 
 * From the Reliable Poultry Journal. 
 
290 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 will be accepted by the English school referred 
 to, we cannot say. In England now it would 
 not be distinct enough for practical purposes 
 from the Orpington ; and it is noteworthy that 
 at the last great New York exhibition (1901) 
 the winning Langshan cockerel, though fuller 
 and higher in tail, was about as high on the leg 
 as the present exhibition type in England. A 
 comparison of the illustrations on pages 282, 285, 
 on this page, and in the plate, will amply bear 
 out our remarks upon the composite character 
 and consequent plasticity of the original stock. 
 
 American Langshans, 1898. 
 
 That plasticity is in fact amply sufficient 
 to account for all the modifications of type 
 which have been here reviewed, without any 
 offensive imputations of a " mongrelism " which 
 is at most doubtful, and quite unnecessary 
 to suppose. Not only have we the assurance 
 of gentlemen, as above, that their birds have 
 been modified in type simply by the well- 
 known processes of selection, and not only 
 was the process carried at least half-way by 
 the very people who now severely condemn 
 its result when merely carried somewhat far- 
 ther, but the converse still holds good : birds 
 
 can still be selected from almost any yard 
 which would breed the American ideal as 
 here illustrated. So lately as the spring of 
 1900, Mr. F. O. Piercy informs us, he was 
 able to send out to his brother in Canada a 
 pen of Langshans, bred from cup-winners at 
 the Palace and Society • shows, but selected 
 to suit the American standard, of which the 
 cockerel was passed for insufficient feather on 
 outer toes, but the females took the highest 
 honours possible, and one of them in addition 
 the medal for the highest scored bird in the 
 show. These birds, in their new quar- 
 ters, would breed produce according to 
 both English and American ideals. 
 
 White Langshans appear to have 
 originated with Mr. R. J. Pope, of 
 Barcombe, near Lewes, who was at 
 the time (1886-89) a 
 White very successful exhibitor 
 
 Langshans. {„ the Black Langshan 
 classes. The propensity 
 of the original Black Langshan to 
 produce white feathers and occasion- 
 ally white splashes, has been already 
 noticed ; and one of these mis-marked 
 birds in Mr. Pope's yard produced 
 one or two pure white pullets. These 
 were bred with one of the black 
 cocks, and by carefully breeding 
 selections from their produce, a White 
 variety was established, so that at 
 the time of a visit we paid to Bar- 
 combe in 1 888, a flock of about seventy 
 white birds was in existence. This 
 flock is the origin of the White Lang- 
 shans ; but the well-known strain of 
 Mr. Will Smith was, we believe, 
 originated quite independently in 
 1896 or 1897 by sports from Black 
 Langshans procured from Mr. Stirz- 
 aker, a well-known breeder of the 
 Black variety. The white is not an 
 "albino," birds or animals of that 
 curious type having pink eyes, which the White 
 Langshan has not ; it is a white variety, as in 
 the case of Cochins, derived from sports whose 
 history we have shortly given. The variety 
 gives an interesting incidental proof of what 
 we have stated above concerning the intimate 
 connection between colour of plumage and 
 colour of shanks ; the scales on the latter having 
 become a pale blue-grey, and the crimson 
 between them assumed a paler pink shade, 
 though distinct from that of the white Dorking. 
 A curious thing is that when these white birds 
 sported back to black, as they often did at first, 
 
WHITE AND BLUE LANGSHAA'S. 
 
 291 
 
 and still do occasionally, these black sports 
 revert to the usual colour of shanks and 
 beak in all respects. The following notes on 
 White Langshans are kindly contributed by 
 Mr. W. B. Westlake, of North Walsham, well 
 known as a breeder of this variety : — 
 
 " Although this breed originated about ten 
 or fifteen years ago, it has made but little pro- 
 gress amongst fanciers, which is a great pity, as 
 it is one of the handsomest and hardiest white 
 breeds we have. In shape and general char- 
 acteristics it is exactly like the Black Langshan, 
 from which' it is a sport, differing only in colour. 
 As a layer it is quite equal to, if not better than, 
 the black. The eggs from the pullets are larger, 
 averaging 2^ ozs. in weight, and are of a 
 beautiful brown colour. The hens are reliable 
 sitters and good mothers, but are apt to break 
 an fegg or two, as they are heavy birds. The 
 chickens hatch out a dirty grey colour, and like 
 their relations the' Blacks, feather rather slowly, 
 but nevertheless they are strong, and thrive well 
 even in the coldest weather, providing they are 
 kept dry and sheltered from the wind. If 
 required for exhibition they should be hatched 
 during January and February, and for winter 
 laying not later than the middle of March, as 
 they take rather a long time to mature. About 
 the middle of February is the best time for 
 hatching, for both purposes. 
 
 " The average weight for full grown birds is, 
 cocks 9 lbs. to 10 lbs. ; hens 7 lbs. to 8 lbs. 
 The cocks have been known to scale 14 lbs. 
 ~ The colour is as follows : the beak should be 
 white, with a pinkish shade near the lower edges. 
 The legs and feet are light grey or slate ; the 
 scales rather loosely put on, thus showing the 
 pink skin between. The plumage is pure white 
 all over, the upper parts, wings, and tail glossed 
 over with a brilliant silvery sheen. 
 
 "As a table fowl these birds do not rank 
 high, owing to their being rather slow growers, 
 but at the same time ,they are excellent eating, 
 there being an abundance of white meat on both 
 breast and legs. I believe a cross with the 
 Houdan would be admirable for market pur- 
 poses, as they would be ready for the table 
 weeks sooner, and still retain the juicy white 
 meat' on the breast. For this cross I should 
 recommend using the Houdan cock on white 
 Langshan hens, and not a white Langshan male." 
 
 The White' Langshan has some points which 
 make it peculiarly suitable for such breeders 
 as like a white fowl. It is very large and 
 hardy, with good flesh and a beautiful skin ; a 
 good layer ; and its close and hard plumage 
 enables the White to keep cleaner than some 
 other breeds. Like the Blue, it is sometimes 
 
 shorter in leg than the prevailing type of Blacks, 
 having sported and been developed at a period 
 when less length of limb was the accepted 
 model ; but the modern type is being more 
 and more bred up to, and some winners 
 lately have been quite as tall as the older 
 variety. . 
 
 When once really kindred black and white 
 varieties of a breed are in existence, it only 
 requires breeding together, to produce sooner or 
 later the colour known as blue, blue- 
 Blue dun, or Andalusian. It is a mere 
 Langshans. matter of choice or experiment. 
 This line of breeding was taken up 
 by Messrs. Kirby and Smith, of New York, in 
 the case of the Langshan, and their first Blues 
 were exhibited at Charleston in January, 1890. 
 They had taken five years to get the colour 
 presentable, aided in some degree by a blue 
 "sport" from pure black raised by a Mr. 
 McLean of Connecticut. The first specimens 
 that appeared in England were sent from Mr. 
 Smith to Mrs. Sismey of Rutland, who disposed 
 of the stock afterwards to Mr. Shelton and 
 Mr. W. A. Jukes ; and another pair, from 
 Mr. Bradbury of New York (but also from Mr. 
 Smith's yard originally), was. also sent to 
 Liverpool Show in 1893, and there purchased 
 by Mr. Jukes. From these two importations 
 probably all, and certainly most, of the present 
 stock in England is derived. They are beyond 
 doubt true Langshans, bred between black and 
 white without going outside the original breed. 
 The following notes upon them are kindly 
 contributed by Mr. F. C. M. Browne of Oxnead, 
 Norwich, well known as a successful exhibitor 
 of them at English shows : — 
 
 " To the energetic way Mr. W. A. Jukes 
 (who was one of the first to obtain some) 
 successfully endeavoured to introduce them, the 
 permanent popularity of these birds is due. I 
 had myself bred some Whites from my Blacks, 
 which were of well-known pure strains, but after 
 purchasing some of the Blue variety, was so 
 struck with their beauty and merits, that since 
 I have bred them exclusively. They are very 
 hardy, and can withstand any weather, and are 
 very suitable for low districts and exposed 
 positions where some other breeds could not be 
 kept. But although they will withstand confine- 
 ment, they are better suited to an open range or 
 a grass run, where if shelter is provided against 
 bad weather, they will lay well throughout the 
 winter months. Like their ancestors, they are 
 layers of a large rich pinkish-brown egg, which 
 finds a ready sale in the market, being both 
 in colour and size suited to the public taste. 
 
392 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 " The hens are good sitters and mothers, and 
 can cover a great quantity of eggs, owing to 
 their superior size. The chickens are large, 
 strong, and easy to rear all the year round. It 
 is necessary to hatch early, not later than 
 March, to secure size and maturity enough to 
 be able to compete at the early chicken shows. 
 Birds hatched during January or February make 
 the largest, and grow better than later hatched 
 chicks, if kept in a sheltered position so that 
 they are guarded against the cold winds ' and 
 wet weather; and if they have good mothers 
 (artificial or otherwise) they grow like willows. 
 
 " Being one of the large breeds of poultry, 
 they soon attain size enough for table purposes ; 
 and as their flesh is white, tender, and juicy, 
 they will stand comparison with any of the best 
 breeds of table poultry, both as regards the 
 profit to the producer and value for money to 
 the consumer. Another good feature is their 
 docility. They practically require no training 
 for the show-pen. I have sent many to shows 
 direct from the yard, oiily just washing their 
 heads and legs. Their colour also (being a 
 slaty blue) does not want washing before 
 exhibiting. These two points recommend them- 
 selves, the Blue variety of the Langshan being 
 certainly one of the easiest to show. 
 
 " The pens should be mated about November 
 if early chickens are to be bred ; four or five 
 over-year hens and a" young cockerel, or three 
 or four pullets to an over-year cock bird, give 
 the best results so that fertility of the eggs can 
 be relied upon. The mating up of the pens 
 requires great care to produce exhibition speci- 
 mens, as they are more varied in colour than 
 any other point. Some are of a light dove 
 colour, and some a dark slate, the one being too 
 light for the show-pen, and the other too dark ; 
 but possibly these birds may have, otherwise 
 than in colour, the best show points. If so, 
 they must not be discarded, as if the dark 
 cockerels are mated to the light hens, a good 
 medium is often obtained, and even better lacing 
 than from birds of the more correct colour mated 
 together. Two pens should be kept mated, to 
 produce the best cockerels from the one and the 
 best pullets from the other ; and it is essential 
 (as good lacing is very important) to have in 
 each pen a sound-coloured and well-laced cock 
 or cockerel of the rather darker description 
 mentioned before, as fewer miscoloured chickens 
 will appear, and a better percentage of sound- 
 coloured birds will be obtained. In points other 
 than colour they resemble in every degree their 
 ancestors the Blacks, excepting the fact that the 
 length of leg is neither bred for nor required by 
 the Association Standard." 
 
 In regard to the selection of cockerel-breeding 
 and pullet-breeding pens, the chief point appears 
 to be the tails of the progeny, as, according to 
 the ideals of the Langshan Association, those 
 of the cocks should be full and high, while 
 those of the hens appear nearly level with the 
 back. Hence the pullet-breeding pen would 
 need a low-tailed cockerel. It is perhaps a 
 little doubtful if these distinctions may remain 
 permanently. The Langshan Association was 
 formed partly to encourage the White and Blue 
 varieties, which the older Society had refused to 
 recognise ; but it has also endeavoured in some 
 measure to preserve a more short-legged and 
 older type. There are, however, already symp- 
 toms of these distinctions breaking down in the 
 exhibition pens, and of the tall type carrying 
 the day, and this may affect the carriage of the 
 tails in the two sexes materially. 
 
 Colour and lacing are the chief difficulties in 
 breeding this variety, as always so in this colour. 
 Being a blend of black and white, both com- 
 ponents are always cropping up, and Mr. Browne 
 tells us he finds there are generally about 20 per 
 cent, of black and white chickens from the blues. 
 This is certainly somewhat less than in the case 
 of Andalusians, owing proba:bly to the foreign 
 blood most breeders believe to exist in the latter . 
 fowl. According to Andalusian experience, 
 which ought to be valuable by analogy, the best 
 results are obtained not only by pairing dark 
 and light together, as above described, but by 
 seeking in the darker component of the pen the 
 heaviest, lacing that can be found. 
 
 Buff " Langshans " have been advertised, but 
 only by individuals who advertise buffs of all 
 possible descriptions. Whatever differences 
 have existed amongst Langshan breeders, all 
 would agree that black and white were the sole 
 components of the fowl, with any legitimate 
 product of these alone ; and any buff colour 
 must denote a mere mongrel of quite recent 
 making. The only other colours that could 
 occur amongst the pure race might be cuckoo 
 or barred plumage, or white mottling on black ; 
 both of which might possibly occur, arising also 
 occasionally from breeding black and white to- 
 gether. Such colours do not, however, seem to 
 " hit " well with the general make of this fowl, 
 and need not be discussed. 
 
 The following is the Standard of Perfection 
 of the Poultry Club, being adopted (except in 
 being rendered into the general pattern adopted 
 for all its Standards by that Club) as that of the 
 Langshan Society. It is to be hoped that it 
 may be generally received by all, and lay the 
 long Langshan controversy to rest. 
 
STANDARD FOR LANGSHANS. 
 
 293 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Free from coarseness, carried 
 rather high. Beak : Fairly long, slightly curved. Eye : 
 Large. Comb : Single, upright, straight, medium size, 
 good substance and fine in texture, evenly serrated (five 
 or six spikes), free from side sprigs and creases. Face : 
 Fine in texture, free from creases. Ear-lobe : Medium 
 size, pendent, inclined to fold. Wattles : Medium 
 length, neatly rounded, fine in texture. Neck : Fairly 
 long, gracefully arched, broad at base, covered with 
 full glossy hackles, the hackle feathers tapering off to 
 a point. 
 
 Body. — Whole body large and deep, broad at shoulders. 
 Breast : Full and deep, a long breast bone curving 
 upwards in front, well covered with meat. Bach : Broad, 
 rather long, horizontal when' in normal attitude, the 
 saddle abundantly furnished with glossy flowing hackle ; 
 saddle feathers not too long. Wings : Fairly large, 
 carried close to body but not clipped up or pinched in, 
 ■with brilliant coverts. 
 
 Tail. — Full and flowing, spread out at base, carried 
 fairly high but not squirrel-tailed, furnished with 
 abundant side hangers and two long sickle feathers, 
 broad at base and gradugilly tapered off to a point. 
 
 Legs andFeet. — Thighs : Nottoo long, wide apart, well 
 developed, covered wiQi close-fitting feathers, especially 
 close round the hocks. Shanks : Rather long, not coarse 
 in bone, an even fringe of feathers (not too heavy) on 
 the outer sides, extending down the outer toe. Toes: 
 Four in number, long and straight, well spread out, the 
 outer toe alone being slightly feathered. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Tall, graceful, upright, 
 and alert. Strong on the leg, with the bearing of an 
 active bird. [Note : A cockerel will appear taller than 
 an adult bird, as depth and prominence of breast and 
 fulness of body are not developed till maturity is 
 reached.] 
 
 Size and Weight.- — Large. A cockerel should weigh at 
 least 8 lbs. ; an adult cock 10 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Close and smooth. Very little fluff until 
 after the first moult. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, Eye, Comb, Face, Wattles 
 and Ear-lobes as in the cock, with comb, wattles, and 
 ear-lobes small in proportion. Neck : Fairly long and 
 gracefully arched, the hackle feathers tapering off to 
 a point. 
 
 Body. — Generally as in the cock. Back : Broad, rather 
 long, horizontal when in normal attitude, with no 
 cushion or fulness at saddle. 
 
 Tail. — Full at base, feathers rounded at ends and 
 overlapping neatly ; carried lower than the cock's. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock, but proportionately 
 smaller. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Smart, graceful, upright, 
 and alert, free from lumpy or squat appearance, strong 
 on the leg, with the bearing of an active bird. A pullet 
 will appear to be taller than an adult hen. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large. A pullet should weigh at 
 least 6 lbs. and an adult hen 8 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — As in the cock. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK LANGSHANS. 
 
 In Both Sexes.— Beak : Dark horn colour to black. 
 Eye: Dark hazel to black, the darker the better. Comb, 
 Face, Wattles, and Ear-lobes : Brilliant red. Plumage': 
 Black throughout, with brilliant beetle-green sheen. 
 Skin : White and transparent. Legs : Dark grey, with 
 
 black scales in front down to the toes (turning lighter 
 after the first moult), showing pink between the scales 
 and on the skin between the toes, especially down the 
 outer sides of the shanks. Toe-nails : White. Under- 
 foot : Pinkish white. 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE LANGSHANS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : White. Eye : Dark hazel 
 to black, the darker the better. Comb, Face, Wattles, 
 and Ear-lobes : Brilliant red. Plumage : Pure white 
 throughout, with brilliant silvery sheen. Skin : White 
 and transparent. Legs : Light grey, with rather darker 
 grey scales in front down to the toes (turning lighter 
 after the first moult), showing pink between the scales 
 and on the skin between the toes, especially down the 
 outer sides of the shanks. Toe-nails : White. Under- 
 foot : Pinkish white. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLUE LANGSHANS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Medium to dark horn colour. 
 Eye : Dark hazel to black, the darker the better. Comb, 
 Face, Wattles, and Ear-lobes : Brilliant Red. Skin : 
 White and transparent. Legs : Medium grey, with 
 dark grey scales in front down to the toes (turning 
 lighter after the first moult), showing pink between the 
 scales and on the skin between the toes, especially so 
 down the outer sides of the shanks. Toe-nails : White. 
 Underfoot : Pinkish white. 
 
 In the Cock. — Plumage of Neck Hackles, Back, Saddle 
 Hackles, Tail, Sickles, Side Hangers, and Wing-bow rich 
 deep slate colour, the darker the better, with a brilliant 
 purple sheen. Remainder of Plumage : Clear slaty blue, 
 each feather distinctly laced with dark slate of same 
 shade as the back, etc., the contrast between the 
 delicate slaty blue of the ground colour and the rich 
 dark slate of the lacing to be well defined. 
 
 In the Hen. — Plumage : Clear slaty blue throughout, 
 each feather distinctly laced with dark slate ; the con- 
 trast between ground colour and lacing as in the cock. 
 The small feathers on head and upper part of neck a 
 rich dark slate. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN LANGSHANS. 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head properties 
 ,, legs and feet 
 ,, plumage 
 
 Too much fluff 
 
 Crooked breast 
 
 General coarseness 
 Bad carriage and shape 
 
 Want of size 
 
 „ condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 lO 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 Yellow skin ; yellow base of beak ; yellow or orange 
 coloured eye; yellow around the eye; underfoot 
 yellow; legs other colour than standard; shanks not 
 feathered; more than four toes; permanent white in 
 face or ear-lobe ; comb other than single ; wry tail ; 
 squirrel tail. In blacks and whites, coloured feathers. 
 In blues, coloured feathers other than standard. 
 
 Faults : Absence of pink between toes ; feathering 
 on middle toe ; outer toe not feathered ; too scantily or 
 heavily feathered shanks or outer toes ; twisted toes ; 
 short shanks; crooked breast; twisted or falling-over 
 comb ; side sprigs ; general coarseness ; too much fluff. 
 
294 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ORPINGTONS: 
 
 WITH the fowls known by this name we 
 enter upon a large class of modern breeds, 
 produced by crossing from one or more 
 of the original Asiatic races, including in every 
 case some proportion of the Shanghae element. 
 Most of them originated in America ; but both 
 those treated of in this chapter were produced 
 in England, and the two had quite different 
 origins. 
 
 The one to be first described, and the 
 original Orpington, is so largely a Langshan 
 that we should have included it in the previous 
 chapter if it had stood alone. It 
 Black was originated and pushed by Mr. 
 
 Orpingtons. W.. Cook, then living at Orpington, 
 in Kent, from which Kentish town 
 he took the name. He states that the method 
 of production employed in regard to the single- 
 combed Orpington, was to cross a large Minorca 
 cock with black sports from Plymouth Rocks ; 
 pullets of this cross being then mated with 
 clean-legged Langshan cockerels, and the pro- 
 duce carefully bred to a deep-bodied and short- 
 legged type. The result was a black fowl with 
 the green gloss of the Langshan, but with clean 
 legs, of the plumper make shown in the illustra- 
 tion, with white skin and meat and a well-shaped 
 carcass, and which is an excellent winter layer 
 of brown eggs. The weakest point of the Orping- 
 ton is that the eggs are not so large as might be 
 expected from the size of the fowl ; still they 
 are, in single-combed strains, of a fair average 
 size. Mr. Cook also produced a rose-combed 
 Orpington from the rose-combed Langshans 
 mentioned in the preceding chapter, which had 
 the same general qualities, but with the curious 
 difference, which we are unable to explain unless 
 from some individuality of the rose-combed 
 Langshans employed, that the eggs are smaller 
 than from the single-combed. Owing probably 
 to this difference, the rose-combed Black Orping- 
 ton has never become generally popular. 
 
 There is no doubt that some original Black 
 Orpingtons were produced as stated ; but there 
 is as little doubt that the breed has since con- 
 siderably changed in two distinct directions. 
 As stated in our next chapter, there is little 
 
 question that one of the components of the 
 Plymouth Rock was the Black Java fowl ; and, 
 as stated in the preceding, it is equally obvious 
 that this Black Java has much in common with 
 the Langshan, however that fact be interpreted. 
 This darker and more typical component in the 
 Asiatic blood had thus a double prepotency, 
 and its predominance over the more Shanghae 
 component would be intensified by breeding 
 for clean instead of feathered shanks. This 
 doubly strong element therefore rapidly over- 
 powered the Minorca element, and the Orping- 
 tons quickly became to all intents and purposes 
 clean-legged Langshans, taking the place of 
 that shorter-legged, symmetrical type once 
 popular, but subsequently discarded by the 
 personal feeling of Langshan breeders. In 
 addition to this mere tendency, however, it is 
 within our own personal knowledge that clean- 
 legged pure Langshans, from perfectly orthodox 
 sources, were sold to Orpington exhibitors, and 
 appeared immediately in exhibition pens, as 
 well as being used for breeding with their stock. 
 This still further strengthened and hastened the - 
 reversion to Langshan type, which has been so 
 pronounced that at many shows only one class 
 for " Langshan or Orpington " (or the converse) 
 has been provided for the two breeds. The 
 index of this change has lain chiefly in the size 
 of the eggs, which has somewhat lessened since 
 the Minorca element lost power ; and in the 
 colour of the eyes, which was often red while 
 any foreign element remained, but has now 
 almost everywhere reverted to the Langshan 
 brown or black. 
 
 There has been, however, quite another 
 change, a black Orpington of practically new 
 blood coming upon the scene about 1891. In 
 that year Mr. Joseph Partington exhibited at 
 the Dairy show in October two cockerels and 
 two pullets, which secured first and second 
 prizes in each class, three of the four birds being 
 immediately sold at £^0 each ; notwithstanding 
 which, at the Palace show a few weeks later he 
 brought out fresh birds of each sex that beat 
 these previous winners. These birds were of a 
 size that had never before been seen, creating 
 
BREEDING BLACK ORPINGTONS. 
 
 29s 
 
 quite a sensation and considerable curiosity. 
 Mr. Partington assures us that these Orping- 
 tons also were cross-made birds, but had none 
 whatever of Mr. Cook's original strain in them 
 at all, and that he had deliberately started 
 with the idea of breeding himself something in 
 the same line, but more striking and handsome. 
 They were very large, and of splendid colour, 
 with massive shape, and all had dark eyes. 
 These points made them invincible in the show- 
 pen, and the new strain soon spread all over the 
 country, and also abroad, and has supplied most 
 of the winners of the present day. Many of the 
 birds display so much more fluff than former 
 Black Orpingtons, that we cannot help thinking 
 large females of either Black, White, or perhaps 
 even Buff Cochin, may have been employed with 
 Langshan males. Mr. Partington describes this 
 type of the breed as follows : — 
 
 " Black Orpingtons are really a very useful 
 breed of birds. They are very handsome, good 
 layers, and one of the best for table use. They 
 always look well, all the year round, as they 
 never lose their coloui-. They will do well in 
 either small or open runs, being a very hardy 
 bird ; but they will not stand heavy feeding. 
 
 "The colour of the cock should be a rich 
 green black ; beak either black or dark horn, 
 with a dark eye. He should have a firm straight 
 comb, not over large. The back should not be 
 too long, and tail not too large ; legs not long, 
 the thigJi just showing ; weight 9 lbs. to 1 1 lbs. 
 The colour of the hen is the same, and similar 
 remarks apply as to her back, tail, and legs ; 
 her weight should be 7 lbs. to 10 lbs." 
 
 Colour should be bred for as in the Langshan, 
 but the crimson between the toes is not required. 
 Particular attention should be given to pre- 
 serving the correct shape, with a 
 Breeding broad and deep breast, the whole 
 Orpingtons, body looking massive and solid, and 
 set rather low. Excessive fluff 
 should be avoided, as tending to decrease laying, 
 and being often accompanied by thicker skin ; 
 too small combs, also, are apt to be signs of 
 dimini.'.hed egg-production. We have seen one 
 or two specimens distinctly keeled, almost like 
 some exhibition ducks, and this ought certainly 
 to be deprecated.* It is probably due to care- 
 lessness of these points, that statements have 
 lately appeared to the effect that some strains 
 of the Black Orpington have not kept up its 
 reputation as a good layer. Both abundance 
 and size of eggs would however quickly respond 
 to selection for these qualities, in the manner 
 insisted upon in former chapters of this work. 
 
 * The only other breed in whicli we have personally seen 
 such a peculiarity is the FaveroUes. 
 
 It is not at all necessary in Black Orpingtons 
 to mate different pens for breeding cockerels 
 and pullets ; typical birds of good colour on 
 both sides will produce in their turn exhibition 
 specimens. 
 
 The first pair of Buff Orpingtons ever shown 
 as such, were exhibited by Mr. W.Cook at the 
 Dairy Show of October, 1894; when Mr. Cook 
 drew our special attention to them. 
 Buff and made the same statement which 
 
 Orpingtons, has been made on many other 
 occasions, that they were produced 
 by mating a Golden-spangled Hamburgh with 
 a coloured Dorking hen, pullets from the pro- 
 duce being mated with a Buff Cochin cock ; the 
 main characteristic of the birds being the com- 
 bination of buff plumage, with white legs and 
 feet. We remarked, on this earliest possible 
 occasion, that a fowl with such points might 
 probably prove both valuable and popular ; but 
 that there was grave objection to calling them 
 Orpingtons, since he had already appropriated 
 that name to another fowl, which had, according 
 to his own account, not one single element in 
 common. He asserted, as he has done since, 
 his right to call any fowl he introduced by any 
 name he pleased ; to which we replied in sub- 
 stance, as expressed more definitely later,* that 
 a breeder might justifiably use "any name he 
 likes really open to him ; but when a man has 
 already appropriated the name of his own resid- 
 ence to one such breed, of which he tells us the 
 components were A, B, and C, there are the 
 gravest objections to his giving years afterwards 
 the same name, for merely trade and advertising 
 purposes, to another ' breed ' which, according 
 to his own account, has no particle of A, B, 
 and C, but was built up of X, Y, and Z." Such 
 nomenclature would not have been allowed by 
 the Poultry Association of America, and objec- 
 tion to it was widely expressed by the most 
 prominent authorities in England, with scarcely 
 an exception ; the already existing Orpington 
 Club also protested against the same name being 
 given to another fowl which had not in it one 
 atom of the same constituents as theirs. A 
 considerable amount of discussion took place 
 later, emphasised by the fact that precisely 
 similar fowls were exhibited under another 
 name at the Smithfield Club Show- of dead 
 poultry. Owing largely to this latter circum- 
 stance, the question was finally ■ brought before 
 the Poultry Club, who decided that it was then 
 too late to interfere ; but intimated that such a 
 case would not again be allowed to pass un- 
 noticed, and in this way it is to be hoped that 
 * Feathered World, December 16, 1898. 
 
2g6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the circumstances may have produced a more 
 definite understanding concerning such matters 
 in the poultry world. 
 
 The actual origin of the breed, must be 
 questioned, as well as its present name. There 
 is no reason to doubt that Mr. Cook really did 
 breed birds as stated, and that 
 Bufif Orpingtons these have been sold as Buff 
 Li^otashireBuflFs.O''Pingtons, or that to his per- 
 sistent advertising and pushing 
 it the popularity of the fowl was mainly due ; 
 the latter fact proving that capital may be 
 employed as successfully in floating a variety 
 of poultry,. as in founding a new journal. But 
 evidence was published simply overwhelming in 
 amount, to the effect that the stock about the 
 country is mainly derived from breeding up to 
 points a gradually formed and popular local 
 amalgam of Buff Cochin and Dorking, which 
 has long been known in Kent, Surrey, and 
 Sussex, and still more so in Lincolnshire ; 
 whence- it has been called in market parlance, 
 the " Lincolnshire Buff," forming a large- portion 
 of the " Boston " fowls sent to the London 
 market. Ample proof was given that Mr. Cook 
 himself had bought largely of these, his reply 
 being that he was " obliged to buy the Lincoln- 
 shire Buffs to sit on eggs and rear chickens," 
 a necessity by no means apparent. Mr. Cook 
 further attempted to insist upon differences 
 between these and his birds, alleging that the 
 Lincolnshires were " long-legged birds of a pale 
 buff shade with yellow legs and long feathers on 
 them," while the Buff Orpingtons were clean 
 and white in shank ; also intimating that this 
 question had only "been raised four years after 
 his breed had been introduced. Neither state- 
 ment will bear examination, though that respect-' 
 ing the white legs of the so-called Orpington 
 and the yellow of the Lincolnshire bird, has 
 been often repeated. There is abundant proof 
 that both sorts of fowl were found with shanks 
 of both colours. One of Mr. Cook's own par- 
 tisans in the long controversy, a Mr. John 
 Wilkes, wrote * : "I have always understood 
 that Lincolnshire Buffs have white legs. All 
 breeders of Buff Orpingtons know that yellow 
 legs are more troublesome among their pullets 
 than anything they have to contend with." Old 
 breeders for the London market also wrote 
 stating that they always bred the Lincolnshire 
 birds for white legs, the fowls being thus bred 
 for rnarket and not for the show-pen ; and white- 
 legged Buffs were prevalent in Surrey and Sussex 
 forty or fifty years ago, plenty of them with 
 clean legs also. On the other hand, Mr. Cro- 
 mack, formerly assistant secretary to the Buff 
 * Feathered World, December 23, 1898. 
 
 Orpington Club, in a lecture on June 26, 1900, 
 told his audience* how he had commenced with 
 a pen bought from a friend " who had them 
 direct from the originator," but " not one of the 
 males had clean legs, and most of the pullets 
 had five toes and feathered or yellow shanks " ; 
 and Mr. Harrison Weir stated in an American 
 papert that he " saw in a field about 100 of this, 
 pure breed, and not half were clean in the shank 
 and many were heavily feathered, while some of 
 the clean-shanked ones had five toes, and were 
 yellow in other cases." To this Mr. Cook 
 replied,J " Mr. H' W. does not know what these 
 birds were : I will tell him. They were Lincoln- 
 shire Buffs, hundreds of which have bqen sold as 
 Buff Orpingtons"; but Mr. Harrison Weir 
 replied again § that while this was possibly true 
 enough, nevertheless " the stock, I was told, was 
 bought of Mr. William Cook for Buff Orping- 
 tons." Evidence of this kind abounds, and it is 
 remarkable that when a disqualification occurred 
 at Birmingham in 1898, for exhibiting a bird 
 from whose legs feathers had been extracted, 
 Mr. Cook afifirmed that out of the fifteen birds 
 in the class there were seven " which either 
 had feathers, or had had some pulled out." 
 
 Neither was objection to the name limited 
 to four years after introduction. Our own has 
 been already stated above, also the protest of 
 the then existing Orpington Club. In the very 
 month when Mr. Cook first showed a pair of 
 birds, Mr. Harrison Weir wrote || pointing out 
 that similar ones had been forty years known in 
 Surrey ; and Mr. Cook wrote soon after \ ad- 
 mitting that he had himself seen buff birds with 
 white legs in the farm-yards forty years before, 
 " and they were really good birds." Another 
 correspondent wrote,* * " What is the difference 
 between a Buff Orpington and a Lincolnshire 
 Buff? I fail to find any. ... 1 could find 
 fifty such birds within a mile of my place." 
 And Mr. Cook himself admitted the week 
 after,t t " I do not deny that there are Lincoln- 
 shire Buffs with clean white legs, but they are 
 principally a cross between the Cochin and 
 Dorking." 
 
 To sum up: there is, as already said, no 
 reason to doubt that Mr. Cook bred birds as 
 alleged, and there is as little that some of the 
 early Buff Orpingtons sent out, bred very much 
 as might be expected from such heterogeneous 
 crossing. Examples of this have already been 
 given above ; and in the American Fancier, 
 October 27, 1900, Mr. C- W. Gedney states 
 
 * Poultry, June 29, 1900. || Poultry, October 26, 1894. 
 
 t American Fancier, May 5, 1900. IF Ibid, December 7, 1894. 
 X Ibid, August II, 1900. * * Jbid, January 4, 1895. 
 
 § Ibid, September 22, 1900, 1 1 Ibid, January 11, 1895. 
 
BUFF ORPINGTONS. 
 
 297 
 
 how out of eight chickens hatched from thirteen 
 eggs from Mr. Cook sent to a friend of his, 
 " two were white, seven out of the eight had 
 perfect Dorking feet, with five toes, and six of the 
 brood were feather-legged." Mr. Cook himself, 
 indeed, gave warning that more or less of such 
 results might be expected. On the other hand, 
 many of the white -legged Lincolnshires, having 
 been much longer bred, and become already in 
 some degree true to type, though not to an exhibi- 
 tion standard, bred much more uniformly. There 
 is an abundance of evidence that all breeders 
 who took up the new breed, found plenty of work 
 to do in it, and that some of them selected simply 
 the best specimens they could find, wherever 
 they could find them, in Surrey, or Lincolnshire, 
 or anywhere. That birds have been bought in 
 the latter county of people who have bred 
 nothing else for a quarter of a century, were 
 shown directly as Buff Orpingtons, and used by 
 Buff Orpington breeders, is quite certain ; and 
 various successful strains have no doubt had 
 different local origins, which accounts for the 
 fact stated by Mr. Richardson presently, of the 
 evil results found to follow from crossing these 
 different strains. None of the early show 
 specimens had the shape of the Black Orping- 
 ton, all being higher on the leg, longer in the 
 back, and less massive in the body ; but 
 breeders have recently been paying more at- 
 tention to make and shape, which are accord- 
 ingly improving. 
 
 The merits and utility of the breed stand 
 apart from its origin and name. Those who 
 objected to the latter, were accused of making 
 a " virulent attack upon the breed," but without, 
 as far as we know, any foundation. The fowl 
 itself was recognised by nearly all as a most 
 valuable one, endorsed already by the long 
 experience of the Lincolnshire breeders as a 
 first-class breed for the market ; and speedily 
 found, as soon as kept alive for other purposes 
 than market, to be a most hardy bird and 
 prolific layer. Putting aside claims and pro- 
 ceedings to which there are serious reasons for 
 taking exception, Mr. Cook may be given full 
 credit for " booming " and making known in 
 other than poultry-fattening circles, what is re- 
 cognised as pne of the most attractive and 
 useful of all classes of poultry, combining the 
 beautiful and popular buff colour, with admir- 
 able table and laying qualities. It is probable 
 that the Buff Orpington, as now known, comes 
 as near to the ideal of an all-round, general 
 purpose fowl as is humanly possible; and it is 
 not a small service, however we may regret 
 the methods employed, to have made such a 
 bird popular amongst breeders generally. 
 
 In breeding Buff Orpingtons the main points 
 to keep in view are (i) colour of plumage, as in 
 all buffs ; (2) clean white legs ; (3) 
 Breeding make and shape. The following 
 
 OiT^^tons. notes are kindly supplied by Mr. 
 W. Richardson, honorary secretary 
 of the Buff Orpington Club, and well known 
 as a successful exhibitor. 
 
 " In the breeding of Buff Orpingtons for 
 exhibition, it is necessary to carefully choose a 
 cock or cockerel of sound even colour, a little 
 denser than the exhibition colour, as free from 
 faults as possible. He should be buff to the 
 skin, and as free from white in flights, tail, and 
 hackle as possible, nor must he show any white 
 tips on his feathers. His breast colour should 
 be nearly the same shade as his hackle, back, 
 and saddle. He should be quite free from sooty 
 under-colour, and have as little black in flights 
 and tail as possible. He should also be quite 
 free from brassiness on shoulder, back, and 
 saddle, as birds showing this are useless for 
 breeding good exhibition specimens. The cock 
 should stand on short stout legs, and show a 
 massive body and short back. His comb should 
 be rather small and stiff, and well set on the 
 head. 
 
 " With regard to hens and . pullets, their 
 colour should be quite even all over, with no 
 white in hackle, flights, or tail ; and they should 
 show as much buff under-colour as possible, with 
 no sootiness. There should also be no mealiness 
 in their feathers, this fault being fatal for breeding 
 show birds. Mealiness is a mixed colour in the 
 feathers, each feather showing several shades 
 run into each other, giving the feather the 
 appearance of having been dusted with meal. 
 This mealiness mostly appears on the wings and 
 breast, but some birds show it all over. The 
 shaft of the feathers should be the same colour 
 as the rest ; it is often much lighter, which gives 
 the bird a streaky appearance. This also applies 
 to cocks. It is most necessary to choose hens 
 or pullets the same colour all over, as the cocks 
 are on the breast ; but a little must be allowed 
 in hens, as they nearly always come lighter 
 colour when they moult, than they were as 
 pullets. They should have small combs,, firmly 
 set on their heads, evenly serrated, and free 
 from side-spikes. 
 
 " Both the cocks and hens should be free 
 from feathers on the shanks and feet, especially 
 the hens ; they should also be free from white 
 in ear-lobe, especially the hens. 
 
 " Dark cocks and hens breed the best pullets, 
 and rather lighter cocks and hens breed the 
 best cockerels. Cocks or cockerels should be 
 of a good size, and the hens should be as large 
 
298 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 as possible, as very small hens and pullets do 
 not produce stock large enough, nor do they 
 lay large enough eggs. 
 
 " It is very important to keep to one reliable 
 strain, as even the best birds, if of distinct 
 strains, when put together seem to produce 
 mostly very inferior coloured chickens. By 
 this I do not mean close in-breeding, which, 
 though fixing the colour and character of the 
 birds, seems to reduce their size, stamina, and 
 utility qualities." 
 
 The following additional notes are contri- 
 buted by Mr. Percy Thorniley, of Shooter's 
 Hill, Wem, who won first prize in pullets at 
 Birmingham and Leamington in 1899, and 
 Liverpool in the January following, and who 
 informs us that he has never exhibited a bird 
 not of his own breeding: — 
 
 "Before saying anything about mating or 
 breeding Buff Orpingtons, let us first consider 
 the number of points as set forth for each point 
 by the Buff Orpington Club Standard, which 
 are as follows : Colour, 50; type, 25 ; head, 10; 
 feet and legs, 15. I will endeavour to describe 
 what I consider an ideal bird in order. 
 
 " The most valuable point, it will be seen, is 
 colour. This should be a perfectly even shade 
 of buff throughout in the hens, and a cock should 
 not have more than three shades of the same 
 colour. To begin with the cock. The hackle, 
 back, saddle, and wing-bow must be all of one 
 bright dark orange colour, free from any red ; 
 the breast, thighs, and fluff a rich buff, the breast 
 to be quite free from either lacing or mealiness, 
 a fa:ult found in many really good top-coloured 
 birds. The tail a trifle darker, but solid buff. 
 Both sexes to be free from either white or black 
 feathers. Nearly all Buff Orpington cocks at 
 the present day show a trace of white or grey 
 in the tail, especially at the root of the sickle 
 feathers. The colour of the hen should be one 
 even shade of rich buff, the same as the breast 
 of the cock. So much for the outside appear- 
 ance. Now we come to the most important 
 part of all — the colour that is underneath. Each 
 feather should be entirely buff. When a feather 
 is plucked out, it should be a buff feather, not a 
 white feather with a buff end. The nearer it is 
 buff to the root, with a buff shaft, the better. 
 Avoid also a smoky under-colour. 
 
 " We come next to type. The description 
 of type in the Blacks is what we want in the 
 Buffs, but many judges do not appear to give 
 full value to these points. How many long- 
 backed and Minorca-like specimens do we see 
 in the prize-list even yet } 
 
 " The head is given ten points. Comb not 
 too large, straight, and evenly serrated ; face, 
 
 ear-lobes, and wattles red, same as in the Blacks, 
 only. the beak must be white or horn colour. 
 
 "In regard to legs and feet, the colour must 
 be white. Legs short and well set apart, clear 
 from any trace of feathering. Claws white or 
 horn colour. Avoid red on the legs as much as 
 possible, as it greatly detracts from the beauty 
 of the bird. 
 
 " From birds as near the above description 
 as possible, one will breed a fair percentage of 
 both good cockerels and pullets. But for breeding 
 pullets alone, I prefer a cock sound in under- 
 colour and flights, but rather darker in his top- 
 colour than a show bird, and if he has a rather 
 dark tail — that is, the true tail feathers — I do not 
 mind, providing the shafts of those dark feathers 
 are buff. Mate him to some good even buff 
 hens or pullets, sound in flights and as near 
 sound in tail as possible, and you will breed 
 more good coloured pullets than you will from a 
 show bird. The cockerels from the show bjrd 
 will be the best, and the pullets from the other. 
 
 " The beginner must bear in mind that 
 Buff Orpingtons cannot be judged on the 
 ground, or inside a show pen ; they must be 
 handled and thoroughly examined all over. 
 And he must not be disheartened because he 
 cannot find birds exactly as described to start 
 a breeding pen with, for the simple reason that 
 a perfect Buff" Orpington has never been bred 
 yet, and I say this without fear of contradiction. 
 
 "In selecting birds for stock, I proceed as 
 follows : first examine all birds for colour ; 
 then for type ; and lastly for size, especially in 
 the female. My experience is that you cannot 
 breed big chickens from small hens, no matter 
 how big the cock is. Of course the minor 
 points must be taken into consideration too, 
 according to their degree of impeirfection, for if 
 you once get one of these minor points estab- 
 lished in your strain you will find it most 
 difficult to get rid of; such, for instance, as a 
 badly formed comb, or a white ear-lobe. 
 
 " For exhibition purposes the buff is a most 
 difficult colour to keep sound, and to ensure 
 this it is most essential that the birds have 
 complete shade and protection from the sun 
 and rain, such as a run in a wood or shrubbery. 
 Where this is not possible other means must 
 be devised. The suggestion has been made to 
 me of planting artichokes in the runs a short 
 distance apart. But however much shade you 
 give your birds through the summer and during 
 the moult, they will be much lighter in colour 
 the second year than the first. The tendency 
 is, from the time they are hatched until they 
 assume their adult plumage, to go darker and 
 more even ; after that they go to lighter again. 
 
JUDGING ORPINGTONS. 
 
 299 
 
 This is why it is such a difficult matter to 
 advise which chiclcens it will pay to keep, and 
 which to put in the pot. The chickens are 
 very hardy and easily reared. 
 
 "Anyone starting to breed Buff Orpingtons 
 for show has just as good a chance to get well 
 to the front the iirst year, as some of the older 
 breeders. To illustrate this, the first prize- 
 winning Dairy pullet of IQOO, in a class of over 
 seventy birds, was bred from a pen the owner 
 only purchased the previous season. A new 
 hand has a more open field before him than 
 almost in any other breed of fowls. He has 
 plenty of birds to choose from for his stock, 
 and he has classes provided at every show of 
 importance throughout the country. 
 
 " Another reason why the Buff Orpington is 
 so popular with the farmer and poultry keeper 
 generally, is because it is such a prolific layer of 
 tinted eggs ; surpassing the Blacks, in my ex- 
 perience, in this respect. Consequently there is 
 no difficulty in getting eggs when they are 
 dearest, or early chickens for market. They 
 are easily confined, or if they have their freedom 
 are good foragers. They are steady sitters and 
 careful mothers, and for this reason alone are 
 largely used to hatch out many varieties besides 
 their own. From a table point of view they are 
 far above the average, the white juicy flesh and 
 clear white legs leaving nothing to be desired." 
 
 Reference may also be made to what was 
 laid down respecting the breeding of buff poultry 
 generally, on page 247 ; and Mr. Cromack, in the 
 lecture to which allusion has already been made, 
 related experience which is a very practical 
 commentary upon the advice there and above 
 given. Out of the first seven pullets with which 
 he was successful (and which he had picked up 
 in Surrey, after failing with his first stock as 
 above indicated), there were different shades of 
 plumage, two only being buff to the skin, while 
 the others were white under-colour, though buff 
 on the surface. By the advice of a friend he 
 mated up the white under-colour, and not one 
 of the produce was worth exhibition. Next 
 season he bred from the all-buff birds ; and out 
 of eleven chickens hatched in one brood, eight 
 realised nearly ;^30. In the case of this breed 
 the white legs and skin interpose special difficul- 
 ties, and require all the greater care in selecting 
 sound buff plumage. 
 
 In Sussex] and Surrey, and doubtless other 
 localities, the white shanks are more easily 
 preserved than in others, owing probably to 
 efiects of soil. But the greatest difficulty in 
 keeping up this point arises from the different 
 origin of various strains, as already alluded to. 
 It is still attempted in some quarters to 
 
 attribute the occurrence of yellow shanks to 
 " crossing with the Lincolnshire Buff," and there 
 are no doubt plenty of these birds, of the 
 rougher type, which would have such an effect, 
 while there are strains of Buff Orpingtons 
 which rarely breed a yellow-legged chicken. 
 But there are also strains of Lincolnshire blood 
 which for generations have done the same ; and 
 the result of our own inquiries into this matter 
 has been a conviction, that the chief cause of 
 the difficulty now, is the introduction of either 
 Buff Plymouth Rock, or of stock into which 
 that blood has been introduced. 
 
 The judging of Orpingtons has not been 
 altogether consistent, either in regard to Black 
 or Buff. In the Blacks there has of late been 
 
 too much toleration of loose and 
 Judging fluffy feather, which invariably leads 
 
 Orpingtons, jn the end to thick and coarse skin, 
 
 and often to decline in laying powers. 
 In regard to the Buffs, the great want has been 
 shape or type. At the Palace Show of 1898 
 we remarked to a breeder that we could not see 
 a single cockerel of the same type as the Blacks, 
 which was the accepted model. He replied that 
 there was one bird there the very picture of it, 
 and took us to a pen which certainly presented 
 that type in high degree j but this bird was a 
 yellow-legged one, shown as a Plymouth Rock ! 
 Things have improved considerably since that 
 date, but the true form is still often wanting ; 
 and the fact just stated is eloquent testimony to 
 the need, if so many separate smooth-legged 
 buff breeds are encouraged, for characteristic 
 types being insisted upon. That some people 
 advertise Buff Rocks, Orpingtons, Wyandottes, 
 and Langshans, can be readily observed ; and 
 that specimens of the first three have been 
 exhibited from one and the same breeding stock, 
 has been recorded as a fact both in England and 
 America, the birds being selected for either, 
 according to comb and colour of the legs. This 
 is not a desirable state of things ; and the only 
 remedy is more insistence upon type or form in 
 judging. The Orpington type is a broad and 
 massive body upon rather short legs ; and it 
 should be the more insisted upon because, of 
 all these buff varieties, the white skin and legs 
 of the Orpington make it probably the most 
 useful and valuable, and best adapted to the 
 British market. 
 
 The following is the Poultry Club's Standard 
 of Perfection for Orpingtons. It differs somewhat 
 in the value of points from that of the Buff 
 Orpington Club as given above ; and we think 
 that upon the whole these differences will more 
 and more commend themselves to breeders of 
 
3°o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the fowl. Size and condition certainly ought to 
 have points, which they have not in the Buff 
 Club's own standard ; and at the present day 
 fifty points for colour alone cannot be really 
 advisable for any breed. 
 
 gene;ral characteristics of cock. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head: Small, neat, fairly full over 
 the eye, carried erect. Beak : Strong and nicely 
 curved. Eye : Full, bright, and intelligent. Comh : 
 Single or rose. The single comb to be of medium 
 size, erect, evenly serrated, free from side sprigs. The 
 rose comb should be set straight and firmly on the 
 head, full of fine work or spikes, free from hollow in 
 centre, and narrowing behind to a distinct peak lying 
 well down to head (not sticking up). Ear-lobes : Medium 
 size and rather long. Wattles : Medium length and 
 well rounded. Neck : Nicely curved, with full hackle. 
 
 Body. — Breast: Broad, deep, and full, carried well 
 forward, long straight breast bone. Back : Short, with 
 broad shoulders. Saddle : Rising slightly, with full 
 hackle. Wings : Well formed and carried close to the 
 body. Skin : Thin and fine in texture. Flesh : Firm. 
 
 Tail. — Medium size, flowing and inclined backwards. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs: Short. Shanks: Short and 
 strong. Toes : Four in number, well spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Cobby and compact ; 
 erect and graceful. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Large. Between 9 lbs. and 10 lbs. 
 when fully matured. 
 
 Plumage. — Close. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — As in the cock. 
 
 Body. — Breast, Back, and Wings : As in the cock. , 
 Cushion : Small, but sufficient to give the back a short 
 and graceful curved appearance. Skin and Flesh : As 
 in the cock. 
 
 Tail.— Medium size, inclined backward and upward. 
 
 Legs and Feet. —As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — As in the cock. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Large. About 7 lbs. or 8 lbs. when 
 fully matured. 
 
 Plumage. — Close. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK ORPINGTONS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Black. Eye : Black, with dark 
 brown iris. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Red. 
 Shanks : Black. Skin and Flesh : White. Plumage : 
 Black throughout, with a green sheen or lustre upon it, 
 free from coloured feathers. 
 
 COLOUR IN BUFF ORPINGTONS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. - Beak : White or horn colour. 
 Eye : Red or brown, the former preferred. Cow6, tace. 
 Ear-lobes, and Wattles: Red. Shanks: White. SAm 
 and Flesh: White. Plumage : Any shade of b"" «om 
 lemon buff to rich buff, on the one side avoiding 
 washiness, and on the other side a reddish tinge, the 
 colour to be perfectly uniform throughout, allowing for 
 the greater lustre on the hackle and saddle feathers, 
 and of the wing bow in the case of the cock only. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN BLACK ORPINGTONS. 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 . 10 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in plumage and condition 
 
 „ head, 5 ; comb, 7 ; face, 5 ; beak, 3 ; I 25 
 eye, 5 ' 
 
 ,, breast 10 
 
 ,, saddle or cushion and back 5 
 
 „ tail 5 
 
 „ legs and feet ... 5 
 
 ,, skin and flesh 5 
 
 Want of shape . , 15 
 
 Defect in carriage 10 
 
 Want of size 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN BUFF ORPINGTONS. 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 
 
 
 Deduct 
 
 Defects. 
 
 up 10 
 
 Defects in head and comb 
 
 10 
 
 ,, skin and flesh 
 
 5 
 
 „ colour 
 
 30 
 
 Want of shape 
 
 zo 
 
 ,, size 
 
 10 
 
 Defects in legs and feet 
 
 15 
 
 Want of condition 
 
 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Other than four toes ; wry tail or any deformity ; the 
 slightest feather or fluff on legs or feet ; long legs ; 
 yellow skin ; twist or side spikes in comb, or comb 
 over to one side ; yellow in legs or feet. In Blacks. — 
 Any coloured feathers. In Biiffs. — Any white or much 
 black in tail or flights. Legs any colour but white. 
 
r^mmmi 
 
301 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PLYMOUTH ROCKS 
 
 THIS breed is of American origin, and is 
 still occasionally stated to have been first 
 formed by Dr. Bennett in 1850, but is not 
 in reality nearly so old, except so far as he did 
 undoubtedly give that name to one of his many 
 curious productions. In his American Poultry 
 Book of 1851 he gives the following remarkable 
 account of these old Plymouth Rocks : " I have 
 given this name to a very extra breed of fowls 
 which I produced by crossing a Cochin China 
 cockerel with a hen that was herself a cross 
 between the fawn-coloured Dorking, the great 
 Malay, and the Wild Indian. Her weight is 
 6 lbs. 7 oz. The Plymouth Rock fowl, then, is 
 in reality one-half Cochin China, one-fourth 
 fawn-coloured Dorking, one-eighth great Malay, 
 and one-eighth Wild Indian. Their plumage is 
 rich and variegated, the cocks usually red and 
 speckled, and the pullets darkish brown. They 
 are very fine-fleshed, and early fit for the table. 
 Their legs are very large, and usually blue or 
 green, but occasionally yellow or white, generally 
 having five toes upon each foot ; some have the 
 legs feathered, but this is not usual." Of course 
 a " breed " such as this, with legs feathered or 
 clean, four-toed or five-toed, and of all the 
 colours in a pack of cards, was too " extra " for 
 any such common world as this, and inevitably 
 died out by sheer disintegration of materials 
 even more heterogeneous than were alleged of 
 other breeds recently mentioned, but which 
 had at least strains in their blood predominant 
 enough to save them. 
 
 For years nothing more was heard about 
 Plymouth Rocks ; and in the New York 
 Poultry Bulletin, the first American poultry 
 periodical ever published, during its 
 Origin of first two years such a fowl was never 
 Kr*'' ^^^" named. Their first mention 
 in that paper was about 1870; and 
 in response to a direct inquiry of our own, we 
 received the first direct information about them 
 in a letter from Mr. W. Simpson dated August 12, 
 1 87 1, in which he states that their plumage 
 was " Dominique " (the American term for blue 
 barred or " cuckoo " colour), that they had been 
 produced by crossing the native Dominique or 
 
 comiiion cuckoo fowl with Asiatics, and up to 
 that time did not breed very true, while their 
 eggs were all colours and sizes. Everything 
 points to a new production about that time, 
 from quite recent crosses, and there is not the 
 slightest doubt that the present Plymouth Rock, 
 of totally different colour from Dr. Bennett's old 
 creation, had its origin about this time and in 
 this general way. The first ever seen in 
 England were sent over by Mr. W. Simpson 
 in 1872, and took honours at Birmingham that 
 year in the class for Any Other Variety ; since 
 which time they have rapidly grown in numbers 
 and popularity, all the original stock having 
 come to us from across the Atlantic. 
 
 Further investigation in America has made 
 it pretty clear that the modern Plymouth Rock 
 had more than one origin, and that the claims 
 of various breeders, such as Mr. Spaulding, Mr. 
 Drake, Mr. Upham, Mr. Giles, and Mr. Pitman, 
 to have produced ancestors of the present birds, 
 were all more or less well founded. Mr. I. K. 
 Felch, whose long memory makes him a good 
 authority, has traced various crosses made by 
 different breeders, including the following: (i) 
 Spanish on White Cochin, top-crossed by 
 Dominique ; (2) Dominique on Buff Cochin 
 hens ; (3) White Birmingham (supposed to be 
 an English fowl, but what, no one can tell) on 
 Black Java, the produce coming as white, black, 
 and Dominique, and the Dominiques alone being 
 bred together ; (4) the same produce top-crossed 
 with Dominique ; (5) Black Java and Dominique ; 
 (6) some of the above crossed with Brahma. 
 This last cross distinguished the Drake strain ; 
 and it has been stated by some that the amal- 
 gamation or breeding together about 1869 of 
 this Brahma-crossed strain, with that of another 
 strain also containing Black Java blood, pro- 
 duced the final improvement and stamp which 
 gave the new Plymouth Rock its growing popu- 
 larity from 1870 onward. 
 
 This origin of the fowl will explain the chief 
 difficulties in breeding barred Rocks. The 
 colour itself is not a natural primary one, but 
 the produce of white with either black or very 
 dark colour. Such colours, mated together, 
 
302 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 produce as the result, on a wide average of 
 cases, niore or less of blacks, whites, mottles 
 or splashes with the plumage of Houdans and 
 
 Anconas, blues or blue duns like that 
 Difficulties of blue Langshans and Andalusians, 
 Brt^ding. ^"d that bluish barred plumage 
 
 known aS Dominique in America 
 and cuckoo in England. When once produced, 
 this last colour has however a strong tendency 
 to permanence ; and in the common native 
 Dominique fowl of the West Indies and United 
 States it had been preserved and bred so long 
 as to be of a very fixed type indeed, though 
 even in these fowls there was a constant 
 tendency for the white or black feathers of the 
 origihal components to appear, as well as the 
 straw or red which always troubles breeders of 
 white or black fowls. But in the barred Rocks, 
 fresh blood of both white and black had been 
 thrown in ; and in the Black Java particularly, 
 which all accounts agree in stating had been 
 always used on the female side, a strain had 
 been used which we have already seen is 
 perhaps one of the most strong and prepotent 
 now in existence. To this day that strong 
 black blood is constantly cropping up in barred 
 Rocks, black sports continually occurring to an 
 extent not known in any other blue barred fowl. 
 These are almost always on the female side, 
 though black feathers will also often appear in 
 the; male, which is however more subject to 
 white than to black in his plumage. These 
 facts are explained by the origin of the fowl, 
 which, when well understood, affords valuable 
 indication to the breeder as to his choice in 
 certain cases. 
 
 The general characteristics of the Plymouth 
 Rock are very much what might be expected 
 from its origin. It is a large fowl, only 
 slightly inferior in size to the 
 Characteristics large Asiatic breeds. The comb 
 Plymouth Eocks. '^ single and straight, evenly 
 serrated, much like a good Cochin 
 comb, but preferred rather smaller, with wattles 
 large in proportion ; ear-lobes smaller, and red. 
 The head and neck are carried upright, and 
 not forward like the Cochin's. The body should 
 be large and rather square, but with a deep and 
 compact appearance, and the plumage close, 
 with only very moderate fluff ; wings moderate 
 in length and carried close. The shanks should 
 be moderate in length, not long nor yet too 
 short, and set wide apart ; they are clean, and 
 bright yellow in colour. The cock's tail should 
 be neat, and carried only moderately high, and 
 well compacted ; but we cannot at all under- 
 stand the Standard's description, which says it 
 is "smaller" than a Cochin's, as even in 
 
 England, where the ideal differs widely from 
 theAmerican, wehave never seen a bird without 
 a tail much larger and hi'gher than any Cochin 
 breeder would recognise as at all proper in his 
 variety. The tail of the hen, though small, is 
 also considerably larger and more projecting 
 than that of a Cochin. 
 
 The plumage is not easy to describe with 
 exactness, and we have known two observers, 
 both accustomed to consider theif words, de- 
 scribe the same bird, and the very 
 Colour of same feather from the same bird. 
 Rock** differently, and in each case rather 
 
 differently from our own idea as 
 to its real colour. It is not so in regard to the 
 barring ; that runs straight across the feather, 
 much like that of a pencilled Hamburgh, but con- 
 siderably coarser ; also the bars are not sharply 
 edged, but the dark bar shades into the light 
 through a small space, though they should not do 
 so too gradually, or so as to destroy the distinctly 
 " barred " effect. During the last decade the 
 bars have been bred perceptibly narrower and 
 more numerous than formerly, though not so 
 much so in England as in America ; there is 
 pretty obviously a happy medium, unless some 
 day a fashion should set in for breeding an 
 out-and-out " blue-pencilled " fowl ; and beyond 
 a certain point narrowness is not desired in 
 either country. There is also a proper pro- 
 portion between the dark bars and the light 
 spaces, not very different from equal spacing 
 being desired. 
 
 The real difficulty, no doubt, is how to 
 describe the colour. Looking at the whole bird, 
 in England especially, there is distinctly a blue 
 dun shade or appearance about it ; but when we 
 examine a single feather, it is difficult to see any 
 blue colour in it at all. The English Standard 
 gives the ground as greyish white, evenly barred 
 with bluish black, free from rust or smutty 
 colour ; while the American Standard gives the 
 ground as " bluish grey," barred with " lines of a 
 dark blue that stop short of a positive black." 
 Yet average English feathers are certainly 
 darker and with more approach to blue-dun 
 in the ground colour than American feathers, 
 while on the other hand American birds appear 
 a distinctly brighter blue in the whole effect, 
 than English birds. The fact is that the colour 
 of a single feather is greatly affected by that of 
 any surface on which it is laid ; and when 
 American feathers are laid upon a white surface, 
 many of them appear merely black and white, 
 each colour being a little dull, the white not 
 quite pure and the black very slightly greyish. 
 The feathers in Fig. 98 are photographed thus 
 on a white ground, and show that effect ; on a 
 
BREEDING BARRED ROCKS. 
 
 303 
 
 Merits 
 
 of 
 Bocks. 
 
 darker ground they would appear differently. 
 English feathers similarly treated would appear 
 greyer in the ground, and the bars on many we 
 have seen are quite black, with more or less 
 green gloss. It is difficult to find any single 
 feather from Rocks as now bred, which appears 
 blue at all ; and yet the whole mass of feathers 
 when superposed gives that impression distinctly. 
 If any breeder will examine single feathers 
 laid upon papers or cards of different colours, 
 these remarks will be understood, and such facts 
 make a really definite standard of colour very 
 difficult to frame. 
 
 It was as a very profitable and generally 
 useful fowl all round, that the barred or original 
 Plymouth Rock steadily achieved popularity 
 in the United States, and later in 
 England. The colour wears well 
 and looks well, especially about a 
 farm ; the laying powers are above 
 the average, and when cultivated reach a very 
 high standard indeed ; the meat, though not 
 white or such as in England is considered first- 
 rate in quality, is extremely good and juicy; 
 and the bird makes a rapid growth which is 
 only equalled by Dorking or Houdan crosses. 
 The constitution is hardy, and the chickens 
 easily reared. Until the White Wyandotte 
 arose, no fowl was ever bred and kept so 
 extensively as the Barred Rock was in the 
 United States, and it probably holds the first 
 place there still ; and we have already seen that 
 it forms the basis of a large portion of the best 
 table fowls sent over from Ireland. 
 
 The Barred RocTc plumage is not easy to 
 breed to present exhibition standards, and as 
 a rule requires more or less of the system of 
 double mating. In this case the 
 Breeding necessity arises from fanciers desir- 
 Barred Rocks, ing to make similar in both sexes, 
 barring and colouring which Nature 
 has arranged to be finer in barring and lighter 
 in colour in the males than the females. That 
 would apply to all cuckoo barred fowls ; but in 
 this particular case there is the added difficulty 
 of the strong Black Java blood always tending 
 to reappear in pullets, if birds too dark are used 
 on either side*; some birds of this kind are 
 inevitable if adequate colour is to be preserved, 
 but they are getting somewhat fewer than they 
 used to be. We do not think breeding is so 
 difficult in England, at present, as it is to the 
 American standard of colour and marking. 
 The following notes are kindly contributed by 
 
 * There is little doubt that some of the so-called Black Javas 
 in America are these black sports from barred Rocks, but have 
 been used as crosses on the older Java stock, which of course 
 soon absorbs them. 
 
 Mrs. Wilkinson, of Scotforth, Lancashire, well 
 known for her successes in the exhibition pen, 
 and set forth the necessary points clearly. 
 
 "The descriptions and systems of breeding 
 given below are based upon experiments per- 
 sonally conducted during the last six or eight 
 years ; and as my successes have not been 
 infrequent, it may perhaps be taken for granted 
 that the principles are sound. I will commence 
 by describing, as well as my rarely used pen will 
 permit me, the qualifications required of the 
 breeding stock, and how to mate for the pro- 
 duction of youngsters of high-class exhibition 
 merit. 
 
 " The chief question of late has been, Shall 
 we retain the old style of single matings, or 
 employ systems whereby we breed separately 
 for the two different sexes .' Much may be 
 said for both sides of this question. As an 
 instance of the utility of single mating, it may 
 be mentioned that at the Royal Show of 1898 
 the first-prize winners in both the cockerel and 
 pullet classes owed their existence to the same 
 parents. Since that date, however, events seem 
 to prove that the would-be prize winner must 
 study his fowls more closely, and ascertain which 
 of his stock produce the best cockerels and 
 which the best pullets, and so mate that these 
 newly discovered proclivities maybe accelerated. 
 I believe that since the period referred to, the 
 most successful cockerels owe their origin to 
 totally different sources from the pullets. This 
 fact has' converted me to favouring a mild type 
 of double mating ; I say mild type, because the 
 two pens which I advise to be employed are not 
 to be constituted on widely divergent lines, the 
 only distinction being in the shade of colour of 
 the males. 
 
 " I have not up to the present been able to 
 detect any particular stamp of female which 
 throws better offspring of one sex than the 
 other ; rather have my investigations proved 
 that the dark rich-coloured hens are the most 
 reliable breeders for either sex. The stock 
 males are totally different in this respect ; for 
 while the darker ones may be relied upon to 
 breed high-class cockerels, they rarely sire a 
 pullet of that clean bright colour now so popular. 
 The male which is too light for English shows, 
 yet perfectly even and distinct in markings, is 
 the one which has (in my yards) " proved the 
 most successful as a pullet-breeder ; but I have 
 never bred a good cockerel from a sire of this 
 description. Therefore put a male of the dark 
 stamp in one pen, and a light one in the other, 
 and mate to both of them hens of a rich medium, 
 or dark shade. Each individual member of the 
 stud, whether light or dark, must be perfectly 
 
304 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 even in colour, have only one shade throughout 
 the body. 
 
 " On examination, every feather on the fowl 
 should possess a ground colour of light blue- 
 grey, crossed at regular intervals from root to tip, 
 with straight, sharply cut, clearly defined bars 
 of a green lustred black. Brown or bronzy 
 tinges must be totally absent. A fair amount 
 of latitude is allowed in the number of bars on 
 each feather, but on birds which have been con- 
 sidered as near perfection as any yet produced, 
 I have found that the feathers on the middle of 
 the back number from seven to ten bars each, 
 so those may be taken as about the limits ; 
 those with bars more frequent are too fine, while 
 those with fewer are too coarse. 
 
 " The relative width of the bars has also to 
 be considered, and, of course, this varies greatly. 
 
 tion in barrings below the surface has not been 
 considered a sine qud non in either the exhibitiori 
 or stock specimen. In America they manage 
 things differently ; for years they have been 
 breeding to produce barrings to the roots, and 
 from the illustrations in Fig. 97, representing 
 the plumage of an American pullet, it will be 
 seen that the results justify the labour. The 
 photographs show how the under-barrings are 
 developed on the wing, back, and tail, all well 
 cut and remarkably even, not only throughout 
 the body, but also on every flight and tail 
 feather ; but to compete with success at English 
 shows, each bar .should be a little wider, and 
 therefore the complexion of the whole bird a 
 little darker. There is no denying the fact that 
 these American Rocks have a very pleasing 
 appearance, yet they seem to lack something of 
 
 Fig- 97' — American Plymouth Rock Plumage. 
 
 The pullets mentioned above as model speci- 
 mens possessed bars corresponding in width to 
 the intervening spaces of ground colour, and I 
 think these may be taken as the standard pro- 
 portions of the best specimens for the English 
 show pen. Females possessing these propor- 
 tions of colour, and those with slightly wider 
 bars than spaces of ground colour, are the best 
 to breed from; and it is only advisable to use 
 the lighter stamp of hen when an extra bright 
 rich male can be secured. 
 
 " The light-coloured cockerel or cock men- 
 tioned for pullet breeding, should have narrower 
 bars than spaces, while the cockerel breeder 
 should have the proportions reversed, viz. 
 wider bars than spaces. 
 
 " The question of under-colour has received 
 but little attention in this country, up to the 
 present. Totally black or white under-colours 
 have been at a discount certainly, but distinc- 
 
 that dignity and substantiality peculiar to our 
 darker specimens. 
 
 " Be that as it may, such photographs are 
 a reminder that although we can give points to 
 any country on Rocks taking the birds all 
 round, size included, we are certainly not up to 
 brother Jonathan in under-barring. Fashions 
 are said to rule the world, including the poultry 
 world, and none can say that in a year or two 
 we may not be searching energetically for those 
 barrings which are hidden, and therefore add 
 nothing of beauty to a fowl, but which may 
 probably aid us to breed them truer to type on 
 the surface. I for one would rather welcome 
 such an innovation, but would strongly deprecate 
 any change from our own present surface colour 
 and type. 
 
 " I have not said much about shape, so will 
 give a brief outline of my ideas in this respect. 
 A Rock must be on the large side to be a 
 
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TYPES. 
 
 305 
 
 specimen of much value, not only tali, but broad 
 and deep in body, and have a full deep breast. 
 I like a little cushion, but only a little, and no 
 more fluff than makes the bird symmetrical; 
 the legs as strong as possible, and a rich orange 
 in colour; the tail small, compact, and not 
 carried too high. The head should be of good 
 length, surmounted by a comb of medium size, 
 and with lobes and wattles a bright red." 
 
 The greater niceties of single and double 
 matings for Barred Rocks will be best considered 
 in connection with the fowl as bred in America. 
 
 and which is well illustrated in the three photo- 
 graphs of a pullet in Fig. 97, which we have 
 specially arranged for that purpose, the bird so 
 photographed being bred by Mr. Irwin. 
 
 The American Barred Rock differs from the 
 English type perceptibly in shape. The tail of 
 the cock is larger and carried a little higher, 
 though not nearly vertical ; the legs upon an 
 average are rather shorter ; the body perceptibly 
 longer and more Dorking-Jike in shape, with less 
 fluff about the thighs than in average English 
 birds, and rather less cushion in the females. All 
 these points tend towards a better layer and 
 
 Hackle. 
 
 
 ^ 'If' * ^^K^ tl 
 
 -iN-'f* ^~ ,-5. * / .'I 
 
 j?^ h 
 
 Cushion. 
 
 Fig. 98. — Feathers of Barred Rock Hen, 1872 : Broad and Crescentic Marking. 
 
 American 
 
 Barred 
 
 Rocks. 
 
 The differences between the American and 
 English types are rather considerable ; and as 
 the breed was made in America, and has been 
 bred there far more largely than in 
 England, and with more definite 
 aims, it is matter for some regret 
 that English breeders should have 
 adopted a different standard, the 
 more so as we have never met any fancier yet, 
 Enghsh or American, who had been able to com- 
 pare the better class of American and English 
 birds personally, who did not think the American 
 Rock both the better and the handsomer fowl. 
 That its standard is " higher " from the fancier's 
 point of view, there can be no question, as evi- 
 denced by that perfection of " barring to the 
 skin " already alluded to in the foregoing notes. 
 
 better table fowl, with finer skin. The size of 
 the American bird is also smaller, by an average 
 of about 2 lbs. per bird : this is no doubt greatly 
 due to that demand for " broiler " chickens so 
 often alluded to, but American breeders consider 
 that the Rock when bred very large has a 
 tendency to coarseness both of bone and skin, 
 which they dislike. The plumage has already 
 been described as perceptibly lighter and brighter 
 in colour ; the total effect being often that of an 
 almost bright and lightish blue shade. Some 
 years ago it might also have been described as 
 finer or more numerous in the bars ; but in this 
 respect English breeders have now adopled 
 American views, as also in preference for straight 
 barring and " ringlet " effect, over the older and 
 coarser crescentic form. In all but lighter colour, 
 
3o6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 in fact, the barring photographed in Fig. 99 
 would be accepted by an English breeder of to- 
 day : the comparison between it and the coarser 
 crescentic marking of Fig. 98, drawn from a hen of 
 1872, will show the change in character of the 
 marking in both countries since that date. 
 
 For the following notes upon American Rocks 
 and their breeding, we are indebted to Mr. E. B. 
 Thompson, of Amenia, New York, well known 
 throughout the United States as the breeder of 
 what is famous as the " Ringlet" strain. 
 
 " It seems unfortunate that there should exist 
 such a difference between the English type of 
 Barred Plymouth Rock and the American type. 
 The difference is very strong, and it is to be 
 much wished that in some way the breeders of 
 both • countries should get together on this 
 matter. 
 
 " The American standard male is medium to 
 medium dark in colour,* with an even blue 
 shade from head to tail ; the dark bars being a 
 black or blue black, but free from any lustre or 
 metallic black. My customers across the water, 
 in both Germany and England, demand very 
 dark birds in both males and females, the darker 
 the better so long as the birds are clear in colour, 
 and free from brown and smoke. These very 
 dark specimens cannot have the beautiful blue 
 shading that birds medium in colour often show, 
 and which surely adds so much to the beauty of 
 the breed. 
 
 "The American type of female is medium 
 light in colour, well barred, and as blue in 
 shading as they can be produced. My experience 
 has shown me that very dark females, as we 
 consider them, suit the best in Europe ; in fact 
 such females as the American breeders use as 
 their highest type for producing cockerels, being 
 fine in size and shape, well barred, and with 
 yellow legs and beaks. Such hens, while the 
 best for producing cockerels, are too dark for 
 exhibition in America. It seems that the light 
 to medium-light males which are used here to 
 get the best medium-light show pullets, do not 
 take well in England. 
 
 " Some breeders here use one style of 
 mating only, called a standard or ' single mating.' 
 Such a mating consists of medium-light exhibi- 
 tion coloured females, and a medium-coloured 
 male, a shade or two lighter than the standard 
 American show male. But without doubt the 
 best exhibition Barred Rocks of this country 
 are produced from the double-mating plan, or 
 one mating to get cockerels, and another to get 
 pullets. The first is made up of an exhibition 
 
 * This definition has to be read through American spectacles. 
 What is called " medium dark " would be perceptibly lighter 
 , lliaii English standard, and "medium " considerably lighter. 
 
 male, of the highest class, mated with hens too 
 dark in colour, well barred and clean, and bred 
 from exhibition males. The pullet mating con- 
 sists of the best exhibition pullets or hens, mated 
 with a medium-light to light-coloured male, 
 whose dam was a prime show bird. These two 
 matings are not related one to the other. They 
 are two distinct lines. 
 
 " Herewith I send some feathers from an 
 American standard exhibition male and female, 
 and also from the American type of female 
 for producing exhibition cockerels. These 
 feathers are of the highest type, and show 
 some exquisite barring and the mild blue colour 
 admired here. 
 
 "All breeders in both countries, I believe, 
 admire the regular parallel barring in a Barred 
 Rock, which is best described by the term 
 ^Ringlets', for when the feathers are properly 
 placed upon the bird, the bars show upon the 
 surface in rings, which make the bird very 
 beautiful. The mild blue colour, together with 
 these ' Ringlets,' combine to make an attractive 
 bird, and the blue colour is certainly lost in too 
 dark a specimen. I wish that the standard for 
 any breed could be the same the world over, 
 and hope that, some day not far off this may 
 be so." 
 
 Photographs of the pullet feathers sent appear 
 in Fig. 99, but being taken upon a white 
 ground, appear rather lighter than they would 
 upon the bird. They, however, show the scale 
 and distinctness of the barring, which it will be 
 seen extends to the base of the feather ; and the 
 last feather, from the cockerel-breeding female, 
 shows the somewhat darker character of the 
 plumage as above described, and would fairly 
 represent the type admired in England. It is 
 obviously plucked from nearer the tail, than the 
 feather next to it from the exhibition bird. 
 
 Perhaps no subject has been so fully dis- 
 cussed in America of late, as the mating of 
 Barred Rocks, and the modifications of practice 
 which have taken place are interesting. The 
 original system pursued for many 
 Various Matings years was rather haphazard: selec- 
 Barred Bocka. tion was simply made of a good- 
 looking cockerel, which was mated 
 to good-looking females, with little regard to 
 pedigree. The produce of such breeding was 
 naturally of a very mixed character, and about 
 1885 it began to be abandoned for mating 
 "standard" birds on both sides, with greater 
 attention to "line-breeding." This worked 
 great improvement, especially in the average 
 produce, while it gave a percentage of exhibition 
 stock of both sexes sufiRcient to show that such 
 breeding was practicable, as is also shown by 
 
SINGLE AND DOUBLE MATING. 
 
 307 
 
 Mrs. Wilkinson's notes above. Some American 
 breeders of repute have never abandoned that 
 method ; but the majority were not satisfied 
 with the results, especially in brightness of 
 colour and distinctness of barring, and hence 
 came in the system of double-mating described 
 above by Mr. E, B. Thompson. It will be 
 observed that this system is more complicated 
 than that described- by Mrs. Wilkinson, who 
 uses similar females in both pens, with a rather 
 dark cockerel to breed cockerels, and a rather 
 
 strains ; but this last practice is exceptional, and 
 has been strongly condemned. 
 
 But it is remarkable, that while in England 
 the recent movement has been rather towards 
 double-mating, starting from single-mating, in 
 America the more recent tendency has been 
 again towards more single-mating. A recent 
 article by Mr. T. F. McGrew,* while admitting 
 that the best results had hitherto generally 
 followed the double-mating plan, gives interest- 
 ing details from several breeders of how they 
 
 Hackle. 
 
 Cushion. 
 
 Cushion, Cockerel Breeder, 
 
 Fig- 99- — Feathers from American Barred Rock Pullet, 1901. 
 
 light one to breed pullets ; the females keeping 
 the strain related or in union. In America, on 
 the other hand, cockerels are bred as above 
 described, from exhibition males and rather 
 dark females, but evenly and deeply barred, and 
 bred in the cockerel line ; while pullets are bred 
 from exhibition females and a cockerel too 
 light, but sharply barred, and bred in the female 
 line. Thus the usual American practice implies 
 really two distinct breeds, and the distinction 
 has gone so far that some breeders have 
 admitted using almost white males, or even a 
 cross of the White Rock, in their pullet-breeding 
 
 were now coming back, year by year, nearer to 
 the single-mating plan, by the simple method of 
 " converging the lines," and thus gradually 
 tending towards that system. In fact, the 
 key of the whole method appears to lie in 
 that system of "line-breeding" explained in 
 Chapter XL, and it has been proved that 
 matings apparently similar, which do not 
 answer with birds mated in the ordinary hap- 
 hazard way, when made with line-bred stock will 
 prove perfectly successful. Mr. Sid Conger is 
 one well-known breeder who has always kept to 
 * The Feather, January, 1900. 
 
3o8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the single-mating plan, in breeding Barred 
 Rocks, and an interesting article by Mr D. T. 
 Heimlich * relates how " our best breeders of 
 this variety are leaving off extreme matings, 
 aiming for greater uniformity in general. This 
 is done by selecting the medium or darker 
 males. The light, broken-barred males come 
 fewer each season." In another article, the 
 most recent we have seen,t Mr. Leffel, a 
 very successful exhibitor, writes \ " Some 
 years I match the males and females in 
 my breeding pens as near as I can. If I find 
 that my birds are running too dark, I pull the 
 colours of the males and females apart next 
 season, but not wide apart. 1 do not have any 
 trouble with my birds getting too light. As 
 soon as the tendency to become a little too dark 
 is overcome, I close up the extremes of colour 
 again. I do not mate a dark cockerel with dark 
 hens, but do mate a male bird that is a little 
 lighter than standard colour with standard- 
 coloured females, and from this mating I get 
 my best results. The cockerel in this case is an 
 exhibition bird, but a trifle lighter than our 
 standard colour. . . . In a few years I am 
 confident I shall be able to match the males 
 and females in my breeding pens right along, 
 and in this way produce JS to 8o per cent, 
 of good exhibition and breeding specimens. I 
 shall never again resort to extreme matings, 
 for I know it is not necessary." 
 
 One or two breeders in the United States use 
 a sort of semi-double mating, placing with the 
 same cockerel or cock a certain number of hens 
 or pullets darker than the others. This may be 
 wise with a new mating, as yet unproved, but 
 should not be necessary with a genuine breeder 
 who knows his stock; and the system is not 
 generally considered successful, though for a 
 year or two, if the hen-parentage of the 
 produce can be identified, it may give most 
 valuable experimental knowledge. These varia- 
 tions in theory and practice will give food for 
 reflection, and show that there is much to attain 
 even yet in the breeding of Barred Rocks. 
 
 The character of the barring always needs 
 attention, quite as much so as the colour. A 
 crescentic form can never give that beautiful 
 " ringleted " appearance so much appreciated, 
 and somehow also produces a dingy or dull 
 appearance, apart from real colour. And it is 
 very important, for good effect, that the feathers 
 should each have a good dark bar at the tip of 
 all. This will be found to vary much in different 
 birds otherwise equally barred. 
 
 In regard to other points than plumage, 
 
 * AmericaK Poultry Journal, February, 1 901, 
 t Ibid., March, 1901. 
 
 pearl-eyed birds will be discarded if the breeder 
 is wise. Colour of the shanks generally proves 
 best in chicks that are very dark or even quite 
 dusky yellow, and we-have known birds which 
 as pullets w^ere distinctly black on the front of 
 the shank and foot, moult out the scales an 
 excellent colour the second year. On the other 
 hand, chicks with clean yellow legs very often 
 become pale on shank at a later period. 
 
 White Plymouth Rocks are beyond doubt a 
 pure variety, or at least as pure as any product 
 of such a modern creation can be, having 
 
 originated in white sports from the 
 White Barred, which on rare occasions have 
 
 Rocks. been known in England also. They 
 
 are believed to have been first pre- 
 served and bred and cultivated by a Mr. Frost, 
 of Maine, about 1880, and have spread rather 
 widely in the United States, but have lately been 
 largely displaced by the White W^yandotte, which 
 is deemed on the average a still better layer, and 
 not being quite so large, makes a better broiler- 
 chicken. The preference in America for yellow 
 legs and a rather small chicken, has great 
 influence on the popularity of certain varieties. 
 
 Whites should correspond in shape and size 
 with Barred Rocks, and they possess in all 
 respects the same economic qualities. They 
 present fewer difificulties in breeding than the 
 Barred variety, the principal one being that 
 common to all white breeds, of a tendency to 
 straw-colour, and still more to sun-burn. This 
 must be overcome as in Cochins and Brahmas, 
 by carefully choosing for stock the purest whites. 
 Pale shanks are the only other particular 
 difficulty. They occasionally sport a barred 
 or partially-barred specimen, and in Chapter 
 XIV. we have mentioned a curious case of the 
 finest specimen at Chicago show in 1899, which 
 on examination was found to betray her origin 
 by one solitary feather showing barring near the 
 root, though not at the upper portion. 
 
 There is also a Buff variety of the Plymouth 
 Rock now widely bred and exhibited, but which 
 obviously cannot be considered any true des- 
 cendant of the original. In the 
 Buff United States its chief component 
 
 Books. has undoubtedly been the Buff 
 
 Cochin ; in England some of the 
 stock has come from America, but more owes 
 its origin chiefly to the Buff Orpington or 
 Lincolnshire Buff. There is little doubt that- 
 the one " breed " is in England at present largely 
 bound up with the other, quite a number of 
 breeders exhibiting both, and putting a bird 
 into either class according to the colour of its 
 
BUFF PLYMOUTH ROCKS, 
 
 309 
 
 shanks. Such a double refuge for produce is 
 highly convenient in many ways,- for the 
 exhibitor ; but it is not so good for either 
 variety; in the long run, and there is little doubt 
 that some of the difficulty about yellow shanks 
 occurring in Buff Orpingtons, has been due 
 to the allied Plymouth Rock blood, which 
 has both given encouragement to yellow, and 
 sent it back again into the white-legged strain. 
 The only remedy for this, as already intimated, 
 is greater insistence upon true type or form, 
 in both breeds. 
 
 The following notes upon breeding Buff 
 Rocks are also kindly supplied by Mrs. Wilkin- 
 son, whose successes in this variety have been 
 well known : — 
 
 " A Self-colour is not so complex as a bi- or 
 tri-colour, and is therefore simpler to describe, 
 but the production of either black, white, or buff 
 self fowls is not so easy as the uninitiated would 
 imagine. In the past there have been many 
 heated discussions on the correct shade of a 
 Buff Rock, but at present all is serenely peaceful, 
 one shade being generally accepted as the -ideal. 
 This shade can best be described by comparing it 
 to the colour of a new golden sovereign, which it 
 exactly resembles. Of course a little latitude is 
 allowed, especially in the stud birds, provided 
 softness and soundness are retained, — all hard 
 bricky colours are most undesirable. 
 
 " Buff fowls should have one colour and one 
 only, from head to tail, and from root to tip of 
 each feather, with not the slightest suspicion of 
 lacing round the edges of the feathers (generally 
 found at bottom of breast and wing bars), nor 
 yet possess any feathers which are ' mealy ' — a 
 sprinkling of tiny white spots like meal, generally 
 clustered round the quills on the wing butts, but 
 occasionally all over the body. These two 
 defects, along with black or white undercolour, 
 are infinitely more to be dreaded than a little 
 black in tail or flights, and should never be 
 allowed in the breeding stock. White should be 
 entirely absent from young stock, but as quite 
 90 per cent of the good youngsters show white 
 after the first moult, we are obliged to allow a 
 little after this period, but even then, only a 
 touch on flights and tail. 
 
 " I have described colour first, but I believe 
 shape ought to have had that position. It has 
 often been truly said that shape makes the 
 breed, colour the variety ; and this most par- 
 ticularly applies to the Plymouth Rock family. 
 The Buff Rock should have the shape described 
 above for the Barred variety, and not that of a 
 moderated Cochin, like many that were exhibited 
 some two or three years ago. Short round heads, 
 huge cushions, and an abundance of fluff, are 
 
 not Plymouth Rock properties, and should be 
 carefully avoided. 
 
 "When mating this variety, select birds 
 which comply as nearly as possible with the 
 above description. Don't use a bird because of 
 its surface appearance, but be satisfied that it 
 is sound to the skin, and that it comes from a 
 strain which has been carefully bred to type for 
 years back. 
 
 " An article on Buffs, at the present time, 
 would be incomplete without some reference to 
 colour feeding, so I will conclude with a few 
 words on that subject. A year or two ago every 
 prominent breeder of Buffs was under suspicion 
 for colour feeding ; why,. I cannot say, for it has 
 never, to my knowledge, been proved that it 
 is possible to improve a Buff in colour by 
 feeding. It may be possible to make a light 
 colour darker, but even if so, I feel assured that 
 the lovely soft tones one has become accustomed 
 to see, will never be attained by other means 
 than skilful breeding." 
 
 There is nothing to add to these observations, 
 with those previously made upon breeding Buffs 
 in. general, under the headings of Buff Cochins 
 and Orpingtons. It may perhaps be remarked 
 that upon the whole this colour is about as easy 
 to breed in Rocks as in any variety, the rich 
 colour desired in the shanks harmonising and 
 working in well with that sought in the plumage. 
 For this reason it will be found, comparing two 
 average classes, that the colour in the Rocks is 
 as a whole slightly richer and sounder than 
 in Orpingtons. 
 
 All the varieties of Plymouth Rocks have 
 also been bred in America with pea-combs. 
 Some of these are probably sports, from the 
 original Brahma cross which has already been 
 stated to have existed in the Drake strain ; 
 others have been avowedly produced by a fresh 
 cross with the Brahma. The danger of frost- 
 bite in some parts of the States causes a 
 preference for the pea-comb in, itself, among 
 some farmers, which does not exist in England ; 
 but in spite of this such varieties do not appear 
 to extend much, and in England have never 
 taken root at all. Partridges have also been 
 shown, but such attempts to multiply varieties 
 that can have really nothing in common with a 
 breed of real character and value, are rather to 
 be deprecated than encouraged. 
 
 In judging Plymouth Rocks the greatest 
 needs at the present day are two. The first is a 
 more definite understanding respecting colour 
 and marking, concerning which there seems a 
 great want of consent or unanimity amongst 
 different breeders and judges, arising no 
 
3IO 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 doubt in part from the real difficulty in de- 
 scribing even any given specimens, to which 
 we have already referred. Present signs point 
 rather to the probability of a somewhat nearer 
 approach' yet — already made to some extent — 
 
 to the lighter and more sharply 
 Judging barred American ideal, though 
 
 Plymouth Rocks, probably not to the degree seen in 
 
 many American cockerels, some 
 of which are almost black and white, and do 
 not stand sun or exposure at all well. The 
 other point needing attention, we must once 
 more emphasise, is form or type. A Rock not 
 of a good table form has no justification for 
 existence ; but we still see many such, with legs 
 too long, and deficient breast, and narrow bodies, 
 and fluff showing far too much of the Cochin 
 ancestry. More consistent judging would do 
 much to stamp out such faults, and is especially 
 necessary in cases where, as in the Buff variety, 
 other breeds of similar colour I'equire to be 
 in some way distinguished. 
 
 The Standard of Perfection of the Poultry 
 Club for Plymouth Rocks is as follows : — 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, : Medium size, carried well up. 
 Beak : Medium lengtii, thiick and strong. Eye : Large, 
 bright, clear, and prominent, with bay iris. Comb : Single, 
 medium size, perfectly straight, with well-defined serra- 
 tions, free from side sprigs. Face : Smooth, bright red, 
 free from white. Ear-lobe : Well-developed and pendent. 
 Wattles : Rather long to correspond with size of comb, 
 neatly rounded. Neck : ' Thick and densely hackled^ 
 nicely arched from head to back. 
 
 Body. — Large, deep, square, and compact. Breast : 
 Broad and deep, nicely rounded. - Back : Broad and 
 short. Wings : Medium size, carried well up, bow and 
 tip covered by breast and saddle feathers. 
 
 Tail. — Like a Cochin's, but smaller, carried neatly 
 together. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Wide apart. Shanks : Medium 
 length, stout and strong, free from feathers. Toes : Four 
 in number, strong, perfectly straight. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — ^Upright, noble, and 
 grand, somewhat like a Cochin, but not fluffy ; uniform 
 and even in colour throughout. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large, weight of cockerel fully 
 matured 8 to ii lbs., of adult cock 9 to 12 lbs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, Eye, and Face as in cock. 
 Ear-lobe : Very small compared with cock. Wattles : 
 Small and neatly rounded. Neck : Moderately full, 
 carried well up and nicelj' arched from head to back. 
 
 Body. — Large, deep, square, and compact. Breast : 
 Very full, broad, and deep, carried lower than the 
 cock's. Wings : As in the cock. 
 
 Tail. — Small ; carried neatly together. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 Greneral Shape and Carriage. — Square and compact ; 
 somewhat like a Cochin, but not fluffy ; uniform and 
 even in colour throughout. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large ; matured pullets 7 to 9 lbs. ; 
 adult hens, 9 to 10 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Bright yellow. Eyi : Bay iris. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Bright red. Ear-lobes : Bril- 
 liant red, free from any tinge of white. Legs : Bright 
 yellow. 
 
 In the Cook. — Plumage : Generally cuckoo-feathered, 
 viz. a ground colour of greyish white, finely and evenly 
 barred with bluish black, the two colours blending into 
 each other, free from just or smutty colour. Head and 
 Hackle : Very fine, but even and distinct barring to the 
 skin. Back and Saddle: To correspond with hackles, 
 free from brown. Breast and Thighs : Evenly barred, 
 distinct to the hocks. Shoulders and Wing-bows : Dis- 
 tinctly and evenly barred, to harmonise with the other 
 parts, free from mingled colours. Wing-bars : Alternate 
 light and dark bars even and well defined. Secondaries : 
 Well and evenly barred greyish white and blue black. 
 Tail : Greyish white barred with deep, dark blue black, 
 free from white feathers. Sickles : With fine, distinct, 
 even barring from root to tip, free from white ; other 
 tail coverts to correspond with body colour. 
 
 In the Hen. — Plumage: Cuckoo-feathered. The ground 
 colour of a greyish white, every feather being evenly 
 barred with a bluish black, the markings well defined 
 and looking bright, quite free from any dull or rusty 
 colour. The barring to be close on all parts of the 
 body : but the head and neck should have the markings 
 finer, whilst in the primaries, secondaries, and tail 
 feathers the barring is wider than in any other feathers. 
 The whole plumage to be of one shade and uniform 
 colour, free from brown on back or saddle, and from 
 light or washy feathers in tail. 
 
 COLOUR OF BUFF PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak, Eye, Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, 
 Wattles, and Shanks : Same as Barred Plymouth 
 Rocks. Plumage: Any shade of buff from lemon buff to 
 rich buff, the colour to be perfectly uniform throughout 
 (allowing only for the greater lustre on hackle and 
 saddle feathers and wing-bow in the case of the cock) ; 
 avoiding on the one side washiness, and on the other 
 side a reddish tinge. 
 
 COLOUR OF WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak, Eye, Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, 
 Wattles, and Shanks : Same as Barred and Buffs. 
 Plumage : Pure white ; any straw tinge to be avoided. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS 
 
 IN PLYMOUTH 
 
 ROCKS. 
 
 COCK 
 
 OR HEN. 
 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head 
 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 — 5 
 
 ,, comb 
 Bad formation of tail ... 
 
 
 ... 10 
 ••• 5 
 
 Want of shank colour 
 
 
 ... 5 
 
 White in ear-lobe 
 
 
 ... 5 
 
 Faults of plumage 
 Want of size 
 
 
 ... 25 
 ... zo 
 
 „ symmetry 
 „ condition 
 
 
 ... 15 
 ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious Defects for which birds should be passed: 
 Legs feathered or any other colour than yellow ; white 
 ear-lobes ; red, white, or black feathers in Barred and 
 Buffs, or any coloured feathers in Whites ; any bodily 
 deformity. 
 
3i» 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 WYANDOTTES, 
 
 IT does- not appear possible now to determine 
 either the precise origin of the Wyandotte, 
 or the date of its production, respecting 
 which a great deal has been published that is 
 self-contradictory and certainly erroneous. We 
 can only state one fact, but that is from personal 
 knowledge and. recollection. We saw every 
 issue of all the earlier American poultry journals, 
 and it was in 1873 that large laced birds were 
 first mentioned in these, under- the name at that 
 date of Sebright Cochins, and with the general 
 description that they had been produced by 
 crossing Cochins with Silver-spangled Ham- 
 burghs and "other blood." These birds 
 were figured and described as with smooth 
 yellow legs and rose-combs, which latter, ac- 
 cording to illustrations of the time, did not 
 turn downwards at the back as now, but were 
 far rnore . Hamburgh in character and some- 
 what larger, as can be seen in the illustration 
 we have reproduced a few years later in date 
 than this, but of these earlier American birds. 
 The lacing in this illustration is a great deal 
 idealised, being much better than anything 
 really seen at that time, but the Hamburgh 
 type of comb, as then bred, can be recognised 
 distinctly. In the main, however, though per- 
 haps slightly less cobby in shape than the | 
 present birds, there are all the characteristic 
 features of the Silver-laced Wyandotte, which 
 was the original type of all the varieties now 
 known under that name. 
 
 As Sebright Cochins, or American Sebrights, 
 a name which was also given to these birds, they 
 never became widely popular, and it is somewhat 
 uncertain whether this original 
 stock did not die out. The name 
 was not American or distinctive 
 enough for popularity, and for 
 several years it is difficult to trace 
 any such fowls at all. But about 1880 similar 
 large laced birds began to be freely written about 
 again, and it is significant that regarding these, 
 there was always an impression, and there were 
 many actual statements, that the Light Brahma 
 had been the Asiatic race employed. They 
 were now also termed Wyandottes, and the 
 
 History 
 
 of 
 Wyandobtes. 
 
 comb, while still rose in character, had assumed 
 that downward curve at the back and of the 
 spike, parallel with the top of the head, which is 
 now a recognised Wyandotte point. This kind 
 of comb would probably result from a Brahma 
 cross ; and upon the whole the evidence, though 
 not conclusive, tends to show that some time 
 before 1880 the Wyandotte had not only been 
 re-named, but actually re-made, upon a Light 
 Brahma and Hamburgh foundation, with possible 
 aid from Polish stock, as "crested" birds are 
 mentioned in one account we have seen. The 
 
 Early American Wyandottes. 
 
 first importation we were able to trace into 
 England, was one by Mr. J. Pilling, of Ashton, 
 near Chester ; and the first English-bred speci- 
 mens to be exhibited were, we believe, shown by 
 Mr. T. C Heath, at the Staffordshire show of 
 1884. The history of the breed in England, 
 therefore, only dates from that time; and the 
 progress made since, both in popularity and 
 multiplication of varieties, is remarkable. 
 
 This is not without solid reason, for the 
 Wyandotte is an undeniably valuable and 
 generally useful fowl. It is a capital layer of 
 tinted eggs, when bred with any reasonable 
 care to maintain that property ; is very hardy 
 and easy to rear, feathering well and easily in 
 
312 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 chickenhood ; is a capital sitter and mother, 
 though not excessively broody ; and is a very 
 fairly good table-fowl. In this last respect it 
 
 cannot stand so high in England 
 
 Qualities as in America, where they prefer 
 
 and that yellow skin and shank which 
 
 Characteristics, jjj England are rather disliked ; 
 
 but even in England it is begin- 
 ning to be understood that a yellow-skinned bird 
 may be excellent eating, and is sometimes more 
 juicy than a white-skinned. It is a bird with 
 capital breast and wings, at all events ; and at 
 the Smithfield show of table poultry in 1894, 
 where all other breeds besides Dorkings and 
 Surreys and Games had to compete in one class, 
 the winning pullets were Wyandottes. In 
 regard to laying qualities, it may be noted that 
 in America, where fowls have been more per- 
 sistently bred for laying than anywhere in the 
 world, the White Wyandotte has slightly ex- 
 ceeded the average of any other breed, so far as 
 we have been able to ascertain.* 
 
 Apart from the plumage which distinguishes 
 each of the varieties, the general characteristics 
 of the Wyandotte are few, marked, and easily 
 described. The head should be short and rather 
 broad, the Brahma ancestry being here clearly 
 traceable. The rose comb is smaller and 
 narrower than a Hamburgh comb, and the back 
 and spike or leader should curve rather down- 
 wards, parallel with the top of the head ; this 
 comb is typical of the breed, and should be pre- 
 served, otherwise it should be neat and full of 
 " work " as usual in rose-combs. The face, 
 ear-lobes, and wattles are smooth and fine, and 
 brilliant red. The neck-hackle of the cock 
 should be full and flowing, the back short, the 
 saddle rising to the tail in a nice curve, the 
 tail well filled up and sweeping, but rather 
 upright. The body is very full and broad in 
 breast, and deep, but not very long ; rather what 
 the Americans call "cobby" shape. Thiscobbi- 
 ness, on medium or rather short shanks, is the 
 characteristic type of the Wyandotte. 
 
 The recognised head and original of the 
 Wyandotte family is the Silver or Silver Laced. 
 In this variety, the head of the male is silvery 
 white, the hackles lower down becoming striped 
 with dense black, as also are the saddle hackles. 
 The back is silvery white, as are the wing- 
 bows ; the principal wing-coverts white, broadly 
 laced with black, forming good laced bars 
 across the wing ; the secondaries are black on 
 
 * It is impossible to be certain, with fresh egg-scores issued 
 every month in various papers. But at the date these lines are 
 written, of such as came under our notice, the highest single 
 score, and the highest general average, were conceded to the 
 White Wyandotte. 
 
 the inner web, and white with a broad black 
 lacing on the outer web, edging each visible 
 feather with black. The breast and under parts 
 are white laced with black, from 
 Silver throat round to back of thigh's, the 
 
 Wyandottes. under-fluff slate or dark grey ; the 
 tail black with green reflections. 
 The female has also a white head and striped 
 hackle, and black tail, and secondaries of the 
 wing as in the cock ; the rest of the body white, 
 with each feather laced round with black, the 
 tail-coverts approaching that character as far as 
 possible, or with a white centre to the feathers. 
 Regularity and rich density in the black lacing 
 is the rnain point in the value of the marking. 
 
 For the following notes upon breeding and 
 exhibiting, not only Silver Wyandottes, but 
 their allied varieties, which include all except 
 Buff and Partridge, we are indebted to the Rev. 
 John Crombleholme, of St. Mary's, Clayton-le- 
 Moors, Accrington, who has long been recog- 
 nised as one of the highest authorities regarding 
 them in this country, and one of the most 
 successful breeders : — 
 
 " Without entering into the origin or history 
 of the Wyandotte, of which there is little to 
 record, I will merely discuss here the points, the 
 breeding, and the exhibition of our most popular 
 fowl ; and it may be well in the first place to 
 refer to the general characteristics which apply 
 to all the varieties and distinguish them from 
 any other breed, and by which we recognise 
 them as pure-bred Wyandottes. Here shape 
 should have precedence, and we must combat an 
 impression which the Americans seem to have, 
 that we are not at one with them in this essen- 
 tial. The recently revised Standard issued by 
 the Poultry Club and endorsed by our special 
 Club, does however describe the breast as full 
 and round, the back broad and short, the neck 
 well arched and of medium length, the tail well 
 developed and carried rather upright. Here we 
 have a general outline of the body which is 
 suggestive of a cobby or blocky bird, especially 
 when we add that the legs should match the 
 tout ensemble and only be of medium length. 
 Our ideas of a standard bird cannot therefore 
 differ to more than a degree or two from those 
 of the originators ; and any differences in practice, 
 or in the pens, can only arise from our tem- 
 porarily fastening attention chiefly upon the more 
 difficult points of colour and lacing, which as 
 regards all varieties, is the English habit in 
 breeding. There have been and are many birds 
 shown, whose outline is far from coinciding with 
 the Standard, and some of these have won at our 
 best shows ; but it is only fair to record that they 
 have been beautifully laced. No doubt in the 
 
312 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 chickenhood ; is a capital sitter and mother, 
 though not excessively broody ; and is a very 
 fairly good table-fowl. In this last respect it 
 cannot stand so high in England 
 Qualities as in America, where they prefer 
 
 and that yellow skin and shank which 
 
 Characteristics. -^^ England are rather disliked ; 
 but even in England it is begin- 
 ning to be understood that a yellow-skinned bird 
 may be excellent eating, and is sometimes more 
 juicy than a white-skinned. It is a bird with 
 capital breast and wings, at all events ; and at 
 the Smithfield show of table poultry in 1894, 
 where all other breeds besides Dorkings and 
 Surreys and Games had to compete in one class, 
 the winning pullets were Wyandottes. In 
 regard to laying qualities, it may be noted that 
 in America, where fowls have- been more per- 
 sistently bred for laying than anywhere in the 
 world, the White Wyandotte has slightly ex- 
 ceeded the average of any other breed, so far as 
 we have been able to ascertain.* 
 
 Apart from the plumage which distinguishes 
 each of the varieties, the general characteristics 
 of -the Wyandotte are few, marked, and easily 
 described. The head should be short and rather 
 broad, the Brahma ancestry being here clearly 
 traceable. The rose comb is smaller and 
 narrower than a Hamburgh comb, and the back 
 and spike or leader should curve rather down- 
 wards, parallel with the top of the head ; this 
 comb is typical of the breed, and should be pre- 
 served, otherwise it should be neat and full of 
 "work" as usual in rose-combs. The face, 
 ear-lobes, and wattles are smooth and fine, and 
 brilliant red. The neck-hackle of the cock 
 should be full and flowing, the back short, the 
 saddle rising to the tail in a nice curve, the 
 tail well filled , up and sweeping, but rather 
 upright. The body is very full and broad in 
 breast, and deep, but not very long ; rather what 
 the Americans call ''cobby" shape. Thiscobbi- 
 ness, on medium or rather short shanks, is the 
 characteristic type of the Wyandotte. 
 
 The recognised head and original of the 
 Wyandotte family is the Silver or Silver Laced. 
 In this variety, the head of the male is silvery 
 white, the hackles lower down becoming striped 
 with dense black, as also are the saddle hackles. 
 The back is silvery white, as are the wing- 
 bows ; the principal wing-coverts white, broadly 
 laced with black, forming good laced bars 
 across the wing.; the secondaries are black on 
 
 * It is impossible to, be certain, with fresh egg-scores issued 
 every month in various papers. But at the date these lines are 
 written, of such as came under our notice, the highest single 
 score, and the highest general average, were conceded to the 
 White Wyandotte. 
 
 the inner web, and white with a broad black 
 lacing on the outer web, edging each visible 
 feather with black. The breast and under parts 
 
 are white laced with black, from 
 Silver throat round to back of thighs, the 
 
 Wyandottes. under-fluff slate or dark grey ; the 
 
 tail black with green reflections. 
 The female has also a white head and striped 
 hackle, and black tail, and secondaries of the 
 wing as in the cock ; the rest of the body white, 
 with each feather laced round with black, the 
 tail-coverts approaching that character as far as 
 possible, or with a white centre to the feathers. 
 Regularity and rich density in the black lacing 
 is the main point in the value of the marking. 
 
 For the following notes upon breeding and 
 exhibiting, not only Silver Wyandottes, but 
 their allied varieties, which include all except 
 Buff and Partridge, we are indebted to the Rev. 
 John Crombleholme, of St. Mary's, Clayton-le- 
 Moors, Accrington, who has long been recog- 
 nised as one of the highest authorities regarding 
 them in this country, and one of the most 
 successful breeders : — 
 
 " Without entering into the origin or history 
 of the Wyandotte, of which there is little to 
 record, I will merely discuss here the points, the 
 breeding, and the exhibition of our most popular 
 fowl ; and it may be well in the first place to 
 refer to the general characteristics which apply 
 to all the varieties and distinguish them from 
 ariy other breed, and by which we recognise 
 them as pure-bred Wyandottes. Here shape 
 should have precedence, and we must combat an 
 impression which the Americans seem to have, 
 that we are not at one with them in this essen- 
 tial. The recently revised Standard issued by 
 the Poultry Club and endorsed by our special 
 Club, does however describe the breast as full 
 and round, the back broad and short, the neck 
 well arched and of medium length, the tail well 
 developed and carried rather upright. Here we 
 have a general outline of the body which is 
 suggestive of a cobby or blocky bird, especially 
 when we add that the legs should match the 
 tout ensemble and only be of medium length. 
 Our ideas of a standard bird cannot therefore 
 differ to more than a degree or two from those 
 of the originators ; and any differences in practice, 
 or in the pens, can only arise from our tem- 
 porarily fastening attention chiefly upon the more 
 difficult points of colour and lacing, which as 
 regards all varieties, is the English habit in 
 breeding. There have been and are many birds 
 shown, whose outline is far from coinciding with 
 the Standard, and some of these have won at our 
 best shows ; but it is only fair to record that they 
 have been beautifully laced. No doubt in the 
 
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SILVER LACED WYANDOTTES. 
 
 313 
 
 race for perfection of markings, and for the more 
 modern fashion of open centres, shape has not 
 always been sufficiently considered by some 
 breeders, who find that their customers insist 
 upon clear and open lacing as ayfrj^ consideration 
 in all purchases. But calling to memory the 
 great winners of the past few years, there is 
 little room in their case for coniplairit as to their 
 shape. Those who saw the winning Silver 
 cockerel at the Dairy in 1897, and the unstinted 
 admiration accorded to him, will remember that 
 he was not perfectly marked, his hackle running 
 rather dark, and his breast showing faint signs 
 of splashing at the base ; but he had a beautiful 
 outline, and was an immense blocky cockerel, 
 rather on the dark side, with massive frame, 
 thick legs, and green-black sheeny lacing. ;f 30 
 was offered and refused for him, and I myself 
 heard an interested American remark : ' My ! 
 isn't he a Jimmy Dandy .? ' The same may be 
 said of the winning Silver cockerels at the 
 Dairy and Palace shows of 1898, and in a still 
 greater degree of the two magnificent Gold 
 cockerels that won first and second at the same 
 two shows in 1,899 \ the sensation they caused 
 still pulsates in the fancy. There might also be 
 cited the White Challenge Cup cock of 1899, 
 and the White and Buff winners at the Dairy in 
 1900. These do not belong to. ancient history, 
 but are prominent winners that every fancier of 
 the breed has seen, of which no one can dispute 
 the standard shape and excellence ; and we may 
 not judge the progress of a breed by the common 
 run, but by the best specimens. 
 
 " So far then as either ideal, or as the best 
 actual birds go, shape is not different with us ; 
 but amongst the rank and file of the classes there 
 may be some justification for the complaint, and 
 it should be heeded. There are two causes 
 which partially account for narrow long backs 
 and undeveloped breasts. One is an excess of 
 in-breeding ; the other, mating together stock 
 which is too young. The best breeders are now 
 aware of the effects of this, and are more careful 
 in their matings. 
 
 " Passing now to the divisions of the Wyan- 
 dotte, and beginning with the Silver Laced, let us 
 clearly understand what is meant by its distin- 
 guishing attribute, the silver-laced feather. Such 
 feathers we find on the breast, fluff, and thighs 
 of the cock, and on the body of the hen. We 
 may define it as a white feather edged round 
 with black ; the centre should be pure white, and 
 not a creamy tint, and the edging quite black in 
 a true light, side-light often showing up the 
 black with a lustre of beetle-green. This adds 
 to the quality ; but if the black shows a tendency 
 to grey, it is deemed a fault in proportion as the 
 
 green sheen is looked upon as an acquisition. 
 The laced feather should be broad, but the lacing 
 itself narrow ; the broader the feather and the 
 narrower the lacing, providing the combination 
 possesses the distinct black and white, the 
 better. Naturally the feathers at the shoulders 
 and at the base of the hackle in pullets are 
 narrower than the cushion and breast feathers, 
 and it is quite impossible to obtain a bird in 
 which the lacings are put on equidistantly all 
 through ; yet the nearer we can get to the ideal 
 of equal and level lacing, the better. 
 
 " There are various kinds of faulty laced 
 feathers to be found ; and as it frequently helps 
 the imagination, and impresses the true ideal 
 feather more vividly on the mind to study the 
 matter in that way, let us see what these faults 
 are. 
 
 " I. The double-laced feather. — This is a 
 feather with a frosted edging, or an outside 
 fringe of white bordering the black (Fig. lOO*). 
 The black lacing should be clean cut, and show 
 no white on the border. It is not often that we 
 find the double-laced feather on the back or 
 wings of the female, but it is frequently seen on 
 the breast, and more especially at the throat. 
 This fault is very difficult to eradicate. Cocks in 
 many cases exhibit the same weakness, but not 
 generally in so marked a degree as the females, 
 
 " 2. The spangled or horse-shoe feather is a 
 worse fault than the double-laced feather. The 
 term means that the lacing does not run round 
 all the feather, but only partly round it in the 
 form of a crescent (Fig. loi). Breeding from 
 light-coloured stock is chiefly to blame for this 
 defect. Again, it is at the throat, and on the 
 breast of the hen, that we most frequently 
 discover this weakness. 
 
 " 3. The almond feather versus the rounded 
 feather. A difference of opinion did exist at 
 one time as to whether the almond-shaped 
 feather, such as we admire and breed for in 
 Sebrights (Fig. 102), or the round and broad 
 feather (Fig. 103), is the handsomer on a Wyan- 
 dotte. It is true that the best black and white 
 Wyandotte perhaps ever shown, po-ssessed the 
 almond-shaped feather, but then the centres 
 were narrow, and a preponderance of black lac- 
 ings seemed rather to overbalance the correct 
 juxtaposition of the two colours. Hence the 
 term ' heavy-laced.' Little by little public taste 
 has come round to the broad feather, with large 
 white centre, rounded extremity, and narrow 
 lacing. If the broad-feathered specimen were 
 placed side by side with an almond-shaped one, 
 and each perfect in its respective class, nine out 
 of every ten fanciers would see more beauty in 
 * These figures will be found on a separate plate. 
 
3.14 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 . the former. Unfortunately a great difficulty pre- 
 sents itself in breeding good open-centred laced 
 Wyandottes, for in the endeavour to increase 
 the volume of white, not only have the black 
 lacings narrowed (which is desirable), but they 
 have lost considerably in intensity of black, and 
 we seldom find an open-centred bird whose 
 lacings are not inclined to grey. 
 
 " 4. The mossy feather is the lite noire of all 
 silver alnd'gold laced Wyandotte pullet breeders. 
 Instead of the feather having a clear white 
 centre, it is peppered with black or grey ticks 
 (Fig. 104), destroying entirely the essential re- 
 quisite, of a true lacing. The mossy feather is 
 eternally appearing even when the greatest care 
 has been taken in mating up, generally on the 
 back of the female, sometimes under the hackle, 
 and oftentimes on the wing itself When a 
 judge sees a collection of such feathers on a hen 
 or pullet, he wastes no time in searching for 
 good points, but passes on to the next exhibit ; 
 so let young fanciers keep such birds at home, 
 and save both entry fees and railway expenses. 
 
 '' 5. There is another faulty feather, called 
 ticked at the. base. It may be apparently clear 
 arid well defined at first glance, but, if we 
 examine closely, we find that at the base, or 
 where the web begins to be separated from the 
 fluff, the white is disfigured by streaks of black 
 to a certain extent (Fig. 105), but generally not 
 mpre than what we might call a splash. Being 
 confined to the unseen part of the feather, this is 
 not a great fault, and should only be taken into 
 account when separating two good birds for 
 prizes. 
 
 . " 6. Sometimes the definition of the black 
 edging is faulty. Instead of a clean inside edg- 
 ing we see a zig-zag line of black as in Fig. 106, 
 or streaked as in Fig. 107. This failing is mostly 
 noticeable on the breasts of cocks, especially on 
 the lower parts. 
 
 " All that has been said of the faults of the 
 l?iced feather on hens, is equally applicable to 
 the laced feathers on cocks. But there is another 
 point to breed for in the male bird, and that is, 
 top-colour. All who have seen a laced Wyan- 
 dotte cock will have observed that the top-colour 
 is .totally different from that of the hen, both as 
 regards shape of feather and style of lacing. 
 The cock with a perfect top has his neck and 
 saiddle hackle of a silvery white colour, and 
 down the centre of each feather there should be 
 a narrow, sharply defined black stripe (Fig. 108). 
 Faulty tops may be threefold. 
 
 "I. The sooty top, in which the black stripe 
 is generally to be seen, but the silvery edge of 
 the web is replaced by a greyish black, which 
 is termed sooty. The general effect of this loss 
 
 of pure silver colour is well described by, the 
 term applied, • or by the word ' rusty ' or 
 ' smoky.' _ 
 
 " 2. The brassy, top.7— Birds with this draw- 
 back have their neck and saddle hackle spoilt 
 by a tanned appearance, as though th^y had 
 been running out for some time in the sun. 
 "It is not caused by the sun generally, but bred 
 in them. The same fault is peculiar to all 
 cocks with a light or white top-colour, such as 
 white Leghorns, silver-grey Dorkings, etc. 
 
 " 3. The plain top. — That is, a pure silver 
 topTColour without any stripe along the centre 
 of the feather. 
 
 " A cock's breast should be evenly laced 
 from the throat to the base of the breast, and 
 also on the thighs, and even into the fluff. Some 
 cocks are what is called ' blind ' at the throat, 
 that is, the feathers are almost entirely black, or 
 perhaps with a faint centre of white ; lower down 
 towards the middle of the breast the feathers 
 open out in better style, and finish off too open ; 
 in other words the 'lacing 'runs put' This is a 
 bad and faulty breast, and to breed for cockerels 
 from such a male bird is very unadvisable. 
 Everybody knows that white in tail or white 
 in ear-lobe cannot be admitted. The wing-bar 
 feathers should be laced distinctly all round, 
 and as evenly as possible, just as the other 
 laced feathers on the Wyandotte are. They too 
 can have the faults of being mossy, splashed, 
 an^ horse-shoed. 
 
 "How to mate up to breed exhibition or 
 standard birds is a question not yet solved in its 
 entirety; but certain fixed principles guide all 
 the better breeders in their choice of 
 Breeding mates. The object of the fancier is 
 Laced to get chickens that will score the 
 
 Wyandottes. highegi- possible number of points in 
 the show-pen. Experience has 
 taught that whilst it is possible to obtain 
 good cockerels and good pullets from the same 
 pen, it is far easier and much surer to breed 
 from two pens, one mated up to produce 
 standard males, the other to produce standard 
 females. This is the principle of the double- 
 mating system.. Much has been written 
 against the double system, but nothing from the 
 pen of any well-known successful Wyandotte 
 breeder. In my own yards I once had a strain 
 (Wood's) that bred both good pullets and well- 
 laced cockerels from the same pen, but the cocks 
 were inclined to be brassy-topped, although the 
 pullets that were produced from the same mating 
 never showed the least sign of soot or brassiness 
 in their hackles. These brassy and sooty-topped 
 cockerels I mated again to the whitest pullets, 
 and similar results followed : namely, clear, well 
 
Fig. 100. 
 Double-laced Feather. 
 
 Fig. 101. 
 Spangled Feather. 
 
 Fig. 102. 
 Almond Feather. 
 
 Fig. 103. 
 Open Feather. 
 
 
 :^-.A' 
 
 
 Fig 104. 
 Mossy Feather. 
 
 Fig 105. 
 Ticked Feather. 
 
 Fig. 106. 
 Irregular Lacing. 
 
 Fig. 107. 
 Streaky Feather. 
 
 Fia 103. 
 American Hackle. 
 
 FIG. 109. 
 American Saddle Feather. 
 
 WYANDOTTE FEATHERS. 
 
BREEDING LACED WYANDOTTES. 
 
 315 
 
 laced pullets, and faulty-topped cockerels. In 
 fact, one of the best Silver pullets ever shown 
 was bred from a cpck very bad in top-colour. 
 From this experience I deduced that top-colour 
 in cocks does not affect the sound lacing in 
 pullets bred from them, and in choosing my 
 pullet-breeding cocks, I never regard the top 
 colour now. 
 
 " Another important item needs to be noted, 
 namely, that pullets bred from a standard- 
 breasted cock often run light at the throat. It 
 will be found that the best breasted cockerels 
 often have their own sisters with light breasts. 
 An observant breeder, then, will not choose 
 perfect-breasted hens to put in his cock-breeding 
 pen, but those that are inclined to run light, and 
 mate them to a perfect breast-laced cock on the 
 dark side. It was this mating that produced my 
 1897 champion silver cockerel. 
 
 "But the chief point to regard, or rather to 
 disregard, in cock breeding, is the cushion 
 of the hen. This may be as mossy as a 
 pepper-castor, and yet the bird be. a splendid 
 cock-breeder. Im other words, the feathers on 
 the back of the female have no influence on the 
 progeny of cockerels in the saddle hackle ; they 
 influence top colour in no sense whatever. This 
 should be apparent. The feather on the hen is 
 laced on the back ; the feather on the saddle of 
 a cock is purely distinctive of the male, and finds 
 no counterpart on the cushion of the female. 
 Practice bears out the theory, and in breeding 
 for cocks, mossiness in the hens mated up never 
 troubles me, nor do I find the top-colour in the 
 young^ cockerels bred from such is discoloured 
 because of the faulty cushion. Cocks bad in top- 
 colour are the outcome of sooty, brassy, or smoky 
 neck hackles of the female, together with the 
 already faulty saddle of the sire. 
 
 " To breed good cockerels, I therefore choose 
 (i) A standard cock of the heavy laced stamp. 
 (2) He must be free from white in tail. (3) A hen 
 with a well-laced breast on the light side, per- 
 fect wings, with a good black tail. But (4) do 
 not regard mossiness on cushion ; in fact, she is 
 better for being dark near tail. (5) Comb, legs, 
 shape, to be standard quality in each. Thus 
 many a champion show cock has been bred from 
 birds, none of which would gain a first prize in a 
 second-rate show. 
 
 " Pullet-breeding is a question I should prefer 
 to have beep treated by an abler pen than mine. 
 That the art te not theoretically or sureily dis- 
 covered, is apparent from the fact that nearly 
 every y£ar the best pullets come from different 
 yards, and from those, too, whose record for first- 
 class birds has not been eminent. Breeding 
 is a trifle flukey with most breeds, but that of 
 
 Silver-laced pullets is uncommonly so. With a 
 certain amount of diffidence, then, I simply offer 
 the fruits of my own experience. It was just now 
 remarked that standard-breasted cocks mated 
 with standard-breasted hens are inclined to throw 
 light-breasted pullets, and I wish now to empha- 
 sise that remark. In choosing a pullet-breeding 
 cock I always select a dark-breasted cock, and 
 that from a pullet-breeding strain. It is no use 
 buying a cock for breeding pullets from a strain 
 that has been used for years in producing ex- 
 hibition cocks only, because the females in such 
 a yard will most probably never have seen a 
 show pen. Again, breeders always try to obtain 
 the clean lacing of show pullets right into the 
 tail. To produce such we must not regard too 
 closely the exhibition points of the sire, and I 
 would have no scruple in using a cock that had 
 white in tail, and for choice would prefer one, 
 especially if there were under the cock's saddle a 
 number of clear laced pullet-feathers running 
 into the- white in tail. But whilst unorthodox 
 in these points, I like to be very particular as 
 to fluff. A dark fluff is always correct, both 
 for show and breeding purposes. A light fluff 
 and peppery thighs largely account for double 
 lacing, horse-shoe lacing, dulness in black, and 
 other evils amongst the progeny. 
 
 " There is only one thing to be considered in 
 the female we breed from to produce pullets. 
 That is, to get as perfect a show bird as you can. 
 
 " Two practical hints may be added.~ Don't 
 cross strains too much, unless you find that 
 through continual in-breeding you are getting 
 weak, and require more stamina in your sto k. 
 Then introduce new blood in the female line. 
 And alwa}-s have a few old birds in the breeding- 
 pen. Young stuff breed bad feathers, lanky 
 chickens, and narrow, long backs." 
 
 Before passing from the chief and type of all 
 the laced varieties of Wyandottes, it may be 
 useful to remark that present American practice 
 among the best breeders is changing in some 
 degree, as with the Rocks, in the direction of 
 more preference for single mating ; and that 
 some of them differ a little from the above in one 
 or two details.. In many American cocks, the 
 wing-coverts or bar-feathers, instead of being 
 laced entirely round, with the open centres, 
 resembling other laced feathers but somewhat 
 heavily laced, are black over the upper half of 
 the feather, and only open in the centre on the 
 lower half The effect on the surface-pattern or 
 " bars " is the same ; but such an extra portio.n 
 of black on the part of the feather which is over- 
 lapped, must somewhat alter the balance of 
 colour in breeding. It may be partly owing to 
 this fact, that manv American breeders find it 
 
Si6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 distinctly better to use every now and then a 
 bird with light instead of dark under-colour or 
 fluff, and we believe the same has occasionally 
 been done in England also, with advantage in 
 clearing the centres. In all such cases, 
 particular care is taken to have the lacing itself 
 rich and black : when that is secured, we are 
 given to understand that a cross with such light 
 fluff has several times been known to have 
 evident result in clearing out mossy feather. 
 
 Another point relates to the hackles and 
 saddle-feathers of the cocks. Many American 
 breeders* have come to the conclusion that the 
 laced character of Wyandotte plumage should 
 (in due measure) extend- to these male feathers 
 also. While not liking white shaft to the 
 feather, they do seek in the broader part of the 
 stripe of the hackle some amount of open centre 
 (Fig. loS); and in the broad part of the saddle- 
 feathers they seek for what they call a good 
 " diamond," or open centre of a diamond shape 
 {Fig. 109), which in a photograph we reproduce 
 measured about three-quarters of an inch long 
 by a third of an inch wide. This is probably 
 the American method of, defining what our 
 English contributor has described above as 
 " clear laced pullet-feathers " under the cock's 
 saddle in a pullet-breeder, and so far the two 
 rules would run on parallel lines. The only real 
 difference — if, indeed, it be any difference — is 
 that American breeders define the marking as 
 just stated, and systematically select stock 
 possessing it ; and give as their experience, that 
 by breeding from standard cocks with thesfe 
 hackles and saddle-feathers, and a little judg- 
 ment as to balance in lacings generally, they 
 can breed both sexes good from a single pen. 
 
 The Golden Wyandotte was at least several 
 years later in date than the Silver, but all we 
 are now able to ascertain is that Golds were 
 
 written about as " new " in the 
 Golden American journals of 1885, and that 
 
 Wyandottes. in the winter of 1888 Mr. Sid 
 
 Conger came unmistakably to the 
 front with them, and that after this date they 
 were largely bred by crossing his Gold cocks 
 upon the Silver hens of other breeders. The 
 first imported into England were sent to Mr. 
 A. W. Geffcken, and others soon followed, those 
 early importations being considered fully equal, 
 if not superior, to the then average of Silvers in 
 Wyandotte type, and especially in comb. But 
 there is not the least doubt that both comb and 
 general type, subsequently to that, suffered con- 
 siderably in this country from crossing with 
 
 * The latest article which we have seen expressing these 
 views, is by Mr. IraC. Keller, in the Feather, April, 1901. 
 
 Indian Game, of which the signs were at one 
 time very evident in many exhibits. Some used 
 this cross for enriching the ground-colour, which 
 became too dark in consequence ; others, we 
 believe, resorted to it with the idea of getting 
 depth of colour in the lacing. At all events, we 
 have seen many pullets which, in their sloping 
 backs, narrowness at stern, and narrowness and 
 hardness of feather, betrayed the cross most 
 unniistakably ; and in several pullets of 1899 
 we actually found double lacing — not that above 
 described, of a light edge outside the black line, 
 but the double black lacing seen in many Indian 
 Game pullets. We knew one breeder, in fact, 
 who bred and exhibited pullets from a cross of 
 Indian Game upon Silver Wyandottes. The 
 faults thus introduced, however, are now either 
 disappearing or being rectified. 
 
 On the Golden Wyandotte Mr. Cromble- 
 holme writes as follows :— 
 
 " The only point in which these differ from 
 the Silver is that gf colour. For faults and good 
 points in the lacing, reference may be made to 
 what has been said above on the laced feather 
 of the Silver Wyandotte, and it is only necessary 
 here to treat of colour. Those who have drawn 
 up the standard are responsible for the descrip- 
 tion of the ground-colour as rich golden bay. I 
 am glad to see the word ' golden ' in addition to 
 the ' rich bay,' and also the reference to ' bright- 
 ness ' of colour ; for the term ' rich bay ' has for 
 a long time been misinterpreted for a dark 
 shade of bay, too dark to please the eye. In 
 The Wyandotte Annual for 1898 I called .atten- 
 tion to this fact, noticing that the dark heavy- 
 breasted winner seemed to be falling into 
 disfavour with many, for a bird of a brighter 
 and more real golden colour. This move of 
 popular taste is in the right direction ; for the 
 laced Wyandotte being a fowl whose beauty lies 
 in symmetry of markings and contrast of colour, 
 the effect is destroyed when the background is 
 so dark and sombre that the lacings are 
 rendered comparatively undiscernible. Judging 
 such birds is quite a task, comparable to assort- 
 ing flowers by star-light. The brighter shade 
 alluded to does not, of course, include the clay- 
 coloured breasts sometimes seen, nor top-colour 
 in the cocks like lacquered brass, any more than 
 the deep gold means red or maroon colour. 
 
 " I used to like to see the deep rich gold on 
 the back of a cock,, and do so yet in breedefSj for 
 in the breeding yard it is better to have too 
 much colouring pigment than too little, the 
 tendency in breeding being rather to lose colour 
 than to gain. But in show birds, I have come 
 to the opinion that the ' bright ' gold cock is the 
 one that catches the judge's eye, and is also the 
 
BUFF LACED AND VIOLETTES. 
 
 317 
 
 choicer sample from the artistic point of view. 
 Let it be understood that this refers to colour 
 taken by itself, and other things being equal ; 
 and it is not to be supposed that a bright bird 
 with faulty lacing is to be preferred to a dark 
 well-laced one. Colour is only one of the points, 
 and the judge who goes for one point to the 
 exclusion of others of equal importance, is termed 
 a faddist. 
 
 "In mating up the , bi-eeding pen, all the 
 reniarks made above on the Silvers in regard to 
 lacing, should be followed in the Golds. As to 
 colour, there is however a little difference. White 
 is white always, and we cannot choose degrees in 
 it for breeding ; but in breeding Golds, it is 
 better to err a little on the dark side. I have 
 always noticed that pullets are inclined to be ' 
 lighter in ground colour than their parents; so 
 in 'the pullet-breeding pen one should go for 
 plenty of ground-colour. The cockerels, on the 
 other hand, come better and brighter from 
 parents of the correct standard shade." 
 
 From the same fountain-head of the original 
 Black-Laced Wyandottes, have proceeded yet two 
 other varieties of singular beauty, -known as 
 
 Buff Laced and Violettes, which 
 
 Buff Laced ^•'^ closely allied, and in the main 
 
 and of the same parentage. The Buff 
 
 Violettes. Laced resembles in colour the 
 
 variety formerly known as Chamois 
 Polish, the ground-colour being some shade of 
 rich buff, laced with white instead of black ; the 
 Violette has a similar -ground-colour, with a 
 lacing of blue-dun or Andalusian colour. 
 
 Both these varieties originated in Amerita, 
 Mr. Ira C. Keller appearing to have been first in 
 the field. He commenced in 1886 to cross 
 Golden Wyandottes with Whites, producing 
 birds whose lacing was violet-blue ; these violet- 
 laced birds threw a certain number with white 
 lacing, and from these were derived his Buff 
 Laced breed, first shown at New York in 
 1895, and some of which were sent over to 
 the Rev. John Crombleholme, in . 1897. Mr. 
 Keller aimed at a golden or golden-buff ground- 
 colour. 
 
 Quite another strain was originated by Mr. 
 Brackenbury, from entirely different materials. 
 He mated a Golden cock with a hen of solid 
 blue or Andalusian colour, produced from two 
 generations of Golds on the male side, and of 
 blue on the female side. She produced a pair of 
 Golds with blue lacing, of which the female died, 
 and the male was bred to Golden females, pro- 
 ducing again blue-laced Golds. Meantime Mr. 
 Brackenbury had got from a cockerel bred from 
 Golden Wyandotte and Buff Cochin, and pullets 
 
 bred from White Wyandotte and Buff Cochins, 
 a " sport " with Buff Laced plumage ; and this 
 bird was mated with some of the . blue-laced 
 females above mentioned. The cockerels from 
 this mating all came black-laced ; the pullets 
 partly blue-laced and partly white-laced. One 
 of the best ^/«^-laced pullets was mated to a 
 blue-laced male, and three-quarters of her 
 chickens came creamy white with buff heads, 
 and ultimately moulted out Buff Laced. Tiie 
 same bright-blue-laced pullet was afterwards 
 bred to a Buff Laced (/.^. a white-laced) bird, and 
 all of her pullets and three-fourths of the 
 cockerels came white in 4:he lacing, or of the 
 Buff Laced variety. 
 
 Other American breeders, like Mr. Charles 
 Pond, have also originated Buff Laced Wyan- 
 dottes by crossing Golden with White, Violettes 
 always appearing in the process. Probably from 
 these crosses of unallied blood, all breeders, 
 without exception, have reported them as re- 
 markable for hardiness and great laying powers, 
 ranking with the Whites in that respect. 
 
 The Rev. J. Crombleholme's notes on these 
 varieties are as follows : — 
 
 " Opinions differ, but in mine the Buff Laced 
 Wyandotte is the prettiest of all the varieties. 
 What should be the colour and what should be 
 the markings of a Buff Lace .' For a perfect 
 hen, imagine a real rich buff with every feather 
 laced all round with pure white lacings ; and a 
 perfectly coloured buff cock, with white lacings 
 and stripes, would be a standard Buff Laced cock. 
 Or put it another way, comparing the Buff 
 Laces and Golds. Wherever the Gold is bay, 
 the Buff Laced is buff, and wherever the Gold 
 has black lacing, or striping, or fluff, the Buff 
 Lace is, or should be, white. You simply substi- 
 tute buff for bay, and white for black. 
 
 " In breeding Buff Laces, the great difficulty is 
 to steer clear of the blue and black feathers, which 
 continually appear where the feather should be 
 pure white. They were probably made originally 
 from Golds and Whites crossed. Whilst judg- 
 ing last year in Holland, I came across a 
 cockerel and a pullet which the owner declared 
 to be a cross between a Gold and a White. They 
 were very fair specimens of Buff Laces, without 
 a trace of black about them, but I fear if the 
 owner breeds again from these birds the old Gold 
 blood will reassert itself, and many blue and 
 black feathei-s will be found in hackle and tail. 
 I know some English breeders also who have 
 made this cross, with a certain amount of success, 
 but Buff Laces require time and skill to brded. 
 One thing is certain, that in thetr composition 
 no alien blood has been introduced. They are 
 Wyandottes, made from Wyandottes. We never 
 
3i8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 find single combs in the chickens, nor do we 
 ever hatch chicks with feathered legs. Much 
 advance has already been made in their breeding, 
 and although as yet not the fowl for the million, 
 some of the very best breeders have been work- 
 ing at them. Probably we have almost bid adieu 
 to the black-tailed cocks which have been seen, 
 and which looked so extremely mongrelised in 
 the show pen, that if it had not been for the 
 graceful beauty of the _female, I do not think 
 they ever would have ' taken.' She was always 
 attractive, and far ahead of the male bird from 
 the beginning. But even the hen was at first too 
 red in ground-colour, and showed a dirty blue- 
 black hackle. The new century has inaugurated 
 better quality; the red is changing to buff, and 
 the nondescript bluerblack dirty hackle to one 
 composed of a clean blend of buff and white. 
 
 " Little can be added' in regard to the breed- 
 ing of lacing in these birds, for the theory was 
 exhausted on the subject of Silvers, and the 
 colour directions closely follow in principle those 
 on Golds. Just as the breeder would disqualify 
 from the breeding 'pen any white feathers in 
 Golds, so he must be as severe in discountenanc- 
 ing black feathers in Buff Laces. 
 
 " Some writers have quarrelled with the 
 nofnenclature and the name of Buff Laced ; they 
 say a buff-laced fowl is a fowl with buff lacing, 
 whereas the one in question is a white-laced 
 buff. Can anyone point out, however, a fowl 
 whose name conveys an accurate description of 
 its marking.? ITthere is any attempt at descrip- 
 tion, we invariably find that the first word of the 
 compound designates the ground-colour, the 
 second its qualification. For example, silver- 
 spangled Hamburg, silver ground-colour, with 
 spangling ; and so also the gold - spangled 
 Hamburg, silver-pencilled Hamburg, silver-laced 
 Wyandotte, gold-laced Wyandotte, and logically 
 the buff-laced Wyandotte. In no case is the 
 colour of the spangle, pencil, or lacing, expressed. 
 Why therefore should we be compelled to de- 
 scribe our Buff Laces in any other way ? It is a 
 euphonious name, a pretty name for a pretty fowl. 
 
 " Breeders must face the difificulty of getting 
 the pure white lacing round the buff feather. It 
 will be a most arduous task, and will I doubt not 
 cause as much trouble as the mossy feather in 
 Silvers and Golds. Whilst in the incipient stages, 
 when dark hackles in pullets were tolerated, the 
 white lacing was fairly distinct; but now that 
 we insist upon a true buff ground-colour, and 
 true hackles, the lacing has appeared to be less 
 distinct. Perfection cannot be attained at a leap, 
 and there is little doubt that in time we shall 
 get what we are trying for — a true buff feather 
 with a pure white lacing. 
 
 " About the same tfme that Buff Laces were 
 introduced, there appeared the Violettes, They 
 may be described as a Buff Wyandotte with an 
 Andalusian blue lacing, or as the same as the Gold 
 Wyandottes, but substituting the blue lacing and 
 fluff for the black. I consider them to be 
 sports from the Buff Lace, or perhaps they 
 , appeared in the breeder's yard who was trying 
 to make the Buff Lace from a Gold cross. This 
 surmise seems the more probable from the fact 
 that the American breeder who was responsible 
 for the introduction of Violettes and Bufif Laces 
 was also noted for his Golden Wyandottes, and I 
 believe kept no others. It was from this breeder 
 that I first purchased my own Buff Laces, and 
 they repeatedly threw Violettes amongst their 
 progeny, till I got rid of the strain altogether, 
 and started afresh after my own ideas of produc- 
 ing a good Buff Lace. The original American 
 Buff Laces I gave to a farmer, and he has bred 
 from them some Violette pullets as well laced as 
 any I have seen in the show pen. So much for 
 the relationship of the two varieties. The 
 Violette is a nice Wyandotte, but to my fancy 
 is not ' distinct ' enough, as florists say of flowers, 
 to become very popular or to catch the eye." 
 
 It will clear up some of the points mentioned 
 in the above, to recognise fully and clearly the 
 relationship of the blue lacing. As already 
 stated in Chapter XIX., whenever we cross black 
 or .very dark plumage with white, we always get 
 a certain proportion of blue, either of one shade, 
 or in the form of cuckoo barring, along with a 
 certain proportion of the original white or black. 
 Where the black is mixed with colour, as in a 
 Golden laced fowl, or a black-breasted Red, the 
 opposites appear to contend with each other 
 specially, leaving the coloured part of the feather 
 more or less unaffected ; so that we get a Pile in 
 Game, or a white-laced bird instead of a black- 
 laced one. Thus the blue lacing simply means 
 that we have in it a bird with the black and 
 white tendencies mingled, or balanced ; and such 
 a bird, according to how it is mated, is often very 
 easily influenced in either direction, to breed 
 either blue again, or the black or the white which 
 exist in the blue together. In this way the blue 
 marking is often most plastic in a breeder's 
 hands, as shown in the brief account of Mr. 
 Brackenbury's proceedings given above. It is 
 always half way to white, and if this be remem- 
 bered, the course will often be clear, and it may 
 be most valuable material. 
 
 The more permanent difficulty, so far as we 
 can judge from analogy, seertis likely to be the 
 combination of buff with white in the feather. 
 We have seen already, in one buff breed after 
 another, how all experience has taught Buff 
 
WHITE AND BUFF WYANDOTTES. 
 
 319 
 
 breeders to avoid any trace of white in the 
 feather, and how it works destruction of the 
 buff, even in the diluted form of microscopic 
 white " meal " in the feather. The only way to 
 meet the difficulty appears to be the selection 
 of the most solid and rich buff possible, or else 
 a rich gold. Red would be the easiest colour, 
 and is being bred in Anierica, but to English 
 eyes destroys the beauty of the marking ; on the 
 other hand, the most beautiful Chamois Polish 
 we ever saw were a deep rich gold, of a shade 
 which not only increased the beauty of the 
 lacing, but would probably be easier to breed 
 free from blurred lacing or from "meal," the 
 analogue of black ticking or pepper in the 
 Golden Wyandotte. 
 
 Of the White Wyandotte, the last really pure 
 or uncrossed descendant of the original Wyan- 
 dotte raCe — for it was undoubtedly a sport from 
 the Silver — the Rev. J. Crombleholme writes as 
 follows : — 
 
 " If I desired to keep Wyandottes for utility 
 purposes only, I should select the White. The 
 White, as a rule, is the plumpest Wyandotte 
 
 grown, for, as there are no markings 
 White to breed for, but purity of white 
 
 Wyandottes. only, one need not fear to regularly 
 
 introduce new blood in the yard. 
 As a consequence, the enervation of constitu- 
 tion that follows too much in-breeding does not 
 exi.st, and strong progeny is ensured. Another 
 consequence of this freedom of choice is that 
 the Whites are the best layers. Sweeping 
 assertions of this nature are, perhaps, open to 
 contradiction ; but, at all events, my own best- 
 shaped Wyandottes are the Whites ; they are 
 also my best layers, and produce the most fertile 
 eggs. 
 
 " In breeding Whites we must insist on 
 purity of colour. It is no use trying to get 
 good chickens from sappy parents. There is 
 something in a ' sappy ' feather which no one 
 that I know of has been able to diagnose, and 
 which is always perpetuated in young stock. 
 Anyone, then, anxious to breed exhibition 
 chickens must insist on a true white colour in 
 the parents. No matter how big or how fine 
 a cock or hen looks, if they are yellowish or 
 discoloured, keep them out of the breeding pen. 
 When I first began breeding White Wyandottes 
 I wrote to a noted breeder of White Leghorns, 
 and risked him how he managed to show such 
 extremely white birds, hinting that if there was 
 anything in it he might let me know. His answer 
 was, that his was a white strain. I took it 
 then that he did not wish to tell me his secrets, 
 arid let the matter drop ; but now, after eight 
 
 years ofbreeding, I have come to the conclusion 
 that this White breeder was not joking, but 
 telling a straightforward tale." 
 
 These few sentences sum up the question 
 of colour in a nut-shell, and may be compared 
 with what was said in earlier chapters respecting 
 White Cochins and Brahmas. As in those 
 breeds, the colour of the plumage adds difficulty 
 to the attainment of bright yellow beaks and 
 legs, and this was increased some years ago 
 in certain English strains, by the fact that they 
 had been crossed with White Dorking. This 
 cross was, at one time, very apparent in the 
 Dorking comb, and head, and back, and tail ; 
 but these faults have now practically disappeared, 
 and the birds at present exhibited are good 
 cobby Wyandottes. 
 
 It has already been intimated that this 
 variety is one of the two most generally kept in 
 the whole of the United States, disputing with 
 the Barred Rock alone the premier position in 
 the American poultry world. This can only 
 be the case with a white fowl where the poultry 
 interest is chiefly in the hands of the farming 
 class, as it is there; and in that country the 
 yellow leg is an added recommendation. But 
 we can add our testimony that a White Wyan- 
 dotte, besides being a most prolific layer, plucks 
 to a most attractive-looking market-fowl, arid 
 is most delicious eating. 
 
 Buff Wyandottes are avowedly cross-made 
 birds, and were produced independently both in 
 America and England. The first American 
 
 birds were exhibited at Liverpool in 
 Buff 1893, but English strains were al- 
 
 Wyandottes. ready in existence or being formed 
 
 at that time. In America they 
 were produced by crossing Silver Wyandottes 
 both with Buff Cochins, and in some quarters 
 with Rhode Island Reds, an American yellow- 
 legged amalgam of Cochin and local stock, very 
 similar to our own white-legged Lincolnshire 
 Buff, now known as Buff Orpington. In England 
 the Silver Wyandotte and Buff Cochin were 
 chiefly employed. Owing to this further cross 
 of the Cochin, Buff Wyandottes are rather apt 
 to manifest more propensity to sitting than the 
 other varieties ; but in spite of this are remark- 
 ably good layers. It is rather curious that, in 
 spite of the buff plumage, such Wyandottes of 
 this variety as we have been able to handle from 
 time to time, have shown less yellow in the skin 
 than most Silvers. This may possibly be ac- 
 counted for by the permeation of Buff Orpington 
 blood into this and other buff breeds, but it 
 would not be safe to dogmatise on such a point. 
 In regard to breeding the plumage, nothing 
 
320 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 need be added to what has been already stated 
 in treating Buff Cochins, Rocks, and Orpingtons. 
 As in the case of Rocks, the yellow shanks and 
 beaks required, make the colour rather easier to 
 breed than it is in Buff Orpingtons. The general 
 similarity in so many points makes it especially 
 necessary to maintain true and characteristic type 
 in judging this variety. 
 
 Partridge Wyandottes should have the exact 
 colour and pencilling of the Partridge Cochin, 
 with the shape and comb and legs of the 
 Wyandotte family. They are of 
 Partridge quite recent origin, but have be- 
 Wyandottes. come popular very rapidly, and 
 seem likely to remain so ; the fact 
 is that there is a natural fitness between certain 
 breeds and certain colours, and the Partridge 
 marking, or rather the colour which now passes 
 by that name, appears to suit the neat and 
 close-feathered Wyandotte type particularly 
 well. The following notes upon this variety are 
 contributed by Mr. John Wharton, of Honey- 
 cott Farm, Hawes, who was the first to 
 introduce it into this country, and whose success 
 as an exhibitor is recorded in the catalogues ; 
 they enter sufficiently into its origin, its char- 
 acteristics, and its breeding : — 
 
 " It was, I believe, in the year 1894 that I 
 noticed in an American poultry journal a letter 
 by the late Mr. McKeen, stating that he was 
 working on the manufacture of Partridge 
 Wyandottes, and this letter was immediately 
 followed by one from Mr. Geo. H. Brackenbury, 
 stating that he too had been engaged in breed- 
 ing such a variety. These fanciers, it must be 
 remembered, had been working quite unknown 
 to each other, as their homes were some 
 thousand miles apart. Mr. McKeen had the 
 assistance of Mr. E. O. Theim, an able and 
 careful breeder, whilst Mr. Brackenbury had an 
 equally good helper in Mr. Cornell. On 
 noticing the above letters, I wrote Mr. McKeen 
 asking if he had any birds to spare. He replied 
 that he would be pleased to fill me a small 
 order in the autumn, when he thought he 
 could send me a good start ; but before autumn 
 came Mr. McKeen was removed by death — a 
 valuable worker in the fancy was gone. How- 
 ever, through the extreme kindness of Mr. 
 Theim, we were able to procure a cock 
 and two hens, and two cockerels with six 
 pullets, and these reached us safely early in 
 December, 1896. They immediately com- 
 menced laying, and from the very first sitting 
 we hatched the well-known hen ' Pippin,' which 
 has won forty-eight first prizes, and is still in 
 prime show condition. 
 
 " I never asked how they were originated, 
 but from what I have noticed in their breeding, 
 I should say Partridge Cochin blood laid the 
 foundation, whilst a judicious mixture of 
 Golden Wyandotte and Indian Game made up 
 the remainder. 
 
 " Of course the birds we imported were not 
 perfect ; in fact they were far from that standard, 
 which could be accounted for by more reasons 
 than one. They were a new breed ; and no new 
 breeds are expected to be perfection, or the 
 charm would be lost in taking them up. But a 
 greater reason than that made them look im- 
 perfect to British eyes, and that was their red or 
 mahogany ground-colour, the idea of their 
 originators being to get what we don't want, 
 viz. a foxy or red ground-colour [see on 
 American Partridge Cochins, page 256]. No one 
 regrets this difference of opinion over the breed 
 more than myself, as otherwise we could year 
 by year have improved our yards by importa- 
 tion, and they would have reaped a good harvest 
 of dollars. As it was, a second importation 
 proved to us the folly of importing any more 
 from America, as English judges considered 
 them far too red in ground-colour and too dark 
 in hackle. 
 
 " I ought here to mention that Mr. Petti- 
 pher, of Banbury, brought out a little later than 
 our importations another strain, of his own 
 home manufacture. In making this he strove, 
 and with much success, to improve the ground- 
 colour, and keep it of an English type. This 
 strain, I believe, was produced entirely from 
 Partridge Cochin and Golden Wyandotte blood. 
 
 " Many have an idea that the breeding of 
 Partridge Wyandottes will be easy compared 
 to Silvers and Golds. To such I say, 'Try.' 
 I will, however, give a little of my experience 
 with the variety, which may help those that are 
 taking them up to know how to breed, and what 
 to breed for. 
 
 " First we will take the cock, and show what 
 is wanted in a show specimen, and how to get it. 
 We will begin at his head, by mentioning that 
 the beak ought to be a bright yellow, though 
 very few are yet to be found that possess this 
 point. Next, the eye should be red, or at least 
 bright bay : a pearl eye is a great objection, and 
 Very hereditary. The comb should be of that 
 true Wyandotte shape, termed a ' cradle comb,' 
 one that fits close to the head, and has the spike 
 following the arch of the neck. Colour of head 
 should be a rich orange, not red as we often see 
 them. The hackle should be full, and fall well 
 on to the back. The colour should be orange 
 or golden-red, each feather having an intense 
 black stripe down the centre, but not running 
 
BREEDING PARTRIDGE WYANDOTTES. 
 
 321 
 
 up the full length of feather, or this will give 
 the fault known as a smutty hackle, which is 
 very objectionable. The breast should be a 
 raven black right up to the throat ; no feather 
 should be tipped with red, neither should there 
 be any red visible even when the feathers are 
 separated. The black should also continue 
 over the thighs, between his legs, and right up 
 to the root of tail ; a bird that shows light or 
 grey behind is faulty. His back is required to 
 be a rich red, but a bright red, not too dark a 
 colour. The saddle hackle should harmonise 
 with the neck, and be equally as well striped. 
 The bar across wing should be as black as the 
 breast, free from red tipping. The secondaries 
 should be a rich bay on outer web, having a 
 solid rich appearance when closed. The tail 
 should be black right to the roots ; many birds 
 have white in tail. Legs, as in all Wyandottes, 
 are I'equired a rich yellow all round, not red up 
 the side or smutty in front, with toes well 
 spread and free from any sign of ' duck foot' 
 Whenever such a bird is produced, he is well 
 worth £2i), as he will be fit for the show pen for 
 at least three years. 
 
 " To mate for the above we should require a 
 male as near like it as possible. To him we 
 would mate large hens or pullets, because with- 
 out large females we cannot get large cockerels, 
 and a large good bird always looks better than 
 a small good one in the show pen. See that 
 these females have good combs, and decent 
 coloured legs, with plenty of bone, and, more- 
 over, a good Wyandotte shape. The neck- 
 hackle is perhaps the most important point ; 
 see that these possess a good stripe, with an 
 equally good orange edge. As we do not 
 require pencillings in cocks, we should not 
 look for it in his mates, and, indeed, we con- 
 sider females without pencilling more likely to 
 breed good exhibition cockerels. The ground- 
 colour must, however, be of the desired brown 
 shade. With the above mating we should get 
 exhibition cockerels, but the pullets would only 
 be suitable for again mating up to produce 
 cockerels in their turn. 
 
 " The pullet's description comes next, and 
 again we will begin at her head. The beak, eye, 
 comb, and leg colour should be exactly as in the 
 male, but of course^ harmonising with her sex. 
 The ground-colour all over her body should be 
 a rich light brown, not red, or it will be termed 
 foxy ; neither do we want it to err on the other 
 side, or it will be termed grey or clayey. Each 
 feather should be pencilled with a darker shade, 
 the pencilling to follow the shape of the feather, 
 as in the best Cochin hens. The pencilling 
 should extend well up to the thrc5at and right 
 
 back to the tail, and with as much pencilling as 
 possible on the thighs — in fact, pencilled all over 
 except tail, which should be black, and hackle, 
 which should be orange striped with black. 
 Pullets with good yellow legs are ie^N as yet, but 
 breeders must strive to obtain this important 
 point, and judges in turn must reward it when 
 seen. 
 
 " To produce exhibition pullets we require a 
 different mating from that for cockerels. The 
 females must be as near the exhibition type as 
 possible, and the male required is one that has 
 been ' pullet-bred.' He will generally be one 
 with tipping on breast and thighs, but here lies 
 a great danger. You must know for a certainty 
 that he is ' pullet bred,' because faulty exhibition 
 cockerels are sometimes sold as such, and such 
 a male upsets all the mating. 
 
 "When we imported our first birds, we 
 resolved never to 'puff' them, but to let them 
 either win their way by their merits, or go the 
 way that many other new breeds have done. 
 Four years have now passed since they reached 
 us, and to-day we are proud to have introduced 
 a breed of fowls which have proved themselves 
 such useful, hardy, egg-producing machines, and 
 which are now in the hands of so many excellent 
 fanciers. One thing which makes them valuable 
 from an exhibition point of view, is the fact that 
 their exhibition career is not over in a couple of 
 months, like many breeds. The pullets in 
 particular moult year by year sharper and more 
 distinct in pencilling, whilst the cockerels have 
 generally a brighter top colour after their first 
 moult." 
 
 Differing in type and in the clean legs, it will 
 be observed that the breeding of this colour in 
 Wyandottes is precisely the same as in Cochins, 
 exactly as might have been expected. 
 Silver 'YhR same remark may be made with' 
 
 Pencilled respect to a kindred variety called 
 
 Wyandottes. the Silver-pencilled Wyandotte, still 
 more recently produced in America, 
 and which has the colour of the Dark Brahma. 
 These were also originated by Mr. Brackenbury, 
 a well-known American judge and fancier, who 
 never made any secret of the fact that they 
 were due to mating Wyandottes with selected 
 Dark Brahma pullets, carefully selecting and 
 " line-breeding " the produce. Mr. Wharton 
 reports having received a first consignment 
 of these birds, consisting of two trios, so lately 
 as January, 1901, and has therefore had no 
 experience as yet in breeding them ; but there 
 can be no doubt that the same rules in breeding 
 must hold good as in the case of Dark Brahmas. 
 For cockerel breeding, as with the Partridges, 
 exhibition cocks will be needed, with- black 
 
322 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 breasts and under-parts, and silvery-white top- 
 colour, mated with dark hens or pullets well 
 striped in hackle, but which need not have much 
 marking on the body. For pullet-breeding, on 
 the other hand, exhibition females must be 
 selected, with good pencilling, and mated 
 with cocks bred from a female strain, whose 
 breast feathers are either ticked or laced with 
 white at the tips. 
 
 These birds are described as striking in 
 appearance, with neat Wyandotte bodies of 
 the usual size, and laying a nice coloured 
 egg. Pt is too soon to predict whether they 
 mayor may not become popular in- England, 
 where the accepted Partridge colour does not 
 give the same contrast with it as the darker 
 American ground, and where Partridge pencil- 
 ling is therefore as clear and distinct as the 
 Brahma. If they do, it must necessarily raise the 
 question of nomenclature, as it has already done 
 in the United States. The first brown pencilled 
 birds were there also first called Partridge, after 
 the Cochin precedent ; but when the Brahma 
 type also came upon the scene, this was in- 
 sufficient, and the terms " Gold-pencilled " and 
 " Silver-pencilled " began to be used almost of 
 necessity. It would be useless to further 
 discuss this question at the present stage. 
 
 It may be well to point out in conclusion, that 
 in regard to all except the self-coloured varieties, 
 the Wyandotte is perhaps the most impressive 
 modern example of the efficacy of that line- 
 breeding fully explained on pp. 1 90-1 91 of this 
 work. The " marked " varieties present plumage 
 of considerable difficulty, obtained by amalga- 
 mating very heterogeneous materials, and some 
 of them have been produced within a very recent 
 period ; yet something like standard marking has 
 been obtained in a surprisingly short space of 
 time. Years ago, it is safe to say, so much pro- 
 gress in so short a time would have been impos- 
 sible, as is indeed, proved by the history of the 
 Silver Wyandotte, the first and progenitor of the 
 family. We saw many yards of that variety, and 
 the average produce was enough to discourage 
 any breeder ; the great mass were to all appear- 
 ance the merest mongrels, of all kinds of marking 
 and peppering, from which only a few could be 
 selected that were fair show specimens. That 
 was the result of buying and crossing stock 
 according to the ordinary method, which many 
 fanciers pursue even yet ; while some of those 
 who adopted in-breeding, and thereby soon 
 obtained better marking, by their want of system 
 obtained less than they might have done, and in 
 many cases lost size and shape and constitution. 
 By employing the more systematic methods 
 already referred to, which have been in America 
 
 so assiduously taught for years by Mr. Felch, 
 the history of the more recent varieties has 
 been a marked contrast to this. American 
 breeders have known what to do, and by the 
 systematic method of line-breeding have obtained 
 equal results in a much shorter space of time, 
 and upon the whole without any physical deteri- 
 oration. 
 
 In judging Wyandottes, any tendency to- 
 wards too much size should be resisted ; and the 
 time -has certainly come to take more account of 
 shape and type than has hitherto al- 
 Judging ways been the case in this country. It 
 
 Wyandottes. ^y^g inevitable that for a period atten- 
 tion should be chiefly fixed upon colour 
 and marking, which presented such enormous 
 difficulties in defining and fixing, from such a 
 conglomeration of material. That has always 
 been the English method of building up any 
 breed characterised by marking, and it is more- 
 over a perfectly sound and proper system, as 
 shown in pp. 187-188, to direct attention first 
 and chiefly to the most difficult points, post- 
 poning if necessary others which can be picked 
 up with less difficulty. But in the main that 
 part of the work has now been accomplished ; 
 and it is time that any marked . deficiency in 
 the compact and cobby build without which 
 a bird cannot be really a Wyandotte, even if 
 marked correctly, should be more heavily 
 penalised. 
 
 The following is the standard for Wyandottes 
 as adopted by the Poultry Club, in consultation 
 with the specialist bodies : — 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Short and broad. Comb : 
 Rose, firm and even on head ; full of fine work ; low 
 and square at front, tapering towards the spike, which 
 should follow the curve of the neck. Face : Smooth and 
 fine in texture. Ear-lobes and Wattles : Medium length, 
 fine in texture. Neck : Medium length, well arched, 
 with full hackle. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Full and round, keel bone straight. 
 Back : Broad and short. Saddle : Full and broad, rising 
 with concave sweep to tail. Wings : Medium size, 
 nicely folded to the side. 
 
 Tail. — Well developed, spread at base ; the true tail 
 feathers carried rather upright; sickles of medium 
 length. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Of medium length, well 
 covered with soft and webless feathers. Fluff: Full 
 and abundant. Shanks : Medium length, strong, but 
 fine in bone. Toes : Four in number, straight and well 
 spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Graceful and well 
 balanced, resembling a Brahma. 
 
 Sizeand Weight.— Rather large. Matured cockerels 
 about 6^ lbs. for Buff Laced, 7 lbs. other colours ; adult 
 cocks about 7^ lbs, in Buff Laced, 8J lbs. in other 
 colours. 
 
JUDGING WYANDOTTES. 
 
 323 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and 
 Wattles as in the cock, but the appendages smaller. 
 Neck : Medium length, with short full hackle. 
 
 Body.— To correspond with that of the cock. Back : 
 Short, and wide at shoulder. 
 
 Tail.— Well spread at base. 
 
 Legs and Feet.— As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — To correspond with the 
 cock. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Pullets 51 lbs. in Buff Laced, 6 lbs. 
 in other colours ; adult hens 6^ lbs. in Buff Laced, 7 lbs. 
 in other colours. 
 
 COLOUR OF SILVER WYANDOTTES. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Horn colour, shading into or 
 tipped with yellow. Eye : Bright bay. Comb, Face, Ear- 
 lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. Shanks and Feet : Bright 
 yellow. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head : Silvery white. Neck : Silvery 
 white, with clear black stripe through centre of each 
 feather, free from ticks. Saddle : Hackles to match the 
 neck. Back : Silvery white, free from yellow or straw 
 colour. Shoulder Tip ; White, laced with black. Wing- 
 bow : Silvery white. Wing Coverts : Evenly laced, 
 forming (at least) two well-defined bars. Secondaries : 
 Black on inner and wide white stripe on outer web, the 
 edge laced with black. Primaries or Flights : Black on 
 inner web, and broadly laced white on outer edge. 
 Breast and Under-parts : The web white, with well defined 
 jet black lacing, free from double or white outer lacing, 
 the lacing regular from throat to back of thighs, showing 
 green lustre. Under-colour : Dark slate. Tail : True 
 tail feathers, sickles, and coverts black, showing green 
 lustre. Thighs and Fluff : Black or dark slate, powdered 
 with dark grey, with clear lacing round hocks and outer 
 side of thighs. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head: Silvery white. Neck: Silvery white, 
 with clear black stripe through centre of each feather, 
 free from ticks. Breast and Back : Under-colour dark 
 slate; web white, with regular, well defined jet black 
 lacing, free from double or outer lacing, and showing 
 green lustre. Wings : Same as back on the broad 
 portion. Secondaries and Primaries as in the cock. 
 Tail : Black, showing green lustre ; the coverts black 
 with a white centre to each feather. Thighs and Fluff : 
 Black or dark slate, powdered with dark grey. [N.B. — 
 Regularity of lacing and quality of colour in all cases 
 to count above any particular breadth of lacing.] 
 
 COLOUR OF GOLDEN WYANDOTTES. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Horn colour, shading into or 
 tipped with yellow. Eye : Bright bay. Comb, Face, 
 Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. Shanks and Feet : 
 Bright yellow. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head : Rich golden bay. Neck Hackle : 
 Rich golden bay with distinct black stripe down the 
 centre of each feather, free from ticks, black outer 
 edging, or black tips. Saddle Hackles : To match the 
 neck. Back : Rich bay, free from black, or from deep 
 maroon. Breast and Wings : Same as Silvers, sub- 
 stituting rich golden bay for white in gsound colour. 
 Thighs and Fluff : Black or dark slate, slightly powdered 
 with gold, with clear lacing round hocks and outer side 
 of thighs. [N.B.— Brightness and uniformity of colour 
 to be considered of more value than any particular 
 shade.] 
 
 In the Hen. — Head : Rich golden bay. Neck Hackle : 
 Rich golden bay, with distinct black stripe down the 
 centre of each feather, free from ticks, black outer 
 
 edging, or black tips. Breast, Back, Wings, and Tail as 
 in Silvers, substituting rich golden bay for white as the 
 ground colour. Thighs and Fluff : Black or dark slate 
 slightly powdered with gold. [N.B. — Brightness and 
 equality of ground colour, and regularity of lacing 
 throughout, to be of first importance.] 
 
 COLOUR OF WHITE WYANDOTTES. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Bright yellow. Eye: Bright 
 bay. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. 
 Plumage : Pure white throughout ; straw colour to be 
 avoided. Legs and Feet : Bright yellow. 
 
 COLOUR OF BUFF WYANDOTTES. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Rich yellow. Eye: Bright 
 bay. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. 
 Plumage : Any shade of buff from lemon buff to rich 
 buff, on the one side avoiding washiness and on the 
 other side a reddish tinge. The colour uniform 
 throughout, allowing for greater lustre on the hackle, 
 saddle, and wing-bow in the case of the cock only. 
 Legs and Feet : Bright yellow ; toenails white. 
 
 COLOUR OF BUFF LACED WYANDOTTES. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow, or horn colour tipped 
 with yellow. Eye : Bright bay. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, 
 and Wattles : Bright red. Legs and Feet : Bright yellow ; 
 toenails yellow. 
 
 In the Cock.—H ead: Rich buff. Neck and Saddle : Rich 
 buff, with white stripe down centre of each feather. 
 Breast and Thighs : Rich buff, with clear and regular 
 white lacing ; under-colour white. Back, Shoulders, and 
 Wing-bow : Rich solid buff, of same shade as buff in 
 saddle. Wing-bars : Laced with pure white and well 
 defined. Secondaries : White on the inner web, outer 
 web rich buff laced and white. Tail : Pure white. 
 Fluff and Under-colour : White. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head and Neck, as in the cock. Breast, 
 Back, and Wings : Rich buff, with regular white lacing. 
 Secondaries : Buff, with neat white lacing on outer web. 
 Fluffy : White. Tail : White ; the lacing on cushion may 
 continue into the tail coverts. 
 
 COLOUR OF PARTRIDGE WYANDOTTES. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Horn colour, shading into or 
 tipped with yellow. Eye: Bright bay. Comb, Face, 
 Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. Legs and Feet : 
 Bright yellow ; toenails horn colour. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head : Rich orange. Neck : Orange or 
 golden red, with paler shade at back, each feather 
 having a glossy black stripe down centre. Back : Rich 
 dark red, free from maroon or purple shade. Saddle 
 as in the neck hackle. Wings : Shoulder rich red, as in 
 the back. Wing-bar : Sohd black. Secondaries : Rich 
 bay on outer web, and black on inner, web and end of 
 feather, the rich bay alone showing when the wing is 
 closed. Breast: Black, free from ticks. Fluff: Solid 
 black. Tail, including sickles and tail coverts, glossy 
 metallic black. 
 
 In the Ken.-— Head : Rich orange. Neck : Golden 
 yellow striped with black. Breast, Back, and Wings : A 
 light brown ground colour, free from red or yellow 
 tinge, every feather distinctly and plentifully pencilled 
 with a darker shade. Pencilhng uniform throughout, 
 to follow the form of the feather. A brick or yellow 
 ground colour objectionable. Fhiff : Brown (free from 
 yellow or red), slightly pencilled (the more pencilled 
 the better). Tail: True tail feathers black, shading to 
 brown at top, which should be well pencilled. 
 
324 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN WYANDOTTES. 
 
 GOLD OR SILVER. — COCK OR HEN. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb ... 
 
 „ head 
 
 ,, ear-lobes and wattles 
 
 „ neck ... ... 
 
 ,, breast 
 
 ,, back 
 
 tail 
 
 „ ■ wings 
 
 fluff 
 
 legs 
 
 Want of size and condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 .. 8 
 
 • • 5 
 
 .. 6 
 
 ... 8 
 
 .. 14 
 
 .. 14 
 
 •• 7 
 
 .. 12 
 
 ... 6 
 
 ,.. 6 
 
 ... 14 
 
 BUFFS. — COCK OR HEN. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 head 
 
 ear-lobes and wattles 
 
 neck 
 
 breast 
 
 back... 
 
 wings 
 
 tail 
 
 fluff 
 
 colour 
 
 legs 
 
 Want of size and condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 
 5 
 5 
 4 
 30 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 BUFF LACED. — THE COCK. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head and comb 
 
 „ ear-lobes and wattles 
 
 „ neck and saddle 
 
 „ breast and thighs 
 
 „ back and wings 
 
 » tail 
 
 „ fluff and under colour ... 
 
 PARTRIDGE. — THE COCK. 
 
 Want of size and condition 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 BUFF LACED. — THE HEN. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head and comb 
 
 ,, ear-lobes and wattles 
 
 „ breast 
 
 „ back 
 
 ,. tail ... 
 
 ., wings 
 
 fluff 
 
 » legs' 
 
 Want of size and condition 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 WHITES. — COCK OR HEN. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb . 
 
 „ head 
 
 „ ear-lobes and wattles 
 
 „ neck 
 
 „ back 
 
 .. body 
 
 » wings 
 
 ,> tail 
 
 » legs 
 
 Want of size and condition 
 
 up to 
 
 
 Defects. 
 
 
 . 8 
 
 Defects 
 
 m comb 
 
 
 . 6 
 
 tt 
 
 head 
 
 ... 
 
 • 13 
 
 j» 
 
 ear-lobes 
 
 and wattles 
 
 .-20 
 
 11 
 
 neck... 
 
 ... ... 
 
 . 12 
 
 )) 
 
 breast 
 
 
 • 15 
 
 )» 
 
 back 
 
 ... 
 
 . 10 
 
 J) 
 
 wings 
 
 
 • 5 
 
 }) 
 
 tail ... 
 
 ... 
 
 . 11 
 
 jf 
 
 fluff ... 
 
 ... 
 
 
 )j 
 
 legs ... 
 
 
 100 
 
 Want of 
 
 size and condition ... 
 
 
 
 
 A perfect 
 
 Deduct 
 
 
 
 
 up to 
 
 
 PARTRIDGE.— TH 
 
 . 8 
 
 
 
 
 . 6 
 
 
 Defects. 
 
 
 . 20 
 
 Defects 
 
 in comb 
 
 ... ... 
 
 . 15 
 
 
 head 
 
 
 • 15 
 
 
 ear-lobes and wattles 
 
 . 10 
 
 )) 
 
 neck... 
 
 
 . 10 
 
 )j 
 
 breast 
 
 
 ■ 5 
 
 T) 
 
 back 
 
 
 . II 
 
 >1 
 
 wings 
 
 
 
 )) 
 
 tail ... 
 
 
 100 
 
 )) 
 
 fluff... 
 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 12 
 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 8 
 
 .. 8 
 
 .. 20 
 
 Want of size and condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 .. 8 
 
 .. 5 
 .. 6 
 
 .. 12 
 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 12 
 
 .. 10 
 
 ■• 7 
 
 .. 8 
 .. 8 
 •■ 14 
 
 100 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ... 6 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 14 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Any feathers on shanks or toes. Permanent white or 
 yellow in ear-lobes, covering more than one-third of 
 their surface. Combs other than rose, or falling over 
 on one side, or so large as to obstruct the sight. Wry 
 tails. Deformed beaks. Crooked backs. Shanks 
 other than yallow in colour (except adult cocks and 
 hens, which may shade to light straw colour). Feathers 
 other than white in Whites ; white in tail, or any con- 
 spicuous spotting or peppering on ground of the feathers, 
 in Silvers or Golds ; black in tail, or any excess of blue 
 or grey in lacing, of Buff Laced. 
 
3*5 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MALAYS, ASEEL, AND INDIAN GAME. 
 
 THE fowls treated in this chapter, though 
 the relationship is probably not very 
 recent, are obviously more or less allied, 
 and represent variations of another Asiatic race 
 as typical as the Cochin, and which in the branch 
 which first comes before us is also distinguished 
 by its gigantic size. It is perhaps most probable 
 on the whole that the Aseel represents the more 
 ancient as well as the most pure original stock ; 
 in which case the Malay would owe its origin to 
 crosses of that stock upon common local poultry 
 of various kinds, gaining thereby in size, and 
 losing somewhat in definite type, very much as 
 the Malay is found to exist in actual fact. But 
 there is strong ground for another hypothesis. 
 A large bird of this general type is the indigen- 
 ous or common fowl of a large part of Indiaj as 
 well as of the peninsula whose name it bears, 
 and is in fact to this day more diffused than any 
 other through a very large part of Eastern 
 Asia. Upon this ground Temminck believed it 
 to be the domesticated descendant of some wild 
 Gallus giganteus now lost, but more or less re- 
 sembling it. This view has lately been over- 
 shadowed by the theory of Mr. Darwin that the 
 Gallus bankiva is the origin of all races of poul- 
 try ; but when we consider how general and 
 widely spread is this Malay shape and type, and 
 how constantly merely domestic races revert to 
 more primitive types unless preserved with a 
 sedulous care which Eastern peoples never give, 
 except to the strains cherished for cock-fighting 
 purposes, the view of the older naturalist will be 
 seen to have more in its favour than is generally 
 supposed. If it were true, then the Malay would 
 be the more ancient stock of the breeds now to 
 be treated of, and the Aseel the cultivated aristo- 
 crat of the family, developed out of it by genera- 
 tions of careful breeding for one special purpose. 
 In any case, the occurrence of two totally 
 different races of poultry in the East, both dis- 
 tinguished by gigantic size, raises a rather 
 interesting question in regard to poultry feeding. 
 Fowls are never fed in India or China with the 
 care given them in England or America, nor 
 with any study of nitrogenous "ratios" or any- 
 thing of that kind, yet there have come to us 
 
 from thence several marked varieties of two 
 distinct races, both gigantic in size. The only 
 noticeable fact which appears upon inquiry into 
 the subject, is that the ordinary food of these 
 fowls in their own country is "paddy," or un- 
 husked rice. We know of this grain when husked 
 that it is the very poorest of food, unless supple- 
 mented by other elements: we actually give 
 it to Bantams to keep them small. But we 
 know in the West scarcely anything about the 
 husk of this grain, and no analysis of either the 
 husk or the whole grain has ever been made 
 that we know of; such facts as those before us 
 suggest that the analysis and food value of 
 unhusked rice is a question which might repay 
 investigation. 
 
 Coming back to Malays, there is perhaps 
 hardly any breed with characteristics so distinct- 
 ive and well marked, which makes it the more sur- 
 prising that some of the "all-round" 
 Ch^au:actenstics j^^^^g ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^j^ ^^^^^^ ^^ 
 
 Malays. grasp them. The head of the cock 
 
 is large, and particularly very broad, 
 with heavy overhanging eyebrows, which give 
 a cruel expression to the face by no means belied 
 by the character of the bird. Besides this, some 
 of the older writers describe the bird as " serpent- 
 headed,^' and observation will confirm the 
 singular aptness of the expression, quite differ- 
 ent from the snaky head sometimes spoken of in 
 Game. The beak is very stout and quite curved, 
 almost hooked in fact. The face is smooth and 
 skinny, with thethroatrather bare, wattles and ear- 
 lobes small, and the comb unique, neither single, 
 nor rose, nor triple, but like half of a walnut 
 covered with very small projections. This should 
 be fairly small and set well forward ; but if two 
 small combs are bred together, it is significant 
 that pea-combs are apt to result, showing clearly 
 the relationship with both breeds treated of in 
 the following sections. The neck is long, and 
 hackle full there, but short and scanty below, 
 which gives the entire neck somewhat the ap- 
 pearance of a pillar the same diameter all the 
 way down, and rising almost abruptly out of 
 the shoulders. The body is large round at the 
 shoulders, which are very prominent and carried 
 
326 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 high, and tapers away towards the tail, the back 
 being long, rather convex in outline, and slant- 
 ing downwards : the tail is also carried Ipw and 
 drooping, so that the, back of the neck, the back, 
 and top feathers of the tail appear as three 
 nearly similar curved lines meeting at nearly 
 equal angles : these curves were first represented 
 by us in 1872, and are so characteristic as to be 
 now adopted in the standard, as given on p. 338. 
 The tail is fairly long, but well whipped, or 
 carried rather close together, and the sickles and 
 coverts should be narrow, and tapering very 
 gradually towards the points. Both thighs and 
 shanks are very long, the wings fairly large, and 
 the shoulders standing out prominently from the 
 body even when they are closed. All the plum- 
 age is short, narrow, and hard, so much so that 
 the breast of the cock is generally bare in the 
 centre. This bare breast-bone is not caused by 
 wear, and is so characteristic that when absent 
 it is sometimes artificially produced by plucking ; 
 but when any such bare strip appears in a bird 
 whose feathers on each side are too broad, any 
 judge who passes it without penalty ought to feel 
 humiliated. The plumage is also marked by 
 great lustre when the birds are in good condition. 
 The size is very large, especially in height, some 
 cocks standing 28 to 30 inches in the pen ; but 
 the plumage is so scanty and close, that the body 
 always appears rather small for its real size and 
 weight. The comb and beetle-brows, the narrow 
 and hard feathers, the height and length of limb, 
 the prominent shoulders, and the " three curves'," 
 are the main points of a Malay, and so prominent 
 that no judge can be excused for overlooking 
 them. 
 
 The hen has the same prominent shoulders, 
 the same type of head and neck, and the same 
 general carriage, somewhat less pronounced. 
 She has a peculiar habit of "playing" her tail 
 about more than other breeds, and this point 
 is rather valued as evidence of good blood. 
 
 In regard to colour, all varieties should have 
 brilliant red faces and appendages, pearl, or 
 yellow, or daw eyes, rich yellow shanks with 
 large scales, and yellow beaks, or yellow and 
 horn ; or horn-colour is allowed with very dark 
 plumage. The most common colour shown is 
 a Black-breasted Red cock, with Red Wheaten 
 or cinnamon-coloured hen, a combination which 
 is natural, and breeds true from single mating. 
 Pure Whites are perhaps next common, but 
 less so than many years ago. Of late we have 
 several times seen birds of more or less brown- 
 er ginger-breasted type. Many years since we 
 used to see really magnificent Piles, applying 
 the adjective to both size and colour ; but this 
 variety seems rare now. We have known it 
 
 History 
 of 
 
 imported direct in the old days, but it is also 
 easily bred from Whites and the Black-breasted 
 Reds, and it is probable that really good Piles 
 would again be popular at the present day. 
 
 The Malay is mentioned so far back as in 
 the first edition of Bonington Moubray upon 
 Domestic Poultry, m. 18 15, and is there spoken 
 of as practically synonymous with 
 Early the Chittagong, which may have been 
 
 correct at that time of loose state- 
 ment and nomenclature; but we have 
 already seen reason for believing 
 that at a later period the Chittagong represented 
 a more composite race, crossed more or less with 
 Shanghae, and possibly with Dorking, and 
 probably owing more of its Indian blood to the 
 Aseel than the Malay, as shown by the pea- 
 comb and less prominence, though still rharked, 
 of the brows. We preserve the following notes 
 written for us in 1870 by the late Mr. Hewitt, 
 as carrying the personal recollection of a well- 
 known judge and fancier so far back as the year 
 1830. 
 
 Taking a retrospect of the Malays, as they existed 
 before poultry-shows were so common, it. appears that 
 the strong elastic feather, so hard and metallic, yet so 
 scanty, and the extreme length of the thighbone — so 
 unsightly, yet so all-important characteristics— owners 
 of late years have attempted to soften down, simply to 
 ensure a better-looking and more compact fowl on the 
 table. We thus have lost, in a great measure, the 
 lovely narrow, lustrous feather that once stamped this 
 breed as standing far aloof from all others — a feature 
 that in the Malays of the years 1830 to 1835 was almost 
 universal, the breast-feathers of birds of about that date 
 being so narrow and, free from down as scarcely to cover 
 the fowl's body ; whilst the sickles and side coverts 
 of the cock's tail never exceeded a half-inch in width, 
 were of the brightest iridescent hue, but slightly curved, 
 and tapered very gradually indeed to an extremely fine 
 point. Though carrying with them first impressions of 
 being so barely supplied as to quantity of plumage, such 
 birds when adult never appeared chilled, but, on the 
 contrary, as though encased in whalebone-like armour 
 from the effects of the cold. 
 
 Neither do we now see any close approach to the 
 great weights customary to Malays of bygone days. 
 In 1833 I possessed a ilock of Red Pile Malays, bred 
 from a pen of three birds purchased for me from on 
 shipboard at Liverpool : the old cock was nearly eleven 
 pounds weight and the best hen a little over nine pounds. 
 With the enthusiasm of youth, I weighed them scores of 
 times, hoping to make this couple twenty-one pounds, 
 which, however, at their best they never did attain by 
 two or three ounces. I think we may look in vain for 
 birds of that weight in the present laour. For the 
 amusement of friends, I frequently tested this cock by 
 putting a piece of bread on a table twenty-eight inches 
 in height and four inches from the edge, and yet he was 
 so lengthy and stilty as to easily appropriate the much- 
 coveted morsel without jumping. These fowls bred 
 well, and tolerably true to feather; but among many 
 chickens, I obtained two white pullets and a black-red 
 cockerel, though for three years they bred exclusively 
 Red Piles, the three " sports " just named all occurring 
 
27 
 
 MALAYS 
 
 r.eproduced by Andre & S.'eigh, limited Bushey, Herts. 
 
 ASEEL 
 
VICISSITUDES OF MALAYS. 
 
 327 
 
 in one nest. Some few years back a pen of the same 
 variety of Malays were successfully exhibited at several 
 shows, by a member of the Council of the Birmingham 
 Poultry Exhibition, under the name of "Rangoons"; 
 they were identical with the breed I once had, and were 
 much larger than our present Malays. 
 
 The fine size and character of those early 
 Malays was due to the abundance of imported 
 stock, which frequently came over in the East 
 India Company's vessels, and to an extent that 
 made the fowls then quite common in the 
 neighbourhood of the London Docks. With 
 the fancy for Cochins, this nearly ceased, and 
 such a long-limbed breed specially suffered from 
 in-breeding, as it was then carried on by most 
 of those who practised it at all. Thus it came 
 about that in 1872 we were compelled to write 
 of the fowls then known as fully one-third less 
 in height and weight than the figures given by 
 Mr. Hewitt, and as appearing small in body 
 rather than large. Judges also lost hold of their 
 points ; so that the breed was actually described 
 in the Standard of that day as red-eyed, and we 
 have seen at Birmingham a hen win second 
 prize which was short in the leg, flat in the 
 back, with a spread tail, and to crown all, a 
 single comb ! More on this head is stated in 
 the notes below, but it may be added that it was 
 in order to recover the lost size and constitution, 
 that at that date we strongly advised, crossing 
 with the Indian Game of Cornwall, which was 
 actually far larger and more vigorous than 
 Malays were then, and with enough Malay 
 character in all except height and comb to 
 make such a cross quite legitimate. The advice 
 was followed, and to this- cross was largely due 
 the temporary loss of type, for a few years, 
 alluded to below ; but it did recover size, and 
 renewed much of the lost constitution, and there 
 can be little doubt that during the interval until 
 further importations took place, it saved Malays 
 from extinction or something near it. Later on 
 fresh stock was received, some from India and 
 some from Australia, and stature as well as size 
 was fully recovered. A magnificent cock shown 
 by Mr. De Courcy Peele at the Palace show of 
 1900, had a poor comb, and was very unorthodox 
 in colour (a sort of brown breast spangled with 
 black), but in size and character was one of 
 the most remarkable birds we have ever beheld 
 during rnore than forty years. 
 
 The following notes on Malays are con- 
 tributed by Mr. Edgar Branford, of Woodbridge, 
 Suffolk, well known both as an exhibitor and 
 specialist judge of this' breed. 
 
 " It is with feelings of great pleasure that I 
 furnish a few notes on Malays. First, because 
 I regard it as an honour to be associated with 
 
 Mr. Wright's well-known work ; and secondly, 
 because of a nearly lifelong attachment to a 
 fine old breed. Pedigrees in poultry yards are 
 no longer popular ; but personally I must con- 
 fess to preferring creatures about me that can 
 speak of their ancestors without a blush. Many 
 people abuse my fowls, but few question their 
 individuality, and none deny their claim to long 
 descent. Once seen they will never be taken for 
 anything else. In the first issue of The Illustrated 
 Book of Poultry, the Rev. A. G. Brooke told 
 us of a gentleman who ' had no sympathy with 
 Malays.' Probably the variety has as many 
 detractors as of yore ; but now as then it 
 attracts a portion (shall we say the elect ?) , of 
 fancy's followers, and now as then, when the 
 fancy fever takes the Malayan form it is apt to 
 prove" a chronic ailment. The names of old- 
 time votaries crowd upon me as I write : Brooke, 
 Hawkins, Ridley, Hinton, Fairlie, Terdrey, 
 Owen, Frayn, and Huxtable ; and all I think 
 still stick to the ship save those who have, alas ! 
 gone over to the great majority. The mushroom 
 man, indeed, is perhaps unlikely to persevere 
 with Malays, for their little idiosyncrasies often 
 prove trying, such as the uncertain temper of 
 the cocks — that of the hens is consistent enough, 
 if none too amiable — the hang-dog appearance 
 of the birds when a bit out of sorts, and the 
 tendency of one's best cockerels to go off their" 
 pins just when one is counting upon cups and 
 specials. 
 
 "During the half-century or so which may 
 be said to cover the modern fancy, this breed 
 has had its ups and downs, now rejoicing in 
 
 separate classes, and anon banished 
 Changes in to the colder atmosphere of the 
 Malays. 'Any other variety.' In quality also 
 
 the birds, like their fortunes, have 
 fluctuated, and a short resumi of these latter 
 changes, so far as they come within my own 
 knowledge, may perhaps be of interest. Early in 
 the 'seventies our breed had not emerged from 
 the shadow which fell upon it with the advent 
 of the Cochin. Malays were in the hands of few 
 breeders, and those few appear to have been 
 compelled to resort to in-breeding, which 
 resulted in loss of size, though shape and 
 chatacter were retained. Five years later the 
 birds filled the pens better, but the growth 
 was mainly in breadth, while a square Anglo- 
 Saxon sort of look pervaded them, strongly 
 suggestive of some shameful mtsalliance. Then 
 for a time came improvement, and in the early 
 'eighties were to be seen specimens with old- 
 fashioned necks and thighs, and presenting 
 quite the cut-up swashbuckler appearance so 
 characteristic of the breed. 
 
328 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 "Between 1883 and 1887 circumstances pre- 
 vented my seeing Malays other than my own, 
 and when at the latter date I again looked upon 
 classes of the variety, it seemed to have reached 
 the lowest ebb within my experience. The fowls 
 were of fair size, but their good points, if they 
 had any, were shrouded in feathers, their carri- 
 age approached the horizontal rather than tlie 
 perpendicular, they mostly stood upon wretched 
 feet, while the typical old-time heads were 
 conspicuous by their absence. Indeed, at this 
 period one old breeder told me he thought the 
 beetle-brows gone past redemption. Happily, 
 he was mistaken ; and we have them back in 
 great perfection, and not only them, but points 
 which to my jnind are of equal value, such as 
 correct outline and carriage, broad shoulders, 
 big bone, sound feet, great stature, with short- 
 ness and narrowness of feather ; although in 
 this latter particular we cannot yet rival our 
 Australian cousins ; witness the birds shown by 
 Mr. Ravenhill at the Palace in 1893. ' Size in 
 Malays,' very truly wrote Mr. Wright in 1874, 
 ' should be greatly judged by height,' and I do 
 not hesitate to .affirm that the average length 
 from beak to toenail of birds seen in the show- 
 pen during the decade just brought to a close, 
 exceeded by five inches that of those exhibited 
 in the preceding twenty years. Truly gigantic 
 were some of the chickens produced in the early 
 'nineties, and as good as they were big. About 
 that time Mr. Brooke wrote me, ' I have just 
 been looking at the best pullet I ever saw in my 
 life.' Just lately, perhaps, there may have been 
 a little falling off again in the quality of the 
 youngsters, but the grand class of cocks and 
 useful level lot of hens at the last Palace show, 
 preclude any idea of deterioration. 
 
 " I have never recommended Malays for 
 utility purposes, though nothing can beat a six 
 months' pullet for the table. But to the true 
 fancier, asking what breed he should take up, I 
 would most certainly advocate their claims. Let 
 such a one turn to the appended standard, noting 
 the saliency of the features there described. 
 The greatest tyro cannot fail to see what is 
 wanted. Moreover, with few breeds will he find 
 his desideratum so easy of attainment. Well- 
 bred Malays will breed nearly as true to type 
 as sparrows. The neophyte need not fear their 
 ' reverting ' to Cochin China or Cuckoo Dorking ; 
 and this fixity of type tends to help him in 
 another way, inasmuch that in the show arena 
 the scale is usually turned by size and bone, so 
 that if he can only rear a bigger bird than more 
 experienced competitors, a cup may grace his 
 sideboard very early in his career. 
 
 "A good breeding-pen may consist of a March 
 
 hatched cockerel, measuring 38 inches and 
 weighing about 10 lbs. He should stand upon 
 sound feet and straight legs, and be good in 
 
 points ; for given health and vigour, 
 Breeding the best show bird is the best for stock 
 
 Malays. purposes, though the less he has been 
 
 shown the better. If red Malays 
 are the fancier's choice, the stag, whether of the 
 old maroon or the bright red shade, should have 
 a black breast and be quite free from white 
 feathers. His mates should consist of from three 
 to six adult hens measuring 33 inches, and weigh- 
 ing as much over 'j\ lbs. as they can be obtained. 
 In colour they may be any shade of cinnamon, 
 wheaten, or partridge marked, but any signs of 
 lacing or sparigling should go far to disqualify. 
 Minor faults in colouring, such as red feathers 
 on breasts and iluff of cocks, or smutty ones 
 similarly situated on cinnamon hens, are regarded 
 by good judges with lenient eyes. Indeed the 
 axiom that a good Malay cannot be a bad 
 colour, appeals strongly to most real lovers of 
 the variety. In choosing stock birds, every 
 effort should be made to obtain them hard, short, 
 and narrow in feather, otherwise their good 
 points are completely hidden. Light eyes should 
 also be insisted on. When Mr. Wright wrote in 
 1874, ' There never was a Malay with a red eye,' 
 he and I were in agreement, but since that date 
 the horrid thing has crept in, probably in this 
 wise. Towards the end of the 'seventies Malays 
 were undoubtedly crossed with their own 
 illegitimate offspring, Indian or Cornish Game, 
 with a view to regaining size. Now though the 
 Indians have now, and indeed usually had then, 
 pearl or daw eyes, owing to the potency of 
 their Asiatic ancestors, yet their veins also 
 coqtain the blood of the old red-eyed English 
 fighting Game, and hence the occasional rever- 
 sion in our favourites to those fiery optics. 
 
 " It should be noted that though I have 
 advised the mating of a cockerel with hens, very 
 good chickens may be reared from pullets 
 running with an adult cock ; still personally I 
 find cockerels more reliable for breeding in the 
 cold springs with which we have to contend 
 in our eastern counties. It is also a fact that 
 my own best youngsters have been the 
 produce of three and four year old hens. It 
 will ' be found that the age of the latter is 
 not so important as might be thought. The 
 question is, will they produce a quota of eggs 
 sufficiently early in the season .' and some will 
 do so for several consecutive seasons, while 
 others prove failures even from pullet-hood. 
 In most cases the male and female birds .should 
 be procured from different sources, as at present 
 our Malays are almost all more or less related. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF MALAYS. 
 
 329 
 
 So far as I know it is some years since any 
 importations I'rom abroad have been made, and 
 there is more danger to be apprehended from too 
 close in-breeding than from too violent a cross. 
 Useful typical Malays are to be purchased 
 cheaply enough, but there has never been a time 
 in my experience when a ' flier ' would not 
 command a bit of money. The best are of course 
 the cheapest in the end, and in no breed within 
 my knowledge is so little danger incurred in 
 claiming high-class exhibition specimens, pro- 
 vided they have not been overshown ; still it may 
 sometimes be within the power of a friendly 
 breeder to give the beginner a cheap as well 
 as a good start. 
 
 " With regard to housing and feeding, Malays 
 will stand confinement fairly well, but under such 
 conditions all varieties require special treatment, 
 such treatment in fact as has already 
 Management ^,gg„ advised and described in this 
 Ualays. work for fowls so situated. But 
 
 those in the enjoyment of perfect 
 liberty to roam over field and plantation are 
 content with a simpler regimen. For roosting- 
 place nothing beats a roomy shed, constructed 
 if you please with ash poles and gorse faggots ; 
 a few galvanised sheets on top of the gorse 
 roof will render it absolutely watertight. If no 
 danger is apprehended from foxes, or other 
 thieves, a door can be dispensed with. The 
 perches should be placed about 3 feet from the 
 ground, and the floor should be well littered 
 with brakes or fallen leaves, otherwise the feet of 
 such heavy short-winged fowls are sure to suffer. 
 
 " The feeding of the stock birds gives little 
 trouble. A small handful of sound wheat per 
 bird early each morning, with nearly as much of 
 the same grain as they will eat shortly before 
 they go to roost, and of course access to clean 
 water, will meet the case. Should the hens in 
 early spring prove chary of their eggs, a hot 
 breakfast composed of sharps and liverine, or 
 an occasional ration of cooked meat, will usually 
 bring them to a sense of their duties. 
 
 '• With regard to selection, it " is of course 
 desirable to weed out the wasters as early as 
 possible^ but owing to the fixity of type before 
 alluded to, this weeding is with very young 
 Malay chickens not an easy task for a tyro ; so 
 for a season or two he will do well to keep 
 nearly all his youngsters until they attain the 
 age of sixteen to eighteen weeks, when he will 
 readily see which are likely to make the tallest 
 and finest birds. 
 
 " But we must hatch our chickens before 
 we can count or cull them, and at once crops 
 up the question, broody hens or incubators? 
 Personally, after giving the latter a fair trial, I 
 
 have returned to my allegiance to Dame Nature, 
 though a machine always running througliout 
 the season proves a capital receptacle for for- 
 saken eggs or chickens. Malay hens 
 °and"^ are steady sitters, but it must be 
 Eearing. borne in mind that they require a 
 
 very large amount of nest room, and 
 must be kept free from all disturbing elements. 
 They are also good mothers to their own 
 children, but under no circumstances will they 
 go in for baby-farming, so if coops are used 
 they should be placed wide apart. My own 
 broods are never cooped for more than forty- 
 eight hours after hatching, each hen when set at 
 liberty going her own way and minding her own 
 business. The first food my baby Malays 
 receive consists of Spratts' chicken meal, 
 broken wheat, and a little canary seed. For 
 the necessary animal addition to their diet I 
 had for many years depended upon crissel, but 
 last season resorted instead to freshly cut fresh 
 bones, with very satisfactory results. As the 
 birds grow older, if on a free run, plenty of 
 sound grain with a small allowance of the 
 crushed bone is all that the pullets will require 
 to bring them to maturity. But the cockerels, 
 from the time they are separated from their 
 sisters (and the sooner this is done after their 
 mothers desert them the better) require a more 
 forcing treatment, if their ultimate destiny is to 
 shine in the show pen. Mine get daily a liberal 
 ration of ground bones, also a hot dinner con- 
 sisting of equal parts of coarse sharps, Sussex 
 ground oats, and liverine. I am also a great 
 believer in the efficacy of a daily dose of 
 Parrish's chemical food. 
 
 "From all specific diseases Malays seem 
 wonderfully free, but the cockerels during their 
 fifth* sixth, and seventh months are extremely 
 liable to leg-weakness. As a remedy for this 
 trouble, the pills recommended in the first issue 
 of The Illustrated Book of Poultry [these will be 
 found in the final chapter of this work] have in 
 my experience proved almost infallible. This 
 complaint must not be confounded with either 
 cramp, gout, or rheumatism, in the first of which 
 there is contraction of the toes, in the others 
 heat and swelling of the parts affected. Leg- 
 weakness is rather a form of nervous paralysis, 
 a simple loss of power usually unaccompanied 
 by any constitutional disturbance. 
 
 "The exhibitor of Malays starts with the 
 great advantage, that no trimming is recognised 
 or required in the preparation for the show-pen. 
 Certainly I have seen birds plucked at breast, 
 hock, and hackle, but seldom with beneficial 
 results in the way of prize money. Chickens of 
 course need a little graining before making their 
 
33° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 first bow to the arbitrator, but when once they 
 have learnt the business, they give Httle further 
 trouble, save picking them off their runs and 
 washing their legs and faces : their bold nature 
 makes them capital showers. On their return 
 from a show in the winter season, it is well to 
 confine them for a couple of days in a cool airy 
 room, and when put back on their runs care 
 must be taken to prevent fighting. Malays 
 require suitable baskets in which to travel, and 
 the shape I like best is a long oval. For single 
 cocks they may be 25 inches long, 25 inches 
 high, by 13 inches wide, all inside measure- 
 ments ; for hens, same width, with a fourth 
 taken off the other dimensions. 
 
 " One word in conclusion as to judging. The 
 longer I live the more I am convinced that the 
 fate and fortunes of a breed are mainly in- 
 fluenced by the way in which it is judged. 
 During the years in which the Palace classes 
 were taken by Mr. Chas. E. Waring, the quality 
 and quantity of the birds advanced by leaps and 
 bounds. We knew what he wanted, and what 
 he wanted was the real Simon Pure. But alas ! 
 many 'all-round' judges like Mr. Brooke's 
 friend before mentioned, 'have no sympathy 
 with Malays.' I once asked dear old Mr. 
 Dixon why he had not given a certain bird a 
 card. He replied, ' Isn't he one of those beg- 
 gars with hardly any feathers? I can't stand 
 them.' At, the Dairy show I have seen an 
 unnoticed cockerel sold for .£^25. Not long ago 
 at the Crystal Palace, I myself had a bird in 
 similar cardless condition. I could not attend 
 the show, but I think every Malay breeder who 
 was there, either wired or wrote to me wishing 
 to purchase, or congratulating me on having 
 produced such a warm specimen. Three weeks 
 later he was awarded Challenge Cup at the club 
 show. Such instances might be multiplied 
 almost indefinitely, and they play the mischief 
 with a grand old variety." 
 
 Malays are better not .hatched until May, 01 
 at least the very end of April, as the chickens 
 feather very slowly during the first three months, 
 and though hardy in a way, suffer from wet or 
 cold winds. It is advisable to give them 
 Parrish's Chemical Food towards the end of 
 the fifth month, as a precaution against leg- 
 weakness ; should the cockerels after all be 
 attacked by this complaint, to which all very 
 long-limbed breeds are specially liable, recourse 
 must be had to the pills mentioned above, which 
 will be found in the final chapter of this work. 
 
 As a cross, the Malay possesses many of the 
 good qualities of the Indian Game, imparting 
 large wings and breast to other breeds in which 
 
 these points are less developed, and also weight 
 of solid meat ; but the Indian Game has now 
 almost superseded it for this purpose, giving the 
 same advantages with less length of limb and 
 less tendency to yellowness of skin and flesh. 
 In the early days of the poultry-fancy some 
 crosses with Spanish turned out remarkably well, 
 producing a very glossy black fowl, known for a 
 few years as the " Columbian," which was a good 
 layer of large eggs : these birds died out, how- 
 ever, and any place they might have had is now 
 taken, in all but size of eggs, by the Langshan 
 arid Black Orpington. 
 
 In judging Malays, special stress should 
 always be laid upon the characteristic points 
 as above indicated, which are so striking and 
 
 obvious, that it is difficult to under- 
 Malay? stand how some of them can be 
 
 ignored as they seem still to be on 
 some occasions. They are shortly defined as 
 (i) Head and brow ; (2) Height and limb ; (3) 
 Shoulders ; (4) the " Three Curves " ; and (5) 
 Narrow feather. For marked deficiency in any 
 of these, nothing can really compensate. 
 
 ASEEL. 
 
 As already stated, it cannot be determined 
 now whether the Aseel should be regarded 
 as the ancestor of the Malay type of fowl 
 described in the foregoing section, perhaps 
 through crosses upon larger common poultry of 
 the country, or whether it has been developed 
 from it by long and assiduous care in breeding. 
 The relationship is very evident, as can be seen 
 by the plate; and which is the aristocrat of the 
 family, in either case, is no way doubtful. The 
 Malay is tyrannical and quarrelsome, often even 
 ferocious ; but a good sharp-fighting English 
 Game-cock will always make him turn tail, 
 unless some chance happens to disable the 
 sriialler bird at the outset. The Aseel is of an- 
 other character, and there can be little doubt 
 that the birds whose battles are alluded to in The 
 Institutes of Menu, 1000 B.C., if not 
 Antiquity the Aseel as now known, were at 
 Aseel. Is^st their ancestors, and that the 
 
 present race has been either main- 
 tained or gradually evolved, with express refer- 
 ence to combat, during a period of almost three 
 thousand years. The following chapter will 
 record cock-fighting as practised very widely in 
 past ages amongst civilised races, to an extent 
 that may come as a surprise to many ; but in 
 India it has from time immemorial been pursued 
 with a universality and a passion that elsewhere 
 had no parallel. The result of all this is mainly 
 represented to-day by the Aseel. • 
 
ASEEL AND INDIAN COCK-FIGHTING. 
 
 331 
 
 The type varies somewhat, however, as we 
 traverse the Indian Archipelago. In the first 
 edition of The Illustrated Book of Poultry was 
 given a reproduction of a coloured drawing by a 
 native Chinese artist of the highest class of 
 fighting Game-cock used in the Malay peninsula, 
 Sumatra, and the neighbourhood. This bird 
 presented the low carriage and much of the 
 symmetry of the Aseel, but with more full and 
 flowing plumage. Allowing for the different 
 style of a native artist, the breed was evidently 
 the same as figured in old American poultry- 
 books of 1853, as the Sumatra Game, which had 
 the same flowing tail and sweep of outline. The 
 sickles of the Sumatra Game Fowl, carried low 
 as they were, very nearly touched the ground, 
 and the breed had a small and beautiful pea- 
 comb. Other American importations were 
 known as Javan Game and Malacca Game, all 
 of which had very similar characteristics, but 
 the Javan and Malaccan being larger in size. 
 They all had a small pea-comb ; and they 
 are all reported as " dead game," beating the 
 best English and Spanish Game then fought 
 in the United States : one of these Eastern 
 birds is recorded as having won no less than 
 75 battles against all comers. 
 
 The retired Indian officer to whom -we were 
 indebted for the drawing above alluded to, part 
 of a collection originally intended to 
 Indian illustrate a work on Indian fowls and 
 
 Cock- cock-fighting, supplied some interest- 
 
 Fighting, jng particulars of Eastern methods of 
 carrying on that sport, which differ 
 totally in many ways from those formerly prac- 
 tised in England as described in the next chapter. 
 He was stationed for years in the Straits, and told 
 us that in some districts almost every native walk- 
 ing about would have a cock under his arm ready 
 for any challenger. This was specially the case 
 in Sumatra, and at a great ceremonial cock-fight 
 sometimes a thousand spectators would assemble. 
 The methods of fighting were briefly as follow : — 
 
 Some birds live for years and win many matches, 
 for generally one escapes altogether. Malay cock- 
 fighting is really much less cruel than English ; a few 
 minutes and the longest fight is over. The spurs vary 
 in outline, some being straight, some curved, and some 
 waved ; but all have edges as sharp as razors, and are 
 in fact like blades of penknives fastened on. Thte makes 
 the fighting so quick. It takes yards and yards of soft 
 cotton thread, wrapped round and round in all sorts of 
 ways, to keep the spurs firm in locoj and this is the 
 first art of a Malay. The golok (a straight spur) is 
 generally fastened under foot, close to the ground ; the 
 crooked spur in the natural position. They take a long 
 time to heel the birds, and lots of people (friends) look 
 at the position, and give their advice. All this time the 
 money is collected on the mats — piles of dollars on 
 either side— for they are very clannish, and if one side 
 
 piits down a thousand dollars, the other must do so, or 
 no fight; that is, unless a quarrel ensue, and they 
 fight each other. Very few English engaged in the 
 pursuit — I did not know above half a dozen that ever 
 did ; there was some danger of rows, and few liked to 
 have to do with it, though nothing like so bad as an 
 English cockpit. I once went into the pit at Westminster, 
 and was so disgusted with a main, I never repeated my 
 visit. I never saw a fight at Malacca ; they fight there 
 sometimes, but it is the purely native States that make 
 such a business of it. The Rajah of Siak, the first cock- 
 fighter of his day (1835-6), once sent a deputation to me 
 of five boats full of officers, and about thirty cocks, with 
 a pedigree to each bird : they were various colours and 
 various names, and fine birds all. It was quite a grand 
 ceremonial. 
 
 Many of the birds are carefully trained. I have 
 seen a man throw down a bird and hold out one finger 
 two or three yards off, and the bird would fly at it 
 and strike it ! The birds know their owners, and they 
 handle them most dexterously. They are generally put 
 out of hand on the ground by the competitors at say 
 eight or nine yards apart ; but each man seeks to put 
 his bird down at advantage, and there is manoeuvring. 
 The result depends much on training. Some run under 
 and others fly high ; it matters not how they meet, but 
 meet they do, and strikg home ! They often meet high 
 up in the air. I have seen — at differenf times, of course, 
 and different birds — two cuts from Malay spurs, which, 
 if they could have been done at once, and in one bird, 
 would have quite cut the fowl in two pieces ; one cut 
 going clean through the back deep into the breast, and 
 the other through the breast deep into the back — ^so 
 keen are the edges of these deadly weapons, and so dread- 
 ful are the wounds. Generally one cock at once falls dead 
 or next door to it, so that the other has only to give just 
 one peck and rise, and it is over ; but sometimes the 
 dying bird lays hold of the unwounded one, and by a 
 well-directed blow -kills his assailant at once, and wins 
 the bstttle. They are seldom touched after once let go, 
 because, as I said, one is hors de combat. 
 
 When the Bugis come' to trade in the States the 
 betting is very heavy ; and sometimes when a man loses 
 all he has he becomes desperate — in Malay language, 
 "meng-a-mok" (Anglic^, "runs amuck"), and perhaps 
 kills many. It is quite a royal affair when Bugis chiefs and 
 Malay rajahs meet, and most intensely exciting, as they 
 all have weapons ready for the least afiront, and no man 
 can offer another a greater insult than saying to him, 
 " Eteeh ber taji" {i.e. "Duck-spurred") — the contrast 
 is between the duck and, to their minds, the noblest of 
 birds, a Game-cock ! I have seen hundreds, and even 
 thousands, of dollars lost and won on one fight of a few 
 minutes' duration ; and they go on most of the daylight 
 after they once begin, about noon. 
 
 It is uncertain how long the true Aseel has 
 been known in England. In 1871 Mr. Joseph 
 Hinton, writing upon Malays, gave the following 
 account of some other imported fowls which he 
 had seen : — 
 
 Last year I saw some birds brought from India by . 
 a friend. These birds he called Game, but in many 
 respects they more resembled Malays. The cock's 
 comb and gills appeared to have been cut ; the shoulders 
 were very prominent, and of extraordinary breadth for 
 the size of the bird; the weight probably under six 
 pounds, but the size and hardness of thighs something 
 marvellous. The thickness of the neck was also 
 
332 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 another marked point; the hackle was scanty, and the 
 tail drooping; whilst the general carriage was very 
 Malay. The hens were even more Malay in character 
 than the cocks, and their combs appeared warty. Of 
 these birds my friend was remarkably proud. No strain 
 could stand against them in fighting in India, and he 
 had been offered fabulous sums for them. The hardness 
 of these birds was something quite out of the common, 
 and he tells me the same bird has fought four days 
 following. The method of fighting. there is a test of 
 pluck and endurance, for they cut off the spur and bind 
 tape over if, so that the battle is lengthened out ; yet, 
 he says, these birds would iight day after day for the 
 time I have stated. 
 
 Mr. Hinton believed that these birds were 
 probably a cross between English Game and 
 Malays; but there can be- little doubt now that 
 they were Aseel, which were not known at that 
 date. The details about fighting with muffled 
 spurs are very interesting when compared with 
 those above, by an authority who really under- 
 stood Indian cock-fighting, respecting the sharp 
 and deadly character of real combat. This latter 
 was little test of endurance at all, but depended 
 upon muscle and quickness; and upon that very 
 account, as we have heard also from other 
 sources, the muffled fighting, besides, was 
 practised as training, in order to produce that 
 hardness of muscle for which the Aseel is 
 distinguished. For the modern in- 
 Aseel troduction of the breed, however, 
 
 in fanciers are chiefly indebted to 
 
 England. Mr. Charles F. Montresor, who 
 
 both imported it and spread the 
 knowledge of it to the best of his ability, by 
 exhibiting, and offering classes, and in other 
 ways. 
 
 The following notes upon Aseel are kindly 
 contributed by Sir Claud Alexander, Bart, of 
 Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, whose attachment to the 
 breed has lasted many years. 
 
 "Aseel, as their name (which is an Indian 
 adjective meaning "highborn" or " aristocratic ") 
 denotes, are perhaps the oldest breed of domestic 
 poultry in existence, having been kept from 
 time immemorial by princes, and indeed by all 
 classes in India, for fighting. How well they 
 have been selected and bred for this purpose, 
 will soon be apparent to anyone who takes them 
 up ; for so inborn in them is the spirit of 
 combativeness that even tiny chickens, before 
 they have exchanged their down for feathers, 
 will fight to the bitter end, while the introduction 
 of a new hen into a pen always leads to many 
 bloody heads, and often to more serious damage 
 in the shape of broken beaks and blinded eyes. 
 This, from the point of view of the English 
 exhibitor, is their greatest drawback ; for even 
 when a goodly number of promising chickens 
 have been hatched, no amount of care will 
 
 prevent some of them from being ruined for 
 the show-pen by their brothers aiid sisters. 
 Added to this, although their plump breasts and 
 freedom from offal make them excellent table 
 birds, they are bad layers, and the hens cannot 
 be depended on to lay more than eight or at 
 most a dozen eggs each. Considering all this, 
 it is, perhaps, not to be wondered at that many 
 who have set themselves up with a stock of this 
 variety, have given them up in despair, and been 
 glad to exchange the mangled remnants of their 
 carefully collected pen for a more peaceable 
 breed. Even as I write, my two best pullets 
 are dead, lying slain by a sister of the same 
 hatch ; yet oddly enough Aseel show little or 
 no inclination to fight with other breeds, though 
 in every individual of their own race they seem 
 to see an hereditary foe. 
 
 " Their Indian originators have not confined 
 their efforts to cultivating the mental character- 
 istic of their birds, but have been equally careful 
 to develop them physically to the best advan- 
 tage, selecting always those hens to breed from 
 which were best suited in appearance to produce 
 fighting birds, while in the cocks, survival of the 
 fittest has been secured by the simple process. of 
 fighting them incessantly. No one who has 
 seen and handled a good Aseel can fail to 
 admire the skill which has produced such 
 enormous power in so small a compass ; while 
 offal has been reduced to a minimum, and 
 dubbing rendered unnecessary ; the tiny pea- 
 comb giving no opportunity to an adversary, 
 and the wattles being practically non-existent. 
 For days before the battles come ofif, the natives 
 will argue and wrangle as to the prospects of 
 their respective favourites, and in many cases_ 
 before the arrangements have reached comple- 
 tion, the owners instead of the birds have come 
 to blows. 
 
 " I am told by friends who have watched 
 these fights in India that the birds in common 
 use are of all colours, as is the case with those 
 seen at English shows. Through the kindness, 
 however, of Colonel Hallen, who probably 
 knows more about Aseel than any other Eng- 
 lishman, I obtained some birds whose parents 
 he had imported from the most carefully kept 
 collections of Indian princes, and these were all 
 either black-red or bright ginger, while a few of 
 the hens showed faint traces of the lacing to be 
 seen in our so-called Indian Game, which have 
 undoubtedly been manufactured from the more 
 ancient Aseel. Colonel Hallen informed me 
 that no other colours weref admitted in the best 
 strains, and indeed he once expressed to me his 
 horror at receiving from a well-known and 
 successful English exhibitor a spangled cock of 
 
ORIGIN OF INDIAN GAME. 
 
 333 
 
 the now fashionable colour, which he promptly 
 returned. That he subsequently accepted a 
 black-red cock from my own yard as a change 
 of blood, may be taken as proof that the English 
 show bird is in all, save colour, a worthy descen- 
 dant of his warlike Indian ancestor. 
 
 " The Standard now embodied in that of the 
 Poultry Club, was drawn up some years ago at 
 the request of several admirers of the breed, 
 by Mr. Charles F. Montresor, and' those who 
 wish to take up this interesting variety cannot 
 do better than study it carefully. No remarks 
 on Aseel would be complete without a reference 
 to the great benefits also conferred on the 
 breed in England by such careful breeders as 
 Mr. James Hutchings, Major Dunning, Mr. 
 Stawell Bryan, Mr. Peele, Mr. F. C. Tomkins, 
 and Mr. E. Leake, all of whose names are 
 household words in the annals of the show pen." 
 The 'Aseel resembles the Malay somewhat 
 in the high and prominent shoulders, drooping 
 tail, and short and narrow feather; but the 
 shoulders are a little less angular, and the bird 
 has much shorter and more powerful limbs, 
 striking one as a little low in carriage of the 
 body. The most marked characteristic of the 
 race is weight compared with size : taking in 
 hand an apparently small bird, it feels "like 
 lead " compared with any other fowl, the Indian 
 Game coming next to it in this respect. This 
 arises from the extraordinary density of muscle 
 which has been produced by generations of 
 severe competitive selection, and we fear it 
 must tend to decrease as the Aseel is bred 
 year after year without that training and 
 selection, as a mere fowl. Rigorously to dis- 
 card any approach towards "softness" either 
 of flesh or feather, is all that can be done to 
 guard against this tendency. 
 
 INDIAN GAME. 
 
 This breed has been familiar in Devonshire 
 and Cornwall for at least sixty years, but has 
 only been practically known to any extent out- 
 side of those counties since about the year 
 187s, being at that date often spoken of or 
 referred to as "Cornish" Game, in recognition 
 of its local character. For years previous to 
 that it often received and filled classes at the 
 local shows, and in 1870 we found a large and 
 good collection at the Plymouth show of that 
 year. We had at that date never seen the true 
 Aseel, and our idea was then that the breed 
 had probably been produced by crossing Malays 
 with English Game. Other various accounts 
 have been given of its origin. The late Mr. 
 Comyns leaned to the opinion that it sprang 
 
 from Game and Malay "with a touch of Aseel 
 and Indian Jungle Fowl "; and Mr. Tegetmeier 
 also believed it to be mainly Malay. It was 
 known as Cornish " Game," because on many 
 occasions the fowl was actually fought by the 
 Cornish miners, being in the early days — as we 
 know from many sources — fierce and possessed 
 of some courage. But even at its best it was 
 never^ble to stand against good English Game, 
 being too heayy and slow, and lacking spirit in 
 comparison ; and any fighting capacity which it 
 ever did possess has now almost disappeared. 
 
 There can, however, be no doubt at all now 
 that the true ancestor of the Indian Game fowl is 
 the Aseel, from which is derived the pea-comb, 
 
 more moderated carriage and pro- 
 Origin portion, and more rounded form. 
 of The <:hief question really debatable 
 Indian Game, has been, whether the Aseel had 
 
 been crossed with Malay, or with the 
 British race; and this is practically set at rest 
 by the direct affirmation of Mr. Montresor. That 
 gentleman published a statement in Poultry a 
 few years ago, to the effect that in 1846 he had 
 been personally informed by the late General 
 Gilbert (afterwards Sir Walter Raleigh Gilbert) 
 how he had himself originated the breed in 
 Cornwall, years before that, by crossing red 
 Aseel, which he had imported direct from 
 India, with English black-breasted Red Game of 
 Lord Derby's strain. Taking into consideration 
 date, and social position, and locality, and detail, 
 this statement must be held to settle that 
 question in the main. But from inquiries we 
 made in various directions respecting changes 
 which we noted with our own eyes in the birds 
 as exhibited, there can be little doubt that some 
 further modification of the breed took place 
 about 1870-77, crosses being made with birds 
 intensely black in the cocks and magnificently 
 glossed in both sexes, then exhibited occasionally 
 as "Pheasant Malays." From this cross was 
 derived a solid black breast and darker colour 
 in the cocks, and greater richness of colour and 
 more iridescence of the lacing in the hens ; 
 and we suspect the double lacing also, which 
 we never remember to have seen before. What 
 this " Pheasant Malay " itself really was, we are 
 at the present date unable to say. It was 
 certainly not Malay as otherwise shown ; being 
 smaller, with fuller tail, and with more symmetry 
 and rounded shoulders, and it had a pea-comb. 
 Neither was it Aseel as now shown ; having too 
 much tail, though of very narrow feathers, rather 
 too much limb, and too upright or Malay a type 
 of carriage. Our own impression, confirmed by 
 every American fancier who has ever seen the 
 breed in the United States, and whom we have 
 
334 
 
 THE BOOK OF FOULTAY. 
 
 been able to consult, is that these birds were 
 probably specimens of the magnificent Sumatra 
 Pheasant Game fowl, and that this breed has, 
 therefore, 'been a third component of, and given 
 the final "polish"- to, the Indian Game. Its 
 own close relationship to the Aseel has been 
 hinted at in discussing that bird; and upon the 
 whole the successive mixture of strains here 
 indicated appears the most probable pedigree 
 of the present Indian Game. 
 
 The general appearance of the fowl is 
 very much what might be expected from 
 such an origin, but yet with a character of 
 its own. The cock's head is rather broad and 
 beetle-browed, but not nearly so 
 Characteristics niuch so as that of the Malay ; 
 of and longer than the Malay, but not 
 
 Indian Game, nearly so much so as the English 
 Game. It is surmounted by a triple 
 or pea-comb, which is apt to be rather large, 
 and is very often dubbed. Wattles and ear- 
 lobes are small and brilliant red, beak either 
 yellow or horn-colour, or a mixture ; eyes full 
 and bold, and varying in colour from pale 
 yellow to red, the latter colour evidently coming 
 from the Derby Red cross, and being strong 
 evidence of it. The neck is of medium length, 
 and rather arched, with short hackles, but 
 enough to just cover the base of the neck. The 
 body should be very thick and compact, large 
 and broad round the shoulders and tapering 
 towards the tail, with a wide and deep but 
 well-rounded breast, and tolerably flat back, 
 with the shoulders standing out well and 
 prominently, but not so as to cause a hollow 
 back; neither must the bird be flat- sided. The 
 wings are rather short, and carried close, with 
 well-rounded points closely tucked in. The 
 thighs and shanks are stout and only medium 
 length, not nearly so long as in the Malay, the 
 shanks being rich yellow or orange, the feet 
 well spread and flat, with the back toe well 
 down and almost flat on the ground. The tail 
 is medium length, with narrow sickles and 
 coverts, very hard, carried drooping. The whole 
 carriage is very upright, with high shoulders 
 and lower stern, the back sloping ; altogether 
 with much of the Malay character, but much 
 tempered down and differently pi'opcrtioned. 
 The plumage is throughout short, hard, close, and 
 extremely lustrous. The breast, under-parts, and 
 tail are rich, glos.sy, green-black. The head 
 is the same green-black, but the hackle lower 
 down is mingled or streaked with rich bay or 
 chestnut, as are the saddle hackles, the shafts 
 of the feathers being deep crimson-brown. The 
 wing-bows are a somewhat similar mingling of 
 deep bay or chestnut with green-black ; the 
 
 wing-bar green-black of the most lustrous kind ; 
 the secondaries deep bay on the outer web, and 
 black on the inner webs and ends of feathers, 
 forming a chestnut triangular wing-bay. 
 
 The general characteristics of the hen are 
 similar, allowing for sex, but her colour is 
 different, and almost unique among the black- 
 breasted Reds. Her head and upper hackles 
 commence also as rich green, but lower down 
 the centre of the feather becomes chestnut, with 
 only a green border. The body generally is of 
 a very rich bay or chestnut ground-colour, each 
 feather laced or edged with beetle-green, with 
 such iridescence as causes the lacing to look 
 as if embossed or raised above the surface of the 
 feather. At the throat and upper part of the 
 breast this lacing is very often single, but lower 
 down, as the feathers get larger, and on the 
 back, and on the wing-bows, there should be 
 a second or inner lacing. Fig. no is photo- 
 graphed from some feathers of a beautiful hen, 
 sent for the purpose by the writer of the notes 
 below, and show the type of this double- 
 lacing admirably. The feathers on the wing- 
 bows are generally amongst the best for 
 marking, and the coverts or bars should 
 especially be well and boldly laced. Some- 
 times a third black centre-mark may be found 
 in the larger feathers, inside the second lacing, 
 but this is not. usual in England. In America, 
 however, where the Indian Game has become 
 very popular since 1890, many breeders try to 
 cultivate a still further or " triple " lacing, and 
 the American Standard, till a few years ago, 
 actually stipulated for "two or more " lacings on 
 each feather. This is the principal difference 
 between American and English ideas concerning 
 these fowls, for in England even double-lacing 
 is by no means apparent upon all feathers, 
 though acknowledged and held desirable. To 
 lay stress upon yet further lacing, must not only 
 inevitably lead to the mating-up of special 
 pullet-breeding pens, but would probably des- 
 troy that grand and "embossed" character of 
 the marking which is so great a beauty j and on 
 both these grounds it is a matter for congratula- 
 tion that the last edition of the American 
 Standard has omitted the words "or more," 
 leaving only double-lacing as its description of 
 the hen's plumage. 
 
 This fowl has been very largely bred of late 
 
 for the production of table poultry, having in 
 
 unusual degree the property of im- 
 
 Qualities parting good breasts and wings to 
 
 of crosses of which it forms a component 
 
 Indian Game, and weight and juiciness of flesh 
 
 when crossed with fowls whose flesh 
 
 may be in comparison " short " and dry. Such 
 
QUALITIES OF INDIAN GAME. 
 
 335 
 
 crossesj as we have already seen, are not 
 always the best for all circumstances ; but when 
 an adequate price can be realised to repay for 
 proper age and growth, make the very finest of 
 tabic fowls. "When crossed with the Dorking 
 the produce is very often white both in flesh 
 and skin, and not seldom in shank also ; but 
 this point is found to differ curiously in different 
 strains, or rather perhaps in birds reared upon 
 different soil, to which the Indian Game appears 
 unusually susceptible. ' Both colour of leg and 
 richness and lustre of plumage have appeared 
 to us, as the result of many observations, 
 closely connected with run upon rich pastures, 
 
 Under Throat. Back of Thigh. 
 
 Fig. no. — Lacing of Indian Game Hen. 
 
 such as those of Devon ; and we have noticed 
 repeatedly that when stock has been trans- 
 planted to drier soil and more scanty herbage, 
 it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to 
 keep up that richness of appearance which gave 
 no trouble at all on the rich grass of the West. 
 In the United States this fowl is even more valu- 
 able for the table than in England, the yellow 
 colour being there in special demand, and need- 
 ing no tempering at all. The birds have hither- 
 to been too valuable to be very much used as 
 broiler chickens ; but it has been found that the 
 required 2 lbs. is often made by cockerels at 
 seven weeks old, and this with more breast and 
 wing in proportion than any other breed known 
 there. Even in England, it is chiefly the ex- 
 cellence of Indian Game and its crosses that 
 has so greatly broken down the former pre- 
 judice against yellow-skinned birds, which we 
 are glad to learn is to a large extent lessening 
 
 in the London markets. The size and weight 
 diff"er enormously according to the manage- 
 ment and feeding. Like the Malay and Aseel, 
 it always weighs much more than it appears to 
 do, but giants are not desired for the show pen. 
 On an average, we should say that the standard 
 weights of 8 lbs. for an adult cock and 6 lbs. 
 for a hen were generally exceeded by about a 
 pound each in practice; but these exhibition 
 birds are usually brought up quite hardy, with 
 but little feeding. When fed up we have actually 
 known a cock to reach \2\ lbs., which must be 
 nearly the extreme; but we are bound to say 
 that such great size does not seem to suit the 
 general appearance of the fowl. 
 As a layer the Indian Game 
 does not stand in the very first 
 class, or in the same rank as 
 those specially known as " lay- 
 ing breeds," but it is by no 
 means a bad layer, comparing 
 rather with breeds like the 
 Dorking or ordinary fine farm- 
 yard poultry. Averaging vari- 
 ous reports we have had, many 
 strains are probably good for 
 lOO to I20 eggs per annum. 
 The eggs are from pale to dark 
 brown, and particularly sound 
 and smooth in shell as a rule, 
 rather short or roundish, and 
 of very rich flavour, at least 
 upon the Cornish or Devon- 
 shire pastures. Pullets hatched 
 at proper seasons are good 
 winter layers. 
 
 The following notes upon 
 Indian Game are kindly sup- 
 plied by Mr. William Brent, of Clampit, Call- 
 ington, well known as a judge, and as one of 
 the oldest and most successful breeders : 
 
 " This breed, which has become a very 
 popular variety during the last two decades, and 
 now has admirers in almost every part of the 
 globe, was scarcely known outside 
 of Cornwall and the fringe of 
 Devonshire across the Tamar until 
 somewhere about thirty years ago, 
 but has been a leading variety in 
 the Callington district for certainly more than 
 half a century. The fowls were originally 
 imported from India, and although the size 
 of the breed has been increased, and the colour 
 and markings have become more defined, they 
 still retain in the main their original character- 
 istics. In -the earlier times th-e cocks were 
 used in the ' pit,' and often ' won their spurs,' 
 but although somewhat pugnacious still, they 
 
 Wing. 
 
 Mr. W. Brent 
 
 on 
 Indian Game. 
 
336 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 are not now nearly so quarrelsome as their 
 ancestors. The writer has frequently seen 
 from 30 to 60 cockerels, weighing from 7 to 10 
 lbs. each, living together in harmony, ■ and 
 scarcely ever a blow struck. 
 
 " These birds combine utility with beauty in 
 a high degree, and have won their popularity 
 from inherent worth, as very little in the past 
 has been written about them. They are 
 particularly hardy, and never do better than 
 when allowed to roam in the fields, and sleep at 
 night in the trees or bushes ; but from their 
 hardy constitution they also bear confinement 
 well, and will lay well in winter if provided with 
 sheltered runs. They breed true ; and I have 
 known as many as ten winners reared from one 
 sitting of eggs. From some of the most care- 
 fully-bred strains, such a thing as a waster is 
 practically unknown. Yet for beauty of 
 plumage the Indian Game will compare with any 
 of the fancy varieties of poultry. Each feather 
 (especially of the females) possesses great beauty 
 in itself That of a pullet is a clear chestnut 
 ground colour, with an outer and inner green- 
 black metallic lacing of most exquisite lustre, 
 which reaches the zenith of grandeur when the 
 sunlight plays on the plumage. The general 
 colour of the male is green glossy black, and the 
 plumage is very close and hard, so that the bird 
 looks as if he were wearing a coat of mail. 
 
 " For the table, Indian Game are unsurpassed, 
 having a broad and deep breast from which many 
 slices may be cut, and always in killing condition 
 if moderately supplied with food. The some^ 
 what yellow-tinted flesh (when ordinarily fed) 
 has told against them in the London market ; 
 but this prejudice I hope is dying out, and 
 whatever the flesh may lack in colour, is far more 
 than compensated for by a very marked delicacy 
 of flavour. At Plymouth,, Exeter, and other 
 western markets where they are better known, 
 the Indian Game are eagerly bought, and 
 command higher prices than any other breed of 
 fowls ;. and this without cramming or any extra 
 feeding whatever. They are also the best breed 
 known for crossing with almost any variety for 
 breeding table poultry, reproducing as they do 
 to a very large extent their own characteristics 
 on the cros.s-bred progeny, which is an evidence 
 of their ancient pedigree. 
 
 " From my experience as a successful breeder 
 and exhibitor for twenty-five years, I maintain 
 that no class of poultry can be bred, reared, and 
 successfully shown with less expenditure of time 
 and attention than Indian Game. The first step, 
 which is of paramount importance, is to possess 
 healthy stock birds, of reliable blood. I allow 
 the hens to sit on their own eggs in March, 
 
 April, and May, and sometimes later, and when 
 hatched I usually feed the chickens liberally 
 twice a day (biit oftentimes they provide for 
 themselves), and th? brood is healthy and grows 
 rapidly. The hen will often guard her offspring 
 until the cockerels outgrow their mother. II 
 bred before March, the chickens require more 
 attention, as there is then no insect life for them 
 to feed on, and the cold winds play havoc with 
 them, as for the first two months they are almost 
 featherless. They get in full plumage when 
 from five to six months old. 
 
 " The only preparation required for showing 
 is to tame them by occasional handling ; and to 
 wash the legs (if dirty) and sponge the face 
 before sending off" to show." 
 
 As indicated in the above notes, both 
 cockerels and pullets of this breed can be bred 
 from one pen, when the birds are of an old and 
 reliable strain, and while the present standards 
 
 of colour are preserved. Already, 
 Breeding however, some breeders profess to 
 Indian Game, get better results by mating up 
 
 two pens, using hens with dark 
 ground and heavy lacing to produce cockerels, 
 and lighter ground and somewhat narrower 
 lacing to breed their pullets. It will be a pity if 
 this system spreads, or goes any further ; and 
 still more so if another system, which one or two 
 breeders have pursued, of breeding pullets from 
 red-hackled cocks, should- extend. Hackles of 
 this kind are a great fault in the male bird, and 
 if tolerated merely to breed females, double- 
 mating would be introduced in its worst form. 
 Fortunately (from this point of view), while we 
 know that some really fine pullets have been 
 bred that way when the hens have been good, 
 the bad ones have been in very large proportion, 
 even more than when the usual system has been 
 pursued. What can properly be done, and what 
 (judging from analpgy) ought to be effective 
 in breeding well-marked pullets as well as 
 rich cockerels, would be to choose males for 
 breeding in which the chestnut or crimson in the 
 back or saddle of the cock was sharp and 
 well defined amongst the green-black, without 
 being more in proportion or amount. It would 
 be a great pity to go further, throwing away 
 in any degree the benefit of the present 
 acknowledged sex-colours, which have been 
 proved to be natural and to breed true ; and 
 the greatest evil of encouraging triple or 
 further lacing, as was once likely in America, 
 is that it would certainly bring in ultimately the 
 practice, if not the necessity, of using cocks 
 with other than green-black breasts, merely 
 for pullet-breeding. Independent of this reason, 
 such changes would destroy that grand and 
 
BLUE MADRAS GAME. 
 
 117 
 
 bold character of the lacing which at present 
 distinguishes and makes so beautiful the Indian 
 Game. 
 
 It is better, so far as possible, to breed 
 from birds over one year old, though this 
 cannot always be done. The chickens are 
 slow in feathering, though clothed sooner than 
 Malays ; and the progeny of adults fledge 
 more quickly and kindly than those of young 
 birds. The chickens are hardy to mere 
 exposure, provided they are brought up so, 
 but they must be kept runni^^g about, and 
 there are none which suffer more surely from 
 the falsely called "cramp" described on p. 85, 
 if subjected to too much heat or to over- 
 feeding. A prevailing diet of grain or hard 
 food seems to suit them best, including 
 especially a portion of canary seed if brought 
 up in partial confinement : on free range, a:s 
 indicated by Mr. Brent, they give hardly any 
 trouble or anxiety at all. 
 
 There is really only one recognised breed of 
 Indian Game, as described above. Whites have 
 been shown as such, and appear recognised in 
 America, but are mere mongrels, and were 
 protested against by the Indian Game Club 
 in 1900. A soft bird, with neither colour, nor 
 marking, nor lustre, has no right to the name, 
 and is not likely to preserve even the useful 
 qualities for which the breed is valued, and 
 which depend largely upon unbroken pedigree. 
 Such birds would be disqualified by any com- 
 petent judge recognised by the Club. 
 
 In a somewhat different category must be 
 placed an undoubtedly pure breed of which 
 very little is known now, but of which specimens 
 were occasionally shown years ago 
 Blue under the name of Blue Madras 
 
 Game. We have felt in some doubt 
 whether they could most properly 
 be mentioned under the heading of Aseel, or 
 in this place. Their undoubted gameness would 
 rank them with the Aseel, as would also their 
 shorter legs and low carriage. But their large 
 size, their much better laying than anything 
 known of Aseel, the fact that they never sported 
 white, while they sometimes did sport nearly 
 black in the cockerels, and especially the lacing 
 which distinguished them, seem to place them 
 most properly here. At all events, while clearly 
 not Aseel, they were undoubtedly a pure local 
 variety of real " Indian Game," if not directly 
 allied to the Cornish bird of that name, and 
 had many qualities in common. For the follow- 
 ing details we are indebted to Mr. R. Gordon, 
 of Cheviot Cottage, Leven, N.B., and shall be 
 pleased if they awaken some renewed interest 
 
 Madras 
 Game. 
 
 in a variety which otherwise must soon become 
 extinct. 
 
 " I fancy there are now very few specimens 
 of this breed in this country, and doubt if more 
 than one or two importations ever were made. 
 Mr. R. R. Fowler imported some birds from 
 India many years ago, and he stated that they 
 were brought from the interior for over three 
 hundred miles on camel-back. For myself, I 
 kept the breed lor three seasons, having obtained 
 some stock from his original strain. Although 
 very fond of them, I finally cleared them out, 
 simply because I had not the space to do equal 
 justice to them with other breeds I then had. 
 
 " Still, the breed was a good one. The birds 
 were large, adult cocks weighing from 8^ lbs. to 
 9 lbs., and hens about 7 lbs. In colour they were 
 something like the Andalusian, but with less 
 grey slate, and more clear blue in their plumage, 
 than the latter. They were also laced some- 
 thing after the Andalusian pattern, sharp and 
 narrow round the ^margin of the feathers, and 
 the colour of the lacing was dark blue. The 
 hen was one uniform shade all over, hackle 
 excepted, the latter being dark blue. Tails 
 were solid colour, not laced. "With regard to 
 the cocks, breast and wing-bars were similar 
 in colour and lacing to that of the hen's body, 
 and the tail was also solid blue in colour like 
 that of the hen. Neck hackles, back, shoulders, 
 wing-bow, and saddle very dark blue, many 
 specimens throwing a lot of red in neck and 
 saddle. We never found any red feathers in 
 the hen. Legs were dark slate ; ear-lobes red 
 The comb was a very neat, low-set pea-comb. 
 
 " This breed did not throw all blue chickens. 
 Perhaps twenty per cent, or thereabouts of the 
 cockerels came pure black, and these generally 
 grew into the finest of the flock so far as size 
 was concerned. No whites ever appeared, and 
 none of the pullets ever came other than blue. 
 The shape of the birds was also very pleasing. 
 They partook of something of the character of 
 the Indian Game, but had hardly anything of 
 the angularity of the latter. That is to say, 
 they were fairly short and close in feather, broad" 
 built and cobby, short in leg (much shorter than 
 Indian Game), stout in bone, nicely curved neck, 
 which was also fairly short, and in harmony 
 with length of leg, and wings carried well up, 
 the butts showing clearly. 
 
 " I found that the best way to mate this 
 breed was a rather dark cock with good lacing 
 to clear blue hens, also showing good lacing. 
 Many of the latter were of a beautiful dove 
 colour, and well adapted for the breeding-pen. 
 
 " As to utility qualities, the hens proved fairly 
 good layers of large-sized eggs, cream or buff- 
 
338 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 coloured in tint, but sometimes with a pinky 
 shade. They were not persistent sitters during 
 the warm weather, hke many Asiatics, and 
 moulted fairly early. The breed had also ex- 
 cellent table qualities. The skin was white, 
 and the flesh both abundant and of fine grain 
 and flavour. 
 
 "To many people, however, the breed had 
 one bad fault. Both cocks and hens were 
 incurably pugnacious. Many of the cock- 
 chickens fought each other to the very death 
 when about three months old. That is to say, 
 they would scalp each other, knock an eye out 
 with the beak, and so tear and mutilate each 
 other about the head that if not quickly 
 separated they frequently never recovered, but 
 died in a day or two after their battles. The 
 adults were as bad, every bit. I was greatly 
 pestered by cock-fighters for specimens of the 
 breed. (Pray, do not imagine there are no cock- 
 fighters now ; there are at least a couple of 
 hundred in this county alone, to my certain 
 knowledge.) One old fellow, well up in his 
 sixties, who had followed the pastime all his 
 life, told me that he recognised the breed 
 from a pair which a Glasgow ship-captain had 
 brought from India to a friend of his more 
 than thirty years ago. The cock of this pair 
 won several battles, and after breeding from 
 him they 'cut him down,' to test the probable 
 quality of his chickens. That is to say, 
 they cut his spurs off, and matched him 
 to a strong cock with naked heels (not 
 armed with steel gaffs, however), to test his 
 endurance and courage to the death. It took 
 more than one strong bird to finish him, but he 
 died without a flinch, with his face to the foe. 
 It was and is a cruel proceeding, but it satisfies 
 a cock-fighter whether a bird of a particular 
 strain is ' dead game ' or not. 
 
 " I have written in the past tense, but hope 
 that some specimens of the breed may still exist 
 in this country. At any rate, it is still possible 
 to make them ' come again.' " 
 
 The following are the Standards of Perfection 
 for the foregoing breads, as adopted by both the 
 Poultry Club and, in all but the exact form, by 
 the specialist Clubs of the breeds concerned. 
 
 MALAYS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Shull ; Very broad, with deepest 
 eye and beetle or overhanging eyebrows, giving a cruel 
 and morose expression. Beak : Strong and hooked. 
 Comh : Small, set well forward, shaped like a half 
 walnut, and as free from irregularities as possible. 
 Ear-lobes and Wattles : Small, the bare skin of the throat 
 
 running some way down the neck. Neck : Long, carried 
 very upright, with slight but characteristic curve ; hackle 
 full at base of skull, otherwise very short and scanty. 
 
 Body. — Body : Very wide and square at shoulders 
 and tapering to the tail. Breast: Deep and fuU, 
 generally bare of feathers at the point of breast-bone. 
 Back : Sloping and rather convex in outline. Saddle : 
 Narrow ^and drooping, the feathers short and scanty, 
 like tU.? hackle. Shoulders : Very wide, prominent, 
 carried well up, and usually bare of feathers at the 
 points. Wings : Medium length, large and strong, 
 carried close to the side. The body should present a 
 cut-up appearance from behind. 
 
 Tail. — Drooping, not whipped, of moderate length. 
 Sickles : Sound, narrow, and but slightly curved. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Long and muscular, with 
 but little feather, leaving hock perfectly exposed. 
 Shanks : Long, massive, and beautifully scaled, flat at 
 hocks and gradually rounding to setting on of spur, a 
 downward curve in spur to be preferred. Toes : Long 
 and straight, with powerful talons, the back toe to lie 
 close to the ground. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Fierce, tall and gaunt, 
 high in front and drooping behind. The outline of 
 hackle, back, and upper tail feathers should form a suc- 
 cession of curves at nearly equal angles, thus (Fig. iii). 
 
 The Three Curves. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large size. Cocks under lo lbs. 
 to be considered small. ' 
 
 Plumage. — Short, firm and strong, of extraordinary 
 hardness and lustre. 
 
 Flesh. — Extremely firm and hard to the touch. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Similar in all respects to the cock except that the 
 tail should be carried slightly above the horizontal line, 
 and well played, as if flexible at joint or insertion. 
 Tails should also be rather short and square, neither 
 whipped nor fanned. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large size. Hens under 7 lbs. to 
 be considered small. 
 
 COLOUR IN MALAYS. 
 
 In all Varieties and Both Sexes.— Sj-cs .■ Pearl, yellow, 
 or daw. Beak : Yellow or horn. Comb, Face, Throat, 
 Wattles, Ear-lobes : Brilliant red. Shanks : Rich yellow. 
 
 In Black Red Coc\i.—Head and Hackle : Rich dark 
 red. Back and Wing-bow:' Rich dark red. Wing-bar: 
 Glossy/green black. Secondaries : Bright bay on outer 
 web ; black on inner web and end of feather, the bright 
 bay alone showing when the wing is closed. Primaries ; 
 Black on inner web, with red edging on outside. Breast 
 and Under-parts: Glossy black. Tail and Hangers: 
 Green black. 
 
JUDGING MALAYS, ASEEL, INDIAN GAME. 
 
 339 
 
 Hens to Match. — Any shade of cinnamon with dark 
 purplish hackle or partridge marked ; the former should 
 be quite free from ticks, spangles, or pencilling. 
 
 Red Malays. —Should be quite free from white feathers 
 in wings and tail. 
 
 WMte Malays. — These should be pure snow white. 
 
 Pile Malays. — Should be rich in colour, resembling 
 pile game, not merely stained whites. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN MALAYS. 
 Defects. 
 
 Bad head, comb, and want of brow 
 
 Want of shoulders .... 
 
 Defects in legs and feet 
 
 Want of reach and style 
 
 Want of correct curves and carriage 
 
 Defects in tail 
 
 Feathers, long, broad, and soft 
 Want of size and bone 
 Defects in colour 
 Want of gloss and condition . . . 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 15 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 IS 
 5 
 8 
 
 15 
 6 
 6 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Wry tail, or any other deformity ; eyes or shanks other 
 colour than standard ; white ear-lobes. 
 
 ASEEL. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and TSedk.—Head : Short and small, though 
 broad between the eyes and jaw, and thick at the base. 
 Beak : Very strong, fine grained, and somewhat short ; 
 lower mandible thick and straight, upper mandible' 
 thick, and slightly curved. Eye: Bold, prominent, 
 and brilliant, set back in the head. Comb : Triple, 
 or what is termed " pea-comb," the smaller the better, 
 very hard and horny. Face : Of fine texture, though 
 hard in substance. Ear-lobes : As small as possi- 
 ble. Wattks : None. Neck : Round, hard, muscular, 
 and powerful, of medium length, and same width 
 throughout, curved slightly at the back, and seated 
 between high broad shoulders. Throat: Clean, not 
 prominent or fleshy. 
 
 Body. — Breast: Wide, short, and flat, carrying no 
 fluff, and almost naked at point- of the breast bone. 
 Back : Broad at shoulders, short, and quite straight, no 
 inclination to roach back. Stern : Narrow in com- 
 parison with shoulders, but thick and strong in hand 
 at the root of tail, this latter being a great indication 
 of strength. Wings : Strong, short, and carried level, 
 standing well out from the shoulders, often showing a 
 bare spot at the first joint. 
 
 Tail. — Tail : Slightly drooping and short, with narrow 
 hard feathers. Sickles : Very fine, hard, and short, 
 tapering like a scimitar to three or four inches from 
 the ground ; these in old cocks will appear parti- 
 coloured, which is no detriment.- Coverts : Short, spare, 
 and very hard ; difficult to break. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Thick, strong, and muscular, 
 and well apart, covered with httle feather. Shanks : 
 Short, but not dumpy, straight, and quite clean, with 
 closely affixed regular scales. I^eet : Short, thick, and 
 straight, toe nails the same, straight hind toe to be pre- 
 ferred, though what is termed " duck-footed " is not a 
 disqualification. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Straight and upright, 
 angular throughout, and not too gamey in general 
 appearance. 
 
 Body in Hand. — Very firm, hard, heavy, and evenly 
 balanced. 
 
 Plumage. — Hard, close, and wiry, devoid of fluff. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head, Neck, Body, Legs, and Feet, — The characteristics 
 of the cock apply. 
 
 Tail. — Close and compact. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Body in hand and 
 Plumage : As in the cock. 
 
 COLOUR IN ASEEI,. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak and Legs-: To match, though 
 of no definite colour. Eye : Pearl, all shades of 
 white, pink, and yellow. Comb, Face, Jaws, and 
 Throat : Red. Plumage : No final standard of colour 
 can be framed for Aseel, as they are of no fixed 
 hue. The principal colours are red, black, grey, 
 red spangle, black spangle, yellow, and white. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN ASEEL. 
 Defects. - 
 
 Defects in head (want of skull) 
 
 „ eye and comb 
 
 ,, neck 
 
 „ stern ... 
 
 ,, legs and feet 
 
 „ carriage of tail 
 
 Wa!nt of type and symmetry 
 
 Defects in plumage ... ..1 
 
 Softness in condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 20 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 10 
 ao 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 100 
 
 . Serious defects, for which birds should be . passed : 
 Wry tail, roach back, or other deformity 
 
 INDIAN GAME. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — -Head : Rather long and thick, broad 
 in skull, rather heavy eyebrows, giving cruel expression. 
 Beak : Rather short, stout, and well curved. Eye: Full 
 and bold. Comb : Pea - comb, close fitting. Face : 
 Smooth and fine in texture. Ear-lobe : Small and neat. 
 Wattles : Smooth and free from wrinkles. Neck : 
 Medium length and sKghtly arched. 
 
 Body. — Thick-set, broad in form, with prominent 
 shoulder butts. Breast : Wide, deep, and prominent, 
 nicely rounded off. Back : Fairly flat, gradually tapering 
 from shoulders to tail. Wings : Short, muscular, and 
 well nipped up. 
 
 Tail. — Medium length, tight-feathered; the second- 
 aries or coverts a trifle narrow. . 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Medium length, strong and thick. 
 Toes : Four in number, long, strong, and straight. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Upright, commanding, 
 and courageous, with sloping back, and tail carried 
 well down at an angle of about 45 degrees; general 
 appearance broad and muscular, active, vigorous, and 
 sprightly. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium. Adult cocks should 
 weigh 8 Ibs; and upwards. 
 
 Plumage. — Close, narrow, and hard. 
 
34° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Tail.— Short and fine, each feather nicely overlapping. 
 Othef Parts : Same as in the cock, with the usual sexual 
 differences in head appendages, etc. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage.— Upright, commanding, 
 and vigorous, with sloping back, and tail carriel well 
 down, but slightly higher than cock. General appear- 
 ance broad and muscular, active, and sprightly. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium. Adult hens should weigh 
 6 lbs. and upwards. 
 
 Plumage. — Close, narrow, and hard. 
 
 COLOUR OF INDIAN GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Horn colour or yellow, or 
 both. Eye : Varying from pale yellow to pale red. 
 Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : A brilliant red. 
 Legs : Rich yellow or orange colour. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head : A rich glossy green black. Neck 
 Hackle, Back, Saddle Hackles, and Shoulders : A rich 
 glossy green black, intermingled with rich bay or 
 chestnut. Wing-bows : The same mixture of rich 
 glossy green black with rich bay or chestnut. Wing- 
 bars : A rich glossy green black. Secondaries : Rich bay 
 or chestnut colour on the outer web, and a rich black 
 or green on the inner web and end of feather. The 
 rich bay or chestnut alone is seen when the wing is 
 closed, and forms a triangular patch. Primaries : Black, 
 with a short narrow fringe of light chestnut colour on 
 the outer web. Breast, Under-parts, and Thighs : Rich 
 glossy green black. Tail, Sickles, and Coverts : Rich 
 glossy green black. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head : A rich glossy green black. Neck 
 Hackle : Commencing with a rich dark green ; as the 
 feathers broaden the centre of the feather should be 
 chestnut colour, edged with a green border. Breast : 
 A rich bay or chestnut ground colour, every feather 
 edged with green, and where the size of the breast 
 
 feathers permits of it, they should be double laced. 
 Belly and Thighs : The same, though less distinctly 
 marked. Back, Saddle, Shoulders, and Wings : Similar 
 in marking to breast, only much more distinct, 
 especially on shoulders and wing - bow ; wing - bars 
 heavier in lacing. Secondaries : The lower or visible 
 web rich bay or chestnut, edged with a narrow strip of 
 green, inner web black. Tail and Tail Coverts : A rich 
 bay or chestnut ground colour, clear and distinctly 
 laced with green. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS 
 
 IN INDIAN GAME. 
 
 , 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Deduct 
 
 
 Detects. 
 
 
 up to 
 
 Defects 
 
 in head 
 
 
 - 3 
 
 )) 
 
 beak 
 
 
 ... 3 
 
 )j 
 
 wattles 
 
 
 ... 2 
 
 »J 
 
 ear-lobes ... 
 
 
 .. a 
 
 >) 
 
 eyes 
 
 
 •• 3 
 
 t) 
 
 eyebrows ... 
 
 
 ■• 3 
 
 it 
 
 comb 
 
 
 .. a 
 
 M 
 
 neck 
 
 V • ' • 
 
 •■ 3 
 
 }} 
 
 shape and colour of back 
 
 .. 8 
 
 )} 
 
 )' >> 
 
 breast 
 
 .. 8 
 
 ») 
 
 ») )» 
 
 body and thighs 
 
 .. lO 
 
 » 
 
 )> )) 
 
 wings 
 
 .. 8 
 
 )J 
 
 }) )) 
 
 tail 
 
 .. 8 
 
 a 
 
 )t tj 
 
 legs and toes 
 
 .. 8 
 
 Want of 
 
 size ... 
 
 .r . ... ... 
 
 .. lO 
 
 J) 
 
 symmetry 
 
 
 .. 13 
 
 „ 
 
 condition 
 
 
 .. 8 
 
 A perfect bird to count loo 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 Malformations of every description, such as wry backs, 
 wry tails, twisted beaks ; single or strawberry combs ; 
 red hackles ; knock-knees or bowlegs. 
 
341 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE OLD ENGLISH GAME FOWL. 
 
 THE bird known under this name stands 
 by himself alone. In lineage none may 
 compare with him, since his origin is 
 absolutely lost in sheer antiquity, and when we 
 do first hear of him, he "is already of noble blood 
 amongst other fowls. He has for generations 
 been known as "the English fowl" — Buffon 
 writes of him as such ; and he has stamped his 
 very name upon our speech, so that when we 
 want to express a dogged courage that does not 
 know how to yield, no matter what hopeless 
 odds there are arrayed oppoF.te, we say that our 
 soldier heroes stood " game " to the last against 
 their foes. He has earned the distinction well, 
 lifting the name out of the very gutter — for it 
 was first given him as being identified with 
 " sport " or " gaming " in the old sense, so that 
 household bills of James I. contain entries for 
 the expenses of "cocks of the game for his 
 Highnesse's recreation " — as he fought for his 
 owners with the courage of his race ; until at 
 last' the higher meaning of the word came not 
 from them who had bestowed it, but from the 
 bird who fought so undauntedly for a meaner 
 master's stakes. 
 
 Let none suppose that all summed up in this 
 was unmitigated evil. Rude times require rude 
 virtues, and it will not be forgotten that the 
 original of the very word virtue itself, stood 
 equally for virtue and for courage amongst the 
 Romans. Thus it occurred naturally, that nearly 
 all primitive nations and civilisations deliberately 
 sought to learn from the stubborn valour of the 
 fighting cock. Every schoolboy will remember 
 how Themistocles revived the courage of his 
 soldiers by an example before their eyes of two 
 cocks fighting, and, afterwards instituted cock- 
 fighting festivals. These festivals the lads were 
 expressly directed to attend in order that they 
 might learn courage ; a course approved by such 
 moralists as Socrates and Solon. The Romans 
 followed the same example. Of more primitive 
 peoples, some of the earliest Chinese records 
 mention cock-fighting ; in India there are notices 
 dating back to at least lOOO B.C. ; and the 
 Persians had practised it for centuries before the 
 Greeks learnt from their example. Cock-fighting 
 
 has also been traced amongst the Phoenicians ; 
 and some Jewish authorities believe that the 
 Assyrian war-god Nergal was symbolised by a 
 fighting cock, but this seems doubtful. 
 
 It is impossible to determine whether or not 
 cock-fighting was introduced into Britain by the 
 Romans. If it did not previously exist there, it 
 
 certainly would be ; but as Caesar tells 
 
 Antiquity "s " that the Britons kept fowls for 
 
 of pleasure and diversion" though it was 
 
 Cock-fighting, unlawful to eat them, the probability 
 
 is that they found this particular 
 diversion already there before them, perhaps 
 introduced by Phoenician traders. The first 
 authentic notice of cock-fighting as an English 
 sport only dates back to tRe reign of Henry II., 
 and is by William Fitz-Stephen ; but it is to be 
 observed that this notice records it as fully 
 recognised and carried on at public schools, 
 especially on Shrove Tuesday. At a later 
 period we find the " cock-penny " payable by 
 each scholar at Shrovetide, in order to provide 
 cocks for the customary festival,, a recognised 
 custom if not a regular fee ; and so lately as 
 1867 Mr. J. Fitch, one of the Schools Inquiry 
 Assistant Commissioners, reported that this old 
 cocking custom was at that date still the occasion 
 for charging a guinea and a half to each scholar 
 at Sedgebury School, the master receiving a 
 guinea and the usher half a guinea, " for which 
 the scholars received no equivalent." He adds 
 that " at other free schools similar fees are 
 collected " ; but this we believe has come to an 
 end since attention was thus publicly drawn 
 to such a curious survival of ancient usage. 
 These details are of special interest as 
 showing that there was in England, as in 
 ancient Greece, real and deliberate purpose of 
 firing the youth of the country to a spirit of 
 valour and endurance by the example of the 
 courageous fighting cock. 
 
 Still, it was as "cocks of the game"^ that 
 these birds were mainly bred, and a treatise 
 upon their breeding, feeding, and management 
 formed an important portion of all the earlier 
 editions of Hqyl/s Games. Now that cock- 
 fighting, though still carried on in secret to a 
 
342 
 
 THE BOOK- OF POULTRY. 
 
 certain extent* has otherwise become now a 
 matter of history, some authentic details will 
 be of interest. The following notes are kindly- 
 supplied by an old and valued correspondent 
 of ours during many years, who tells us that 
 he fought and won his first main' about sixty 
 years ago, with the parish constables keeping 
 order in the pit, since which he has fought and 
 assisted in scores of mains in various parts 
 of England, Scotland, Wales, and the Con- 
 tinent. They will prove that some votaries of 
 this sport have been neither low nor ignorant 
 men; and record also a widespread and 
 almost passionate attachment to it, which may 
 be a revelation to some, and which is only to 
 be explained by what we have already hinted at 
 respecting an affinity with some phases of the 
 English character. There can be no doubt that 
 real and genuine admiration for the birds and 
 their courage has lain deep at the root of it, 
 however perverted. Many of the following 
 details were given to us long ago, but at the 
 date of the first edition of The Illustrated Book 
 of Poultry it was not deemed advisable to 
 publish them, for reasons which the lapse of 
 thirty years further have largely diminished,. 
 
 " For seven centuries cocking was more or 
 less a national sport with us ; and although 
 disapproved and prohibited by Edward III. and 
 our eighth Harry, who was so tender-hearted as 
 
 not to allow the poor cocks to be 
 Historical fought for the amusement of his 
 Details. beloved subjects, the latter built a 
 
 cock-pit at Whitehall, to himself, 
 wherein to take his royal pastime. Many suc- 
 ceeding edicts were passed against it, including 
 one from Cromwell, the Protector, a fac-simile of 
 which, with his seal, I have now before me. It 
 dates ' Fryday, March 31, 1654,' and is signed by 
 Henry Scobell, Clerk of the Council. On the 
 other hand, many of our kings have been partial 
 to and encouraged cock-fighting, and it has been 
 called a royal sport. King James was one of 
 its royal patrons ; and in the Travels of Cosmo 
 III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, through England, 
 in the reign of Charles II., 1669, it is said, 
 ' Attended by Lord Philip Neville, Gascoigne, 
 and Castiglione, his Highness went out in his 
 carriage to the theatre appropriated to cock- 
 fighting, a common amusement of the English, 
 who, even in the public streets, take a delight 
 in seeing such battles, and considerable bets are 
 made on them. To render the cocks fit for 
 fighting they select the best of the breed, cut off 
 
 * Only a few weeks ago we saw an advertisement asking 
 lor reliable spurs ; and so lately as 1891 have seen steel spurs 
 advertised, but all is now carried on under great difificulties, and 
 decreasing more and more. 
 
 their crests and spurs, keep them in separate 
 coops, and mix with their usual food, pepper, 
 cloves, and other aromatics, and yolks of eggs, to 
 heat and render them more vigorous in battle. 
 When they want to bring them to the trial, they 
 convey them in a bag, put on artificial spurs 
 made of- silver or steel, and let them out in the 
 place appointed. . . . This amusement was 
 not new to His Highness, for he had seen it on 
 board ship on his voyage from Spain to 
 England.' The above description is not far 
 different from later custom ; and to the monarch 
 already named is ascribed the introduction of 
 the Pile cock, so called from his different and 
 distinct colours. 
 
 " To such a height was this sport carried 
 in former years, that in old deeds tenants were 
 bound to walk so many fighting cocks for the 
 use of the lords ; and in corporation accounts 
 of expenses I have seen large sums charged 
 for entertaining this or that dignitary with 
 cock-fighting. In the ■ Easter week' of 1822, 
 in one pitj 188 cocks, weighing together 
 7 cwt. 4 lbs. 6 ozs.,* were fought for sums 
 amounting to upwards of £6,QOO. Still more 
 recently over r,ooo cocks have fallen in a 
 single season in one of our northern towns. 
 
 " Victory lay with no special colour. In 
 Queen Anne's time a noted sportsman, named 
 Frampton, had the best strain of cocks of the 
 day. They were grey, with a brown, tawny 
 wing, and the progeny of ' Old Sour-face ' was 
 long in high repute. Greys, Yellows, and " Red 
 Piles were also highly prized, and Bradbury's 
 Duns and Whites fought their way into notoriety. 
 In the eighteenth century the mealy Greys, with 
 black legs, beaks, and eyes, of Hugo Meynell and 
 Sir C. Sedley could scarcely be surpassed. Then 
 followed Mr. Nunis's wonderful yellow Birchens, 
 the Earl of Mexborough's true-feathered Duck- 
 wings, Sir Francis Boynton's slashing Duns, and 
 Col. Mellish's Dark Reds. Lowther's and Hol- 
 ford's Light Reds with yellow legs cut down 
 everything before them ; and Mr. Elwes bred 
 one of his red Duns that won twenty-seven 
 battles. Then Vauxhall Clarke came into the 
 royal pit to carry off the annual gold cup with 
 his Greys. He bred different colours, and 
 beating him was out of the question. The 
 Cholmondeleys, Raylances, Molyneuxes, etc., 
 bred Smocks and the light Cheshire Piles, that 
 would frequently electrify the pit by dropping 
 their cocks as dead as a log in a severe battle, 
 with the long odds against them. Dr. Wing, 
 
 • The interest of this total consists in the proof that the 
 average weight per bird was 4 lbs. 3 czs. No cocks over 
 4 lbs. 8 ozs. or under 3 lbs. 6 ozs. were formerly allowed to 
 be fought in regular mains. 
 
OLD STRAINS OF GAME FOWLS. 
 
 343 
 
 of Leicestershire, bred all colours, and won with 
 them. Sant's famous Derbyshire Dark Reds, 
 with their dark-striped hackles, would always 
 set the Derbyshire squires offering lOO to 80 on 
 the battle ; and old Nathaniel Monk, when 
 sleeping in church at Dean, on being awakened 
 by the beadle, cried lustily, ' I'll have the Black 
 cock for a fiver!' so ehamoured was he of 
 the famous Black cocks of Lord de Vere. Mr. 
 Sketchley, the author of The Cocker, astonished 
 the readers of the sporting periodicals by the 
 prowess of his Shropshire Reds ; and Weight- 
 man, with his famous Parkhouse Reds, lowered 
 the colours of the Lancashire men at Burton for 
 the heaviest stake ever fought for ; although it 
 has been stated in error that Gilfiver, when he 
 won the main at Lincoln for ;^ 1,000 each battle 
 and ;£'5,ooo the main,* fought for the largest 
 amount. The Earl of Derby, too, bred some 
 grand black-breasted, white-legged Reds and 
 Duckwings ; and his Pile was looked on by 
 admiring thousands, as the engraving was long 
 •exhibited in sporting print-sellers' windows. 
 Dr. Bellyse sometimes walked a thousand cock 
 chickens out in a season, and was generally 
 quite invincible. Once, on a sporting nobleman 
 offering him £ 56 for a setting hen, he then and 
 there lifted her off the nest and put his foot on 
 the eggs ; and on his lordship remarking that he 
 bought the eggs too, he replied, ' If you had, I 
 should have charged you a thousand.' His were 
 about the only cocks that could beat Walker's 
 celebrated Piles. I have not named a tenth 
 part of the famous strains and breeders, but have 
 mentioned sufficient to show that it was blood 
 or strain that won, not colour ; for even the 
 Gurney Pied cocks were for a time thought to 
 be superior to all others. 
 
 "The standard of a fighting Game cock is 
 keenness of aspect, richness of plumage, and 
 cleanness of feet. He must have a good box- 
 ing beak, very big, and crooked 
 The Old or hawk-shaped ; large, full, fiery eye, 
 
 P^^ and tapered head, not too long ; for 
 
 if the head be long and beak 
 straight, he loses much holding-power when 
 taking hold to strike ; long, strong neck ; flat, 
 broad body, tapering wedge-shape to the tail ; 
 strong, long wings, so that when clipped the 
 quills are of a powerful description ; muscular, 
 round, short thigh ; legs (as to colour, I endorse 
 the opinion of the most celebrated cocker of the 
 nineteenth century, that the best he had ever seen 
 were white, carp, and yellow, in order named as 
 to merit) of good hard bone, and not at all 
 gummy or fleshy like other fowls, standing with 
 a good bend at the hocks, so as to have a full 
 * These figures are authentic. 
 
 spring when rising, and in line with the body, 
 not out or straddling ; spur set on very low. 
 down ; clean, thin feet and toes, with a long, 
 open back claw ; and to be light, corky-fleshed, 
 looking large to his weight. The great thing is 
 breeding for heel, since it is the heel that always 
 wins, and although health and strength is a 
 great desideratum, without heel it is nothing. 
 
 "The old breeders never on any account 
 bred from a cock or hen that was not in the 
 most perfect health. The cock's feathers must 
 not be dry or loose : he should be ripe in the 
 feel, his flesh firm, and his crow clear. A 
 general want of constitution requires no cross, 
 the only cure is total eradication. Some were 
 ever crossing with this fine cock or that grand 
 hen, but the produce seldom came up to their 
 expectations ; and no one can dispute that the 
 best strains of cocks ever bred, were bred in- 
 and-in, and as soon as crossed with others, 
 though equally good, were robbed of their win- 
 ning qualities. Meynell's cocks as well as his 
 hounds were so bred, and perhaps the world 
 never saw either more perfect. Sant's were so 
 bred. The celebrated Coath's had not a cross 
 for forty years, and yet they were seldom 
 beaten, and not in the least degenerated. 
 Those Cheshire Piles and Bellyse's Reds that 
 so often put down their opponents by a single 
 fly, and were as much prized by some old 
 Cheshire families as their own birthrights, were 
 of one farhily, and as they were so long thought 
 to be the very best, nothing else was allowed to 
 contaminate them. In fact, with judicious care 
 and a due regard to health and age, not only 
 the best cocks, but the best horses, cattle, and 
 dogs that England has been so justly proud of, 
 have been bred in-and-in. 
 
 " They should early be put to separate walks 
 that are healthy, where there is not a great 
 number of hens, where they will neither be kept 
 short of food, nor so hand-fed as to render them 
 heavy and inactive ; for the more exercise a cock 
 takes in his walk, leading forth his hens, etc., in 
 search of food, so much more agile and active 
 will he be in his battle. 
 
 " At two years old the cock is at his best for 
 fighting ; previous to which he went into the 
 feeder's care, who reduced his weight, and got 
 him into that high state of health and 
 Training condition which centuries of close 
 
 Fighting. observation had brought to perfec- 
 
 tion. From very early times the craft 
 have kept their secrets a profound mystery. At 
 the middle of the eighteenth century, the cock- 
 ing instructions of that scarce work, The British 
 Legacy, published as a very special addendum, 
 ' The following choice and valuable secret for 
 
344 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 feeding a cock for four days before fighting, 
 which was communicated by a noble lord to 
 J. Macdonald, M.D., by which remarkable and 
 valuable method ninety-three battles have been 
 won out of one hundred ; now first published, by 
 permission,' etc. etc. It was subsequently pub- 
 lished in The School of Arts, zx^A consisted of bread 
 made of the flour of millet, rice, barley, vetches, 
 cochineal, the whites and some yolks of eggs, 
 wetted with ale, and baked for four hours, with 
 which the cocks were fed after being purged, and 
 with a slight allowance of bruised seeds and 
 corn, and cooked flesh. Many other recipes for 
 ' cock-bread ' have been published at different 
 times. 
 
 " Cocks put up and in training were weighed 
 and their match colours and marks taken and 
 noted three days before fighting, when each 
 feeder would produce his birds as light as he 
 could, and as soon as weighed and matched, 
 proceed to get them up as quickly as possible 
 to their highest weight. The birds would 
 be occasionally purged if they were thought to 
 require it, and at intervals muffles* were put on 
 and they were sparred a little for exercise and 
 to keep them in good wind. 
 
 " Previous to fighting the wings were cut from 
 the first rising feather slopewise. Hackle and 
 cloak-feathers were shortened, the sickles all cut 
 off", and the feathers around the tail, vent, and 
 under the belly were cut short. The natural spurs 
 being previously sawn off" to about half an inch 
 long, the silver or steel spurs were then placed on, 
 and this again is supposed to be a great art by 
 some ; but I affirm it must be bred in the cock, 
 and it is impossible to put on spurs to a bad- 
 shaped cock to kill quickly, while a child can 
 put on the spurs to a proper-shaped one. They 
 must be padded firm in the socket, not tight, 
 and rest well down on the leg, then tied tightly 
 enough to prevent their moving, but not to cramp 
 him, and from the natural spur place it in line 
 with the outside of the hock. Then the handler 
 stepped on the scene, who required a calm 
 temper, as well as a quick eye and light hand, and 
 had to take into consideration the condition of 
 his opponent's cock as well as his own, otherwise 
 he would not know when to force the fighting or 
 when his bird required rest. This was the most 
 difficult part of the whole routine of cocking ; 
 and Fisher, Straddling, Martin, Gomm, Probyn, 
 Porter, and Fleming often won mains of 
 importance by their exertions alone. Fleming 
 
 * Leather muffles were fastened over the already shortened 
 natural spurs, to prevent any serious injury, and the birds thus 
 protected allowed to fight for exercise. The beak alone does 
 little harm, and they were of course watched to prevent any real 
 damage. 
 
 was, perhaps, the cleverest setter that ever 
 entered a cockpit. 
 
 " The Cockpit Royal, Westminster, was 
 formerly the chief place for this sport, although 
 there were many other public pits in the 
 metropolis, and more than one of the London 
 theatres was originally used for this purpose — 
 Drury Lane for one ; the next in importance 
 was the royal pit, at Newmarket, immortalised 
 by Hogarth. Hogarth is not the only one who 
 has painted such scenes, as Vandyke, Elmer, Mar- 
 shall, Barringer, Fielding, Aiken, Cruikshank, and 
 Wilson also painted them — the latter, a very 
 large painting of the Salford pit and noblemen 
 who frequented it. Neither were London and 
 Newmarket the only places that supported cock- 
 pits, for few towns of any size were without one, 
 and many cities and towns had established cock- 
 pits under patronage. of their respective corpora- 
 tions ; as an example, the Canterbury Corpora- 
 tion pit was an apartment of the beautiful 
 gateway forming part of St. Augustine's Mon- 
 astery, and this is not by any means a singular 
 instance of the church and cockpit forming close 
 alliance, either at home or abroad. A former 
 venerable Dean of York bred such cocks as to 
 trouble even Weightman with his best to beat 
 them, and had he lived might have seen the old 
 keeper of the York pit in charge of a Noncon- 
 formist chapel. On the site of the old Aintree 
 pit there has been built a new church. The law, 
 too, as well as the church, has been mixed up 
 with this now tabooed sport ; old gentlemen are 
 still living who recollect, in attending to their 
 professional duties at county sessions, having a 
 six days' main of cocks fixed for the same time ; 
 and although the sessions might have been got 
 through in the first two or three days, those 
 magnates of the law would have been troubled 
 with serious thoughts of having shirked their 
 duties had they left before seeing the last battle 
 in the six days' main decided. 
 
 " The Melton Mowbray pit, I believe, was 
 the last built in England, at a cost of 700 
 guineas. The Subscription pit, at Chester, was 
 one of the last abandoned, and no pit in England, 
 perhaps, could boast of more aristocratic patron- 
 age, heavier betting, or superior fighting. The 
 first main eyer fought there was a main between 
 Ireland and England of forty-three mains and ten 
 byes. As the celebrated Doctor Bellyse repre- 
 sented Old England, he won, as he almost 
 invariably did. The writer of this was, by 
 the courtesy of the then occupier, thirty years 
 since invited to see the spot where for years 
 Ralph Benson's Shropshire Reds contended with 
 the Piles and Reds of Cheshire to the admira- 
 tion of all the old. tounty families of Lancashire, 
 
HISTOmCAl DMT4ILS OF COCK-FIGHTING. 
 
 345 
 
 Mains or 
 Matches^ 
 
 or main. 
 
 Cheshire, Shropshire, and a great part of Wales. 
 At that time the seats were all removed, and the 
 pit used as a confectioner's factory ; the feeding- 
 pens were turned into a nice sitting-room, and 
 the rooms where hundreds of thousands have 
 changed hands, and where they formerly betted 
 in a madness of frenzy, were and probably are 
 now used as bedrooms. The skeleton remained 
 much as formerly, the inside being about 45 by 
 45 feet, and between 30 and 40 feet high. 
 There were nine large windows and a glass 
 dome over the pit, which was some 20 feet 
 in diameter. Of all the stirring scenes that 
 quaint old Chester has witnessed, some of 
 the most exciting have taken place in that 
 now quiet building. 
 
 '* Of the different matches made, the most 
 usual was to show say twenty-one pairs of 
 cocks, which was called a short main. They 
 were weighed, and all that fell 
 within one ounce of each other 
 were fought for so much per 
 battle, and so much the odd 
 It was also formerly a practice 
 at the Westminster pit to show sixty-one 
 pairs. They were weighed, and the colour 
 of breast and body taken, as well as the 
 eyes, legs, nails, shape of combs, ftiarks (as 
 ' in-right ' - or ' out-left,' mouldy ears, peak- 
 backed), etc. ; then all that fell within one 
 ounce of each other were matched, and 
 divided into three or six days' play, the 
 lightest pair beginning the main three days 
 after weighing : this was called a long main. 
 At Edinburgh, on one occasion, a long main 
 was fought which lasted twelve days, and 
 was finally drawn. There were matches 
 made for turn-outs ; each side got a certain 
 number of the largest cocks obtainable, and 
 fought them without weighing : this is said to 
 be of Dutch origin. There were, besides, the 
 Welsh main, and the battle royal, which last 
 has become quite proverbial. In the battle 
 royal any number staked a certain sum, and 
 produced a cock under a stipulated weight, and 
 each standing round the pit tossed in his cock 
 (same as was customary with the masters of a 
 match with the first pair of cocks in a regular 
 main), and the last living cock took the whole 
 of the money staked. There were also mains 
 for set weights. In the Welsh main, sixteen 
 cocks were first matched up in pairs, the nearest 
 weights being matched together. Then the 
 winners were matched again (just as successive 
 'heats' are decided in a race),' and so on; so 
 that the ultimate winner had to fight four 
 battles. All mains have an odd battle, to pre- 
 vent the main being a drawn one, as it would 
 
 be by each party winning an equal number 
 of battles. Notwithstanding, this occasionally 
 happened by the odd battle itself being dfawni, 
 both cocks being struck dead at the same time, 
 for instance." 
 
 The writer of the foregoing interesting notes 
 kindly supplied a Game cock trimmed or " cut 
 out " and heeled for fighting, of which the en- 
 graving is a representation, being carefully 
 
 Game Cock Trimmed and Heeled. 
 
 drawn from life thirty years ago. The bird was 
 bred in Cornwall by Mr. John Harris, who still 
 preserves the blood, and was from a Coath'g hen 
 of the Red Derby strain, by one of Holford's 
 black-breasted, yellow.-legged, light Reds. In 
 his day he won five matches^ and fought in three 
 mains, mostly in the same pair of highly-prized 
 Watling's steel spurs in which. he is drawn. 
 
 From the same source we are enabled \o 
 give a few particulars and interesting illustra- 
 tions of the artificial spurs used in cock-fighting. 
 It is doubtful if ancient nations used these, but 
 for hundreds of years more deadly weapons 
 than those provided by Nature have been used 
 
346 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 in England and the East, though the fashion of 
 Oriental and Occidental spurs radically differs. 
 In the East the spurs are two-edged knives: 
 English spurs were always points only, edges 
 
 not being allowed. Patterns have 
 Artificial S-t one time or another differed con- 
 
 Spurs. siderably, as will be seen from Fig. 
 
 1 1 2, drawn partly from specimens 
 and partly from an old print. The left hand 
 example shows the more usual pattern, and it 
 will be seen that even in this the spur starts 
 from below the natural weapon, thus increasing 
 the " heel " of the bird. But this was some- 
 times increased, as in the centre specimen, called 
 a "full-drop socket," or the one on the right, 
 termed a " half-drop socket," which brought the 
 weapon still nearer the foot. These extremely 
 lowered forms, however, were considered unfair, 
 
 Cockspur Street, to which it gave the name, but 
 not confined to it by any means. The best 
 makers of silver spurs were the Clays (father 
 and son), Gregory, Smith, Gatesfield, Green, 
 Toulmin, and Vincent, the latter keeping in 
 employment a dozen workmen at the time of 
 his death in 1797. 
 
 We give in Fig. 113 figures of three s.jver 
 spurs of various lengths and patterns. Of these 
 A is by Toulmin, B by T. Smith, and c by the 
 elder Clay. This last spur is of some historical 
 interest, the pair having been presented to 
 Charles II. by Nell Gwyn. The usual price of 
 a pair of silver spurs was two to three guineas, 
 and a reputation in this line of business was 
 highly valued, as may be seen from the follow- 
 ing, which we hav'e copied verbatim from the 
 trade label pasted inside the cover of a box of 
 
 Fig. 112. — Old English Steel Spurs. 
 
 and it came to be a usual condition in matches 
 that they should be fought in " fair " silver 
 or other spurs. The illustration also shows 
 how leather flaps were stitched round the 
 metal socket, these flaps being wrapped round 
 the shank of the bird, and the whole then firmly 
 bound round. 
 
 Both steel and silver were employed for 
 spurs, or rather an alloy of the latter metal, for 
 a Game cock strikes with fearful force, and only 
 metal much stiffer and tougher than pure silver 
 would stand the strain. Much study was 
 devoted to such alloys, and the contributor of 
 these details informed us that in his own day he 
 knew a man who paid ;^iO for the' supposed 
 formula, and further expended over £\o in ex- 
 periment, but failed to produce the old temper 
 of metal. Hence genuine old silver spurs are 
 highly prized by those who still practise cocking 
 in secret ; and we well remember, after a descent 
 of the police at Aintree thirty years ago, that 
 the chief cause of chagrin amongst various per- 
 sons we were. acquainted with, was a number of 
 valuable old spurs being seized and confiscated ; 
 "the loss was irreparable." The manufacture 
 was a distinct trade, specially carried on in 
 
 spurs by Toulmin, who it will be seen succeeded 
 Gatesfield, who had in his turn succeeded 
 Smith :• — 
 
 Samuel Toulmin, 
 
 Silver C6ckspur Maker, successor to Smith and Gates- 
 field, at the Dial and Crown, near Hungerford Market 
 in the Strand, London. N.B, — Mr. Gatesfield was 
 friend and successor to the laie Mr. Stiiith, mentioned in 
 Mr. Hallam's ingenious Poem called the Cocker, page 58. 
 
 As curious Artists diffrent Skill disclose, 
 The various Weapon diffrent Temper shows. 
 Now curving Points too soft a Temper bear, 
 And now too hard their brittleness declare ; 
 Now on the Plain the trecherous Weapons lye. 
 Now wing'd in Air the shiver'd Fragments fl)', 
 Surpriz'd, chagrin'd, th' Incautious Feeders gaze, 
 And Smith alone ingenious Artist praise. 
 
 Steel spurs, which sold at Sos. to 60s. per 
 dozen pairs, also had their celebrated makers. 
 The temper of those by Singleton of Dublin, 
 was as proverbial as that of O'Shaughnessy's 
 Limerick fish-hooks ; those of Kendrick of 
 Redditch, and Ross of Bloxwich, were also 
 highly prized. Sheffield had several good 
 makers ; and in the West Country the manufac- 
 ture of J. Watling, of Exeter, was. preferred to all 
 others. Great attention was given t6 what were 
 
METAL SPURS USED IN COCK-FIGHTING. 
 
 347 
 
 thought the most deadly curves, and to the spur 
 being able not "only to penetrate, but to cut its 
 way out again. Of the steel spurs shown in 
 Fig. 114, D is by Watling of Exeter ; E by 
 
 Fig. 113.— Silver Spurs. 
 
 while many have pointed to " Nature's laws '' as 
 ordaining fatal combats of the same kind. This 
 last argument is not sound, since it omits to 
 consider that in the case before us the fighting in- 
 stinct has been developed by the selection of man 
 until it has attained an intensity that does not 
 exist in Nature left to herself Nature's com- 
 batants do not as a rule fight to the death, but 
 when one is thoroughly whipped, it gives in or 
 runs away ; in the Game fowl courage and spirit 
 have been developed artificially, until a bird has 
 been produced that cannot y\t\.^ till death, or if he 
 does, is at once ignominiously consigned by his 
 master to the pot, a vengeance Nature does not 
 inflict. That is to be remembered ; but there can 
 be little doubt that if a Game cock had the 
 choice offered him of having his neck wrung 
 or meeting an antagonist, he would unhesitat- 
 ingly prefer the latter, and is conscious of little 
 beyond the fierce joy of the combat, during 
 all that befals him. In mere suffering of 
 the victim, the old apologists were probably 
 right in placing their favourite sport below 
 shooting and some other " sports " which 
 still hold their ground. 
 
 Neither, as many suppose, can the use of 
 metal spurs be deemed additional cruelty. As 
 
 Singleton of Dublin ; F by Ross of Bloxwich ; 
 and of the different forms which will be noticed, 
 each was thought much of by its admirers of a 
 bygone day. Steel spurs were also plated with 
 silver, and as the plating of those days was 
 mechanical, not electro, these could scarcely be 
 distinguished from silver spurs of similar shape. 
 
 Such then was cock-fighting ; such were its 
 methods, its votaries, and the scale upon which 
 it was carried on in the days of our grandfathers, 
 or perhaps some of our fathers. It is not so 
 necessary now as it was even thirty 
 Barbarity years ago, to declaim against the 
 Cock-fighting, cruelty of it, since its total sup- 
 pression is only a question of time ; 
 but it still seems necessary to point out clearly 
 wherein the " brutality," which we must still 
 ascribe to it, really consists. That does not lie so 
 much as supposed^ in the actual suffering of the 
 birds themselves. It is curious that some of the 
 original promoters of the Society for the Preven- 
 tion of Cruelty to Animals expressly exempted 
 cock-fighting from their strictures. One of them 
 — and not himself addicted to it — points out how 
 the Game cock is kept in comfort till the day of 
 battle, and then cannot be forced, but is actuated 
 by his natural instinct, "and in fact gratified." 
 Another remarks very much to the same effect ; 
 
 Fig. 114. — Steel Spurs. 
 
 the contributor already quoted remarks, " If two 
 cocks are left together in a state of Nature, death 
 to one or both is a natural result, but it is likely 
 to be the work of hours ; whereas a battle with 
 two heeled cocks in good condition rarely lasts 
 
348 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 five minutes, and a great many are struck dead 
 much quicker than if their heads were cut clean 
 oiff." It is indeed a somewhat mysterious fact, of 
 _ \vhich we are assured by many whom we 
 implicitly believe, that while the difficulty of 
 (apparently) killing a fowl is proverbial, very 
 often a struck cock appears to die instantly : the 
 excitement and brain pressure having probably 
 something to do with this phenomenon, which 
 seems a merciful provision of Nature, or rather 
 of that Power which overrules her provisions. 
 Thus metal spurs actually lessen, by shortening, 
 the pain inflicted ; though there can be no doubt 
 that individual blows are more sharply felt, since 
 some birds that will fight stubbornly in a natural 
 condition " will not stand steel," and others which 
 have fought well in steel, have flinched under a 
 long battle in silver spurs, which, being thicker, 
 do not cut such deadly wounds. In America, 
 spurs over \\ inches in length are often debarred, 
 expressly in order to prolong the contest, and an 
 enthusiastic cock-fighter recently wrote that " a 
 good long battle in silver spurs is the only cock- 
 fighting worthy of the name." 
 
 From this and other causes, the actual sufifer- 
 ing often lasts much more than the "few 
 minutes " spoken of above, and is of a kind 
 which we must indicate, however briefly, by a 
 few examples (which we have quoted before) 
 from unimpeachable sources. An American 
 writer (Dr. Cooper) in his work on The Game 
 Fowl, gives an account of a main between New 
 York and the Daffodil Club of Porchester, con- 
 sisting of seven battles. These occupied respec- 
 tively eight minutes, forty minutes, thirty 
 minutes (drawn), forty-three minutes, thirty- 
 three minutes ; the other two not being 
 stated. One bird fought on for forty minutes 
 with a broken wing ; and in another battle 
 "an unlucky coup" blinded the Daffodil cock, 
 which nevertheless kept on, till he somehow 
 got hold of the other and finished him after 
 all ; for which he is enthusiastically compared to 
 the " old Jackson strain," which it is said had an 
 actual reputation for " fighting better after losing 
 their eyesight." In another report of a main at 
 New Jersey in January, 1873, in four of the ten 
 battles fought, blinding occurred ; " New York 
 had both eyes torn out" being the words used to' 
 describe such a result. By all the rules, legal 
 provision is made for birds being struck blind, 
 what is to be done in such cases being laid 
 down. 
 
 Such are the actual facts of the cock-pit, as 
 described by those who have delighted in it: but 
 as already remarked, the amount of suffering 
 involved is not the real point, and forms of sport 
 not tabooed by society, may really involve more 
 
 to the individual animal. The great difference 
 lies in this : that in other sports the suffering, be 
 it what it may, is only incidental, and. is either 
 unaoticed or forgotten. In the "run across 
 country," passing by the fact that one fox affords 
 the enjoyment to a large number (which is of 
 course not any real argument at all, much less a 
 sound one), most of those who participate never 
 see the fox suffer, or ever think of it : the excite- 
 ment and the run is all they are conscious of. 
 To' the lady who receives the brush, it is at that 
 time only a " brush " ; she has not seen the fox 
 " broken up," or torn limb from limb by the 
 pack. If she had to watch that every time she 
 rode to hounds, it would be very different ; it is 
 because it is not so, that such sports have no 
 inherent brutalising tendency upon those who 
 take part in them. But in cock-fighting it is far 
 otherwise. The sufferings of every bird have the 
 riveted attention of every person engaged, who 
 is thus habituated to disregard the constant sight 
 of blood and pain, in the excitement of the 
 contest and of gambling upon it. Such a state 
 of things marks off any " sport " in which it is 
 essential, widely apart from any other where it 
 is not, whatever be the actual amount of pain 
 actually caused. Take a quite different case : 
 it is not cruel to kill animals for food, if due 
 care is taken to avoid unnecessary pain ; it is 
 right to do it, and the most refined lady who 
 eats meat really does it by deputy, however she 
 may look down upon the butcher. But if the 
 slaughter-house were made a spectacle, at which 
 scores looked on, to grow excited and lay odds 
 upon the duration of life or the symptoms of 
 death, then it would become as brutalising to 
 the spectators as was the Roman arena. Like 
 that, the moral evil would consist in finding 
 pleasurable excitement in the actual circum- 
 stances of blood-shedding, suffering, and death. 
 ' ' That is the real character of cock-fighting. 
 Every fresh injury to either bird is eagerly 
 watched, and perhaps recorded in the betting, 
 and has to be deliberately disregarded by the 
 " sportsman " except from that point of view. In 
 rough and rude times, when men sought to 
 inculcate disregard of pain and suffering as a 
 bulwark of the State, this had use and excuse, 
 and helped to " make men " who fought the 
 world: we recognise all that, and that there are 
 some even now from whom these instinctive 
 feelings hide much else ; but there are too many 
 proofs of the inevitable brutalising effect of the 
 cock-pit tipon the mass of its votaries. The 
 faces of the crowd in that very picture by 
 Hogarth alluded to by our contributor in his 
 notes on page 344, tell their own tale ; and we 
 have seen it as plainly written in those of the 
 
QUALITIES OF THE ENGLISH GAME FOWL. 
 
 349 
 
 majority of a company arrested and charged 
 in a modern police-court. Years ago we 
 quoted an American champion of this " sport," 
 who made the terrible vaunt that he could 
 take one of his celebrated birds, and cut 
 off both of his legs and wings, and the bird 
 would fight then ! We hope and believe that 
 no Englishman could make such a sickening 
 boast, and no English journal publish it ; but it 
 is a terrible proof of the callous brutality to 
 which man can be brought by habitual seeking 
 of excitement in the spectacle of animal suffer- 
 ing. We are sure that we need add no more. 
 
 This noble breed is now widely exhibited 
 and still more widely bred, for its beauty and its 
 quality of flesh. In combination of grace with 
 agile strength it is unequalled, and the qualities 
 for which it was bred produced also the utmost 
 proportion of muscle (flesh) in the best places 
 for the table, so that in wings and breast-meat 
 it had no superior. It found its way into the 
 exhibition-pen in the earliest days of poultry 
 shows ; but there, unfortunately, the changes of 
 fashion of which other instances have been 
 quoted already, played havoc with the breed. 
 At first changes were slight, the birds being 
 only slightly more tall and " reachy," which was 
 generally admired ;■ but the change went on, as 
 shown in our next chapter, until the breed had 
 been transformed out of all recognition. At 
 last a reaction set in, and in 1882 a class for the 
 " old " breed was offered at Cleator 
 Revival Moor in Cumberland, followed by 
 
 Old* English classes with a special judge at Wig- 
 Game, ton "in 1883 ; ever since which 
 time, classes and popularity have in- 
 creased continuously. In 1887 the Old English 
 Game Fowl Club was formed, to encourage and 
 watch over this noble breed, the first secretary 
 being Mr. J..W. Simpson, at that time of Silloth, 
 in Cumberland, a county which was long the 
 headquarters of the Old English Game. 
 
 For the following article on the fowl as now 
 bred and exhibited, we are indebted to Mr. 
 Herbert Atkinson, of Ewelme, Wallingford, one 
 of the vice-presidents of the Old English Game 
 Fowl Club. 
 
 " The Old English Game fowl or British Game 
 fowl of Buffon is a great contrast to the modern 
 exhibition, or fancier's breed of Game, in almost 
 every particular. It was owing to the modern 
 variety having been so continuously bred for 
 show points for a considerable period as to have 
 very much modified nearly all its useful qualities, 
 that some fanciers began, about 1885, to try to 
 revive the breeding and exhibition of the old 
 English breed of Game fowl, as it used to be 
 
 bred for cock-fighting, when that sport was 
 recognised as one of the national and even 
 ' royal ' sports of this country, ranking even 
 before horse-racing in importance, antiquity, 
 and popularity. This sport was suppressed 
 in England about 1835, and some fifteen years 
 later Game fowls began to be exhibited at 
 poultry, shows. By breeding for certain and 
 entirely fancy points, and by selection, and 
 crossing with alien breeds, the modern Game 
 fowl had been produced. It was necessary 
 therefore to seek out the old breed again, either 
 from old breeders who had kept them pure, or 
 from cock-fighters. These old breeders, and 
 ' cockers,' had all these years kept the breed in 
 its purity of blood, and vigorous constitution, 
 never exhibiting^ never selling, merely keeping 
 them solely for love of the old breed, and it was 
 therefore at first almost impossible to obtain 
 them. However, one way and another, many 
 birds of good blood were obtained, and exhibited; 
 their useful qualities were soon re-discovered 
 and appreciated by several modern fanciers ; and 
 from the first shows where classes were provided 
 for them in the 'eighties, they have increased in 
 numbers by leaps and bounds, until at the 
 present time they form some of the largest 
 classes at all the important shows; This is less 
 a cause for wonder when we consider their great 
 beauty and many useful qualities, to say nothing 
 of the liking of most Englishmen for anything 
 thoroughbred ; and nothing can exceed the 
 thoroughbred racehorse and the Old English 
 Game cock in purity of blood, unless it be the 
 Arab horses and the native Indian Game, or 
 Aseel, as we now call him. While other breeds 
 of poultry and horses, etc., may be what the 
 Americans call 'standard-bred,' they cannot 
 trace a pure pedigree for any great period of 
 time. 
 
 " Returning then to the useful qualities of Old 
 English Game, they stand not only in the front 
 
 rank as table fowls, but surpass all 
 Qualities of other breeds in delicacy, flavour, and 
 Old English nutritive qualities of flesh, while they 
 Game. carry more of it, in proportion to 
 
 bone and offal, than any other breed, 
 while in flavour it vies with that of the pheas- 
 ant. They of course lack the great size of 
 the Indian Game and some others, but that 
 size is only produced together with great 
 bone, offal, yellow skin, coarser meat, and 
 large appetites. Old English Game chickens 
 grow fast, and are always plump and full of 
 meat; not requiring to be fattened, which indeed 
 they will not bear, owing to their restless 
 temperaments. If allowed to go at liberty with 
 the hen on a good range, they require but little 
 
350 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 feeding ; indeed, wjU almost keep themselves, 
 and show such glossy plumage and condition as 
 can be obtained by no other method. As layers 
 there are several varieties of this breed that (on 
 a free range) equal any of the sitting breeds of 
 poultry ; Hennies, Black-breasted Reds, Piles, 
 and Duckwings leading the way, while perhaps 
 the worst layers are the dark Brown Reds 
 and dark Greys. 
 
 " The hens are all most excellent sitters, 
 steady on their eggs, and regular in their leaving 
 and returning to the nest, but they will brook 
 no interference, unless very tame. They are 
 excellent and careful mothers, and go with their 
 chicks even after recommencing to lay, while 
 the marauding rat or cat had better beware of 
 trying to take one of the brood, for she will fly 
 at any foe in their defence. Beware, however, of 
 having the hens with chickens near together, 
 or a terrible fight may ensue between the two 
 mothers to the detriment of the chickens, as 
 after her separation during sitting, and after 
 the chickens are first hatched until they are 
 let go at liberty, she will appear as a stranger 
 to the other hens. 
 
 " Old English Game cocks are seldom any- 
 thing but gallant and attentive to their harem, 
 and will fight in defence of their hens, instances 
 having been known of a Game cock with full 
 natural spurs having killed a fox that was 
 carrying off one of his hens. Now and then 
 they will take peculiar dislike to a hen of some 
 particular colour, or with a large comb, in which 
 case remove her at once or she will be killed. 
 Instances are also known of Game cocks sitting 
 and even hatching eggs ; I have known two 
 such cases amongst my own birds. , It is almost 
 impossible to keep two Game cocks together, 
 as they would fight and destroy each other. 
 This can be obviated by keeping an adult two 
 year old bird and a young cockerel, but even 
 that is not safe, for some day the young one 
 will turn, and then it means death or injury 
 to one or both. 
 
 " This inherent quarrelsome disposition, so 
 characteristic of the breed, renders it unsuitable 
 for those who have only a confined space, or 
 desire to keep a large number of fowls ; and 
 confinement does not suit them : the chickens 
 come weakly and the hens become indifferent 
 layers. The Old English Game is essentially 
 the breed for the country gentleman, who desires 
 fowls and eggs for his own table; and being 
 obtainable of so many different colours, their 
 owner has only to choose his favourite hue, or 
 the combination of colours that pleases him best. 
 For the cottager too, who has a free range, no 
 breed is more thrifty, having small appetites 
 
 and being most excellent foragers, never standing 
 idle for hours like the Asiatics, but ever moving 
 and seeking for insect life, etc., ranging the grass- 
 and hedgerows ; near a road, or in a farmyard 
 amongst cattle and stock, and in the stable- 
 yard, they from their fearlessness and activity 
 in avoiding danger are an ideal breed. 
 
 " For crossing purposes it is always best to 
 use the Old English Game cock, with large hens 
 of another breed. With all the Asiatic breeds 
 he is an excellent cross, giving quality and breast 
 meat, which all birds of these varieties lack. 
 With Dorkings a most splendid table-fowl is 
 produced. With all the boasted best crosses (and 
 their name is legion) none will bear a comparison 
 for quality and quantity of flesh combined, 
 with the oldest and only pure English breeds 
 combined, the Game afld Dorking cross. The 
 Game-Houdan is a wonderfully prolific layer, 
 besides being of excellent table qualities. 
 Game-Plymouth Rocks, and Game-Wyandottes 
 are capital winter layers ; indeed any of the 
 larger breeds are greatly improved in utility 
 and quality by crossing with Old English 
 Game, improving, as he does, their table, laying, 
 and foraging properties. The late Mr. John 
 Brough of Carlisle (who won such a number of 
 prizes with Old English Game when they were 
 first revived in the show-pen) was so well aware 
 of the fine table and utility properties of this 
 breed in his business as a poulterer, that he 
 kept large numbers of them all round the 
 district, from which he obtained his most prime 
 supplies, and had done so long before their 
 advent in the show-pen. 
 
 " The points required in the Old English Game 
 cock are a small tapered head, with a strong 
 hooked beak, rather short and pointed, a quick, 
 
 large, and fiery eye, the skin of face 
 Points of ^"d throat of fine quality, loose and 
 
 Old English flexible ; a rather long and very 
 Game. strong neck, a short flat back, wide 
 
 across the shoulders, and tapering 
 to the tail, which should be large, strong, and 
 spread ; breast large and wide, the pectoral 
 muscles largely developed, and the breast-bone 
 straight ; the belly small and tight ; the wings 
 large, long, and strong j with short, round, and 
 muscular thighs, and clean-boned, strong legs 
 parallel with the body and well bent at the 
 hocks. The spurs should be set on low, and be 
 thin and sharp, the toes long, thin, straight, and 
 spreading ; the hind toe fiat on the ground and 
 extending straight backwards, the nails long 
 and strong. His feathers should be hard, close, 
 sound, and glossy, and his carriage should be 
 proud, quick, graceful, bold, and smart. Such a 
 bird should when taken in the hand feel firm in 
 
COLOURS OF ENGLISH GAME FOWLS. 
 
 351 
 
 flesh and at the same time corky, or springy, and 
 warm, drawing liis legs well underneath him. 
 He must be well balanced, and ' clever,' that is, 
 every part in due proportion, so that he sits 
 easily in the hand, not lumpy or helpless ; the 
 thumbs should not sink in between the wings 
 and the back, but be firm across ; there should 
 be very little fluff or underdown on him. His 
 weight should be about 5^ lbs. or 6 lbs., larger 
 birds generally being coarse and dull, and 
 lacking that alertness and quickness so desirable 
 in this breed. 
 
 " The hen should, as far as her sex will allow, 
 possess all these points. Her head should be 
 small and tapering, comb small, straight, and 
 evenly serrated ; very thick, curved, and pointed 
 beak, large, bright, and full eye ; strong shanks, 
 the bone of fine texture, hard and evenly scaled, 
 and if spurred, and of the same colour as eye, 
 beak, and plumage, it is a sign of purity of race 
 and high breeding, flat clean feet, with long 
 tapering toes, wings very long and full, with 
 hard, strong quills, tail large and fan-shaped, 
 carried well up denoting strength and courage, 
 as a weak low tail indicates weakness and a 
 craven spirit. She should be wide in breast 
 and back, and taper nicely to the tail ; the im- 
 portance of the hen cannot be overrated in 
 producing Game cocks. 
 
 " In colour of legs much latitude is allowed, 
 the rule in breeding being that the eye, beak, and 
 legs should match in colour. In Black-breasted 
 Reds, for instance, white, yellow, carp, etc., are 
 allowed to compete on an equal footing, each 
 breed having its admirers, and being equally 
 •good and handsome. The white-legged ones 
 may have also grey or daw eyes, as not only 
 have some breeds (the Lord Derby's always 
 had them), but they match the legs and beak, 
 and the white under-plumage of these birds, 
 which also usually show a few feathers wholly 
 or partly white, in wings or tail, all in character 
 with it. 
 
 " The colours in Black-breasted Light Reds 
 are much the same as in the modern Game, 
 except that in the Old English the colours are 
 richer and more brilliant, and may be darker, as 
 some little latitude is allowed. For the hens, 
 partridge colour is to be preferred to wheatens, 
 the latter being used to produce bright hackle 
 and saddle in the cocks, and if persisted in, also 
 producing mealy breasts, while those bred from 
 good partridge coloured hens produce sound 
 coloured cocks, though a trifle darker in colour. 
 
 " Brown-breasted Reds may have clear brown 
 or robin breasts, or brown shaded or marked 
 with black ; the hackle and saddle are dark red 
 or dark orange, and the eyes and legs dark. The 
 
 hens to match them should be a rich dark 
 mossy brown all over, or they may be black 
 with a tinsel hackle ; of course legs, eyes, and 
 beak to match the cock. 
 
 " The Silver Duckwings are in colour the 
 same as the modern Silver Duckwing Game, or 
 the Silver-grey Dorking, and should be kept to 
 their own colour in breeding, and not crossed. 
 The Yellow Duckwing may also be bred from 
 Duckwings entirely, or can be produced by 
 crossing with Black-breasted Reds, which will 
 produce bright and rich coloured cocks, using 
 either a Duckwing cock with a Partridge hen 
 or a Black-breasted Red cock and Duckwing 
 grey hen, though nearly all the pullets bred 
 this way will show ruddy wings, which are fatal 
 in the show-pen. 
 
 " Duns (or, as they are improperly called, 
 'blues') may also be crossed with Black or 
 Brown-breasted Red cocks ; the former with a 
 blue hen producing Dun-breasted Reds or 
 ' Blue Reds,' as fanciers are apt to call them, 
 and a Blue hen with gold hackle and a Robin- 
 breasted Red cock producing excellent ' Red 
 Duns.' 
 
 " Piles are much like the modern in colour, 
 but brighter. Some prefer the white-breasted 
 birds, but the streaky-breasted are also very 
 handsome. The colour is liable to become 
 lighter unless an occasional cross of the 
 Black-breasted Red is used. 
 
 " Blacks and Whites should, of course, be 
 bred from pure self-coloured birds. 
 
 " Spangles are very popular in the show-pen 
 at present. They may be bred from Spangles, 
 or as a cross with Black-breasted Reds, which 
 also produce very good Red Spangles. 
 
 " The Black-breasted Black Red is a breed 
 that is considered, one of the best and purest 
 strains, and one that should be revived if not 
 too late. The cock is a clear vivid dark red 
 free from spot or streak, on hackles, shoulders, 
 back and saddle feathers ; while his breast, belly, 
 tail, primary and secondary wing feathers, his 
 thighs, legs, beak, and eyes are jet black, and 
 his under-plumage black all over, also beneath 
 his hackle ; the hen to match him is a dark 
 partridge, brick breasted, with hackles red above, 
 and black beneath, and beak, eyes, and legs 
 black also. No breed was more celebrated 
 than this in the old days, and it is much 
 to be regretted if it is allowed to disappear 
 from amongst us. 
 
 " The Henny is also another most useful 
 breed, being perhaps the best layer among Game 
 fowls, and certainly in the front rank for the 
 table. It is a very ancient breed of Game, and 
 perhaps has been kept more free from crossing 
 
352 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 with other Game fowls than any other breed. 
 The cocks are feathered like the hens, hence its 
 name, and the more hen-like their plumage, that 
 is, the more rounded and free from sheen are 
 the hackle, saddle, and tail feathers, the more 
 are they entitled to claim purity of race. They 
 are chiefly bred in Cornwall and Devonshire, 
 though some celebrated birds have come from 
 Wales. In colour there are dark partridge, 
 red grouse, wheatens, greys, duns, blacks, 
 whites, and spangles. The partridge and 
 grouse coloured have generally pinkish white 
 legs ; these and the blacks are perhaps the most 
 beautiful varieties. They are perhaps the most 
 useful of all the breeds of Game. To some the 
 lack of gaudy and shining plumage on the cock 
 will make them appear plain, but there is a 
 certain ' gamey ' appearance about a good hen- 
 cock that ■ renders him very pleasing to the 
 eye of one who understands Game fowls, and 
 appreciates them. 
 
 " There are very many other colours of 
 Game fowls, but until they are more generally 
 exhibited, a description of them is scarcely 
 necessary. There are also strains of birds 
 having peculiar marks, such as the 'Muffs,' 
 having a bunch of feathers growing beneath the 
 throat, and the 'Tassels,' having a tuft of 
 feathers behind the comb, which may be either 
 a few straight feathers in the cock and a. small 
 tuft in the hen, or something very much larger, 
 as sometimes seen, and amounting to a large 
 topknot. These peculiarities are pleasing to 
 some people, and where they are followed by 
 good qualities, it is well to preserve them with 
 every care. 
 
 " The Old English Game Fowl Club's 
 Standard of points and colours seems to render 
 further description unnecessary ; but it may be 
 well to give the proper way to describe the 
 colour of a Game fowl. Experts always started 
 with the breast, as in cock-fighting times this 
 part was untrimmed and left intact ; thus a 
 black cock was described as a Raven-breasted 
 Black, black eyes, beak, and legs ; and a white 
 cock. Smock-breasted Smock, white legs, beak, 
 and eyes. Nowadays^ a Black-breasted Light Red 
 is often spoken of as a Black Red, a term at once 
 misleading and ridiculous, and might mean 
 anything, the black-breasted black red with 
 crow-wings being the only colour to which the 
 appellation black red applies ; light red would be 
 more intelligible. Usually the colour of some 
 wild bird was used in describing the breast 
 colour, as Raven-breasted, Throstle-breasted, 
 Robin-breasted, or Pheasant-breasted, etc. 
 
 " In rearing Old English Game chickens, it 
 is well to keep them as dry under foot as possible 
 
 at first. After a week or two they never grow 
 better than if allowed to wander with their 
 mother on a good range, and they will roost in 
 the trees the winter through ; but as it is not 
 always convenient to allow them to do this, it is at 
 least desirable to separate the cock chickens from 
 their sisters at about three months old, when if 
 put out of sight and hearing of any hen or pullet 
 and under the charge of an old cock, they will 
 usually run together peaceably, until they are 
 ready to be separated to go on to walks. At 
 five months old it is necessary to dub them. 
 Snip off the comb and each wattle, taking care 
 not to cut across the throat, and then take off 
 the ear-lobes. The operation will not take half 
 a minute, and the birds will eat directly after, 
 showing haw little pain is ca.used by this slight 
 cutting.^ which saves the bird many a painful 
 time, and often his life, when he meets a strange 
 bird on his walk or gets out of his yard. The 
 dubbing of this bird requires merely the removal 
 of the comb, wattles, and ear-lobes for the bird's 
 good ; no severe cutting, trimming, or skinning is 
 resorted to for appearance' sake, as in some 
 modern breeds trimmed merely for appearance, 
 and to win prizes by unprincipled ' fakers.' 
 
 '■ Plenty of pure water is absolutely necessary 
 for Game fowls, and the evening meal should 
 always consist of good, sound English grain : 
 wheat, barley, and occasionally oats, and a few 
 peas ; maize is not at all a suitable food for 
 Game fowls, being too fattening, and often 
 producing ' scaly leg ' and stopping the produc- 
 tion of eggs'. 
 
 " This breed requires but little preparation for 
 exhibition, as they never look better than when 
 straight from a good range. They do, however, 
 require to be tame, and should be placed in an 
 exhibition pen a few times, and given some 
 choice mor.sels to render them used to being 
 handled, etc., as no judge can see the points of 
 a bird if wild and crouching in his pen, or flying 
 wildly against the top of it. If in good con- 
 dition, just washing the feet, legs, and head 
 will be sufficient, or should any feathers stick 
 up each side of the cock's comb, they may 
 be removed. 
 
 " In judging Old English, the first thing to 
 be looked for is purity of race, gameness of 
 aspect, cleanness and soundness of 
 Judging ^^S^ ^"^ f^^*' ""^t to be thick toed. 
 
 Old English or with round fleshy shanks as are 
 Game. often seen, and his large fierce eye, 
 
 whether it be dark, red, or grey. 
 Then look to his shape, and then to his feather, 
 if it is sound and glossy, elastic, and full of 
 bloom, not soft, thick, or fluffy, as is often' 
 seen in inferior birds. Then take him out 
 
JUDGING OLD ENGLISH GAME. 
 
 35J 
 
 and handle him, and if firm in flesh and 
 feather, clever in hand, with strong neclc, and 
 root to his tail, long and strong wings with 
 sound unbroken quill feathers, and straight in 
 legs, breast, and back, and of good carriage and 
 muscular, he will be fit to go into the prize list. 
 Shape is the great point, for a badly shaped bird 
 should stand no chance, and this cannot be told 
 except by handling the bird, so that no judge 
 will have done his duty until he has taken all 
 the likely birds in his hands. Even then a 
 person of experience is required to discriminate, 
 for we often see birds with alien blood winning 
 prizes at shows under incompetent judges. 
 Feathery, fluffy Dorking types, and crosses with 
 the modern Game, cannot be too carefully 
 shunned by the judges. The great fear is that 
 this grand breed may be again spoiled by 
 exhibitors in a few years, by breeding to purely 
 fancy points, until it becomes another edition of . 
 modern Game, though bred on different lines. 
 Let us remember that while the exhibitors were 
 evolving from the same breed the modern Game, 
 the old cockers, by -judicious in-breeding, 
 retained not only the Old English Game, but 
 all its fine table qualities, its laying properties, 
 and hardihood. They bred for purity of blood, 
 shape, activity, hardihood, strength, and game- 
 ness, and it will be a standing disgrace if 
 exhibitors allow themselves "to lose all these 
 useful points in breeding for the exhibition pen, 
 and in seeking to improve upon a breed that 
 was in its perfection nearly a century ago, and 
 bred to a standard we can scarcely hope to 
 attain to nowadays." 
 
 We fear that whenever cock-fighting shall 
 entirely die out, it will be impossible to avoid 
 some change in the type of the Old English 
 Game fowl, which was only produced by severe 
 competitive selection. As the fowl is bred for 
 table use, for instance, size must tend somewhat 
 to increase ; and in the absence of test by com- 
 bat, power of wing must tend to decrease. 
 Thirty years ago we remember publishing the 
 fact that a cock of Coath's strain, about 4^ lbs., 
 flew from Lower Langdon to Higher Langdon 
 Farm (half a mile) and there killed the master 
 bird of that farm ; and Mr. John Harris of 
 Liskeard has told us that years ago, when the 
 late Col. Trevor Dickens* came to see him, he 
 called over a hundred cockerels then running 
 under an old cock, from across the valley, and 
 they came flying over the trees like a flock of 
 rooks. We do not think many of the modern 
 birds weighing S lbs. to 6 lbs. would have either 
 
 * Forty years ago this gentleman wrote largely upon this 
 fowl under the nom-de-p!iMne of " Newmarket." 
 
 length or power of wing for such feats as these. 
 Such changes are inevitable, but care may at 
 least be taken to guard against departure from 
 main proportion, and to exhibit birds with firm^ 
 flesh and good feather and symmetry, and not 
 too fat, as we have been sorry to see on several 
 occasions. 
 
 It is also to be desired that there should be 
 no attempt to introduce into the judging of the 
 principal colours those artificial niceties of 
 colour and marking, which long ago necessitated 
 the "double-mating" system in the exhibition 
 varieties. All the colours in the Old English 
 Game fowl were true self-contained varieties, 
 recognised in the natural colour relation of the 
 two sexes, and breeding both alike true to- 
 feather. Once this principle is departed from, 
 the seeds of future mischief are sown ; for 
 artificial shades of colour are given a promi- 
 nence that cannot be given without ruin to the 
 breed itself Next to the care for true type, 
 , nothing is more vital to the preservation of 
 this noble race of fowls than the maintenance 
 of such natural sex-relations in colour as is 
 implied by single-mating. 
 
 The Standard of Perfection for Old English 
 Game, framed upon that adopted by the Club, 
 and merely reduced by the Poultry Club to its 
 own form of expression, is in one or two points 
 perhaps open to exception ; for instance, it surely 
 cannot be right to allow red eyes in Black 
 Game. It is as follows :- — 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head: Medium length and tapering. 
 Beak : Strong at base and slightly curved. Eyes : Large, 
 bright, and prominent, full of expression and alike in 
 colour. Comd : , Single, small, evenly serrated, erect, 
 and of fine texture. Face: Fine in texture to match 
 the comb and wattles. Ear-lobes : To match the comb 
 and wattles as nearly as possible. Wattles : Fine 
 texture and small. Neck : Long and very strong at 
 junction with body. Neck Hackle: Wiry long feathers, 
 covering the shoulders. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Broad and well developed, indica- 
 tive of constitutional vigour; straight breast-bone. 
 Back : Short, broad across the shoulders, and flat, 
 tapering to the tail. Belly : Small and compact. 
 Wings: Long, full, and round, incUning to meet under 
 the tail, amply protecting the thighs, and furnished 
 with very hard quills. , 
 
 Tail. — Sickle feathers abundant, broad, curved main 
 feathers with hard strong quills. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short, thick, and muscular, 
 well set and held wide apart. Shanks : Medium length, 
 finely and evenly scaled, not flat on shin. Toes : Four 
 on each foot, should be clean, even, long, and spreading, 
 the back toe standing well backward and flat on the 
 ground. Spurs : Low on the leg. * 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Bold and smart, the 
 movements quick and graceful, proud and sprightly, as 
 if ready for any emergency. 
 
354 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Handling. — Clever, flesh firm, but corky and light, 
 mellow and warm, with strong contraction of the wings 
 and legs. 
 
 Size and Weight. — 5 lbs. to 6 lbs. 
 
 Plumage.— Hard, glossy, and firm. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 Head, Neck, Body.^As in the cock. 
 Tail. — Inclined to fan shape and carried well up. 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 General Shape and Carriage, Handling, Plumage. — As in 
 the cock. 
 
 Size and Weight.— 4 lbs. to 5 lbs. 
 
 In white-legged birds, daw eyes and a few white 
 feathers in wings and tail are quite allowable and in 
 character : the hackle should also be white at the roots 
 of the feathers next the skin. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK-BREASTED RED GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: In character with legs. 
 Eyes: Red.* Face: Bright red. Z^^,f ; Any sound self 
 colour. 
 
 In the Cock. — Neck Hackle and Saddle : Orange red, 
 free from dark feathers. Back and Shoulder Coverts : 
 Deep red. Wing-bow: Deep red. Wing-bar: Rich 
 dark blue. Secondaries: Bay colour. Primaries and 
 Wing-ends : Black. Breast and Under-parts : Black. 
 Tail: Black with lustrous green gloss. 
 
 In the Hen (Partridge). — Neck : Golden red streaked 
 with black. Back and Wings: Partridge colour. 
 Breast and Thighs : Shaded salmon colour. Tail : 
 Black shaded with brown. 
 
 COLOUR IN BRIGHT- OR GINGER-RED GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : In character with legs. 
 Eyes : Red.* Face : Bright red. Zegs : Any sound self 
 colour. 
 
 In the Cock. — Neck Hackle and Saddle : Light golden 
 red free from streaks. Back and Shoulders : Bright red. 
 Wing-bow : Bright red. Wing-bar : Rich dark blue. 
 Secondaries : Bay colour. Primaries and Wing-ends : 
 Black. Breast and Under-parts : Black shaded with 
 brown. Tail : Black or black shaded with brown. 
 
 In the Hen. — Neck Hackle : Golden red. Back and 
 Wings: A darker shade of wheaten than the breast. 
 Breast and Thighs : Light wheaten. Tail : Black with 
 a shading of brown. 
 
 COLOUR IN BROWN-RED GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark horn. Eyes : Dark. 
 Face : Red or dark. Legs : Dark. 
 
 In the Cock — Neck and Saddle : Orange red streaked 
 with black. Back and Shoulders : Dark red. Wing : 
 Dark brown or black. Breast and Thighs : Brown, 
 or brown marked and shaded with black. Tail : Black. 
 
 In the Hen. — Neck Hackle : Black striped or shaded 
 golden. Body : Black or of a uniform brown mottle. 
 Tail: Black. 
 
 COLOUR IN RED PILE GAME. 
 
 la Both Sexes. — Beak : In character with legs. 
 Eyes : Bright red.* Face : Brilliant red. Legs : White, 
 yellow, or willow. 
 
 * See Note on Eyes and Legs, above. 
 
 In the Cock. — Neck and Saddle : Orange or chestnut 
 red. Back and Shoulders : Deep red. Wing-bar : 
 White. Secondaries : Bay on the outer edge of feathers 
 and white on the inner edge and tip, the bay colour 
 alone showing when wing is closed. Primaries : White. 
 Breast and Under-parts : White. Tail : White. 
 
 In the Hen. — Neck : Light chestnut. Breast and 
 Thighs : Chestnut, shading lighter towards thighs. 
 Rest of Body : White. 
 
 COLOUR IN SILVER DUCKWING GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : In character with legs. 
 Eyes : Red.* Face : Red. Legs : Yellow, white, olive, 
 or blue. 
 
 In the Coek. — Neck and Saddle : Silver white, free 
 from dark streaks. Back and Shoulders : Silver white. 
 f^zVig-^OTC/; Silver white. Wing-bar: Sit^A^a^^. Second- 
 aries : White on outer web, black on the inner web and 
 tip of feathers, the white only showing when the wing 
 is closed. Primaries : Black. Breast and Thighs : 
 Black. Tail: Black. 
 
 In the Hen. — Neck : Silver, striped with black Back 
 and Wings : Dark grey. Breast and Thighs : Pale 
 fawn. Tail: Grey and black. 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow. Eyes : Red or pearl. 
 Face : Scarleti red. Plumage : White throughout. 
 Legs : White or yellow.' 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark. Eyes : Red or dark. 
 Face : Red or_ dark. Plumage : Glossy black through- 
 out. Legs : Sound self colour. 
 
 COLOUR IN BRASSY WINGS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Same as In the Black Game, with 
 the exception of a little dark lemon on shoulders of cock. 
 
 COLOUR IN SPANGLED GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : In character with legs. 
 Eyes : Red or daw. Face : Bright red. Plumage : 
 Either black, red, blue, or buff spangled with white ; 
 the spangling as even as possible. Tail: Black- and 
 white. Legs : Self colour «or mottle. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN OLD ENGLISH GAME. 
 
 Deduct 
 Defectii. up to 
 
 Defects In head, 4 ; beak, 4 ; eyes, 6 14 
 
 ,, neck, 6; back, 8 14 
 
 „ breast and body ., . 12 
 
 „ wings ■ 6 
 
 „ thighs, 4; shanks, 5; spurs, z ; feet, g 21 
 
 „ plumage 7 
 
 ,, carriage 10 
 
 ,, colour ... ... ... 8 
 
 ,, handling 8 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Crooked or humped back,' crooked breast-bone, wry 
 tail, flat shins, duck feet, bad carriage, rotten plumage, 
 or any unsoundness. • 
 
 * See Note on £5-65 and Legs, previous cohiran. 
 
355 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE EXHIBITION GAME FOWL. 
 
 PRECEDING pages have already presented 
 many striking examples of the changes 
 which may be caused by judging, and 
 fashion, and breeding, in the form or type of 
 even the purest races of poiiltry ; but perhaps 
 there is no case in which such changes are so 
 conspicuously evident as in the subject of this 
 chapter. There is no doubt at all as to the 
 origin of the modern exhibition Game fowl. 
 When cock-fighting became illegal, and poultry 
 shows were in their early popularity, the very 
 same fowls that had been bred for fighting in 
 the pit, were placed in the exhibition pens. The 
 Old English Game fowl of the preceding chapter, 
 was also the exhibition Game fowl as known at 
 that day. The colours shown were the same 
 colours, and the fowls were the same fowls ; and 
 it was, in point of fact, not at all unusual for 
 the many who still occasionally practised 
 cocking on the quiet, to exhibit birds which 
 had fought, or to fight birds which had been 
 shown with success. And so long as exhibi- 
 tion was chiefly confined to the old school 
 of Game breeders, the birds continued to be 
 shown with but little change. 
 
 But as Game fowls began to be shown more 
 and more by persons who never fought them 
 nor dreamed of ever doing so, change, inevitably 
 crept in, from causes fully explained 
 Development in the earlier chapters of this work. 
 Edfibmon Judging, as well as breeding, no 
 Game Fowl, longer remained in the hands of the 
 old cockers, and details of mere ap- 
 pearance began to be more studied, both in regard 
 to colour and form. In regard to both points, 
 change at first was very moderate, and it crept 
 in gradually, by insensible degrees. Exhibitors 
 and judges understood that the Game fowl was 
 different somehow from the breeds which were 
 often termed in comparison the " heavy cart 
 horse style " ; the tendency was natural to prefer 
 somewhat the taller and more reachy birds; 
 and to a certain extent the modified type did, 
 especially while confined to the earlier and 
 more" moderate degree, appeal to even the 
 general public with a beauty of its own, and 
 was welcomed by many for the very reason 
 
 that it was somewhat distinct from the original 
 cock-fighting model. The following remarks, 
 written by the late Mr. John Douglas, who 
 exhibited many winners both for himself and 
 for the Duke of Newcastle, for the first edition 
 of The Ilbistrated Book of Ppultry, are 'well 
 worth quoting as evidence of what had taken 
 place up to that time, and how far change 
 had then proceeded : — 
 
 I am very sorry to see every now and then some 
 novice or old antiquated breeder stating that the Game 
 fowl has deteriorated within this last fifteen or twenty 
 years. I myself have kept Game for about fortj' years ; 
 and when lawful to fight cocks have carried my Game 
 cock to school to fight, and many is the three days' 
 fighting I have seen in the town-hall, with magistrates 
 for the principals; and I have even myself, when a 
 boy, had a cock-fight with the head magistrate's cock, 
 and won. Many is the main I have seen between one 
 end of the town and the other ; also town against 
 town, and two or three battles a week the whole winter 
 through. At night, after a hunt day, I have seen many 
 a battle for more money that I should like to name. 
 In those days we studied nothing but the blood. So 
 the cock was " game," we neither looked for symmetry 
 nor beauty of plumage ; but still, at the same time, 
 when we did happen to get a nice symmetrical bird, 
 we prided ourselves on him greatly, and seldom but he 
 turned out a " clipper " in the pit. The main point is 
 a firmness of flesh and great muscular power, with the 
 least lumber ; and many of our present exhibitors have 
 often heard remarked from those who still' often see 
 birds in the pit, "What a nice, commanding, 'reachy' 
 cock I — not one of the thick clumsy louts ; but nice and 
 springy, and fit to fight for his life ! " Those who keep 
 harping on the point that our Game fowls are not so 
 good as they were, should tell us in what points they 
 are not so good. They say they do not want them for 
 the pit, and never saw a fight, nor do they want to see 
 one ; what then do they want ? 
 
 For my own part I consider there has been more 
 improvement in the Game fowl than in any fowl we 
 have within the last thirty years, if we place perfection 
 in beauty, symmetry, purity of feather, more muscle, 
 less but stronger bone, and more hardness of flesh. I 
 consider we have discarded cumbersome flesh laid on 
 where not wanted, got more muscle, more symmetry, 
 purity of feather, and everything more pleasing to the 
 eye. I cannot understand what people want. There 
 is the " game " in them now, that will stand to be cut 
 up if wanted ; though sorry should I be to have to 
 witness a grand and beautiful bird disfigured for that 
 purpose. In the fields or yards, however, the Game 
 cock is just as vigilant and fearless as he was thirty 
 years ago ; and hens at the present day are just as 
 
356 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 demonstrative and careful of their broods. So where 
 do they see the " want of game " ? Those people, I am 
 sure, are unsuccessful exhibitors; but if they would 
 follow the advice of those who are successful, there 
 •would be none of this ridiculous nonsense about Game 
 deteriorating, when it is far otherwise. 
 
 But changes of this kind, when once fairly- 
 initiated, could not stop at the point reached 
 when Mr. Douglas wrote the above in 1872. 
 So soon as fanciers and judges began to look 
 specially for height and reach and colour, it was 
 inevitable that they should seek to get more of 
 these points; and they did so. The process and 
 the gradual development by it of the present 
 
 English Game, as representhjg the original type, 
 and from an exhibition bird of the present day. 
 It will at once be seen that the Game fowl 
 of 1870, as here reproduced, was in a transitional 
 state of development in regard to other points 
 than height or reach. The powerful " boxing " 
 head and beak were already becoming longer 
 and thinner, though not so long and thin as they 
 have become since. The tail has become much 
 closer and mor-e whipped together, though not 
 nearly so much so as afterwards, and still possess- 
 ing a singular beauty of proportion of its own, 
 especially in regard to the nicely " Venetianed " 
 arrangement of the sickles and side-feathers one 
 
 Fig. 115. — Development of Exhibition Game. 
 
 Gradual 
 Change 
 in Type. 
 
 Exhibition Game fowl are so interesting and 
 instructive, that we have asked Mr. Ludlow to 
 prepare in illustration of it the three sketches 
 shown in Fig. 115. The centre figure 
 represents the bird in its transition 
 stage, at the time when the above 
 sentences were written, the outline 
 being an exact reproduction on a reduced scale of 
 Mr. Douglas's Black-breasted Red cock, " The 
 Earl," winner of the cup at the Crystal Palace 
 in 1870, which formed the frontispiece to the first 
 edition of The Illustrated Book of Poultry. This 
 bird was painted in oil by another artist, as well 
 as by Mr. Ludlow ; and having seen and com- 
 pared both paintings, we select it as an absolutely 
 authentic contemporary record of the time. 
 The other two outlines are sketched from Old 
 
 over the other. The neck has become more 
 slender, and the hackles shorter and more scanty, 
 though both these changes-also are carried much 
 further in the bird of igoo. It is needless to go 
 into more detail, but the diagrams themselves 
 will form an instructive and impressive object- 
 lesson concerning the profound changes which 
 fashion and breeding and judging can effect in 
 one of the oldest breeds of poultry. 
 
 The later stages of this transformation were 
 not effected by selection alone. Even in 1872 
 the Rev. A. G. Brooke, in writing upon Malays, 
 stated the fact of that breed being used as a 
 cross to increase the size and stature of Game 
 for exhibition, and that applications were.made 
 to him for birds to serve that purpose. But 
 subsequently the Malay cross was used quite 
 
BLACK-BREASTED RED ' GAME. 
 
 Ill 
 
 extensively by breeders in order to attain 
 greater length, of limb, with shorter and harder 
 and more scanty feather. With this cross came 
 at first, of course, very bad heads ; but these 
 were very soon bred out, as were other promi- 
 nent Malay points : there has remained, how- 
 ever, a more sloping back as a rule, and more 
 prominent shoulder-butts than belonged to 
 the old English fowl : also a length of limb that 
 ■compures with, if it does not even exceed, that 
 ■of the Malay itself. 
 
 Change has not been confined to form 
 alone : it has affected colour also profoundly. 
 At first the birds had been exhibited in their 
 natural colours, in natural sex-relation. In 
 Black-breasted Reds, for instance, the darker 
 red cocks and the rich partridge hens appeared, 
 as they were bred from single-mating in the old 
 Derby and other strains ; but the brighter 
 colours were preferred, and very soon the 
 bright red cocks and light partridge hens were 
 found to .breed brighter and better from double- 
 matings. So also the Brown-breasted Reds 
 began as really brown-breasted birds ; but 
 preference for bright colour and precise lacing 
 gradually produced a new colour containing 
 only black and lemon, with no brown in the 
 breast at all. ' It is, however, unnecessary to 
 discuss this phase of the matter further. As 
 has already been shown, the change has in the 
 end been so great as to create a reaction 
 in favour of the older breed, which has again 
 returned to popularity, now as an entirely dis- 
 tinct and different type. But it is remarkable 
 that while the general public unmistakably 
 recognise greater beauty in the old Game fowl, 
 the points of the modern show bird also possess 
 a peculiar fascination for those who can under- 
 stand them, and call forth in them an enthu- 
 siasm which is scarcely paralleled in any other 
 breed. Every year or two some bird changes 
 hands for as much as £i<2a, which can probably 
 not be said of any variety beside ; and the com- 
 petition at Birmingham Show, which in Game 
 fowls is the recognised great event of the year, 
 evokes a kind and degree of interest amongst 
 the circle of breeders, which in its way is unique. 
 
 The development of the exhibition type of 
 Game fowl has to all intents and purposes 
 excluded from this department of competition 
 many colours and markings formerly shown, 
 and which are still to be found in classes for the 
 Old English breed already treated of; and the 
 present recognised varieties are now compara- 
 tively few and well defined. The chief are those 
 known as Black-breasted Reds, Brown Reds, 
 Duckwings, and Piles ; of any others occasion- 
 ally shown, very brief mention will suffice. 
 
 The Black-breasted Red has always been 
 the acknowledged head and type of all Game 
 fowls. One reason for its prevalence, is no 
 doubt that the colour most 
 Black-breasted closely resembles that of the 
 Red Game. wild jungle-fowl {Gallus baiikiva) 
 
 believed by most naturalists to 
 have been the original of either all or most 
 of the domestic breeds of poultry ; hence 
 when birds were bred with less reference to 
 shades of colour than now, it tended to pre- 
 vail. Originally, as briefly hinted above, the 
 natural sex-colours were exhibited ; cocks 
 being shown with darker hackles than now, 
 and hens of a rich partridge with shades of 
 red on the wings. But both judges and 
 breeders soon began to show marked prefer- 
 ence for the clearer and brighter shades 
 in both sexes, until practically only bright 
 and light-coloured specimens are shown with 
 success in first-class competition, though occa- 
 sionally a somewhat darker bird may win by 
 reason of very superior shape and condition 
 of feather. 
 
 The following description of the Black- 
 breasted Red Game as now demanded for 
 the show-pen, is kindly contributed by Mr. 
 F. C. Tomkins, of Brimfield Court, Hereford- 
 shire, well known as a breeder, exhibitor, and 
 judge ; and in regard to the first portion of 
 it, may serve also for other varieties, as a 
 description of the exhibition type of bird in 
 general : — 
 
 " In describing as requested the Black- 
 breasted Red Game fowl, the following is 
 my own ideal, and will be generally ac- 
 cepted by the fancy at large. The descrip- 
 tion may with advantage be divided under 
 two separate heads, viz. style, or shape and 
 make, and colour. 
 
 "We will take the style of the cock first. 
 The beak should be long, strong, and slightly 
 curved ; the head long and rather narrow ; 
 the eye bright red, prominent, bold, and fear- 
 less: in fact the head should bear a sort of 
 snaky expression. The neck to be long, 
 shoulders broad, back short and quite flat ; 
 wings carried well up and close to the body. 
 The tail to be short, carried rather low, with 
 short fine-pointed sickles. The legs should 
 be long, but by no means to have a stilty 
 appearance; the thighs to be slightly curved, 
 and the shanks nicely rounded and fine at 
 the hock-joint ; the legs to be set well apart, 
 the feet flat, and the toes long ; the hind toe 
 to point straight backwards, and be as close 
 to the ground as possible : this last is a most 
 important point. A Game cock should be 
 
3S8 
 
 THE BOOK OF FOULlUiY. 
 
 '3. combination of quality and substance, in 
 fact be like a race-horse with plenty of 
 bone. 
 
 "The style of the hen is similar, her beak 
 also being long and strong and nicely 
 curved ; comb small, upright, and evenly 
 serrated ; head long and rather narrow, eye 
 bold, red, and prominent, with a keen snaky 
 expression. The neck should be long, thin, 
 and fine at the throat, shoulders broad, back 
 short and fiat, tail close and carried rather 
 low, wings short and carried close to the 
 sides, legs long but in no way stilty, thighs 
 nicely carried, shanks smooth and well 
 rounded, feet and legs generally as in the 
 cock. 
 
 " We come now to the colour of the cock. 
 The beak should be dark horn. Head and 
 neck hackle a light orange red, free from 
 black stripes. Back, wing-bow, and saddle 
 a rich crimson, the saddle hackles always 
 running a shade lighter. Secondary flight 
 feathers a bright rich, bay ; wing-bar a green 
 glossy black ; shoulders, breast, thighs, and 
 tail a sound black ; legs willow. When this 
 very bright top-colour as here described is 
 produced, there is a tendency for the breast, 
 hocks, and fluff to become ticked or laced 
 with red. This is a very grave defect indeed, 
 and of the two evils I would much rather 
 tolerate a shade darker in top-colour, to have 
 the breast, hocks, and fluff absolutely black. 
 Of course the bright top-colour and a sound 
 black can be and are produced together, but 
 it requires great care in the mating, and a 
 thorough knowledge of the pedigree of the 
 birds mated. 
 
 " The colour of the hen is as follows : 
 Head a clear gold ; neck hackle gold, slightly 
 striped with black, but running to clear gold on 
 top of the head. The breast should be a rich 
 salmon, running off to an ashy colour on the 
 thighs. Back and wings a light partridge with 
 very small and fine markings, with a slight 
 golden tinge pervading the whole. This should 
 be quite even throughout, free from ruddiness or 
 shaftiness on the sides, and no large coarse 
 pencillings on the flight feathers of the wings. 
 The tail is black except the top feathers, which 
 should match the body colour. 
 
 " With respect to the mating of Black-Reds, 
 separate pens are required for cockerel- and 
 pullet-breeding. For cockerel-breeding a cock 
 such as above described should be used, and for 
 pullet-breeding hens of the standard colour must 
 be used. It is, in my opinion, useless to describe 
 the colour of hens to be used for cockerel-breed- 
 ing, or the colour of cocks required for pullet- 
 
 breeding, unless we know how they are bred, as 
 the produce might be quite different." 
 
 The following description, and notes on 
 mating for the production of this variety, are 
 by Mr. Samuel Matthew, of Haugliley, near 
 Stowmarket. This gentleman has 
 Breeding now been a breeder of Game for 
 Gsune"^*'* sixty-five years, and rarely failed to 
 get near the top, until he had the 
 misfortune to lose nearly all his best birds by 
 foxes' : it will still be remembered how he bred 
 a cock claimed at the Palace in 1884 for ;^ioo, 
 and which won the £^0 cup at the Birmingham 
 show following ; and that the following year 
 another bird, a half-brother to the one just 
 mentioned, was claimed at Birmingham for 
 a hundred guineas. 
 
 "The Black-breasted Red cock of the 
 present day should be as follows for the show- 
 pen, and for breeding exhibition birds the same 
 points should, of course, be looked for with 
 especial care : The head to be long, thin, and 
 bony, well set on the neck, with beak also well 
 set on, and in no way parrot-beaked. The eyes 
 large, full and bright, red or roach-eyed, and 
 whole face lean and thin, showing what is called 
 qualitj'-. Neck- to be long and slightly arched, 
 tapering neatly from head to shoulders ; hackle 
 short, close, and swinging back. The back flat, 
 broad at shoulders and tapering to the stern ; 
 body short, and well cut up behind ; wings 
 powepful ; neither carried on the back nor yet 
 low on the thigh. The thighs to be long and 
 muscular, standing clear out from the body : 
 shanks round, not flat, with very fine scales ; the 
 foot large and flat, with well-spread toes, back 
 toe to stand well out behind. The plumage all 
 over short ; on top a very bright or orange red, 
 especially the hackle and saddle, which must be 
 quite free from black stripe or pencilling ; breast, 
 body, and stern perfectly black ; tail lustrous 
 black, with narrow sickles, well pointed, about 
 eleven inches in length ; the lesser sickles or 
 side-feathers should be also narrow and well 
 pointed, about five in number on each side of 
 tail, each getting shorter as it approaches the 
 root of tail, all being well whipped together. 
 Legs and feet willow, carriage erect, alert, and 
 fearless, weight about 6i lbs. 
 
 " For breeding cocks of this description, such 
 a bird will of course be the sire : I will now 
 give the points of the hen to be mated with him. 
 Her general characteristics will be tl ose of other 
 Game hens, the head being long and b^ny, with 
 beak standing out well, face and eye red, alSo 
 comb, ear-lobes, and wattles. Attention should, 
 however, be given to the comb: it must be 
 small, fine, and well serrated, not becoming at 
 
< 
 
 C5 
 
 Z 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 DO 
 
 X 
 X 
 
BREEDING BLACK-BREASTED RED GAME. 
 
 359 
 
 all lopped even when she is laying. The 
 hackles are nearly a lemon, pencilled in the 
 ■centre. Her breast should be a light salmon, 
 lighter towards the stern and down the thighs ; 
 the back somewhat of a stone-colour, the minute 
 black partridge marking being on a grey 
 ground with scarcely any brown in it ; wing- 
 coverts and secondaries of a light brown colour 
 and evenly pencilled ; shanks and feet willow. 
 Her tail should be carried low, and be somewhat 
 short and well whipped together, in order to 
 breed these points in the cockerels. It is 
 almost unnecessary to say that such a hen 
 should be of the same blood as exhibition 
 cockerels, reliance not being placed upon colour 
 alone if it can possibly be helped. 
 
 " We come next to the exhibition pullet. In 
 shape and general points she will resemble that 
 just described. Her head and neck hackle are 
 golden, as free from black as possible : the 
 breast salmon, running off to more ashy colour 
 on the thighs ; body a light partridge, not 
 coarsely pencilled on the wings nor at all mossy 
 in flights : the back and sides even in colour 
 throughout. 
 
 " Such birds being chosen as the mothers, 
 I will now describe the colour of the cock 
 required in order to breed pullets fit for the 
 show-pen ; in build and style he will, of course, 
 resemble the exhibition bird already, described. 
 But his top-colour, that is especially his hackle 
 and saddle, is quite different, being quite a bright 
 lemon, so as to appear almost washy. Cockerels 
 of this colour, of course, bred from pullet- 
 breeding strains, are now used by most of our 
 principal breeders to produce the pullets that 
 win at the leading shows ; but they are not 
 themselves good enough to win in high com- 
 petition. The pullets themselves also very 
 seldom produce a good cock, though you may 
 get one now and then by chance. Thus it will 
 be seen that for breeding Black-breasted Red 
 Game successfully, two pens, or what is called 
 double-mating, must now be used. 
 
 " Some breeders also employ for pullet- 
 breeding cocks that are marked with brown on 
 breast, wing-butts, and rump. By putting such 
 a bird to good pullets or hens, they often obtain 
 very good-coloured pullets for the show-pen ; 
 but not only are the cockerels useless for 
 showing, but hens or pullets bred in this way 
 prove most disappointing if it is attempted to 
 breed cockerels from them, as many amateurs 
 have proved to their cost. This mating also 
 produces more wasters than that first described. 
 
 " I do not believe in now crossing either of 
 the above colours in cocks with Wheaten hens, 
 having tried this mating with no good results. 
 
 But the first described, or exhibition cock, is 
 well adapted for breeding exhibition Pile cocks, 
 when crossed with a good yellow-legged, pale- 
 coloured Pile hen : the pullets will be useless, as 
 they will be willow-legged. And the second 
 colour described, the pullet-breeding cock, is 
 well adapted to cross for Duckwings ; if put to 
 a clear-winged good Duckwing hen, the produce 
 will generally be a well-marked Duckwing cock." 
 
 The matings here described, it will be 
 seen, represent established cockerel-breeding 
 and pullet-breeding strains. Other matings, as 
 described years ago by the late Mr. John 
 Douglas and Mr. W. F. Entwisle, are still 
 occasionally used by breeders with more or 
 less success. They depended on the use of 
 somewhat darker cocks, almost bay in the 
 hackle, with often a little black stripe in it, 
 and lighter shades of partridge hens, the lighter 
 of which in part resemble the cockerel-breeding 
 hen or pullet described above. At that time, 
 however, the exhibition colour of hens was a 
 perceptibly darker partridge than it is now. 
 Hence it was often found that a bright ex- 
 hibition cockerel mated with exhibition hens 
 produced good pullets of the rather darker 
 colour then shown, and such birds are still 
 successful occasionally by reason of excellence 
 in feather and style. The exhibition cockerel 
 was also mated with the lighter shades of 
 pullets to breed cockerels ; but the pullets 
 were rarely dark enough, and hence this 
 mating was already on the way to that 
 described by Mr. Matthew. The darker cocks 
 just mentioned were mated with medium or 
 rather light-coloured hens, often producing rich 
 partridge pullets ; and sometimes with a very 
 light hen, or a Wheaten, they would breed 
 bright rich cockerels. But the final preference 
 for bright colour in both sexes, has made these 
 old matings difficult and uncertain, though some 
 fine individual bird may occasionally make such 
 an experiment well worth while. 
 
 It is almost unnecessary to state that in 
 any of the matings here described, as in all 
 other poultry breeding for points of plumage, 
 an all-important matter is the pedigree of 
 the birds. Two pullets of apparently similar 
 plumage, but of different breeding, might pro- 
 duce very different progeny from the same 
 cockerel. To mate carefully by choice of 
 colours alone, is better than to mate carelessly, 
 and from necessity it may have to be done 
 sometimes, for want of other information about 
 some bird that promises too well to be passed 
 over. But the breeder's sheet-anchor is pedigree, 
 and the knowledge that the bird he has chosen 
 is of the oroper cockerel-breeding or pullet- 
 
36o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 breeding strain. This will apply to all the 
 other varieties. 
 
 The next principal colour in modern Game 
 shows perhaps the most remarkable transforma- 
 tion of any, in consequence of selective breeding 
 and judging. The division was once known as 
 Brown-breasted Red Game, and the 
 Brown-Red name was perfectly accurate, the 
 Game. breasts of the cocks being either 
 
 brown, or brown mingled with 
 black, or at least brown or bay streaks upon 
 the black, somewhat like the breast of a starling ; 
 while the top colour contained much red, ranging 
 from orange-red to crimson. The catalogue 
 of the Birmingham show now describes the 
 present colour as simply brown-red, omitting 
 all definite allusion to the breast, probably as 
 being absurd ; but in point of fact the colour can 
 now scarcely be said to be marked by either 
 brown or red anywhere, and, indeed, any con- 
 spicuous signs of either would be fatal to success. 
 The process of change can be pretty easily 
 traced. Up to the time when Mr. Douglas 
 wrote in 1872, the most popular colour in cocks 
 was streaky or starling-breasted, with a bay 
 streak to each feather, and red and crimson top- 
 colour ; but there was also already recognised as 
 a favourite colour, a black breast with narrow 
 lacings of bay, and top-colour of a lighter orange- 
 red and crimson, running off in places to rich 
 orange-lemon, and hens black all over except 
 striped golden hackles. This marking steadily 
 elbowed out the other ; and then as brighter 
 colour was preferred, the bay lacing was re- 
 placed by rich orange, and this by rich lemon, 
 and finally by bright light lemon, which extended 
 to the hen's breast also. Glossy green-black 
 was also demanded, until finally we have a 
 variety in which practically the only colours 
 deemed admissible are rich green-black and 
 lemon, though from old association and odgin 
 still termed brown-red. 
 
 The following notes upon this beautiful 
 variety, and its breeding for exhibition, are 
 kindly contributed by Mr. Frederick Wardle 
 Smith, Carlton Hall, near Worksop, President of 
 the United Game Club. 
 
 "To form a strain of Brown-breasted Red 
 Game, and to breed them with any hope of 
 success, takes several years of careful observa- 
 tion, selection, and management. Let no beginner 
 think he can purchase a few winning birds, how- 
 ever good they may be, and find himself in the 
 first flight the following show season. Brown- 
 Reds will not breed true to colour from what is 
 generally known as a sin"gle mating. For instance, 
 a perfect lemon exhibition cock mated with a 
 
 bright-hackled exhibition hen, -will often throw 
 a large proportion of grey chickens, which are, 
 of course, worthless. But before dealing with 
 the breeding of Brown-Reds, I will describe 
 the correct type and colour of exhibition birds. 
 
 " In both sexes the head should be long and 
 lean, the beak strong and slightly curved, the 
 eye large, and free from the heavy overhanging 
 brow. The- neck should be long and thin, and 
 well cleaned out at the throat ; the back short 
 and flat, broadest across the shoulders, and 
 tapering towards the tail. The shoulders should 
 be broad, prominent, carried well up, and slightly 
 away from the body ; the wings short, the 
 flights carried under the saddle feathers, and well 
 nipped into the body behind the thighs. The 
 breast should be broad and firm, and the breast- 
 bone short, and curved like the keel of a boat. 
 There should be no lumber or heaviness in the 
 under part of body behind the thighs. There 
 the bird should be fine, and well cut off to the 
 root of the tail. The thighs should be long and 
 muscular, set well apart, and the shanks round 
 in front, smooth, and rather shorter than the 
 thighs ; the hocks neat and clean-jointed ; the 
 feet large and fine, toes well spread, and the 
 back toes set on low down and carried straight 
 back. The tail should be small, short, fine, and 
 straight, carried tight, and slightly above the 
 horizontal line. In cocks the sickles should be 
 slightly curved, narrow, and pointed, and a little 
 longer than the hen's tail. The secondaries and 
 tail coverts should also be fine and painted. 
 The thighs should be set in the middle of the 
 body, so as to give the bird a firm, well-balanced 
 appearance. Nothing is more objectionable 
 than thighs set too far forward ; this always 
 makes the bird look stilty and ungainly. The 
 whole appearance of the bird should be tall, 
 bold, springy, and hard. The feather should be 
 short and hard, and in the hackle and saddle 
 of the cock, fine, wiry, and pointed. 
 
 " In both sexes the colour of the eyes should 
 be black ; the face and comb dark purple-black, 
 or as black as possible ; the beak and nails the 
 darkest horn colour or black (old birds, as a rule, 
 go light in the colour of the leg). The comb 
 of the hen should be small, fine, and evenly 
 serrated. 
 
 " The colour of the exhibition Brown-red 
 cock should be as follows : Head, hackle, back, 
 saddle, and wing-bow pure bright lemon ; the 
 hackle striped towards the bottom of the neck 
 with black, the back and saddle feathers being 
 black at the base, and sharply defined (Fig. 
 116). The rest of the body and tail black, 
 except the breagt, which should have each 
 feather laced at the edge with short, round (not 
 
BREEDING BROWN-RED GAME. 
 
 361 
 
 pointed) lemon lacing. The shaft of every 
 feather black. The lacing should extend from 
 the throat to the junction of the thigh with the 
 body. The sheen, a most important point, must 
 be a brilliant green. In the hen the hackle 
 should be pure bright lemon, with the centre 
 and shaft of each feather black, the lemon colour 
 running well on to the top of the head. The 
 breast, laced similarly to the cock's. The rest 
 of the body and tail black, with a brilliant green 
 sheen. 
 
 " The chief faults to be avoided in Brown- 
 red cocks are long backs, bad eyes, thick necks, 
 and long feather. Cocks showing a darker 
 shade of colour on the wing-bow than on the 
 back should be carefully avoided. In hens the 
 most common faults are long backs, bad eyes, 
 soft feather, and coarse tails. Purple or bronze 
 sheen, or dull body colour, in either cocks or 
 hens, cannot be too strongly condemned. 
 
 shade of colour than a show cock. The cock 
 must be very sound and glossy in his black, 
 especially in his thighs and belly, and must not 
 be overdone with lacing. His hackle al.so must 
 be perfectly even in colour from the top of his 
 head to the bottom of his neck. An exhibition 
 cock mated with very glossy-bodied hens, with 
 
 Hackle. 
 
 Breast. Back. 
 
 Fig. 116. — Feathers of Brown-red Cock. 
 
 Saddle. 
 
 "To produce exhibition cocks, a perfectly 
 coloured cock should be mated with hens rather 
 short of breast lacing, or with hens that show a 
 lot of black in the hackle. A 
 Breeding capped hen (that is, a hen with the 
 G^"^ ■^*'^ feathers on the head black instead of 
 lemon) will also often produce good 
 cockerels, but not pullets, when mated with an 
 exhibition cock. Good cockerels may also be 
 had by mating hens with too much breast lacing, 
 or with lacing on the back and sides, with a 
 cock rather darker in colour, than an exhibition 
 cock, but he must also have very little lacing, 
 and be short and hard in feather. 
 
 " Pullets for the show pen may be bred from 
 exhibition hens, and a cock of a rather darker 
 'U 
 
 hackles rather too dark for the show pen, will 
 also produce good pullets, and occasionally a 
 good cockerel. This therefore is some approach 
 to a single mating. 
 
 " Of course many birds will be bred with 
 brownish bodies, bad eyes, crooked breasts, in- 
 knees, etc. These should be disposed of at once. 
 Avoid breeding from coarse sickled cocks, any 
 birds having flat shins, or possessing any other 
 deformity. Always choose cocks full of quality 
 and of a pure, sound, even colour, whether light 
 or dark in shade ; and never breed from a cock 
 having a pale washy-coloured back arid a dark 
 wing bow. Above all things, never cross Brown- 
 reds with Birchens or Duckwings. Much has 
 been said about the beautiful pure lemon colour 
 
362 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 being produced by such a cross, but it is not the 
 case. A Brown-red cock produced by a Duck- 
 wing or Birchen cross, is always dull in body 
 colour, and has a washed-out look in the hackle, 
 back, saddle, and wing-bow. Other birds from 
 this cross come a reddish white in colour, where 
 they should be lemon. The hens also are dull 
 in body-colour, with dirty brownish hackles. 
 Always breed from the glossiest and purest- 
 coloured birds. 
 
 " The secret of breeding Brown-reds is to 
 thoroughly master the difference in the various 
 shades of colour, and to know the exact pedigree 
 of the breeding stock. No breed of Game fowl 
 requires such careful mating to produce show 
 birds as the Brown-breasted Reds. There is the 
 gipsy face and breast lacing, which breeders of 
 the other varieties (except Birchens) have not to 
 •contend with ; but when an approximately per- 
 fect exhibition bird is produced, there is no 
 variety of fowl that can compare for brilliance 
 of colour and attractiveness with an exhibition 
 Brown-red cock." 
 
 Somewhat allied to the Brown-red is the 
 Eirchen, a colour now recognised at important 
 shows. The foundation of this variety was an 
 old and now almost extinct breed 
 Birchen known as Silver Birchen Grey, and 
 
 •Game. by some old breeders as Silver 
 
 Duckwing, though the latter name 
 properly belonged to another colour presently 
 described. In this the cocks were black-breasted 
 and white-hackled, the hens rnostly a dull 
 black, with some indications of lacing on the 
 breast. By cros^sing this variety with the 
 lightest lemon Brown-reds, lacing was improved 
 and developed in both sexes, until the present 
 Birchens may be described as generally similar 
 to the Brown-reds, but with the lacing and 
 hackles silvery white instead of lemon. The 
 lacing in both sexes is, however, narrower and 
 sharper, and extends farther over and down the 
 breast, giving a very delicate and pleasing effect. 
 
 Birchens breed truer from, one pen than most 
 varieties of Game, so that a fair proportion of 
 both sexes may often be produced from a single 
 mating, of good pedigree. As a rule, however, 
 better results are obtained by special matings, 
 putting with exhibition birds of the sex desired, 
 mates with a little deficiency in marking, or 
 rather — for this is what it really means — super- 
 abundance of black colour, on the general plan 
 described above for Brown-reds. There being 
 in this breed only perfection of marking in 
 clear white, less depends upon selection, and 
 more upon pedigree or breeding of the bii'ds put 
 together, than in most other varieties. ' 
 
 The Duck\ying Game is one of the most 
 beautiful varieties. The face should be bright 
 red, with the eye a sound ruby red. The cock's 
 head is creamy white, hackle creamy 
 Duckwing white or pale straw, the back and 
 Game. saddle orange or gold going off to 
 
 yellow, wing-bows the same ; wing- 
 bay a clear white, free from any red or rusti- 
 ness ; shoulder-butts and all under-parts * deep 
 blue-black ; wing-bar black, with blue lustre; a 
 blvie lustre pervading ^11 the black plumage; 
 The hen's head is silvery white or silvery grey, 
 and neck hackle silvery grey striped with black ; 
 her breast salmon, going off to ashy grey at the. 
 thighs ; back and sides silvery grey minutely 
 pencilled with black or dark steel grey ; the 
 upper feathers of her tail should be about the 
 same, the lower feathers black. The hen's 
 plumage resembles that of the Silver-grey 
 Dorking, shown on page 376. This description 
 refers to what are known as Golden Duckwings, 
 which are a more or less compound variety, as 
 explained in the notes which follow. The 
 Silver Duckwings, which are a pure race and 
 can be bred true, very much resemble the 
 Goldens in regard to the hens, which are only 
 a little more pale and silvery, with lighter 
 salmon breast-s : but the cocks differ .in all the 
 light upper parts of the plumage, being silvery 
 white where the other is yellow. As will be 
 seen, the Silvers are the real foundation of the 
 Duckwings. 
 
 For the following notes on mating and breed- 
 ing Duckwings for exhibition we are injlebted 
 to Mr. Arthur Binder, Ecclesfield Common, 
 near Sheffield : — 
 
 " The Duckwing is a cross-bred bird, if one 
 can be so named which is obtained by using 
 a Game strain of another colour — the Black- 
 Red. It will be apparent to all that this cross- 
 ing, with both cocks and hens, offers many 
 opportunities for experimental breeding ; and 
 the mating of pure Black-reds, Duckwing-bred 
 Black-reds, Duckwings, and Silver-bred Duck- 
 wings, gives rise to never-ending discussion 
 among , fanciers. The mating of the various 
 birds here given is the system I usually follow, 
 and is founded on the experience gained during 
 the twenty years I have followed Duckwing 
 breeding in Game fowls. 
 
 " As to choice of stock generally, no new 
 advice can be given. In breeding anything 
 worth the trouble, one must get tlie 
 Breeding blood, and one usually has to pay 
 
 Game^™^ the price for it. But the wideawake 
 buyer spends his ;^5 or £\o and gets 
 what will do him some good ; while the rash 
 novice may spend his ;^20 and more, to find he 
 
BREEDING DUCK-WINGED GAME. 
 
 363 
 
 has to begin again. The one will perhaps look 
 out for a late-hatched bird, which had not 
 finished growing when winter stopped him, and 
 whose colour, for the same reason, has still to 
 come ; will inquire his breeding, and if possible 
 see the parent birds, and will know that — 
 properly mated — he will throw as good stuff as 
 his more fortunate brothers, whose price is four 
 or five times as much. On the other hand, the 
 mere ' long-purse ' man, who buys chiefly from 
 exhibition winners, certainly gets something 
 for his money, but unless he is more clever 
 than most, his next year's birds w^ll frequently 
 be no credit to their parents. 
 
 " Coming now to discuss the various matings 
 used in breeding Duckvvings, we will consider 
 first one only employed for cock-breeding. Tliis 
 mating is that of a Black-red cock with Duckwing 
 hens. 
 
 " For this mating the cock should be a pure 
 bred Black-red, with no points specially differing 
 from the standard ; but note the following r His 
 hackle must be free from stripes, and all one 
 colour. If it is a little dark it is no detriment, 
 provided that the one colour be adhered to. He 
 must also be exceptionally good in his black ; 
 and in judging for this, especially notice the 
 shoulder points and fluff. If the black is not 
 sound; the shoulder points of the cockerels will 
 be ticked, and the fluff will have a brownish tint, 
 running to greyish in old birds. His feather 
 should be exceptionally short and hard ; because 
 the Duckwings he is to be mated with are inclined 
 to be feathery. His wing-bars should be shaded 
 of purple rather than green. The back colour 
 should be one shade across, of course ; but it 
 should certainly not be light, rather of a maho- 
 gany cast. Be sure not to have' a white stripe 
 up the quill of the sickles, as this will come out 
 in the chickens. 
 
 " Now for the Duckwing hens to be mated 
 with the Black-red cock. As a matter of theory, 
 none but sound-coloured hens should be selected ; 
 but all breeders krtow that very few such are to 
 be metvvith. One finds well-set-up birds with 
 coarse colour, and other defects, but with good 
 qualities that make one hesitate not to use them. 
 Hens; therefore, should be mated with the Black- 
 red cock that are either paler on breast than the 
 standard ; or not so pale on breast, but with 
 reddish sides and coarsish wing-ends ; or coarse- 
 tailed hens, otherwise good, should be used with 
 the Black-red cock rather than with a Duckwing, 
 because the Black-red will correct this defect 
 more surely than the Duckwijig. 
 
 " In regard to the produce of this mating, 
 only Golden Duckwing cockerels will be fit for 
 exhibition. The pullets are all Black-red, and 
 
 being Duckwing-bred are useless for show pur- 
 poses. They are usually mated with a Duckwing 
 cock. Of the cockerels bred, a bird that is from 
 a coarse-coloured hen should never be mated up 
 again to breed pullets. 
 
 " Our next mating will be more or less 
 successful both for cock- and pullet-breeding, 
 and consists of a Duckwing cock with Duckwing 
 hens. For this mating the body shape, head, 
 legs (except for colour), tail, and style of the 
 cock should be as in all modern Game. But 
 see that his^ hackle is creamy without streaks, 
 short and straight ; his body-colour golden right 
 across back ; bars purple ; wing-ends a nice 
 white diamond, free from redness ; from saddle 
 to root of the tail the colour- gradually going 
 from golden to creamy white, as in hackle ; 
 breast, shoulders, and fluff a good sound black ; 
 legs willow (may be olive green, but not blue) ; 
 eye- and face red. This last is a great point, 
 because seven out of ten Duckwings have bad 
 eyes at the present time. 
 
 "The hens to mate with him, as with the 
 cock, will be similar to all modern Game except 
 for colour. The hackle should be black and 
 white mingled, a light shade preferable to dark 
 if not washy, but must be same shade over top 
 of head to. face, capped birds being very objec- 
 tionable. The body-colour a steeUgrey, free 
 from rust or redness, bars and wing-ends as 
 delicate as possible ; tail same shade as body, 
 but is generally found a little darker. The 
 breast salmon, free from smut ; head, legs, eye, 
 and face same as cock. N.B. — The darker 
 shaded hens should be mated up in this pen : 
 a sound colour of course preferred. 
 
 " In regard to the produce of this mating^ 
 both cockerels and pullets being pure-bred, will 
 be fit to mate for breeding afterwards in any 
 pen according to colour, and of course for 
 exhibition according to their quality. 
 
 " Of matings for pullet-breeding there are 
 two, the first being that of a Duckwing cock with 
 Duckwing-bred Black-red hens. Though this 
 mating is mainly for pullets, however, occasion- 
 ally a good cockerel may be thrown. The way the 
 hens are bred is described above. The advan- 
 tage to be expected from this mating is that the 
 pullets may come a shade lighter in colour, and 
 finer in feather and markings. In regard to 
 the produce, as a rule the cockerels should be 
 eaten, as they are good for neither show nor 
 stock, except for an occasional exception as 
 above. The Duckwing pullets may be mated 
 with either a pure Black-red or Golden Duck-, 
 wing cock — Black- red for preference — th^r 
 colour being as a rule lighter and their breasts 
 paler than the standard. 
 
364 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 "The second mating for pullet-breeding 
 specially, is that of a Silver Duckwing cock, with 
 Duckwing or pure Black-red hens. 
 
 " The Silver Duckwing cock should be silver 
 in colour from head to root of tail ; his bars 
 purple ; a clear white diamond ; wing-ends, tail, 
 breast, shoulders and fluff all good sound black; 
 •other points as the Golden Duckwing cock. 
 
 " The Duckwing hens to mate with him 
 should be very sound in colour — that is, one 
 shade throughout— but a darker cast is no draw- 
 back, and the darkest-coloured hens, if sound- 
 coloured, should be mated up in this pen ; their 
 breasts should be a deep salmon. No coarseness 
 in colour at all should be allovved in these birds, 
 and the darker shade is preferable. 
 
 " The same remarks hold good also for Black- 
 red hens to Jbe mated With the Silver Duckwing 
 cock : the darker shades are preferable, with 
 •deep salmon breast, always provided .that there 
 is no coarseness or unsoundness in colour. These 
 latter hens will occasionally throw a good Golden 
 Duckwing cockerel, although the mating is 
 -chiefly for pullets. 
 
 " In regard to the produce of such mating, 
 from the Duckwing hens the cockerels, of course, 
 will be Silver, and may be exhibited in Variety 
 •classes. The pullets, if good, are the best of 
 all Duckwing pullets for exhibition purposes. 
 The markings are finer, the hackles cleaner and 
 without cap, and there is less rust and shaft 
 than from any other mating. They are in addition 
 valuable, for mating with a pure Black-red 
 cock. From the pure Black-red hens, cock- 
 ■erels will be both Golden and Silver, but mostly 
 Silver. If the Golden cockerels thrown should 
 be good, they will exhibit, and will afterwards 
 mate with pullets from pure-bred Duckwing 
 stock. The pullets will come both Duckwing 
 and Black-red. The Black-reds will not 
 exhibit, but the Duck wings will, and both will 
 afterwards breed with the Golden Duckwing 
 cock." 
 
 The colour known as Wheaten is little seen 
 
 or used now in exhibition Game. The Red 
 
 Wheaten very much resembles the colour of 
 
 the skin of red wheat ; the Silver 
 
 "Wheaten Wheaten a sort of silver cinnamon, 
 
 'Game. much resembling the paler sort of 
 
 Sussex fowls described in earlier 
 
 chapters. Formerly Wheaten hens were a 
 
 great deal used to breed the brighter Black- 
 
 ■ breasted Red cockerels ; Duckwing cocks were 
 
 also ' crossed with them to breed cockerels ; 
 
 and they were also used in breeding Piles. 
 
 But since the standard colours have been bred 
 
 more systematically, these methods have been 
 
 practically discarded, and the Wheaten hen is 
 generally found too light in blood to breed well 
 with the strains of the present day. Another 
 objection found was that much Wheaten blood 
 led to softness of feather ; and condition of 
 plumage has so much to do with success in 
 modern Game, that this also led to the 
 colour being disliked. It has now almost dis- 
 appeared. On one or tv/o occasions even lately, 
 however, we have heard of very bright Duck- 
 wing cockerels having been bred from . a 
 Wheaten hen. 
 
 The Pile Gaipe is a striking and beautiful 
 variety, which may be described in general 
 -terms as a Black-breasted Red with the red and 
 
 coloured feathers left intact, but the . 
 Pile black replaced by white all over 
 
 Game. the bodies of both sexes. Thus 
 
 the code's wing-bar is white, while 
 the wing-bay is bay as usual, but with wliite 
 spots at the end of each secondary feather. 
 For the following notes upon Piles, and their 
 breeding for exhibition, we are indebted to Mr. 
 Walter Firth, of Read, near Blackburn : — 
 
 "This is certainly one of the most handsome 
 of all the varieties of Game, and when properly 
 mated, has the merit of breeding true to colour 
 and type. The greatest difficulty is to obtain 
 in the male bird the pure white breast, com- 
 bined with a rich dark chestnut wing-bay ; 
 and in the pullets a rich salmon breast with per- 
 fectly clear wing. 
 
 " The Pile cock should be exactly similar to ' 
 the Black-breasted Red, with the exception that 
 where the Black-red cock is black, the Pile 
 should be a pure white. In harmony with this 
 the face, head, and throat should be a particularly 
 bright healthy red, the beak yellow, eye as rich 
 a ruby red as it is possible to obtain, and legs a 
 rich orange yellow, the deeper in colour the 
 handsomer the bird. The hackles are a clear 
 orange yellow, free from striping ; back and wing- 
 bows a rich orange-red inclined to crimson, the 
 saddle shading off to match the neck-hackle, or 
 clear orange yellow ; wing-bar and wing-butts a 
 pure white, breast and thighs ditto. The bird 
 must be tall, well up on the leg, with long fine 
 head and neck, and square prominent shoulders, 
 with shoulder-points well forward. The neck 
 hackle should fit closely and evenly, and not be 
 twisted as is very often the case. Other points 
 should, of course, be according to the general 
 features of exhibition Game, but any fault in 
 these is specially conspicuous in a Pile. 
 
 " The Pile hen will match the cock in make, 
 head, face, eye, and legs. Her body colour is 
 creamy white, as pure from any red markings on 
 
BREEDING PILE GAME. 
 
 365 
 
 the wings ' as possible, although a little warm 
 colour, so as to give the bird a rosy appearance, 
 if not too much so, is no great fault : still, the 
 clearer the wing the better, provided the breast 
 is a good rich salmon colour, and not a pale 
 yellow, as is sometimes found. It is quite an 
 easy matter to breed clear-winged pullets with 
 pale breasts, but these should not find favour in 
 the show-pen ; better far allow a trifle for a little 
 colour on the wing and have a rich-coloured 
 breast, than give way to pale-breasted pullets 
 because of their clear wings. 
 
 " Piles may be bred' true to colour for a year 
 or two, by breeding from Piles of both sexes. 
 For breeding cocks it is particularly desirable 
 that the hens should be well rosed 
 Breeding on the wings;, and with good deep 
 Piles. breast colour, and be as tall and as 
 
 prominent in shoulder as possible. 
 Never breed from light-eyed birds, or from any 
 having ,a twisted breast-bone. The cock for 
 cock-breeding should be a good exhibition speci- 
 men as already described, with plenty of reach, 
 and a tail fine in feather, short, carried just 
 above the level of the back, and the sickles short, 
 ■fine, and well tapered at the ends. He should 
 also be broad in chest, and sound in eye-colour. 
 If size, reach, and stamina- are required, never 
 use a breeding bird under twelve months old. 
 
 " For pullet-breeding, on the other hand, it is 
 necessary that the hens should be as free from 
 colour on the wing as possible, while good in 
 breast ; and the cock to mate with them should 
 be a darker shade of top-colour — more inclined 
 to a brickish red all through. If he is a bit 
 marbled on the breast it may be all the better, 
 providing his wing-ends and wing-butts are a 
 clear white, and his wing-bays sound. 
 
 " To breed true to colour it is necessary to 
 in-breed, and continue to do so until the produce 
 shows either signs of weakness, softness, or want 
 of size, or until the leg-colour and top-colour 
 become too pale. It is then advisable to intro- 
 duce a cross of Black-red blood, by mating a 
 Black-red cock to Pile hens. ,By doing this, 
 rich-coloured .cocks will be obtained, and also 
 some good useful cock-breeding pullets for next 
 season's mating. This is for cock-breeding ; 
 but the pullet-breeding pen must be kept as 
 pure as possible, by retaining each year the 
 most likely breeders for future use, the Black- 
 red blood only coming in indirectly through 
 the cockerels bred from it." 
 
 In choosing a Black-breasted Red cock -for 
 crossing with Piles, particular care should be 
 taken that he is a sound rich chestnut in his 
 wing-bays. The pullets that come from the 
 cross are generally willow-legged, but very 
 
 sound on the breast ; and several times we have 
 had reported to us good results from putting 
 a few of the best of such birds with' a good 
 pullet-breeding cock whose father was also a 
 Pile. A very fine pullet was also represented 
 to have been bred from a quite pale-breasted 
 pullet mated with a Black-breasted Red cock- 
 erel, but with yellow legs, which had been bred 
 from Piles. Any breeder will recognise the 
 possibilities from crosses of this kind, and the 
 prinfiple which underlies them. 
 
 Other colours are scarcely ever now seen 
 in exhibition , Game, and may be dismissed 
 in a few words. We have in former years seen 
 
 at Birmingham large and fine 
 other classes of Black and Brassy- winged, 
 
 Colours. the latter admitting the golden 
 
 feathers which are such a difficulty 
 m the males of most black fowls : there were 
 also good classes of Whites. Up to the time 
 we write there is still a refuge there for 
 both colours combined, but there are few entries, 
 and still fewer exhibitors. In the classes for 
 "Any Other Colour," the entries were Silver 
 Duckwings,. referred to above, Blue Duns, and 
 Mottles. The fact is that all these colours 
 belonged to a time when the fowl was nearer 
 the old type ; and have their proper place now 
 in the Old, English Game classes. 
 
 Though the long limbs of this breed look un- 
 sightly on the table, the flesh is still good, and 
 abundant on breast and wings. Many of the 
 present hens are also very good layers. Hence 
 the exhibition Game is by no means an unprofit- 
 able fowl where there is room enough to keep it 
 to advantage, as thfe surplus can be eaten to 
 profit, while the hens and pullets will pay 
 their own way. The great length of limb, 
 as in all other cases, has however brought 
 with it considerable delicacy of constitution 
 in the shape of leg weakness. A great help 
 against this is Parrish's Chemical 
 Bearing Food, and care should also be taken 
 
 Game. not to attempt to pu.sh the chickens 
 
 on too fast, or to great size, as it 
 were, but to , let them grow up on plain food, 
 with plenty of exercise, in a hardy manner. 
 Whatever may be the case with other breeds, 
 exhibition Game chickens, at least, get on 
 distinctly better when hatched and reared under 
 hens ; the individuality and activity suit them 
 better, especially when the hens can be allowed 
 a large amount of liberty. For the following 
 remarks upon rearing and exhibiting we are 
 further indebted to Mr. Samuel Matthew : — 
 
 " The best way to rear and manage Game 
 
366 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 chickens is to place a coop in a warm or sunny 
 situation, with plenty of dry earth below : this 
 being a good deodoriser, keeps the coop fresh 
 and clean with a little attention. It is necessary 
 for good rearing that the chickens should have 
 a good grass run. Where this cannot be given, 
 the best plan is to sow some oats and dig them 
 deep into the ground. The oats will soon sprout 
 and provide some fresh green food, whiph is so" 
 necessary to keep them in good health and con- 
 dition. As to feeding, I find nothing better than 
 Spratt's chicken-food, mixed fresh each day as 
 follows : I break the contents of a fresh raw egg 
 over some of the food, then mix it further with 
 boiling water to such a consistency that it will 
 crumble in pieces when given to the chickens. 
 It must not be mixed too moist. After the 
 chickens are about a fortnight old, for a change, 
 a mixture of fine middlings and oatmeal may 
 be mixed in the same way. Be very careful 
 that any meal is quite sweet, not in the least 
 musty, or rancid, or sour, and avoid foreign meal, 
 which is often inferior. It is necessary always 
 to let them have a good supply of coarse sharp 
 sand, or dry road-scrapings, grit being necessary 
 to enable them to digest their food. If the 
 chickens seem at all ailing or sickening, bread 
 soaked in sweet milk is a good change of diet. 
 After a time, an occasional feed of wheat soaked 
 for some hours in water, may be given at night, 
 commencing in small quantities ; and later on 
 some good sound barley may be given for a 
 change. There will, of course, be refuse or waste 
 birds among the broods, breed them how you 
 may ; therefore, as soon as possible select the 
 most promising, and draft out the others for 
 table or other purposes, so that a larger run may 
 be left for the good birds. 
 
 " The necessary process of dubbing is best 
 performed with the bird in the hands of an 
 assistant, who understands the proper way of 
 
 handling a Game fowl. Using a 
 Dubbing P^ir of surgical scissors, the operator 
 
 Game. cuts first from the .back of the 
 
 wattles, taking that part between 
 the blades and cutting towards the beak, being 
 careful not to cut too deeply, or the jaw-bone 
 might be injured. Now that heads are desired 
 so fine, this is best done at six months old, 
 leaving the comb till nearer eight months old. 
 To take off the comb, the operator stands in 
 front of the bird, cutting from the beak to the 
 back of the skull, and keeping the scissors firmly 
 down to the head. If the operation is carefully 
 done the wound will heal in a few days, but care 
 must be taken to keep the birds from fighting, 
 as a few minutes' fighting before healing has 
 taken place, might probably cause disfigurement 
 
 for life. It is no use dubbing cockerels before 
 runs can be found for them, as those which have 
 agreed before will always fight after it : the 
 operation has so changed their appearance, that 
 they meet as strangers, and will no longer agree. 
 
 " Long training in pens is not good for 
 Game. The best way of training for e^chibition 
 is to place a bird in a show-pen for two or 
 three days only at a time, with intervals of 
 three or four days between each time, training 
 them to take food from the hand. Then they 
 should be accustomed to feed from the hand 
 held high up in front of the pen, so as to induce 
 them to stand up, come well to the front, and 
 show off well. In general the bird should be 
 made as tame as possible, when he will not 
 mind being handled, and birds once thoroughly 
 trained never seem- to forget it." 
 
 It is usual to trim the heads of Game cocks 
 a little before exhibition, removing with scissors 
 the line of little spiky feathers at the sides of the 
 amputated comb, close to the head, and also the 
 little feathers which project from the face. Some 
 draw out the latter, as is done in Spanish faces ; 
 but in this case they grow again. 
 
 Very few words_ will be sufficient for the 
 controversy which now and then arises about 
 the operation of dubbing Game. Almost with- 
 out exception the assumed humanitarians have 
 been totally ignorant of Game fowls ; and it is 
 gravely to be 'regretted that the names of some 
 persons in high position should, by the mistaken 
 representations of people of this kind, have been 
 dragged into a crusade of which they also have 
 not been competent to judge, since they have 
 had no knowledge of the facts and conditions. 
 All these good people forget that dubbing 
 originated when shows were unknown, as a 
 practical necessity, and merely because the 
 fighting cock, when undubbed, was fatally 
 handicapped in his battle, and suffered continu- 
 ally during his life. The old cockers simply 
 found that a Game cock was saved a far greater 
 amount of suffering, and often death, by being 
 dubbed ; and they dubbed him for this and no 
 other reason : of exhibition they knew nothing 
 at all. Some oral and written evidence that has 
 been quoted froni "veterinarians," professing 
 to " prove " that the comb of a fowl, " owing to 
 its profuse supply of nerves, is specially sen- 
 sitive," has on the contrary proved an ignorance 
 on their own part quite extraordinary. Exam- 
 ination under the microscope of sections from 
 a cock's comb, leads to an exactly opposite 
 conclusion ; not, of course, that there are no 
 nerves of sensation in the comb, but certainly 
 to the effect that the comb is anything but 
 a specially sensitive part of the bodv. The 
 
JUDGING GAME. 
 
 367 
 
 same conclusion is- suggested by phenomena 
 familiar at times to almost every poultry-keeper 
 with small runs, who will have seen a cock 
 standing while the hens pecked his comb into 
 a miserable state, with apparently entire uncon- 
 cern. Dubbing was not adopted to avoid injury 
 to the comb, but to leave no hold ; because a 
 Game cock strikes with his spur close to where 
 he . holds by his beak, and thus the face 
 might be terribly cut, or the eyes torn out, 
 if the comb was left on. We fear there 
 is a large class of people whose notions of 
 cruelty or humanity depend not so much upon 
 real pain or suffering — a matter always to be 
 taken into grave consideration — as upon the 
 presence or absence of visible wound, or. of a 
 few drops of blood. At all events, we knew of 
 ■one lady who used very strong language in- 
 deed about dubbing Game, who regularly sent 
 a male kitten to be " made into a house cat," 
 for the merest reasons of her own personal con- 
 venience ; and that sort of thing furnishes food 
 for reflection. Though we have had some share in 
 the active prevention of animal suffering, we never 
 were able to get up strong feeling about any- 
 operation that only takes a minute or two, has 
 no pain of anticipation, and is apparently for- 
 gotten as soon as over ; and we have repeat- 
 edly seen a Game cock begin to feed, as soon as 
 tossed down upon the ground. As, however, 
 we believe that some people have been deterred 
 keeping Garne Bantams especially, from dreading 
 the supposed cruelty of this operation, it seems 
 worth while to point out that even a dentist's 
 nitrous oxide " gas" will cause anaesthesia quite 
 long enough to dub a bird ; or if that be incon- 
 venient, that a few whiffs of chloroform in a hand- 
 kerchief will equally prevent any pain whatever. 
 
 It is not much use attempting to breed 
 exhibition Game, any more than the Old 
 English, without plenty of room. The cockerels 
 may be kept together until grown, on a good 
 run^ under an old cock, as in the case of the 
 older breed ; but there is " Game" in them still, 
 however modified, and as fast as they are 
 dubbed they must be provided for separately. 
 Moreover, space is required to rear the chickens 
 of what is now a rather delicate breed, in health 
 and condition. Finally, without range the birds 
 cannot be shown in the hard feather which is so 
 necessary to success. A few split peas daily for 
 two or three weeks before a show will help this 
 to some extent. 
 
 In judging Game, style and make and con- 
 dition are taken into consideration to a greater 
 ex-tent than in any other breed except the 
 preceding,, or in the corresponding breeds of 
 l^antams. Hence, keen as is the competition 
 
 in colour and marking now, it not unfre- 
 quently happens that a bird somewhat in- 
 ferior in these will pull off the honours by great 
 
 superiority in style and character 
 Judging of plumage : for instance, a some- 
 
 Game, what too dark cockerel, or a too 
 
 rich or a slightly foxy pullet, may 
 be so far superior in make or feather as to 
 win over better colour. The prize birds, or 
 those likely to be chosen at least, should 
 always be handled, the handling counting 
 for a great deal in Game. Handling is 
 also the only way to detect crooked breasts, 
 which of late have crept into this breed more 
 than formerly, so that occasionally, when the 
 apparently best bird in a class is left out, inquiry 
 will elicit the fact that it was on account of 
 a crooked breast. 
 
 The following is the Standard of Perfection 
 for Game, adopted by the Poultry Club in 
 consultation with the United Game Club : — 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head: Long and snaky, narrow 
 across the eyes. Beak : Strong at base, gracefully curved. 
 Eye: Prominent, keen in expression. Comb, Ear- 
 lobe, and Wattles : Usually cut off. Face : Sniooth skin 
 without coarseness. Neck : Long and slightly arched, 
 fine at setting on of head. 
 
 Body. — Short, wide in front, well tapered to stern. 
 Breast .- Broad. Back : Flat and shaped like a smooth- 
 ing iron. Wings : Strong and powerful, short, well 
 tucked up, shoulders .prominent and carried well up. 
 
 Tail. — Short and fine, closely whipped together and 
 carried slightly above level of body. Sickles ; Fine and 
 well pointed. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs: Strong and muscular. Shanks: 
 Long and nicely rounded. Toes : Long and straight. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Upstanding and active. 
 General appearance bold, fearless, and smart. 
 
 Size and Weight. — From 7 lbs. to g lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Short, hard, and bright. . 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Generally corresponding with cock. 
 Comb : Very small and erect, nicely serrated. Ear-lobe 
 and Wattles : Small and fine texture. 
 
 Body. — Back : Flat. Rest of body corresponding 
 with cock. 
 
 Tail. — Short and fine, closely whipped together and 
 carried slightly above level of body. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in tlie cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — As in the cock. 
 
 Size and Weight. — From 5 lbs. to 7 lbs. 
 
 Plumage.^Short, hard, and-bright. . 
 
 COLOUR OF BLAOK-BREASTED RED GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark green horn. Eye : Bright 
 red. Comb, Face, and Wattles : Bright red. Ear-lobe : 
 Bright red. Legs : Willow green. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head: Orange red. Hackle: Light 
 orange, and free from black stripe. Breast and Thighs: 
 Greenish black. Back and Saddle : Rich crimson. Wing- 
 bow : Orange. Shoulders : Black. Wing-bars : Green 
 black. Secondaries : Rich bay on the outer edge of 
 feathers, on the inner edge and tips of bay black ; only 
 
368 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the rich bay showing when the wing is closed. Primaries: 
 Black. Tail,Sickh Feathers, andTail Coverts: Greenblack. 
 In the Hen. — Head: Gold. Hackle: Gold, slightly 
 striped with black, running to clear gold on the top of 
 the head. Breast and Thighs : Breast a rich salmon, run- 
 ning to ashy colour on thighs. Rest of Body : A Ught part- 
 ridge brown with very small fine markings, and a slight 
 golden tinge pervading the whole, which should be even 
 throughout, free from any ruddiness whatever, with no 
 trace of pencilling on the flight feathers. Tail : Black, , 
 except the top feathers, which should match body colour. 
 
 COLOUR OF RED WHEATEN GAME HEN. 
 
 Beak : Greenish horn colour.' Eyes : Ruby red. 
 Comb, Lobes, Face, and Wattles : Red. Legs : Willow. 
 Plumage. Head and Hackle : Golden or lemon, very 
 slightly striped with black. Breast and Thighs : Fawn 
 or cream, diminishing to pale buff on thighs. Body 
 Colour: Pale cinnamon or wheaten.. Secondary Flight 
 Feathers : Pale cinnamon or wheaten. Tail: Black, 
 except top feathers, which match body colour. 
 
 COLOUR _0F SILVER WHEATEN GAME HEN. 
 
 Beak : Light horn colour. Eyes : Ruby red. Comb, 
 Lobes, Face, and Wattles : Red. Legs : Willow. Plumage. 
 Head and Neck Hackle : Silvery white, very slightly 
 striped with black. Breast and Thighs : Pale fawn, 
 diminishing to light buff on thighs. Body Colour : Very 
 pale cinnamon. Secondary Flight Feathers : Very pale 
 cinnamon. Tail: Black, except top feathers, which , 
 match body colour. 
 
 COLOUR OF BROWN-BREASTED RED GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Very dark horn, black pre- 
 ferred. Face, Legs, and Feet : Black. Eye : Jet black. 
 
 In the Cook. — Head: Extra rich bright lemon. Hackle : 
 Bright lemon, the centre of the' feathers striped with 
 glossy green black colour, not brown. Breast and Thighs : 
 Brilliant glossy green black, the breast feathers edged 
 with round pale lemon lacing, as low as the top of the 
 thighs. Back and Saddle : Pure bright lemon. Shoulders 
 and Wing-bows : Points of shoulders very glossy green 
 black, free from ticks or lacing. Back of shoulder and 
 wing bow pure bright lemon to match back and saddle. 
 Wing-bars : Rich glossy green black. Rest of Body : . 
 Very bright glossy green black. [Note. — ^There should • 
 only be two colours in Brown Red Game, viz. lemon 
 and black. The lemon colour in the cock should be 
 very rich and bright ; in the hen it should be a light 
 lemon. The black in both sexes should be a very rich 
 bright green black called a beetle green.] 
 
 In the Ken.— Head and Neck Hackle: Pure bright 
 lemon right to top of head, the lower feathers striped 
 with glossy greenish black colour. Breast : Laced 
 same as cock well down to the thighs with light lemon 
 coloured lacing. Rest of Body and Tail : Rich beetle green 
 black, free from ticks on shoulders or lacing on back. 
 
 COLOUR OF PILE GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow. Eye : Bright cherry 
 red. Face : Red. Legs : Rich orange yellow. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head: Bright orange. Neck Hackle: 
 Bright orange colour (dark washy hackles are to be 
 avoided). Breast and Thighs : Pure white. Bach and 
 Saddle : Rich maroon. Saddle Hackles : Bright orange. 
 Shoulder Butts : Pure white. Wing-bows : Rich maroon. 
 Wing-bar : Pure white, free from splashes. Secondaries : 
 Dark chestnut on the outer edge of feathers, on the 
 inner edge and tips of bay white ; the dark chestnut 
 only showing when the wing is closed. Primaries : Pure 
 white. Tail, Sickle Feathers, and Tail Coverts : White. 
 
 In the Hen. — N^ck Hackle : White, tinged with golden 
 colour. Br««si.- Salmon colour. Rest of Body : Pure white. 
 
 COLOUR OF GOLDEN DUCKWING GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark horn colour. Eye ; 
 Ruby red. Face : Red. Legs : Willow. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head : Creamy white. Hackle : Creamy 
 white, free from striping. Breast and Thighs : Blue 
 black. Back and Saddle: Pale orange on rich yellow. 
 Wing-bows : Pale orange on rich yellow. Wing-bars : 
 Black with blue sheen. Secondaries : Pure white on the 
 outer edge of feathers, on the inner edge and tips of 
 bay black; the pure white alone showing when the 
 wing is closed. Primaries : Black. Tail, Sickle Feathers, 
 and Tail Coverts : Blue black. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head: Silvery white. Hackle: Silvery 
 white, finely streaked with black. Breast and Thighs : 
 Salmon colour, diminishing to ashy grey on thighs. 
 Rest of Body : French or steel grey, very slightly 
 pencilled with black and even throughout. Tail : Black, 
 except top feathers, which should match body colour. 
 
 COLOUR OF SILVER DUCKWING GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Horn colour. Eye : Ruby red. 
 Face : Red. Legs : Willow. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head: Silvery white. Breast and 
 Thighs : Lustrous blue black. Hackle : Silvery white. 
 Back and Saddle : Silvery white. Shoulder Coverts and 
 Wing-bows : Silvery white. Wing-bars : Steel blue. 
 Secondaries :' Pure white on the outer edge of feathers, 
 on the inner edge and tips of bay black ; the pure 
 white alone showing when the wing is closed. 
 Primaries : Black. Tail, Sickle Feathers, and Tail 
 Coverts : Blue black. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head: Silvery white. Hackle: Silvery 
 white, with very narrow blacfc stripes. Breast and 
 Thighs : Breast a pale salmon diminishing to a pale 
 ashy grey on thighs. Rest of Body : Light French grey, 
 with nearly invisible black pencilling. Tail : Black, 
 except top feathers, which should match body colour. 
 
 COLOUR OF BIRCHEN GAME. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark horn. Eye : Black. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Dark purple. Legs : Black. 
 
 In the Cock.— Plumage. Head : Silvery white. Hackle : 
 Silvery white, with narrow black striping. Breast and 
 Thighs : Breast a rich black with a narrow silvery 
 margin round each feather, giving a beautiful laced 
 appearance gradually diminishing to perfect black 
 thighs. Back and Saddle : Silvery white. Shoulder 
 Coverts and Wing-bows : Silvery white. Wing-bars : 
 Glossy black. Secondaries : Glossy black. Tail, Sickle 
 Feathers, and Tail Coverts : Black. 
 
 In the Hen. — Plumage. Head and Hackle : Silvery 
 white with very narrow black stripes. Breast and 
 Thighs : Breast black, very delicately laced with white, 
 diminishing to perfect black thighs. Rest of Body and 
 Tail : Lustrous black. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN GAME. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head 
 
 „ neck 
 
 ,, eye 
 
 „ tail 
 
 ,, legs and feet 
 
 ,, colour 
 
 Want of style and shape 
 
 ,, of condition and shortness of feather 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 '•• 5 
 
 - 5 
 
 ... lo 
 
 ,.. lO 
 
 , .. lO 
 
 ... ZO 
 
 ... 30 
 
 ... 10 
 100 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Eyes other than standard ; crooked breast-bone ; twist- 
 ed toes or duck feet ; wry tail ; crooked back ; flat shins. 
 
3^9 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 DORKINGS AND SURREY FOWLS. 
 
 WITH the much greater knowledge and 
 experience of poultry which has been 
 accumulated during half a century since 
 exhibitions have been held, it has become more 
 and more certain that the English Dorking, at 
 least, is one breed which we unmistakably owe 
 to the Roman conquest of Britain. It has been 
 already intimated, on Caesar's authority, that the 
 ancient Britons did not eat fowls at that date ; 
 but the Romans did, and had learnt to select 
 their table fowls with some care ; and the Roman 
 writer Columella describes as the best and most 
 esteemed, a bird with all the essential marks of 
 the Dorking race, which there can be no reason- 
 able doubt that the conquerors carried with 
 them into Britain, unless they already found it 
 there, which is scarcely likely. Some objection 
 has been made on the score of the colours 
 mentioned by the Roman writer, but with no 
 real ground when it is remembered how variable 
 such a point is- ; in fact, he irnplies that various 
 colours were known, and it is further to be re- 
 marked that one of the most ancient varieties 
 — the Red Dorking — closely resembles that to 
 which he gives most prominence, " red or tawny, 
 with black wings." "He describes hens with 
 robust bodies, " square-framed, large and broad- 
 breasted," with large heads, and small upright 
 combs, adding that the " purest " breed are five- 
 clawed, which should be so placed that "no 
 cross spurs " arise — a well-known fault in early 
 exhibition days. The cock is to have the same 
 number of claws, breast broad and muscular, 
 " tail lofty/' legs sturdy and not long, but 
 "armed as it were with dangerous spears," 
 another allusion to the extra spurs once so 
 prevalent. All the real essentials of the Dorking 
 are to be found in these details ; and it is in- 
 teresting to see that the fifth toe, in particular, 
 which has been said to be cultivated as a mere 
 exhibition point by the " fanciers," has on the 
 contrary come down to us from the Romans, as 
 the mark of their " best" race of table fowls. 
 
 It is rem.arkable how closely the Dorking 
 we know to-day has preserved all. the main 
 points stated by the old Roman writer. It is 
 still a fowl, or should be, with large broad 
 
 breast, square frame, short legs, and five claws. 
 With us it has become now divided into 
 several distinct varieties, known as the Dark or 
 Coloured, the Red, the Silver-grey, the White, 
 and the Cuckoo Dorking. Some of these pre- 
 sent points of interest in their history. 
 
 The origin of what may be termed the 
 " essence " of the Dorking race has been given 
 above ; but in regard to what has been called 
 
 successively the Grey, or Coloured, 
 Origin ^^^ more lately named the Dark 
 
 Dark Dorkings. Dorking, there has certainly been 
 
 a great deal of other blood, and 
 considerable transformation, in more recent 
 times. It is practically beyond controversy 
 that this" fine race was formed by cross- 
 ing some real Dorking stock upon the large 
 four- toed Surrey fowl. In the earlier years 
 of the nineteenth century the pure (five- 
 toed) Dorking strain appears to have beeu 
 confined to, and centred in, the rose-combed 
 White Dorking, and perhaps also the single- 
 combed Red Dorking presently described, but 
 which was little known in comparison with the 
 other. In his -first edition of 1815, Bonnington 
 Moubray describes the breed as " genuine 
 colour intire white ; chief distinctive mark, five 
 claws upon each foot," and spells the name 
 " Darking." He adds, however, how even at that 
 date claims were made that the true fowls were- 
 raised in the Weald of Sussex, Horsham being 
 the chief market for them ; and how those who 
 made this claim maintained that the five claws 
 were " merely fortuitous, and in fact objection- 
 able, and that those so marked are deemed a 
 bastard breed." No evidence can be clearer than 
 that these were mainly the large four-toed 
 Sussex or Surrey fowl, more or less crossed with 
 the five-toed Dorking. In the earlier books, 
 upon poultry, and especially in The Poultry Booh 
 of Messrs. Wingfield and Johnson, published in 
 ■1853, it is stated that the Coloured Dorking 
 came with four toes and five toes, and even with 
 six toes ; and the cock figured in the coloured 
 plate, which had won many prizes, had three 
 back toes on one foot. The late Capt. Hornby 
 
37° 
 
 THE -BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 records in the same work, how from the same 
 stock he bred different colours, and. about half 
 double or rose combs, though the parents were 
 single-combed birds ; while the late Mr. John 
 Baily also writes that in Coloured Dorkings 
 "almost every colour may be produced from the- 
 same parents." It is also stated in the same 
 work that as many birds occurred without the 
 fifth claw, as with that distinctive member. All 
 the evidence, of many breeders, unites to show 
 that the Coloured Dorking was produced by 
 crossing a really five-toed Dorking race, prob- 
 ably the rose-combed White, but possibly in 
 some cases the single-combed Red, upon the 
 large dark Surrey or Sussex fowls. These earlier 
 birds were as a rule of a grey speckled, colour, 
 from which the name Grey Dorking was derived. ' 
 But other crosses have since taken place. In 
 the tenth and enlarged edition of Moubray pub- 
 lished in 1854, Mr. Meall states that to his 
 personal knowledge many of the 
 Change in black-breasted Dorkings were pro- 
 Dark duced by crossing with Spanish 
 Dorkings. f^^jg^ ^^^^jj j^^ gussex and around 
 
 Wokingham, and which cross had 
 imparted the very large upright comb, and a 
 tendency to white ear-lobes, besides a somewhat 
 hollow or high-carried breast. There can be 
 little doubt that the immense combs now seen 
 on many cocks are due to this cross. Finally, 
 in 1857 the size of the breed was increased by at 
 least two pounds per bird, the colour modified, 
 and the constitution improved, by a cross made 
 by the late Mr. John Douglas, with a bird which 
 had come from India, and which has there- 
 fore been stated to have been of " Malay " 
 type, but quite erroneously. The bird in 
 question was neither long-legged, nor yellow- 
 legged, nor low-tailed : in fact, from the 
 description following, while he may have 
 had some grey Chittagong character about him, 
 it certainly contained far more of Dorking type 
 than usual, and some of these Chittagong birds 
 which we have seen evidently possessed a great 
 deal. The following is the account written for 
 us by Mr. Douglas himself, in 1872, of this now 
 historic cross, to which so much of the present 
 Dorking character is due : — 
 
 Dorkings in 1857 were considered of a good show 
 weight if the cocks attained nine pounds and a half and the 
 hens seven pounds and a half. The hens were then 
 either of a grey or brown ruddy colour, and the cocks 
 always showed a great deal of white in the tail, with 
 breasts inclined to be speckled of various colours ; not 
 any standard colour, as shown at the present day.. 
 
 The first and only time I made a cross was with a 
 dark gre\- cock, which had come from India, weighing 
 thirteen pounds. This bird was a model single- 
 combed Dorking in all but the fifth toe, which was 
 
 absent ; and it is quite wrong to say he was of the 
 Malayan type, for there vcas not the least type of Malay 
 about him : he had white legs, and all the characters of 
 a Dorking, except, as before stated, the fifth toe. I 
 firmly believe he must have been a cross from a bird of 
 the Dorldng tribe taken out before to India, with what 
 cross I could not say, but certainly not the Malay. I 
 put to this bird seven hens eighteen months old, and the 
 produce turned out far beyond my expectations — all 
 were decidedly of the Dorking type, and very few but 
 what had the Dorking toe. Some of the pullets when 
 seven months old weighed nine pounds, and the 
 cockerels ten pounds and a half; while at eighteen 
 months several hens reached ten pounds and upwards, 
 cocks coming up to thirteen pounds ; and one bird in 
 particular, when two years and six months old, weighed 
 as much as fourteen pounds and a half, which was the 
 heaviest weight I ever obtained in the IJorking fowl. 
 
 So much for the first cross. The following season I 
 mated one of the cockerels thus produced to thirteen of 
 the old hens, and the imported cock to seven of his own 
 cross-bred pullets. From the cockerel with the hens I 
 chiefly obtained my uniformity of colour in the pullets, 
 and also my very dark cockerels ; but I also found I 
 had obtained a much stronger constitution. From this 
 year's breeding many yards obtained the new blood, 
 both by eggs and birds bought of me ; and from that 
 date (1858) we began to find at our shows a steadily in- 
 creasing number of the Dark Greys, and heavier weights 
 began to be shown. 
 
 After the second year I lost the imported cock, and 
 then had to work with the two yards I had formed, but 
 which I found no difficulty in doing. The stronger con- 
 stitution thus introduced continues to the present time, 
 breeding also up to this very day far more uniformity 
 in colour. Whole yards of Dorkings may now be found 
 which run as true to colour as Brahmas or Cochins ; 
 whereas before this time almost every hen was different 
 in colour, so much so that out of a hundred hens in a 
 yard it was a difficult matter to get three out of the lot 
 to match. We have also thus obtained longer bodies, 
 greater width in shoiilders, more length of breast, and 
 greater depth in the keel or breastbone, where a pro- 
 portionately greater amount of flesh can of course be 
 put upon the birds ; in fact the fowl is now heavier- 
 fleshed all over, with no more addition of offal in 
 proportion. 
 
 There is yet a little to -add before we can 
 consider complete even this briefest outline of 
 Dark Dorking history. The breed as Mr, 
 Douglas left it was darker than before, the 
 " speckle " being gone,~ and the cocks mostly 
 black-breasted. But fanciers and judges made 
 it by their selection darker still, until the feathers 
 over the hen's wings and back became practically 
 black, with only the shaft of the feather showing 
 white, more and more black coming into the 
 cock's hackles. With this extremely dark 
 colour came in, unfortunately, more or less of 
 sooty feet and legs. This blemish led at one 
 time to much raihng against the cross which Mr. 
 Douglas had made, as being the cause of the 
 sooty feet ; but for this charge there was 
 no real foundation. The bird he had used 
 was quite white in the feet ; and for years 
 no dark feet had appeared in consequence. As 
 
THE MODERN DARK DORKING. 
 
 371 
 
 we pointed out at the time, it was breeding the 
 birds nearly black that did the mischief, such 
 body colour always tending to sooty feet in 
 every race of poultry. The dark colour had been 
 liked, as looking larger in the pen, and had been 
 fashionable, and had brought dark feet with it, 
 as such colour always will. But the fault 
 caused some reaction ; and when such very 
 dark birds no longer ruled, the dark feet soon 
 disappeared. 
 
 The following notes on Dark Dorkings are 
 contributed by Mr. M. H. Smyth, The Lodge, 
 Coleraine, Ireland, who has probably bred them 
 longer than any other exhibitor of the present 
 day : — 
 
 " In spite of all the changes of fashion, and 
 the new varieties of poultry that are being 
 constantly introduced, the Dark, or as it was for- 
 merly called, the Coloured Dorking, still holds its 
 ground. Dorkings are not a breed 
 The of fowls suited for dwellers in towns. 
 
 Modern or for small runs, it is true ; but that 
 
 Dorking. they can only be kept satisfactorily 
 
 on very dry soils, is quite a fallacy. 
 The soil here is a heavy clay, and lie& low, and, 
 our climate in the north of Ireland is one of the 
 wettest in the three kingdoms ; yet I have bred 
 Dorkings on it for about twenty-five years with 
 very considerable success. 
 
 " One of the great advantages of the Dark 
 Dorking is that it needs so little preparation for 
 exhibition : merely to have it well accustomed 
 to being penned, to wash its legs and feet 
 thoroughly with soap and water, and giving the 
 comb and wattles a rub over with a damp 
 sponge before sending it off to a show. The 
 Dark Dorking has also 'the pull ' over its lighter 
 coloured brethren (Silvers or Whites) in not re- 
 quiring to be kept shaded from the sun, nor can 
 its legs lose their colour on any soil, as is I 
 believe often the case with some of the now 
 fashionable yellow-legged breeds. What,however, 
 tends more than anything else to make it so 
 largely kept, is that a very wide range of colour 
 of plumage is now allowed, and birds have 
 not to be bred to a particular shade or mark- 
 ing of feathers, as in so many other kinds of 
 poultry. In no other way can I account for 
 this fact, that on looking over the prize lists 
 at the London and Birmingham shows, one 
 constantly sees the highest places occupied 
 by exhibitors not only from the south of 
 England to the north of Scotland, but also 
 from Wales and Ireland. 
 
 " That the Dark Dorking of to-day has 
 changed its colour considerably from forty or 
 fifty years ago is undoubted ; and that no 
 alien blood has ever been introduced save 
 
 the one dark Indian-bred cock mentioned by 
 the late Mr. John Douglas, I do not for a 
 moment believe. The Dark Brahma, once all 
 the rage, was probably an outcross formerly 
 at times employed, as evinced in the 
 feathered legs and buff-tinted eggs, which I 
 am glad to say are now much less seen than 
 formerly. Of late years, I cannot help think- 
 ing that the Indian Game, and possibly the 
 Langshan, may be accountable for the coarser 
 appearance, and still more for the erect car- 
 riage, sloping back, and the general want of 
 roundness of breast, as well as for what I 
 should myself describe as a want of quality. 
 When first I began exhibiting Dark Dorkings 
 it was only the very dark-feathered birds 
 that mostly caught the judge's eye ; but now 
 a much lighter colour of plumage, especially 
 in the cocks, is not only recognised, but by 
 some preferred, this change to a lighter 
 shade of feather being also accompanied by 
 whiter feet. 
 
 " The Dorking being essentially a table 
 fowl, size is naturally of much importance. 
 The old-fashioned' Dorking was a short-legged, 
 compact, and active bird, and many of the 
 old 'breeders, like myself, think that in the 
 desire to get size, a coarser and less typical 
 bird has been produced, which just now finds 
 favour with many judges. In Dark, as in all 
 the other colours of Dorkings, the shape and 
 colour of the feet are of very great import- 
 ance. The feet of a Dorking should be large, 
 well spread, and the toes perfectly straight, 
 a crooked middle toe being a by no means 
 uncommon failing. The fourth and fifth toes 
 should stand out separately- from the leg, the 
 former pointing slightly downwards, with the 
 fifth toe turning up towards the leg. I like 
 to see the fifth toe thin and hard, as coarse 
 drooping fifth toes are not only most un- 
 sightly, but are apt to .strike against each 
 other when the bird is walking. The fifth 
 toe of the Dorking is in my opinion an 
 abnormal point, and is in consequence often 
 malformed. In some instances there is a 
 more or less distinct sixth toe, while in 
 others the fifth toe is entirely wanting, either 
 of which should certainly disqualify a bird, 
 no matter how good it may be in other 
 points. Another peculiarity also, I believe, 
 arising from the extra or fifth toe, is a double 
 toe-nail. These double nails are confined en- 
 tirely to the upper toes, sometimes on one 
 foot only. Often the double nail is a mere 
 split or division in the nail, but in any fcrm 
 I greatly dislike it, as being not only most 
 hereditary, but likely to lead to all sorts ot 
 
372 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 monstrosities in the fifth toe, and I would 
 never myself breed from a Dorking with either 
 a double nail or a gouty foot or toe. 
 
 " The Dorking should be a long, low bird, 
 standing on short legs, and clean, hard feet, 
 with a full, round breast. The cock should 
 have a comb of medium size firmly set on ^ 
 the head, and a fine, flowing tail ; the hen 
 with her comb well turned over to one side. 
 In both sexes I like to see the comb of a 
 nice, fine texture ; a cock with a big, coarse 
 comb lopping over being always to me an 
 eyesore. 
 
 cocks make the best stock-birds, while several 
 high-priced and noted winners that I have 
 bought, for a change of blood, have proved 
 quite useless for breeding, probably either from 
 over-forcing or over-exhibiting. Many prefer 
 breeding from an adult cock, especially with 
 pullets ; but I rarely ever use any but cockerels, 
 as I find them much more reliable in producing 
 stock early in the season. In any breed in 
 which sizQ is of importance, in-breeding must 
 not be carried too far; but at the same time 
 I do not consider a constant introduction of 
 fresh blood at all so necessary as many do. 
 
 Hackle. 
 
 Breast. Wing. 
 
 Fig. 117. — Feathers of Dark Dorking Hen. 
 
 Cushion. 
 
 " In breeding Dark Dorkings I like a big 
 cock, broad and flat in the back and full in 
 breast, with large masculine head and firmly 
 set comb, free from side sprigs. He should 
 stand well on his legs, and should be possessed 
 of a fair amount of bone, too fine a leg-bone 
 being often accompanied by a general want of 
 substance. My own fancy in a stock cock is 
 what the Scotch call 'a big, rough bird,' and 
 if possible one that has been but little exhibited. 
 I would much prefer to breed from a big, raw 
 cockerel, coming from a yard where winners 
 were bred, not bought, rather than from a crack 
 show bird. Strange as it may seem, I have 
 rarely ever myself found the most perfect show 
 
 A great point is to find out what particular 
 strain blends well with one's own, and when 
 getting fresh blood I always try to obtain 
 birds with a good amount of my own strain 
 in them. 
 
 " In breeding Dark Dorkings I never match 
 up separate pens to produce cockerels and pullets, 
 nor do I consider it necessary. My fancy in 
 cocks is the lighter shade of plumage, that is, 
 a whitish neck and saddle, ticked or striped with 
 black or grey, but I object to the very white 
 hackles that remind one of a badly coloured 
 Silver-grey. My reason for preferring the 
 light-feajhered cocks is that they are much 
 more likely to produce white-footed chickens; 
 
BREEDING DARK DORKINGS. 
 
 373 
 
 I also consider them . generally more typical. 
 Dorkings in shape. No one is probably less 
 tightly laced than I. am as regards colour of 
 plumage in Dark Dorkings, but I like to see the 
 breast and thighs in the cocks black, with little 
 or no white mottling appearing, and with a full 
 flowing black tail. . The ear-lobes in the cocks 
 should certainly be red or nearly so, though 
 some of the older fanciers say that in old times 
 the ears were mostly white. 
 
 way of grain I use canary seed at first, and 
 afterwards groats. Meat or flesh of some kind 
 I often see recommended for moulting fowls 
 and in cold weather, and given in moderation, I 
 dare say it is at times useful ; but I feel sure it is 
 often the cause of those big, flabby, soft-looking 
 combs, which are constantly falling over or 
 breaking out into canker in the cocks, as well as 
 of that vile habit one hears so often of, the hens 
 pecking the cocks' combs." 
 
 ■J/ 
 
 / - 
 
 
 <'~ '"if*.; '^\ ' 
 
 
 Wing. Wing-Covert. 
 
 Fig. 1 18.— Feathers of Medium Dark Dorking Hen. 
 
 Cushion. 
 
 "My birds are mated up about the beginning 
 of December, and are not afterwards exhibited 
 that season. To win at the early shows, one 
 must have one's chickens hatched in January or 
 early in February, but for the big autumn shows 
 the March chickens are generally the best. I 
 never set a Dorking hen on eggs if I can 
 possibly avoid it, for though they sit well, they 
 are so heavy and clumsy that they often crush 
 the chickens when hatching. 
 
 " My chickens never get custard or chopped 
 eggs. At first I give oatmeal and Spratt made 
 into dough, with a little' milk to drink. In the 
 
 The following remarks on the colour of Dark 
 Dorking hens or pullets are kindly added by 
 Mr. T. Coke Burnell, who was well known both 
 as an exhibitor and judge until health com- 
 pelled a sojourn for some years upon the 
 Continent, but who has recently returned to 
 England, and been enabled to compare present 
 exhibits with what he was familiar with : 
 
 " As to colour in Dorking hens, provided 
 the wings are not rusty, and the breasf 
 feathers have not a very faded or washed- 
 out appearance, I should not be over ready 
 to condemn an otherwise good bird. The 
 
374 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 general tone of colour of the hen must be 
 dark ; a light-coloured hen would not match 
 a dark cock. The majority of prize hens 
 now exhibited have a striped neck hackle ; 
 but a black neck hackle and tail, the back 
 and wings being of a dark grey colour, and 
 each feather edged or spangled with black, is 
 very taking. The breast colour may be of any 
 tinge from salmon to dark chocolate. It may 
 thus be inferred that any particular shade of 
 colour — of course, excepting a solid black — is 
 not to be criticised too severely ; the great 
 points being the true Dorking shape, short 
 legs, white feet, five toes distinctly formed 
 and matching, comb falling over or folding — 
 I prefer the latter — with the long and deep 
 breast bone, and the horizontal carriage of 
 body that should be found in all good 
 Dorkings, and size. I have never used other 
 hens than Dorkings for sitting, but they should 
 be gently and firmly handled, and have plenty 
 of room." 
 
 The colours most often seen in Dark Dork- 
 ing hens are represented by Figs. 117 and 118. 
 Fig. 117 shows the nearly black plumage on the 
 back, with the wing-feathers bordered with black 
 round a greyish centre covered with marking, as 
 described in the Standard. At one time birds 
 were shown darker on the wings and cushion 
 than even this ; but that extreme has been dis- 
 carded as noted above. Fig. 118 shows, the grey 
 marking carried more over the body, though 
 still margined with black, as described above by 
 Mr. Burnell, which is not only quite a permissible 
 colour, but certainly ought to be recognised as 
 such, though not mentioned in the Standard. 
 Some of the finest hens shown have been of this 
 colour, which is a better one for whiteness of 
 feet than the " nearly black " plumage. 
 
 The following notes on breeding and rearing 
 Dark Dorkings are contributed by Mr. Rufus 
 Goodfellow, poultry manager to Mr. Herbert 
 Reeves, of Emsworth, Hants, so well known 
 as one of the most prominent, and successful 
 exhibitors : — 
 
 ' " I have now bred and exhibited Dark Dork- 
 ings for a good many years, and from my 
 experience they are one of the most valuable 
 breeds we have, being hardy and easy to rear if 
 well attended to. They are also very good 
 layers, especially in the winter months. For 
 some years past I have had a good supply of 
 eggs during autumn and in the winter, when 
 eggs are most valuable for breeding the early 
 chickens for the summer shows. I generally 
 allow my hens to sit as long as they like in the . 
 summer for rest ; then they have an early moult, 
 which enables them to get strong before breed- 
 
 ing. If careful attention .is given to the birds in 
 the summer months, looking out those that you 
 intend to breed from, and giving theni a good 
 run — nothing suits the Dorking better than the 
 unlimited run of a farmyard — then when you 
 mate up in the autumn with a strong cockerel, 
 eggs will be plentiful and mostly fertile, and 
 hatch strong, vigorous chickens that will grow 
 rapidly. 
 
 " I always find the best results, as a rule, from 
 two-year-old hens mated with a one-year-old 
 cock, or with a cock of the same age ; but I 
 have also had some good results from pullets 
 mated with a cockerel. In the year 1897, for 
 instance, I bred my famous teaim of Silver-grey 
 Dorkings, which swept the deck at the Palace 
 that year, from a cockerel and pullets, thus 
 proving that Dorkings are not so delicate as 
 most people think. My Dorkings are kept on 
 enclosed or limited grass runs, but I always keep 
 them in good health, and hatch strong chickens. 
 I find that, as a rule, the January chickens 
 thrive much better than those hatched in March 
 or April, and have had cockerels put on half a 
 pound a week for six or seven weeks running, 
 and still keep well on their legs. I usually feed 
 my growing chickens in the main upon ground 
 oats and the best v/heat,. with a little cut fresh 
 bone once a day, and with this feeding I scarcely 
 ever have a chicken suffer from leg-weakness. 
 That complaint used to be one of the greatest 
 difficulties in rearing Dorkings ; but if the 
 strongest and most active birds are bred from, 
 and careful attention given in feeding, I find 
 they scarcely ever suffer from this malady, 
 though my Dark Dorkings are as large and 
 heavy as those of niost breeders. I have cocks 
 weighing twelve pounds and liens eleven pounds. 
 
 " The Dark Dorking is not so useful as an 
 exhibition fowl merely, as some other breeds. 
 Although hens will stand a lot of showing, the 
 cocks and cockerels will not : if shown week 
 after week it soon begins to tell on them. Not 
 only the excitement of the show, but the small 
 pens now provided goes against them. Cocks 
 are usually no use for showing after three years 
 old, although I once bred successfully from a 
 four- year-old bird. Hens will be useful till six 
 or seven years old, and still win at the summer 
 shows. I have now two old hens, one of which 
 was the challenge-cup pullet at the Palace in 
 1894, but did some winning last year (1900), and 
 is still in good health, and I think will win 
 again." 
 
 There can be no doubt that Dorkings of all 
 varieties are considerably hardier than formerly. 
 Part of the improvement may be traced to the 
 Asiatic cross introduced by Mr. Douglas, and 
 
THE OLD RED DORKING. 
 
 375 
 
 perhaps by others since, as hinted at by Mr. 
 Smyth ; but much more is doubtless due to 
 wider acclimatisation over the country. When a 
 breed formerly almost confined to the dry and 
 chalky soil of the southern counties, was first 
 transplanted to colder and damper situations, it 
 was necessarily found delicate under such condi- 
 tions j but gradually this has worn off, until the 
 Dorking has been found to thrive even on the 
 cold clays of Scotland. Much also depends 
 upon the amount of air and run ; and for many 
 years the Dorkings of the late Viscountess 
 Holmesdale, reared on the " natural" system, and 
 at perfect liberty in Linton Park, by Mr. John 
 Martin, were almost invincible at exhibitions, 
 their great weight and glossy plumage carrying 
 all before them. What Dorking chickens will 
 not stand is either bad air or over-crowding : 
 the latter keeps them from thriving more than 
 almost any other breed. They are also, if 
 hatched under hens, unusually liable to suffer 
 from insect vermin. This is not from any 
 special weakness, but because they feather early 
 and quickly, and the profuse plumage gives the^ 
 enemy shelter, where the scantier and later 
 clothing of Cochins or Brahmas would afford 
 little or none. All quick-feathering breeds 
 which are also full of feather — and the Dorking 
 is both — are peculiarly subject to this plague in 
 chickenhood, and we have known many broods 
 die off when this matter has been overlooked 
 and neglected. Chickens hatched -in incubators 
 should not give any trouble in this way ; but so 
 many Dorkings are hatched under hens that the 
 special caution is by no means unnecessary. 
 
 One of the very oldest varieties of coloured 
 Dorkings, but almost unknown out of the south- 
 eastern district of England, is the Red Dorking. 
 
 This is a perfectly pure race, never 
 Bed amalgamated with the Dark as the 
 
 Borkings. qJjJ greys and speckles have become, 
 
 and in our own opinion entirely 
 free from any cross with the White. They 
 are not so large as the Darks, are very jsmall 
 boned for the size of the body, and the single 
 upright comb is much smaller, thinner, and 
 finer looking than those usual in the Dark or 
 Silver-grey breeds. As table fowls there can be 
 none better ; and we cannot but think that if 
 the few who possess them would systematically 
 exhibit them in such Dorking classes as are 
 offered for "Any Other Colour," they would 
 gain more support. The cock is a black- 
 breasted red ; the hen more of a brown-red, 
 some of them laced. Taking the colour into 
 account, in connection with the smaller comb, 
 it can hardly fail to be noticed that this variety 
 
 comes the nearest of any to the old description 
 of the " best " Roman birds, by Columella, 
 already referred to. There is perhaps just a 
 chance that some of the colour may be due to a 
 far-back cross with the black-breasted Red 
 Game once so diffused over England ; but if 
 such ever did happen, it must have been long 
 ago indeed. The following notes are by Mr. 
 Harry Hamlin, of Haxted Mill, Edenbridge, 
 in whose family the strain has been kept up 
 through two generations : — 
 
 " This little known variety of Dorking is one 
 of the most beautiful as well as the most useful 
 fowls we have. From what L can gather, they 
 appear to have been common throughout the 
 south-eastern counties before the exhibition 
 period began, but for some cause I could never 
 understand, to have been discarded by the early 
 fanciers. These very likely found the Grey 
 Dorkings- easier to produce of a uniform "colour, 
 as the older Reds were apt to produce white 
 feathers. Fortunately, our family have always 
 preserved the Red Dorkings, and with careful 
 selection and great care in breeding the plumage 
 has much improved. In these fowls it is partic- 
 ularly beautiful and close, being free from any 
 Asiatic taint, which, in my opinion, destroys the 
 high quality of the Dorking as a table fowl. 
 Many of the present Dark Dorkings have to be 
 crossed with the Game in order to produce a 
 good table fowl, but a Red Dorking is a perfect 
 table fowl in itself, and requires no crossing. 
 
 " The distinguishing points of the cock are 
 his beautiful deep red hackles, his well-formed 
 single comb, which is somewhat smaller than the 
 present-day Dorking, and which with his face, 
 earlobes, and wattles are of a beautiful red ; his 
 breast and tail are black ; his legs are beautifully 
 white, and very short indeed, and he has five 
 well-developed toes on each foot. As regards 
 the shortness of the legs, I have just measured a 
 very good specimen cockerel, and I find that it 
 is three and a half inches from above the fifth 
 toe to the point of the hock. The bird weighs 
 ten pounds, and I think that for the weight this 
 is very short indeed. The hens have close- 
 fitting plumage of a brown-red colour, with low 
 and shapely bodies. 
 
 "Red Dorkings are very good layers of a 
 nearly white egg, good sitters, and excellent 
 mothers. For those who require beauty, utility, 
 and an excellent table fowl, there is nothing to 
 equal the Red Dorkings." 
 
 Personally, from a careful examination of the 
 very few birds we have seen, we should be dis- 
 posed to say that there was a faint trace of 
 yellow in the shanks, or perhaps more truly, of 
 red. We do not imply in the least what is 
 
376 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 meant by a yellow-legged fowl, but a slight and 
 undefinable shade which many years' critical 
 observation have led us to associate with the 
 kind of black-red colour shown in the bird's 
 plumage, and which is generally, ■ as in certain 
 strains of Game, associated with delicate and 
 tender flesh. 
 
 Another beautiful and well-marked variety 
 
 typical of Dorkings, and very nearly if not quite 
 equal in weight to the Dark variety. 
 
 The head of the Silver-grey cock should be 
 silvery white, the neck-hackle of the same 
 colour, perfectly free from any tinge of straw- 
 colour, but may be (and generally is) streaked 
 with grey in .the lower feathers falling on the 
 shoulders. The back and saddle silvery white, 
 shoulders and wing-bow also clear white ; wing- 
 
 /inoiner oeautnui anu wcii-umiK-cu vo-wv-^j. .^"^ o . „,\\-\^ o Klar-V 
 
 Of Dorking is that known as Silver-grey, which bar green-black; ^mg-bay white with a back 
 ^ ■ • ■ ' -" upper edge; breast and under-parts and thighs 
 
 has separate classes at nearly all 
 Silver-grey important shows. In great measure 
 Dorkings. these birds were an offshoot of 
 
 the preceding, at a time when the 
 Coloured Dorking was often really a Grey breed, 
 
 ^■j 
 
 
 Hackle. 
 
 Wing. 
 
 Fig. 119. — Feathers of Silver-grey Dorking lien 
 
 from which a lighter grey could be selected. 
 But in addition to this process of selection, it is 
 recorded in several quarters that the Silver- 
 greys thus selected from the Dorkings were also 
 crossed with Silver Duckwing Game of Lord 
 Hill's breed, in order to fix the beautiful colour 
 of the hens ; and the effects of this cross were 
 to be seen in a slimmer build and different 
 carriage of the shoulders. Another result of the 
 Duckwing cross was a somewhat too silvery 
 colour, leading to a great tendency to splashes 
 of white on the cock's breast and thighs. Both 
 theseJefects have long since been overcome, and 
 Silver-greys are often now amongst the most 
 
 jet-black, without any mottling or grizzling, 
 
 except that a little on the thighs is tolerated in 
 
 old birds ; tail glossy .black, with sound broad 
 
 sickles. The white parts should have no tinge 
 
 of straw, and there should 
 
 be no signs of brown or 
 
 chestnut bordering the 
 
 wing-bar or other margins 
 
 of the black plumage. 
 
 The hen's hackle is 
 also silvery white on the 
 head, but lower it be- 
 comes striped, with black, 
 often with a little longi- 
 tudinal pencilling. The 
 breast is a rich robin- 
 red or salmon-red, shad- 
 ing off ashy colour on the 
 thighs. The body and 
 wings are a silvery grey 
 ground colour, minutely 
 pencilled over with dark 
 grey, free from black 
 splashes or reddish tinge, 
 and each feather showing 
 the white shaft, but not 
 obtrusively : tail rather 
 darker. The general 
 effect varies in different 
 birds from a bright silver- 
 grey to a softer duller 
 grey, but in any case 
 should be grey. The 
 silvery greys have usually lighter salmon 
 breasts, and are specially apt to breed cock- 
 erels with white spots or grizzling on the 
 breast. The feathers of a Silver-grey hen are 
 shown in Fig. 1 19. 
 
 Very few have bred one variety continuously 
 for so many years or with so much success as 
 Silver Grey Dorkings have been bred by Mr. 
 Oswald E. Cresswell, J.P., of Morney Cross, 
 Hereford, who has kindly contributed the 
 following notes : 
 
 " It is considerably over a quarter of a cen- 
 tury since I wrote some notes on Silver Grey 
 Dorkings for the first edition of the Illustrated 
 
 Cushion, 
 
to 
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 z 
 
 IT 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 UJ 
 EC 
 
 C3 
 I 
 
 DC 
 UJ 
 
 > 
 _l 
 
SILVER GREY DORKINGS. 
 
 377 
 
 Book of Poultry. I had already then had some 
 experience in the variety, for I began while an 
 Eton boy in the sixties to breed Silver Greys, 
 not quite so distinctive in marking as theysoon 
 afterwards became, but still with real difference 
 from the Coloured, or, as it was originally called, 
 the Grey Dorking. After all these years I still 
 possess a large, and, I hope, good stock of Silver 
 Greys ; and there has been no intervening year 
 in which I have not reared a considerable num- 
 ber, and exhibited some — generally successful — 
 representatives of my yards at some of our 
 greatest shows. This fact, I think, speaks well 
 for the breed, for no one would be so constant 
 to a race which was not useful, or the culture of 
 which was attended with any great difficulty. 
 At a large Poultry Conference held at Reading 
 in July, 1899, I read by request a paper on the 
 relation of exhibition podltry to the practical 
 breeding of poultry as an industry. I then 
 stated, and repeat it now, that after an experi- 
 ence of thirty years in pure-bred Dorkings, which 
 I have continuously exhibited, though never to 
 excess, I now possess families of the race more 
 beautiful, more hardy, and far more productive 
 than those with which I originally started. 
 
 " The origin of the Silver Grey variety I 
 believe to have' been this, as I wrote in the 
 account of my earlier experiences. Both it and 
 the coloured or dark variety are descended from 
 the old 'Grey' Dorking, many specimens of 
 which I can remember in my childhood as being 
 what we should now call bad Silver Grey. Some 
 ■ fanciers bred for the lighter, some for the darker 
 shades. Exactly when the two varieties were 
 first classified as distinctive at shows, I cannot 
 trace, but I remember buying a celebrated win- 
 ner, a cock, at the Birmingham show of (I think) 
 1885, which was described by its owner as a 
 ' Silvery ' bird, though it competed with cocks 
 having much darker hackles. Silver Greys for 
 a while went by the name of ' Lord Hill's breed.' 
 Probably they had been carefully bred, and 
 possibly the type .had been produced at Hawk- 
 stone, in the days of the second Lord Hill, a 
 great exhibitor of live stock. Strange to say I 
 could find no trace of them remaining there late 
 in ^be seventies, though a mixed lot of Dorkings 
 were still to be seen at the Home Farm. 
 
 "I think it was in 1868 that I first had a 
 breeding pen of lighter, almost typical, Silver 
 Grey Dorkings. They did not then breed 
 nearly so true to markings as they have 
 done for the last twenty-five years, and 
 for various reasons I have always thought 
 that the blood of Silver Duckwing Game had 
 recently been used. Among other reasons for 
 this conclusion were, because then and for some 
 
 years afterwards it was difficult to get Silver 
 Greys of the massive form and on the short 
 legs which had always been characteristic of the 
 Dorkings ; because some hens laid eggs of a 
 pinkish hue, like those of game hens ; and espe- 
 cially because it was for a long while difficult to 
 get them with the really white feet which were 
 almost invariably found on pure-bred Dorkings. 
 I remember well a strain most perfect in the 
 desired shade of feathering, which was invariably 
 faulty in the colour of feet. But exactly how 
 and when the Silver Grey type was produced is 
 not now a very profitable inquiry. 
 
 " In Silver Greys which approach the desired 
 standard we have confessedly a lovely breed : 
 the hens are capital layers if only some amount 
 of liberty be given them, which 
 Qu^ities Dorking hens were not formerly ; 
 
 Silver Greys, they are a fairly robust race, if care 
 be taken to select not only the 
 handsomest but the strongest birds for breed- 
 ing, such as from chickenhood have never ailed ; 
 and as to size, though of course some Dark 
 Dorkings can be found which distance them, I 
 should never myself wish to see any finer or 
 larger fowl upon the table than a well-grown 
 Silver Grey — cockerel or pullet. Abnormal size 
 is usually accompanied by coarseness of flesh 
 and bone ; and the latter fault is quite as 
 objectionable as the former. Experience in 
 poultry shows that big bones are weak bones. 
 Chickens which suffer from leg weakness will 
 almost invariably be found to be large in bone. 
 How perfectly unfit a chicken with this ailment 
 is, alike for the table and for stock, every expe- 
 rienced poultry-keeper knows. I have often 
 marvelled at the ignorance of purchasers of 
 Dorkings for stock, who must have birds 'with 
 plenty of bone.' 
 
 " That Silver Greys are in no true sense 
 a delicate race I have proof enough. For 
 twenty- one years I have reared many, with 
 little difficulty, on sticky soil (or more correctly 
 I should say on two sticky soils), usually 
 considered fatal to Dorkings. Troops of my 
 chickens often sleep in trees till Christmas, 
 and some occasionally do so with impunity 
 through the whole winter. Certainly, I have 
 considerable acreage, and so change of ground ; 
 but though my place is on two soils, both 
 of them are tenacious : that of the hilly wood- 
 lands being somewhat slimy lime-stone, and 
 that of the lower, rich meadow lands in the 
 valley of the Wye, rich alluvial loam. Com- 
 mon sense teaches that chickens must be 
 treated differently on light and on heavy 
 -soils. When long years ago I had Dorkings 
 on light ground and sand, all my coops were 
 
378 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 floorless ; now, through the earlier and damper 
 months, I coop all my Dorking chickens, and 
 indeed those of other breeds as well, in coops 
 with drawers at the bottom, covered daily 
 with fresh dry earth or sand. Some qf them 
 have two drawers, usable alternately. These, 
 of course, are not necessary when the coops 
 are placed under the cover of dry sheds, which 
 in frost and snow I find a good plan. I 
 dislike small coops for Dorkings, and prefer 
 what vendors of poultry appliances call Bantam 
 houses. These when well ventilated serve as 
 comfortable and wholesome abodes for a brood 
 long after the mother has left them. 
 
 " As I wrote in the first edition of The 
 Illustrated Book of Poultry, the mating of Silver 
 Greys for breeding requires great care, and 
 
 knowledge of the pedigree of both 
 Breeding cocks and hens. In all sub-varieties 
 Silver Greys, purity of blood is only a question of 
 
 degree, and hence there is always 
 danger of 'breeding back' to some points 
 distinguishing the common ancestor of more 
 than one stock. Never buy chance Silver Greys 
 for breeding, but select from a stock which has 
 long been bred with care. A cock to all 
 appearance correct in every point will often 
 produce pullets with red wings, or even sandy- 
 coloured all over ; while, on the other hand, 
 good-looking hens will breed cockerels with 
 speckled breasts and tails. For the most part, 
 it is true, both parents in these cases will pro- 
 duce birds of their own sex like themselves ; but 
 the penning of separate families for the produc- 
 tion of cockerels and pullets, now unfortunately 
 so general in the case of some varieties, is a 
 clumsy and disappointing method by no means 
 to be encouraged. I would select a cock as 
 silvery as possible, with pure black breast, and 
 mate him with hens of medium colour ; not too 
 pale, or many of the cockerels will have grizzled 
 breasts. But in any case scan very critically the 
 birds of the opposite sex in the yards from 
 which your breeders come ; and if size has to be 
 dispensed with on one side, let it be on that, of 
 the male bird. The experience of the interven- 
 ing quarter of a century and more' does not 
 lead me materially to modify these views, and 
 these precautions in the selection of stock- 
 birds should seeure a meritorious progeny." 
 
 It is not necessary at the present day to 
 mate up two peiis for breeding Silver Grey 
 Dorkings.- When the very pale and silvery hens 
 were in fashion, black-breasted cockerels were 
 rarely produced from them, and had to be 
 bred frotii darker females ; and at that date 
 it was therefore quite usual to breed cock- 
 erels from dark hens, while the pale Silver 
 
 Grey pullets were bred from silver females 
 and males more or less grizzled or speckled- 
 breasted. But since robin-red or rich salmon 
 breasts have been preferred, with the softer, 
 darker grey in the rest of the plumage, both 
 pullets and cockerels will come true to type 
 from the same mating, provided attention be 
 given to the pedigree or line of breeding. 
 This is of course always important ; in the 
 case of Silver Grey Dorkings too raw a cross, 
 even with birds that appear quite unexcep- 
 tionable in points, not unfrequently results 
 in pullets quite reddish on the wings. An- 
 other year's breeding back to either of the two 
 strains, however, will probably remedy this, 
 and sometimes even red-winged pullets will 
 come out quite clear at the second moult. 
 
 Some people consider the Silver Grey 
 Dorking superior to the Dark in quality of 
 flesh. There is no doubt that it is now far 
 hardier than thirty years ago, as well as more 
 beautiful, and 'at the Poultry Conference of 
 1899 Mr. Cresswell connected the improvement 
 in the two points together. In good specimens, 
 he says, the cock's hackles are no longer 
 affected by the sun's rays, or tanned, as they 
 used to be. This was brought about by 
 steady selection for pure silvery colour, free 
 from yellow ; but this latter tinge he had 
 found, both in this breed and the White, to 
 ~ be a sign of liver weakness. Hence breeding 
 for colour was, in this case, really breeding for 
 health and constitution. 
 
 The White Dorking, as already intimated, 
 was iri all probability the purest representative 
 of the original race, unless we except the Red, 
 
 at the time when Bonington 
 White Moubray wrote in 1815. It alone 
 
 Dorkings. — again perhaps excepting the Red, 
 
 which was never mentioned in those 
 days— pfrom the first always bred the fifth toe, 
 arid there are observable certain dififerences in 
 carriage, and a greater elegance of form, which 
 is usually rather lighter, and without that 
 massive heaviness which probably came largely 
 from the Surrey fowl. There is little doubt that 
 at one time the breed also received a little 
 crossing with Game, and it is curious that some 
 strains to this day lay eggs of a delicate pinky 
 or French white shade ; but certainly no cross 
 has taken place for many years. 
 
 In this variety alone, a rose-comb is essen- 
 tial. This should stand up well, with a long 
 and straight leader behind, and be of good 
 shape generally. This is perhaps the most 
 difficult exhibition point,. as a large breed like 
 the Dorking requires pushing on somewhat, 
 
CO 
 C5 
 
 z 
 
 :<: 
 a: 
 O 
 Q 
 
 X 
 
WHITE AND CUCKOO DORKINGS. 
 
 379 
 
 while on the other hand any meat forcing tends 
 to excess or deformity in the comb. Free 
 range gives the best all-round results ; and 
 on the whole, taking comb, and size, and 
 plumage into consideration, there is no variety 
 in Tghich ample range is more important to 
 a really high exhibition standard. 
 
 In breeding White Dorkings the chief points 
 to keep in view are good combs and silvery, 
 white colour. To care for the latter point, Mr. 
 Cresswell again attributes the great 
 wvt^'"^^ gain in hardiness which he also 
 
 Dorkings. reports in this breed. Really first- 
 
 class specimens of both sexes will 
 breed chickens of both from one pen ; but as 
 usual in white breeds, if such are not obtain- 
 able, silvery-white hackle and neat comb, with 
 good style, is the principal essential in the cock, 
 especially for breeding cockerels, while size may 
 be a little sacrificed. Hens must be large and 
 roomy in any case ; and any peculiarity in style 
 or carriage of tail is likely to be more con- 
 spicuous in the cockerels. Mr. Cresswell adds 
 the curious and remarkable experience that 
 many of his birds now lay so incessantly that 
 they never grow broody at all, so that he 
 has had to fall back on other hens as foster- 
 mothers. The breed was always known as 
 the best layer among the Dorkings ; but this 
 modern development is very interesting, and a 
 remarkable testimony against breeding for ex- 
 hibition always spoiling the useful qualities of 
 poultry. The deep square body of the Dorking 
 in general, should always be sought for in 
 mating up breeding stock. 
 
 The White Dorking was formerly inferior in 
 size to its Dark relatives. As. Miss Fairhurst, 
 a. very successful exhibitor thirty years ago, 
 pointed out at that time, White birds often 
 ■appear smaller by the side of Dark ones when 
 they are not really so, and there is no doubt 
 that in mixed classes they often suffer unjustly 
 from that cause; but the White Dorking cock 
 of those days scarcely ever exceeded 8 lbs. to 
 lO lbs. Mr. John Martin, however, by^ a cross 
 with Dark Dorkings, effected a startling increase 
 in these weights. He put a large Dark cock, 
 the darkest he could find, to White hens, the 
 produce being cuckoo-colour. These birds were 
 crossed back to the White, from which came 
 many Whites, and after that all was easy. 
 The produce of this experiment was dispersed 
 soon after, on Lady Holmesdale's retirement, 
 and at her sale several very large birds were 
 brought to the hammer, one White cock weighing 
 over 12 lbs., and winning at nearly all the winter 
 shows following. Years afterwards, Mr. Martin 
 repeated the experiment, using his rose-combed 
 
 Palace winner as the sire, and among the 
 produce this time was a cockerel we knew 
 well, which weighed lo^ lbs. at eight months 
 old. The blood of some of these crosses is 
 to be found in many of the White Dorkings of 
 to-day, but the entire gain in size has not been 
 kept up, nor is it desirable that it should be, the 
 very huge birds being neither the best layers 
 nor the best table-fowls. 
 
 There is yet one more recognised variety, 
 known as the Cuckoo Dorking, this being the 
 old English word for the blue barred plumage 
 
 called by Americans Dominique, 
 Cuckoo and seen to its greatest perfection 
 
 Dorkings. in the Plymouth Rock. Cuckoo 
 
 Dorkings have scarcely been known 
 out of Surrey, and clearly originated in the 
 crossing for table poultry of dark and white 
 varieties, the colour always appearing when 
 much crossing of that kind takes place. The 
 birds, as we have seen them, .have always been 
 somewhat small, but are generally reported as 
 hardier than the more orthodox types under 
 ordinary conditions, and ' are said also to be 
 more juicy in flesh. The variety has never been 
 a favourite, Meall writing of it even in 1854 that 
 " it is very little known and still less admired," 
 and it is a good proof of what happens to a 
 breed when fanciers do not meddle with it : 
 instead of being better than the others, because 
 "unspoilt" by them, it is become practically 
 extinct. In 187 1 and 1872 classes for Cuckoos 
 were offered at the Crystal Palace show ; but 
 there were not sufficient entries, and similar 
 attempts to encourage Cuckoos have been 
 made since with no better result. 
 
 One reason for this want of popularity is 
 probably that there is little real breed in this 
 colour at all. If there were, continual breeding 
 by only one or two breeders, must long since 
 have produced unusual delicacy of constitution ; 
 but all concerning which we have been able to 
 rnake inquiry, have proved of very recent origin, 
 though at an earlier period Mr. Elgar of 
 Reigate, and one or two others, did endeavour 
 for some years to breed them pure. The fact is 
 that the colour is continually springing up here 
 and there from crosses, and to this is owing its 
 hardihood. But such constantly re-made and 
 raw stock is peculiarly liable to red or gold or 
 black or white feathers, and gives so much work 
 to a breeder, that there is little inducement to 
 persevere. The few specimens to be seen now 
 and then usually appear at shows where, after 
 the Dark and perhaps another variety of 
 two, there are open classes for " Any Other 
 Colour." 
 
38o 
 
 THE BOOK OF PO UL TR Y. 
 
 Merely as market poultry' the Cuckoo 
 Dorking is a good fowl enough, and its hardy 
 constitution, derived from recent crossing, en- 
 ables it to be kept in some situations where 
 the more recognised varieties would fail. If 
 it is ever bred, the same care will be needed 
 to exclude black, or red, or white feathers, 
 and to keep up a " balance " of colour, as in 
 the case of barred Rocks or any other barred 
 varieties. But many years of careful breeding 
 would be required before the plumage reached 
 this point, and the variety really is not worth 
 it, being in no respect superior to the Scotch 
 Grey. 
 
 As a table fowl it has been very freely as- 
 serted of late that the present Dark breed is by 
 
 Fig. 120.— Dorking Shape. 
 
 no means so good as fifty years ago. This is 
 partly truth and partly error, and there can be 
 no doubt that some care is required in selecting 
 the better types. The points that have most 
 needed attention during the last few years 
 have been width of back and length of breast ; 
 we have seen many dead chickens at exhibitions, 
 of table poultry which were quite narrow in the 
 shoulders and short in the breast-bone. To a 
 great many novices such short-breasted birds, 
 as Mr. John Martin remarked many years ago, 
 may appear round and plump, but they are 
 not good Dorkings ; as described in the 
 Standard, the body should be of " long rectangu- 
 lar shape viewed sideways," showing a long keel, 
 as delineated in Fig. 120. This imaginary 
 rectangle should always be looked for, and i. 
 the key to the true form of this breed. 
 
 The quality of the flesh also needs attention, 
 being unmistakably "short and dry" in char- 
 
 acter in some strains, though white enough. 
 This want of quality, again, has been said to be 
 due to Asiatic crossing, which several writers 
 have alleged to have impaired it, and to have 
 destroyed the old " whiteness " of flesh. That 
 is an error, and indeed some of the evil has 
 arisen from looking too much to mere colour of 
 flesh, instead of real quality. We have already 
 seen that the best results in table fowl are 
 attained by grafting some amount of yellow 
 blood upon white-fleshed birds; but few people 
 seem aware that the original and purest Dorkings, 
 many years before poultry shows were even 
 thought of, were not white in flesh. In the work 
 already referred to, published in 1815, Moubray 
 writes of the White Dorking of that day, the 
 only pure breed in his opinion, that " the white is 
 probably not so pure as that of certain of the 
 dunghill fowls, nor is the colour of the flesh, 
 that inclining to a yellow or ivory shade!' This 
 " ivory shade " it was which gave tender juiciness 
 to the original fowl, exactly as we find it to-day. 
 Experienced Sussex breeders can tell by the 
 " touch " of a live fowl what the flesh is likely to 
 be ; and this test should be freely used in select- 
 ing. stock for breeding Dorkings. 
 
 One great recommendation of the breed is 
 the early growth of the chickens. If a Dorking 
 and a Brahma are hatched in the same brood, 
 while probably both may make about the same 
 ultimate weight, the Dorking will simply run 
 away from the other during chickenhood, and 
 will also be a plump table fowl, whilst the other 
 is still the scrawny framework of one. It has 
 the property of imparting this quality in more 
 or less degree to all its crosses, which makes it so 
 valuable for crossing purposes. With the Brahma 
 it produces a very hardy chicken, that grows 
 fast and makes a fine carcase, slightly coarse- 
 looking perhaps, but juicy in flavour, and a great 
 favourite in Sussex. Other crosses are' very- 
 similar. That with the Houdan is not so. 
 large, but very fine in flesh, and remarkable 
 for growth at the earlier ages. It will not fail to. 
 be noticed that the latest table fowl produced in' 
 France, and which has largely displaced older 
 breeds, there — the Faverolles — is a compound 
 of Brahma and Houdan with the English) 
 Dorking. The cross with the Indian Game- 
 has been already dwelt upon at great length 
 in former chapters of this book. 
 
 Considerable difference of opinion has been, 
 expressed in preceding notes as to the time for 
 hatching Dorkings ; but this in truth arises 
 mainly from a mixture of utility and exhibition 
 considerations. Considered as useful stock alone^ 
 there is no doubt whatever that from the end of 
 March till the end of April, or even up to early 
 
FEET AND COMBS OF DORKINGS. 
 
 381 
 
 May, is the best period to get chicks out. By not 
 breeding earUer, constitution is kept up, and the 
 early growth of the chickens makes even May 
 birds quite ready for the great shows of the 
 year. Chickens hatched at this season thrive 
 well and feather well, and when bred from 
 parents not fagged by too much showing or 
 exhausted by winter breeding, would not strike 
 anyone as more delicate than usual : in fact 
 most people who rear them thus, consider 
 Dorkings hardy. Birds bred at this season are 
 very often quite good layers. We used to get 
 some reports of 1 20 eggs per annum even years 
 ago, and many breeders could certainly quote a 
 higher average than that now. We mention 
 laying in this connection, because it is intimately 
 bound up with it, for the Dorking has an un- 
 doubted weakness in regard to over-exhibition. 
 As already intimated by Mr. Gpodfellow above, 
 the males will not stand much showing with im- 
 punity; beyond a very few times seriously impairs 
 their breeding power. Mr. Smyth also, it will 
 be noticed, expresses his strong preference for 
 males that have been but little exhibited: and 
 at the Poultry Conference of 1899 Mr. Cress- 
 well, in reporting upon the great gain in hardi- 
 ness which he had found in his own experience, 
 laid stress upon the fact that he was only an 
 exhibitor at a few of the great shows of the 
 year. Such remarks should be given their full 
 significance. It is beyond a doubt owing to the 
 use of successful prize-winners as stock-getters, 
 that the current notion of delicacy or weakness 
 in Dorkings has largely arisen, and the fowl 
 has only to be bred in a healthy manner, from 
 unweakened parents, at natural seasons, for that 
 notion to be effectually dispelled. 
 
 It will have been gathered from this, that 
 Dorkings are not adapted for close confinement. 
 On the smallest runs which can be kept in grass, 
 they will do very well, but it is on free range 
 that their good qualities come out best. In 
 small suburban runs they often sicken and pine 
 away. A friend did however once report to us 
 that he' had kept them in health in quite a small 
 run — about 20 by 10 feet we think, with a shed 
 along one end — by perfect cleanliness and ample 
 green food. But his idea of cleanliness was very 
 different from that which satisfies-nine people 
 out of ten in such circumstances, and to such 
 scrupulousness his success may probably have 
 been due. The chief susceptibility of this breed 
 is not to soil or weather, but to over-feeding, 
 inertia from confinement, or any other circum- 
 stances or, treatment that occasion impure air 
 and surroundings. 
 
 In one respect modern breeders have made 
 great improvement in the Dorking, and more 
 
 especially in the Dark variety. In the earlier 
 stages of the breed, the fifth toe was not only very 
 uncertain, but liable to all sorts of deformities and 
 gouty swellings, and " bumble-foot " was but too 
 well known as a constant trouble. There can 
 be little doubt that the one was more or less 
 connected with the other, since Cochins and 
 Brahmas were quite as heavy, but did not 
 suffer in the same way ; and Mr. Darwin has 
 gone far to establish a law that " excess of struc- 
 ture is generally accompanied by weakness of 
 function." Years ago breeders seem to have 
 thought that malformed and swelled toes and 
 bumble-fo&t were natural defects, which simply 
 had to be endured and made the best of. With 
 more knowledge they have acted differently; 
 and by penalising such birds more heavily in the 
 show-pen, and discarding them from the breed- 
 ing-pen, both evils have now been so nearly 
 eradicated that it has become rather rare to see 
 either malformed toes or a case of bumble-foot 
 at a first-class exhibition, whereas we can 
 remember at one time seeing one or the other 
 in almost half of the pens. The greatest care 
 should be taken to select for breeding none but 
 birds with sound and perfectly-formed feet, the 
 extra toe pointing well upwards : to do other- 
 wise would be to lose ground which breeders 
 have only gained by persistent work through- 
 out many years. 
 
 Very little need be added to what is said in 
 the Standard dbout combs, the rose or single 
 comb being optional in the Dark variety only, 
 while rose combs are, demanded in Whites and 
 Cuckoos, and single combs in Silver Greys. 
 During the early days of exhibition one comb 
 was as common as the other in Darks, with a 
 preference on the whole for rose, as more like 
 the original White breed ; but a great many of 
 the rose-combed birds were very coarse about 
 the head, and single combs grew in favour, till 
 in 1890-5 the rose-comb had practically dis- 
 appeared. Since then there has been some 
 revival of this form of comb, Mr. A. C. Major 
 having exhibited some very fine specimens. It 
 is to be regretted that many single-combed 
 cocks have had such enormous, beefy, over- 
 grown combs as to be practically sterile, and 
 requiring to be dubbed before they are any use 
 for breeding. There can be little doubt that 
 this monstrosity was introduced by the Spanish 
 cross already referred to ; for the original 
 single-combed Dorking was by no means a 
 heavy-combed bird. During the years which 
 elapsed before the effect of such combs in 
 producing sterility was understood .as it is 
 to-day, there is little doubt that nervous ex- 
 haustion from this cause also had much to 
 
382 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 do with the Dorking's reputation for delicacy 
 of constitution, and it is to be hoped that 
 breeders and judges will set their faces against 
 such undue development, and strive for the 
 " moderately large " combs laid down in the 
 Standard. In a heavy breed' like this such a 
 source of weakness is especially prejudicial. 
 
 We add here, in hopes that it may not be too 
 late even yet to avert extinction, a fevv words 
 about the old " Surrey " fowl, formerly so largely 
 
 bred for the London market through- 
 Surrey out the Surrey and Sussex fattening 
 Fowls. districts, which certainly had close 
 
 affinities with the Dorking, and is 
 said by some old authorities to have even sur- 
 passed it in table quality. We have indicated 
 already in Chapter VII., how few specimens re- 
 warded our search for this fowl in the autumn of 
 19D0, and it is curious that the few we have 
 heard of since, were also within a few miles of 
 the sanie neighbourhood (Horeham Road), in 
 which we found it then ; but doubtless some 
 linger elsewhere. In the main this fine old 
 race of table poultry, which surpassed anything 
 in France, has been all but displaced by the 
 crosses mentioned in the chapter just referred to, 
 giving thereby a conspicuous proof of the need 
 for the work of the fancier if breeds are to be 
 kept alive. It is in the hope that some may be 
 induced to take up this fowl before it is too 
 late, that we refer to the subject again. 
 
 There is superfluity of documentary proof 
 that the old Surrey fowl, as already intimated, 
 was one parent of the Dark Dorking. Moubray 
 in 1815, Nolan in 1850, and Meall's edition of 
 Moubray in 1854, place this matter absolutely 
 beyond doubt. They prove also that the plumage 
 differed considerably, some of them describing 
 grey speckled, red speckled, black breasted, and 
 spangled birds. Our personal recollection only 
 goes back to about i860, when these birds still 
 commanded the London market, and were bred 
 at Wokingham as well as in Sussex. At that 
 time, the birds which have chiefly dwelt in our 
 memory were of two predominating colours, one a 
 dark mixture of red and black, speckled rather 
 than spangled with white; the other mainly a rich 
 brown and chestnut,, some of the hens partially 
 laced with very dark brown or black. The 
 birds we remember at Wokingham were of the 
 speckled kind, and some we know to have 
 realised ten shiUings each in the Epsom race 
 week. All the fowls of the type which we 
 found recently in Sussex, could also be referred 
 broadly to one or the other of these two kinds 
 of plumage, some of them, however, having a 
 heavier white mottling upon the darker colour. 
 
 The chief characteristic of the best Surrey 
 fowls we have known, was a combination of very 
 broad shoulders and back, with a long breast- 
 bone. Looked at above, the birds had thus a 
 peculiarly flat and square appearance, much 
 more so than any Dorkings" of to-day. This 
 made them look rather short in body when 
 viewed from the top ; but in reality the breast- 
 bone was very long. Short white legs and feet, 
 but with only four toes, early growth, and 
 juiciness of flesh, were the other main features 
 of the Surrey fowl, but the broad flat back, 
 in combination with a long and deep keel 
 and legs wide apart, was in our opinion 
 the most characteristic outward point. Any 
 attempt to revive it should take special 
 account of the type of body here described : 
 if that were insisted upon, and the breed 
 could be judged, as the Dorking once was, by 
 shape and size and condition irrespective of 
 colour, that would be best. But either kind 
 of colour could, if desired, be standardised 
 and bred with great ease. Some writers have 
 identified the old Surrey fowl with the Red 
 Dorking ; but this is certainly a mistake, the 
 latter having a_ fixed type of its own, and 
 breeding both the colour and the Dorking 
 toe with remarkable fixity. No doubt of all 
 the varieties the Red Dorking comes nearest 
 to it in quality of flesh. 
 
 The genuine Surrey fowl is a fair layer, and 
 hardy ; but its commanding merit is as a table 
 bird, in which character it surpasses the Dorking 
 itself. Both have white meat, and plenty of it ; 
 but the Surrey fowl is, by almost universal 
 testimony, superior in tenderness and juiciriess 
 of flesh, whenever it can be placed in direct 
 comparison with the Dorking of to-day. In- 
 deed, Meall writes in 1854 as if this were 
 generally the case even at that date. Now that 
 many shows have a class for even the " Likeliest 
 Hen for Laying Purposes" — though the class 
 seems to us diverted from any such object to 
 the encouragement of a curious stamp- of 
 bastard rose-combed Andalusian ^ perhaps 
 something might be done to rescue the old 
 Surrey fowl from the extinction all but accom- 
 plished. To offer classes will not be enough ; 
 that has been tried once or twice, and failed for 
 want of entries. Breeders must be found first, 
 then classes ; but if a few can be induced to 
 take up the breed seriously, there might still be 
 a future for one of the best and most character- 
 istic of really English breeds. 
 
 In the earlier days of poultry exhibition the 
 Grey or Coloured Dorking was judged without 
 any reference to colour of plumage, except that 
 
JUDGING DORKINGS. 
 
 383 
 
 the three hens or pullets then shown together 
 were expected to make some fair match with 
 each other. This led to many specimens being 
 exhibited over-fat. With the in- 
 Judging troduction of the very dark plumage 
 Dorkings. by Mr. Douglas' Asiatic cross, there 
 came in more and more preference 
 for that colour, birds so marked being as a rule 
 larger and finer than those of other colours. At 
 the present day reaction from the older idea has 
 gone so far, that the Standard now only recog- 
 nises the very dark, " almost black " colour of 
 plumage. This is distinctly to be regretted, in 
 the interest not only of white feet, but of a 
 somewhat more medium though still dark 
 colour, which is very often shown with success, 
 and certainly neither is nor ought to be 
 penalised by any deduction. 
 
 The shape or symmetry of the fowl should 
 be the same in all varieties. For many years 
 the White has been as a rule more tall and 
 reachy than the others; but this has gradually 
 become modified, and Mr. Ludlow's ideal is 
 undoubtedly, as an ideal, correct. In classes 
 where all colours compete, it should be re- 
 membered that Whites of equal weight and 
 real size, will generally appear a pound smaller 
 than darker colours, and this should be allowed 
 for. Good condition, or any appearance of 
 being jaded from over-showing, should receive 
 special attention. Nothing further need be 
 added to the Standard of Perfection adopted 
 by the Poultry Club, which is as follows : — 
 
 GEN^ERAL CHARACTE'RISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Large But dignified, free 
 from coarseness, and broad in skull. BeiA : Stout, well 
 proportioned, and slightly curved. Eye : Full. Comb : 
 Single or Rose in Darks ; single in Silver Greys ; Rose 
 in Whites and Cuckoos. The single comb should be 
 moderately large, circular in arch, evenly serrated,, 
 firmly set on the skull, being broad at the base, per- 
 fectly upright in carriage, free from thumb marks or 
 any excrescent growths such as side spikes; The rose 
 comb should be firmly set on the head, square and 
 moderately broad in front ; free froin any hollows, 
 covered on the top-with coral-like points of even height,', 
 and narrowing behind to a distinct slightly upturned 
 peak. Ear-lobe : Moderately developed, hanging as 
 nearly as possible about one-third the depth of the 
 wattles. Wattles : Large and pendent, free from any 
 excrescent growths. Neck : Rather short, gracefully 
 arched, with full hackle, coming well over the back, 
 making it appear very broad, and tapering to the 
 head. 
 
 Body. — Body : Deep, square, and massive, and as 
 large as possible ; long rectangular shape viewed side- 
 ways, and tightly feathered'. Breast : Deep, broad, and 
 nicely rounded, the breast bone long and straight. 
 Back : Broad and level, with full saddle, moderate in 
 length. Saddle : Broad, inclining downwards to tail. 
 Wings : Large, carried well up and close to the body. 
 
 Tail — Tail : Full, sweeping, and carried well back 
 
 (a squirrel tail objectionable). Sickles : Broad and well 
 curved. Side hangers broad and abundant. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Large, strong, and well 
 developed, carried " along " the body so as not to be 
 conspicuous. Shanks : Short, strong, stout, and round 
 in bone (square or sinewy bone very objectionable), set 
 well apart, free from any sign of leg feathers ; spurs set 
 on their inner side, , pointing rather inwards. Toes : 
 Five in number, nice and round in shape and hard in 
 quality (soft spongy feet to be guarded against) ; the 
 front toes long, absolutely straight and well spread, the 
 fourth distinctly apart 'from the fifth and inclining 
 towards the ground, the fifth coming away distinctly 
 from the leg, firmly set on, and nicely turned up the 
 leg. Toe-nails: Nicely shaped in proportion to the toes. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Gay and stately, with 
 breast well thrown forward. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Very large. A cockerel should 
 weigh from g lbs. to 10 lbs., and an adult cock from 
 13 lbs. to 14 lbs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head ; .Large, and broad in skull. 
 Beak and Eye : As in the cock. Comb : Resembling the 
 cock's if rose, but if single nicely hung and falling over 
 to one side of the face. White and Cuckoo should 
 have the rose comb. Darks either, and Silvers the single 
 comb. Ear-lobes and Wattles : Similar to cock, but 
 proportionately smaller. 
 
 Body. — Long, level in back, deep and massive, wide 
 in front and broad across cushion, and tightly feathered. 
 
 Tail. — Well developed, with broad feathers, carried 
 closely ; fan tails objectionable. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Same as the cock, although the spurs 
 are not so fully developed. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Plump, deep, and 
 massive. Carriage staid and matronly. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Very large. A pullet should weigh 
 from 7 lbs. to 8 lbs., and an adult hen from g lbs. to 
 10 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN DARK DORKINGS. 
 
 In Both Sezes. — Beak : Dark horn. Eye : Bright red 
 or yellow iris, the former preferred. Comb, Face, Ear- 
 lobes, and Wattles : Brilliant red (white ear-lobes a 
 decided objection). Shanks : Dead white, and free from 
 - red down the side of the leg or any trace of feathers. 
 Feet ; Absolutely white, free from red between the toes. 
 Toe-nails : Pure white. 
 
 In the Cock. — Hackle : White or straw colour, more or 
 less striped with black. Saddle : Resembling hackle. 
 Back : Various shades of white, black and white, or 
 grey, sometimes mixed with maroon (bronze objection-. 
 able). Wing-bow : White, or white mixed with black 
 or grey. Wing Coverts or Bar : Black, glossed with 
 green. Secondaries : White on outer web, black on 
 inner web. Breast and Under-parts : Jet black; white 
 mottling not permissible. Tail : Black, richly glossed ; 
 a little white on primary sickles permissible, but white 
 hangers decidedly objectionable. 
 
 In the Ken.— Hackle : White or pale straw, striped 
 with black or greyish colour. Breast : A salmon red, each 
 feather tipped with dark grey verging to black. Rest of 
 Body : Nearly black, or approaching a rich dark brown, 
 the shaft of feather showing a dull white, and each 
 feather being slightly paler on the edges, except on 
 wings, where the centre of the feather is a brownish 
 grey ground, covered -with a small rich marking sur- 
 rounded by a thick lacing of the black, free from red in 
 wings. . Tail : Nearly black, or rich coppery colour, the 
 outer feathers slightly pencilled. 
 
384 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 COLOUR IK SILVER GREY DORKINGS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : White streaked with horn. 
 Eyi : Bright red or yellow, iris, the former preferred. 
 Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Brilliant red (white 
 ear-lobes objectionable). Shanks : Snow white, free 
 from red down the side of the leg or any trace of 
 feather. Feet : Absolutely white, free from red between 
 the toes. Toe-nails : Pure white. . 
 
 In the Cock. — Hackle : Pure silvery white, free from 
 straw colour or rusty feathers ; a narrow stripe of grey 
 in the centre of the lower neck hackle feathers per- 
 missible. Back : Pure silvery white, free from any 
 yellow tints. Saddle : Pure silvery white, free from 
 straw colour or striping. Shoulder Coverts and Wing- 
 bow : Silvery white. Wing ■ bar : Lustrous black, 
 glossed with green or blue. Secondaries : White on 
 outer web, black on inner web, with a black spot at end 
 of each feather, corner of wing appearing snow white 
 with a black upper edge when wing is closed. Primaries : 
 Black, with a white edge on outer web. Breast and 
 Under-parts : Jet black, free from any white mottling or ' 
 white grizzling on thighs or under-parts. (In old cocks 
 a little grizzling on thighs is not a fatal defect.) Tail : 
 Coal black, free from any white, the sickles broad and 
 brilliantly glossed. 
 
 In the Hen. — Hackle: Silvery white all over, especially 
 on the top of the head, the lower hackle striped with 
 a narrow line of black in the centre of the feather ; 
 a coppery coloured hackle not admissible. Breast : 
 Rich robin red or salmon red, shading off to ashy grey 
 on thighs. Body and Wings : Clear silvery grey, finely 
 pencilled over with darker, grey, and free from any red 
 or brown tinge or any black dapplings, but may vary 
 in effect from soft dull grey to bright silvery grey ; an 
 old-fashioned grey slate best describes the colour. Tail : 
 Darker grfey, inside feathers black. 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE DORKINGS.' 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : White. Eye : Bright red or 
 yellow iris, the former preferred. Comb, Face, Ear- 
 lobes, and Wattles : Coral red. Shanks : White or 
 pinky white, the former preferred. Feet and Toe-nails : 
 Dead white. Plumage : As white as snow, and free from 
 straw colour. 
 
 COLOUR IN CUCKOO DORKINGS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : White streaked with horn. 
 Eye : Bright red or yellow iris, the former preferred. 
 Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Brilliant red. 
 Shanks : Pure white, free from red down the side or 
 any trace of feather. Feet : White, free from red 
 between the toes. Toe-nails ': Pure white. Plumage : 
 Light bluish grey ground, each feather barred across 
 with bands of darker grey or blue. The marking to be 
 uniform throughout, and the colours shading into each 
 other so that no distinct line or separation of the colours 
 is perceptible. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN DORKINGS. 
 
 DARK. — COCK OR HEN. 
 
 Deduct 
 Defects. up to 
 
 Coarse head 4 
 
 Defects in comb ■■• 4 
 
 Fifth toe not perfect in formation and development 15 
 
 Defects in colour 18 
 
 Tenderness in feet 8 
 
 Want of condition 10 
 
 ,, size ... .•• 21 
 
 „ general Dorking symmetry 20 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 SILVER GREV. — COCK OR HEN. 
 
 Deduct 
 Defects. up to 
 
 Coarse head .. ... 4 
 
 Defects ill comb ... ... ... ••• •■• 4 
 
 Fifth toe not perfect in formation and development 15 
 
 Defects in colour ... ... 24 
 
 Tenderness in feet 8 
 
 Want of condition ... ... 10 
 
 ,, size ... ... 15 
 
 ,, general Dorking symmetry 20 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 WHITE AND CUCKOO. — COCK OR HEN. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head and comb , ... ly 
 
 Fifth toe not perfect in formation and development 15 
 
 Defects in colour 15 
 
 Tenderness in feet ... 8 
 
 Want of condition ... 10 
 
 „ size 15 
 
 J, general Dorking symmetry 20 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Wry tails, or any other actual deformity. -Other than 
 five toes. Legs any colour but white or pinky white in 
 Whites, and absolutely white in the other colours, or 
 with any vestige of feathers. Very long legs. Crooked 
 or much swollen toes. Bumble feet. Spurs outside 
 the leg in either cock or hen. Round backs. Twisted 
 breasts. Distinct double toe-nails. Single combs in 
 Whites or Cuckoos. Rose comb in Silver Greys. Any 
 coloured feathers in Whites. 
 
385 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 SPANISH. 
 
 THIS fowl stands at the head of a group 
 which almost certainly did come to us 
 from the Spanish Peninsula, all the names 
 of the nearest kindred races testifying to the 
 same origin, whilst there is ample evidence that 
 fowls of the same type are still found in that 
 country. But the general t3'pe itself is found over 
 a much wider area. The smaller size and yellow 
 legs of the Leghorn family are minor differences, 
 as are various colours of plumage ; but all round 
 the Mediterranean — in Greece, and Asia Minor, 
 and Algiers, and Egypt, as well as in Italy and 
 Spain — are found fowls which, in their large 
 single combs, sprightly carriage, absence of the 
 incubating instinct, and generally more or less 
 white ear-lobes, evidently belong to one great 
 family. 
 
 This wide distribution around the Great Sea 
 of a race with such characteristics, and especially 
 with the peculiarity of not incubating, is remark- 
 able, since such a modification of instinct is 
 necessarily the fruit not only of long domestica- 
 tion, but of methodical selection for eggs as a 
 chief product. Some have traced the loss of the 
 instinct to centuries of artificial incubation in 
 Egypt, and this may have had some influence; 
 but we are disposed to attribute more effect to 
 the prevalence of the Roman Catholic religion, 
 which permits the use of eggs when flesh is for- 
 bidden, round, the northern coasts of the Sea, 
 where the type has become most marked. We 
 find some corroboration of this idea in the fact 
 that in other parts of Catholic Europe races of 
 non-sitting layers have been developed, though 
 of a different character in other respects. , It is, 
 however, needless to discuss these questions 
 further, and we may proceed to describe in this 
 chapter the .oldest representative of this highly 
 useful family of fowls. 
 
 The white-faced black Spanish has been much 
 the longest known of these breeds, and it is 
 perfectly easy to understand how it probably 
 came to us direct from Spain. In the days of 
 Philip the intercourse between this country and 
 Spain was very great, so that Spanish and 
 Portuguese wines almost drove French vintages 
 for a time from the English market. It is 
 
 further to be observed that at a later period, 
 when Spanish were already known and bred in 
 England, to a somewhat rough or cauliflower 
 
 type of face, a second introduc- 
 
 History *-'°" °^ birds with smaller and 
 
 of smoother faces came from Holland, 
 
 Spanish. precisely that district of. Europe 
 
 which had been most over-run by 
 the Spanish armies under the Duke of Alva. 
 This crossing of strains considerably improved 
 the English birds in face, as well as giving 
 constitution; and two perceptibly different 
 types of face remained till quit^ a late period, 
 the late Mr. Henry Lane, of Bristol, having 
 bred chiefly the heavier kind, and only com- 
 mencing a year or two before his death to 
 transform it into a smoother character, which he 
 saw to be more and more preferred by the 
 judges. Another change which-has taken place 
 is in colour of the legs, which were many years 
 ago desired as light as possible, and occasionally 
 were brought nearly white, being put in poultices 
 before exhibition in order to improve their 
 colour ! Yet another transformation must be 
 recorded in the comb of the cock, which at 
 one time was expected to fall over on one side, 
 while now desired straight and upright. 
 
 The greatest change of all, unfortunately, is 
 recent, and to be seen in a decline of popularity 
 which has no parallel in any other breed. In 
 The Poultry Chronicle of early exhibition days, 
 there were more advertisers of Spanish than of 
 any other variety ; no fowl was so well known ; 
 none had so good a reputation as a prolific 
 layer of large white eggs, especially in and 
 round London. Now tlie breed has a class to 
 itself at very few shows, is extremely delicate, 
 and we fear it must be confessed, but a poor 
 layer. The change has often been attributed to 
 breeding too much for white face; but the facts 
 do not warrant such a conclusion. Th.e real 
 reason, has been lack of breeders, and in conse- 
 quence a lack of blood, and an 'amount of 
 in-breeding that has been ruinous. For a time, 
 the city of Bristol had a circle of Spanish " 
 fanciers almost impossible to beat, headed and 
 founded by the late Mr. Rake; and we well;: 
 
386 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 remember, at the first revived Bristol show of 
 1867, where the chief of these did their best, 
 how four pens (trios) shown by Messrs. Lane, 
 Parsley, Roue, and Jones, were taken out and 
 placed in adjoining pens, and placarded by the 
 judges as "the four best pens of Spanish ever 
 seen together." It was difficult to say ^which 
 was really the best of these. We have nevei 
 seen better faces since, very seldom even so good, 
 and certainly never four exhibits so good ; yet 
 at that time the breed was still a good layer. 
 There were besides those just named, the late 
 Mr. Rodbard, and Mr. Hyde, and one or two 
 others. So long as these breeders could ex- 
 change, and so get blood, the breed did not 
 suffer in spite of the faces. But the phalanx 
 died off or were dispersed ; and when the stock 
 got into a very few hands, at wide distances, so 
 that they could not conveniently exchange blood, 
 and these used more artificial heat and began to 
 trust more and more to " exhibition arts " instead 
 of breeding skill, constitution failed, and the 
 breed went down. Another cause of failure was 
 the breeding of too large combs, remarked upon 
 by the late Mr. Teebay in 1872. To keep these 
 straight one of the Bristol -breeders invented the 
 comb-guard, which removed one check there 
 had been Upon size of comb ; and such combs 
 entailed more or less sterility, as mentioned in 
 a previous chapter. From this cause also con- 
 stitution suffered ; until now we see what can 
 only be described as absolute poverty of blood 
 clearly shown by the most certain of all its 
 signs, a legginess and weediness of build which 
 are ' considerably greater than formerly, and 
 are by no means shown at their worst in the 
 illustration. 
 
 Yet the late Mr. Teebay wrote in 1872 a most 
 interesting account of how he, a breeder and 
 successful exhibitor for more than twenty years, 
 had found Spanish a hardy breed. He hatched 
 them in April and May, put them out with the 
 hen, and never took them in after ; and as soon 
 as the birds were able to fly they perched in the 
 trees, right through the winter. They feathered 
 well, and grew well, and the cocks' cqmbskept 
 firm, and even stood frost far better than those 
 kept indoors. The old birds roosted in houses 
 built for single horses, with the doors wide open 
 except on very severe frosty nights. So kept, 
 they were not tender, moulted well, laid well, 
 and lasted well. Of course, young birds thus 
 kept required to be kept penned up in a rather 
 warm closed house before exhibition, and old 
 birds needed at least three weeks of this to 
 bleach the faces and soften the white ; but the 
 really good specimens readily responded to this 
 treatment, and Mr. Teebay exhibited in his day 
 
 some of the best Spanish ever seen. He always 
 ■preferred to breed from two or three year old 
 hens rather than pullets, the chickens feathering 
 more quickly; and his general methods might 
 be found worthy of repetition by some breeder 
 .desirous of removing the present reproach of 
 this fine old race of poultry. 
 
 The Spanish cock should be tall on the leg, 
 though not so stilty as most of the present day. 
 The neck is long and gracefully arched, and the 
 head carried high, with breast pro- 
 Characteristios minent ; this proud carriage is apt 
 of to suffer from an overgrown comb, 
 
 Spanish. which is, however, less seen now in 
 
 Spanish than in Minorcas. The 
 shanks are slate colour or lead colour, but get 
 lighter in old birds — almost a pale lavender in 
 some cases. They are bred lighter now than some 
 years ago, owing, we believe, to the more arti- 
 ficial regimen already alluded to. The body 
 should narrow to the tail, somewhat like that 
 of a Game cock. The tail should be full and 
 carried high, but not squirrel fashion. The 
 plumage all over a rich black, as lustrous as 
 possible. The chief points are, however, con- 
 tained in the head and face. The beak is large 
 and of a deep horn colour, and the head, as a 
 whole, large, being both long, broad, and very 
 deep in the side, with large eyes, which should 
 be free and open in the midst of the face. The 
 large single comb should be perfectly upright, 
 firm, and straight ; rather thin at the edge, but 
 thick at the base upon the broad skull; fine 
 and smooth in surface, with a few broad serra- 
 tions, not many narrow ones ; and rising from 
 the beak between the nostrils. But the chief 
 feature of the bird is the white face. Both face- 
 and ear-lobe should be pure white, and in 
 texture like the finest white kid ; smooth, or 
 free from ridges and folds, and leaving the eye 
 unobstructed. The white should reach well on 
 to the beak in front, rise over the eye close to 
 the base of the comb, and extend well towards 
 the back of the head, the further over and behind 
 the ear the better, and sweeping in an unbroken 
 curve towards the back of the neck. The large 
 white ear-lobe should be long, open, and broad, 
 lying spread out flat or free from folds, and 
 not at all narrowing at the bottom, but keeping 
 up the width till rounded off; thence the line 
 comes up to join the wattles in front. These are 
 long, thin, and florid, the inside of their upper 
 parts and the skin of the throat between being 
 white. 
 
 The hen is very similar in most points except 
 that her comb falls entirely over one side of the 
 face. The face itself is, of course, smaller than 
 in the cock, but of the same general character ; 
 
I 
 
 CO 
 
 z 
 
 CO 
 
 '''y'^kf' 
 
BREEDING WHITE FACED SPANISH. 
 
 387 
 
 and there should be no apparent line or division 
 between the face and the ear-lobe. The wattles 
 are rather smaller than might be expected, and 
 are preferred small and thin. 
 
 It is probable that the constitution of 
 Spanish might be yet revived by systematic 
 rational treatment, the total abandonment of 
 heat except in actual frost, and 
 Breeding seasonable breeding, which does not 
 Spanish. exhaust the stock in cold weather. 
 
 The breed is not one at all adapted 
 for early showing, and Spanish should not be 
 hatched till April or May ; if this be done, and 
 hens chiefly bred from, the chicks will feather 
 better and grow up much stronger. They do 
 well in brooders kept carefully from any excess 
 of heat, and the present delicate stock is often 
 helped a great deal by a little old ale and 
 shredded underdone meat once a day until 
 fledged. Care of the combs has already been 
 treated (pp. 204, 214. ). 
 
 In breeding for the main point of face, much 
 judgment is required. It is better, as a rule, to 
 mate smooth-faced cockerels, even if somewhat 
 smaller in face (as such birds often are) with 
 large and rougher-faced hens, than to employ 
 the contrary plan, the produce of a male at all 
 rough in face being very uncertain. Anything 
 at all like a raw cross, even of good blood, often 
 works apparent havoc in the faces ; but never- 
 theless we would use a good bird in this way, in 
 order to get, if possible, more constitution ; as 
 breeding back to " line" will make matters right 
 in another generation or two-. The greatesfe^ 
 fault of the faces at present is not being flat and 
 free from folds : so many are folded, wrinkled, 
 or doubled. Something can be done to avoid 
 this, as already indicated (p. 215) hy taking 
 symptoms early, and treating by gentle exten- 
 sion at frequent intervals, but the root of the 
 mischief is in selecting stock too broad in face 
 on both sides. This tends to produce more face 
 than the surface can really carry, and hence it 
 folds or wrinkles up. Too thick or coarse a 
 face is not only ugly in itself, but as the bird 
 gets older very often grows so much as to 
 obstruct the sight. In such cases a little has 
 to be cut away with fine-pointed scissors. This 
 operation, as we have seen it done, did not 
 appear to cause much pain ; but it is very easy 
 to give a few whiffs of chloroform after missing 
 a feed, and it is pleasanter to know that the 
 bird really cannot feel. Fowls as a rule take 
 chloroform exceedingly, well. 
 
 It is not easy to determine the ultimate 
 quality of the chickens while young, and we 
 have known great mistakes made even by skilled 
 breeders. ' The late Mr.. Jones will be remem- 
 
 bered by many as one of the most successful :, 
 on one occasion he had ordered a cockerel 
 for execution early in autumn. His " man," 
 however, thought differently, and as the bird had 
 a particularly handsome comb, kept him on for a 
 bit to see what he would come to. He began to 
 make up hand, over hand, and turned out the 
 champion bird of the year ! Faces which show 
 red, or even any blush of it, at an early age may 
 of course be safely discarded. The best birds 
 usually look a curious sort of blue in the face 
 while young, steadily clearing to white as they 
 grow older. The difficulty comes more in judg- 
 ing the ultimate size of face, which sometimes 
 turns out much more and sometimes less than 
 might be expected. 
 
 In regard to treatment when grown, we knew 
 all the Bristol yards well, and from their experi- 
 ence, collated and compared, acquired the 
 decided conviction that Spanish did best of all 
 in rather small grass runs, with a pretty ample 
 shed boarded up two or three feet from the 
 ground, in which they could be confined during 
 windy or severe weather. When thus protected 
 from exposure and kept for most of the day 
 out of direct sun, they do not get very. far out of 
 show condition ; but for ten days before a show 
 
 require to be kept in a rather dark 
 Exhibiting house Or pen. Those at Bristol were 
 Spanish. mostly about 7 by 4 feet in floor 
 
 space, boarded up about four feet 
 from the floor, and netted above so as to be 
 well ventilated ; and they had enough of a sort 
 o£.twiKgirt-for the birds to see their food and fly 
 up to their perches. They would be let out for 
 half an hour a day, when it was dull and mild; 
 but not in the cold, or in the sun, whilst being 
 got up for show ; and heat was not used except 
 in the coldest weather. Such a period of con- 
 finement in semi-darkness has great effect upon 
 plumage as well as face, making it bright and 
 glossy. Some of the present exhibitors of 
 Spanish employ more heat and time and dark- 
 ness than here described ; but such was found 
 sufficient by the breeders of the best specimens 
 which the world has ever seen, and is much 
 less tax upon the birds. Moreover, too much 
 darkness bleaches the comb and wattles as well 
 as the faces, giving quite a sickly appearance, as 
 can often be seen in exhibited Spanish to-day. 
 By allowing more daylight and a little more 
 time this can be avoided. 
 
 Previous to a show, the faces of Spanish 
 need special attention. As already intimated, 
 those of even good birds exposed to wind and 
 sun generally becomjg, more or less reddened 
 and harsh in texture; so much being rectified 
 by confinement in ^semi-darkness, of from ten 
 
388 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 days for young birds, to perhaps thrice as much 
 for old ones too long neglected. But the surface 
 of the skin, being a specia:l development, is 
 always liable to eruptions and other surface 
 blemishes, especially after any high feeding, and 
 as a rule cooling diet as well as confinement is 
 found necessary to get them into order. By 
 almost universal consent all Spanish breeders 
 gradually settled down to bread and milk in the 
 morning. In the evening the Bristol men usually 
 gave barley meal mixed rather dry, \yith a little 
 whole corn ; but wheat was dear and little used 
 at that time, and since it has been cheap is 
 found to answer for the evening meal very well, 
 given in strict moderation : toO much whole 
 grain of any kind is not good for the face. 
 -Beside this, constant and ample green food must 
 be supplied, for which lettuces or water-cress 
 answer well ; and twice a week a good pinch of 
 sulphur may be given to each bird. This sort 
 of feeding should be commenced at least three 
 weeks before a show. Sometimes a good bird 
 which has been neglected and over-fed will 
 be found with an unsightly yellowish eruption 
 or scab over a great part of his face. Such 
 a face may need more time than can be given ; 
 but we cured a very bad case for a Bristol friend 
 in about three weeks by giving 20 grains of 
 Epsom salts twice a week, with 10 grains citrate 
 of potash and 5 grains iodide of potassium in 
 half a pint of water as drink, and gently spong- 
 ing the face every -morning and evening with 
 sulphurous acid (B.P. strength*)^ carefully dry- 
 ing afterwards. Of course, a good Spanish fowl 
 should never be allowed to get into such a 
 condition as this, but have its diet reduced and 
 the system cooled by medicine or more green 
 food, before things have gone so far. 
 
 But the faces and lobes require more special 
 treatment than this before exhibition. A pair of 
 round-nosed steel tweezers or forceps must be 
 
 provided, and with this the entire 
 
 Preparation face is carefully gone over, plucking 
 
 for out each individual hair or plumule 
 
 Exhibition. of the fluff or small hairy feathers, 
 
 which will be found dotted over 
 it. This removes what were apparently black 
 specks, and leaves the face white and clear. 
 The amount of these hair-like feathers used to 
 differ a great deal in various strains, the largest- 
 faced birds usually having the most ; but the 
 
 * This prescription, since repeated by others, gave rite to a 
 printed charge by one of those "humanitarians" who are so 
 quick to think evil of others, of "atrocious cruelty" to which 
 Spanish were subjected by having their faces " prepared by 
 strong acids." Such as knew us, simply roared at this ; but it 
 may perhaps be as well to state that the "acid " is the solution 
 in water of the gas formed by burning sulphur, and was once in 
 vogue as a gargle for spre throat, for which it is still employed, 
 being when so used absolutely tasteless. 
 
 very coarse-faced ones have nearly disappeared. 
 In trimming the face a fringe of feathers must 
 be left between the top of the face and the base 
 of the comb, to separate the white and red : if 
 this is not done the bird is disqualified — not on 
 the ground of fraud, but because it violates an 
 understood convention, and looks ridiculous. 
 Otherwise, this "trimming" of Spanish faces has 
 ■long been accepted and allowed, though at one 
 time the subject of much heated debate and 
 vehement protest. 
 
 Most of such protests years ago against 
 trimming Spanish faces, came from people who 
 knew absolutely nothing practically about the 
 fowl ; but there was one notable exception. 
 For years after all other recognised breeders, 
 and all the judges, had admitted the practice, 
 Mr. Alfred Heath kept up his protest, and 
 refused to trim, and -was always beaten in con- 
 sequence, though having notoriously some of 
 the very best birds, which constantly won so 
 soon as they went out of his own hands. At 
 length he publicly announced in several periodi- 
 cals that, having done his best, and seeing the 
 case was hopeless, he should henceforth do as 
 others did, on the, clear understanding that 
 trimming was recognised, and not considered 
 fraudulent. An important show occurred 
 directly after this, and he came in an easy 
 winner, though in a rather odd manner. His 
 pen this time was in fact trimmed in such bare- 
 faced and extreme fashion as had hardly ever 
 been seen, and provoked much laughter among 
 other exhibitors, who " chaffed " him unmerci- 
 fully about being " determined to do it ' proper ' 
 when he did set about it." One of the judges 
 told us afterwards that they had been almost 
 inclined to disqualify the pen on this account ; 
 not for fraud, but for its queer appearance : only 
 they had an idea whose it was, and under the 
 peculiar circumstances did not thinkit right to do 
 so. The simple fact was that the other amused 
 Spanish exhibitors were right, though not quite 
 as they meant it. Mr. Heath (as he showed 
 afterwards) knew quite enough to trim as artist- 
 ically as anyone ; but having said what he 
 would do, like the thorough gentleman he v/as, 
 he had carried it out purposely for this first 
 time in a way that should fasten attention upon 
 his pen, and s6 put the whole matter beyond 
 dispute. The chief significance of this example 
 and experience lies in what followed, and which 
 shows, as we have before hinted in a different 
 connection, that the rear root of even much that 
 may be really questionable, lies rather in an 
 instinctive passion for perfection, than mere 
 desire to reap advantage. A few years after- 
 wards Mr. Heath wrote to us privately, stating 
 
EXHIBITING SPANISH. 
 
 389 
 
 that since trying the practice of trimming Spanish 
 faces, he himself now preferred it : he had never, 
 he said, seen the full beauty of his own birds 
 before, and did not think it could be seen with- 
 out trimming. And he frankly admitted that the 
 present clear and open understanding upon the 
 point (partly due, as his modesty omitted to state, 
 to his own prominent action) had removed what- 
 ever objection he might formerly have entertained. 
 Besides the trimming process, however, 
 which is best deferred till a very few days before 
 exhibition, Spanish faces require daily attention 
 while penned up before a show, and some Bristol 
 fanciers used to give it regularly to their few 
 best specimens, and attached much importance 
 to such daily regimen. Providing a very soft 
 bit of sponge, a very soft towel, some mild soap, 
 and a powder-puff with some powdered oxide of 
 zinc (violet-powder will answer, but is not so 
 dry), every day the face is gently sponged over 
 with soap and lukewarm water (neither hot nor 
 cold), going well into every crease. It is then 
 as carefully and gently dried with the towel, 
 again giving special attention to any creases, 
 and finally puffed with the zinc powder. This 
 is not, as some suppose, to leave white on the 
 face, and before sending off care should be 
 taken that no powder is left on ; it is' merely in 
 order to thoroughly dry the skin. This treat- 
 ment will be found to make a rapid and wonder- 
 ful difference in the condition of the faces. 
 
 Convenience in regard to such constant 
 manipulation, deserves a little thought, and 
 different people manage in various ways. 
 Some of our friends used to tie the bird's legs 
 together with a piece of rag, and rest the body 
 on the lap, with its breast-bone between the 
 operator's thighs, and the legs hanging down 
 in the centre : aftej once -or twice the fowl is 
 generally quiet thus. Others rested the bird in 
 the same way, but passed a handkerchief over 
 its back, tied underneath the thighs of the 
 washer; this is a good plan, but as the latter 
 cannot move while the handkerchief is tied, he 
 must see that he has absolutely everything 
 within reach. Some preferred an assistant to 
 hold the bird, but Mr. Roue invented what he 
 called a cock-saddle. It was a piece of board 
 about two feet long and five inches wide, cut 
 out or narrowed from both sides at one place 
 for the bird's thighs to hang down. At one end 
 of this narrowed place a padded cushion was 
 arranged for the stern to rest against ; and at the 
 other end of it were two longitudmal cushions 
 side by side with a channel between, in which 
 the breast-bone rested : thus the bird was on 
 its breast between the two cushions in front, its 
 stern against the cushion behind, and the thighs 
 
 and legs hanging down in the places narrowed 
 or cut in for them. In this position it was 
 secured by two straps buckled over the back, 
 and braced together at a proper interval. The 
 whole arrangement he used to insert into the 
 drawer of a kitchen dresser, opened about three 
 inches, more or less, by which it was easily 
 adjusted at any slant required. He found the 
 birds perfectly quiet on this saddle, and they 
 soon received their daily treatment with the 
 rriost absolute indifference. 
 
 In cold weather Spanish require efficient 
 protection as regards the baskets in which they 
 travel. The exhibitors whom we knew most 
 of, used to line their baskets with flannel, which 
 was well shrunk before being used. This gave 
 ample ventilation, while it gives what the usual 
 linings do not — good protection from cold and 
 draught. As in all large-combed breeds, the 
 baskets for cocks should be rather high. Some 
 care should be taken in severe weather to select 
 trains that are likely not to be too long on the 
 road, for this breed undoubtedly suffers more 
 than most from severe cold. It feels keenly 
 also at the moulting season. At this time the 
 combs shrink and shrivel to a great degree, so 
 that even a good hen may appear to have an 
 upright or "prick" comb; but on getting into 
 condition again the former size is restored. 
 Iron tonic is particularly beneficial at this time, 
 also a little old ale. 
 
 As in the case of all black fowls, there' is 
 some little variation at times in the plumage of 
 Spanish. Age will often bring many feathers 
 tipped with white, sometimes all 
 Variations gQ^ which gives a very curious 
 
 appearance ; and now and then 
 actually white birds have sported, 
 as in other varieties. One or two fanciers have 
 bred these together, and produced a White 
 Spanish ; but the . effect of white face upon 
 white plumage has always been felt unpleasing, 
 and in no case has the stock been kept up per- 
 manently, though we knew one yard in which it 
 was bred for several years. Red or reddish-gold 
 feathers are also liable to occur in the cock's 
 hackles, the birds so disfigured being, as the 
 late Mr. H. Lane pointed out to us, usually the 
 richest and most glossy in colour of all in the 
 yard. The fact is worth mention, because Mr. 
 Darwin has made in regard to it a curious mis- 
 take through over much dependence upon what 
 was told him, to the effect that " all who know 
 anything of the breeding of poultry will admit 
 that tens of thousands of pure Spanish . . . 
 have- been reared without the appearance of a 
 red feather."* Of course, in one sense tens of 
 
 * Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication. 
 
 m 
 Spanish, 
 
39<> 
 
 THE BOOK. OF POULTRY. 
 
 thousands have been so, being selected free 
 from them ; but in the whole of tens of 
 thousands bred, many red feathers would be 
 seen. Such should be rejected in breeding, 
 unless for some extraordinary quality in face; 
 and by this selection coloured feathers ought 
 to be reduced to a mere percentage. 
 
 It is difficult at present to appraise the 
 economic value of Spanish. The breed was 
 never very good for table: the flesh and skin are 
 white, as in most black fowls, but 
 Qualities ^^ former generally rather short 
 
 Spanish. ^''^^ ^"^y i*^ character, and there is 
 
 seldom much upon the breast- 
 bone, which usually projects, with little meat 
 upon it. Its ancient fame was as a layer of 
 very large white eggs, many of which were 
 laid in winter, by young birds, when the breed 
 was kept fairly hardy. We had some old 
 returns of 150 to as much as 170 eggs in a 
 year ; and even so lately as 1 870 the Bristol 
 breeders, or most of them, reckoned on an 
 average of 120 per annum, which was pretty 
 fair for days when feeding for eggs was not 
 understood as it is to-day. We fea:r no exhibi- 
 tion stock would reach ' such an average now, 
 and whether the economic value of the breed 
 can be recovered it is difficult to say. The one 
 great necessity, above all, is an increase of 
 breeders, to provide a variety of blood reared 
 upon different soils : next to that a certain 
 amount of return to more hardy methods of 
 treatment. It is indeed not desirable that Mr. 
 Teebay's heroic method be adopted, 'for the 
 Spanish would under any circumstances be best 
 adapted for semi-confinement; but the amount 
 of heat, and seclusion, and darkness often now 
 meted out to the poor fowl by the few who 
 keep it, and who do not after all understand it as 
 did those who loved it in former days, would 
 soon endanger any breed. With more care and 
 some common-sense in these respects, and more 
 breeders, we believe rnuch might yet be done ; 
 the field is very open, in face of the small com- 
 petition, for any disposed- to enter it ; and it is 
 much to be desired that a fowl which, take it 
 all in all, is certainly one of the most stately 
 and handsome amongst all the breeds, should 
 be rescued from its present position. 
 
 In judging Spanish, the face is of course the 
 chief point. Its size, its quality, its shape, its 
 freedom or otherwise from folds and doubling, 
 all have to be considered. A broad face and 
 lobe rather short, if not too short, is better than 
 a long one too narrow. Comb is also important, 
 
 and these head-points make most of the bird. 
 But handsome carriage and proportion should 
 also be considered ; here especially many 
 present specimens fall short, being too tall and 
 weedy owing to their poverty of blood. The 
 following is the Standard of Perfection as 
 adopted by the Poultry Club : — 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Large and broad. Beak : 
 Rather long and stout. Eye : Open and clear in sight. 
 Comb : Single, perfectly erect, deeply serrated, iirmly 
 fixed at base, smooth in texture and fitting close down 
 on the neck like a cap. Face : As large as possible, 
 going well back, with plenty of space between eye and 
 comb, free from wrinkles or coarseness. Ear-lobes': 
 Deep and broad, well rounded at bottom, of good 
 texture, extending well below the wattles and free from 
 folds and creases. Wattles : Very long, thin and pen- 
 dulous. Neck : Long and fine. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Full at the neck and gradually 
 decreasing towards the thighs. Back : Medium length. 
 Wings : Short and carried close to the body. 
 
 Tail. — Tail : Full, not carried too high. Sickles : 
 Large and well curved. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Rather long. Shanks : 
 Long. Toes : Four, straight. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Tall, reachy and com- 
 pact appearance, with proud motion. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium size (the larger the better), 
 about 7 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Short and close fitting. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Comb : Single, deeply serrated, 
 drooping to one side. 
 
 Body. — As in the cock, except being longer in back. 
 
 Tail. — The description of cock will apply generally 
 to hen. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — As in the cock. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium (the larger the better), 
 about 6 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK SPANISH. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark horn. Eye : Black. 
 Comb and Wattles : Bright red. Face and Ear-lobes : 
 Dead white. Shanks : Pale slate colour. Plumage : 
 Black with a metallic green beetle sheen. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN BLACK 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb and wattles 
 
 „ face and lobes 
 
 ,, plumage 
 
 „ shape and symmetry 
 
 Want of size 
 
 ,, condition 
 
 SPANISH. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 15 
 
 35 
 10 
 
 15 
 15 
 10 
 
 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Comb of cock falling over ; blue in face or lobes ; coarse 
 cauUflower face and lobes; wry or squirrel tails; side 
 sprigs in cqmb ; lobes pointed at bottom ; pink or red 
 in face or lobes ; black or dark coloured legs and feet. 
 
■ 391 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 MINORCAS. 
 
 THIS breed in all probability came to Eng- 
 land from the island whose name it bears, 
 and more than one importation appears to 
 have taken place. The late Mr. Leworthy of 
 Barnstaple, who had bred it since about 1830, 
 ■ told us that, several lots had come from Minorca, 
 and that a friend and townsman of his, a Mr. 
 Willis, had been familiar with similar birds in 
 the island itself The Rev. Thomas Cox, of 
 Castle Cary, was personaUy informed by Sir 
 Thomas Acland that his father, the previous 
 baronet, brought ' birds from Minorca direct in 
 1834 or 1835, from which a strain had been bred 
 at Holnicote for many years, and distributed 
 through the neighbourhood ; and the Acland 
 family believed that the introduction of the fowl 
 into the West of England was mainly due to this 
 importation. Many strains probably did descend 
 from the Holnicote blood ; but there is strong 
 general evidence that even before that Minorcas 
 had been known in th^ West of England, and 
 at the middle of the nineteenth century there 
 were obvious differences between certain strains 
 which bear out the supposition of several distinct 
 importations, Mr. Leworthy, for instance, gave as 
 his average weights ^\ lbs. and 4^ lbs., whilst 
 other strains were considerably heavier even at 
 that time. 
 
 This fine race had been known and valued in 
 the West of England, from Cornwall up to as 
 high as Bristol, for very many years before it 
 attracted any attention amongst breeders 
 generally. For its localisation there, the only 
 reason that can be given is a somewhat special 
 intercourse with Spain which has also left other 
 traces here and there, and of which some slight 
 indication is given in Kingsley's Westward Ho ! 
 The first brood of chicks we ever hatched, about 
 1850, were' from Minorca eggs; and knowing 
 the fowls thus from childhood, and their qualities, 
 it was always a mystery to us that they should be 
 so long confined to one corner of Great Britain. 
 It is perhaps noteworthy that many of the people 
 who kept them at that early date, called them 
 " Black Spanish," and that throughout the West, 
 when the " Black Spanish" was spoken of, it was 
 generally the Minor-ca that was really meant. 
 Many of the finest we ever saw were in the 
 
 possession of poor men, who kept them for their 
 eggs, which they sold new-laid; and though 
 they never exhibited, were proud of their fowls, 
 and in some cases refused a guinea for a 
 favourite bird. In spite of this solid merit, and 
 its striking appearance, however, the breed was 
 very slow to make way out of its own corner. 
 Our persistent advocacy of its merits had little 
 effect for some years ; but all of a sudden it 
 began to "' move," and since then its progress has 
 been rapid. In 1883, soon after the movement 
 had begun, there were at the Crystal Palace show 
 only two classes and thirty-two entries ; but in 
 1888 the newly formed Minorca Club held its 
 first show at that great gathering, when there 
 were six classes and 140 entries ; and in igoo 
 the six classes contained 166 entries. There are 
 very few shows now which do not give Minorca 
 classes, and where these are not well filled. 
 
 Broadly speaking, the Minorca may be said 
 to resemble the Spanish fowl without its white 
 face, and with a much smaller white ear-lobe ; 
 
 but there are perceptible other 
 Characteristics diff'erences in detail, the body being 
 Minorcas. more massive and compact, the legs 
 
 shorter, and the comb of different 
 texture. The head of the cock should be large 
 and broad, without which the comb cannot be 
 carried firmly ; beak dark horn-colour ; eye full 
 and dark ; comb single, upright, and straight ; 
 large, but not extending beyond front of the 
 beak, and falling well back behind, but not 
 touching the hackle; it should have a .few bold 
 serrations arranged in a nice arch, and is pre- 
 ferred rather rough in texture ; it must be a rich 
 bright red,. The wattles are long and full, free 
 from folds, also rich red, as must be the face, 
 the latter having as few coarse hairs as possible, 
 and perfectly . free from white. The ear-lobe 
 should be smooth and flat, almond in shape,-and 
 of colour and texture like fine white kid.. The 
 neck is rather long and curved, with, full hackle ; 
 body compact and somewhat square, broad at 
 shoulders, with full rounded breast, and the back 
 broad and rather long ; tail full, and carried well 
 back, not upright The legs and. shanks are 
 medium in length, the latter a very dark slate- 
 colour. The plumage is glossy black all over, 
 
392 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 but especially in the hackles, where gloss should 
 be very great. In the hen the ear-lobe, though 
 still oblong in shape, is rather more rounded 
 than in the cock; and the comb arches over on one 
 side of the face, but should do so in a manner 
 not to obstruct the sight, and not be so large as 
 to do this. The tail should be carried well balck. 
 The carriage is sprightly and graceful in both 
 sexes : the average weights about 7 lbs. and 
 6 lbs. for adults, and 6 lbs. and 5 lbs. for 
 cockerels and pullets. 
 
 The following notes upon Minorcas ■ are 
 kindly contributed by Mr. J.' Harwood, of 
 Tiverton, Secretary of the Minorca Club : — 
 
 "All past writers agree that this handsome 
 and useful fowl was early located in the West 
 of England, but how it came there can only be 
 surmised. Ports such as Bristol, 
 History Barnstaple, and Plymouth had them^ 
 
 of before inland towns. The writer 
 
 Minorcas. j^^^g reliable evidence- from men 
 living before the nineteenth century, 
 that the Minorca was plentiful in Tiverton 
 at that time. During the Spanish and French 
 wars, prisoners were interned at this town for 
 years ; when peace was proclaimed some settled 
 there, and it is probable they had these fowls 
 over from the island of Minorca. In 1870 I 
 was at a Plymouth show, and had a chat with 
 a sailor who came from this island. He told me 
 they had them of three colours — white, black, 
 and blue ; that they were not so large as purs, 
 also not so good in head points, some of the 
 cocks having cleft combs hanging each side of 
 the head. We know how Messrs. Beard and 
 Leworthy in the 'thirties. Sir T. Acland and Mr. 
 Blackwell in the 'forties, Messrs. Williams, Ros- 
 corla, Physick, and Harwood in the 'seventies, 
 and Messrs. Pitts and Stafford later, have done 
 their best to show the world their grand all- 
 round qualities, and it is fitting that records 
 should be kept of how breeds maintain their 
 usefulness. . ^ 
 
 "Some thirty years ago I wanted eggs for 
 my business, and made inquiries what fowl was 
 the best layer. Having some old fanciers living. 
 here, all . assured me none could come near 
 ' them Spanierds,' a localism. One day my old 
 mentor brought me a real live prize cock. . Now, 
 I knew Old English Game won cash by their 
 pluck and spurs, but did not know then any- 
 thing about shows. This caused the hen 
 fever, which has stuck to me ever since. The 
 Minorca I first knew was a thick-set, heavy fowl, 
 very high and full in tail, with small white lobe, 
 no signs, or, even thoughts, of white in face, but 
 a hard red, also very heavy comb, this being 
 considered the proof of the best layer — no 
 
 signs of any broodiness. Having sent a cock to 
 a show, I made some outside friends, one of 
 whom, Mr. R. E. Roscorla, sent me a lot of 
 correspondence on the points which the Red- 
 faced Minorca should be judged by. We drew 
 up a scale of points, which later on was taken 
 up very largely as the Standard of the Minorca 
 Club. 
 
 "It is simply astonishing how this fowl 
 has since practically gone over the whole world. 
 The North of England took them up well, and 
 we have some breeders there who beat the 
 south in hens and pullets. This I attribute to 
 their colder climate, as our birds here start laying 
 before coming to any size, and this stops their 
 growth. Scotland, America, New Zealand, South 
 Africa, all say the same — that they are hardy, 
 handsome, and maintain their utility. This I 
 again attribute to the earnest manner in which 
 the large majority of our fanciers deal with the 
 Minorca as an exhibition bird. They are deter- 
 mined not to sacrifice its laying powers for any 
 fancy point. The fancier has made the Minorca 
 the most popular fowl in existence, improved 
 its shape and size, reduced the immense comb, 
 put a deal more flesh on its body, till it is now 
 far away the best table-bird of the non-sitters. 
 But on one, point the fancier has made a serious 
 error ; he has created a large white lobe, which 
 has caused the grand characteristic , red face 
 of the breed to become more or less white too ; 
 and what is still worse is that a decline all 
 round seems to set in with the white face : 
 whitish flights, light-coloured legs, very green 
 plumage, and a decidedly more delicate bird 
 — in fact, all on the downward road to a 
 mongrel Spanish. This is the rock the Min- 
 orca fancy has somewhat split upon. Some 
 four years ago we seemed to have reached high- 
 water mark in perfection, but have now receded, 
 being able to get but very few decent two- 
 year-old cocks. It is to be hoped that the firm 
 stand made by the Minorca Club in demanding 
 a perfect red face, coupled with the offer of more 
 prizes for old birds, will cause an improvement 
 in the direction of having Minorcas to improve 
 up to their third year, as they used to do. 
 
 " Minorcas are grand layers of extra .large 
 white eggs, small eaters, are of an active, indus- 
 trious, contented disposition, and will thrive in 
 a back yard ; hence their popularity. The 
 chickens if not 'coddled' come away quickly, 
 are fully feathered in a month, and pullets 
 often lay at four and a half months old. Many 
 fanciers write against large combs ; this is due 
 to the place in which they are kept. In cold 
 exposed" places the comb development is re- 
 tarded.; in secluded, sheltered runs the combs 
 
BREEDING BLACK MINORCAS. 
 
 393 
 
 are certain to be large, especially if of a good 
 laying strain. , 
 
 " Many firmly believe some cross has been 
 of late imported into the Minorca ; I have 
 done my best to find out, and do not 
 believe it. I know La Fl^che was tried, but 
 it was a rank failure. Black Cochin was used 
 by Mr. Roscorla thirty years ago. I had some 
 of his hens, and to this day I often get tinted 
 eggs crop up. Black Game were bred here fifty 
 yfears ago and the Minorca used, and the gipsy 
 face and red iris in eye is still m some of our 
 present day Minorcas. This shows to me that 
 if Langshans had been used, as some think, we 
 should see signs of this vigorous blood in the 
 Minorca. No breed shows less of crossing ; 
 they are too plentiful to require any cross. The 
 broodiness that is prevalent is caused, in my 
 opinion, by over-showing the parents ; we get 
 a less vigorous progeny, and Nature steps in 
 with a rest. This is Nature's way of recup- 
 eration. 
 
 " The aim of most fanciers is to make their 
 birds pay. If you go in simply for eggs, all ydu 
 have to do is to select a pen of birds, and yearly 
 note' and keep the best layers ; hatch your 
 chickens from March to May ; then if your place 
 
 is suitable for the Minorca, you can 
 Breeding depend upon having eggs all the 
 Minorcas. year round. It is a real fact that a 
 
 selected Minorca hen, with good 
 food, warm shelter, care and cleanliness, is prac- 
 tically an egg- making machine. If your ambition 
 is the Club's challenge cups, it will tax all 
 your skill, means, and pluck to breed for them. 
 Here the best layer has often to stand out. I 
 prefer a cockerel of the previous season, mated 
 to five two or three year old hens. You can 
 depend upon this pen for fertile eggs, and the 
 chickens grow away at the start stronger than 
 from pullets. There is no doubt the progeny 
 from an old cock will last longer the strain 
 of exhibiting, so those who have room should 
 mate up both cocks and cockerels, and you 
 should at least have age on one side of the 
 sexes. 
 
 " The male bird influences the style, shape, 
 colour, structure of the comb, and the fancy 
 points ; the hen the size, colour of leg, and 
 especially the serration of the comb. The lobe 
 of the hen should be clear, and quite distinctly 
 away from the face, or you will get creased 
 or folded lobes in the cockerels. I do not hold 
 with separate pens for breeding cockerels and 
 pullets ; it is all right so long as the breeder knows 
 his birds, but let another have them, and his 
 strain may be spoilt as regards the combs on the 
 cockerels. On the male side, after face, the most 
 
 important item is comb, especially its build and 
 formation. I do not mind an uneven serration 
 so long as the comb is firm on the head, simply 
 growing out of the skull, not fleshy or flabby. 
 Comb guards I detest, and they are not required 
 if the comb is as it should be. I like five good 
 wedge-shaped spikes, which should be the same 
 length as depth of blade. The head should be 
 fairly long, with a strong beak ; the face perfectly 
 red, back under the lobe to where the lobe 
 adheres ; the' lobe fixed on quite distinct and 
 clear from the face, coming partly over the face, 
 fitting closely both sides. The legs, beak, and 
 toe-nails very dark horn colour ; our old breeders 
 demanded a dark horn toe-nail as showing the 
 real Minorca. The plumage a dense black, 
 showing in the sunlight a white gloss as on a 
 rich silk dress. Of late, the green-lustred plum- 
 age is much too prevalent. The hackle feather 
 is very fine and thick, the quill feather to the 
 stem is black as ebony, and very tough, very 
 different from the coarser, crisper feather of the 
 Spanish. 
 
 " The hen to breed cockerels should be 
 higher on leg ; a good, long, intelligent head, with 
 a neat, evenly serrated comb, which should 
 adhere closely right up on the point of the beak. 
 Many hens' combs do not adhere to the point of 
 the beak by an inch, and you get coarse, twisted- 
 combed cockerels from them ; also the comb 
 does not grow direct from the skull, but hangs 
 by a thin substance and falls dead over. I pre- 
 fer the comb to rise firmly from the skull at its 
 base, fall a little over one side, then fold over 
 gracefully the other side. The lobes on both 
 sexes must be good in texture, and the correct 
 '' almond ' shape-. For pullet-breeding you may 
 have hens coarser in head points, and it is not so 
 particular as to the comb adhering to the beak at 
 front, but what defect you have on one side must 
 ■ be counteracted on the other. The birds to 
 avoid in the breeding pen are those showing the 
 least sign of white in face or eyelid, white in 
 flights, high or fan-tailed. A red feather in 
 hackle denotes strong, healthy vigour, and 
 generally rich plumage. 
 
 "The best time to hatch is February for 
 cockerels, but pullets hatched then generally 
 come on to lay a few eggs, then moult like hens. 
 March and April are the months, the chickens 
 then seem to grow right away. I much prefer 
 the foster mother, but no , coddling ; take care 
 they do not crowd, but lay about by themselves ; 
 more chickens are killed by being kept too 
 warm than too cold. A sure sign you have 
 healthy chickens is when you cannot hear them 
 peep. Give them plenty of amusement ; those 
 who have a manure heap can make the chickens 
 
394 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 as happy as the day in digging and scratching. 
 I boil all water given to chickens, but much 
 prefer skim milk, kept sweet and clean, and as 
 much as they will drink ; also daily raw rice, they 
 then can make thei,r own custard; in all else as 
 others advise, only see a change is constant, no 
 food lying about. As soon as they are the size 
 of blackbirds I commence to toast what I do not 
 mean to keep ; cockerels that have false spikes, 
 high tails, later on too forward in comb. Those 
 that are coming on too fast are only good to eat ; 
 those that are slim, backward and awkward, so 
 long as combs are nicely serrated, are the ones to 
 keep. It is better to have a dozen good promis- 
 ing cockerels, than forty d-uffers who take up each 
 others' room. The pullets you cannot decide on 
 much until they lay, but they do not require the 
 space, nor are they anything like the trouble 
 cockerels are to become Ai. In many breeds 
 maize .is condemned as food ; I never knew 
 maize yet to injure Minorcas, in fact I know it is 
 very largely used by breeders ; I feed quite one 
 half on it. The only time is in the hottest part 
 of the summer or the latter part, when they start 
 moulting; then I stop giving them this cheap 
 food. Good laying Minorcas will not put on 
 too much fat : they are too industrious. 
 
 " Minorca cockerels want all the run and 
 exercise you can give them. They can be kept 
 together until their sickle feathers begin to bend. 
 Then the best should be put in separate runs, as 
 they are great tyrants, and damage each other's 
 
 plumage. They must be well 
 Exhibiting watched, as some will fret them- 
 Minorcas. selves, and once a cockerel goes 
 
 back he very probably is spoilt. 
 Give him an old hen or pullet a few days ; this 
 gives him pluck, and makes a man; as it were, of 
 him. When about to show him, train .well by 
 taking him off his perch of an evening and 
 placing him in a show pen, and using the judging 
 stick around him. Repeat this a few days, and 
 you will get him to stand up well arid show 
 himself to the best advantage. Also place him 
 in a hamper a few times for an hour or so. 
 Many a prize has been lost and tails broken for 
 want of a little training before sending to a 
 show. The best thing to clean combs and 
 wattles is soap, a stiff nail brush, and ice-cold 
 water. If this will not make them red and 
 healthy, keep them home. Pullets can be shut 
 up more closely, and shifted from run to run to 
 stay maturity. When they shoot their combs, 
 it is wise to place them in a well shaded, covered 
 run ; this brings out the colour of the plumage, 
 lobes, and bloom on the comb. The great 
 secret of success in the show pen is condition. 
 It is not the slightest use in severe competition 
 
 to send Minorcas unless they are at their very 
 best. Pullets look charming a few days before 
 laying. Cockerels often get so excited at shows 
 that they never regain their appearance lost 
 whilst in the show pen. A great deal of adverse 
 criticism is from not realising that the bird may 
 have quite altered from one show to another. 
 
 "A great deal has of late been written on 
 lobes, but the Minorca Club's standard has been 
 adopted by the Poultry Club and by others. The 
 lobe in shape is as the Valencia almond. The 
 Standard states : ' Almond shaped, medium in 
 size.' This does not mean either too large or 
 too small. It is impossible to lay down the size 
 in every bird, but it should t)e a lobe that helps 
 make the bird well balanced in head points. 
 From measurements sent me by several noted 
 breeders I" take a lobe of a full-grown cockerel to 
 be at the outside in depth 2\ inches ; in width at 
 the widest part, just below the top, i^ inches ; at 
 the base, f of an inch. The pullet : i \ inches in 
 depth, I inch at its widest part, tapering to cor- 
 respond with the cockerel. This on paper looks 
 large, yet on the bird is not so ; this very size has 
 been reported on by judges as 'could do with 
 more lobe,' and in the pullet as ' fair lobe.' The 
 main point at issue is really shape. Several well 
 known winners have round Hamburgh lobes. 
 Others, again, are wider at the bottom than at 
 the top ; either of these looks immense and out 
 of place. 
 
 " Exhibitors and judges should understand 
 that the commercial value of a bird is abput 
 3s. To be worth ;^5 to ;^30 they should bear 
 criticism from beak to tail. Exhibitors that are 
 real fanciers expect judges to handle well, to see 
 that the face is really red and likely to remain 
 so, that the comb is upright, free from false 
 spikes or thumb marks. In hens or pullets, 
 especially note if combs are evenly serrated, 
 plumage is genuine to wing ends, and if good 
 body and carriage. The shape and condition 
 of the lobe is an important point, but a tinge of 
 red should not overthrow an otherwise good 
 bird. Some ridicule has been cast on the point 
 of white in face being a ' fatal defect,' and yet 
 prizes having been awarded to birds showing 
 this defect. No judge can always decide by the 
 standard, as in many classes nbne approach the 
 standard ; but all should be guided by it, A 
 bird showing this hated defect has a defect that 
 is fatal to any rank as a standard Minorca. 
 This to me is the common-sense meaning, and 
 was so meant when the scale of points was 
 drawn up. While this defect is really taken at 
 its real value, I have no fear of the red-faced 
 Minorca ever disgracing the old fanciers who 
 so manfully stood by it." 
 
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MINORCAS. 
 
 395 
 
 In reference to one point mentioned in the 
 above notes — the question of a Langshan cross 
 having been used upon the Minorca — we have 
 
 been obliged to come to a different 
 J*** conclusion from M r. Harwood, except 
 
 (jroag_ that thecross was probably employed 
 
 ' at an earlier date than he has had in 
 view. Having noticed and reported manifest 
 signs of it on previous occasions, in 1892 we 
 went with a friend carefully through the large 
 Minorca classes at the Palace, and both agreed 
 that there was undeniable evidence of Langshan 
 blood in rather more than half the pens. It 
 was to be seen in stature, in size of shank, in the 
 scaling of the shank, and in many cases there 
 was visible even the peculiar Langshan crimson 
 colour between the scales ; it was also visible in 
 some cases in the character of head and 'comb. 
 The cross was, in fact, admitted to us by one or 
 two individuals ; others no doubt were ignorant 
 of it, and had only imported it through supposed 
 pure-bred stock ; in one case the cross had been 
 made through the Black Orpington. There is 
 no doubt that the new blood has done good 
 on the whole, improving size, and flesh, and con- 
 stitution, while most of the signs we noticed in 
 1892 have since been bred out again : but at 
 that date the facts were obvious, and there is 
 little doubt that the cross was found advisable 
 owing to evil done previously by injudicious 
 breeding for exaggerated points. 
 
 The first tendency was to breed for exagger- 
 ated combs and wattles. The late Mr. Hewitt 
 once challenged our admiration of a pen as the 
 
 " best he had ever seen," because of 
 Exaggeration the immense size of the comb and 
 
 wattles, the latter measuring 6J ins. 
 
 long. As indicated earlier in this 
 book, such enormous appendages are a severe 
 tax upon both muscular and nervous energy, 
 causing sterility or weak germs, and making 
 birds unable to stand severe weather, or to lay in 
 winter unless in warm shelter. That large ap- 
 pendages are connected with laying power to 
 some extent, no one doubts ; but that so much 
 development is ruinous in its results, has now 
 been proved by a mass of evidence which has 
 compelled fanciers to dub such birds before 
 breeding them, and it is to be hoped that excess 
 in this particular direction has now received 
 some check. The Standard of the Minorca 
 Club and Poultry Club now describes the comb 
 as simply " large " ; that of the London Minorca 
 Club as " rather large," and that of the body 
 formerly known as the Northern Minorca Club 
 and now as the British Minorca Club, " not too 
 large." In the case of several letters in the poultry 
 press complaining of the failure of the Minorca 
 
 of 
 Fointa. 
 
 as a winter layer on farms, we have traced the 
 cause to this matter of exaggerated comb, and it 
 is to be desired that the present standards should 
 be adhered to in this respect. It should be re- 
 membered that the large combs many of the old 
 breed undoubtedly possessed, before bred for 
 exhibition at all, were due naturally to the moist 
 and mild climate and rich pastures of Devon, 
 where they were far less injurious ; but that 
 when such combs were bred for, in drier and 
 colder regions, they became another matter 
 entirely. 
 
 The other chief fancy point about this breed 
 is the white ear4obe, concerning which there 
 has been something like a cleavage of opinion 
 
 between the breeders in the north 
 Size of and south of England. At a very 
 
 Ear-lobes. early period after the fowl began to 
 
 be exhibited, a tendency was shown 
 to enlarge and broaden the ear-lobe, and among 
 judges to lay too much stress upon its size and 
 smoothness, to obtain which Spanish crosses 
 were avowedly employed in some cases, the 
 crossed blood rapidly spreading by means of sales. 
 The useful qualities of the breed were greatly 
 injured for a time by this course ; for either the 
 cross, or the increase of lobe in itself (even that 
 would be quite sufficient to account for it) 
 brought into the birds exhibited signs of wliite 
 face upon every side ; we are writing of what we 
 actually observed at that time, as a new 
 feature, from which the Minorca had been quite 
 free years before. In itself this white face 
 would have done no particular harm; but although 
 the white under the eye was tolerated for a 
 time, it soon had to be checked ; and then the 
 necessity for choosing birds with the large white 
 lobes, and yet without the frequent white face, 
 narrowed selection so closely, and involved so 
 much in-breeding, that once more followed a 
 decline in constitution and the number of eggs, 
 especially in winter. 
 
 As just indicated above, regarding this point 
 there is undoubtedly some difference of opinion 
 between northern and southern breeders of the 
 Minorca; so much so that the body originally 
 known as the Northern Minorca Club was 
 mainly formed to embody views more favouring 
 a comparatively large lobe. There was a great 
 deal of discussion in 1900 and the early part 
 of 1 90 1 about the ear-lobe, especially in connec- 
 tion with a bird that had taken high honours, 
 and been objected to by many West of England 
 breeders as having far too large and broad a 
 lobe ; in fact, an almost circular one. But when 
 this was over, and the disputants got down to 
 figures and description, the differences appeared 
 much less than had been supposed. It appeared 
 
396 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 on the one hand, that Devonshire breeders had 
 not objected to the length of the lobe on the 
 bird which occasioned the debate, but to its 
 great width, which made it almost circular ; and 
 the standards of the Minorca and Poultry Club 
 and London Poultry Club alike describe the 
 lobe as medium in size and almond-shaped. 
 On the other hand, the new standard of the 
 British (formerly Northern) Minorca Club now 
 also describes the lobes as " almond shaped, any 
 tendency to roundness to be disfavoured, promi- 
 nent, the correct size to be gauged by their 
 harmonious conformity with the rest of the 
 body." When it is added that in number of 
 points for lobe all the standards agree, it will be 
 seen that substantial agreement has really been 
 arrived at, and only needs to be maintained. 
 The chief real difference is that the British Club 
 only "severely penalises" white in face, whilst 
 the other clubs place this fault amongst the 
 fatal defects. 
 
 In two other points there is some difference 
 between ideas in the north and south of 
 England. In the north they like a perceptibly 
 
 bigger bird, the special northern 
 Differences Standard going up as high as 9 lbs. 
 
 in Ideas. '" cocks and 8 lbs. in hens. They 
 
 also like them appreciably higher 
 on the leg, the " British " standard defining 
 the shanks as long, while the other standards 
 call them " medium length," and we know from 
 personal friends that northern fanciers consider 
 short-legged, such birds as are preferred by 
 the Devonshire breeders. The third point is 
 colour of the plumage, which by the northern 
 standard is described as " greenish glossy black," 
 whereas the others call it simply " glossy black," 
 and southern breeders as a rule object to the 
 green. Of course, no law can be laid down 
 here, in any matter, as to preference to-day ; 
 but historically — we are writing about a fowl 
 which we have known from childhood, noting 
 every development in it during fifty years — 
 there is absolutely no doubt as to the original 
 Minorca type. Mr. Leworthy's description, pub- 
 lished in 1872, is alone sufficient to prove that 
 the original Devon Minorca was not over large, 
 was rather low on the leg and massive in body, 
 and of a " crow " black, not a green black. The 
 fowl being a Western fowl, in fact, is itself proof 
 that Western ideas represent the original type; 
 and there is no doubt that both the height on 
 leg and green lustre now often seen, are mainly 
 due to the Langshan cross above alluded to. 
 It may not be entirely so, because about Bristol 
 especially many birds were to be seen with more 
 length of limb, green lustre, and white in face : 
 these were clearly due to crossing with the 
 
 Spanish, for which that city was then fanious, 
 and some of this blood may still survive. That 
 the original Minorca of Devon was a low-bodied, 
 crow-black bird, with moderate-sized ear-lobes, 
 is absolutely beyond dispute. But with the 
 simple statement of this fact we must leave 
 the question. That the plumage should be free 
 from any bars of colour, e.g. purple bars across 
 green feathers, as we have seen in many pens, 
 all breeders and judges would agree. 
 
 There is very little to add to Mr. Harwood's 
 notes upon breeding and rearing. In regard to 
 breeding stock, the cock or cockerel may be 
 small, if good in points and fairly long in keel 
 proportionately ; but the hens or pullets must 
 be of good size, and particularly have the 
 desired length of body. If the male has a 
 very large comb, and appears at all distressed, 
 or even dull in, consequence, he should be 
 dubbed before breeding, or else the eggs will 
 be either clear or weak in the germ. A large 
 number of Minorca males are now dubbed 
 for breeding by the more experienced breeders, 
 and it is heartily to be wished that this might 
 become unnecessary by adopting a more 
 moderate development of comb, as in the 
 United States, In regard to age, in itself there 
 is nothing especial to say ; but it is worth men- 
 tioning that the dreaded fault of white face is 
 most apt to appear in the second season, and 
 therefore adults free from this blemish are 
 specially valuable as safe breeding stock. 
 
 Should the chickens be reared under a hen, 
 
 the cockerels ought, if possible, to be got away 
 
 from her at four weeks old, else the pressure and 
 
 heat upon their combs is but too 
 
 Rearing likely to ruin them. No breed 
 
 and Care of . i. r j.i. j 
 
 Chickens. requires so much ot the care and 
 
 vigilance described in Chapter 
 XII. regarding the combs of the cockerels as this, 
 owing to their size and early growth. Cock- 
 erels are safest in rearers not of the " coverlet " 
 type, with no more heat than really necessary. 
 As they get oliier, the two sexes come to their 
 best under different treatment. Up to about 
 a month both may have good feeding, with 
 animal food as usual. After that, however, the 
 cockerels do best (if for exhibition) with plain 
 food of adequate nutritive ratio, as wide range 
 as possible, and roosting in a house with the 
 door open up to say five months or so, after 
 which the ear-lobes may want more shelter. 
 But up to that time the object is to make frame 
 and size, while retarding development of comb 
 and head-points, and keeping the comb straight 
 and firm. In close houses and covered sheds 
 these are apt to grow too rapidly, and to become 
 soft and flabby ; it is chiefly birds so reared that 
 
WHITE MINORCAS. 
 
 39.7 
 
 require the comb-guards described in a former 
 chapter. P,ullets, on the other hand, grow better 
 combs, and falling more nicely over, if kept more 
 under cover and in warmer quarters, but they 
 also do perfectly well on a good range. 
 
 At about five months old it is time to look 
 after the lobes ; and during all cold winds the 
 birds should be confined in runs sheltered for 
 at least 30 inches from the ground. This will 
 often entail confinement in a shed or enclosed 
 run ; and when this is the case the shanks 
 should be rubbed twice a week or so with a rag 
 and a mixture of oil and paraffin, rubbing it well 
 off again. For some time before exhibition the 
 birds should be kept. out of bright- light, as well 
 as cold wind, to bleach the lobes ; but it is not 
 advisable to shut them up like Spanish in warm 
 houses, or even in darkness for more than a 
 few days. The reason is that the larger 
 combs will not stand heat ; and vivid red in the 
 comb, wattles, and face is as important as white 
 in the lobe, and suffers from much darkness. 
 But the lobe should, if necessary, be washed, 
 dried, and attended to as in the case of the 
 preceding breed. A pullet's comb can be 
 easily worked over a little if necessary, work- 
 ing it gently every day between finger and 
 thumb. 
 
 There, is no breed in which a vivid red is 
 so important about comb and face. To attain 
 this the birds must be'in perfect health when 
 put up, and during the period of training they 
 should have a little shredded raw meat every 
 day, adequate green food, and a little of the 
 citrate of- iron and potash in their water, not 
 forgetting grit in the pen. Some breeders 
 believe that a supply of chopped garden onions 
 (not Spanish) every day, with a special feed 
 of it the last thing, tends to brighten both the 
 colour and the eyes. It can, at all events, do 
 no possible harm, if not pushed to the extent 
 of purging. 
 
 The Minorca must be classed amongst our 
 most valuable poultry. The flesh is not of the 
 first class, not being very tender or juicy, but is 
 far better than that of the Spanish, 
 Economic fairly plentiful on the breast when 
 Qualities. well fed, and white. It is as a layer, 
 however, that the breed is so 
 useful, laying not only many in number, but the 
 largest egg of any breeds known, very many 
 eggs weighing three ounces each. It is not a 
 distinctively winter layer, but April pullets may 
 generally be depended upon, and the yearly 
 average, when well bred, is high. Some years 
 ago we had the curiosity to get returns from 
 a few of the older., breeders, and Mr. Hopkins, 
 counting four pens, made it 226 per annum ; 
 
 Mr. Physick (seven pens) 186 per annum ; Mr. 
 Amesbury 180 per annum, and a few of his 
 birds 200. These were of the older Western 
 type, and there is no doubt that some of the 
 modern birds have fallen much below such 
 figures, and proved disappointing as a farmer's 
 fowl. But even these have rarely failed to lay 
 well in winter if kept in sheltered runs ; while 
 judicious selection will give good results ou 
 free range, in all but the more severe wintei 
 climates. For confined suburban runs the 
 Minorca is one of the very best fowls that 
 can be selected, being quiet and contented, 
 and having the curious property of cackling 
 much less before or after laying than any 
 breed we know. 
 
 The Minorca is also valuable as a cross. 
 With almost any breed, even the Cochin, and 
 much more with others, it produces a good 
 layer and hardy fowl ; and a cock or two turned 
 down on any farm with even ordinary scrub 
 fowls, will 113 two seasons produce a race that 
 lays large numbers of eggs. Crossed with the 
 Langshan, the produce is one of the hardiest and 
 most prolific fowls known, which has been tried 
 all over England and never found wanting. 
 
 Minorca chickens have often a number of 
 white feathers, and as a rule those with the 
 most turn out the best colour ultimately. But 
 occasionally there have been all- 
 White white sports ; and from such bred 
 Minorcas. together, a White variety of Minorcas 
 has been produced. These should 
 be exactly the same as the Black in all but 
 colour of the plumage, which is desired as glossy 
 a white as possible ; of course, more glossy in 
 the cock than the hen. The White Minorca 
 is really a good-looking fowl, the brillfant red 
 face giving more contrast than the white face of 
 the Spanish, which looks ghastly and unpleasant 
 upon a white bird. 
 
 It is rather curious that the earlier White 
 Minorcas known were described as more delicate 
 than the black parent variety; that character 
 was given them by Mr. Leworthy, whose experi- 
 ence went back to 1834. On the other hand 
 several who breed the fowl now, have reported 
 upon them as perceptibly hardier in cold situa- 
 tions, while fully equal if not superior as layers, 
 to neighbours of the Black persuasion. The 
 reason may probably be delicacy in the Blacks 
 from causes already adverted to; while the 
 Whites, having less contrast of colour in the 
 lobes, have been less rigorously selected for 
 these, and having also usually rather smaller 
 combs, have in constitution proved superior. 
 Nothing need be added respecting the breeding 
 
398 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of the white plumage, to what has been said 
 under other breeds, 
 
 Black Minorcas are bred in America with 
 smaller combs and ear-lobes than in England, 
 with somewhat less massive bodies ; and in a 
 much more severe climate than that of England, 
 greater hardihood and more prolificacy (on the 
 average) have resulted from such differences. 
 
 In regard to the judging of the Minorca, 
 ' very little need be added to the Standard it- 
 self. We have seen that upon the whole there 
 is not much in alleged differences, 
 Judging which have been far too much mag- 
 
 Minorcas. nified. As regards these documents 
 themselves, there is almost none, if 
 any. The chief necessity is that the spirit of 
 the Standard be really adhered to, and due 
 proportionate weight be given to all the points, 
 as there laid down. The present evil is that 
 certain judges seem to decide almost entirely 
 by some one point : one seems governed . by 
 comb, for instance, while another seems to have 
 eyes for nothing but lobe, and will select even 
 a bird which is round in lobe as well as large. 
 The Minorca has had to come through much 
 evil of this kind, no doubt chiefly because it was 
 originally a local breed, which had to become 
 understood. Now that all the standards so 
 closely agree, it is to be hoped that considera- 
 tion of, the entire bird, as treated therein, will 
 bring the period of confusion to an end. 
 
 The following is the Poultry Club's Stand- 
 ard of Perfection, modelled upon that of the 
 Minorca Club : — 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Seek.— Head : Long and broad, so as to 
 carry comb quite erect. Beak : Fairly long, but stout. 
 Eye : Full, bright, and expressive. Comb : Single, large, 
 evenly serrated, perfectly upright, firmly set on head, 
 straight in front, free from any twist or thumb mark, 
 reaching well to the back of the head, moderately 
 rough in texture, free from any side sprigs. Face : Fine 
 in quality, as free from feathers or hairs as possible. 
 Ear-lobes : Medium in size, almond-shaped, smooth, 
 flat, fitting close to the head. Wattles : Long, rounded 
 at the ends. Neck ; Long, nicely arched, with flowing 
 hackle. 
 
 Body. — Broad at shoulder, square, and compact. 
 Breast: Full and rounded. Back: Broad, and rather 
 long. Wings : Moderate in length, and fitting close to 
 the body. 
 
 Tail.— Full. Sickles long, well arched, and carried 
 well back. 
 
 Legs and Veet.— Thighs and Shanks. Medium length 
 and stout. Toes : Four in number. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage.— Upright and graceful. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Medium, rather large to be pre- 
 ferred, consistently with symmetry and type. Adult 
 cocks should weigh at least 7 lbs. ; cockerels 6 lbs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck.— Head, Beak, and Eye : As in the cock. 
 Comb : Single, fairly large, evenly serrated, arched, 
 drooping well down over side of face so as not to totally 
 obstruct the sight, slightly rough in texture, free from 
 any side sprigs. Face, Ear-lobes and Wattles : As in the 
 cock, the ear-lobe rather more rounded. Neck : Long 
 and nicely arched. 
 
 Body. — As in the cock. 
 
 Tail. — FuU and neat. Carried well back. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage.— Upright and graceful. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Medium, rather large to be pre- 
 ferred, consistently with symmetry and type. Adult 
 hens should weigh at least 6 lbs. ; pullets 5 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR OF BLACK MINOECAS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark horn colour. Eye : Dark. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Dark blood red ; face free from 
 white. Ear-lobes : Pure white. Shanks : Very dark 
 slate. Plumage: Glossy black. 
 
 COLOUR OF WHITE MINORCAS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : White. Eye : Red. Comb, 
 Face, and Wattles : Blood red, the face free from white. 
 Ear-lobes : Pure white. Shanks: Pinky white. Plumage : 
 Glossy white. 
 
 VALUE OF P0I;NTS IN MINORCAS. 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 
 Deduct 
 Defects, up to 
 
 Defects in face : bloated red, coarseness, or too 
 
 hairy 15 
 
 Comb badly shaped, or twisted 15 
 
 Wrinkled, folded, or stained lobe 10 
 
 Too light in legs, eyes, or beak 8 
 
 Other defects in colour 10 
 
 Crooked breast bone ... 7 
 
 Want of si^e 15 
 
 ,, style and symmetry 10 
 
 „ condition 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 White in face ; wry or squirrel tailed ; feathers on legs ; 
 other than single combed ; coloured plumage other 
 than black or white in the several varieties ; other than 
 four toes ; legs other colour than black or slate in Black 
 Minorcas, or white in White Minorcas. 
 
399 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ANDALUSIANS. 
 
 RESPECTING the modern or present-day 
 fowl known by this name, nothing very 
 certain- or definite can be said ; except 
 that it must be regarded as being more or less 
 distinct from the breed so known many years 
 ago. Many of those earlier birds were traced 
 to the late Mr. Coles, of Farnham, who in his 
 turn purchased them from a Mr. Richardson, of 
 Portsmouth, who got theni from a Spanish 
 trader in 185 1. The late Mr. Leworthy and 
 others received this blood from Mr. Coles, but 
 Mr. Taylor, of Shepherd's Bush, also imported 
 direct. . These earlier birds are known to have 
 been afterwards crossed with Spanish, chiefly in 
 order to get rid, if possible, of a fault very 
 common in them, of a small upright comb in 
 the hens, much like a Game hen's comb. The 
 colour of many was a sort of dove-colour, with 
 hardly any lacing at all ; but others were more 
 blue, with fair black lacing. None of them 
 were quite so reachy and Game-like in form 
 as the Andalusians of the present day. Most, 
 if not all, of this early blood is believed 
 to have been lost or bred out, but Miss May 
 Arnold imported further specimens, and both 
 these and what was left of the older strain 
 were no doubt crossed with the Minorca, partly 
 to enlarge the combs, and partly to deepen the 
 lacing and top colour. The existing stock 
 comes of this undefinable mixture of blood. 
 To the Minorca cross has often been attributed 
 the constant appearance of black ^nd even 
 white chickens, but this is_ an error : the colour 
 itself, as stated before in several places, is 
 essentially a mingling of white and black blood, 
 and would sport black and white with no further 
 cross at all : the two foundation colours will 
 always contend for the mastery in any breed of 
 this kind. What we think is to be regretted, is 
 the loss of the old Andalusian comb, which was 
 very characteristic, even when not too small ; 
 being lower, but long behind, and with a more 
 numerous serration that was very typical. The 
 comb now is of more Minorca style, not perhaps 
 quite so high in proportion as that breed, and 
 not coming down so low over the neck behind, 
 but of similar stamp : Mr. Ludlow has depicted 
 one of the best types in the plate, which can be 
 
 compared with the Minorca, showing some differ- 
 ence, but not a great deal as formerly. 
 
 Rather remarkably, in spite of the crossing 
 that has undoubtedly taken place, the present 
 Andalusian still retains a great deal of 
 individuality ; no doubt .partly due to selective 
 breeding, but in part remaining from original 
 distinct Andalusian blood. To breeding is 
 probably due the fact that it is more Game-like 
 and reachy in general build than any other of 
 the great Mediterranean tribe ; higher on the 
 leg, more slender in body, and more alert in gait 
 and habits. But to " blood " must be due its 
 very strong vital characteristics, especially the 
 extreme precocity of the chickens. ■ We have 
 seen and heard cockerels of the old stock crow- 
 ing at seven weeks old ; and though that would 
 scarcely be equalled now, unusual precocity and 
 sexual vigour do still remain. It is to be hoped 
 it may not be lost by encouraging exaggerated 
 combs ; but we have known already of several 
 birds having to be dubbed before breeding was 
 satisfactory. The older stocks were also, when 
 in confinement, rather- specially prone to the 
 vice of feather-eating, owing, we believe, to their 
 restless energy; and several recent breeders 
 have confessed to the same fault, but others have 
 denied it. There are probably differences from 
 strain and management in regard to this, but it 
 will be seen that the race is one of marked in- 
 dividuality still, in spite of crossing and some 
 amount of breeding to other types. 
 
 For the following article on the Andalusian 
 as bred to-d^y, we are indebted to Mr. Robert 
 Little, jun., Rokeby Cottage, Glossop, who will 
 be remembered as a very successful breeder and 
 exhibitor in his own name a very few years ago, 
 and equally so since, as manager for Mr. W. H. 
 Bourne, of Chester, whose successes are well 
 known. 
 
 " The modern Andalusian, one of the Span- 
 ish varieties of fowls, has made rapid strides 
 towards perfection during thelast ten years, the 
 size, ground colour, and lacing being now almost 
 perfection, and a great contrast to the light- 
 coloured, slaty, or drab fowl without lacing it , 
 used to be. To-day I am also glad to say Siat 
 the Minorca type is fast dying out, giving place 
 
400 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 to the upright, Gamey type which is the proper 
 characteristic of the breed. It is one of the most 
 beautiful and prolific fowls that we possess in 
 this country, and at the time of writing this 
 article is fast gaining ground, scores .of new 
 fanciers having recently gone in for the breed. 
 This is not surprising, for the Andalusian suits 
 alike lord and lady, to adorn the lawn ; the 
 exhibition pen.for the fancier; the ifarmyard,for 
 the farmer (where its cackle never ceases) ; also 
 the back-yard, for the townsman ; in fact, with 
 good attention it is scarcely possible to put it in 
 the wrong place, for it is hardy and will thrive 
 either in north, south, east, or west. I also 
 believe that it has the honour to be the only fowl 
 that represents the Union Jack of Old England, 
 being red, white, and blue. So it can easily be 
 styled a national fowl. 
 
 "Andalusians are of the non-sitting variety; 
 very seldom does the Andalusian hen want to 
 sit. The cock should have a head large and 
 deep skulled ; beak rather long, stout, and of 
 dark horn colour ; comb red, of 
 Characteristics moderate size, evenly serrated, spikes 
 of wedge-shape and deeply cut ; the 
 
 Andalusians. back shot straight out from the head, 
 not curved down or following the 
 neck like Leghorns or Minorcas. This spoils 
 the appearance and takes away the alertness of 
 the bird. I do not, however, on the other hand, 
 like to see a comb cocked up at the back of the 
 head, or pointing upwards. The wattles should 
 be long and thin^ both comb and wattles to be of 
 finer texture than either of the above-mentioned 
 breeds. Eyes large, brownish orange or red, full 
 of fire ; ear-lobes almond-shaped, not too lar^ge, 
 fitting close to head without folds, and of good 
 substance ; face red, free from white spots ; neck 
 long and arched ; hackles very long and flowing, 
 colour of hackle jet black, free from rusty or 
 ticked feathers, which is a very great fault, 
 especially when found in a bird wanted for stock 
 purposes. Hackle, saddle and sickle feathers in 
 cock all should match, the colour a rich velvety 
 black ; breast a nice medium slaty blue, clear 
 right up to the throat if possible (which is very 
 hard to get), each feather laced with black lacing, 
 fine and sharply cut. The straight or primary 
 tail feathers in cock should match his breast in 
 ground colour. General shape and appearance 
 active, broad at shoulders, narrowing towards 
 the tail. In size the larger the better, legs and 
 shanks long, giving the bird a reachy appearance. 
 Colour of legs dark leaden hue, toes same colour 
 to match, and should be long and thin. The tail 
 should be carried sprightly but not too high ; 
 carriage upright or Gamey. The weight 8 lbs, 
 to 9 lbs. 
 
 " In hens the ground colour varies consider- 
 ably, there being the light, medium, and dark 
 shades of blue. It is the happy medium fanciers 
 want to breed to, with the ground colour as dear 
 and distinct as it possibly can be got. All body 
 feathers to be of the one shade, well laced, or 
 with heavy black lacing sharply cut, not blurred 
 or double-laced. The hackle should be jet black, 
 free from brown or white feathers ; tail the same 
 shade of blue as the body. Type Gamey, very 
 stylish, upright, when standing the breast carried 
 well forward. Head large, with good fiery eye 
 similar to cock ; comb evenly serrated, not too 
 large, but gracefully laid over to one side ; large 
 meaty combs to be avoided, as it entirely spoils 
 the alert appearance of the fowl. Legs and feet 
 very dark leaden colour, almost black in the 
 pullets. Lobes almond-shape and of pure white, 
 with plenty of substance, not too large ; face red. 
 Disqualifications : yellow, red, or white feathers 
 anywhere; legs any other colour than blue. 
 
 " In regard to the utility of Andalusians as 
 egg producers, I have bred and kept this variety 
 of fowls for a great many years, and find 
 them excellent layers of large white . 
 Merits eggs, six or seven of which will 
 
 Andalusians. weigh a pound. The number of 
 eggs each fowl will lay in a year will 
 reach close on 200. The eggs are very rich, 
 with a very delicate flavour. Taking quan- 
 tity of eggs, size, and flavour, I question if 
 the Blue Andalusian fowl can be equalled by 
 any other breed. The pullets are very preco- 
 cious, and often begin to lay at the early age 
 of five months. I once had a pullet that laid 
 at seventeen weeks of age, and once I won the 
 cup at the Crystal Palace show with a cockerel 
 twenty-seven weeks old, thus proving how fast 
 they mature. During this last fifteen years I 
 have kept most of the other breeds, but as egg 
 producers none of them have come up to the 
 Andalusian. 
 
 "As a table fowl they are of fair average size, 
 cockerels from 7 lbs. to 8 lbs. and pullets up to 
 6 lbs. weight. Their flesh is white, very juicy, 
 and of a delicate flavour ; they dress up plump 
 and look well on the table. With two such 
 excellent qualities combined, the Andalusian 
 can lay fair claim to be classed as one of the 
 very best and most useful fowls amongst our 
 domestic poultry. 
 
 "As a fancy or exhibition fowl they need 
 very little preparing for show. When kept on 
 good grass runs they can be taken ofi" the same 
 into the show pen, if tamed by handling pre- 
 viously. All the preparing necessary is the 
 washing of comb, face, lobe, and legs. When 
 shown from the run in this way they look a 
 
BREEDING ANDALUSIANS. 
 
 40 X 
 
 picture of health ; that is, if fully matured and 
 in full plumage. 
 
 " Proper mating is a very important ques- 
 tion : to be able to. put two and two together 
 to produce our ideal specimen. Perhaps my 
 
 experience may be of some use to 
 Breeding the readers of this book. There are 
 Andalusians. two ways in which the Andalusian 
 
 can be successfully mated. Select 
 in the first plac^ a tall, dark blue cockerel with 
 jet black hackles, black saddle, and sickles very 
 heavily laced, and put him with light blue, 
 evenly shaded hens, two years old. The hens 
 should, of course, have good head points, and be 
 well laced. From such a pen, if the whole pen 
 be the same strain (this is important), good 
 exhibition birds may be expected. 
 
 " A second way to mate up is to take a 
 good, tall, light blue, two year old cock, well 
 laced ; then select five or six pullets twelve 
 months old, of the very dark shade of blue, well 
 and heavily laced, and good head points of 
 course. From this second mating also, really 
 good show birds will be produced, provided, as I 
 said before, the strain is the same. Of course, 
 the cock bird must not be too nearly related to 
 the hens, but a distant relative. The greatest 
 mistake young or amateur fanciers make is to 
 use cocks or cockerels unrelated. The first 
 cross is always disappointing in this or any 
 other coloured breed. What I have written 3 
 practise. For example, I am just going in for 
 White Leghorns. I purchased a two year old 
 cock, one I liked much, so as to get the strain. 
 I also purchased at a big figure his daughter, 
 with three others, probably half cousins, and I 
 shall breed from above pen just as mentioned, 
 and confidently expect good results. Returning 
 to our text on Andalusians, as a rule their eggs 
 are very fertile, and the chicks hatch out strong. 
 They are easy to rear and grow very fast ; 
 often the cocks are crowing at four months 
 of age. 
 
 "There is one drawback to the breeding 
 of Andalusians. The chickens come three 
 colours : blue, black, and white. To-day we 
 get upon an average from 70 to 75 per 
 cent, of blues. The question is often asked, 
 ' Can all blues be bred } ' I answer this 
 
 question by saying. Yes, but not to 
 Question advantage, for we cannot very well 
 Off-oolours. spare either the black or the white 
 
 chicks. We want the white in the 
 breed to keep our ground colour clear ; and the 
 black for our grand black hackles and saddles. 
 So I for one am perfectly content to allow them 
 to remain. There is always a ready sale for 
 them to the egg producer; and comparing 
 
 them with other fowls, I am of opinion that 
 out of 50 Andalusian eggs set, as many show 
 specimens can be bred as from most other 
 coloured breeds." 
 
 Very little indeed can be added to these 
 notes. It snould be remarked that the almond- 
 shaped ear-lobes are desired narrower than in 
 Minorcas, and it is to be hoped that the 
 distinction will be preserved : the special 
 alertness of the fowl is really bound up with 
 this and a moderate comb, and all real dis- 
 tinctive characters in a breed should be watched 
 over. The texture of the comb should also be 
 finer and smoother than in the Minorca, and the 
 edge of it thinner : it and the lobe must be 
 cared for as in the preceding varieties, but if the 
 lobe is not too large it will need little bleaching. 
 And there will then also be little trouble from 
 white in face. The thinness of comb and 
 wattles compared with those of Minorcas makes 
 the bird a little more subject to frost-bite in 
 winter : if this should occur, and has not been 
 remedied quickly, the bird should be dubbed at 
 once, or it will suffer much and be no use for 
 breeding. 
 
 The chickens are very hardy, but differ 
 much in fledging ; some feathering quickly, 
 others very slowly. Their precocity has been 
 already remarked upon. Black and white ones 
 can be weeded out almost at once : two or three 
 months later birds absolutely too hght, or dark 
 and smoky, can be selected, and a little later, 
 those with bad combs. Many writers, as hinted 
 already, have supposed that mis-colour comes 
 from crossing with black, and that by long 
 breeding together only blues, blue alone will be 
 achieved. As already pointed out, this can 
 never be the case. 
 
 The Andalusian stands very high as a utility 
 fowl. In number of eggs it ranks as high as 
 any of the family to which it belongs ; and when 
 not bred to excess in comb or lobes, it will yield 
 its eggs on wide range, or under exposure, 
 where the Minorca fails in comparison. In con- 
 finement also it keeps up its character in this 
 respect : thirty years ago, being applied to for 
 fowls to stock quite a small run at a children's 
 hospital, to supply the little patients with 
 eggs, after some thought we decided upon 
 Andalusians ; and for the few years during 
 which we could watch the results and see to the 
 renewal of birds at the proper dates, they kept 
 up their character as most reliable layers. 
 These did not take to feather-eating, though 
 closely confined ; but we knew others which did, 
 and this point is perhaps the most doubtful 
 about them as regards confined runs. In flesh 
 they are the best of the Mediterranean family. 
 
402 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 As a cross the Andalusian gives broadly about 
 the same results as the Minorca, with less 
 tendency to large combs, and rather more juicy 
 flesh : but its dual character of colour makes the 
 produce much more uncertain in that respect, 
 and it is in comparison very little used. 
 
 The greatest mistakes that have occurred 
 in judging Andalusians, have arisen from con- 
 founding it with the Minorca type. Many 
 judges have done this, and in these days of 
 many varieties it is very important to maintain 
 all such legitimate and real distinctions as exist. 
 About colour and marking there is little or no 
 dispute.: the bright blue ground-colour, and 
 dense black uniform lacing are now pretty well 
 understood by all. If in addition to these there 
 be kept in view the characteristic rather slim 
 and reachy form, moderated and rather oblong 
 comb, fine in quality, and rather narrower lobes, 
 there will be little to complain of. The following 
 is the Standard for this breed : 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Fair size, rather long and 
 deep. Beak : Stout and moderately long. Eye : Full 
 (see also colour). Comb : Fairly large, single, upright, 
 perfectly and evenly serrated with broad spikes ; per- 
 fectly upright, and the back portion following the Qurve 
 of the neck but without touching ; to be set on the ' 
 skull with a firm and broad base. Face : Fine in texture 
 and free from - feathers (see also colour). Ear-lobes: 
 Fair size, smooth texture, and free from wrinkles, 
 almond-shaped, and fitting close to the face. Wattles : 
 Fine in quality, long, and broad. Neck : Rather long 
 in proportion to size of body, and carried back so as to 
 accentuate the prominent breast, with plenty of hackle. 
 
 Body. — Large, broad at shoulders, and tapering to 
 the tail. Breast : Full and round. Back : Slightly 
 rounded, and sloping towards the tail. Wings : Long, 
 carried well up and close to the body ; the ends should 
 be well covered by the saddle feathers. 
 
 Tail. — Large and flowing, and carried moderately 
 high, but not approaching squirrel fashion ; sickles long 
 and well arched. 
 
 Legs and Feet.— Thighs and Legs : Rather long, the 
 shanks and feet quite free from feathers. Toes : Four 
 in number, perfectly straight, thin, rather long. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Very upright and strut- 
 ting, with breast carried prominently forward ; general 
 appearance keen, active, and alert. 
 
 Size and Weight. — As large as possible consistent 
 with symmetry and activity. Weight from 7 lbs. 
 upwards, somewhat less being allowed for cockerels. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, and Eye : As in the 
 cock. Comb : Single, large, deepjy and evenly serrated, 
 falling over to either side in a graceful curve so as to 
 hide one eye ; a double curve is not to be desired. 
 Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : As in the cock, but the 
 ear-lobes and wattles smaller and rounder; wattles 
 much smaller. Neck : As in the cock. 
 
 Body. — As in the cock. 
 
 Tall. — Nicely tapered, and carried well back. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. —As in the cock. 
 
 Size and Weight. — About 5 lbs. and upwards. 
 
 COLOUR OF ANDALUSIANS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark slate or horn colour. 
 Eye: Dark red or reddish brown. Comb, 'Face, and 
 Wattles: Bright red. Ear-lobes: Pure white. Legs: 
 Dark slate or leaden blue. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head, Hackle, Back, and Saddle: Rich 
 lustrous black, without lacing. Breast and Thighs : 
 Clear silver blue in ground colour, with distinct black 
 lacing on each feather. Shoulders and Wing-bows : 
 Rich lustrous black. Wing-bars : Same as body, with 
 well defined lacing on outer edges. Secondary and Flight 
 Feathers, and True Tail Feathers : Same colour as the 
 breast, the secondaries laced if possible. Sickle Feathers 
 and Tail Coverts : Purplish black. 
 
 In the Hen.' — Head and Hackle : Rich lustrous black, 
 without lacing in upper hackle, but showing broad 
 lacing on the tips of the feathers at the base. Breast, 
 Body, Back, and Thighs : Same silver blue ground 
 colour as the cock's breast, with distinct black lacing on 
 each feather. The wing bars should have well defined 
 lacing ; the secondaries and flights same shade as the 
 body, the secondaries edged or laced if possible. Tail : 
 Same as the body, with the ends laced up if possible. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN ANDALUSIANS. 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 Faulty lobes 
 
 Defects in face ... 
 
 ,, colour of plumage.. 
 
 „ lacing 
 
 Want of size, shape, or style 
 
 ,, condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 15 
 20 
 20 
 
 15 
 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 In cocks, squirrel or wry tail ; very white in face ; very 
 red lobe ; drab or rusty saddle or hackle ; comb much 
 over ; feathered legs ; crooked toes ; any other colour 
 of legs and feet than light to dark slate. In hens, erect 
 comb, and any of the above defects which also aoDlv 
 to hens. 
 
403 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 I- EG HORNS AND ANCONAS. 
 
 BRITISH breeders are indebted to America 
 for their first knowledge of Leghorn fowls ; 
 but that they really originated in Italy 
 there is not the slightest question. The first 
 White Leghorns were sent to Mr. Tegetmeier in 
 1870, the birds having taken first prize at the 
 previous New York show of 1868. A second 
 lot of Whites were soon afterwards sent to us by 
 Mr. W. Simpson, and the first pen. of Brown 
 Leghorns seen in England were received by us 
 in June, 1872, being sent over by Mr. A. M. 
 Halsted. Other importations of Brown Leg- 
 horns were soon made by the Rev. A. Kitchin, 
 from whose stock some at least of the present 
 strains are descended. The Brown variety seems 
 to have been the longest known in America, Mr. 
 F. J. Kinney having stated that he purchased a 
 trio which had come from Italy, in Boston har- 
 bour, in 1853 j but these birds were brown rather 
 than, black - breasted. Some other American 
 writers trace them back to 1835. Fo*" many 
 years the White and Brown alone were bred to 
 any extent : of other varieties since. Blacks 
 and Cuckoos and Mottles have undoubtedly 
 been imported, but Piles and Duckwings were- 
 made by English breeders. Butifs came to us 
 from Denmark ; but it is worthy- of remark that 
 for many years birds of Leghorn type have been 
 known in that country and Holland and Belgium 
 under the name of Italiens, so that the Buff is 
 probably of more or less Italian origin. 
 
 The Leghorn family constitute a group of 
 one of our very best and most profitable laying 
 fowls, though unfortunately some changes that 
 have taken place since their intro- 
 Points and duction have by no means tended 
 Leghorns." ^^ increase their value in this respect. 
 They have the large single comb of 
 the Mediterranean group, straight and upright 
 in the cocks and falling over in the hens, almond- 
 shaped white ear-lobes, with red faces, and the 
 general type of the class. Their chief charac- 
 teristic differences are their bright yellow legs, 
 rather smaller size, sprightliness and activity, 
 and greater hardiness. When first imported, 
 the tails were carried very upright, or even 
 squirrel-tailed, which had been the fashion in 
 America ; but as we predicted and advocated 
 from the first, that fashion has never been 
 
 approved in this country, and is now abandoned 
 in America also. Another change is more re- 
 grettable. The original Leghorn comb, though 
 of the family type, was moderate in size, and 
 thin and fine in quality: there has been too 
 much tendency towards a large and beefy comb, 
 which has- been deplored by every practical 
 writer upon the breed without exception, and 
 has necessitated wholesale dubbing of breeding 
 stock. American breeders have fortunately 
 never adopted this fashion, which has gravely 
 affected the egg-average of some strains : and it 
 is to be hoped that some little reaction lately 
 observable may continue, and the more moderate 
 American and Italian comb again prevail. 
 Breeding for size has also, in some cases, been 
 carried too far, the largest birds by xio means 
 laying the largest eggs, and being inferior in 
 activity and hardiness to those of more typical 
 size. 
 
 Leghorn chickens are very hardy, and feather 
 easily. Some of the cockerels weigh 6 lbs., and 
 few are under 5 lbs., and the flesh is by no means 
 bad eating, being more juicy than that of the 
 Minorca. The great usefulness of this group is 
 however as exceedingly hardy, non-sitting, lay- 
 ing fowls, whose eggs are large for the size of 
 the bird, even small Leghorns rarely laying eggs 
 less than 2 ozs. in weight, and many decidedly 
 heavier, though (as just observed) the largest by 
 no means lay the best ones. Both Mr. Teget- 
 meier and ourselves reported upon the first 
 specimens received as amongst the very best 
 layers we had met with ; and except in some 
 strains which have been injured by crossing for 
 show points, this character has been preserved, 
 and is always easily bred up to. The White 
 Leghorn especially is renowned in the United 
 States as a breed which, bred for laying and 
 adequately fed, is easily got up to an average of 
 close upon 200 eggs per annum, while these 
 eggs are of a good marketable size ; it has the 
 current name there of " America's business hen," 
 and divides with the Wyandotte and Plymouth 
 Rock nine-tenths of American poultry-farming. 
 It has the further valuable property of maturing 
 early, and at a very uniform age, so that "if 
 adequately fed pullets may be depended upon 
 to lay before six months old. They can be 
 
404 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 forced much earlier, but this is not advisable, 
 and it is far better to date the time of hatching 
 accordingly. 
 
 The breed is not much used as a cross ; but 
 that with the Houdan is known as an excellent 
 layer and fair table-fowl ; and it is worthy of 
 notice that the produce of a White Leghorn 
 cock with Barred Rock hens has produced the 
 only actual record known in England of an 
 average of 152 eggs per annum from an entire 
 flock of as many as fifty hens. 
 
 Before proceeding to the individual varieties 
 of Leghorns, it may be well to remark that, there 
 is one natural difficulty in breeding them all. 
 This consists in the natural antagonism between 
 bright yellow legs and pure white ear-lobes. 
 For some years attempt was made to get recog- 
 nised cream or ivory (not yellow) shade in the 
 ear-lobes, but it was ineffectual-; and there is 
 little doubt that a cross with the Minorca, which 
 is known to have taken place, 'was introduced 
 partly with a view to whiten the lobes. By this 
 cross was introduced more coarseness, with some 
 loss of the original sprightly type. The real 
 difficulty now is in regard to the yellow of the 
 shanks. There was also an attempt, many years 
 ago, to tolerate straw plumage in Whites, as 
 natural to yellow-legged breeds ; but that also 
 was ineffectual, and this particular difficulty has 
 undoubtedly been somewhat lessened by the 
 whitening of the lobes. It is certain, at all 
 events, that with the establishment of white ear- 
 lobes the plumage of White birds has improved 
 in colour. 
 
 Of all the varieties of Leghorns, the White 
 has been longest known in England. It has 
 become much larger than when first imported 
 — many think too large — and it has 
 White suffered as much as any from large 
 
 Leghorns. overgrown combs, which bow down 
 the necks of the poor birds in too 
 many pens ; but we have said enough on this 
 point. Mrs. F. M. Webster, of Oaks Farm, 
 Horsforth, Leeds, has kindly supplied the 
 following notes on this variety : — 
 
 " It is with mingled feelings that I supply 
 a few notes respecting the leading and most 
 popular variety of Leghorn, because so much 
 has been written in the past by more capable 
 writers ; and whilst I have met with consider- 
 able success, my experience, extending over 
 little more than six years, may be considered 
 insufficient to enable me to convey useful 
 advice to the uninitiated. On the other hand, 
 my desire is to assist the amateur and breeder, 
 and to further the interests of the breed ; and 
 with this end in view any little knowledge I 
 
 possess is most freely given, and I am 
 in hopes that from the perusal of these notes 
 those for which they are intended may derive 
 benefit. 
 
 "During the past few years the White Leg- 
 horn has been much improved, to such an 
 extent that at present shows it is no uncommon 
 thing to find specimens staged which are equal, 
 both in size and head-points, to our best Black 
 Minorcas. In fact, this has been carried so far 
 that it is questionable whether breeders are not 
 now' losing that beautiful stately carriage of the 
 typical Leghorn in their desire to obtain size. 
 Size is difficult to secure, and, when once 
 obtained, a breeder has reason to be pleased 
 with the result of his exertions ; but we must 
 have type in conjunction with it. Experience 
 tells us, however, that it is little use nowadays 
 to exhibit the small ■ pretty ' whites, our judges 
 signifying their requirements by their invariable 
 decisions in favour of size, sometimes in prefer- 
 ence to head-points and general quality. Only 
 on one recent occasion, however, in my experi- 
 ence, has any specialist judgfe been so infatuated 
 with mere size as to have given the preference 
 to a huge body and ungainly carriage against a 
 perfect head, with good shape, on a smaller 
 body ; but as this was at one of the most 
 important shows of the season, such a decision 
 may have a considerable effect on breeders. 
 The position of judge is as important as the task 
 is an unthankful one, and specialist judges at 
 our principal shows should not lose sight of the 
 fact that they have, to a certain extent, the 
 destiny of the breeds on which they adjudicate 
 in their hands. In White Leghorns, it is not 
 difficult to observe that in consequence of the 
 tendency above noted we are threatened with 
 loss of type, the all-important feature. 
 
 "Although it is a characteristic most diffi- 
 cult to put down on paper, the shape of a 
 Leghorn is totally distinct from that of a 
 Minorca, just as the Andalusian is. In breed- 
 ing I make this feature as important as purity 
 of colour. I place vital importance on type and 
 colour, because a Leghorn ceases to be a 
 Leghorn when it is not typical, just as it ceases 
 to be a White Leghorn when the colour is 
 impure. It has been suggested that, to secure 
 the size of present White Leghorns, foreign 
 blood has been introduced, such as that of the 
 White Rock ; but this theory loses weight when 
 we look at the perfect head-points which have 
 been shown simultaneously with increased size. 
 I consider the improvement to be seen to-day 
 in the White Leghorn is evidence of the 
 breeder's art, and a result of what has been 
 done by careful selection and careful breeding. 
 
CO 
 
 z 
 
 EC 
 O 
 I 
 CD 
 LU 
 
 X 
 
BREEDING WHITE LEGHORNS. 
 
 405 
 
 " The time is past, too, for one to be able 
 to win in anything like decent competition with 
 Leghorns of the straw-coloured variety, pure 
 - colour being demanded by every judge. This 
 can only be obtained by breeding, discarding 
 all inferior-coloured specimens (no matter what 
 other good points they possess)- when selecting 
 one's breeding stock. If any degree of success 
 is desired, this, as I said before, is specially 
 important, as when a Leghorn is not a . pure 
 white it is not a White Leghorn. 
 
 " The White Leghorn has seen improvement 
 in more characteristics than size and head- 
 points. We now have the cocks more heavily 
 clothed in feather than in former years. Few 
 are exhibited to-day with scanty hackles, and 
 close whip tails with narrow sickles. It may 
 be argued that Leghorns are not Hamburghs or 
 Cochins, that feather should be such a desidera- 
 tum. That is so ; but neither are they Game, 
 and they require to be furnished with long, 
 flowing sickles and secondaries to be things of 
 beauty. Scant feather looks particularly amiss 
 on the larger specimens, and strange to say 
 these are generally the ones that are deficient. 
 
 " To breed White Leghorns a large financial 
 outlay is not needful. What is principally 
 required is sound common-sense in the selection 
 of stock. It is a breed that is hardy, 
 WMte"^ and will flourish under ordinary 
 
 Leghorns. conditions.. Apart from being a 
 show bird, it has utility advantages, 
 the Leghorn being a recognised egg-manufac- 
 turer. And good birds sell well. During the 
 past few years the prices for good specimens 
 have gone up a great deal. Where ;^5 was 
 originally considered a high price, we have now 
 £vo, £\^, and ;^20 paid for single specimens, 
 whilst last year I sold a pair for ;£^SO; 
 and if this latter figure may be a record, 
 ;£^20 is not considered now to be a very excep- 
 tional price for a fine pair of birds. These facts 
 show that in taking up White Leghorns the 
 amateur has ample scope for profit, and with a 
 little capital invested in good stock birds of 
 a reliable strain, he may with judgment make 
 a financial success of a pleasurable hobby. 
 
 " From the novice's point of view the White 
 Leghorn has an advantage over most other 
 breeds, and even over other varieties of this 
 breed, inasmuch as exhibition cockerels and 
 pullets can be produced from one pen. Pure 
 white beiiig desired in both sexes, no sp.ecial 
 blending of colours is required, as in Browns or 
 Piles. Some breeders have two distinct strains 
 ("or cockerel and pullet breeding, and if a breeder 
 only uses one pen, it may generally be noted 
 that he is more successful with one sex than the 
 
 other. During the past season, however, I have 
 produced several winners of both sexes from one 
 pen, but where there is convenience the breeder's 
 object may be more speedily attained by 
 mating up separate ones. The most important 
 features are colour, shape, head-points, and size. 
 For producing cockerels, I would advise mating 
 an extra smart-headed cock, with a firm, upright 
 comb, carrying plenty of feather, with correct 
 shape, and stylish, to large hens, the head- 
 points of the latter not being nearly so import- 
 ant as in the cock. Although I like size in a 
 cockerel-breeding male bird also, I find that it 
 is not so necessary as in the h6ns, but he must 
 be well furnished with feather. In selecting a 
 male bird for pullet breeding, I look for size in 
 conjunction with colour, a fair length of limb, 
 and plenty of head-points. When I say this I 
 do not mean an overabundance of comb in 
 particular, but one of fair size, with a good, 
 strong, thick lobe and a fair length of wattle. 
 It is immaterial whether the comb is carried 
 upright or over, so far as pullets only are con- 
 cerned, but it must be well serrated. Abundance 
 of feather is not so necessary as when breeding 
 for cockerels. The hens should be big and 
 shapely, with heavier head-points than the 
 cockerel - breeders, paying particular attention 
 to lobe, as I think that the pullets, speaking 
 generally, at the present time, are wanting more 
 in this respect than any other, while the 
 cockerels are far superior in this point. • I like 
 to see a good lobe on either a White Leghorn 
 or Black Minorca, together with a sound face. 
 It is, however, difficult to get as yet, though 
 improvement is perceptible every year. 
 
 " I prefer dubbing my male birds, and 
 breeding from second season birds of both 
 sexes, as, by following this practice, I get the 
 best results. To fix a strain, I advise judicious 
 in-breeding, as oftentimes the introduction of 
 new blood has disastrous effects, and when a 
 breeder has laboured hard for many years it is 
 very disheartening to have his work undone by 
 a single season's breeding. 
 
 " Perhaps the principal drawback the White 
 Leghorn has is the trouble attached .to exhibit- 
 ing them. Washing is necessary, even if the 
 birds are kept under the cleanest conditions, and 
 the best results can only be obtained by prac- 
 tical experience. Washing White Leghorns is 
 an acquired art, and the operation is necessary 
 for every show if the birds are to. be shown in 
 the best possible condition, which is always 
 desirable. Washing only becomes a pleasure 
 when the specimens dry out pure white. Many 
 have been disappointed when preparing chick- 
 ens for show, the first wash often bringing forth 
 
4o6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 a distasteful uniform yellow tinge. This is 
 generally what is known as ' sap,' and will 
 wear off with a few more good baths. If not, 
 the bird may be discarded as useless, having 
 the straw-colour in its blood." 
 
 The colour of the Brown Leghorn as first' 
 bred in America was very uncertain, some of 
 the first imported specimens having a great deal 
 of brown in. the breasts of the cocks. 
 Brown This was however gradually bred 
 
 Lsghoms. out in favour of the black breast ; 
 and for many years the accepted 
 colour has been what may generally be de- 
 scribed as that of the blackrbreasted red Game, 
 with the exception that the cock's hackles are 
 somewhat darker, or orange-red, and should 
 have a little black striping near the shoulders. 
 This colour resembles that of the Game cocks 
 before these were bred quite so bright, and there 
 is no doubt that several crosses with black- 
 breasted red Game were employed at different 
 times, to improve and fix the colour and mark- 
 ing. The effects of this crossing are still seen 
 occasionally in pullets with dark legs and feet 
 (from the willow legs of the Game), and as this 
 fault is especially obstinate, specimens which 
 exhibit it should be carefully avoided in breed- 
 ing. It is less common now than seven or eight 
 years ago. 
 
 For the following article on Brown Leghorns 
 and their breeding, we are indebted to Mr. L. C. 
 Verrey, The Warren, Oxshott, Surrey, whose 
 connection with the fowl is probably longer than 
 that of any other living breeder : — 
 
 "The Brown Leghorns, like their brethren 
 the Whites, are of pure Italian origin, but like 
 them, did not come to us from their native 
 country, but from America, where they had 
 been bred for many years before being imported 
 into England. They were at first there called 
 ' Red Leghorns.' Their prolific egg-producing 
 qualities soon brought them such a reputation 
 that they were eagerly sought after, and con- 
 stant importations from Italy had to be made 
 to supply the demand. Since the first Brown 
 Leghorns in England arrived from America 
 during the year 1872, they have been culti- 
 vated with ever-increasing energy. 
 
 " Though their general characteristics and 
 prolificacy have been fully maintained, the 
 type of the fowls has been greatly changed in 
 England, so that, at the present time, the 
 English and American types differ to a large 
 degree ; the latter being more sprightly and of 
 slighter build. The English idea seems to have 
 been to make them more of the Dorking than 
 the Game type, and consequently the modern 
 
 English Brown Leghorn is much heavier in 
 build than the original. Unfortunately, Game 
 and also Minorca blood was introduced into the 
 Brown Leghorn some few years ago, with a 
 view to improve colour of plumage, size of lobe, 
 and size of body ; but this infusion of foreign 
 blood has done more harm than good, and much 
 of the existing darkness in feet and toes and 
 white in face is attributable to these causes. 
 
 "The colour of the present-day Brown 
 Leghorn has also suffered by the use of very 
 light-coloured hackle cocks for stud purposes, 
 
 so that the thick black stripes which 
 Points of form such pleasing contrast to the 
 Leghorns. ground colour of golden bay have 
 
 been almost lost, and it is rare to 
 see a really well-striped hackle. This striping 
 in the neck and saddle hackles, more especially 
 in the former, is one of the points that Ameri- 
 can breeders have been most careful to maintain, 
 so that a Brown Leghorn cock with a plain 
 hackle is considered of little worth across the 
 Atlantic. The large over-developed combs of 
 both sexes that are now prevalent are also 
 totally at variance with the combs of the 
 original type, which were, though large, quite in 
 proportion to the head. These are some of 
 the points wherein the ancient and modern 
 types differ, and are set forth to illustrate what 
 the art of the fancier can do by studied selec- 
 tion of the breeding stopk, combined with the 
 infusion of alien blood. 
 
 " We now come to the colour-points of the 
 cock. The head should be fairly deep, whilst 
 the beak should be rather long and straight, of 
 a yellow colour, though horn-colour, or a stripe 
 of horn-colour running down the centre of the 
 yellow, is quite permissible, and will be found 
 in nine instances out of ten. The comb is 
 single, fine in texture, large in size, deeply and 
 evenly serrated. There is no definite rule as to 
 the exact number of serrations, but the most 
 symmetrical comb is that which has six. The 
 comb should be firmly set on, and extend well 
 over the back of the head. Unfortunately, the 
 desire to have pullets with the largest possible 
 combs has had a harmful effect on the combs of 
 the cocks, for not only has it made them too 
 heavy, but has caused them to become bulgy, 
 and thus create a hollow near the front, which is 
 commonly called a 'thumb mark.' The face 
 should be bright red, quite free from wrinkles 
 and white specks or spots. The eyes red, 
 bright, and sparkling. Wattles rather long and 
 thin, fine in texture, and without folds. In the 
 colour of the ear lobes we have gone away from 
 the original, for now it is decreed that they must 
 be pure white, while in the pure Italian Leghorn 
 
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 m 
 
BROWN LEGHORNS. 
 
 407 
 
 they are yellowish white, or cream colour, which 
 certainly is in greater harmony with the bright 
 yellow legs. The lobes should be rather of the 
 almond shape, that is, pendent, smooth, and 
 resembling a piece of white kid. The breeding 
 for tremendous lobes has been the cause of that 
 unsightly blemish, ' white, in face.' 
 
 " Coming to the plumage, the neck should 
 be well furnished with hackle feathers, which 
 fall gracefully on to the back, the colour of 
 these being golden bay, each feather having 
 a fairly broad stripe of black running down the 
 centre, though the shorter feathers near the 
 head and round the throat are without any 
 striping. The feathers on the back are a deep 
 red, almost crimson, this same colour running 
 over the shoulder coverts and wing bows. The 
 wing coverts are a beautiful bluish violet tint, 
 and form a broad, even band across the wing, 
 commonly called the wing-bar. The primary 
 wing feathers are brown, the secondaries being 
 a very deep bay on the outer and black on the 
 inner web, the bay being the only colour seen 
 when the wing is closed. The saddle feathers 
 are a very deep orange-red, some of them hav- 
 ing the black stripe down the centre as in the 
 neck hackle. The breast and thighs a rich 
 glossy black with a slightly greenish hue. This 
 same colour pervades the underparts, though 
 getting of a less glossy nature near the tail. 
 The tail, which should be carried well up, 
 though not squirrel fashion, is of a rich greenish 
 black all through, being surrounded at the base 
 with grey fluffy feathers, whilst the tail coverts 
 are black edged with brown. Legs long and 
 slender, of a brilliant yellow. 
 
 " The foregoing are the plumage colours 
 of a typical Brown Leghorn adult cock, but 
 these feathers will not be found in young cock- 
 erels when just feathering. The first feathers 
 are nearly always brown, splashed with more 
 or less black, the breast being especially so, and 
 not infrequently the little tail feathers will be mar- 
 gined with grey. As the young birds go through 
 their first change of feathers, the breast and tail 
 assume the metallic black of the adult. Should 
 there be any considerable amount of white in 
 the wing, however, the bird may be considered 
 a 'weed' and not worth keeping, for in nine 
 cases out of ten this white will increase as the 
 bird grows, and is a fault that should not be 
 tolerated. 
 
 " Perhaps there is no more graceful and soft- 
 coloured hen to be found than the Brown Leg- 
 horn ; its elegant, symmetrical outline, covered 
 with the most delicate coloured plumage, the 
 tones of which blend with each other in the 
 most perfect harmony, cannot fail to attract 
 
 admiration from even those who care little 
 for the beauties of nature. To describe the 
 colour points of the hen is somewhat difficult, 
 for the pen cannot really do full justice to 
 the beautiful soft tints that exist in the plumage 
 of a typical specimen. 
 
 "The comb of the hen should be large, 
 of fine texture, and evenly serrated. It should 
 rise straight up for a short distance from the 
 head, and then bend gracefully over to one 
 side. The beak should be yellow or horn- 
 colour ; the eyes bright and sparkling ; the 
 lobes white and as large as possible, but fitting 
 more closely to the head than in the case of 
 the cock. The wattles of fine texture, free 
 from folds and nicely rounded. 
 
 " The neck is well arched and abundantly 
 furnished with hackle feathers, the colour being 
 of a rich yellow or golden tint, with a sharp 
 black stripe running down the centre of each 
 feather. Though the stripe should be fairly broad, 
 the yellow or golden colour should predominate. 
 The tendency of late has been to breed hens 
 with light hackles, and consequently much of 
 the sharp definition of the black has been lost. 
 The colour of the breast should be a salmon-red, 
 the feathers on the throat being of a deeper 
 tint, but these graduate in tone until they 
 mingle with the salmon-red of the breast. 
 The feathers on the under-parts and on the 
 thighs are an ashy grey. The body colour 
 is a soft light brown, clearly and beautifully 
 pencilled with fine black lines, resembling the 
 markings of the partridge. The wings are of 
 the same delicate colour when closed, but when 
 open the inner web is black. The great diffi- 
 culty is to get the wing solid in colour, for 
 many otherwise good hens are disfigured by 
 deep brown-red patches, which are commonly 
 termed ' rust on wing.' The wing is the 
 home of the chief faults that are to be found 
 in the Brown Leghorn hen, for not only is the 
 rust apparent on the outside, but very often 
 many of the fiights will be found to have 
 more or less white on the inner web. A pullet 
 with white in flighta may be considered a 
 weed, for in hardly any instance will this 
 diminish with age, but will rather increase with 
 each successive moult. The tail should be 
 carried at a very slight angle, almost upright, 
 the feathers black, some of them being pencilled 
 with light brown, or having a light brown 
 edging on one side. The legs and feet are 
 bright yellow, free from black spots or scales. 
 
 "To produce Brown Leghorns of standard 
 colours, it is necessary to mate two pens of 
 stock birds, the one for cockerel and the 
 other for pullet breeding, as it is not possible 
 
4o8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Brown 
 Leghorns. 
 
 to produce both of equal. merit from one mat- 
 ing. For producing the most typical cockerels 
 it is necessary that great attention be paid 
 to eVery detail when mating up. the 
 Breeding pg^. The stock cock should be 
 
 in all main points an exhibition 
 specimen, with an evenly serrated 
 comb, good open lolDes, and a perfectly sound 
 face, and no white in face should be tolerated 
 in a one-year-old bird. His hackle should be 
 bright in colour, with the black striping sharply 
 defined, but not heavy. The breast .should be 
 solid in colour and perfectly free from white 
 splashes. Such a cock should be mated with 
 large hens (size being very important), of the 
 light brown colour, with fine though distinct 
 pencilling. A shade of warmth or rust on 
 their wings will not matter ; in fact, it is pre- 
 ferable, as it helps to give a warm tinge to 
 the colour of the- progeny. The combs of the 
 hens should be firmly set on their heads, only 
 medium in size, and well and evenly serrated. 
 Combs that fall half to one side and then 
 double over and fall in the opposite direction 
 should be avoided for cockerel breeding, as 
 they often cause malformed combs in the 
 cockerels. The hen's ear-lobes should be large 
 and smooth. The carriage of the tail is an 
 important point, for a high-tailed hen will 
 most likely produce squirrel-tailed cockerels, 
 so that hens should be selected which carry 
 their tails rather low. 
 
 " For pullet-breeding, the stock cock should be 
 of a more sombre colour, the hackle being deeper 
 in the golden bay, and more heavily striped 
 with black. The breast may be slightly splashed 
 or ticked with brown, and this will even be 
 found an advantage, by the production of 
 deeper colour on the breasts of his offspring. 
 Such a cock should be mated with rather light 
 but perfectly sound partridge-coloured hens, 
 which should be absolutely free from any rust 
 or warm tinge on the wings. Their combs 
 should be large and gracefully carried, the lobes 
 as large as possible, and the legs bright yellow, 
 entirely free from dark spots or scales. This 
 mating will produce even-coloured pullets, but 
 the cockerels, with scarcely an exception, will 
 be of no use except to be retained as pullet- 
 breeding stock birds. 
 
 " If a two-year-old stock cock be used, it 
 is well to mate him with one-year-old hens, 
 and, in the case of a cockerel, his mates should 
 be two years old." 
 
 Pile Leghorns should probably come next in 
 date, having been produced by crossing Whites 
 with Browns, in the same way as were first 
 
 produced -Pile Game. It was in 1881 that 
 Mr. G. Payne mated up his first pen of White 
 and Brown ; but it was not until January, 1886, 
 that he was able to exhibit two 
 Pile pullets and a cockerel, the latter 
 
 Leghorns. being poor, but the pullets good. At 
 the Dairy Show of that -year, how- 
 ever, he produced two pairs of Piles which left 
 little to be desired, and took first and third 
 prizes in a mixed class ; and since that time 
 they have been bred more largely. Other 
 crosses have been introduced by various breeders 
 at one time or another. The article below 
 speaks of a Game cross, and its effects on the 
 type of the strain ; and perhaps one of the most 
 remarkable "flukes" in the history of poultry- 
 breeding was the colour and success of some 
 Pile Leghorns exhibited a few years ago, which 
 the breeder himself stated to be bred from a 
 cross-bred bird deriving parentage from the 
 Light Brahma ! This cross probably accounts 
 for the feathered legs seen on a cockerel at the 
 Palace Show in 1894: but we have a vivid 
 recollection of the colour shewn by this exhibitor 
 for one or two seasons, which was marvellous. 
 There can be no real occasion for crossing any 
 further. 
 
 The notes which follow on this variety are 
 kindly supplied by Messrs. H. and A. P. 
 Sirnpson, of Ilkeston, whose success in breeding 
 and exhibiting it is well known : — 
 
 "Pile Leghorns have made rapid strides in 
 pr.bHc favour during the past few years. They 
 were first originated by Mr. G. Payne, about 
 1886, being the result of several years' crossing 
 between the older established varieties of White 
 and Brown Leghorns. For several years they 
 moved very slowly in the estimation of the 
 public, probably owing to the difficulty of pro- 
 ducing a good percentage of birds true to type 
 and colour ; but as the result of careful breed- 
 ing and untiring attention by a few fanciers who 
 have not failed to recognise the merits of the 
 variety, they appear to be now well established, 
 and the number of mis-marked chickens con- 
 siderably diminished. 
 
 " It may be interesting to record that out 
 particular strain of Pile Leghorns were pro- 
 duced from a Pile hen which we bought from 
 Mr. A. C. Bradbury, in 1891, undoubtedly across 
 between his White Leghorns and Pile Game ; 
 but we never ascertained in what manner the 
 cross was made. This hen was mated to a 
 Brown Leghorn cockerel, with the result that we 
 were fortunate enough to breed prize-winners 
 from her during the first season. We continued 
 to mate her and the pullets bred from her with 
 Brown cockerels, until we obtained a fixity 
 
PILE AND DUCK WING LEGHORNS. 
 
 409 
 
 of colouring, and more of the Leghorn style and 
 carriage. There is no doubt that this cross- 
 bred Game hen has transmitted to her progeny 
 a certain raciness of character, for which they 
 have always been noted. 
 
 "Since 1894 we have bred Piles and Piles 
 together, and have been successful in producing 
 good cockerels and pullets from the same pen. 
 We have occasional recourse to a 
 Breeding Brown cockerel for change of blood, 
 
 Leghorns. ^"^ when this has been necessary 
 we have made up. a pen of speci- 
 ally selected pullets, the offspring from which 
 have been carefully kept apart from the other 
 stock,, and during the following season the cock- 
 erels have been mated with Pile- bred hens, and 
 the pullets to Pile-bred males. The result from 
 this system of introducing new blood has been 
 generally satisfactory. Some fanciers prefer 
 to use a Brown hen for this purpose, but we 
 have not tried it, as the method described above 
 has always been attended with good results. 
 
 " So far as the breeding pen is concerned, 
 it is only necessary to say. Let its occupants, 
 males and females, be as perfect of their kind as 
 it is possible to get them. We rarely mate up 
 any birds that are not fit for the show pen, the 
 exception, perhaps, being in the case of a bird 
 possessing some strongly developed essential 
 characteristics, which it is desirable to perpetu- 
 ate ; and even then it is better to allow a 
 separate mating, so that the results may be- 
 more carefully noted. A few good birds, judici- 
 ously chosen, will give far better results than 
 a larger number. 
 
 " The beautiful combination of colour in 
 Pile Leghorns will always commend them to 
 fanciers, while from the utility point of view it 
 is difficult to surpass them. They are strong 
 and hardy, and thrive well in close confine- 
 ment ; they lay an abundance of good-sized 
 eggs, and, of course, are non-sitters like all 
 the other varieties." 
 
 The chief difficulty in breeding Pile Leg- 
 horns, we understand, is to get the pure white 
 breast and tail in the cocks, and clear wings in 
 the pullets. While seeking for these points 
 specially, equal care should be taken to select 
 a male bird whose back is as dark as possible. 
 A few mate up different pens, choosing dark- 
 breasted rose-winged hens by preference for 
 cockerel-breeding, and lighter hens for pullet- 
 breeding. It is when richness of colour seems 
 quite to have run out, that resort must be had to 
 a cross from the Brown, as in Pile Game. 
 
 Duckwing Leghorns were also produced by 
 ■Mr. G. Payne. It. is true that a cockerel of this 
 
 colour was shown at the Palace in 1886 by Mr. 
 Terrot; but this bird was acknowledged to 
 be an almost solitary cull from a cross between 
 Silver Grey Dorking and Duckwing 
 Duckwing Game, and no other results from that 
 Leghorns. experiment were ever seen ; whereas 
 Mr. Payne's birds brought out the 
 following season, quite differently bred, were 
 but the forerunners of a number more, which 
 took hold as a popular variety. They were 
 stated to have been first originated from some of 
 the wasters bred in producing Piles from Whites 
 and Brown Leghorns, which had come with salmon 
 breasts, and a brownish blue all-over the body, 
 with brassy hackles and ashy grey under-parts. 
 After exhibiting the birds thus bred for a 
 season or two, Mr. Payne visited Antwerp in 
 January 1889 with a collection of his birds (his 
 Duckwings taking first and medal there), and 
 obtained at the Zoological Gardens a cock for 
 crossing of the long-tailed Japanese Phoenix or 
 Yokohama breed, of silver-grey colour. This 
 cross effected very great improvement in colour, 
 but its effects were seen for several seasons in 
 sickles which swept the ground, and which were 
 only gradually bred out again. From the 
 produce of this cross was selected the bird 
 which won at the Dairy Show that same year, 
 and was afterwards purchased by Mr. Hinson, 
 to whom and to Mr. Gerahty the further breed- 
 ing of this beautiful variety is mainly due. 
 
 The colour of Duckwing Leghorns is in all 
 but one point practically the same as in the 
 corresponding varieties of Duckwing Game! 
 That point is the striping of the hackle : as the 
 Brown Leghorn is a striped breed, so the Duck- 
 winged varieties have the longer feathers of the 
 hackle somewhat striped also. Mr. Payne had 
 made no attempt to breed Golden and Silver 
 strains, but as the variety was bred more 
 generally this became inevitable. A good gold- 
 coloured cockerel almost always bred pullets 
 red or rusty on the wings ; hence pullets had to 
 be bred from lighter or more silvery cocks. And 
 conversely, good-coloured Gold cocks could only 
 be produced from more or less rusty females. 
 Both classes are now recognised by the Standard, 
 and are necessary for breeding, but at the 
 majority of shows, where there is one "Duck- 
 wing" class only, the winners are usually Golden- 
 Duckwing cocks, with almost silvery hens. 
 
 Silver Duckwings, Mr. Hinson writes us, are 
 usually bred from one pen, the same mating 
 producing both sexes good if the 
 Breeding strain is well bred, and the colour 
 Leghorns^ and markings sound on both sides. 
 Where this is not so, soniewhat in- 
 ferior colour in either, or in both, will often breed 
 
4IO 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 very fair pullets, though failing in cockerels. 
 Pure silvery white in the hackles of both sexes 
 is the great criterion. The best mating of all is 
 that of a silvery-hackled cock with a rather 
 dark grey but absolutely pure-coloured hen. 
 
 To breed Golden Duckwings, two pens are 
 practically requisite, though not so much so as 
 before the rich golden wing-bows now sought in 
 the cock, had replaced the deep maroon or 
 crimson once fashionable. For cockerel breed- 
 ing it is best to select a typical Golden exhibition 
 bird, sound in all his colours, and put to him 
 hens with rich salmon breasts, and which may 
 with no detriment have a little warmth or rust 
 on the wing. For breeding pullets, the cock 
 should be bred from Golden pullets, very sound 
 in his black all over, but rather light on 
 shoulder, and is none the worse if rather broken 
 in colour there : if his hackle also tends to being, 
 silvery it is all the better. His mates should be 
 pure in colour, as near as possible to ideal 
 exhibition hens. If at any time too much 
 colour comes in the hackles of either sex, or the 
 bodies of the hens, a cross of Silver Duckwing 
 blood is desirable. 
 
 The first record of Buff Leghorns is at the 
 Copenhagen Show of 1885, and the first hen 
 exhibited in England, at the Palace Show of 
 1888, also came from Denmark ; but 
 Buff these birds were known in that 
 
 Leghorns. country as yellow Italiens, and there 
 is no doubt of their Italian origin. 
 The Palace hen was purchased by Mr. L. C. 
 Verrey, who subsequently procured other stock, 
 and bred them in England : Mr. Penfold Field 
 also had early Danish stock. After a year or 
 two nearly all the good Buffs came into the 
 hands of one breeder, who however refused 
 to dispose of either eggs or birds in England, 
 though exporting to America; and this course 
 retarded any progress in England considerably. 
 Subsequently Miss Pulford (now Mrs. R. T. 
 Thornton) succeeded in procuring a good strain, 
 and Messrs. Bateman and others also imported 
 from America, where the variety had been well 
 taken up ; and with this extension of Buff blood 
 amongst a wider circle, improvement became 
 more rapid, aided in point of colour by one or 
 two out-crosses from Asiatic sources. 
 
 Buff appears to suit the Leghorn type 
 especially well, and in no variety is the colour 
 more singularly attractive, the close but not 
 short plumage giving a soft silkiness of texture 
 which is not seen in some other breeds. For the 
 following notes on Buff Leghorns we are again 
 indebted to Mr. L. C. Verrey, who was, as stated 
 above, the earliest to breed them in this country. 
 
 " Of all the sub-varieties of Leghorns, none 
 has been taken up with so much zeal as the 
 Buff, nor has any of the varieties been so 
 much improved by the infusion of alien 
 blood ; for the first Buffs imported into 
 England were different from those seen at 
 the present time. The art of the breeder has 
 produced a solidity of colour which did not 
 exist in the original specimens ; and it is very 
 interesting to note how this uniformity of buff 
 has been obtained. It was in 1888 that the 
 first Buff Leghorn was seen in England, and 
 this was a hen exhibited by an enterprising 
 Danish fancier at the Crystal Palace show. 
 The bird was full of true Leghorn character- 
 istics, and of a very nice even lemon-buff colour. 
 She was claimed at the show ; and the ex- 
 hibitor was applied to for a cock and more 
 hens of the same description ; and in due 
 time a consignment was received. The cock 
 possessed excellent shape and size, but was 
 very deep orange, or nearly red on the back 
 and rather light in the hackle, whilst his 
 tail was white, with each feather having a 
 line of buff running round it. The whole 
 plumage was striking in contrast, but it could 
 hardly be considered a pure 'buff' in the 
 sense that we now use the word. More birds of 
 this variety were procured from the same 
 source by other fanciers, and every effort 
 was made to improve and intensify the colour 
 by crossing with other buff breeds. So far as 
 the colour alone was concerned, these methods 
 answered well ; but the Leghorn shape was 
 lost for a time, and red-lobed, feathered- 
 legged chickens were of very frequent occur- 
 rence. By judicious breeding and inbreeding 
 these faults were gradually diminished, and 
 now we have birds of both sexes even in colour, 
 and possessing true Leghorn characteristics. 
 
 "The Buff Leghorn cock should have the 
 same kind of comb and . colour of beak and 
 legs as the Brown or White varieties, whilst 
 his plumage colour should be either a lemon 
 or orange buff, the breast feathers being a 
 little richer in tone than the back, but 
 certainly not in any great degree such as to 
 form a decided contrast. The whole plumage, 
 whether of the lemon or orange shade, should 
 be quite even and free from mealiness, and 
 the tail should be solid in colour, perhaps a 
 little deeper in- tone, but free from white or 
 black, or partly white or black feathers. 
 
 "The Buff Leghorn hen should possess 
 the same characteristics as to head points, 
 style, shape and colour of beak, lobes, and 
 legs as the Brown hen, whilst her plumage 
 should be an even shade of buff all through, 
 
a. 
 o 
 
 X 
 
 o 
 
 Ul 
 
 u. 
 u. 
 
 3 
 
BUFF AND BLACK LEGHORNS. 
 
 411 
 
 without variation in any part, though in many 
 specimens the hackle will be found to be a 
 shade or two deeper in tone than the body. 
 
 " Undoubtedly the infusion of the foreign 
 blood already mentioned will make itself 
 apparent now and again, and the reappearance 
 of slight feathering on the legs, red in lobes, 
 and white in flights and tail, are to be ex- 
 pected ; but by very careful mating up of the 
 breeding pen and persistent weeding out of 
 the faulty specimens these evils will be 
 overcome, and the certain production of solid 
 coloured Buff Leghorns will be established. 
 
 " In selecting Buff Leghorns for breeding, 
 great attention should be given to the head 
 points of both the male and female, for up 
 to now these have been com- 
 ^ri^ding paratively neglected, the chief aim 
 Leghorns. having been to produce uniformity 
 of colour. Now that this has been 
 established, the improvement of comb and 
 lobes, especially the latter, requires earnest 
 consideration. The stock cock may be a little 
 deeper in colour than the hens that he is to be 
 mated with, but he should not be too dark, 
 particularly if the hens are inclined to be a 
 light buff, for the extremes of shade never 
 amalgamate well, and the progeny are apt 
 to become mottled when they assume their 
 adult plumage. Whether the birds be lemon 
 or orange buff, they should all be about the 
 same shade, excepting as stated above, that 
 the plumage of the cock may be a little richer 
 in tint. Hens that show any amount of 
 mealiness should be discarded, as should also 
 those that have decided black ticks at the ends 
 of the hackle feathers, or on the tail feathers. 
 Too much stress cannot be laid on the under- 
 colour, and every stock bird should be closely 
 examined to see that the buff extends well 
 into the under plumage ; for very, often . though 
 the surface may be all that is desired, .the 
 Huff will be found to be quite white. Should 
 the buff extend almost to the skin, there is 
 but little fear but that the progeny, will come 
 sound in colour throughout. The tail of the 
 cock will probably prove the greatest difficulty, 
 this being especially the home of white and black 
 feathers. Though both are faults, yet the 
 former is the greater, and likely to be re- 
 produced in a larger degree than the latter. 
 Still, as really sound coloured tails are even 
 yet the exception, choice should be made of 
 the bird that has the least white in the 
 main feathers of his tail." 
 
 Black Leghorns are generally believed to be 
 pure Italian blood, importations having been 
 
 traced direct to Italy, and also to Belgium 
 and Germany, which both import Italian fowls. 
 As a rule, they are a rather wild race, great 
 
 flyers, and very hardy, in many 
 Black respects resembling the Ancona, as 
 
 Leghorns. also in their quality as layers. The 
 
 great difficulty is to get the pullets 
 with yellow legs ; with cockerels there is not the 
 same difficulty, as remarked in the following 
 notes upon this variety kindly furnished by 
 Mr. Nelson .King, Chorley House, Clitheroe. 
 
 " The Black Leghorn as a variety ought to 
 be better known for its qualities than it is at 
 the present time by the majority of poultry 
 fanciers. It is an exceptionally hardy bird to 
 rear, and bears confinement well, and is a splen- 
 did all-round layer. I have had pullets, hatched 
 in April, commence to lay at four months old, 
 laying a good . saleable white-shelled ^g'g, and 
 continuing to do so through the winter months. 
 Frost and snow seem to have no effect, the 
 birds being out both day and night all through. 
 I have had young cockerels to crow at 39 days 
 old. They are very active, and the birds at 
 liberty are splendid foragers and small eaters. 
 Fifty pullets or hens in a field make a splendid 
 sight to see, with their jet black bodies and 
 bright yellow legs. They always seem to be on 
 the alert, and will take wing at times for fifty or 
 seventy yards. They are rather of a wild nature 
 when at liberty, and scarcely approachable. I 
 firmly believe that a hundred and fifty Black 
 Leghorns will equal two hundred of any cross- 
 bred birds brought to compete against them ; 
 that is, for eg'g production. I have also had 
 cockerels weigh 5 J lbs. at five months old, and 
 the flesh is white arid juicy. 
 
 " The chickens are easy to rear, and free 
 from disease. They are generally dark, with 
 white underparts when hatched, the majority 
 then having dark legs, but becoming yellow as 
 time goes on, more so with the cockerels than 
 with the pullets. The chief difficulty in the 
 cockerels is that they are subject to white in 
 their tails ; but this is greatly improving. I 
 have possessed birds with sound black tails, but 
 they have bef'n wrong in other things, such as 
 being inclined to show red feathers, or bronzy 
 looking on the back. I always try to breed 
 from a cock bird that has the least white in -tail, 
 but still having a good sound rich black body 
 colour and good yellow legs. The bigger the 
 lobe is the better, as we are still wanting in this 
 particular point, especially in pullets, but the 
 birds are as a rule quite sound in face. 
 
 " In mating a pen of Black Leghorns to- • 
 gether, I should advise to get a big sound- 
 coloured bird, with good face, ear lobes, and 
 
412 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 leg, and as little white in tail as possible. A 
 cock of this description mated to six pullets 
 with good sound black bodies and good yellow 
 legSj and good lobes and nice folding combs, 
 will breed birds that will account for prizes in 
 the show pen. 
 
 " As to the Standard for Black Leghorns, 
 the plumage should be a rich glossy black, free 
 from feathers of any other colour ; the more 
 sheen the better. Legs and feet yellow ; eyes 
 bright red ; beak and toe-nails yellow or horn- 
 colour; comb, face, and wattles a bright red. 
 Size as large as possible." 
 
 Cuckoo-coloured or blue-barred Leghorns 
 are occasionally seen, but are not popular. They 
 appear to have come chiefly from the Continent, 
 
 and to have occurred naturally from 
 Cuckoo mixture of black and white, as so 
 
 Leghorns. many other similarly-coloured races 
 
 have done. There is no doubt that 
 they are just as good in qualities as other Leg- 
 horns, but the colour does not seem in this 
 variety to be attractive, and there being no ade- 
 quate support for it in classes, it is little culti- 
 vated. It is a difficult colour to produce in this 
 breed, white and other foul feathers constantly 
 occurring. This difficulty is not now found to 
 the same extent in the barred Rock, which has 
 been bred for colour and marking through many 
 generations, and in large numbers ; but in a 
 variety so little bred as the Cuckoo Leghorn it is 
 felt severely. With such stock as is obtainable, 
 we should advise selecting two-year-old birds 
 (that age often showing up faults not seen in the 
 chickens), weeding out severely for any foul 
 feathers, and selecting the medium colour and 
 barring in both sexes. Strains are not fixed 
 enough to breed by the same rules as barred 
 Rocks, and this course will be found on the 
 whole most successful. 
 
 Mottled Leghorns are also rarely seen, but 
 are likely to be displaced by the Ancona, if not 
 practically the same bird. 
 
 One of the most popular additions- to this 
 group of fowls is known as the Ancona ; but 
 there can be no doubt at all that it should be 
 
 classed with the Leghorns, and is a 
 Anconas. variety of that family. The only 
 
 distinction which could possibly be 
 drawn, would lie in the characteristic activity 
 and wildness of the original breed ; but that is 
 shared fully by the Black Leghorn, which in all 
 probability is one of the Ancona's ancestors, and 
 all the " points " are in conformity with the Leg- 
 horn type. It is curious that from time to time 
 several fowls have appeared under this name. 
 
 but all showing a mixture of black and white 
 blood. The earliest we remember (about 1 864) 
 were cuckoo-coloured, and dusky or leaden in 
 the shanks. Unacquainted then with the Leg- 
 horns, which arrived years later, we naturally 
 put these birds down to probable crossing of 
 black and white Minorca's, in harmony with 
 what we knew of colour production: but there 
 can be little doubt now that they were really 
 Cuckoo Leghorns or Anconas. They were at 
 all events then called Anconas; and ten years 
 or so later, we several times saw birds of the 
 same type and called by the same name, but 
 mottled or splashed with black and white like 
 Houdans, instead of blue-barred — in fact like the 
 present Anconas. In the light of these simple 
 facts, few as they are, but which are within 
 our personal knowledge, it seems clear that in 
 the neighbourhood of Ancona there has been a 
 general mixture — probably without any definite 
 attempt at crossing — of a black Leghorn with 
 white or light colours of the same family, whose 
 results both in blue-barred and mottled plumage* 
 have been, so marked as to be given the local 
 name. Should this be so, the extreme wildness 
 of the Black Leghorn, noticed above, would 
 account for the same characteristic in Anconas, 
 and the Black Leghorn must be regarded as the 
 real ancestor of this variety. 
 
 To such mixed ancestry may probably be 
 attributed the extreme hardiness and prolificacy 
 which distinguished the Ancona when first really 
 taken up in this country. As a layer it was 
 almost without a rival, quite a number of 
 breeders, reporting 200 eggs per annum ; and 
 its remarkable hardiness in regard to anything 
 except foul air, or tainted ground, or extreme 
 wet, was also soon observed. The breed at that 
 time might be described as a Leghorn with 
 plumage like that of a Houdan, or a rather 
 irregular mottle of black and white in about 
 equal quantities, and with black spots amongst 
 the yellow of the shanks. A great many birds 
 had coloured feathers here and there, but such 
 feathers were gradually bred out. 
 
 This kind of bird is still bred by many on 
 account of its laying qualities, under the name 
 of the •' old style " Ancona. For breeding it, 
 all that is necessary, if the birds are of pure 
 original Ancona strain, is to select a cockerel 
 rather dark for exhibition and with dark 
 under-flufif, and mate him with hens also 
 rather dark, or not lighter than medium colour, 
 by which is meant black and white in nearly 
 equal proportions. The black in both sexes 
 
 * It is highly probable that search. in the same neighbour- 
 hood would discover blue-dun fowls, the other usual result of 
 such mixture of colours. 
 
OLD STYLE OF ANCONAS. 
 
 413 
 
 must be a glossy beetle-green black, and the 
 black spots on the yellow of the shanks should 
 be decided : head-points and ear-lobes must be 
 selected as in other varieties. The following 
 notes upon the character and qualities of this 
 type of Ancona are kindly furnished by Mrs. 
 Constance Bourlay, of Frankley Rectory, Bir- 
 mingham, one of the earliest and largest breeders 
 of the fowl, and who has taken a leading part 
 in making its merits known.in England. 
 
 " For many years we kept a few fowls after 
 the usual fashion of ignorant people. The 
 . birds were expected to eat up house scraps, to 
 lay a few eggs, and occasionally to appear at 
 table. They often died ; and no eggs were 
 even hoped for in winter. Then we awoke 
 to a sense of our own stupidity, and began to 
 do better: but very early were obliged to 
 recognise the importance of climatic conditions, 
 and how much they were against us. Living 
 on the top of a hill, 740 feet above the sea, ex- 
 posed to every wind, particularly the north 
 and east, with a heavy clay soil, which held 
 all moisture, and winters that begin early and 
 end late, one breed after another failed. Then 
 by chance we bought a sitting of Anconas. 
 They hatched well, grew wonderfully fast, and 
 when winter came seemed indifferent to soil 
 and climate, and laid eggs with the ground 
 deeply covered with snow, and the thermometer 
 far below freezing-pOint. At last we had found 
 the right breed, and have never kept any 
 others since. 
 
 " Light of weight, quick and very active, the 
 Ancona is always on the move. If at liberty, 
 they forage largely for themselves, ranging fields 
 and the hedgerows from morning till even- 
 ing, and keeping themselves warm with constant 
 exercise. They do not sit about in corners, 
 shivering in a north-east wind, but always 
 seem busy and happy ; and on many a winter 
 day, with snow lying thick on the ground, little 
 paths have been swept for them to outlying 
 manure-heaps in the fields, along which' they 
 scutter with outspread wings and cheerful 
 clucks, to spend hours in scratching, and then 
 going back to their houses to lay, and returning 
 in single file through the snow. 
 
 " They need to be kept dry, and should 
 not be let out of their shelters in wet weather ; 
 but dry cold does not hurt them. The sleeping 
 places should be very well ventilated, though 
 free from draughts, and the birds should always 
 breathe pure air, however cold the weather. 
 This is very important to their health, and a 
 stuffy, ill-ventilated house will soon produce 
 roup and kindred diseases. Anconas need no 
 coddling, and are far better without it. Fresh 
 
 air day and night, good but moderate feeding, 
 and protection from wet, is all they require ; 
 and with these they will lay steadily through 
 the winter. 
 
 " A peculiar trait of the breed, and it must 
 be acknowledged, a defect, is their extreme 
 shyness and wildness. They are as wild as 
 pheasants, and 'rocket' just like them; and it 
 is also worth noticing that they have a distinct 
 though delicate game flavour at table. If al- 
 lowed, they will roost in trees as soon as they 
 can fly, and in more than one instance have 
 been only reached with a gun. They will, 
 however, follow the person who feeds them, 
 and last season I had a pullet that would pull 
 my dress to be taken up, and always expected 
 to eat her supper out of the feeding bowl as 
 I went round the pens, but if I appeared in 
 a diff'erent dress, or if a stranger was present, 
 she would fly in terror. While being prepared 
 for exhibition in training pens, they become 
 perfectly tame, but a few days in the open 
 makes them as wild as ever. It is not easy 
 to account for this shyness, but it is a very 
 marked characteristic of the real Ancona. 
 They are also great flyers ; a ten feet wire 
 fence is nothing to them, and it is necessary 
 to cut a wing, or cover in the top of a run, 
 when it is desired to keep them apart. The 
 cocks are great fighters, and will continue their 
 battles at every opportunity, till one gives in 
 or is killed. They are also extremely polite 
 to the hens, and at meals spend so much of 
 their time in calling them and pointing out 
 the daintiest morsels, that they very often get 
 very little for themselves, and it is desirable 
 during the breeding season to give them a good 
 meal apart, to ensure their keeping in good 
 condition. 
 
 " Ancona chickens grow with great rapidity, 
 and are remarkably forward as compared with 
 other breeds. They are hungry little birds, 
 and require frequent feeding, but their inde- 
 pendent habits make them very suitable for 
 bringing up in -foster-mothers. At seven weeks 
 old the cockerels should be separated from 
 the pullets. The latter frequently begin to lay 
 at four months or five months old, but it is 
 well to keep them back if possible until six 
 months, when they settle down to steady egg- 
 production until the moult in the following 
 year. The moult is not a very serious busi- 
 ness ; sometimes, save for the freshness of the 
 plumage, they show very little sign of what is 
 going on ; in other cases they will be very bare 
 for awhile. It is to be noticed that they moult 
 from dark to light, the feathers being lighter 
 in the second year, and the brilliant yellow of 
 
414 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the legs tending to fade in colour as they 
 advance in age. 
 
 "As to when Anconas first appeared in 
 England, we have no certain knowledge. Many 
 of our best informed authorities remember birds 
 of the name in the early 'fifties, and there 
 is a theory that they were a cross between black 
 and white Minorcas. If so, they could not 
 have been of the present type, either as regards 
 leg colour, shape, or hardiness of constitution. 
 There is little doubt in my mind that they are 
 a cross between the black Valdano of North 
 Italy and the common barn-door fowl of that 
 country, and an advertisement appeared in the 
 Cottage Gardener of 1854 offering for sale a 
 pen of Anconas which had won a prize at 
 Birmingham, and had been imported direct from 
 Italy. Though the black and white are the 
 only variety known in this country, they may 
 be found "White, yellow and red in Italy, and 
 golden red feathers sometimes still appear in 
 the hackles and tail coverts of the cockerels. 
 The permanence of type is very marked, it 
 being quite easy to trace the descendants of 
 a particular hen through five or six generations, 
 and among the many hundreds of chickens 
 hatched we have never had 'a sport' 
 
 " It is unfortunate that the present standard 
 has led to so much crossing, and to the loss 
 of so many salient characteristics of the real 
 Ancona. Many of the winning birds in 1900 
 showed distinct traces of other blood both in 
 size, carriage, and plumage. The desire for size 
 will militate against their usefulness as layers, 
 and the introduction of Minorca blood, now so 
 much in evidence, will tell against the hardiness 
 of constitution which is their chief merit. They 
 will feel cold and damp as do Minorcas, and 
 cease to be a hardy breed. Only a short time 
 ago they were described in a poultry paper 
 as ' not real winter layers, requiring to be 
 kept in warm shelters during cold weather, lest 
 their combs should be frost-bitten and injure 
 their egg production.' This truly describes the 
 Minorca- Ancona ; but the real Ancona, as I 
 have already stated, needs no such protection, 
 and I do not remember a single case of frost- 
 bitten comb except when the birds have fought. 
 Then the alert carriage, the high, proudly 
 carried tail, the air of cgnceited superiority, as 
 if the earth was not good enough to walk on, 
 is being replaced by a far more humble car- 
 riage. The bright yellow legs are often clouded 
 with black or ugly white, and the vivid white 
 and black of the plumage, has tended to be- 
 come all black vvith tiny flecks of white. It 
 is to be hoped that some modification may 
 presently be made in a standard, which is now 
 
 of 
 Anconas. 
 
 producing birds that have no right to be called 
 Anconas, and which, being neither useful nor 
 beautiful, will not long retain public favour." 
 
 The last paragraphs in the above article indi- 
 cate the fact that a " new type " has come upon 
 the scene. The first discussion which arose 
 amongst exhibitors was whether the 
 New Type shanks should be yellow as in Leg- 
 horns, or yellow spotted with black : 
 this was happily settled in favour of 
 the old type with black spots, without which a real 
 beetle-green black would have been very difficult 
 to preserve, and which was also found amongst 
 most of the best laying birds — a relic doubtless 
 of the Black Leghorn parentage. But fanciers 
 next proceeded to deal with the plumage, and 
 from the "utility" point of view the decision 
 arrived at, to define the plumage as black with 
 uniform tipping of white on each feather, is to 
 be regretted. It was admitted that this colour 
 did not then exist, and had to be bred ; and it 
 has been openly avowed in several quarters that 
 some at least of the new birds were bred from 
 new crosses in England, in which Black Minorca 
 and White Leghorn played a leading part. The 
 Anconas now exhibited, therefore, are of very 
 various parentage. Some are really of Ancona 
 strain, bred to smaller tipping of the feathers 
 chiefly by selection, and accordingly have pre- 
 served many of the qualities of the race : but 
 others have not one atom of Ancona blood, 
 and show neither the wildness nor the pro- 
 lificacy of the original breed. Mr. E. Cobb, ' 
 who took a very leading part in this remodel- 
 ling of the fowl, wrote frankly of the change 
 that " those who launched the Ancona as an ex- 
 hibition fowl will only have themselves to blame 
 if in years to come it has lost that for which 
 it is now recommended; but being launched, and 
 having taken the hold that it has on the fancy, 
 I am of opinion that it will pay the. fancier more 
 profit if it only lays 100 instead of as at present 
 200 eggs a year, and that by the time this 
 does happen, another breed will be found to take 
 the utility place vacated by the Ancona." That 
 is the real case, as put by a most competent 
 judge and the principal advocate of the " new 
 style," and we think the change one to be pro- 
 foundly regretted. It will be manifest that such 
 as wish to breed the fowl for its useful qualities, 
 will do well to secure the " old style," which is 
 still kept up and advertised even bysome who also 
 breed the new. Even of the new, however, all 
 are not alike, as above intimated ; some strains 
 being mainly bred (with somewhat less attention 
 to exact marking) from the old Ancona strains. 
 The following notes on the exhibition type 
 of Ancona are furnished by Messrs. Heap 
 
NEW STYLE OF ANCONAS. 
 
 415 
 
 Brothers, of Worsthorne, near Burnley, well 
 known as successful exhibitors. 
 
 " This breed, it is generally conceded, was im- 
 ported into this country from Ancona in Italy, 
 where it has been kept in large numbers by the 
 farmers of that district for its utilitarian pro- 
 perties. Certainly it ranks as one of, if not the 
 very best layers extant. We have freque itly 
 heard Anconas decried as layers of small eggs, 
 but as with most breeds, we consider this to be 
 more a matter of strain. The strain that we 
 keep lay eggs which average over 2 ozs. in 
 weight, which we consider quite up to, if not 
 above the average. As we have said before, 
 they were imported into this country for their 
 exceptional laying qualities, and the reception 
 they » met with has scarcely, been equalled by 
 that of any breed in recent years. They are 
 indeed very profitable fowls from a utility 
 point of view, as they mature very quickly, 
 pullets very often commencing to lay when 
 about eighteen weeks old. The cockerels are 
 also very precocious youngsters, crowing fre- 
 quently at five or six weeks old. As table 
 fowls they can scarcely be recommended on 
 account of their smallness, but their flesh is 
 excellent in flavour. 
 
 "It was not long before they made their 
 appearance in the exhibition pen. About the 
 year 1898 a difference of opinion arose amongst 
 Ancona breeders as to the type of bird which 
 should constitute the standard, and at a meeting 
 held at the Dairy Show in 1899, which was well 
 attended by the principal breeders, a standard 
 was drawn up and passed as a guidance to 
 breeders what to breed for. This standard 
 met with much opposition at the time, and was 
 the subject of much controversy in the poultry 
 papers. The question finally resolved itself 
 into how large or how small the tipping at the 
 end of each feather should be, also the way the 
 feathers should be tipped. We favoured, as we 
 do still, the small V-shaped tip. Were they 
 tipped or mottled — call it what you like — to the 
 extent of three-eighths of an inch, as some 
 breeders contended, on each feather, the bird 
 would present almost the appearance of a white 
 one, as the ground-colour would be covered 
 by the feathers overlapping each other. The ' 
 Anconas one saw at exhibitions only about a 
 year or two ago, were frequently held up to 
 ridicule for their mongrel appearance, and it was 
 with a sincere desire to improve this splendid 
 utility fowl from an artistic or exhibition stand- 
 point, and to breed them more uniform in colour 
 and shape, that the present standard was evolved. 
 
 " We know of no breed that has made more 
 rapid strides in the time towards attaining that 
 
 end, than have Anconas. When we consider 
 that there have only been two breeding seasons 
 since the present standard was made, the success 
 achieved has been remarkable, though certainly 
 there is still much room for improvement. In 
 cocks, a few years ago one scarcely saw anything 
 but white tails, tipped with black, which were 
 certainly not uniform with the body colour. 
 Our aim is to breed them with a good beetle- 
 green ground-colour, with each feather tipped 
 with white, throughout the entire bird. 
 
 " In mating Anconas to produce exhibition 
 birds, one needs to be very careful in the 
 selection of stock birds. Examine each bird 
 carefully, and discard any that have white 
 under-colour. This is a very common fault, 
 and one that breeders should take pains to 
 exterminate. Another evil to be avoided is 
 lacing, by which we mean a white edging round 
 the feather. Choose those with (as nearly as you 
 have them) the V-shaped tip, with the white 
 clearly distinct from the ground-colour, which 
 gives the bird a slaty appearance. Select 
 for the male bird one with firm erect comb, 
 evenly serrated, serrations deeply cut, face a 
 brilliant red, white face in Anconas being a 
 disqualification and not merely a defect ; lobes 
 medium in size, almond shape, and white ; body 
 colour as nearly to the exhibition standard as 
 possible ; legs deep yellow with black mottling 
 evenly distributed. Be careful about the tail. 
 Examine the bird and see that the feathers are 
 black from the skin ; many begin white, then 
 are black in the middle of the feather, then white 
 tip at the end. In hens, again, be careful ^bout 
 selecting those with sound, under-colour, and in 
 colour we like therrl rather on the dark side : 
 we mean darker in appearance than required 
 for exhibition. A frequent fault in Anconas is 
 that they carry their tails too high, squirrel 
 fashion ; try by all means to breed this out by 
 selecting only those with low tail .carriage. 
 
 " It may seem that there are many points 
 to avoid, and so there are ; but if one wishes to 
 produce really good exhibition specimens, it is 
 much better to breed from two hens and a cock 
 which have the qualifications to breed standard 
 birds, than a field full of so-called Anconas of 
 the old, ' splashed - anywhere - you - like birds,' 
 which gave one the impression that they had 
 been splashed with a white-washer's brush. 
 
 "Another point in favour of the new 
 standard is that cockerels and pullets may be 
 bred from the same pen, as the colour of both 
 is identical in every respect, with the usual 
 sexual differences. This is much in its favour. 
 We think the reason for the apparent decline in 
 many breeds such as the Hamburghs, is mainly 
 
410 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 that two pens are required, one for breeding 
 cockerels and another for pullets, many working- 
 men , fanciers not having accommodation for 
 what becomes practically two breeds. Of course, 
 there are birds naturally better adapted for 
 cockerel or pullet breeding, such as a hen with 
 an erect comb, which (had she other require- 
 ments) might be valuable as a stock bird, though 
 not for exhibition purposes." 
 
 fig. 121.— American Brown Leghorn Cockerel. 
 
 The above article, it will be seen, is able still 
 to speak well of the newer exhibition style of 
 Ancona when bred to in moderation ; what is 
 to be feared is the result whenever the plumage . 
 is bred, as is avowed to be the object of 
 some, with the uniformity of a spangled Ham- 
 burgh. 
 
 A rose-combed Ancona has been lately 
 introduced. It calls for no particular remark, 
 even if it should establish a position, which 
 is uncertain. Of course mere varieties of 
 any breed can be multiplied to an indefinite 
 amount. 
 
 Tlie Leghorn is bred and kept in America, 
 as already intimated, to an extent quite unknown 
 in England; but the birds there known are 
 different from the English style, far 
 American nearer the original type, and as a 
 Leghorns. rule more prolific. In one respect 
 English type has prevailed. All the 
 first birds sent to England were very high in 
 tail ; but we from the first' advisedly opposed 
 that style, as sure to be fatal to the 
 fo^vl if adhered to, and the result 
 has fully justified our action, which 
 happily proved decisive at a time 
 when the question hung in suspense. 
 On both sides of the Atlantic, the 
 flowing tail is long since fully recog- 
 nised. But the American Leghorn 
 differs in other respects. It remains 
 considerably smallerthan the Minorca, 
 and is also rather higher on the leg 
 than the English, of rather more 
 slender form and sprightly carriage, 
 and with the much more moderate 
 comb of the original bird. These 
 differences are well shown in the 
 drawing by Mr. Franklane Sewell of 
 an American Brown Leghorn cockerel, 
 first prize ^t Boston in 1900, for which 
 we are indebted to The Feathered 
 World. 
 
 There are also some differences 
 in colour. Buffs in America, at the 
 time we write, are one or two shades 
 lighter than the orange buff popular 
 in England ; and Browns are liked 
 somewhat darker in the cock's hackles, 
 and a darker partridge in the hens. 
 
 Little need be said about judging 
 Leghorns. All real breeders, without 
 exception, agree that many 
 "~ Judging judges have laid too much 
 Leghorns. stress upon mere size, and 
 that there is urgent need 
 for more attention to the distinctive 
 Leghorn type, which is not so heavy as that of . 
 many birds exhibited. Many also have ex- 
 pressed regret that so much favour has been 
 shown to large combs. There was a time 
 when breeders themselves favoured these; but 
 the fatal sterility thus caused, and widespread 
 experience of the necessity for dubbing in con- 
 sequence, has opened their eyes. Our opinion 
 has been indicated; beyond that we caiiriot 
 pronounce. 
 
 The Standards of the Poultry Club, drawn up 
 in consultation with the special clubs devoted to 
 Leghorns and Anconas, are as follow : — 
 
STANDARDS FOR LEGHORNS. 
 
 417 
 
 LEGHORNS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Biok : Stout, the point standing well 
 clear of the front of the comb. Comb : Fine in texture, 
 large but not overgrown, single, perfectly straight and 
 erect, deeply and evenly serrated, the spikes broaden- 
 ing at the base ; extending well beyond the back of the 
 head and following, without touching, the line of the 
 hackle : free from thumb marks and side sprigs. Face: 
 Fine in texture, and free from wrinkles or folds. 
 Watths : Long, thin, and fine in texture. Lobes : 
 Well developed and rather pendent, equally matched 
 in size and shape, smooth, open, and free from folds. 
 Neck : Well arched and full in hackle.. 
 
 Body. — Body : Wedge shaped, wide at the shoulders, 
 
 and narrowing to the root of the tail. Breast : Round 
 
 and prominent, the breast-bone straight. Bach : Slightly 
 
 , rounded and sloping to the tail. Wings : Large, carried 
 
 well clipped up. 
 
 Tail. — Moderately full, carried at an angle of 40° 
 to 45°. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Legs : Long, the shanks free from 
 feathers. Feet: Well spread, the toes long and straight. 
 
 Carriage. — U pright . 
 
 Size. — Medium, rather large to be preferred, con- 
 sistently with symmetry and type. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Beak, Wattles, Face, Lobes, and 
 Neck : As in the cock. Comb : Fine in texture, large 
 but not overgrown, single, deeply and evenly serrated, 
 free from side sprigs, rising from a firm base and 
 falling gracefully oyer to either side of face. 
 
 Body. — Body : Wide at the shoulders and narrowing 
 slightly to the tail, longer and not carried so upright as 
 in the cock. Breast : Round, very full and nicely curved 
 -from the neck. Back : Long, fairly broad, and but 
 slightly rounded. 
 
 Tail. — Fairly long and moderately full, but carried 
 closely and at a slightly lower angle than the cock. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 Carriage. — Description of cock applies. 
 
 Size. — As in the cock. 
 
 ■ COLOUR IN WHITE LEGHORNS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Yellow. Eye: Red. Comb 
 and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, without any 
 trace of white. Lobes : White or cream, the former 
 preferred. Toe-nails : Yellow. Legs : Yellow or orange. 
 Plumage : Pure white (straw colour is to be avoided). 
 
 COLOUR IN. BROWN LEGHORNS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Bcaft : Yellow or horn. Eye: Red. 
 Comb and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, with- 
 out any trace of white. Lobes : White or cream, the 
 former preferred. Toe-nails : Horn or nearly white. 
 Legs ': Yellow or orange. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head and Hackle: Rich orange red, 
 striped with black; crimson red at the front of the hackle 
 below the v/attles. Back, Shoulder Coverts, and Wing- 
 bow : Deep crimson red or maroon. Wing Coverts : Steel 
 blue, with green reflections, forming a broad bar across 
 the wing ; primary wing feathers' brown. Secondaries : 
 Deep bay on outer web, which is all that appears when 
 the wing is closed, and black on the inner web; and 
 covering the points. Saddle : A rich orange red, with 
 or without a few black stripes. Breast and Under-parts i ' 
 
 3b 
 
 A glossy black, quite free from brown splashes. Tail: 
 Black, with green reflections ; any white in tail is very 
 objectionable. Tail Coverts : Black edged with brown. 
 In the Ben.— Hackle : Rich golden yellow, broadly and 
 sharply striped with black. Breast : Salmon red, run- 
 ning into maroon around the hea3 and wattles, and 
 ashy grey at the thighs. Body Colour : A rich brown, 
 very closely and evenly pencilled with black ; feathers 
 free from light shafts. Tail: Black, outer feathers 
 pencilled with brown. 
 
 COLOUR IN PILE LEGHORNS. 
 
 In Both Sexes.— BeaA : Yellow or horn. Eye: Red. 
 Comb and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, with- 
 out a;iy trace of white. Lobes : White. Legs : Yellow. 
 Toe-nails : Yellow. 
 
 In the Cock.— Head and Hackle : Bright orange. Breast 
 and Thighs : White. Back and Saddle : Rich maroon. 
 Shoulders and Wing - bows : Dark red. Wing - bar : 
 White. Secondary Flight Feathers : Dark chestnut outer 
 web, which is all that is seen when the wing is closed, 
 and white inner web. Tail, Sickle Feathers, a/nd Tail 
 Coverts : White. 
 
 In the Hen. — Neck Hackle : White, tinged with golden 
 colour. Breast: Deep salmon red, shading ofif to white 
 thighs. Rest of Body: White. 
 
 COLOUR IN GOLDEN DUCKWING LEGHORNS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak and Toe-nails : Yellow or horn 
 colour. Eye : Red. Comb, Face, and Wattles : Bright 
 red. Ear-lobes : White. Legs : Yellow or orange. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head and Hackle: A rather light yellow- 
 or straw colour, a few shades deeper at the front below 
 the wattles, the longer feathers striped with black. 
 Back : Deep rich gold. Saddle and Saddle Hackle : Deep 
 gold, shaded down in hackle to pale gold. Shoulder 
 Coverts and Wing-bow : Bright golden or orange, solid 
 in coloyr (an admixture of lighter feathers is very 
 objectionable). Wing Coverts : Metallic blue (bluish 
 violet), forming an even bar across the wing, which 
 should be sharp, clean cut, and not too broad. Primaries : 
 Black, with white edging on the outer web. Secondaries : 
 White outer web, which is all that is seen when the 
 wing is closed, forming the wing-bay; black inner web 
 and end of feather. Breast : Black, with green lustre. 
 Under-parts : Black throughout. Tail : Black, richly 
 glossed with green ; grey fluff at the base. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head : Grey (a brown cap very objec- 
 tionable). Hackle: White, each feather sharply striped 
 with black or dark grey (a sUghl tinge of yellow in the 
 ground colour admitted). Breast and Under-colour: 
 Bright salmon red (this point is very important), darker 
 on throat, and shaded off to ashy grey or fawn colour on 
 the under-parts. Back, Wings, Sides, and Saddle : Dark 
 slaty grey, finely pencilled with darker grey or black. 
 Tail : Grey, slightly darker than the body colour. 
 Inside feathers a dull black or dark grey. 
 
 COLOUR IN SILVER DUCKWING LEGHORNS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak and Toe-nails: Yellow or horn 
 colour. Eye : Red. Comb, Fa£e, and Wattles : Bright 
 red. Ear-lobes : White. Legs : Yellow or orange. 
 
 In the Cock. — Head and Hackle: Silvery white, the 
 longer feathers striped with black. Back, Saddle, and 
 Hackle : Silvery white. Shoulders and Wing - bow : 
 Silvery white, as solid as possible (any admixture of 
 red or rusty feathers very objectionable). Wing Coverts : 
 Metallic blue (bluish violet), forming an even bar across 
 the wing, which should be sharp, clean cut, and not too 
 
4i8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 broad. Primaries : Black, with white edging on outer 
 edge. Secondaries : White outer edge, which is all that 
 is visible when the wing is closed, forming the wing- 
 hay ; black inner web and end of feathers. Thighs and 
 Under-parts : Black throughout. Tail : Black, richly 
 glossed with green ; grey fluff at base. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head : Silvery white. Hackle : Silvery 
 white, each feather sharply striped with black or dark 
 grey. Breast and Under-parts : Light salmon or fawn 
 colour, darker on throat and shaded off to ashy grey on 
 the under-parts. Back, Wings, Sides, and Saddle : Clear 
 delicate silvery grey or French grey, without a shade ot 
 red or brown,'finely pencilled with dark grey or black 
 (purity of colour very important). Tail: Grey, slightly 
 darker than the body colour ; inside feathers a dull 
 black or dark grey. 
 
 COLOUR IN BUFF LEGHORNS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak; Yellow. Eye: Red. Comb 
 and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, without 
 any trace of white. Lobes : White or cream, the 
 former preferred. Toe-nails : White. Legs : Yellow or 
 orange. Plumage : Any shade of buff from lemon buff to 
 rich buff, on the one side avoiding washiness, and on the 
 other side a reddish tinge. The colour to be perfectly 
 uniform throughout, allowing for the greater lustre on 
 the hackle and saddle feathers, arid of the wing-bow in 
 the case of the cock only. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK LEGHORNS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow or horn colour. Eye : 
 Red. Comb and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, 
 without any trace of white. Lobes : White or cream, 
 the former preferred. Legs : Yellow or orange. Toe- 
 nails : Yellow. Plumage : Rich blue black, perfectly 
 free from feathers of any other colour. 
 
 COLOUR IN CUCKOO LEGHORNS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow or horn. Eye : Red, 
 Comb and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, with- 
 out any trace of white. Lobes : White. Legs : Yellow. 
 Toe-nails : Yellow or horn. Plumage : Light bluish grey 
 ground, each feather barred across with bands of darker 
 grey or blue. The marking to be uniform throughout, 
 and the colours shading into each other so that no 
 distinct line or separation of the colours is perceptible. 
 
 ANCONAS. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN LEGHORNS. 
 
 (cock OR HEN.) 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ear-lobe, folded, wrinkled, or stained 
 
 with red ; 15 
 
 ,, colour 25 
 
 legs 8 
 
 Want of condition 10 
 
 „ size 
 
 „ symmetry 
 
 15 
 15 
 
 A perfect bird to' count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Cock's comb twisted or falling over, or hen's erect ; 
 ear-lobe red ; any white in face ; legs any colour but 
 yellow or orange; wry or squirrel tails or any bodily 
 deformity. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Deep, moderate in length, 
 rather inclined to width, carried well back. Beak .: 
 Medium. Eye : Bright and prominent. Comb : Single, 
 medium, upright, with deep, broad, even serrations 
 (five to seven) forming a regular curve ; coming well 
 back, and following line of head ; free from excrescences. 
 Face : Fine in texture, free from creases. Ear-lobes : 
 Medium, inclined to almond shape; free from folds. 
 Wattles : Long, fine in texture ; in proportion to comb. 
 Neck : Long, nicely arched, well covered with hackle. 
 
 Body. — Body : Broad, tapering to tail, close and 
 compact. Breast : Full and broad, carried well forward 
 and upward. Back: Moderate length. Wings: Large, 
 carried well tucked up. 
 
 Tail. — Large and full, carried high, with fine flowing 
 sickles. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thigh not much seen. Shank : 
 Medium length, strong, set well apart, clear of feathers. 
 Toes : Four, rather long and thin, well spread out. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Alert, bold, active. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium ; full-grown birds from 
 6 lbs. to 7 lbs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Moderate length, rather 
 broad. Beak and Eye : As in the cock. Comb : Medium, 
 falling on one side ; single fold preferred, partly hiding 
 face ; free from excrescences : broad serrations, fine in 
 texture. Face : As in cock. Ear-lobe : Medium. 
 Wattles : Medium length, well rounded, fine in texture. 
 Neck : Medium length, carried well up. 
 
 Body. — Body : Round and compact, rather longer 
 than the cock. Breast: Full and prominent. Back: 
 Rather long and broad. Wings : Large, carried close 
 to the body. 
 ■ Tail. — Full, carried well up. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Lively, active. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium ; from 5 lbs. to 6 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN ANCONAS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow, with black or horn- 
 coloured shadings. Eye : Bright red. Comb, Face, and 
 Wattles : Bright red. Ear-lobe : White. Plumage •• 
 Good beetle-green ground, tipped with white, as evenly 
 mottled throughout as possible, with no inclination to 
 lacing. Legs : Yellow, mottled with black. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN ANCONAS. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 » eye 
 
 ,, lobes and wattles 
 
 ,, colour 
 
 ,, legs and feet 
 
 Want of size 
 
 „ condition 
 
 „ shape and symmetry 
 
 A perfect bird to count loc 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 White face ; plumage other than black and white ; wry 
 tail or other deformity ; legs other than mottled ; other 
 than four toes. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ,. 10 
 
 •• 5 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 30 
 
 ,. 10 
 
 •■ 15' 
 ,. 10 
 ,. 10 
 
419 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 HAMBURGHS AND REDCAPS. 
 
 UNDER the general name of Hamburghs 
 are now grouped a class of fowls which 
 formerly were known under different 
 names, but which share the common character- 
 istics of rather small size, rose-combs, more or 
 less white and round ear-lobes, slender, dark, 
 clean legs, absence of the incubating instinct, 
 and full sweeping tails. Looking at all that is 
 really known of their origin, that of the spotted 
 or Spangled, and of the barred or Pencilled 
 varieties, appears quite distinct; the Pencilled 
 Hamburghs having undoubtedly reached Eng- 
 land from Holland under the name of Dutch 
 Everyday Layers, and being also known as 
 Chittiprats and Creels ; while the Spangled 
 Hamburghs emerged from Yorkshire and Lan- 
 cashire, where . they had been bred for years, 
 from what stock no man knows, under the 
 names of Mooneys and Pheasant fowls; the 
 former from the round moon-like spangles, and 
 the latter from the resemblance to pheasant- 
 marking of their more crescentic spangles. 
 
 Yet while the Pencilled and the Spangled 
 have thus been distinct to many generations of 
 breeders, no one can look at them even to-day 
 without being struck by the idea of some com- 
 mon origin ; and for such a belief there is strong 
 evidence in chickens and old birds. Spangled 
 chickens are often, and used to be always, 
 pencilled in their chicken feathers ; and when old, 
 the black spangles are very frequently sur- 
 mounted by a light tip beyond them, thus 
 returning slightly to a somewhat pencilled 
 character. On " the other hand, if Pencilled 
 Hamburghs are bred too dark, the final bar 
 often becomes too wide, thus approaching in 
 some degree the character of a spangle ; and in 
 1853 Tfie Poultry Book makes the significant 
 statement respecting Pencilled Hamburghs, that 
 " Spangled feathers mixed with the pencilled 
 are very objectionable." We have, therefore, 
 in Hamburghs several real breeds and not mere 
 varieties of fowls, of long distinct breeding, yet 
 probably of some one more remote single origin, 
 of which they still bear traces. What that 
 remote origin may have been, it is not so easy 
 to say. The old writer Aldrovandus figures a 
 fowl with a fairly strong general resemblance to 
 the Pencilled Hamburgh, and calls it Gallina 
 
 Turcica, or the Turkish fowl ; and the apparently 
 westward drift of all original breeds may suggest 
 as possible that some such original race may 
 have thence come to Holland, and so on to 
 England; but such speculations cannot be 
 further entered into here. 
 
 In their different varieties of barring, pencil- 
 ling, and spangling, the gorgeous lustre of the 
 Blacks, and the matchless symmetry of all 
 varieties, Hamburghs are confessedly the most 
 beautiful of poultry. The " fancier " of any other 
 breed has also his "points," about which he is, 
 of course, quite as enthusiastic, but which the 
 man in the street very often cannot understand 
 or admire : no eye needs any education to rest 
 with delight upon the subjects of this chapter. 
 In beauty, seen and understood of all, nTjne 
 dispute their place. 
 
 In suitable circumstances they are also most 
 profitable fowls, being quite small eaters, but 
 most prolific layers, except perhaps the Golden 
 Spangled, which vary much : the 
 Qualities cock-breeding strains of these also 
 
 Hamburghs. ^''^ often good layers, but the pullet- 
 breeders or Golden Mooneys are 
 usually very poor indeed. The Silver Spangled, 
 Pencilled breeds, and Blacks, have often been 
 recorded as laying 200 to 220 eggs in a year, 
 those of the Pencils being, however, decidedly 
 small. These good qualities come out best upon 
 a free range, where Hamburghs will to a large 
 extent keep themselves, foraging all over the 
 ground early in the morning for worms and in^ 
 sects, on which they depend largely for their great 
 productiveness. They are as a rule non-sitters ; 
 but the rule is not universal, as all the varieties 
 have been known, when at liberty, to occa- 
 sionally steal a nest and hatch chickens, though 
 we never heard of a case when kept in confine- 
 ment. Such occurrences are no sign at all of 
 impurity of blood. Finally, the flesh is tender 
 and delicate, though the birds are small — Silver 
 Mooney cockerels are not so very small — and 
 hence always acceptable upon the table. 
 
 When free range is thus at command, these 
 birds do best on the natural open-air plan,, 
 roosting at night in sheds entirely open, or 
 even in trees, which hardens them just as Mr. 
 Teebay found with his Spanish. Thus treated, 
 
420 
 
 THE BOOR OF POULTRY. 
 
 when once past chickenhood they will be 
 found hardy : the Pencilled breeds being most 
 delicate, and. specially subject to roup if 
 cooped up in small runs and houses, 
 General foi" which they are not adapted. 
 
 Management. Black and Silver-spangled Ham- 
 burghs have, however, been kept 
 with success in moderate-sized and even small 
 runs, provided they are kept scrupulously clean, 
 and roost in the open kind of houses described on 
 page 4 of this work. When so kept, of course, 
 their laying qualities must be maintained by 
 animal food, in lieu of the insects they would 
 procure in the fields. 
 
 The eggs of full-feathered Hamburghs are 
 very fertile as a rule, and the chickens active 
 and easy to rear, if reasonably cared for. Owing 
 to their small size, they should at first have 
 small seeds like millet and canary in good 
 proportion, which also help them to feather 
 v/ell ; and their crops being small, unless at 
 large they should be fed little and often. 
 Nearly all Hamburgh breeders, especially of 
 Pencils, would like their birds bigger if they 
 could get them so without loss of quality ; 
 and we know from results with other small 
 fowls, that much more might be done towards 
 this than is generally supposed, by the use 
 of ground oats and finely-cut bone, diminishing 
 the latter as the combs grow. They must be 
 kept clean, and dry underfoot ; and if with 
 hens, require great watchfulness against insect 
 vermin ; not that they are specially liable to 
 this, but that they suffer from it in proportion 
 to their smaller size. They come to maturity 
 pretty early, and will often lay at five months 
 old. Pencils usually being the earliest, and 
 Golden Spangles the last. If space is in the 
 least limited, weeding out of obvious wasters, 
 and of surplus birds of the wrong sex, should 
 be done at the earliest possible time, to make 
 room, the purest possible air and ground 
 being all-important. 
 
 Hamburghs are seldom used for crossing 
 purposes ; but it is worth mentioning that the 
 cross between a Silver-spangled cock and Light 
 Brahma hens ^ften produces chickens of great 
 beauty, fairly well spangled. In these days, 
 when lacing has been extended from Sebright 
 and Polish to the larger-sized Wyandottes, and 
 these spangled breeds themselves have been 
 already Bantamised, it might be found worth 
 while to extend such beautiful marking to a 
 larger race. 
 
 Till the exhibition era, knowledge of the 
 Spangled and Black Hamburghs was practi- 
 cally confined to Lancashire and Yorkshire, 
 but the Pencilled were known as Everlasting 
 
 Layers, in London and elsewhere, from quite an 
 early date. When the Spangles first became 
 more widely known they excited great admira- 
 tion ; but owing to the system of breeding not 
 being understood — double-mating was generally 
 unknown then, being in fact almost confined to 
 this breed — the produce of purchased stock was 
 so disheartening, and it was so impossible to win 
 against the northern breeders, that many gave 
 them up again in despair. A similar system 
 has. since been extended to the Pencilled 
 breeds ; and while the perfection to which it 
 has been brought has resulted in a beauty and 
 accuracy of marking not previously attained, 
 and unequalled in any other breed of poultry, 
 there is probably no other example so impressive 
 of the depressing effect of a rigid double-mating 
 system upon the general prevalence and popu- 
 larity of a fowl, whose singular beauty and 
 productiveness would otherwise have certainly 
 marked it out for very wide cultivation. 
 
 The breeding of Hamburghs for exhibition 
 has altered even within our own recollection. 
 That recollection extends perfectly (with the 
 aid of notes respecting fresh developments) for 
 thirty years, and in less degree for forty years. 
 Even the full account written by the late Mr. 
 Henry Beldon for the first edition of The Illus- 
 trated Book of Poultrj/y required considerable 
 revision by himself for subsequent editions ; 
 and further changes in breeding have since 
 taken place. He had left us a few memoranda 
 regarding some of these ; but his death some 
 years ago — keenly regretted by all true lovers 
 of the Hamburgh — has made it impossible 
 that the follov\^ing articles should proceed 
 directly from his pen. In these circumstances 
 Mr. Henry Pickles, of Earby, Colne, has come 
 to our assistance, but expressly desiring not 
 to interfere more than necessary with the views 
 of his late friend, and one so highly respected 
 among all Hamburgh breeders. He has there- 
 fore made detailed notes and additions where 
 necessary, answered many queries arising out 
 of these, and supplied feathers to illustrate 
 modern changes. Mr. William Roberts, of 
 Ingol, Preston, has also kindly given some 
 occasional aid in both these ways. While ex- 
 press quotation is impossible, the greater part 
 being necessarily collated and put into shape in 
 our own way, it will therefore be understood 
 that the articles on breeding the Spangled 
 and Pencilled varieties of Hamburghs are in 
 substance due to the late Mr. Beldon; where 
 necessary corrected or added to by Mr. H. 
 Pickles, with occasional aid also from Mr. 
 W. Roberts ; and the whole finally revised 
 by both these eminent breeders. 
 
POINTS OF SILVER-SPANGLED HAMBURGHS. 
 
 421 
 
 The comb of an exhibition Silver-spangled 
 cock should be even, firmly set on the head, 
 long, and moderately broad, full of " work " or 
 points, free from hollow in the 
 S^'an'^ied centre, and ending in a long spike 
 
 Hamburghs. slightly pointing upwards. The 
 beak should be horn colour, ear- 
 lobes a clear white, smooth, and as nearly round 
 as possible ; face red, quite free from white ; 
 
 Neck. 
 
 Fig. 122. — Hackles of Silver-spangled Cock. 
 
 and eyes a dark hazel or red ; legs a slaty blue. 
 The neck should be nicely arched, with very full 
 hackle falling well on to the shoulders ; the 
 breast full, broad, and prominent ; back a 
 moderate length, broad and level across, not 
 round or up at one side ; tail full, the sickles 
 long and gracefully carried. Formerly the 
 tail was liked rather high, though not squirrel- 
 fashion, but is now preferred carried well back, 
 as are all Hamburghs. The whole carriage 
 sh6uld be graceful, jaunty, and cheerful. In 
 regard to the plumage, the ground-colour should 
 
 be pure silvery- white, quite' free from straw or 
 yellow, though at the end of the season, if 
 exposed to the weather and sun, many good 
 birds will turn rather yellowish. The head and 
 hackle were formerly white ; but the hackles and 
 saddle feathers are now bred with black tips, 
 the centres of which are dagger-shaped, while 
 the fringe of the hackle extends the spot almost 
 into a diamond. The saddle-hackles are the 
 same, more heavily tipped, and the back is 
 more heavily spotted still. Fig. 122 represents 
 a saddle and hackle feather properly ticked. 
 Sometimes birds otherwise good will have 
 hackles and shoulders a little rusty or yellow : 
 this is a great fault, of a worse kind than the 
 slight tendency to straw which may be appa- 
 rent in a good bird that has run long at large 
 in the sun. The breast and thighs should be 
 evenly spangled with round spangles, of a rich, 
 satiny green-black, as large as possible so that 
 they show the white ; white throat or black 
 thighs are the most usual faults here. The 
 spangles which form the wingrbars must be 
 especially even and distinct, as also those on 
 the ends of the secondaries, which form the so- 
 called " steppings " of the wings. Shoulders 
 and wing-bows have dagger-shaped spots 
 somewhat like the saddle-feathers, but shorter 
 and broader. Each feather of the true tail 
 and also of the sickles and side feathers, 
 should be white with a large spangle at the 
 end, those of the true tail being more of a 
 half-moon shape. 
 
 Ideally the hen should correspond with the 
 cock, with head-points in proportion, and white 
 ear-lobes ; but this is still an ideal, the combina- 
 tion of good lobes and perfect spangling being 
 still an achievement for the breeders of the future. 
 The spangles should be of an extremely rich and 
 satiny green-black, looking almost as if raised 
 or embossed, and the back should be rather 
 broad, so as to give room for them to show 
 well. The breast must be spangled from the 
 throat right round to the fluff, good distinct bars 
 on the wings, and the tail clear, with a spangle 
 at end of each feather. The spangles should be 
 as large as pos.sible, so long as there is white 
 enough to distinguish them. The marking on 
 head and neck has gone through a series of 
 remarkable changes, owing to which the most 
 successful winners of the present day are 
 neither as formerly, nor as described in the 
 Standard. When Mr. Beldon wrote in 1870, 
 the neck of a good exhibition hen was really 
 spangled from top to bottom, as in Fig. 123, 
 exactly drawn from feathers of a noted cup 
 winner ; even close to the head, it will be seen, 
 there were very fair spangles. The Standard 
 
422 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 now describes the hackles as " tipped from the 
 head with dagger-shaped tips, becoming 
 spangles at _the shoulders." Except at the 
 shoulders they are neither of these in the 
 
 Near Head. 
 
 Half-way; 
 
 At Shoulder. 
 
 Fig. 123. — Hackles of Silver-spangled Hen, 1870. 
 
 majority of cases, Fig. 124 representing feathers 
 in the same places as those shown above from 
 Mr. Beldon's cup hen, from cup-winners belong- 
 ing to both Mr. Pickles and Mr. Roberts. Up to 
 about half-way down, it will be seen, these 
 feathers are striped, the full half-way feather 
 beginning, however, to show the stripe coming 
 to an end near the base, and with a tendency for 
 the white ground also to break into the feather 
 more towards the tip. This change to striping 
 is a consequence of the changes in breeding to 
 be described. 
 
 The Silver-spangled Hamburgh owes every- 
 thing to the counties of Lancashire and York- 
 shire. In Lancashire hens had been brought 
 to a very high standard years 
 before ever poultry-shows were 
 thought of, and as regards feather, 
 all our modern skill has been 
 unable to improve upon this old breed ; indeed, 
 some of the old Mooneys, as they were called, 
 were absolute perfection in this point of feather ; 
 the spangling, so large, round, and rich in colour, 
 was really something to be wondered at. This 
 careful and extreme breeding for feather in the 
 old Lancashire Mooney fowls, resulted in pro- 
 ducing hen-feathered cocks — that is, cocks 
 marked very similarly to the hens, heavily ticked 
 on the neck, with spangling on the back, sides, 
 
 Breeding 
 
 Silver 
 
 Spangles. 
 
 etc., and with a square^ or hen tail. It was to 
 this variety that all the^prizes were given at the 
 beginning of the poultry-showing era ; but after 
 they had enjoyed a year or two's popularity, the 
 judges at Birmingham announced that the hen- 
 feathering of Mooney cocks was not the " correct 
 thing," and that such birds were unfertile, In 
 this latter charge there was much truth in regard 
 to many, though some are prolific enough ; but 
 the 'hen-tailed cocks were thrown out, and their 
 reign as show birds was over. 
 
 In Yorkshire, on the other hand, was another 
 Silver-spangled breed known as the Yorkshire 
 Pheasant, which had the desired cock-feathering, 
 the cock being a fine fuU-plumaged bird ; but the 
 spangling was much inferior to that of the Lan- 
 cashire variety, lacking not only in size, but the 
 roundness and glossy greenness of the spangles ; 
 but being decidedly smarter in appearance, and 
 possessing whiter ear-lobes. The hen-feathered 
 Lancashire Mooney had coarse, red ear-lobes, and 
 even the older Yorkshire Pheasants had not 
 much to boast of in this respect ; still they were 
 whitish, and a few years' careful breeding soon 
 brought this point to perfection. The Yorkshire 
 
 Near Head. Half-way. At Shoulder. 
 
 Fig. 124. — Hackles of Silver-spangled Hen, 1900. 
 
 cocks had, moreover, nice clear tails, while the 
 hen-feathered cocks of that day often had smutty 
 tails ; but the Yorkshire birds lacked colour on 
 the back and wings. Still, at first these York- 
 shire cocks were shown with Lancashire 
 
BREEDING SILVER-SPANGLED HAMBURGHS 
 
 423 
 
 Mooney hens, and of course the two varieties 
 had to be kept and bred separately. 
 
 Each variety however possessed great defects : 
 in the Mooney hens the combs were coarse and 
 the ear-lobes red ; while in the Yorkshire cocks 
 the neck, 6ack, saddle-hackles, and shoulders 
 were almost white, and the breast-marking very 
 poor in comparison. The next step was to 
 cross Mooney cocks with Yorkshire hens, which 
 produced cockerels with fairly clear spangled 
 tails, smarter combs, and white ear-lobes, yet 
 with better spangling. This system lasted many 
 years, but by degrees the repeated crossing pro- 
 duced a great deal of really amalgamated blood, 
 and the pure old Yorkshire Pheasant practically 
 disappeared, while a considerable portion of 
 Yorkshire blood crept into many, if not most, 
 of the Mooney strains. When Mr. Beldon wrote 
 in 1870, this had gone so far, that the system he 
 himself practised and recommended was to select 
 an exhibition cockerel with as much marking on 
 back and saddle as possible (never found in the 
 old Yorkshire Pheasant pure) and put him with 
 hens heavily spangled, but with good combs and 
 ear-lobes. Blood was so mixed at that period, 
 that much mating was very speculative : the 
 male show bird, as deep in colour as possible, 
 was to be mated with the best hens obtainable, 
 and the result awaited. If good, the breeder 
 kept that pen as long as it would breed : if dis- 
 appointing, he tried another cock. A pen would 
 often breed good cockerels but only middling 
 pullets : because although good marking had 
 been obtained on the back and saddle of 
 the exhibition cock, superseding the white of the 
 old Yorkshire, his neck-hackle was still de- 
 manded white, which was bad for pullet-breeding; 
 hence, hens were in practice bred chiefly from 
 pens containing more Mooney blood, though 
 their breeding was perhaps not exactly known. 
 
 Mr. Beldon's opinion at that time, often ex- 
 pressed to us, was that the amalgamation was 
 likely to go further still, and produce yet deeper 
 colour in the cocks, until only one male would 
 be generally required, which might however 
 probably breed the best pullets from the females 
 with most Mooney blood. One of these antici- 
 pations was fulfilled ; the exhibition cock having 
 now finer and better spangles, the hackle being 
 well ticked, and the saddle more heavily than 
 before, so far making the bird a better pullet- 
 breeder. Yet curiously enough, the practice of 
 breeding Mooneys from the hen-tailed cocks 
 for pullets, has not only held its ground (the 
 oldest breeders never having abandoned it), but 
 the supposed pure Mooney is more bred than 
 ever. The breeder now seeks for his cockerel- 
 breeding pen an exhibition bird of pure white 
 
 colour, heavily ticked in hackles, and well 
 spangled, and with special regard to good comb 
 and ear-lobes ; and mates him with hens bred 
 from the same cock-breeding strain, and so 
 heavily spangled {i.e. in their natural state) as 
 to be almost black-breasted. These hens are 
 specially selected in regard to neat heads and 
 good eai--lobes. For pullets, on the other hand, 
 Mooneys, or the birds so-called, aje chosen on 
 both sides. Both sexes in these Mooneys are 
 very large, much larger than the cock-breeding 
 strains, but coarse in heads and combs, and 
 more or less red in ear-lobes : these faults are 
 tolerated for the sake of the spangling, which 
 is glossy green. The hen is naturally very 
 much darker than she is exhibited (see 
 page 237) and as a rule the darker ones breed 
 the best stock : they must be spangled up to 
 the throat and not go off white just under it. 
 
 This is the present and general method of 
 breeding, but not quite universal, and Mr. C. 
 Holt* still advises mating a heavily-marked 
 exhibition cock with two cock-breeding and two 
 Mooney hens, with a view to breeding both 
 sexes. He was a great deal criticised for this 
 advice, and it was not altogether a valid reply 
 to state that with a pullet produced by such a 
 cock and a crack Mooney hen he had beaten 
 all the old Hamburgh breeders at Silsden, 
 since that was in 1884, and breeding has 
 perceptibly changed even since then : still the 
 coincidence of the advice and experience with 
 Mr. Beldon's should have some weight. 
 
 The question is not really so simple as some 
 suppose, and will be best considered in connection 
 with that of the spangling itself. The old Lan- 
 cashire breeders sought as large and 
 Hamburgh as round spangles as possible, and 
 Spangling. got them so large at last that the 
 birds literally could not be shown 
 without extensive thinning out, as was under- 
 stood by all, and never then objected to. There 
 has been some little reaction against that, and 
 the present Standard qualifies it by the words, 
 " never so large as to overlap," but this is more 
 nominal than real, and birds have to be thinned 
 out still. There is, however, some perceptible 
 change, as will be seen by comparing A in Fig. 
 125, drawn from one of Mr. Beldon's feathers 
 (from the back) in 1870, with B, from the same 
 part of one of the. "crack" hens, of 1900. The 
 spangle is perceptibly smaller, though probably 
 (owing to greater proportion of Mooney blood) 
 from a larger bird. Nothing has therefore been 
 gained, as many suppose, in size of spangling by 
 going back more to the Mooney, while the ear- 
 lobes have lost considerably. As already observed, 
 
 * " Hamburghs Up-to-date " : Feathered World Office. 
 
424 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 really, good spangling had also been obtained 
 in the hen's hackle in 1870 (Fig. 123), while 
 the Mooney revival has brought back mere 
 striping more than half-way down (Fig. 123), 
 which is a mark of the old Mooney breed, but 
 as regards spangling is retrograde. 
 
 But more than these points are involved. 
 First from the fancier's point of view, must be 
 mentioned greenness of the spangles : in this the 
 old Mooney was far superior, and probably its 
 matchless green lustre had most to do with the 
 revival. In the second place, Mooneys are far 
 
 perhaps slightly smaller spangles, and probably 
 even had some effect in preference for the bigger 
 bird, which gives more space to spread them over, 
 but led to a desire for shorter spangles. For- 
 merly, though approximately round, these came 
 nearly to a point at the bottom (A, Fig. 125), 
 though often rounded there, as in the modern 
 feather B. But there has been lately a tendency 
 to cut off more and more of this bottom corner, 
 either as in c by a roughly straight line, or by 
 contracting the approximate circle into an 
 approximate oval, as in D. Each of these 
 
 Fig. 125. — Feathers of Silver-spangled Hamburghs. 
 
 larger, and lay much larger eggs than the cock- 
 breeding strain. The birds will average i^lbs. 
 to 2 lbs. heavier, and the eggs weigh about 
 eight to the pound. These points affect the 
 Hamburgh closely as a useful farmer's fowl, 
 small size of eggs. being a great drawback from 
 a utility point of view. It was no doubt these 
 points which -captivated Hamburgh breeders : 
 size of spangles had nothing to do with it, 
 since in that nothing has been gained, while 
 some points have been appreciably lost. 
 
 There are also some differences in regard to 
 
 the shape of the spangles. The desire to get 
 
 , spangling more clearly apart on the bird without 
 
 thinning, or with less of it, has not only led to 
 
 feathers is from a cup-winner, and it will be 
 seen that such shortening of the spangle enables 
 a larger spot to appear distinct, than when it is 
 a full circle, or fully pointed. So marked is this 
 movement that some of the best breeders rather 
 seek for what they call a " half-moon " spangle, 
 i.e. one with a flat or straight base. A distinctly 
 flattened base from a very well-known hen is 
 shown in E, Fig. 126 ; and in F is almost a half- 
 moon, the nearest which Mr. Pickles could find. 
 This is from the stepping of the wing : but he 
 writes that he would delight to see a bird with 
 every feather more or less like it. But here too 
 opinion is not unanimous. Some still prefer the 
 pointed, spangle, and the extreme of such a 
 
THE SPANGLING OF HAMBURGHS. 
 
 425 
 
 tendency is seen in the " pear-shaped " spangle 
 (g, Fig. 126). The pointed kind of spangle is 
 at present the favourite in America, and a great 
 many English birds are selected to go to 
 America for this reason, both hemispheres being 
 thus suited. In America the spangling is how- 
 ever mostly smaller than in England, and the 
 effect of the pear-shape in making the bird look 
 much blacker for the size of spangle, can be 
 
 slightest touch of Mooney in his birds '' ; and of 
 any modern crossing this was no doubt correct. 
 But every spot in the hackle and saddle and 
 back, and the roundness of every spangle, in 
 every one of his winners, came from the Mooney 
 alone ; as did every trace of black fluff at the 
 base of any of the feathers. Conversely, the 
 same may be said of the supposed "pure" 
 Mooney. We never bred any Hamburghs, 
 except once Gold Pencils ; but we had the very 
 unusual advantage of studying actual specimens 
 of the old pure Mooneys and Pheasants, under 
 the guidance of Mr. Beldon, and they were 
 
 F O 
 
 Fig. 126. — Feathers of Silver-spangled Hambuighs. 
 
 seen at a glance. Before leaving the subject 
 of spangles it will be interesting also to give 
 (h. Fig. 126) a feather of the more crescentic 
 spangling which formerly marked the old York- 
 shire Pheasant, but is now rarely to be found, 
 that old breed having practically disappeared. 
 
 This leads finally to a few words about the 
 amount of distinctness between cock-breeding 
 strains and the " pure " Mooneys as now bred. 
 Distinctness of strain there is ; of breed there is 
 not so much as many suppose. A well-known 
 exhibitor and judge wrote in 1898 that he had 
 bred cocks for years, and " never had the 
 
 3C 
 
 different from the present, 
 he wrote to us as follows : 
 
 In the year 1873 
 
 Nearly all the so-called pure Mooneys now have 
 vi'hite ear-lobes, showing they have been modified by 
 breeding. Hen-feathering is no sigffof absolutely pure 
 blood, being very easily produced. In Yorkshire also, 
 though I live there, I should have some difficulty now 
 in finding a pure-bred Pheasant, our Mooney hens 
 having a dash of the Pheasant, and our so-called 
 Pheasants a: lot of the Mooney. At the last Birming- 
 ham Show (1873) there was not one absolutely pure 
 Mooney hen, though there were some splendid birds. 
 Some ten or twelve years ago I came into possession of 
 a lot of Silver Mooney hens, the really pure old stamp, 
 picked up from all parts of Lancashire by old Jack 
 
426 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Andrews. These hens were much larger than those we 
 have at present, and were certainly coarse ; but for 
 spangling — it was perfection ! Still, I think among the 
 amalgamated strains we have as good, and that moult 
 as true. I inquired of old Jaclc, a very short time ago, 
 if he thought any of this " old sort " could be found 
 still ; he said he had looked the whole county through, 
 but could find none. 
 
 The old breed was not so extinct as Mr. 
 Beldon supposed, and has undoubtedly come 
 more largely again into the pullet strains of 
 to-day, as shown by the coarser ear-lobes and 
 greater size. But still there are differences. 
 The old Mooney hens had striped hackles ; and 
 white, this has partly come back, the spangled 
 shoulder-hackle still remains from the mixed 
 blood (Figs. 123 and 124). Pullets still often 
 appear with white ear-lobes, though considered 
 " pure " ; the old Mooney never bred such a 
 lobe, which is another sign of " amalgamated " 
 blood. Thirdly, the intense black fluff of the 
 old Mooney hens is by no means so dark 
 now. Fourthly, the old Mooney cock was much 
 smaller in proportion to the hen, than to-day. 
 And finally, the- old Mooneys had dark tail- 
 feathers, especially on the inside ; and these in 
 most winners are much clearer now. 
 
 On the whole, in the interests of this noble 
 breed it is to be wished that some movement 
 should be made, quite apart from any question 
 of single mating. The Mooney blood (as it is 
 now) possesses size, and magnificent colour, and 
 moults true year after year ; while the heads 
 and lobes, though still coarse, are less so than 
 formerly. It seems a pity there cannot be 
 revived classes for Mooney cocks : with these 
 also to breed for exhibition, as remarked a year 
 oc two ago by Mr. J. Roberts, head-points would 
 soon improve. Or on the other hand, much 
 more could easily be done in amalgamation, by 
 careful line-breeding. That process was aban- 
 doned too soon, because of too much breeding 
 back to the Pheasant, which lost size and colour: 
 by breeding back more to the Mooney, size and 
 colour could be retained. With the greater 
 skill breeders have .now acquired, it would be 
 €asy to throw in enough of the cock-breeding 
 blood (already at least half Mooney) to produce 
 practically a large full-tailed Mooney cock with 
 clear tail and good lobes, still retaining the 
 colour. There was once a real sub-variety of 
 Moon'ey cocks with very dark, full tails, but it 
 died out through selection for the hen-cocks ; 
 and the restoration of full tails while keeping 
 up the colour, which could easily be accom- 
 plished, would do much for the breed, as so 
 many hen-tailed cocks are sterile. 
 
 At present any novice should put himself 
 in the hands of a breeder, who if applied to 
 
 will generally supply birds with the necessary 
 relationship, and properly mated, one sex in each 
 pen being, of course, according to exhibition type. 
 As was justly pointed out by the Rev. C. D. 
 Farrar in a series of interesting letters,* Ham- 
 burgh breeders naturally get rid early of all 
 chickens of the "wrong" sex which they are 
 not likely to want ; therefore application should 
 be made early for young stock before it is gone ; 
 or else endeavour should be made to purchase 
 a breeding-pen, when breeding is over for the 
 season. Many then desire to make room, and 
 such a pen can therefore be sometimes procured 
 below its real value. 
 
 The Gold-spangled Hamburgh is broadly 
 similar to the Silver, substituting a rich golden- 
 bay ground-colour for the white ; but there are 
 differences in the neck and in the 
 
 s°Lt* ted *^^'- ^^^ *^'^ °^ *^ '^^"' ^"'^ ^°* 
 
 Hamburghs. the true tail and the sickles and 
 
 coverts of the cock, instead of being 
 a clear ground-colour with spangles at the tips, 
 are of a rich and glossy solid green-black. And 
 the hackles of both sexes, and saddle and back 
 of the cock, instead of being spangled or tipped, 
 or as near this as possible, are golden bay striped 
 with glossy green-black; even the hen's tail- 
 coverts being more a large black centre laced 
 round with bay, than really spangled. The 
 cock's wing-bow also, while now desired and 
 standardised as deep bay with dagger-shaped 
 tips to the feathers, as in the Silver, is still very 
 commonly almost a self-colour, with little spot- 
 ting at all; but this point is improving. The 
 head points and bo^y marking are as in Silvers, 
 but the birds as a rule are much smaller. It is 
 remarkable that the striped hackles and black 
 tails in this colour, represent a marking almost 
 similar to the old and now extinct full'tailed 
 Silver Mooney breed, referred to above, and 
 was evidently one of the very oldest types of 
 Spangled Hamburghs, and out of which the 
 hen-tailed Silver Mooney was perfected. 
 
 There were and still are similar distinctions 
 in the strains of these birds, to those already 
 described in the case of Silvers ; but with the 
 curious difference that in the Golden it was the 
 Mooney that was the smallest breed, the cocks 
 especially, and that these were full-feathered ; 
 while the hen-feathered cocks which occurred 
 were in the larger and coarser Yorkshire breed. 
 These were fine large birds, and at one time the 
 hen-feathered birds were all the fashion, so that, 
 although there did not lack full-plumaged birds 
 of the same variety, only the hen-feathered were 
 retained. These Yorkshire Pheasants were gener- 
 * Feathered World, igoi. 
 
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GOLDEN-SPANGLED HAMBURGHS. 
 
 427 
 
 ally hardy, and capital layers. The spangling 
 was bold and of a glossy green-black, but of a 
 crescentic rather than round form (H, Fig. 126) 
 and the ground-colour was of a light dull bay, 
 and generally there was a good deal of pepperi- 
 ness in the ground-colour,* so that the spangling 
 was often not clear and sharp-looking, especially 
 in the tail-coverts. As a rule this variety had 
 whitish ear-lobes. In Lancashire there was 
 another variety, cultivated chiefly by the weavers 
 and colliers. This was called the Golden 
 Mooney ; it was a much smaller bird, but for 
 colour and marking threw the Yorkshire 
 Pheasant entirely into the shade. The ground- 
 colour of the plumage in these fowls was of the 
 very richest bay, the spangling very bold and 
 clear, and of a green satm-looking black ; in 
 fact, the plumage was so rich and glossy that 
 the full beauty of it could not be seen except in 
 the sunshine, but when thus seen formed a pic- 
 ture never to be forgotten. This applied to the 
 hen ; the plumage of the codks was also of the 
 very richest description, but their great draw- 
 back was their red ear-lobes and black breasts 
 — in fact, they had no ear-lobes at all to speak 
 of, but merely a bit of red skin like a Game 
 cock. These cocks were never shown, but 
 merely kept for breeding purposes. Shows were 
 held in many of the village public-houses in 
 Lancashire, the competitors being mostly colliers 
 and weavers of the district, to whom is entirely 
 due the credit of bringing the celebrated Mooney 
 marking to such perfection. At these shows 
 hens only were shown, of both Golden and 
 Silver Mooneys and Black Pheasants, but far 
 the most usually it would be one of the Mooney 
 breeds. The birds were judged by a scale, of 
 points agreed on by members of these village 
 clubs, the- first jdefinite points ever drawn up ; 
 and the points were so well understood by all 
 that any disagreement about the judging 
 scarcely ever took place. One of the foremost 
 men at these village clubs was old Jack 
 Andrews, or, as they called him in Lancashire, 
 " The Ould Pob't," meaning " The Old Pullet." 
 Another fine old fancier and breeder was Nathan 
 Marlor ; and breeders and fanciers of both 
 the Spangled varieties are much indebted to 
 these two men, who have been greatly instru- 
 mental in bringing the Mooney. to such a state 
 of excellence. 
 
 Both the breeds thus described being in 
 existence at the early time we have been speak- 
 ing of, the Lancashire Mooney hens were first 
 shown with the Yorkshire hen - feathered 
 
 * This was probably the reason why in some of Ihe old books 
 on Poultry, "Copper Moss" is given as another local synonym 
 for the Golden-spangled Hamburgh. 
 
 cocks ; but when the judges set their faces 
 against the hen-feathered birds (and their reign 
 was very short), the Yorkshire Pheasant's career, 
 
 as an exhibition bird, was over. 
 Breeding ^ftej. that the cocks shown with the 
 
 Spangles. Mooney hens were at first of the ivXi- 
 
 feathered Yorkshire breed ; but 
 neither pure variety possessed the points of 
 excellence required. The Yorkshire Pheasant 
 was dull in ground-colour and not distinct in the 
 spangling; while the Mooneys, especially the 
 cocks, had almost black breasts and red ear- 
 lobes, and if anything (especially in a room) 
 were almost /ci«? deep and rich in the ground- 
 colour. The necessary change began first with 
 the cocks. In the first place the Yorkshire 
 cock was put to the Mooney hens, and by care- 
 ful and judicious crossing a bird was produced 
 having somewhat of the richness in plumage of 
 the Mooney, at the same- time retaining the 
 spangled breast and whitish ear-lobes of the 
 Pheasant. These were the cocks for some time 
 shown with Mooney hens. After a time, how- 
 ever, as the competition became keener, and 
 richness of plumage became the chief point 
 requisite to success, a little more of the Mooney 
 blood was introduced ; and at the present day- 
 cocks are bred which leave little to be- desired 
 either in that point or in ear-lobes, which have 
 been by careful breeding brought to a perfection 
 neither breed originally had. The hens - also 
 were operated upon, the red ears of the pure 
 Mooney being found an eyesore. To remedy 
 th is a dash of the Yorkshire Pheasant blood was 
 introduced, which also had the good effect of 
 giving a very slightly lighter tint to the ground- 
 colour; and by this crossing, and judicious 
 selection, hens also have been produced that 
 combine all the richness of the Mooney with a 
 slightly lighter ground-colour and a somewhat 
 whiter ear-lobe. As in the preceding variety, 
 breeding from the pure Yorkshire Pheasant is 
 now quite discarded. 
 
 For breeding pullets the beginner should 
 get the very best hens from an exhibition point 
 of view that he can lay his hands upon ; there 
 is not much need to inquire about the strain, as 
 in a hen this will speak for itself; but if better 
 heads and ear-lobes than usual can be secured 
 all the better, and also what is possible in the 
 way of size. Then let him get a cock from 
 some good breeder out of a well-known pullet 
 strain, and if possible somewhat related to the 
 hens or pullets he is breeding from ; for birds 
 bred thus akin produce by far the most perfect 
 specimens. Then if these birds produce first- 
 class chickens, keep them together and breed 
 from them as long as possible, and do not 
 
428 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 attempt to improve them by a cross, or they 
 may be improved the wrong way. If the pro- 
 duce is not satisfactory, try again ; but this 
 simple method of selection will rarely fail, and 
 is about the only one which can be given at 
 the present day. 
 
 For cockerels pursue a similar plan. Get 
 the very best exhibition cock procurable, and 
 put him to a hen or hens obtained from some 
 good breeder, also of the cock-breeding strain ; 
 but in choosing them select birds with the 
 necessary points, viz. with smart, even combs, 
 and pure white, well-shaped ear-lobes. It is 
 often difficult to get a cock with really well- 
 spangled breast, but either lacing or too much 
 black should be avoided if possible, and also 
 light brown or yellow hackles,, richness of ground 
 being another rather difficult point. Then, as 
 before, if the produce is good stick to it so long 
 as the pen will breed ; but if not successful at 
 first, try a change of mating, until the produce 
 is satisfactory. While pedigree is the sheet- 
 anchor, as in other cases, it is by this experi- 
 mental method the best breeders make up 
 their Hamburgh pens until they have a strain 
 of their own, when of course they knovv^ its 
 qualities, and can mate up their breeders with 
 something like certainty.; 
 
 Except in the.hackles and tails, the spangling 
 of this variety- is so similar to the preceding 
 breed, that the representations of the feathers 
 will equally suffice for them, the crescentic form 
 of the old Yorkshire Pheasant spangling being 
 shown in Fig. 126, H. The latter old breed is 
 now practically extinct in an uncrossed form, 
 being superseded by a stock more or less crossed 
 with Mooney ; but its traces are still seen in 
 much tendency to light ground and yellow 
 hackles, and breasts laced or crescentic in 
 marking, or almost black near the throat. To 
 correct these faults, so much Mooney blood has 
 been used, that several winning pullets have been 
 known to be produced by. what were known as 
 cock-breeding strains. The Golden Mooneys, 
 on the other hand, often now have so much 
 better heads and ear-lobes than formerly as 
 to show much Yorkshire blood ; and although 
 most of the best breeders still employ separate 
 pens of what they consider " pure" strains, there 
 is a smaller school aiming at a greater degree of 
 amalgamation, which can also boast of some 
 success. The existence of these two schools has 
 led at times to debate whether the dark or light 
 — or as it was called in one discussion which we 
 remember, the red or the golden — ground-colour 
 was correct ; and perhaps the truth lies entirely 
 on neither side. As already remarked, the very 
 rich ground requires open-air and sun to do the 
 
 plumage justice ; while rather lighter colour 
 shows more contrast in the. show-pen, and was 
 sought by some exhibitors for that reason. But 
 opinion has upon the whole settled down in 
 favour of the rich ground, almost mahogany ; 
 and though further blending may possibly go on 
 in order to improve the hens in size and ear- 
 lobes, it is essential to success in such a course 
 that there be kept in view as the main 'points, 
 the rich ground and green satin spangling of 
 the old Lancashire Mooney. No breeding that 
 preserves this in the hens, can- go far- wrong ; and 
 there is in this variety one motive which does 
 not exist in the case of Silvers {the Mooney in 
 Silvers being iliuch the largest bifd) for some 
 further crossing, in the; small size and poorer 
 laying of the uncrossed : Mooney Strain. The 
 Standard itself now lays down that the colour 
 of the cocks is to be rich golden bay, and the 
 wing-bows ticked over ; and these points, with 
 the better spangling- on breast which is still 
 badly needed, can only be arrived at by either a 
 little more Mooney blood, or breeiding up to it: 
 while the white ear-lobes now laid doWn for the 
 hens, equallyrequire a little more Yorkshire in 
 that strain, and more selection -for lobe and head. 
 Could' these points be iniprovfed, and- size and 
 laying, increased, without losing cofoiir, arid with 
 such further unification of blo6d, though more 
 or less double mating 'would still probably be 
 necessary, this variety of Hamburgh might 
 probably become one of the most popular, 
 instead of perhaps the least kept- of any. 
 
 Some of the chickens when hatched are dark 
 brown, striped with black, others very light, 
 almost yellow, depending doubtless on more 
 
 Lancashire or Yorkshire blood. The 
 Spanrfed ^''^*- feathering also differs a great 
 Chickens. deal, some being much lighter than 
 
 others ; and many are pencilled on 
 the wings, but this is not so in all. There is 
 however little or no true spangling in the first 
 plumage, and on an average the darker chickens 
 prove the best ; but as this rule is not universal, 
 if the blood is known to be good, it is best to 
 await the adult plumage. Usually the bars of 
 cockerels are not sufficiently heavy in spangling 
 compared with the rest, or may appear semi- 
 laced. In that case it is usual to pull these 
 feathers gently out, beginning at the bottom of 
 the lower bar, and taking out two or three on 
 each side every day : the second bar in the same 
 way, till all have been withdrawn. The bars 
 usually come again much better spangled. 
 
 Most of the early poultry books describe 
 amongst tihe varieties of Hamburghs a breed 
 known as the Redcap, which is undoubtedly 
 
THE DERBYSHIRE REDCAPS. 
 
 429 
 
 closely allied to one of those .described under 
 the' preceding head. These Redcaps have 
 also been, known as " Manchesters," Mo.ss 
 
 Pheasants, and some other syh- 
 Eedcaps. onyms besides those mentioned 
 
 below. Many years . ago, as Red- 
 caps, they used to have classes at the Sheffield 
 shows, but subsequently dropped out, until 
 more recently revived. They always had a 
 very high reputation -amongst those who 
 
 Edensor, Bakewell, wlio has been largely instru- 
 mental in promoting the interests of the variety, 
 and bred them for many years : 
 
 " The Redcap is one of our oldest breeds of 
 fowls. It has been kept for a great many years 
 in the counties of Derbyshire and Yorkshire, 
 where it has always been most highly thought 
 of, especially for its laying qualities. Recently, 
 however, it has become better kno\yn, and it is 
 now largely kept in the United States, Aus- 
 
 Derbyshire Redcaps. 
 
 knew them, as useful fowls, and the late Mr. 
 Hewitt wrote highly of them as such in the 
 first edition of The Illustrated Book of Poultry. 
 He mentioned in particular the much better 
 carcase, cocks reaching 7I lbs. to 9 lbs., while 
 the meat was tender and delicate ; and the 
 fact that if equal weights of eggs from Spanish 
 and Redcaps were used in custard making, the 
 Redcap eggs went nearly a third further than 
 the others. 
 
 The following short account of Redcaps is 
 kindly supplied by Mr. Albert E. Wragg, of 
 
 tralia. New Zealand, France, Germany, and 
 Belgium. It is generally supposed to have 
 originated in Yorkshire, and is probably a near 
 relation to the Golden-spangled Hamburgh, 
 having been bred more for size and the large 
 comb. Game blood undoubtedly enters into 
 its composition, as the breed is a very pugna- 
 cious one, and a dubbed Redcap cock might 
 almost be taken for an Old English Game 
 cock. It. has been known by many different 
 names, such as Pheasant Fowls, Cramniers, Cop- 
 per Fowls, Yorkshire and Derbyshire Redcaps. 
 
43° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 "The Redcap cock is a fine-bodied bird 
 of noble appearance. Nothing could be more 
 ornamental than his large, symmetrically-shaped 
 comb, full of a great number of fine long 
 spikes, with leader behind. It should be well 
 carried, firm and straight> and standing well 
 oiif the eyes. For years Redcaps were bred 
 with very ugly combs — ^^and some are yet to 
 be seen winning prizes — and to this fact may 
 be attributed much of the unpopularity of the 
 breed in many parts of this country. The 
 comb should be as large as can be comfortably 
 carried by the bird. In size it should not greatly 
 exceed five and a half inches in length and three 
 and three-quarter inches in breadth. Birds with 
 ugly combs should not be used for breeding.^ 
 Frost seldom injures the large combs of Red- 
 caps, for I have had birds roosting in plantations 
 with 26° of frost, and not one has suffered in the 
 slightest degree. The hen is a shapely bird, 
 very active, and a good forager, and as a layer 
 is second to none. She will generally lay from 
 150 to 200 eggs per year. Redcaps are long^ 
 lived birds, and very hardy, and hens three and 
 four years old will frequently lay as many eggs 
 as a pullet. The eggs are white, of slightly 
 tinted, very rich, and of a beautifully delicate 
 flavour, and of good size, weighing about 2 ozs. 
 The hens rarely go broody. 
 
 " The chickens are not at all difficult to rear. 
 To produce strong healthy chickens that will 
 give no trouble in rearing, the breeding-pen 
 should consist of a strong active cockerel, 
 mated with large healthy hens of two, three, or 
 four years old. They should have a free range, 
 on grass if possible, and after being mated up, 
 should not be disturbed, either by sending to 
 shows, changing the cockerel, or putting in fresh 
 hens. They breed remarkably true to colour, 
 but will throw some single-combed chickens, 
 especially when the cock is of a different strain 
 from the hens. For breeding exhibition birds it 
 is best to keep to one strain. 
 
 "March and April are the best months for 
 hatching. The chickens feather quickly, and 
 should be carefully watched for insect pests in 
 the hot weather, for these often play great havoc 
 with them. Good plain food such as biscuit 
 ijieal, sharps, barley meal, wheat, barley and 
 maize (occasionally) will be found the best foods 
 for them. Overcrowding is bad for them, and 
 confined runs are the causes of many failures in 
 rearing them. Pullets hatched in March will 
 begin to lay about September and October, but 
 they are not first-rate winter layers except when 
 well sheltered and warmly housed. They are 
 very good for table if reared on large runs ; 
 their flesh is white and of delicious flavour, very 
 
 nearly approaching the Game fowl. They make 
 a splendid bird for crossing with almost any of 
 the other breeds." 
 
 The main characteristic of tlie Redcap is its 
 immense rose comb, standing high as well as 
 wide on the head,, and covered on the top 
 all over by unusually long spikes. The 
 wattles are long, and the ear-lobes are red, not 
 white as in other Ha'mburghs. The cock's 
 hackles and saddle feathers are rich red striped 
 with black ; breast and tail black ; back red, 
 spangled with half-mooned or crescentic black 
 spangles. The hen's tail is also black, hackles 
 red striped with black, body plumage reddish 
 brown spangled with black crescentic spangles. 
 It cannot fail to be noticed how closely the large 
 size and crescentic spangling resemble the. old. 
 Yorkshire Pheasant, the largest parent-breed of 
 the Golden- spangled Hamburghs already treated 
 of ; and if that old breed weire, as supposed by 
 Mr. Wragg, crossed with Game, the further gain 
 in size and richness of the ^tgg is exactly what 
 might have been expected. 
 
 There can be no question that the Redcap is 
 a most valuable fowl from an economic point of 
 view. It has a really good-sized carcase of good 
 quality ; and in regard to laying, stands almost 
 alone in the degree to which. prolificacy extends 
 late in life, even to three or four years old. This 
 is probably connected with the curious, fact that 
 the pullets are not as a rule early layers, but 
 generally seven months old before they com- 
 mence. A farmer once told us that he had a 
 hen which laid nearly as well as ever up to eight 
 years old, but this was exceptional. They are 
 hardy in rearing, and a first-class farmer's. fowl. 
 
 Breeding Redcaps requires some care ; but 
 that care should not be given to wrong objects. 
 There has been effort to get " neat " combs ; and 
 we have seen it stated that the 
 Breeding spangling of a hen was " as good as 
 
 Redcaps. a Hamburgh." It has no business 
 
 to be as good as, or in fact at all 
 like that of a Hamburgh, and any such ideas 
 will only destroy the Redcap, without making a 
 decent Hamburgh of it after all. Its proper 
 spangling is crescentic, not round ; the spangles 
 should be as black and dense as possible, but 
 have not the Mooney gloss ; the ground-colour 
 is red or reddish-brown ; the cock's breast is 
 black ; the comb must be very large : whenever 
 that point is lost, the bird will be a Redcap no 
 longer. Size of body in itself must never be over- 
 looked, and it must not be forgotten that the 
 ear-lobes are red. We have seen already birds 
 which in their whitish ear-lobes, smaller size, 
 and too great approach to Hamburgh ground 
 and spangling, gave regrettable evidence of an 
 
SILVER-PENCILLED HAMBURGHS. 
 
 431 
 
 endeavour to breed them to Hamburgh lines. 
 Yellow hackles should' be particularly avoided, 
 breeding dull and washy chickens ; neither 
 should the black striping be too heavy. Hens 
 not rich enough in ground-colour, or with 
 spangling too much like lacing, should also be 
 discarded : such birds appear to be of the same 
 stamp as the yellow-hackled cockerels. If these 
 points are kept in mind, the Redcap, being 
 originally a coarse breed of natural sex-colours, 
 will be found to breed fairly true, and both 
 sexes from one mating, 
 
 Pencilled Hamburghs are smaller and lighter 
 in make than the Spangled, and the Silvers and 
 Golds were formerly known in Lancashire as 
 Bolton Greys and Bolton Bays re- 
 p'^'^^i A spectively, while the Silvers were, 
 Hamburghs. ^"^^ Still are sometimes, called Chit- 
 tiprats. They are very obviously 
 closely allied to the somewhat larger but single- 
 combed breeds described in a subsequent 
 chapter as Campines and Braekels ; indeed, a 
 rose-combed Campine would be almost exactly 
 a Pencilled Hamburgh of fifty years ago, but 
 long breeding has reduced the size of that bird, 
 and refined the pencilling of the hens, and 
 altered that of the cocks, till the appearance of 
 both has been considerably changed. The cock 
 depicted in the early poultry books is however 
 evidently pencilled on the body, very much 
 as the Continental breeds just mentioned are 
 at this day. 
 
 The head-points of the Silver-pencilled 
 Hamburgh cock resemble those of other 
 varieties, except in greater neatness and delicacy 
 of appearance, the comb being somewhat smaller. 
 The head, hackle, back, saddle, breast, and 
 under-parts should be a clear silvery white, free 
 from straw-colour. The true tail feathers are 
 black, the sickles and side feathers rich glossy 
 green-black up the centre, only edged with a 
 fine white lacing, as sharply defined as possible. 
 The marbling and splashing or grizzling with 
 white which once were common, is impossible 
 now for a successful bird. The wing-coverts or 
 bar-feathers are generally more or less coarsely 
 pencilled on the upper or invisible web, the tips 
 sometimes showing a slight line of black across 
 the wing ; this slight . bar was once cultivated, 
 and is still allowed, but a white wing is now 
 preferred. The secondaries are also usually 
 black or coarsely pencilled on inside web, but 
 this is invisible. Formerly these feathers were 
 black on the outer web also for a narrow band 
 next the quill, but this dark colour is now 
 discouraged. The fluff on the thighs is also 
 now preferred as white as possible, whereas 
 
 some pencilling used to be bred for there also. 
 All these changes have been in the direction 
 of breeding a whiter cock than formerly. 
 
 The pullet's hackle also should be silvery 
 white and clear, but near the bottom is hardly 
 ever so now. The rest of the body should have 
 each feather distinctly pencilled across with 
 narrow bars of black, as distinct and clear as 
 possible upon the white ground (or in the case of 
 Golden Pencils, golden ground), and as straight 
 across the feather as possible. The pencillings 
 should show a rich green gloss, and range as 
 much as possible into lines round the body, as 
 in what are termed " ringlets " in Plymouth 
 Rocks. The finer the pencilling, and therefore 
 more numerous the bars, the better; and the 
 marking should extend from under the throat 
 to the end of the tail. On the breast the 
 pencillings will be fewer, and under the throat 
 is a particularly weak place, very apt to come 
 merely spotted, or with horse-shoe markings : 
 but some birds are well marked even in this 
 region, though not so well as elsewhere, and 
 though the best ones are generally most marked 
 on the hackle. The fact is that breeding for 
 pencilling alone always tends to produce pencilled 
 hackle also, as we have seen already in Partridge 
 Cochins and Brahmas. The tail should be well 
 pencilled straight across, and this is not so very 
 rare in the two top feathers of the tail itself; 
 but it is curious that some pullets properly 
 pencilled there will fail in the longer tail-coverts, 
 and vice versd, so that a fine all-round complete 
 tail is rather rare. 
 
 It is in the pencilling of the pullets that most 
 change has taken place since 1870, as will be 
 seen from Figs. 127 and 128, the former being 
 photographed exactly the size of 
 Breeding nature from winners of the present 
 day, whilst Fig. 128 exactly repre- 
 sents, also of the natural size, 
 feathers supplied. by Mr. Beldon in 1870. It 
 will be seen that the bars are much more 
 numerous, finer, arid straighter than those of 
 thirty years before. Most writers state that the 
 black bars should only equal the light spaces in 
 width, and feathers are often drawn so : biit it is 
 to be observed that such feathers are drawn, 
 never photographed, and have not been really seen 
 yet, while our photographs are taken from two 
 of the best cup-winners of the year 1900* 
 This change has partly caused, and partly been 
 caused by, a considerable change in the method 
 
 * Mr. Pickles had kindly supplied a full set, in duplicate ; 
 but one of the most important feathers being too much damaged 
 in transit, and such feathers being too precious at that season to 
 be plucked freely, Mr. W. Roberts kindly supplied a substitute. 
 ExCept for the damage to the first, the second could scarcely 
 be distinguished. 
 
 Silver 
 Pencils. 
 
432 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of breeding. When Mr. Beldon wrote in 1870, 
 cockerels were selected by breeders and accepted 
 by the judges with distinct bar upon the Wing, 
 and dark secondary feathers, and such cockerels 
 would produce pullets of the pencilling then 
 deemed satisfactory. But purer white bodies 
 were desired for the cockerels, along with finer 
 pencilling for the pullets ; and the two were 
 incompatible. Some good breeders had always 
 bred from two pens, and these found that their 
 
 pullets will sometimes be nearly white, but more 
 often coarsely and rather lightly marked over 
 with a; coarse marking somewhat like the breast- 
 feather of Fig. 1 28. 
 
 With pullets another course is pursued. The 
 cockerels from the best specimens were found to 
 have the most of the coarse pencilling on the 
 inside web of the wing-coverts. By selecting 
 for this, cockerels were soon produced con- 
 siderably pencilled on the wing, and with 
 
 Cushion 
 (Silver-pencilledX 
 
 Breast. 
 
 Wing. 
 These three Feathers are Golden pencilled. 
 
 Cushion. 
 
 Fig. 127. — Feathers of Pencilled Pullets, 1900. 
 
 best cockerels bred pullets with more white 
 ground, and coarse marking : in fact pullets 
 could only be bred at all from the same peri as 
 cockerels, while the coarser marking of Fig. 128 
 was accepted as the standard. Sometimes 
 pullets almost white came from these pens, and 
 these often bred good cockerels if black in tail. 
 Cockerels are now therefore bred always in that 
 way ; an exhibition bird naturally good in comb 
 and ear-lobes, and silvery in colour, being mated 
 with pullets or hen's of the same strain, the blood 
 being the main thing, as without it birds which 
 look just like them may be worthless. These 
 
 touches of pencilling on the body, with almost 
 black tails. Still breeding for finer pencilling 
 alone, cockerels were bred, exactly as in the 
 spangled breeds, with hen-feathered tails, and 
 pencilled all over exactly like the pullets, from 
 the top of the breast to the tip of the tail. It is 
 rather curious also, that in thus following up 
 marking alone, the ear-lobes often came reddish 
 and the heads coarse, precisely as in the Lan- 
 cashire Mooneys. Pullets are now always bred 
 in this way, mating the best that can be got, 
 with fine pencilling, and a cock or cockerel bred 
 from the same strain. If he be of the hen- 
 
BREEDING SILVER-PENCILLED HAMBURGHS. 
 
 433 
 
 feathered pullet-marked type, he will speak for 
 himself: the pencilling will show what he may- 
 be expected to do. If he is of the full- tailed and 
 black-tailed type, the fineness of the wing- 
 pencilling is still some guide, but one's real 
 dependence, if purchasing, must be upon the 
 breeder. After a while, of course, the fancier 
 will have matters in his own hands. 
 
 This change, in Silver-pencilled Hamburghs 
 and their breeding has not been without injury, 
 and the variety is not without some drawbacks. 
 The persistent breeding for fine pencilling has 
 very perceptibly diminished the size of the fowl 
 from what it once was, and increased its delicacy. 
 
 career is over, and they are valueless except for 
 breeding. A very small proportion preserve 
 their fineness of marking ; and such are particu- 
 larly valuable as breeding stock. It would very 
 much increase their popularity if they could be 
 made to last ; and it is probable that this might 
 be effected if opinion would only tolerate a 
 slightly coarser pencilling, but still finer than 
 
 Breast. 
 
 
 Wing. Cushion. 
 
 Fig. 128. — Feathers of Silver-pencilled Pullet, 1870. 
 
 Tail Covert. 
 
 The feathers in Fig. 128 are not only coarser in 
 marking than the others, but it will be seen that 
 they are considerably larger, which means that 
 they came from a larger bird. Such dwarfing 
 means also a smaller egg, and a weaker consti- 
 tution, the Pencils being notoriously subject to- 
 roup. The best antidote to this is ' the free 
 open-air system. One reason for it is, that 
 finer pencilling is generally bred from pullets 
 than from hens; and in the long run such 
 breeding, from small birds, always produces 
 weakness. 
 
 This is connected with what is perhaps the 
 greatest drawback of all in Pencilled Hamburghs. 
 As a rule the pullets, especially Silvers, can only 
 be shown as such: after the first moult the 
 pencilling usually becomes coarse, and their 
 
 3D 
 
 that of years ago, and with the greater straight- 
 ness now attained. The ear-lobes turn coarse 
 also, but in a hen this is tolerated if the pencil- 
 ling remains good : as in the Mooneys, it must 
 be put up with if perfect marking, alone is to 
 be considered. 
 
 Pencilled Hamburghs have one rather 
 curious characteristic, quite apart from their 
 markings. If taken up, or roughly disturbed, 
 or terrified, especially at night, they scream in 
 a very peculiar way, and with a persistency 
 (unless let go) that makes a very effectual 
 alarm in the case of poultry-thieves. 
 
 The Golden-pencilled Hamburgh is in every 
 respect save ground-colour similar to the Silver- 
 pencilled breed. The ground-colour in the 
 
434 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 pullets should be about the colour of gold, as rich 
 and bright as possible ; the pencilling being ex- 
 actly like that of the preceding variety, as distinct 
 
 and yet as iine as can be got ; that is, 
 PenciUed ^^ many bars as possible across each 
 Hambvffglis. feather, provided they are distinct, 
 
 straight, and of a good rich black 
 colour. The neck-hackle, like.the Silver birds', 
 should be clear. The cock is of a deeper tint, his 
 colour being somewhat between that of his own 
 hens and of a Red Game cock ; it is described in 
 the Standard as a red bay, while the pullets are 
 termed golden bay ; it must be neither too red 
 nor too pale, but what might be called very rich 
 in effect. His proper tail-feathers are black ; 
 the sickles and side hange.rs rich black edged 
 with bronze or gold, the edging being usually 
 rather wider than in the Silver-pencilled bird, 
 but a fine narrow edging is much the best for a 
 breeding bird, though not so showy in the pen. 
 Sickles all black, or bronzed all over, with 
 scarcely any black in them, are now out of the 
 question, though at one time they were tolerated. 
 Besides the quality of the black pencilling, one 
 of the points in this variety is the evenness and 
 richness of the ground-colour. Some pullets, 
 otherwise good, are uneven in this point, the 
 ends of the feathers being a lighter colour than 
 the other parts. As summer advances most 
 birds fade in colour from the effects of the sun ; 
 but some pullets of a good rich ground retain 
 this much better than others, which is, of course, 
 a great point in their favour. In the cocks the 
 same fault is commonly seen, appearing in the 
 shape of a lighter shade on the tips of the feathers 
 on the breast and under-parts. This fault is to 
 be particularly avoided. 
 
 The breedingof Golden-pencilled Hamburghs 
 is much the same as for Silver Pencils, putting 
 a cock or cockerel of exhibition type, of as good 
 
 a colour as possible, with neat head. 
 Breeding comb, and lobes, and sharp narrow 
 PenciUed edging to his sickles,with hens of 
 HamburghB. the same strain. Patches of dull 
 
 brown or clay-colour are especially 
 to be avoided in a brood cock. The hens will be 
 of a reddish gold, and usually pencilled coarsely all 
 over ; but the known pedigree, or relationship to 
 good exhibition birds, is the chief thing. Pullets 
 are almost always bred from cockerels or cocks 
 more resembling the full-tailed Silver-pencilled 
 pullet-breeders mentioned above ; in fact we 
 have heard of very few hen-tailed pullet-marked 
 cockerels appearing in this variety ; and when 
 they did there was much suspicion of a Silver 
 cross. They are usually full-tailed, with very 
 dull and dirty lacing on the sickles instead of the 
 bright bay of exhibition birds, but have a good 
 
 deal of pencilling on the wing, and often touches 
 on the rest of the body : the ground-colour 
 (except lacing of the tail) is generally very dark, 
 almost maroon. Again pedigree is the main 
 point with the breeder ; next to this he looks to 
 the fineness of the pencilling on the cock's wing. 
 As to the pullets, they speak for themselves. 
 
 Golden-pencilled Hamburghs last better than 
 the Silvers, good moulted hens being seen 
 occasionally, and such being especially valuable. 
 There have been curious variations at times in 
 the ground-colour of the pullets, from very deep 
 indeed, almost pale mahogany, to quite pale 
 yellow. In some of the latter birds we have 
 seen patches of almost white, and suspect a cross 
 with Silvers. The Standard description of 
 golden bay, generally understood to denote the 
 colour of a new sovereign, should terminate such 
 variations, and this moderately rich ground- 
 colour is usually pencilled with the richest green- 
 black. In the full summer sun this colour will 
 fade somewhat, especially at the tips of the 
 feathers, and must be watched over if deemed 
 necessary, as in buff fowls. But this is at a 
 cost, since the best stock can only be bred 
 in the open. A piece of wood or shrubbery 
 on light soil answers all purposes. 
 
 Under the name of Black Pheasants, the 
 Black Hamburgh was known and exhibited a 
 hundred years ago at the Lancashire village 
 
 shows already alluded to. In those 
 Black days it was of unmixed Hamburgh 
 
 Hamburghs. blood, and the opinion of the late 
 
 Mr. Teebay and some other old 
 breeders was, that it was originally bred from' 
 the full-tailed Silver Mooney, many chickens of 
 the latter coming almost black. The birds of 
 that day were shorter in the leg than now, 
 and of the same shorter formation generally 
 as the older Mooneys, and with ear-lobes much 
 smaller and coarser than now. This old breed 
 was undoubtedly crossed with the Spanish, in 
 order to improve the size and quality of the 
 ear-lobes ; and the size of the fowl and of its 
 egg were both improved at the same time, while 
 it likewise became more suitable in disposition 
 for small runs. Unfortunately, the cross also 
 introduced a considerable tendency to white in 
 face, and some coarseness about the head, which 
 have required a great deal of breeding out ; the 
 form of the bird also became somewhat taller, 
 though anything like the stilty carriage of 1:he 
 Spanish is most objectionable, and the usual 
 Hamburgh carriage should be sought as far 
 as possible. 
 
 The Black Hamburgh of the present day 
 is a most striking bird, the .combination of 
 
BLACK HAMBURGHS. 
 
 ■135 
 
 bright carmine head and face and comb, smooth 
 white kid ear-lobe, and lustrous green plumage, 
 making a most beautiful whole. The ear-lobe 
 is considerably larger now than even twenty 
 years ago, that of the cock being about the size 
 of a florin ; it should be round in shape and 
 smooth all over, perfectly free from folds or 
 lines or creases. Such a lobe is, of course, very 
 apt to be. accompanied by more or less white in 
 face, especially under the eye, a fault much 
 more common in Blacks than in any other 
 varieties of Hamburgh. Very few old birds are 
 indeed free from it, but in young ones it is a 
 serious fault. A gipsy tint sometimes seen is 
 also disliked, a cherry red being the desired 
 colour. In combs also there has been a percep- 
 tible change in fashion, in the direction of a 
 longer spike or " leader " at the back, especially 
 in the cock. Both sexes are of rather larger 
 size than other Hamburghs, except perhaps 
 some of the larger Silver Mooneys, and the cock 
 is of somewhat more commanding carriage, and 
 should be particularly long and full in feather 
 about the saddle and tail, the sickles and side- 
 feathers being broad, but as sound and close 
 in web as those of a Game cock. The shanks 
 should be dark leaden blue, and are very often 
 nearly black up to a year old, but after that 
 usually get lighter with age. 
 
 But the great point in both sexes is " colour," 
 
 which should be of the glossiest green lustre 
 
 which it is possible to get, as distinct from either 
 
 a purple or mazarine gloss, or a 
 
 Breeding mere raven black. The bird should 
 
 SlsLck 
 
 Hamburghs. be a green bird, rather than a black 
 
 one, though of course the colour 
 
 is scarcely this about the fluff. It is hard to get 
 
 really green tailSj but the ends even of the true 
 
 tail feathers ought to be green, and the side- 
 
 feathers conspicuously so. The neck hackle 
 
 also is often more black than green ; and when 
 
 really bright is too apt to have red feathers 
 
 interspersed among the others. Then also 
 
 the purple or the mazarine is cropping up every 
 
 now and then.* Altogether, breeding Black 
 
 Hamburghs for exhibition is not easier than 
 
 breeding other varieties, and requires much care 
 
 to get the desired " colour " in combination 
 
 with other points. 
 
 These other points have been increased in 
 
 difficulty by the changes above noted, which are 
 
 much to be regretted, and have, as is well 
 
 known, actually driven several eminent amateurs 
 
 out of the fancy. The long spikes or " leaders " 
 
 * Bars of purple or mazarine, something like those of a Pen- 
 cilled Hamburgh, will often occur from even a change of diet, 
 or any slight illness, while the feather is growing. Even marked 
 changes in the weather at that time, appear to leave such traces 
 occasionally. 
 
 to the comb now desired, are almost impossible 
 to keep up naturally, and nearly every comb 
 now exhibited shows marks of treatment, as 
 may be seen in those "glossy "-looking portions 
 already referred to on page 236. The exagger- 
 ated lobes are often rather too long or mis- 
 shaped, and trimmed up to the necessary 
 roundness. On cocks as now exhibited, these 
 large lobes have become almost as liable to 
 scab and blister as the faces of Spanish, and 
 require constant care of the ■ same sort ; and 
 those of the pullets and hens, though much 
 smaller in actual measurement, are now preferred 
 larger in proportion than those of the cocks. 
 To obtain these it is necessary to select cock^ 
 or cockerels for pullet-breeding with abnormally 
 large ears, which are almost useless for cockerel- 
 breeding, and the male progeny from these is 
 only valuable for the same purpose again. The 
 size of the ear-lobes makes it especially neces- 
 sary to be very careful in selecting a smooth 
 unbroken surface, free from creases, to which 
 many are liable. 
 
 Colour is now bred in two ways. One way, 
 no doubt the better if it can be followed, is to 
 mate up the greenest and most glossy birds 
 on both sides, carefully avoiding any purple 
 or mazarine shade. If the male bird can be. 
 found bright enough, and the females are also 
 good in colour, the pullets produced will in 
 colour be all that can be desired, as well as the 
 cockerels. But it is not at all easy to obtain such 
 birds ; and it will be found that many of the 
 male produce from the very best-coloured hens 
 or pullets, have a great many red hackles 
 amongst their neck and saddle feathers. Such 
 a red-hackled bird, bred from very lustrous 
 hens, or from the same stock as a good exhi- 
 bition strain of females, is therefore often mated 
 with such hens or pullets to keep up the colour, 
 and will often produce good green pullets even 
 from hens by no means specially good in colour, 
 if of the same breeding. 
 
 The other points already mentioned tend 
 further to develop this double-mating system. 
 It is obvious that for cock-breeding we must 
 have a male as perfect as possible in comb, with 
 ear-lobe not larger than desired, smooth, and 
 well-shaped, a red face with no trace of white, 
 and plumage entirely free from red feathers or 
 purple gloss ; while the hens must be as glossy 
 as possible, but will be all the better for smaller 
 ear-lobes than are desired for the show-pen. 
 For pullet-breeding, on the other hand, we must 
 have in all the hens the full-sized ear-lobes^ 
 desired, and a male with extra large lobes as 
 above, and brilliant colour ; he may, however, 
 have a considerable amount of red in hackle, 
 
436 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and need not be so perfect in comb. It is 
 greatly to be desired that a return to the more 
 moderate combs and ear-lobes of the older Black 
 Hamburgh should moderate these tendencies 
 towards a double strain of birds, which have 
 already perceptibly diminished the spread and 
 popularity of the breed. 
 
 The Black Hamburgh is one of the most 
 generally useful of all the varieties. It is of fair 
 size, enough to make a decent though not large 
 fowl upon the table, while the meat is of most 
 excellent quality. The egg also surpasses those 
 of other varieties, except perhaps of some Silver 
 Mooneys ; most of them will average two ounces 
 each, or eight to the pound, and some are more ; 
 and these are laid quite freely, many pullets 
 beginning early in November. Finally, the 
 variety is hardy, and appears to thrive best of 
 all the Hamburghs in confinement, having been 
 known to do well even in a covered run. This 
 merit is probably due to the Spanish cross, and 
 is the one benefit which that cross really has 
 conferred upon the breed. Black Hamburghs 
 are also little trouble for exhibition, though 
 more so than formerly, owing to the ear-lobes. 
 These need attention of the same kind as those 
 of Minorcas, if the birds have been exposed to 
 the weather ; and they should be either kept or 
 got into soft, kid-like condition, by washing and 
 the powder-puff, in the same way. As a rule, 
 shelter father than darkness is required, though 
 a subdued light has good effect upon, the lustre 
 of the plumage, as well as upon the white kid, 
 and a week in a dark pen is often necessary. 
 
 Black Hamburgh chickens are, when hatched, 
 white on all the under-parts, the back and upper 
 parts black, sometimes with a shade of brown. 
 They are not always black all over, even in their 
 first chicken feathers, but become so , with the 
 adult plumage. If disturbed or seized at night, 
 Blacks have the same screaming propensities as 
 we have already noticed in the Pencilled breeds. 
 
 These notes have been put together from a 
 former article by the Rev. W. Serjeantson, of 
 Acton Burnell, Shrewsbury, some subsequent 
 notes and comments by him, and one or two 
 notes by Mr. Pickles ; and have been revised in 
 their present form by the gentleman first named. 
 
 White Hamburghs were bred many years 
 ago in Lancashire — we can remember them back 
 to about 1866 — but afterwards died out. They 
 
 belong to the Pencilled family, and 
 Various were no doubt produced by breeding 
 
 Off Colours, together the lightest of these. Of 
 
 late they have been seen again, 
 plainly owing their revival to the development 
 of very white cock-breeding pullets, and have 
 
 found a place in the Standard. They rather 
 lack contrast for the white ear-lobe. Beyond 
 care to select- cocks with glossy and silvery 
 white top-colour, and neat heads, they call for 
 no special remark as to breeding. 
 
 In our notes collected during many years, we 
 find also mention of a Silver laced Hamburgh ; a 
 Black Hamburgh laced with white on the breast ; 
 and a Buff or Gold-pencilled with white instead of 
 black. This latter could no doubt be produced by 
 crossing White with Gold-pencilled : those seen 
 were never liked, however, the efifect in this' 
 marking being disagreeable. Mr. Beldon him-, 
 self possessed at one time a breed of Cuckoo or 
 blue-barred Hamburghs, which bred very true, 
 and may have resulted from crossing White with 
 Black ; but these also found no favour. 
 
 The Buff Hamburgh may possibly gain a 
 footing, though it always seemed to us that a 
 bird with neither marking nor lustre has no 
 proper place among these beautiful fowls. Mr. 
 Beldon mentioned Buffs long ago, but we believe 
 all known before 1870 had died out. Of some 
 lately seen, little disguise was made of the fact 
 that they had been either made, or at least im- 
 proved by a cross with the Bufif Leghorn, of 
 which a rose-combed variety has been, several 
 times attempted. Another strain is stated to 
 have originated from a cross between a Gold- 
 spangled cock and a very light cock-breeding 
 Silver-pencilled hen. The dark legs will always 
 be a difficulty to keep up when combined with 
 clear buff plumage free from dark markings, 
 and such a colour seems to have nothing but 
 novelty to recommend it. 
 
 The purest strains of all Hamburghs will 
 every now and then produce chickens with single 
 combs, the more especially when small and neat 
 combs are bred together. Such an occurrence 
 is no proof whatever of any cross in the strain, 
 as some have thought ; it is more probably a 
 reversion to the ancient progenitor of the 
 family. In this connection it is interesting to 
 note that the Turkish fowl of Aldrovandus 
 already referred to, appears to have had a single 
 comb, and that such a single-combed Pencilled 
 fowl exists to-day in the Braekel or Campine. 
 
 Hamburghs have some drawbacks as exhibi- 
 tion fowls ; never looking so well in all points 
 after the first year. The Pencilled breeds in 
 most cases lose the fineness of their 
 Exhibiting pencilling, and in all varieties the 
 Judging. ear-lobe generally loses much of its 
 
 smoothness, and often becomes 
 tinged with red after that time, especially if 
 the birds are allowed to run at large. The 
 late Mr. Beldon was generally acknowledged to 
 
TRIMMING IN HAMBURGHS. 
 
 437 
 
 bring out his old birds in better condition than 
 most of his competitors, and this was greatly 
 due to his system of keeping them under cover. 
 He had an old disused cotton-mill at his com- 
 mand, the spacious floors of which were parti- 
 tioned off" into pens from 6 feet to lo feet 
 square, littered with gravel and straw, and well 
 lighted by windows. Here the birds could be 
 kept quite out of wind and sun, yet with plenty 
 of light, and were in perfect health under the 
 sedulous care of the late Mr. Job Rawnsley. 
 Not many can have' the advantage of such space 
 for penning ; but the lively disposition of Ham- 
 burghs makes it very advisable that any necessary 
 confinement for reasons of lobe and colour should 
 be in as large pens as possible. They need, of 
 course, a little training in exhibition pens as 
 well, and cocks will stand a week or two of this ; 
 but Hamburgh hens and pullets often go back 
 in condition if kept any length of time in small 
 pens, and are better only thus treated at short 
 intervals, with more liberty in between. Even 
 thus the pens should be larger than usual, say 
 about 3 feet square. 
 
 But the real difficulties of exhibiting 
 Hamburghs have been more serious than these. 
 They consisted, first of all, in that complicated 
 system of double-breeding — for it was more 
 really that, than what is expressed merely by 
 double-mating, as now ordinarily understood — 
 already described. Such a system necessarily 
 kept the breeds to which it was applied in the 
 hands of a select circle who understood it ; 
 ■nearly all new-comers who were attracted by the 
 beauty ef tlie fowls and their wonderful laying, 
 being one after the other disheartened by their 
 inability to produce progeny like those which 
 they so admired. But worse followed. The 
 ideals pursued, and the smallness and wonderful 
 skill of the coterie which pursued them, have led 
 to an amount of trimming in Hamburghs as yet 
 unknown in any other breed. Such combs as 
 are now required cannot be shown honestly save 
 in some rare case out of scores, and the vast 
 majority are cut and carved into shape, as any- 
 one can see from the glossy scars ; while again 
 and again needles and pins and wires and 
 threads have been extracted from them, having 
 been used to get or to keep them in shape. 
 A certain number may be bred in the first place ; 
 but the long spike now demanded soon begins 
 to drag down by its own weight ; or if not, the 
 heat of a show soon causes it to droop, and then 
 it has to be "set up," which in any way is a 
 most cruel operation. False sickles have re- 
 peatedly been found fastened in, in such an 
 ingenious way that even opponents who have 
 "bowled them out" have expressed their free 
 
 and ungrudging admiration, and with entire 
 good feeling — we speak of what we have heard 
 and seen. As to "thinning out" spangles, we 
 have already shown that this must be done if 
 the large spots now bred are to be seen. The 
 broad practical result has been to make of 
 Hamburgh-breeding for exhibition a somewhat 
 peculiar cult, whose followers form almost a 
 circle of themselves, with their own accepted 
 methods and ideas of what is fitting. On the 
 other hand, we have heard it said again and 
 again by outsiders who have tried it and given 
 it up again, after finding out what had to be 
 done, that "no gentleman could show Ham- 
 burghs," and we know such an impression to be 
 very widespread indeed. That is exaggeration, 
 perhaps, though we do think that (with the 
 exception perhaps of the Pencilled varieties) no 
 lady could do so without aid from her "man" 
 of which she was happily ignorant, and that few 
 gentlemen would wish to, while the present 
 system is connived at and encouraged by the 
 judges. And there are certainly some signs of 
 matters mending. We have gladly chronicled 
 already some reaction against excessive size of 
 spangling, which may possibly go further ; 
 indeed, will have to go further if " thinning " is 
 to be avoided, and could certainly go further, 
 with the result of still further increasing the 
 beauty of the fowl to ordinary eyes.* Comb- 
 trimming also is beginning to receive more 
 steady protest than formerly. . But there has 
 been too much ground for the feeling ; and any 
 such impression on the one hand, combined with 
 practical restriction to a small circle on the 
 other, while it produces specimens almost niatch- . 
 less from a certain point of view, and may even 
 increase the priqe of a few such specimens in 
 their own peculiar market, is ruinous to a 
 breed as regards general classes, or any wide 
 popularity or usefulness. 
 
 Judging Hamburghs very largely resolves 
 itself into vigilance in regard to the matters just 
 referred to, or at least should do so ; the main 
 " points " being well understood, and seldom in 
 much doubt. Up to the present we have never 
 heard of any judge penalising "thinning" — in 
 other words, wholesale plucking of spangled 
 feathers — since the days of the late Mr. Teebay, 
 who did "pass" a few cases for reasons which 
 he showed us ; nor does such penalty appear 
 expected or demanded in Hamburgh circles. 
 
 * As a proof, see the drawings of Spangled Hamburghs, by 
 all artists without exception-. All birds thus represented show 
 the "spotting " all over, and are much smaller in spangles than 
 Mooneys as bred even in 1900. This is perhaps the only case 
 in which the "ideal" of all artists has rebelled, from sheer 
 necessity, against the ideal in one point (size of spangle) of the 
 fancier. 
 
438- 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 This being so, the question arises whether such 
 thinning should not be legaUsed, in tlie same 
 way as trimming Spanish faces. It should, we 
 think, be one thing or the other. The fact is, 
 and it ought to be known, that the judges — and 
 one now deceased judge in particular, who per- 
 sistently encouraged combs that could not be 
 honest, while he deliberately winked at the 
 methods by which they were '' made " — have 
 been mainly responsible for the present state 
 of things. Comb-trimming, at least, is not 
 at all difficult of detection ; and its bare-faced 
 toleration has done more to deter the genuine 
 amateurs from attempting to exhibit Hamburghs 
 than anything else. 
 
 The Standards of the Poultry Club and 
 specialist Clubs for Hamburghs and Redcaps 
 are as follow : — 
 
 HAMBURGHS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Kiod : Neat and sprightly. Beak : 
 Short and small. Eye : Full. Comb : Square in front, 
 gradually tapering towards the back, and ending with 
 a long spike pointing in a straight line with the surface 
 of the comb ; the comb should be firmly and evenly set 
 on the head, the top level, and covered with points. 
 Face : Smooth. Ear-lobes : Smooth and round as possible, 
 varying in size according to variety. Wattles : Thin, 
 well rounded, and free from wrinkles. Neck : Medium 
 length and nicely arched. Hackle : Very full and a 
 good length, coming well over the shoulders. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Prominent and round. Back : Medium 
 length. Wings : Large and neatly tucked up. 
 
 Tail. — A good length, carried at an angle of about 45° ; 
 sickles and secondaries broad, plentiful, and sweeping. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Slender, short, and neat. 
 Shanks : Small-boned, taper, and medium length. Toes : 
 Slender and well spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Head erect, chest well 
 out, and the whole appearance lively and graceful. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Pencilled, should weigh about 
 5 lbs. ; blacks, whites, buffs, and spangles somewhat 
 heavier. 
 
 Plumage. — Very profuse. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Beak and Eye : As in the cock. 
 Comb : Similar to the cock, only very much smaller. 
 Face and Neck : As in the cock. Ear-lobes and Wattles : 
 Similar to cock but smaller. 
 
 Body. — As in the cock. 
 
 Tail. — A good length, carried at an angleof about 45°. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — As in the cock. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Pencilled, about. 4 lbs.; blacks, 
 whites, buffs, and spangled somewhat heavier. 
 
 COLOUR IN SILVER-SPANGLED HAMBURGHS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Horn colour. Eye : Red. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes : White. 
 Legs : Leaden blue. 
 
 In the Cook. — Hackle : A silvery white, each feather 
 ticked with small black dagger-shaped tips. Back and 
 
 Saddle : U'hite, with small black dagger-shaped tips at 
 the end of each feather. Shoulders and Wing-bows : 
 White, with narrow black dagger-shaped tips at the 
 end of each feather, increasing in size until they merge 
 into what is called the third bar. Wing-bars : Two in 
 number, consisting of rows of 'large beetle-green 
 spangles running parallel across each wing with a 
 gentle curve, each bar distinct and separate. Secondaries : 
 White, tipped with large round beetle-green spangles 
 which form what are' called " steppings." Breast and 
 Under-parts : White, each feather tipped at the end 
 with a round spot or spangle (the greener the better) ; 
 small near the throat and increasing in size towards the 
 thighs, but never so large as to overlap. Tail : White, 
 both inside and outside, ending with bold half-moon 
 shaped spangles. Sickle Feathers : White, with large 
 round beetle- green spangles at end of each feather. 
 Tail Coverts : Similar, spangles a trifle smaller. 
 
 In the Hen. — Head: Black and white mixed. Hackle: 
 A silvery white, ticked from the top of the head with 
 dagger-shaped tips, which gradually increase in width 
 uatil they merge into rich green spangles at the bottom. 
 Back and Saddle, Shoulders and Wing-bows, Breast and 
 Under-parts : Every feather white, tipped with lustrous 
 green spangles, which should be as round as possible, 
 and never so large as to overlap. The spangling should 
 commence high up the throat. Wing-bars : Two in 
 number, and sometimes three, consisting of rows of 
 large green spangles running parallel across the wing 
 with a gentle curve, each bar distinct and separate. 
 Secondaries: As in the cock. .Tail: Each feather a 
 pure silvery white, with a half-moon spangle at the end. 
 Tail Coverts : Should reach half-way up the true tail 
 feathers, and form a beautiful row across the tail (each 
 side) of perfectly round spangles. 
 
 COLOUR IN GOLD-SPANGLED HAMBURGHS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Horn colour. Eye : Red. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes : White. 
 Legs : Leaden blue. 
 
 In the Cook. — Hackle : Rich golden bay, each feather 
 marked down the centre with a stripe of beetle-green. 
 Back and Saddle: Golden bay, each feather striped 
 down the centre with green. Shoulders and Wing-bows : 
 Dark bay, almost maroon, with dagger-shaped tips at 
 the end of each feather. Wing-bars : Two in number, 
 consisting of rows of large green spangles, running 
 parallel across each wing with a gentle curve, each bar 
 distinct and separate. Secondaries: Golden bay, tipped 
 with large round green spangles, which form what are 
 called " steppings." Breast and Under-parts : Rich 
 golden bay, each feather tipped at the end with a round 
 spot or spangle (the greener the better), small near the 
 throat and increasing in size towards the thighs, but 
 never so large as to overlap. Tail, Sickle Feathers, and 
 Tail Coverts : These are all a rich soft transparent green 
 upon a black foundation. 
 
 In the Hen.— Head : Black and bay mixed. Hackle : 
 A' rich bay, each feather marked down the centre with 
 a green stripe. Back, Saddle, Shoulders, Wing-bows, 
 Breast and Under-parts : Every feather a rich bay, tipped 
 with lustrous green spangles, which should be as round 
 as possible, and never so large as to overlap. Wing- 
 bars : Two in number, sometimes three, consisting of 
 rows of large beetle-green spangles, running parallel' 
 across the wing with a gentle curve, each bar distinct 
 and separate. Secondaries : As in the cock. Tail : 
 Black, tinged with green. Tail Coverts: Should be 
 spangled, though at present the spangUng is so large 
 it only shows a slight lacing of gold round the feathers. 
 
STANDARD FOR HAMBURG ffS. 
 
 439 
 
 COLOUR IN SILVER-PENCILLED HAMBURGHS. 
 
 • In Both Sexea.^BeijA ; Horn colour. Eye : Red. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes : White. 
 Legs : Leaden blue. 
 
 In the Cock. — Neck Hackle, Back and Saddle, Shoulders 
 and Wiiig-hows, Breast and Under-pa/rts : A silverywhite. ■ 
 Wing Coverts : The bottom web or visible part of each- 
 feather is white ; the top web or invisible part of each 
 feather is coarsely pencilled. A slight and indistinct 
 bar of black is admissible. Secondaries : As white as 
 possible, though the top web or invisible part of each 
 feather is generally black or coarsely pencilled. Tail : 
 Black, tinged with green. Sickles and Tail Coverts : ^ 
 A solid rich transparent green surface colour on black 
 foundation, and laced all round with a narrow strip of 
 white. 
 
 In the Hen. — Hackle: Silvery white. Breast, Thighs, 
 Back and Saddle, Shoulders, Wing-bows, Wing Coverts, 
 Tail and Tail Coverts : Silvery white, each feather dis- 
 tinctly and evenly pencilled straight across with fine 
 parallel lines of a rich green hue. The pencilling 
 and the Intervening ground - colour should be the 
 same width. Secondaries : These should be pencilled 
 as much as possible, but the marking is naturally a 
 trifle coarse. 
 
 COLOUR IN GOLD-PENCILLED HAMBURGHS. 
 
 In Both Sexes.^Beak : Horn colour. Eye: Red. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes : White. 
 Legs : Leaden blue. 
 
 In the Cock. — Neck Hackle, Back and Saddle, Shoulders 
 and Wing-bows,- Breast and Under-parts : A bright red 
 bay. Wing Coverts : The bottom web or visible part of 
 each feather is a bright red bay. The top web or 
 invisible part of each feather is coarsely pencilled. A 
 slight and indistinct bar of. black is admissible. Second- 
 aries : A bright red bay, though the top web or invisible 
 part of the feather is generally black or coarsely 
 pencilled. Tail : Black, tinged with green. Sickle 
 Feathers and Tail Coverts : A solid rich transparent 
 green surface colour on black foundation, and laced 
 all round with a narrow strip of gold. 
 
 InHhe Hen. — Neck Hackle : A bright sovereign gold. 
 Breast and Thighs,- Back and Siddle, Shoulders, Wing- 
 bows, Wing Coverts, Tail and Tail Coverts : A bright 
 sovereign gold colour, each feather distinctly and evenly 
 pencilled straight across with fine parallel lines of a 
 rich green hue. The pencilling and the intervening 
 colour should be the same width. Secondaries : These 
 should be pencilled as much as possible, but the marking 
 is naturally a trifle coarse. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK HAMBURGHS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Black or horn colour. Eye : 
 Red. Comb,- Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes : 
 White. Legs : Dark leaden blue. Plumage : A beautiful 
 rich soft transparent green surface colour on a black 
 foundation from head to tail, and especially on the 
 sickle feathers and tail coverts ; any approach to bronze 
 or purple tinge should be avoided. 
 
 . .COLOUR IN. WHITE HAMBURGHS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow, shading to horn. Eye : 
 Red. Comb, Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobe's : 
 White. Legs : Leaden blue. Plumage : A pure silvery 
 white from head to tail, free from straw colour. 
 
 COLOUR IN BUFF HAMBURGHS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow or horn. Eye : Red. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes : White. Legs : 
 
 Leaden blue. Plumage : Any shade of buff from lemon 
 buff to rich buff, on the one side avoiding washiness, 
 and on the other side a reddish tinge. The colour to 
 be perfectly uniform throughout, allowing for the 
 greater lustre on the hackle and saddle feathers, and of . 
 the wing-bow in the case of the cock only. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 .; lo 
 - 5 
 
 .. 10 
 .. 10 
 
 } 55 
 .. lO 
 
 VALUE OF P,OINTS IN HAMBURGHS. 
 SILVER - SPANGLED. 
 
 COCK. 
 Derects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 ,, face 
 
 ,, ear-lobe 
 
 „ colour 
 
 Defects in marking :. — 
 
 Neck haclde, lo ; back and saddle, ro ; 
 
 breast and thighs, lo ; wings, lo ; tail, 15 
 
 Want of size, style, .and condition 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 HEN. 
 
 Deduct 
 Defects. up to 
 
 Defects in comb ,. 10 
 
 „ face 5 
 
 „ ear-lobe ... 10 
 
 ,, colour 15 
 
 Defects in marking : — 
 
 Neck hackle, 10 ; back and saddle, 10 ; j 
 
 breast, thighs, and fluff, 10 ; wing, 10 ; ? 50 
 tail, 10 ' 
 
 Want of size, style, and condition 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 GOLD - SPANGLED; 
 
 COCK. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 „ face 
 
 ,. ear-lobe 
 
 „ colour 
 Defects in marking : — 
 
 Neck hackle, 10 ; back and saddle, 10 ; 
 
 breast and thighs, 15 ; wing, 15 ; tail, 5 
 
 Want of size, style, and condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 . . 10 
 
 •• 5 
 
 .. to 
 .. 10 
 
 55 
 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 
 
 
 Deduct 
 
 Defects. 
 
 
 
 up to 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 >. ... .. ... 
 
 
 . . 10 
 
 face 
 
 . 
 
 
 •■■ 5 
 
 ,, ear-lobe 
 
 . 
 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ,, colour 
 
 
 
 ... 15 
 
 Defects in marking : — 
 
 
 
 
 Neck hackle, 10 ; back and saddle. 
 
 10; 
 
 -. 
 
 breast, thighs, 
 
 and fluff, 10; wing. 
 
 15; 
 
 ( ^° 
 
 tail, 5 
 
 
 
 
 Want of size, style, and condition 
 
 
 ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
440 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 GOLD- OR SILVER-PENCILLED. 
 
 COCK. 
 
 Deduct 
 Defects. up to 
 
 Defects in comb lo 
 
 ,, face 5 
 
 „ ear-lobe lo 
 
 „ colour 30 
 
 „ tail 30 
 
 Want of size, style, and condition 15 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 ,, face,.. 
 
 „ ear-lobe 
 
 „ colour 
 
 Defects in marking : — 
 
 Breast and thighs, 10 ; wing, 10 ; back 
 and saddle, 10 ; tail, 20 
 Want of size, style, and condition 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 BLACK, WHITE, OR BUFF HAMBURGHS. 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 5 
 .. 10 
 
 ■ • 15 
 I50 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 „ face... 
 „ ear-lobes 
 „ plumage 
 
 Want of size, style, and condition ... 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ■• 15 
 . 10 
 
 • 15 
 
 - 35 
 ,. 10 
 
 - 15 
 100 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Single combs; red ear-lobes ; squirrel or wry tails ; 
 wry backs or any other deformity; other than four 
 toes. 
 
 REDCAPS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Long and broad. Beak : 
 Short and small. Eye : Full. Comb : Large, neat 
 rose comb, of symmetrical shape, with straight leader ; 
 full of fine work or spikes ; free from hollow in centre ; 
 set straight on the head, not hanging too much in front, 
 and carried well off the eyes ; size, about 5^ inches by 
 3f inches. Face : Smooth. Ear-lobes : Medium size. 
 Wattles : Long and well rounded. Neck : Moderate 
 length, nicely arched, with full hackle. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Broad, full, and rounded. Back : 
 Broad, and of moderate length. Wings : Moderate 
 length, neat, and fitting close to the side. 
 
 Tail. — Full, and carried nearly upright. Sickles: 
 Broad, long, and well arched. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short and neat. Shanks : 
 Medium length, strong, and smooth. Toes : Well 
 spread. 
 
 Greneral Shape and Carriage. — Graceful and active. 
 
 Size and Welglit. — Medium, but as large as. possible 
 consistent with symmetry. Cocks, about 7-^ lbs. ; 
 cockerels, 6J lbs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, Eye, Comb : As in 
 the cock, but smaller. Face : Smooth. Ear-lobes : 
 Rather small. Wattles : Smooth, medium size, and 
 rounded. Neck : As in the cock. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Full and rounded. Back : Medium 
 length and width. Wings : Moderate length, neat, and 
 fitting close to the side. 
 
 Tail. — Large and full, carried rather low. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock, except size. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Graceful and active. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium, but as large as possible 
 consistent with symmetry. From 5^ lbs. to 6^ lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN REDCAPS. 
 
 In Both Sexes.— Bea* ; Horn colour. Eye : Red. 
 Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. Shanks 
 and Toes : Slate colour. 
 
 In the Cock. — Plumage — Head : Red. Hackle : Red, 
 each feather marked down the centre with a stripe of 
 black. Back : Red, spangled with black. Saddle : Red, 
 each feather striped with black. Wing-bow: Rich red. 
 Coverts : Rich red, each feather ending with a black 
 spangle forming a black bar across the wing. Primaries 
 and Secondaries : Red, heavily tipped at the ends with 
 black. Breast and Under-parts : Black. Tail and 
 Hangers : Black. 
 
 In the Hen. — Plumage — Head and Hackle : As in the 
 cock. Back and Breast: Ground colour, deep, rich 
 reddish brown, free from smuttiness ; each feather 
 tipped with a half-moon black spangle. The marking 
 on breast, back, and wings to be as uniform as possible. 
 Wings : Primaries and secondaries as in the cock ; 
 wing coverts evenly spangled. Tail : Black. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN REDCAPS. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 ,, head 
 
 „ ear-lobes and wattles 
 
 tail 
 
 „ legs and feet 
 
 „ colour 
 
 Want of style and shape 
 
 ,, size 
 
 „ condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ao 
 5 
 
 ID 
 
 • 5 
 
 • 5 
 . ao 
 . 10 
 
 • 15 
 . 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 Comb over ; white isar-lobes ; round backs ; squirrel or 
 wry tail ; feathers on legs ; legs other colour than slate ; 
 other than four toes. 
 
441 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 POLISH. 
 
 POLISH fowls were formerly called Polands, 
 but the latter name was gradually super- 
 seded from a conviction that the birds 
 had no real connection with Poland, and that 
 this was a mere colloquial corruption of their 
 " polled " or crested character. This is still the 
 most probable hypothesis ; though the . recent 
 discovery of races of fowls with crests and 
 beards and whiskers throughout South Russia, 
 has perhaps added somewhat more plausibility 
 to a possible geographical origin of the name, 
 than existed some years ago. 
 
 The chief outward characteristic of all Polish 
 fowls is the crest ; but this is connected with 
 a craniological peculiarity still more remarkable 
 and distinct, though not so evident to mere 
 observation. It consists of a spherical pro- 
 tuberance at the top of the skull, generally 
 pierced by apertures which are only covered by 
 skin, and whose size is in proportion to that of 
 the crest, so that the best crested birds can be 
 known as soon as hatched, from the size of this 
 protuberance alone. Excess in one part being 
 often connected with defect in some other, as 
 Mr. Datwin pointed out, the skulls with thfs 
 peculiarity usually show a chasm in the inter- 
 maxillary bones, which in other fowls support 
 the roof of the nostrils ; owing to which defi- 
 ciency in bony support the nostrils of all heavily 
 crested fowls appear flattened and depressed, 
 and yet cavernous in character. Fig. 129 is 
 drawn from the skull of a Polish fowl in the 
 Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and 
 shows clearly both the bony protuberance of the 
 skull, pierced by apertures, and the chasm in the 
 bone over the nostrils. These peculiarities 
 were misunderstood by the older natura,lists ; 
 Blumenbach believing that they were rarely 
 found in the cocks, while Pallas attributed them 
 either to disease or a cross with the Guinea 
 fowl ; and even the late Professor Owen (in the 
 catalogue of the Museum just mentioned) in- 
 clining to the idea of disease. The true nature 
 of this peculiar structure, and its connection 
 with the size of crest, were first clearly pointed 
 out by the late Dr. Horner, in Wingfield and 
 Johnson's Poultry Book of 1853. 
 
 Besides the crest, the majority of the Polish 
 varieties now bred are furnished with abundant 
 beards, and side-muffs or whiskers covering the 
 cheeks, while in such birds the wattles have 
 entirely or almost disappeared. These features 
 have however been subject to changes of fashion 
 and breeding in the history of the fowl. Not 
 only is the present white-crested Black variety 
 still wattled and beardless, but before the era of 
 poultry-shows the Spangled breeds in England 
 
 fig. 129.— Skull of Polish Fowl. 
 
 were the same, and the late Mr. John Baily has 
 left it on record that the first bearded specimens, 
 then called by him and other dealers "Muffeties," 
 were not regarded as true. The late Mr. Baker 
 is believed to have been the first importer of 
 bearded specimens, and supported them ; and 
 this type finally prevailed in all but the white- 
 crested breed. There is one more peculiarity of 
 the race, in a two-horned or double character of 
 the comb. This is sought as small as possible, 
 and is in most specimens almost invisible ; but 
 however rudimentary it may be, the double 
 character can be discerned ; and in allied breeds 
 like Crdves and Houdans the double develop- 
 ment becomes very marked. This general 
 tendency to development of bifurcation in comb, 
 protuberance in skull, beards, and whiskers, in 
 combination with large crest, is remarkable as 
 the type of a race which has profoundly 
 impressed the poultry of France, Holland, 
 Germany, and Russia. 
 
442 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Polish fowls may be regarded generally as 
 non-sitters, but exceptions are rather more 
 numerous than with some other non-incubating 
 
 breeds. They are good layers of 
 
 Qualities ^arge white eggs; but the bulk of 
 
 and these are usually laid between 
 
 Management. February and the moult, and they 
 
 are not as a rule good winter 
 layers, though they have proved so if given 
 proper diet, with adequate care and shelter. 
 The flesh is tender and juicy. Most strains 
 must be pronounced delicate, and specially sus- 
 ceptible to colds if allowed out in the wet with 
 the crests in natural condition, as these retain 
 the moisture. Some breeders, however, report 
 differently in this respect, and by treatment of 
 the crests this difficulty m9.y be overcome. There 
 is however, owing no doubt to the scarcity of 
 breeders, sojne undoubted weakness of consti- 
 tution, in addition to this, leading to a special 
 frequency of crooked backs and wry tails, which 
 are more common in Polish than in any other 
 breeds. The chickens are very apt to droop at 
 a month to six weeks old, while fledging, and at 
 such times require special support and a little 
 coddling, which is more effective than meat or 
 stimulants, though these are useful in modera- 
 tion, especially a little chopped cheese and 
 sunflower-seed. On the whole, Polish are best 
 suited for limited grass-runs, with ample shed- 
 room in which they can be confined. In such 
 circumstances they thrive well if properly 
 attended to, and quickly become exceedingly 
 affectionate and tame. 
 
 One or two points of practical management 
 require attention. The birds should if possible 
 be always driven in out of the rain, or at least of 
 any heavy rain, though this is not quite so 
 necessary when they are treated as presently 
 mentioned. Even then, however, this remains 
 the most vulnerable point in regard to health. 
 The fountain" should have a very small opening, 
 in which the bottom of the crest cannot get wet. 
 When moult approaches, care should be taken 
 that the birds do not peck each other's crests, 
 which they are very apt to do in the young quill 
 stage, especially that of the cock, who will stand 
 still as if he enjoyed it, while his hens pick every 
 quill out. It is much the safest and best to put 
 him in a compartment by himself till his crest be 
 grown. Both at the moult, and as the bird 
 grows the crest in chickenhood, the horny 
 iheaths of these feathers should be attended to. 
 Fowls preen the rest of their plumage them- 
 ielves, thus removing the dry sheaths at the 
 proper time, and leaving the feather free to 
 expand ; but the crest they .cannot reach, 
 and it is necessary at the right time (not too 
 
 soon) to remove the dry sheaths of the crest 
 feathers with the thumb-nail. 
 
 Polish should not be hatched very early,_ or 
 late. April is a good month, and at this period 
 the chickens usually thrive well if on dry soil. 
 Early-hatched ones often perish, and late- 
 hatched ones hardly ever grow good crests. 
 The latter are only found on birds that have 
 thriven from infancy, and are generally last of 
 all to moult out perfect. The size of the 
 crest, if it grows favourably, can be seen from 
 that of the little downy poll. 
 
 Polish are not practically used for crossing ;. 
 but almost the whole range of French poultry 
 proves their value in this respect, the Houdan 
 and Creve and many other breeds being mainly 
 of Polish blood. We happen to know that a 
 direct cross with the Dorking produces a fowl- 
 with delicious flesh, which is a good layer, and 
 is also hardy, but very variable in appearance. 
 
 Proceeding now to treat of Polish as exhibi- 
 tion fowls, it is deeply to be regretted that 
 this handsome race should have declined in 
 popularity to an extent only paralleled by the 
 case of the Spanish. At only a few shows are 
 any classes at all now usually provided for 
 them, whereas from 1850 ~=to about 1865 the 
 Polish classes were amongst the best filled, and 
 most of the known varieties were occasionally 
 met with. At the Birmingham show of 1855,, 
 Gold and Silver Spangled and Laced, Buff 
 Laced, Lead-coloured (blue or Andalusian), 
 White-crested Whites, Black-crested Blacks, 
 Yellows, and Greys were represented, many of 
 which are now forgotten. Unfortunately the 
 present scarcity of breeders tends to perpetuate 
 some of the evils already mentioned, and has 
 caused some obvious deterioration in several 
 respects : in fact many specimens show the 
 obvious need of fresh blood. This can readily 
 be procured from the Continent ; and Polish 
 are also popular and well supported in both the 
 United. States and Canada ; several breeders at 
 London, Ontario, in particular, exhibiting speci- 
 mens in the United States as well as their own 
 country, which have challenged admiration. 
 
 This popularity in a severe climate is 
 remarkable, and we think it probable that the 
 maintenance of Polish under such circumstances 
 may be due to management of the crests. Years 
 ago these were simply left on, not only with 
 consequences and difficulties to which we have- 
 alluded, but to the great detriment of fertility 
 as well, which may have partly caused the great 
 decline of Polish fowls in England. The trouble 
 of keeping the crests clean is considerable, and 
 the birds being often unable to see, are some- 
 
CO 
 
 _l 
 o 
 
 Q. 
 
 Q 
 LU 
 
 _l 
 C3 
 Z 
 < 
 
 03 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
WBITE-C RESTED BLACK POLISH. 
 
 443 
 
 times so startled that they may even die from 
 shock, while many eggs prove barren. The 
 more skilled fanciers of to-day adopt expedients 
 to prevent this ;. and in England it has been the 
 custom to cut off the crests of both sexes after 
 exhibition is over, in the case of laying and 
 breeding stock. The American plan is more 
 •usually, to tie up the crest, which is also often 
 done if required to get it into better shape, or 
 more perfect symmetry ; as, for example, . if it 
 tends to grow one-sided, or open in the centre. 
 .Sometimes two or three small india-rubber 
 bands will keep the crest together and out of 
 the eyes : sometimes it may be quite bandaged 
 ■up in narrow tape : more usually threads are 
 passed round and through as required, by the 
 help of a needle — not of course through the 
 ■quills. The. crests are often tied up even for 
 z. railway journey. In one or other of these 
 ways, unfertile eggs and irregularity of feeding 
 may be avoided. 
 
 The varieties of Polish generally recognised' 
 at present are white-crested Blacks, Gold and 
 Silver Spangled, and Charhois or Buff Laced. 
 Others can only receive mention. 
 
 The White-crested Black Polish is tolerably 
 uniform in size, the finer specimens usually 
 reaching about 6 lbs. in the cock and 5 lbs. 
 
 in the hen. Our own opinion is 
 White-crested |-.jjat it is usually the most delicate 
 Polish. of the varieties ; but Mr. Peter'" 
 
 Unswortb, who bred it many 
 years, reported it as hardy even in a wet and 
 damp situation. The body is neat and compact, 
 with fine bones and a flowing tail in the cock ; 
 and the carriage, as in all Polish, may be best 
 described . as suggestive of foppishness in the 
 ■cock, and .inquisitiveness in the hen. The 
 plumage of the body is glossy black, of the 
 .crest pure white, except that there are always 
 a few black feathers, the fewer the better, in the 
 front over the nostrils, which it is a pity are not 
 mentioned in the Standard, as they are always 
 there unless trimmed away. The face, is smooth 
 and red, wattles rather long and red, ear-lobes 
 small, round, and white, beak dark, legs dark 
 blue or nearly black. The comb should be 
 practically absent, but on close inspection two 
 very small horns can generally be discerned. 
 
 In breeding this variety, the chief point is 
 to get birds with as good crests as possible 
 on. both sides, as regards both size, shape, and 
 ■colour, in which is included snowiness of the 
 white,, and the fewest black feathers. If some 
 .choice has to be made of defect, a good tlarge 
 ■crest in the cock is of • more importance than 
 in the hen. A single mating will breed both 
 
 sexes alike good, if the parents are satisfactory; 
 though of course if a good-crested cock is 
 mated with hens not so good, more well-crested 
 cockerels than pullets are likely to be produced. 
 The same . remarks apply' to the White- 
 crested Blue Polish. 
 
 Spangled Polish are bred in two colours. 
 Silver and Golden, in which alone their differ- 
 ence consists. The Gold would appear the 
 oldest and strongest strain, as a 
 Gold and Silver great many instances are recorded 
 Po^h!** of Silvers breeding Golden speci- 
 
 mens, while we can remember 
 hardly, any case of Golds breeding Silvers. 
 Golds and Silvers have been crossed by many 
 
 Cock Hen ilen 
 
 (Young). (First Year). (Second Year). 
 
 Fig. 130.— Crest Feathers, Spangled Polish. 
 
 breeders at different times, the produce being 
 almost always distinct Gold or Silver, without 
 weakening of either colour. Notwithstanding 
 this evident community of blood, the Silvers 
 exhibited have as a rule been larger than the 
 Golden, though some very large and fine 
 Golden Polish have been exhibited by the late 
 Mr. Joseph Partington * on various occasions ; 
 
 * Mr. Partington had i.lndly undertaken the article on 
 Polish for this work ; but his death in the summer of 1903, 
 deeply regretted by many for other reasons, suddenly deprived 
 us of his valuable aid in that manner. This article is written 
 partly from details gathered from him at different times ; partly 
 from some notes kindly sent by the Rev. Godfrey J. Horner of 
 York, son of the late Dr. Horner ; and partly from a few notes 
 or comments made on his former articles by the late Mr. Henry 
 Beldon. 
 
444 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 even these, hoWever, were scarcely equal in size 
 to the largest of' his Silvers. Some of the 
 latter we know to have reached as much as 
 %\ lbs. in cocks and t\ lbs. in hens. 
 
 The crests of both Spangled varieties are 
 relatively larger than in the White-crested- 
 Black, and that of the cock generally spreads 
 more open ; but it is desired as free from any 
 hoUowness oi ' pancake " formation, and as full 
 and round on top, as possible, rising well up 
 
 round as a ball, and also changes with her age. 
 The first year it is black in the centre and 
 edged with white, the width of this edging: 
 differing with the heaviness of marking else- 
 where; but after moult the centre becomes 
 white, with a heavy lacing of black (Fig. 130),. 
 and later this may be edged with white, the 
 crest getting lighter, with perhaps some quite 
 white feathers, as the bird . gets older. 
 
 In . regard to the rest of the plumage there 
 
 Hackle. 
 
 Breast. Shoulder. Wing-barr 
 
 Fig. 131. — Feathers of Silver Spangled Polish Cock. 
 
 ijaddlSi 
 
 in front, and falling down towards sides and 
 back with no split or division. It has already 
 been intimated that beardless Spangles were 
 first known in England, and these were more on 
 a par with the Blacks in point of crest ; but 
 with the bearded race came great improvement 
 in this respect. Taking the Silver for example, 
 and simply substituting a golden ground for 
 silver in the other breed, the crest-feathers of 
 the cock somewhat resemble hackles in struc- 
 ture, and are black at the base, white in the 
 middle part, and tipped with black at the ends 
 (Fig. 130), the white however increasing with 
 age. That of the hen should be filled up as 
 
 have been considerable changes. The birds 
 first shown were spangled with round spangles 
 all over, except on the wings, which were always 
 more or less laced ; the remains of this marking 
 being seen in the hackles to-day. But this- 
 spangling was never so perfect as in Hamburghs, 
 and the superior beauty of laced marking soor^ 
 brought it to the front, where it has remained 
 the accepted standard ever since. The beard of 
 the cock should be thickly laced, or very dark :. 
 his hackles and saddle feathers tipped with, 
 black ; the shoulders more heavily spotted, but 
 with a notch showing some little approach to- 
 lacing ; the feathers of tlae wing-bars almost 
 
THE SPANGLING OF POLISH. 
 
 445 
 
 perfectly laced, and the breast a broader lacing 
 of more crescentic character, but still going 
 round the feather. The cock feathers are shown 
 in Fig. 131.* His secondary quills should also 
 be well laced round with black. The true tail- 
 feathers are supposed to be white, edged with 
 black, but are more usually a bit peppered or 
 grey, with more tipping at the ends than 
 lacing at the sides ; the sickles also should be 
 edged with black with a thicker end or 
 splash, or sort of spangle, and these also 
 are usually more or less grey inside the 
 
 secondaries are very evenly laced, and the tail- 
 feathers should be well edged, with a thicker 
 crescentic spangle at the tip, and as clear as 
 possible, though here also there is generally 
 a little pepper or grey. The hen's feathers are 
 shown in Fig. 132. 
 
 The ground-colour of- Silvers should of 
 course be as silvery as possible, and demands 
 the same careful selection in breeding, and care 
 to preserve it, as other white breeds. In Golds 
 the colour of the cocks is a , deep golden bay 
 on the breast, and more reddish bay above * ; 
 
 . Hackle. 
 
 r 
 
 Breast. Wing-bow, Wing-bar. 
 
 Fig. 132.— Feathers of Silver Spangled Polish Hen. 
 
 Tail-covert. 
 
 lacing. These darker-tailed cocks make the 
 best breeders. 
 
 The beard of the hen should be full, and 
 well marked with black, but is not so very dark 
 as in the cock. The neck-hackle should be well 
 tipped with black, the tipping being a kind of 
 semi-lacing : the breast heavily laced, thicker at 
 the tips of the feathers, but less crescentic in 
 character than in the cock ; the wing-bow, bars, 
 and tail-coverts rather heavily but more evenly 
 laced, though the marking is almost always 
 rather wider at the tips of the feathers. Her 
 
 * TJiese:figures have been reproduced from Mr. Beldon's feathers 
 of 1872, for the simple reason that we have been unable to find 
 any even so good at the present day. The reasons for this 
 detefioratic n have partly appeared already, and are further 
 discussed in the remarks following. 
 
 that of the . hen a golden bay. The legs of 
 both varieties are a dark or slaty blue, and 
 the beaks .dark horn or dirty blue. 
 
 In regard to the breeding of Spangled 
 Polish, we have to consider the probable causes 
 of the change or deterioration in marking — 
 
 whichever it be termed — which has 
 Spans"! undoubtedly taken place during the 
 Polish. last fifteen years. At show after 
 
 show which we have visited, we 
 have found the Spangled Polish (when there 
 were any at all) very fine in crest, except for 
 too much openness of centre in the cocks, but 
 with obvious return to very poor spangling on 
 the breast, instead of the true lacing which is; 
 
 * We think the Standard deficient, in not describing or 
 recognising this more reddish top-colour. 
 
■ .. . *■ 1 , JU ff 
 
 T~~xflr5^rTrTv~~>r 
 
 \ - 
 
 WHITE-CRESTED BLACK. 
 
 SILVER SPANGLED POLISH. 
 
SPANGLED AND BUFF- LAC ED POLISH. 
 
 447 
 
 recognised as the correct type. We could under- 
 stand deliberate preference for really good 
 round spangling ; but the marking here referred 
 to has not been that ; it has been very poor, 
 irregiilar, imperfect tipping of the feathers, not 
 even a regular crescentic spangling, and every 
 breeder vvhorti we have asked, has admitted it 
 as a fault. No' doubt this has partly been due 
 to lack of breeders, and consequently of blood, 
 and of any encouragement at poultry shows. 
 But the reason is far more to be found in the . 
 too great disregard of marking, and practically 
 matching, birds together solely for crest. This' 
 may have been a necessity, since crest has been 
 the chief point in judging. But good lacing- 
 is never an easy marking to breed ; and if it be 
 really neglected in competition with some other 
 point, it must inevitably suffer, as it has done 
 here. The need of care, and the evil which 
 may follow any return to a bad spangling, is 
 curiously illustrated by an experience related in 
 a letter to us from the Rev. G. J. Horner. The 
 Golden Polish that came to him from his father, 
 the late Dr. Horner, were spangled. Dr. Horner 
 preferring that style. These birds soon gave 
 him offspring de-void of all marking, so that 
 he had some difficulty in breeding the stock up 
 again. Such a result shows clearly the necessity 
 for keeping up a really good and correctly 
 laced marking. 
 
 Good crests must of course be selected, 
 especially in the cocks, and crest may also be 
 cultivated to some extent by breeding only from 
 old birds on both sides, a plan pursued by 
 the late Mr. Sylvester. But if "Spangled Polish 
 are ever to reach again even the standard of 
 mai-king fornierly attained, more care 7nust be 
 bestowed upon lacing in comparison with crest ; 
 the standard of perfection being the Chamois 
 variety next mentioned, which in accuracy and 
 beauty of marking is far superior. Birds must 
 be selected whose lacing is sharp and cleanly 
 cut, and as even as possible all round the 
 feather ; and in particular, cocks whose breast- 
 feathers do not run out of lacing up the sides. 
 Slightly dark markings are generally to be 
 preferred, as in other cases, except that birds 
 with the narrowest tipping in proportion to the 
 lacing at the sides of the feather, should be 
 specially, valued. As a rule a cock with rather 
 grey or peppered tail, breeds better laced 
 chickens than a white-tailed one. There is 
 no necessity for mating up two pens, While 
 old birds oh both sides generally breed the 
 largest crests, a cockerel very bfteh breeds the 
 largest and most vigorous chickens. 
 
 Newly hatched chickens of the Spangled 
 breeds are a smudgy grey or smudgy brown 
 
 respectively, the darker ones .being usually the 
 best marked when moulted out. The first or 
 chicken feathers are very indistinct and patchy, 
 and it is only in the full plumage that the 
 character and beauty of the marking can be 
 seen. Except in the gradual appearance of 
 more white in the crests, the plumage generally 
 improves with age for at least several years. 
 
 Another most beautiful variety, obviously 
 allied to the .Golden in the same way. as 
 Piles are allied to Black- breasted Red Game, 
 and probably produced originally, 
 Chamois or though generations ago, by crossing 
 loiisK Golden Spangled with White, is 
 
 known as the Chamois or Buff 
 Laced. Polish, in which the black lacing is re- 
 placed by white, but of much greater sharpness 
 and perfection. In regard to the points and 
 breeding oT this variety we -need add nothing to 
 the following article, kindly contributed by 
 Mr. R. Gordon, Cheviot Cottage, Leven, N.B., 
 but we would call special attention to what is 
 there stated regarding its hardiness. This is 
 a striking proof' of the difference between 
 strong foreign blood, nourished by stock widely 
 prevalent, and some present worn-out strains 
 of Polish. The beauty and perfection of 
 the lacing is also a proof that care for all the 
 points, instead of breeding for crest alone, 
 produces the best result in the end, even from 
 a fancier's point of view. 
 
 " All varieties of Polish are beautiful, but 
 the Buff-laces are truly visions of loveliness. 
 Imagine the cock, a noble upstanding bird, 
 crowned with a voluminous but symmetrical 
 crest, and with ample muffling on cheeks and 
 throat; a well-curved neck claid with lustrous 
 plumage of orange-buff hue ; back and wing-bow 
 a shade deeper in colour, and saddle, matching 
 the hackles of the neck. Side hangers and 
 tail rich buff) each feather sharply margined 
 with white. Breast, wing-bars, and fluffy feathers 
 at side of thigh all rich buff, every feather 
 narrowly but most distinctly laced with pure 
 white. The whole plumage of the hen is one 
 uniform shade of orange-buff, every feather from 
 crest to tail being laced with white.. In the cock 
 the crest is solid buff, but in the hen is fully 
 laced, and is always at its best the first year. 
 Comb and wattles are almost rudimentary in 
 both sexes; Legs are clear blue, and beaks of a 
 light skin colour. .Add to this a sprightly gaiety 
 of movement which seems to characterise these 
 fowls when at liberty, and it can well be imagined 
 that when disporting themselves on a green- 
 sward a picture of surpassing loveliness is pre^ 
 sented to the beholder. 
 
448 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 " When I first took up the breed a year or 
 two ago, I had to go to Holland for stock, being 
 unable to find the names of any breeders of the 
 variety in this country. A prominent Dutch 
 fancier selected the best pair at the Amsterdam 
 Show for me, and afterwards I was fortunate in 
 getting some birds of a strain which had been 
 imported into England from Hanover. Breeding 
 carefully and oh scientific lines from these two 
 distinct stocks, I am able to confidently offer 
 the following remarks on the propagation of the 
 breed. 
 
 " First of all, as to the shade of buff. If we 
 select a light buff, then there is not sufficient 
 contrast between the lacing a.nd the ground- 
 colour, and much of the beauty is lost. If we 
 encourage a very dark buff, then the white lacing 
 takes on a brown tinge, and again much of the 
 beauty is lost. The latter class of hen also 
 throws cocks with an a!lmost red top-colour. 
 The true shade to be sought after is undoubtedly 
 a rich orange-buff, which takes and maintains 
 the white lacing in undimmed purity. 
 
 ■' As to the lacing, we must adhere to a 
 sharp, narrow, but very distinct character, par- 
 taking somewhat of the Sebright type. If the 
 v.'hite lacing is too broad, then the feathers of 
 the breast and elsewhere, which overlap each 
 other, wiU.show little else than masses of almost 
 unbroken white, especially on breast and cushion. 
 But on the other hand, if we keep to the clear, 
 narrow type, the balance of ground-colour and 
 lacing is maintained in most harmonious pro- 
 portions, and all the beauty of a rich contrast is 
 visible under every condition. 
 
 " It is not necessary to breed the sexes from 
 different pens ; one mating is sufficient. The 
 male bird should conform to the colour and type 
 previously described, but if he is just a trifle on 
 the deep side as to colour, so much the better. 
 It is imperative that he should have been bred 
 from a sound- coloured, well-laced hen ; a male 
 bird bred from a pale-coloured, washy-looking 
 hen, although of good colour himself, will throw 
 nothing but inferior stock. The hens selected, 
 for breeding purposes should be of good, sound, 
 medium colour, all very clearly laced. The 
 crests of the females should be as large and 
 globular-shaped as possible^ and that of the cock 
 should not be straggling, and especially not 
 falling over the front of his face. The length 
 and weight of some of the feathers in very large 
 crests inclines them to a drooping condition, but 
 the general tendency is a clear rise up from the 
 front, and a graceful backward sweep. 
 
 " When mating up a breeding pen, it is most 
 desirable to cut the crests completely off the 
 whole of the birds, as well as some of the 
 
 muffling round the eyes. They can then see to 
 feed and forage properly, and the hens are not 
 startled by the sudden attentions of the male 
 bird. The result is very few, if any, unfertile 
 eggs ; but should this precaution he neglected, 
 the opposite may be the case. 
 
 " After the first year both sexes throw a few 
 whole white feathers in crests. This is charac- 
 teristic of the breed, and, I am of opinion, can 
 never be greatly modified i but indeed it is no 
 drawback to the appearance of the birds. It is 
 merely Nature's intimation that the fowls are 
 over a year old. 
 
 "While the tails of the females are generally 
 sound-coloured, those of the males are some- 
 times not quite so good. The white lacing is 
 inclined to run occasionally into the web of the 
 sickles and lose its sharpness of character, and 
 especially is this so with males of over one year 
 old. Careful mating will, however, go far to 
 control this. 
 
 " The Buff-laces are of true Polish blood, and 
 breed to type and colour with almost unfailing 
 fidelity. I have only known one bird which 
 threw a chicken not a buff-laced, and that was a 
 hen which occasionally threw a golden-spangled 
 sport. I dispensed with both her and her 
 progeny, although it was no sign of impurity, 
 but merely the flickering acknowledgment of 
 the influence of a long-distant Golden Polish 
 ancestdr. It is well known that a cross of two 
 entirely unrelated strains of almost any breed of 
 poultry, generally throws chickens of anything 
 but standard quality. But when I crossed such 
 widely different strains as the Dutch and 
 German ones previously mentioned, I got 
 scarcely a single weed as the result. The 
 majority were finer in size, colour, lacing, and 
 vigour than either parent. This undoubtedly 
 goes to prove that so firmly fixed in the Buff- 
 laces is the true old prepotent Polish blood, that 
 the law of reversion is practically inoperative, 
 when stocks of untainted purity and long descent 
 are selected. At the great Paris Show there 
 are always to be found many lovely specimens 
 of the Polish bie;ds, and conspicuous among 
 these is the large proportion of Buff-laced birds 
 usually shown. At the 1897 show especially 
 the Buff-laces were very numerous. They were 
 the admired of countless observers, and it is 
 doubtful if the cock which took premier honours, 
 the property of the Comte de Lainsecq, could 
 be surpassed. Everything was there : size, 
 carriage, shape, crest, colour, and lacing ; he 
 stood a king among his peers. 
 
 " With regard to utility qualities, the hens 
 are good layers of white-shelled eggs from about 
 the beginning of February to the middle of 
 
OTHER VARIETIES OF POLISH. 
 
 449 
 
 September. The eggs are not only large for the 
 size of the fowls, but they are really large eggs 
 when produced by birds over one year old. I 
 have not found the hens to be very good winter 
 layers, but I never put them on special diet 
 for that purpose, and have no doubt that if they 
 were specially treated for egg-production at that 
 season, they would yield a fair return. As table 
 fowls they are of fair size, fine shape, and carry 
 a goodly quantity of breast meat of most excel- 
 lent flavour and quality. 
 
 " I have sometimes read that Polish fowls 
 are delicate. I suppose some people must 
 have found them so, but surely the Buff-laces 
 are not included in this category. My whole 
 experience of them is in the contrary direction. 
 I brsd Silver Wyandottes and Indian Game 
 for many years, and when I say that my Buff- 
 laces have proved hardier than either of these, 
 I state no more than the bare truth, and need 
 say nothing further on this subject." 
 
 Many other varieties of Polish have been 
 seen at different times, and some of them may 
 still be found on the Continent. The White — 
 
 all white — variety is a large and 
 other fine bearded race of fowls, but we 
 
 Varieties. have seen none in England since 
 
 about 1880. The Black - crested 
 White was said to be even larger, and probably 
 the largest of all ; this was also bearded and 
 heavily crested, but is believed to be now extinct 
 everywhere, as many inquiries on the Continent 
 have failed to bring to light any survivors. The 
 colour has been approached by several manufac- 
 turers, but the fowls thus produced were far 
 beneath the size and character reported of the 
 old breed. Black Polish have been shown in 
 England years ago, and a few years since were 
 reported at a Paris show : these were beardless, 
 and rather small. The White-crested Blue is a 
 recent Continental importation, though it was 
 bred in England forty years ago, and is obviously 
 connected with the Black variety. Cuckoos have 
 been shown several times, but are not pleasing : 
 abroad they are somewhat more often seen. 
 The French have a variety they call Ermine, 
 which is a white picked out with black very 
 much after the colour of a Light Brahma : this 
 colour ought to look very attractive when in 
 good cotidition. Buff is another Continental 
 variety not particularly rare. The original 
 Poultry Book of 1853 also mentions a black and 
 white speckled breed, and a grey or grizzled 
 variety with heavy crests and beards, and in 
 plumage resembling that of Silver-pencilled 
 Hamburghs, but rather less clear than in the 
 latter — probably very like that of the Campine. 
 
 3F 
 
 Neither of these last has been seen by English 
 eyes for many years. 
 
 In judging Polish, fulness and good shape of 
 the crest should be reckoned of as much im- 
 portance as the size of it, and the present 
 greater prevalence of the " pancake " 
 Judging style in cocks, is owing to neglect of 
 
 Polish. this consideration. Any of those 
 
 malformations of body which are 
 so frequently found in this breed, should be 
 vigilantly looked for, and if found, of course 
 entail passing over. In regard to colour and 
 marking, the Standard no doubt lays enough 
 nominal stress upon these points, though we fail 
 to undel'stand how colour can be valued at 30 in 
 Blacks, and colour and markings together only 
 25 points in Spangles, wherein these points 
 are so much more important. But it is quite 
 certain that in the Spangled varieties, more 
 stress in practice needs to be laid upon the 
 quality of the lacing than has for many years 
 been the case, and that a more uniform width, 
 as in the Chamois or Buff Laced, should be 
 required. 
 
 There is little danger of trimming except 
 in the white crests of the Black variety, and in 
 the combs, which if so large as to be very 
 evident, are often amputated. 
 
 The Standard of Perfection, as drawn up 
 by the Poultry Club, is as follows : 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neckl — Hmd : Medium size, completely 
 covered by the crest. Crest : Large as possible, circular, 
 free from any split or parting; high, smooth front; 
 compact in centre and falling evenly with long un- 
 twisted or reverse faced feathers far down the nape of 
 the neck. Beak: Moderately large. Eye: Bright, large, 
 and full. Comb : If any, should consist only of two 
 small horns, preference being given to birds quite with- 
 out. Face : Smooth in white-crested black and white- 
 cirested blue, which have no muffling ; in the other 
 varieties the face is completely covered by the muffling. 
 Ear-lobes : Very small and circular and quite invisible 
 in the muffled varieties. Wattles : Rather large and . 
 pendent in white-crested black and white-crested blue ; 
 the other varieties have no wattles. Neck : Long, full 
 at the base and tapering towards the head. 
 
 Bo&y.-T-Body : Symmetrically long, with deep flanks 
 and good shoulders. Breast : Very full and round. 
 Back : Fairly long and fiat. Wings : Large but well 
 and closely carried. 
 
 Tail. — Full, and neatly spread, well carried, but not 
 perpendicularly, or as the term goes, " Squirrel 
 tailed," 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Good length. Shanks : 
 Fairly long, giving a stately height to the bird, fine', n 
 bone and quite free from feathers. Toes : Four in 
 number and well spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Slim, sprightly, and 
 very vain. Erect and strutting carriage. 
 
 Size and Weight. — As large as possible, about 6)4 lbs. 
 
45° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head, Neck, Body. — As in the cock, but half up the 
 neck nicely full of feather. 
 
 Tail. — Not large, nor spread out nor carried high, 
 but of cornpact shape and smartness. 
 
 Legs and Feet. 1 ^^ j^ ^^ ^^^y 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. ) 
 
 Size and Weight. — As large as possible. About 5 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN SILVER POLISH. 
 
 In Both Sexes.— Bd«A ; Dark blue or horn. Eye : 
 Red. Comb and Face : Red. Ear-lobes : Bluish-white. 
 Legs : Dark blue. 
 
 In the Cock. — (Plumage). Crest : Black at the roots 
 of each feather, silver in the centre, and each feather 
 tipped with black, as free as possible from any white 
 feathers. Beard : Mottled or laced, not solely black. 
 Hackle : Silver, each feather tipped with black. Back 
 and Saddle : Silver, each feather distinctly laced or 
 spangled at the tips. with black.' Shoulders and Wing- 
 bows : Silver laced with black. Wing-bar : Silver, dis- 
 tinctly laced with black. Secondaries : Silver, distinctly 
 laced with black. Primaries : Silver, each feather end- 
 ing with black. Breast and Thighs : Silver, each feather 
 laced with black. Tail : Silver, distinctly laced with 
 black, as free from splashes as possible. Sickles : Silver, 
 laced with black and well splashed at the ends, the 
 longer the feather the better. Coverts . Silver, laced 
 with blackT 
 
 In the Hen.— Cresi ; Silver, laced with black, as free as 
 possible from any . white feathers. Beard : Mottled or 
 laced, not entirely black. HackU : Silver, each feather 
 laced' with black. Back and Saddle^ Shoulders and Wing- 
 bow, Wing-bar, Secondaries, Primaries, Breast and Thighs : 
 As in the cock. Tail : Silver, distinctly laced with 
 black and as free from splashes as possible. 
 
 COLOUR IN GOLDEN POLISH. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark blue or horn. Eye : 
 Red. Comb and Face : Red. Ear-lobes : Bluish white. 
 Legs : Dark blue. Phtmage : Same as the Silver, sub- 
 stituting golden bay as the ground colour instead of 
 silver. 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE POLISH. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark blue. Eye : Red. Comb 
 and Face : Red. Ear-lobes : White. Legs : Dark blue. 
 Plumage : Pure white throughout. 
 
 COLOUR IN CHAMOIS OR WHITE-LACED BUFF POLISH. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark blue or horn. Eye : 
 Red. Comb and Face : Red. Ear-lobes : Bluish white. 
 Legs : Dark blue. 
 
 In the Cook. — (Plumage.) Crest : White at the roots 
 of each feather, rich buff in the centre, and each feather 
 tipped with white^ and as free as possible from whole 
 
 white feathers. Beard : Mottled or laced, not solely 
 buff. Hackle : Buff, each feather tipped with white. 
 Back, Saddle, Shoulders, and Wing-bows : Rich buff- 
 Wing-bar and Secondaries-: Rich buff laced with white. 
 Primaries : Buff tipped with white. Tail, Sickles, and 
 Coverts : Buff laced with white. 
 
 In the Hen. — Crest : Salmony buff laeed with white, 
 as free as possible from whole white feathers. Beard : 
 Mottled or laced, not entirely buff. Hackle : Rich buff, 
 each feather laced with white. Bach, Saddle, Shoulder, 
 Wing-bow, Wing-bar, Secondaries, Breast, and Thighs : 
 Salmony buff, each feather evenly laced with white. 
 Primaries : Buff tirp^d with- white. Tail : Buff laced 
 with white. 
 
 COLOUR IN WHnE-CRESTED BLACK POLISH. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark blue. Eye : Red. Comb, 
 Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes ; White. Crest r 
 Perfectly snow-white. Rest of Plumage : Rich metallic 
 black. Legs and Feet : Dark blue or almost black. 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE-CRESTED BLUE POLISH. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark blue. Eye : Red. 
 Comb, Face, and Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes : White. 
 Crest : Perfectly snow-white. Rest of Plumage : Dark . 
 solid blue. Legs and Feet : Dark blue or almost black. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN POLISH. 
 
 WHITE-CRESTED BLACK OR WHITE-CRESTED BLUE. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in size or shape of crest 
 „ „ colour 
 „ ,, comb and wattles 
 „ „ shape 
 
 Want of condition 
 
 Deduct up to 
 30 
 30 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 100 
 
 GOLDEN, SILVER, CHAMOIS, AND WHITE. 
 
 Defecls. 
 
 Defects in size or shape of crest 
 
 „ ,, mufRing 
 
 „ ,, colour and markings 
 
 ,, „ comb and wattles ... 
 
 ,, ,, • shape 
 Want of condition 
 
 ,, ,, size 
 
 Deduct up to 
 30 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 5 
 10 
 10 
 10 
 
 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed: 
 Split or twisted crest ; comb other than horn ; absence 
 of muffling in golden, silver, white, and chamois; wry 
 tail or any deformity; foul-coloured plumage; other 
 than four toes ; legs other than blue or slate. 
 
151 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 FRENCH BREEDS OF POULTRY. 
 
 FRENCH .breeds, of poultry were at one 
 time supposed to.be the chief cause of 
 the large exportation of French eggs, arid 
 the fine qualtty of French, table fowls; and 
 under the influence of this idea Mr. Geyelin and 
 the disastrous National Ppultry Company which 
 
 ■ he , originated^ made great efforts to introduce 
 French breeds into England. 'The error of these 
 
 'opinions was speedily discovered; but' after 
 setting all such exaggerated hopes- aside, several 
 French races have been found distinctly valu- 
 able, and are valued in England at this day. 
 Some are of pretty old standing; others are 
 almost of yesterday's manufacture ; and the 
 remarkable fact about nearly all of them is, that 
 except a few of the more recent, which have 
 owed their origin to stock imported from Eng- 
 land, and even including one or two of these, 
 the greater part show by their crests, or muffling, 
 or bifurcated combs, more or less of a common 
 parentage in the Polish race, and appear to owe 
 their thin skin and delicate flesh mainly to this 
 ancestry. 
 
 The best known in this country of the French 
 breeds is the Houdan, which was briefly men- 
 tioned by Messrs. Wingfield and Johnson in The 
 Poultry Book of 1853, as the Nor- 
 Houdaas. mandy fowl, and fully described by Mr. 
 Geyelin in 1865. The economic value 
 of this breed is very great, as it is very hardy, 
 a quick grower in chickenhood, when well bred 
 a first-class layer of good -sized eggs, and of 
 very delicate flesh, with a tendency, to fatten 
 well. The male birds are also unusually. vigor- 
 ous and fertile, many of them requiring more 
 hens than would be usual with other birds of 
 the same size. 
 
 The Houdan cock should be as large as 
 possible, the adult being 8 lbs. or 9 lbs. or. miore. 
 He has a good-sized, crest rather inclining 
 backward, and a peculiar comb, resembling the 
 open .leaves of a book with a sort of mulberry in 
 the centre, or. a butterfly with open wings. -This 
 is large in the cock, but rather small in the hen.s. 
 The wattles are moderate and rounded, bea,rd 
 and whiskers rather full. The neck-hackle is 
 
 ■ full- and thick, the body very long and deep in 
 "keeLj! carried in a very sturdy rnanner, the tail 
 
 ■ full in sickles. The legs are clean, pinky white 
 ' mottled with black in colour, and five-toed ; the 
 ' plumage black and white mixed, of no exact 
 ; pattern, but about equally broken in colour 
 ' when adult, and rather more black than white 
 
 when young; usually more or less approaching 
 
 a crescentic white marking on beetle-green 
 
 ^ centre, over the breast and body. The hen has 
 
 'a fuller, globular, and very Polish crest, with 
 
 ' much smaller comb, her weight 6 lbs. or 7 lbs. 
 
 For the following remarks upon breeding and 
 
 ■ exhibiting Houdans, their progress in England, 
 and present qualities, we are indebted to Mr. 
 S. W. Thomas, Glasfryn, Forest Fa ch, Swansea, 
 whose long connection with the. breed,, and suc- 
 cess as an exhibitor, are well known. 
 
 " I had my first Houdans in 1874, and from 
 then till now (1901) I have bred them regularly 
 and in large numbers. One or two of those I 
 first had were imported birds, that had done 
 some winning in France, but these were too old 
 to be prolific. My unvarying experience during 
 " the many years I have kept and bred them — 
 and I have always bred for exhibition — is that 
 Houdans are very good layers of very large 
 eggs, and as table fowls are not to be beaten. 
 Of course I have always selected the finest and 
 the healthiest stock-birds. Indeed, otherwise it 
 would be quite impossible to bree.d up to the 
 - necessary size for exhibition. 
 
 . " Since 1 874 there have been some changes 
 of the fashion in colour of Houdans. Mr. Dixon 
 (then, and till he retired, the favourite arid best 
 judge of Houdans) rather favoured the lighter- 
 coloured birds, about the years 1874 and 18.75, 
 I think. A couple of years or so previously, 
 very dark birds were in fashion. Probably Mr. 
 Dixon's action in favouring the lighter ones 
 was to modify the tendency to the very dark 
 birds then so frequently shown. At any rate, if 
 that was the' case, he succeeded, because very 
 - dark birds haye never been in fashion since. 
 Breeders began at once to aim at a mediuifl, 
 well .mottled, or broken colour, and at the 
 present time they have succeeded, because now 
 
452 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 a bad-coloured bird in the show-pen is quite the 
 exception. Twelve or fifteen years ago very 
 light and very dark birds were not infrequently 
 to be seen in the same prize list at the big 
 shows. 
 
 " In comb and crest we have made, great 
 strides, and now a bird with inferior head points 
 is seldom exhibited. The spiral crest is gone, 
 and so is the Creve comb. Twenty years ago a 
 leaf comb was quite the exception, and a smooth 
 well-formed crest rarely seen. In size we have 
 hardly increased on the very finest birds of years 
 ago, but I think we have a far better average, 
 and probably the best young Houdans this last 
 year or two were larger than any of similar age 
 shown in past years. No breed develops more 
 in size and furnishing with the first adult moult. 
 This also applies to Craves. I say no breed ; 
 by that, of course, I mean no breed with which 
 I have had experience, though I may say. that 
 at one time or other I have kept most sorts. 
 
 " Houdans develop quickly, and cockerels at 
 six to seven months are usually in full feather ; 
 pullets at from five to six months, at which time 
 they- generally commence to lay. They fatten 
 very quickly, and if over-fed about this age it 
 retards their laying. They stand confinement 
 capitally ; indeed, exhibition birds do better if 
 -confined during the show season than if allowed 
 to run out. 
 
 " In breeding Houdans, I may at once 
 remark that both sexes of the highest excellence 
 can be bred from the, one pen. No need, in 
 Houdans at any rate, of one pen for 
 Points cockerel-breeding and another for 
 
 Breeding puUet-breeding. In breeding for ex- 
 Houdans. hibition birds, nice medium-coloured 
 birds-- should be selected, the black 
 a good solid green-black, nicely broken. They 
 should have full crests, as smooth — especially in 
 front — :as possible, and neat, even combs of 
 butterfly pattern. The comb may vary in size 
 and shape, just as the wings of different sorts cf 
 butterflies do, but the shape and pattern of the 
 comb must be the butterfly, with the wings 
 open, or nearly so. They should have light or 
 whitish legs and feet, mottled with blue or 
 blackish blue. If the white is a pinkish white, 
 all the better. If a pen of birds of this descrip- 
 tion, with good deep square bodies and of a 
 good strain, be bred from, they are pretty sure 
 to produce a good proportion of chickens fit to 
 show. Some chickens come with very dark or 
 nearly black legs. These usually are very dark 
 in plumage, but not invariably so. These black 
 or dark legs always change with age to blue or 
 bluish mottled colour, and though the black or 
 very dark leg is much against a bird in the 
 
 show-pen, the blue or bluish mottled colour is 
 very little detriment indeed to it, and such birds 
 frequently win the highest honours. Those who 
 happen to have dark birds or light birds of much 
 excellence in Houdan character and points, and 
 who wish to breed from them, must select light 
 hens for a dark cock, or, which I much prefer, a 
 light cock for dark hens. Mated in this way, a 
 fair proportion of good coloured chickens will 
 be the result. Any foot deformity in the stock 
 birds is very likely to be perpetuated, and 
 whether these be dark, light, or medium colour, 
 let me repeat that the black in the plumage 
 must be a good sound green black. 
 
 " Two-year-old birds are best to breed from, 
 as the produce have greater robustness and 
 usually attain greater size ; but year old cocks 
 mated with two and three year old hens give 
 excellent results. Singular to saj', the largest 
 hen I ever bred was from a pen of pullets mated 
 with a two-year-old cock; but I should not 
 expect this result to be repeated. Houdans are 
 long lived. I have several times shown cocks up 
 to five years, and hens up to six and seven 
 years, and on one occasion I bred from a cock 
 five years old, and he bred freely and well in 
 March, and this, too, after a fairly long show 
 career. 
 
 " As regards the economic value of Houdans, 
 it might be supposed that , the larger-crested 
 birds were less prolific than the smaller-crested 
 birds. I have not found this so. The best 
 laying Houdan I ever had — and she really was 
 a wonderful layer — was a very large bird with 
 an enormous crest, and with an almost imper- 
 ceptible comb even when laying. She was, 
 besides, a magnificent Houdan in most points, 
 and won first and cup at the Palace on two 
 occasions. She was a bird of splendid constitu- 
 tion, and I showed her till her seventh year. 
 The birds with smaller crests have the larger 
 combs, which always shoot out and look fresher 
 when laying, but I don't think the large comb 
 in itself indicates much, and I would quite as 
 soon take my chance for eggs with the large- 
 crested birds as with the large-combed ones. 
 
 " In rearing and preparing Houdans for the 
 shov/-pen, I always coop my chickens out on 
 the grass after the first day or two. At two 
 months I draft them off into runs, separating 
 the sexes. The cockerels can always be dis- 
 tinguished at this age. The pullets need 
 nothing further than the clean grass run- until 
 they get developed and old enough to exhibit, 
 but the grass runs must be clean, and no mud 
 about. Old hens also require nothing but clean 
 grass runs to moult out into proper exhibition 
 form. Cockerels and cocks require more care 
 
HOVDANS FOR EXHIBITION AND PROFIT. 
 
 453 
 
 and separate attention. Cockerels may run 
 together till four months old, but those intended 
 for show must then be separated and put into 
 small, dry houses, each bird having a house to 
 himself. These houses should be weather-proof 
 and shaded from the sun ; otherwise the crests 
 and saddles get tanned, which spoils the appear- 
 ance of the bird. Indeed, it is almost impossible 
 to mpult a Houdan cock so that he shall be in 
 really tip-top feather and condition, unless he 
 has the accommodation I have stated. When 
 moulting the hens, I never give them anything 
 other than the ordinary food, except a cabbage 
 or two to peck at now and again. But 1 always 
 give the cockerels and cocks a little animal food 
 — the cockerels twice a week, the cocks three or 
 four times in the same period. 
 
 "Great care should be taken not to allow 
 too mrny chickens to crowd together when they 
 get up to about two months old. This they are 
 very apt to do when the hens are taken away, 
 the chickens from two coops crowding into one. 
 If this is allowed to last, roup is almost sure to 
 break Out, and Houdans are very susceptible to 
 this complaint if once allowed to crowd together. 
 Bat they can stand wet and cold as well as any 
 fowls. I have cooped chickens a few days old 
 out in bitterly cold weather early in March, and 
 they have stood snow and wet without my losing 
 a chicken ; but they were kept scrupulously clean, 
 and their coops perfectly dry. It is only with 
 neglect that mischief is done. Half a dozen 
 half-grown chickens sleeping together in a dirty 
 coop, and allowed to run out, will almost certainly 
 contract roup." 
 
 The following article, contributed by Mr. 
 T. Henry Thornber, Brookside Farm, Cheadle, 
 refers more especially to the breeding of Hou- 
 dans for purposes of utility, and to the results 
 when so bred, while not necessarily losing sight 
 of exhibition properties. It will be observed 
 that, when a really high average of eggs is 
 in view — and the averages stated below are 
 so high as to excite surprise — Mr. Thornber's 
 opinion is somewhat different from that of Mr. 
 I'homas in regard to the connection between 
 SS& production and the size of the hen's comb. 
 
 " There can be no question of the value of 
 this breed as layers, and as table birds. A 
 properly reared and properly fed Houdan of a 
 good laying strain, hatched in March 
 ruaUties of or April, should commence to lay in 
 Houdans. October, and should be laying three 
 eggs per week by the end of 
 November. From my experience, I iind that 
 they soon run up to four eggs per week, generally 
 about the latter end of January or middle of 
 February. After this, according to my egg- 
 
 recording books, there seems to be no increase 
 in the number per week until about the middle 
 of April, when there has been an increase for 
 most of my pullets to five eggs per bird per 
 week, which high rate has lasted till about the 
 middle of June. Towards the latter end of June 
 there has been a diminution to three per week, 
 and by the end of July I have been having only 
 two per week per bird. After this latter month 
 the laying quickly ceases and the birds go into 
 moult, which, with a little care and the use of 
 Douglas mixture, should not last more than 
 about five weeks. They come on to lay again 
 very quickly after the completion of the moult, 
 and, according to the behaviour of my birdSj 
 there seems to be practically no shrinkage in 
 their laying' powers during their second year of 
 laying, although they start laying rather later 
 and continue until a later part of the year. The 
 succeeding moult, after the second year's laying, 
 appears more prolonged and more exhausting, 
 and I find a very considerable reduction in the 
 number of eggs afterwards. My laying stocky 
 average per annum has varied from i6o to i8g 
 eggs. I get a number of eggs of quite a tinted 
 appearance, rather deeper than cream colour, 
 amongst the rest, the majority of which are snow 
 white ; yet the birds, are all bred the same, and 
 have been so for some years. I have never been 
 able to account for it. 
 
 " Selected birds have done much better than 
 the above. My breeding stock are kept in pens, 
 each comprising seven pullets or hens and a 
 cock, in pretty large runs. There are five of 
 these breeding-pens, which are also fed a little 
 differently from the general flock. These 35 
 birds, selected to breed from as good layers, have 
 averaged as follows, during the last four years, 
 counting from November i to November i : — 
 
 Year. 
 
 Per Bird. 
 
 Stock, 
 
 1896-7 
 
 207 
 
 All from pullets. 
 
 1897-8 
 
 203 
 
 About 20 per cent, hens, the 
 rest pullets. 
 
 1898-9 
 
 208 
 
 About 25 per cent, hens, the 
 rest pullets. 
 
 1899-0 
 
 226 
 
 All from pullets. 
 
 I consider a Houdan worthy of the name of 
 a layer when she lays 200 eggs between the 
 beginning of the November after her being 
 hatched, and the beginning of the following 
 November. 
 
 " As a table fowl, the Houdan is very hard 
 to beat, carrying a large proportion of its meat 
 upon the breast, having a nice white flesh and 
 white skin, being fine in the bone, and of excel- 
 lent flavour. I find the cockerels to grow very 
 quickly indeed, and have killed birds which I 
 
454 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 considered faulty at seven months old weighing 
 from 6| lbs. to 'j\ lbs., plucked but not dra,wfi. 
 ■ These birds had never had a day's confined or 
 forced feeding in their lives,, sind they carried 
 very little fat, but a nice quantity of good, 
 white meat. ■ 
 
 "'■Qne may breed the Houdan, as also other 
 breeds, for either utility or exhibition, and not 
 have any great difficulty ; but, when you come 
 to breed for utility and exhibition. 
 Breeding the difficulties are far greater. How- 
 Houdans. ever, by great care these points may 
 ' be comibined to such an extent as to 
 satisfy the most, exacting critic. Personally, I 
 am inclined to think that the male bird has not 
 such a .marked influence upon the laying powers 
 of his daughte.rs as many people are inclined to 
 think, but that he is more responsible for the 
 outside, qualities, colour, size of cr^st, beard, 
 tail carriage, colour of legs, and so on. I look 
 to the hen to produce the laying qualities, and 
 also to influence the size, although it is always 
 advisable to breed from a male bird of some 
 pretensions to a laying strain, if possible, and as 
 large as possible. From my experience, a neat, 
 compact, sprightly pullet, of medium colour, 
 weighing about 6 lbs., with a nice moderate- 
 sized crest, beard,- and muff, mottled or dark 
 legs, not light coloured -legs, carrying her wings 
 /well tucked up and her- tail fairly high, will 
 breed a good, utility bird and a good exhibition 
 bird in one, if mated with a-large, dark two-year- 
 old cock, cairying his crest well back, and as 
 large a crest as possible, provided a,lways that it 
 is of a true ' fall back ' type of crest, and not the 
 wild/ all over the place' style. which has of late 
 appeared so often in the show-pen. I object 
 most strongly to the use of a bird of either sex 
 which has a ' wild ' crest, or which carries its tail 
 low, as it appears to me that you can get no 
 good results from such birds, either as show 
 birds or as layers. 
 
 " The very finest laying strains of Houdans 
 in this country are not birds of excessive size, 
 nor are they birds carrying an extraordinary 
 crest, but are more cobby in build, more lively 
 in movement, and more developed in their 
 combs ; in fact they have considerably larger 
 combs than the first-rate exhibition specimens. 
 Therefore, in mating to combine the qualities, I 
 would emphasise the desirability of breeding 
 from pullets ansvyering this description, and 
 mating with a cock which possesses the show 
 points in a marked degree. Perhaps it is not 
 requisite for me to warn breeders against the 
 haphazard introduction of new blood, when once 
 a laying strain has been built up. It takes years 
 to produce a laying strain of high repute, but 
 
 one season's careless introduction of male birds 
 from another strain, however good show birds, 
 may, and probably will, spoil it. I always pick 
 a cock with a very small, neat comb, as other- 
 wise one would breed birds with combs which 
 would be too large and ugly, it being usual for a 
 good strain of layers to carry a slightly larger 
 comb than the show-pen requires. Therefore 
 use small-conibed cocks to reduce the. combs of 
 their successors to a proper size for exhibition. 
 Bumble-foot, which the five-toed breeds are 
 prone to develop, has never yet made its appear- 
 ance amongst my stock. 
 
 . " As a layer, I can see no use in crossing, so 
 good a bird' as the Houdan ; but, as table fowls, 
 I -think that- the Houdan cock crossed with Buff 
 Orpington pullets, or Indian Game cock crossed 
 on to Houdan pullets, will be found more profit- 
 able birds than the vaunted Indian Game- 
 Dorking. It matures more quickly, is ready for 
 ' table sooner and at less expense, and there is 
 ■ less mortality amongst the chickens, whilst it 
 ' certainly will run to within i lb. or ij lbs. of 
 Indian Game-Dorking weight. 
 
 " Their food is, a hot breakfast of one part 
 barley meal, one part sharps, and one part 
 Indian meal mixed with boiling liquor off meat 
 and bones. For evening feed, generally best 
 English wheat. Only two feeds per day. They 
 are on grass runs of large extent, and have at 
 hand flint grit and oyster shell. They are kept 
 in dry houses, well ventilated, with very large 
 windows admitting splendid light, two windows 
 ' to each house. The land is rather heavy and 
 clayish, in ex.posed position, with rather heavy 
 ■rainfall. Water supplied fresh daily, vqry 
 cold, from a deep well, very hard water indeed. 
 I have found my birds always great foragers, 
 always on the move and most hardy, winter 
 frosts and snow not making any difference to 
 their laying. I never knew one to go broody. 
 As the crests retain much moisture in wet 
 weather, I am particular about the houses 
 having extremely good ventilation to carry off 
 the humid atmosphere when the birds are roost- 
 ing, but no draughts." 
 
 The type of Houdan bred in America differs 
 somewhat from the English. From all the 
 descriptions we have seen, the comb appears to 
 be pref(?rred of a two-horned rather than leaf 
 character, and the plumage darker than in 
 England. These birds appear, in fact, to have 
 perpetuated that darker and two-horned type, 
 well known at the time to be due to crossing 
 with the Cr6ve, which -was very prevalent in 
 England about 1872, but has since been super- 
 seded here by the more evenly broken plumage 
 and leaf comb of the original breed. 
 
QUALITIES OF C^EVECCEURS. 
 
 4SS- 
 
 -The Hoiidan is a valuable fowl for crossing. 
 With the Brahma it makes a large and hardy 
 table-fowl of nnedium quality, much like the 
 Dorking-Brahma, but with rather finer bone and 
 somewhat more tender flesh. The Faverolles 
 presently mentioned is a further development of 
 such crossing. Crossed with the White Leg- 
 horn, the produce is generally a white fowl with 
 very small crest, an admirable layer (though not 
 surpassing the pure breeds), but of better flesh 
 than the Leghorn, and without that tendency to 
 roup in some circumstances which has been re- 
 ferred to in connection with the Houdan. One 
 or two poultry-farmers of our ac- 
 quaintance have expressed special 
 approval of this cross. That with. 
 the Minorca is somewhat similar, but 
 more irregular in colour. 
 
 The Crdvecoeur is another of the 
 oldest of the French breeds, having 
 been described by the late Mr. Vivian 
 in The Poultry Book of 
 Crtvecoeurs. 1853. At that time he 
 possessed two varieties, 
 one all black except that the cock's 
 hackles and saddle feathers were 
 often mingled with gold or red > the 
 other a mixture or mottle of black 
 and white. Blues and Whites have 
 also been exhibited at one time or 
 another, as is so usual with all black 
 breeds ; but we have not now seen 
 any but black Craves for many years. 
 The Cr^vecceur much resembles the 
 Houdan in general type of body, but 
 is of more massive make, with heavier 
 fluff and stern. Originally the crest 
 and muffling were heavier, but the 
 Houdan crest has now been bred 
 up to about as much, in all probability 
 by a Crdve cross, as nearly black 
 Houdans with two-horned combs were 
 at one time very prevalent. The Cr^e comb 
 consists of two large coral-red horns, meeting 
 at the base like a letter V. Except in this point, 
 its large size, and the heavier build, the Cr^ve 
 might almost be described as a large black 
 Polish fowl.. The heavy stern and rather ample 
 fluff" have often disposed us to believe there 
 has been at some tiriie a Cochin crossj and 
 this is to some extent corroborated by the 
 large appetite, for which the Cr^ve is rertiark- 
 able arrion'g French breeds. 
 
 Economically this breed has changed a great . 
 deal since its introduction into EngJand. It 
 always laid. a very large white egg ; but in the , 
 early days these were laid rather sparingly, 
 
 of 
 CrSvectsurs. 
 
 and the birds were found very delfcate and 
 subject to roup, and difficult to rear. But sonie- 
 where about 1870 a change took place, either 
 from the stock already in England 
 (Jualities becoming betteracclimatised,or from 
 
 some other , and hairdier stock 
 being imported. Mr. R. B. Wood- 
 reported them in 1872 to be nearly as hardy as 
 Houdans, and good 'layers; and from that date 
 their reputation in both respects has steadily 
 improved, so that Graves must now be pro- 
 nounced excellent layers, equally good table- 
 birds, and hardy fowls. It is the more difficult 
 
 CrSvecoeurs. 
 
 to understand the great diminution for years 
 past in the number of those who keep them, and 
 why specimens are so rarely seen at ordinary 
 shows. They are distinctly profitable fowls, not 
 difficult to breed to exhibition points, and easily 
 kept within bounds. 
 
 Mr. S. W. Thomas, Forest Each, Swansea, 
 kindly contributes the following article on Cr^ve- 
 coeurs as bred at the present day : 
 
 " This breed, I think, is older than the 
 Houdan, and t have come to this conclusion 
 after noting the results of various crosses be- 
 tween the Houdan and other varieties, The 
 crosses come mostly black, or nearly so, clearly 
 reverting to the Creve, and that of the Houdan 
 
456 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and Silver Poland produces fowl almost indis- 
 tinguishable from a Crdve, except for the presence 
 of the fifth toe on some of them. 
 
 " Why Craves are not more popular than 
 they are is most surprising to me. They are 
 amongst the very finest and handsomest and 
 bes't of fowls. I believe, for a large fowl,, they 
 are the quickest of all in growth, and so prolific 
 are they that I had pullets this summer laying 
 rather under five months old. They breed very 
 true, and there is no variety in which a breeder 
 can get so quickly to the front if he so minds. 
 I have kept them about fifteen or sixteen 
 years. Shortly after I started keeping them I 
 had the great good fortune to secure the whole 
 of Mr. R. B. Wood's stock, the choicest strain 
 in the country, when he gave up the variety. 
 I never found them delicate, but they are an 
 excitable fowl, and when overfed very subject 
 to apoplexy. They are even quicker in growth 
 than the Houdan, and though there is not the 
 difference in the average size of the two varieties 
 that there was at one time, the very finest 
 Craves . even now attain greater size than the 
 largest Houdans. 
 
 " Combs and crests are better than they used 
 to be. We have large, . full, evenly shaped 
 crests, and good even combs, for the most part 
 of the correct V shape ; and in colour we have 
 distinctly improved. We have more of the rich 
 green black, and less of the rusty purple black 
 than formerly. There is one disadvantage, how- 
 ever, in the green black. Birds of this colour 
 have a strong tendency to white in crest, much 
 more so, I find, than the duller black ; and 
 the cocks and cockerels frequently get coloured 
 feathers in both hackle and saddle. 
 
 "In body type Craves should be similar _to 
 Houdans, viz. square, thick-set bodies, long in 
 the keel and broad in the breast, legs black 
 or blue, crests full and smooth in front, and 
 a two-horned comb, with no side sprigs, shaped 
 something like the letter V. In breeding for 
 exhibition, if good constitutioned young birds 
 of good green black colour, with the necessary 
 quality in head-points, be selected to breed from, 
 the produce will be so uniformly good as to sur- 
 prise the breeder not acquainted with this variety. 
 
 " To revert again to their supposed delicacy, 
 I would remark that my runs are very exposed, 
 on heavy, damp clay soil. Yet my Craves do 
 well, and, if not overfed, will lay with the best 
 — and such eggs ! — the largest, I should say, 
 laid by any variety of poultry. I have had 
 pullets laying in frost and snow, when not even 
 my Brahmas gave me an &g'g. Like Houdans, 
 they are magnificent table fowls. But they are 
 great eaters, and fatten very quickly. 
 
 " Neither Houdans nor Craves look well or 
 do well in dirty, muddy runs, but if given dry 
 and clean houses to sleep in, arid good, clean 
 grass runs in which to get about, nothing can 
 beat them for table and laying purposes com^ 
 bined. As regards feeding, I feed my Craves 
 and Houdans in the same way : Spratt, oatmeal, 
 and sharps for morning feed ; green food mid- 
 day ; heavy white oats or best wheat in the 
 evening ; and occasionally a little small, round 
 maize in the winter. 
 
 " Houdans and Craves make capital crosses 
 with either Brahmas or Plymouth Rocks. 
 Either cross is extremely hardy, very large, 
 wonderful layers, and very meaty fowls for the 
 table. I can strongly recommend either cross." 
 
 We only add to the above remarks, that it is 
 advisable for stock birds to have the crest either - 
 tied up, or cut off in the same manner as Polish, 
 when not required for exhibition purposes, and 
 for similar reasons. Such procedure will do 
 much to prevent , the excitability mentioned 
 above, which used also to be a well-known 
 difficulty amongst Polish breeders. 
 
 The La Fl^che fowl has never been so popu- 
 lar in England as either of the preceding, chiefly 
 owing to a delicacy of constitution in our cli- 
 mate, which in its case has never 
 LaFliche. been overcome ; partly also, perhaps, 
 because there was not sufficient of 
 distinctness in its characteristics. The Polish 
 blood in its veins is shown by the two-horned 
 comb, the small crest in many specimens, and 
 the nostrils ; but the carriage, and white ear- 
 lobes, and green-black plumage, evidently show 
 a cross with the Spanish fowl, as another pro- 
 genitor. This breed formerly supplied many 
 of the best fowls for the Paris markets; but 
 both it and the Houdan and Crdve have lately 
 been greatly displaced by more recent creations 
 of the French breeders. 
 
 . In general appearance the La Fleche is a 
 tall, Spanish-looking fowl, though not now bred 
 quite so tall and upright as formerly. The size 
 is larger than Spanish, fatted specimens often 
 reaching 1 1 lbs., and usual weights being 8 lbs. 
 for cocks and 6 lbs. for hens when shown alive. 
 The bird has little apparent Polish " character ' 
 about it, being high on leg, with rather long 
 back and flowing tail. The head is smooth- 
 faced and rather long, the comb consisting of 
 two rather small horns of the V character, but 
 standing nearly upright, behind which is often a 
 very small crest of a few short feathers slanting 
 backward ; but specimens are preferred without 
 any, and much crest is penalised. The wattles 
 are long and pendulous, the ear-lobes round, of 
 
LU 
 
 X 
 
 o 
 
ORIGIN OF FAVEROLLES. 
 
 •457 
 
 medium size, smooth, and pure white. The back 
 should slope somewhat towards the tail, and the 
 keel be long and straight. The plumage is 
 close, of a glossy green-black, the legs dark 
 slate to almost black. , In breeding, the combs, 
 absence or almost absence of crest, and good 
 ear-lobes chiefly need attention, the plumage 
 and general shape being usually very uniform. 
 
 This fowl lays large white eggs, which are 
 produced pretty freely and tolerably early under 
 favourable circumstances. But in damp climate 
 or on clay soil it- is peculiarly subject to rheu- 
 matism, colds, and roup, and the cockerels are 
 especially liable to suffer from leg-weakness. 
 
 One of the most popular French breeds at 
 present — the Faverolles* — is a, recent creation, 
 by rather complicated crossing, but has quickly 
 taken strong hold upon English 
 FavoroUes. breeders, owing to its superb table 
 qualities combined with hardiness 
 and quick growth, and has already found the 
 support of a Club and a place in the Standard. 
 The following article upon the points, qualities, 
 and breeding of the Faverolles is kindly con- 
 tributed by Mr. J. P. W. Marx, Basford, 
 Nottingham, well known as having taken a 
 leading part in populai'ising and standardising 
 the fowl, and as one of its best judges. 
 
 " Faverolles have for some time been common 
 in the northern part of France, where they were 
 regarded as simply useful fowls. They are the 
 result of crosses to produce good layers, par- 
 ticularly in winter, whose chickens are strong, 
 hardy, and quick-growing, with thin, white skin 
 and fine bone, abundantly covered with meat, 
 and lending themselves readily, if need be, 
 to artificial fattening. Brahmas or Cochins, 
 Dorkings, and Houdans were used to pro- 
 duce Faverolles ; and as the different varieties 
 of those breeds were used indiscriminately, the 
 Faverolles are met with of various colours, yet 
 with well-defined characteristics of habit, shape, 
 and quality. The salmon, and the white or 
 ermine varieties, gradually became most numer- 
 ous on account of their better laying and table 
 qualities. A few seem to have been kept in 
 England about 1892 or 1893, but little was 
 heard of them till 1896; since then they have 
 become .scattered all over the country. 
 
 " Whatever the colour of the Faverolles, the 
 general characteristics are the same. In both 
 sexes the comb is single, upright, medium in 
 size, with neat serrations and free from coarse- 
 
 * Faverolles is the name of a place, and should properly be 
 always spelt wilh the terminal f. Such a woVd as FaveroUe is 
 a barbarism ; but it seems creeping in as the English form, and 
 perhaps cannot be helped. The effort should however be 
 made, to which end we make this direct mention of the matter. 
 
 ness. This is a difficult point, since of the breeds 
 which were selected to make up the Faverolles, 
 the Dorking alone has a single comb which 
 falls over in the hen. The peculiar combs of the 
 Brahma and Houdan are strongly hereditary, 
 and thus all kinds of combs crop up in the 
 Faverolles, and most careful selection is required 
 to get and retain the correct type. The beard 
 and muffling should be very abundant, the 
 beard thick and full rather than long and thin. 
 These, again, being only found in one of 
 the original breeds — the Houdan — are difficult 
 to breed ; indeed, the head of the Faverolles is 
 one of its most characteristic and important 
 features. The head itself is broad and short, 
 with small, thin wattles and stout, short beak. 
 The head should be free from crest, which is 
 nearly bred out ; still there remain traces, par- 
 ticularly in the cocks, in the shape of a few 
 short, upright feathers either side of the comb, 
 which would only be noticed by a breeder who 
 has had experience in eradicating crested blood. 
 The short, stout neck is thickly covered with 
 rather close-fitting hackles. The body is broad, 
 deep, and wide ; the back very broad and flat ; 
 the breast is also broad, with the keel-bone 
 deep and prominent ; the whole giving a sturdy, 
 massive look to the fowl. Greater length of 
 keel arid back is seen in the hen. The wings 
 show boldly in front, yet are distinctly small. 
 The thighs are short and set wide apart, with the 
 knees quite straight. The shanks are of medium 
 length. A dumpy, short-legged fowl is not 
 wanted, and the excessive shortness of -leg 
 detracted very much from an otherwise capital 
 hen which was- most successfully shown in 1900. 
 The leg should be fairly stout in bone without 
 being coarse, and be slightly feathered on the 
 outside down to the end of the outer toe. The 
 leg feather should be soft in texture, with no 
 sign of the vulture-hock too frequently met with. 
 The toes are five in number, and the extra or 
 fifth toe, as in the Dorking, should be clear and 
 distinct. The tail feathers and sickles are full 
 and broad ; the sickles incline, however, to be 
 short in length, and are carried rather upright, 
 as in the Brahma ; a large tail with long sickles 
 carried low or straight is not in keeping with the 
 build of the bird. The tail of the hen is fan- 
 shaped, and carried rather high. 
 
 " Cocks should weigh 7 lbs. to %\ lbs. ; hens, 
 6 lbs. to 7 lbs. ; cockerels, 6\ lbs. to 7| lbs. ; and 
 pullets, 5 lbs. to 6\ lbs. These weights are not 
 excessive, and are often exceeded, tliough gener- 
 ally at the expense of quality. 
 
 " The colour of the Salmon Faverolles cock 
 is quite different from that of the hen. Some 
 are a mixture of black and silvery white, like 
 
4S8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 the Silver Dorking ; others, which have the 
 preference, are warmer in colour, like the dark 
 Dorking. In the exhibition salmon cock the 
 beak, legs, and feet are white ; any pink colour 
 on the leg should be dealt with severely if it is 
 too prevalent, and should be eradicated. The 
 skin also is white and very fine ; a coarse, red 
 skin is a distinct fault. The face, lobes, and 
 wattles are red, nearly concealed by the muffling 
 and beard, which is black ticked with white. 
 Neck and saddle-hackles are straw colour, quite 
 free from any stripe, although many cocks still 
 retain the Brahma hackle, and probably. will do 
 so for some time yet. The breast is black; 
 very few are sound in breast colour; the majority 
 show white mottling, particularly towards the 
 bottom, others even have feathers tipped with 
 bronze or red. More latitude is allowed with 
 the back and shoulders, which may be a mixture 
 of black, white, and brown. The wing-bow is 
 straw colour, the wing-bar black, and the outside 
 of the se<Jondaries white. The tail, under colour, 
 and thighs are black; the tail coverts may be 
 brown. Some cocks with much less black in 
 them have the breast mottled with red and 
 ' white, and the back and shoulders a rich red 
 brown ; these are very handsome, but not in 
 accord with the present standard. 
 
 " The Salmon hen is much hke a Wheaten 
 Game. The head and neck are a wheaten brown, 
 broadly striped with a darker brown. Beard 
 and muffling (both are much heavier than in the 
 cock) are a creamy white. Back, shoulders, and 
 wings wheaten brown, the colour running lighter 
 on the sides until it meets the cream colour of 
 the breast, thighs, and under-colour. Primaries, 
 secondaries, and tail are wheaten brown ; these 
 at present are very imperfect, for a great deal of 
 black or white, or .both, is to be found in most 
 hens. Face, wattles, legs, and feet are the same 
 as in the cocks. The definition of the colour as 
 ' wheaten brown' is not a happy one ; it may mean 
 the warm brown of red \vheat or the much lighter 
 shade of white wheat, and the latter seems to be 
 the colour which is required. The fashionable 
 Salmon hen is a warm cream colour with a pale 
 brown colour on her neck, back, and tail ; a 
 delicate pink or salmon shade in these colours is 
 preferable to a faded, washed-out white colour. 
 Any trace of buff, gold, or hard brassy colour 
 should be discarded. 
 
 "There is a very handsome strain of what 
 may be called red wheaten brown hens ; the 
 back and sides are blotched with a deep chestnut 
 brown, which runs on to the tail, and the hackles 
 are broadly striped with the same colour; they 
 have a rough, hardy look, but are too dark and 
 red for the colouring of the standard. 
 
 " The Ermine or White Faverolles are marked 
 like light Brahmas, and, remembering their 
 origin, it will be found quite as difficult to obtain 
 the clear, densely striped hackles with pure 
 white body colour free from ticking. The sug- 
 gestions before given for breeding light Brahmas 
 should be closely followed in their mating, 
 
 " In mating Salmon Faverolles, comb, width 
 of back and between the thighs should be 
 attended to in both sexes. The comb should be 
 free from side sprigs, and, if possible, of fine 
 quality in the hen, and upright. The best 
 combs procurable should be used, for faults here 
 are sure to appear in the chickens. A cock with 
 heavy beard and muffling is valuable as a 
 breeder. His neck and saddle hackles should 
 be a yellow straw shade in preference to white 
 for cockerel breeding ; a slight stripe or ticking 
 of brown or brownish grey may be tolerated in 
 a pullet breeder. Hens with any black in the 
 hackle, even at the tip, should be cautiously bred 
 from, unless it is known their mother was better 
 than they in hackle colour. The feather itself 
 should be rather short, but broad, to give room 
 for the darker centre. The breast of the cock 
 should be a solid black from throat to thigh; 
 many are ticked with white, and a few have a 
 mottling of red or brown, and these are likely to 
 breed better coloured chickens than those ticked 
 with tvhite. The sounder the black of the thigh 
 and under-colour the better ; cocks showing 
 much white; breed cockerels lighter than them- 
 selves, and puHets too weak, almost white in 
 under-colour. The tail coverts should be a dark 
 chestnut brown in a pullet-breeding cock, and 
 the rest of the tail black. The sheen on the 
 black throughout the cock should be a rich 
 metallic bronze, not a beetle green shade. The 
 hens should be as near the standard colour 
 as can be obtained ; the weak points are wings 
 and tail, where black and white are sure to be 
 found. Hens with much white in wing should 
 be mated with a bird sound in wing, with very 
 little white on the outside of the secondaries, 
 plenty of bronze on the shoulders, and very little 
 white ticking in his under-colour. The brown 
 colour of the tail may be improved by selecting 
 a cock with abundance of coppery brown lustre 
 and brown tail coverts ; if the tails of his 
 daughters show an improvement, he may be 
 mated up next year with the best of them in 
 that respect. The shaft and down of the feather 
 quite to the skin should be a creamy or wheaten 
 brown ; hens with black or ashen grey down 
 throw a number of pullets with black in wing 
 and tail. 
 
 " Faverolles chickens are very hardy and 
 easy to rear, either artificially or naturally, 
 
QUALITIES OF FAVEROLLES. 
 
 459 
 
 providing that they are given as much liberty 
 as possible, for after the first week they are keen 
 foragers on their own account without being wild, 
 and prefer food of their own finding if it can be 
 obtained. They are always in good flesh, and 
 consequently are very suitable to rear for 
 supplying peiits ponssins; this object was 
 kept prominently in mind at their inception. 
 The framers of the Standard also appear ■ 
 to have drawn it up from a meat-producing 
 point of view ■; perhaps rightly so, for the breed 
 has found much favour with the fatters, some of 
 whom declare it to be the nearest approach to 
 the old Sussex breed they have met with for 
 some time: The chickens are white when 
 hatched, and their nest feathers are also 
 white ; with each subsequent growth more 
 colour appears, but only in the final change 
 do the cockerels acquire a solid black breast, 
 so the weeding out process must not be too 
 hastily conducted. They grow and mature 
 very quickly until the final change into adult 
 plumage, when, like Brahmas and Dorkings, 
 the feathers come rather slowly. 
 
 " The claims of the Faverolles as a table 
 fowl seem to have obscured its excellent laying 
 , qualities. Helped by its early maturing quality, 
 however, the Faverolles is also a good winter 
 and spring layer, not easily checked by climatic 
 changes. The eggs vary in colour from white 
 to deep brown, most usually they are a pale 
 brown. Pullets' eggs are deficient in size, but 
 those from mature birds are above the average. 
 The hens are slow to come on broody, though 
 exemplary sitters and mothers, and if checked 
 from broodiness soon recommence laying. 
 
 " The breed is not yet sufficiently established 
 to make the cocks suitable for crossing ; the hens, 
 however, are freely and successfully used with 
 Dorking and Indian Game cocks to produce 
 table poultry. The early and continued laying 
 of the Faverolles hens, and the hardy nature and 
 rapid growth of their chickens, make them 
 superior to the Dorking for mating with the 
 Indian Game cocks." 
 
 This breed being still in what may be called 
 a nascent or forming stage, we are tempted to 
 add a very few remarks to those of Mr. Marx, 
 with fespecial reference to the Standard. This 
 is evidently the product of much care and d s- 
 cussion ; yet we think it will have ere long to 
 be somewhat modified, and in the meantime 
 it ought to be applied with some latitude. In 
 regard even to the value of the points, in such a 
 fowl as this 20 points for muffling and 25 for 
 colour seem to us. injudiciously high compared 
 with 20 for symmetry. But more especially we 
 are afraid that the colour laid down for the two 
 
 sexes of Salmon Faverolles will be found incom- 
 patibly, unless males and females are to be bred 
 from different strains, which would be a calamity. 
 The mainly black and white of the cocks, is not 
 a compatible colour with the wheaten brown, 
 (free from black) of the hens. The latter colour 
 is nearly the same as the pale-breasted wheaten 
 Sussex hens, and the match for this is a Black- 
 red cock : on the other hand, such a colour in 
 cocks requires a tail in the hens edged with 
 black on the top. Rather more red in the 
 cock's top-colour and wing.s, and some black in 
 the top edge of the hen's tail, would make all 
 compatible. The fowl can never, we think, 
 take high rank as a merely " fancy " one ; and 
 rigorous double-mating would be simply ruinous 
 to it as a useful breed. It is on that account we 
 state the facts as known to, us from long study 
 and many records of breeding for similar colours, 
 and which any old breeder of Game will be able 
 to corroborate. 
 
 A number of other races of poultry are 
 known, in different parts of France. For the 
 following notes on these we are indebted to Mr. 
 Edward Brown, F.Z.S., lecturer on poultry culture 
 at Reading College, and Secretary of the National 
 Poultry Organisation Society. It will be seen 
 that one .breed mentioned is expressly ascribed 
 to the Langshan ; the Barbezieux has been 
 pronounced by many fanciers who have seen 
 it in France to, be evidently a Minorca cross: 
 and we I have seen fowls produced by crossing 
 a Light Brahma cock with Hoi^dan hens, which 
 precisely resembled in all but their variable 
 combs, both the description of the Bourbourg 
 fowl, and the only specimen of the fowl itself 
 which we have ever seen. 
 
 " Amongst the varieties of French poultry, 
 the La Bresse fowl occupies the premier position 
 in respect to its table qualities, if the prices 
 obtained for the best specimens may be taken 
 
 as evidence. The district where 
 La Bresse these fowls are bred comprises part of 
 Fowls. the Department of Ain and Seine-et- 
 
 Oise, that is, to the south of the old 
 province of Burgundy, and in that district the 
 poultry industry is a very important branch of 
 agriculture. For a long period of time Bresse. 
 poulardes and capons have had a great reputa- 
 tion for the quality and delicacy of their flesh. 
 It is stated that so far back as the years 1815 
 to 1818, when the city of Bourg was occupied 
 by the Allied Armfes, the quality of the poultry 
 was so appreciated that the fame of these birds " 
 was carried into other countries. 
 
 " In shape .the La Bresse fowls are distinctly 
 
460 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Mediterranean, and were it not for the colour of 
 the legs many would think they were Leghorns, 
 though they are somewhat longer in body. Few 
 would imagine that they were so fine for table 
 qualities, and from the appearance it might be 
 assumed that they would be distinctly better 
 as layers. The cock is elegant in carriage, 
 shapely, and active ; the head is medium in size, 
 and fine in its lines ; the beak is strong and of a 
 horn colour ; the eyes are lively and bright ; the 
 comb is single, and of the largest size, though 
 not nearly so large as in the English Leghorn ; 
 the comb is upright and well cut ; the wattles 
 are long ; the ear-lobes white and well defined ; 
 the neck is medium in length, inclining rather to 
 be long, and is well covered with hackles; the 
 back slopes gently towards the tail ; the breast 
 is round, rather prominent, and the thighs some- 
 what strong, but the legs and feet are fine in 
 bone, indicative of slightness of frame through- 
 out, which is one of the features of this breed ; 
 the legs and feet are of a slate grey colour, with 
 black nails ; the tail is well furnished, though 
 the sickles are not very long. In the hens the 
 comb falls to one side. 
 
 " There are three varieties of this race — 
 Black, called La Bresse de Louhans ; Grey, called 
 La Bresse de Boiirg; and White, called La Bresse 
 de Beny-Marboz. In the Bresse district the 
 Blacks are usually regarded as the better layers, 
 but the Whites are preferred for table purposes. 
 The black variety is very pretty, showing those 
 metallic reflections which always add to the 
 beauty of birds of this colour. In tfie grey 
 variety the plumage is white pencilled with 
 grey, the neck hackle being almost entirely 
 white, except that the points are grey. In this 
 case the beak is blue and. the legs clear grey. 
 In the white variety the plumage is, of course, 
 self-coloured and the legs dark grey. Whites 
 and blacks are more numerous than the greys. 
 " In Paris, as well as other parts of France, 
 ! in Italy and Switzerland, at the best hotels 
 Poules de la Bresse are found on the memts. The 
 prices of these birds for table purposes are very 
 high. I have b6en asked as much as twenty 
 francs for a fat poularde in the Bourg market, 
 and they command still higher figures in Paris. 
 Part of their value arises, however, from the 
 system of fattening which is carried out in these 
 districts, and there can be no question that for 
 delicacy of flesh they have no superior. The 
 lightness of bone is, of course, a very great recom- 
 mendation, and the breed is specially remarkable 
 for the great increase of weight as a result of 
 fattening. But they are valued for their quality 
 rather than for their size, which is not great, 
 being less than some of the largest English 
 
 Leghorns ; few of the males when in working 
 condition scale at more than 6 lbs. 
 
 " As egg-producers they hold a very import- 
 ant place in France, and I have frequently been 
 told in the La Bresse country that there is no 
 breed which touches them in this respect. This 
 to a large extent confirms my own observations, 
 as I have kept white La Bresse for several years, 
 and have found them amongst the best layers of 
 any breed. They are not, however, exceptionally 
 good in the winter, and this might be anticipated 
 from their appearance. The eggs are white and 
 of good size, as a rule weighing upwards of 2 ozs. 
 
 "TheDu Mans fowl is bred to a considerable 
 extent in the Department of La Sarthe, but it is^ 
 entirely kept for its economic qualities. It has 
 
 never attained to any great popu- 
 Du Mans. larity in France, other than in the 
 
 district of South Normandy which 
 gives it a name, where it is met with largely, 
 and whence quantities of these birds are sent 
 up to the Paris markets. In appearance it is 
 very similar in many respects to the La Fleche, 
 except that it has a less upright appearance, and 
 the head is different. Instead of the horned 
 comb which is so characteristic of the La Fleche,.. 
 it has a rose comb, and I have seen this comb 
 rather coarse. It is entirely black in plumage, 
 except that the small ear-feathers are frequently 
 white or almost white ; the ear-lobes are white 
 like the La Fleche. Even at the great Paris 
 exhibitions this breed is not much in evidence, 
 and probably owes its popularity more to the 
 skill of the fatteners in the valley of La Sarthe 
 than to its own qualities. It is, however, a quick 
 grower, and when fully grown the weight of bone 
 and offal is small as compared, with the total 
 size of body. Some years ago when at Le Mans, 
 I learnt that large numbers of this breed are 
 sent to countries as far away as Russia, and 
 command high prices. It has fine, delicate flesh, 
 and fattens easily; and is an abundant layer. 
 
 " The Courtes-Pattes is not unknown in this 
 country, though it has never become popular, 
 and the appearance is distinctly against it. It 
 
 would appear to be in some way 
 Cpurtes- related to the La Fleche and the 
 
 Pattes. Du Mans varieties, emanating from 
 
 the same district of France, but it is 
 smaller in body, and the legs are very short 
 indeed. Except in exhibitions, I have very 
 seldom seen specimens of this breed in France, 
 and visits to the La Sarthe district' revealed to 
 me that it was more in the hands of dealers and 
 amateurs than bred as an economic fowl. It is 
 entirely black in plumage, with metallic reflec- 
 
MINOR FRENCH BREEDS. 
 
 461 
 
 tions, and heavily feathered. The body is wide 
 and long ; the comb thick, single, and upright in 
 the male bird, falling over in the hen, regularly 
 indented and substantial at the base. Like 
 many of the other French breeds, it has a beard, 
 and the car-feathers are white and rather long ; 
 ear-lobes are broad and white. The legs are 
 thick, and grey in colour, the tail being fully 
 furnished ' and carried rather high. Doubtless 
 there arc a goodly number of these birds pro- 
 duced, and at certain seasons of the year they 
 are made into a dish called Poulets A la Reine, 
 which can be obtained in the Paris restaurants 
 and caf& by gourmets. It is said to be an 
 abundant layer of large eggs, and a good sitter, 
 but seldom becoming broody. 
 
 " In France, as in our own country, certain 
 varieties of poultry have been produced by the 
 efforts of individual breeders, and in some cases 
 
 have been named by them without 
 Du Mantes. much regard to other considerations. 
 
 The Du Mantes was introduced 
 by M. Voitellier, a great breeder of and 
 dealer in poultry, who lived near the town of 
 Mantes, between Paris and Rouen. It in some 
 respects resembles the Faver.olles, but is lighter 
 in body. The origin of this breed is uncertain. 
 In appearance it would seem that the Houdan 
 was used in its production, but this is denied by 
 M. Voitellier, who says that it has four toes 
 instead of five as in the Houdan, and in place 
 of an enormous crest it has none, and that instead 
 of the leaf or strawberry comb . it has a single 
 comb, standing upright in the male and falling 
 over in the female. The Mantes fowl is also 
 lighter in the body than the Houdan, and par- 
 takes more of the Mediterranean type. It is a 
 sitting variety, and in this respect also differs 
 from the Houdan, to which its chief resemblance 
 is that the plumage is rnarked in the same way, 
 that is, black and white. So far as I have been 
 able to trace it, this variety has not been widely 
 distributed, and is generally met with in the 
 Seine-et-Oise district, around the town of 
 Mantes. 
 
 " The size of this fowl is about equal to that 
 of the Houdan, and the plumage like that breed, 
 splashed black and white, neither very white 
 nor very black. The carriage is active and 
 proud ; the comb is single, well developed and 
 serrated, upright in the male and falling over in 
 the hen ; ear-lobes hidden under a thick cravat 
 of feathers ; wattles short, and also hidden by 
 the whisl^-ers, which are large ; the legs and 
 feet arc short and stout, niarbled red, grey, and 
 black, without any trace of feathers. As a layer 
 the Mantes fowl is said to equal the best 
 
 varieties, and it is a good sitter, without any 
 excessive tendency that way. 
 
 " The Barbezieux fowl has been called the 
 Minorca of France, and in appearance it is 
 more like the English Minorca than any other 
 
 French breed. It is rather longer on 
 Barbezieux. the leg than most of our Minorcas, 
 
 and both fine and coarse legs 
 appear to be admissible. It is said to be a 
 good sitter, and in this respect differs distinctly 
 from the Minorca. I have no evidence as to its 
 laying qualities, but it can be made into a good 
 table fowl, as in some of the south-western 
 districts of France birds of this type are met 
 with regularly in the poulterers' shops. It is 
 very erect, with sprightly carriage, breast well . 
 forward. The comb is single, well developed, 
 with serrations well cut, upright in the cock, 
 falling upon one side in the hen. The ear-lobes 
 are white and large ; wattles red and very broad. 
 The plumage is tight, entirely black, with green 
 and violet reflections in the cock, dull black in 
 the hen. The cock's tail has large sickles. The 
 legs and feet are clean and leaden grey, with 
 four toes. It is a prolific layer, of large eggs, 
 with fine flesh, and a' good fatter, and is con- 
 sidered hardy. 
 
 "The Gournay fowl is one of the smallest 
 
 . races of French poultry, but is spoken of as a 
 
 good layer of eggs which are rather above the 
 
 average in weight. The breed is 
 Gournay hot very true to type, but they have 
 
 Fowls. been characterised as strongly built, 
 
 single-conibed, non-crested birds of 
 Houdan plumage,' with only four toes, from 
 which it appears that they, may have some 
 relationship with the Mantes fowl. 
 
 " Some medium-sized black fowls are known 
 under the name of Cossacks, but are very little 
 met with. They have large whiskers. I have 
 only occasionally seen specimens of 
 Cossacks. this breed in the French shows. 
 Birds of this type are said to 
 be met with in South Russia and on the 
 borders of the Black Sea, whilst one French 
 writer states that they are to be seen in abund- 
 ance in the neighbourhood of Scutari. The 
 comb is single, standing upright in both the 
 sexes, with a few indentations. The beard has 
 "small, curled feathers right up to the ear-lobes, 
 which are red. The tail of the cock is carried 
 well up, and has two large sickle feathers ; the 
 body is well developed, with prominent breast ; 
 the legs and feet are grey in colour and clean ; 
 the "beard is less developed in the hen than in 
 
462 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY.. 
 
 the cock; They are said to-be good layers of 
 large-sized white eggs, seldom found to sit; and 
 to have good quality of flesh. 
 
 " In the part of Northern France commonly 
 known as the Pas de Calais, lying between 
 Calais and the Belgian border, a variety is now 
 being bred to which the name of 
 Bourbourg. Bourbourg has been given. They 
 are chiefly produced for their table 
 qualities. Nearly all the fat fowls consumed 
 in the Department du Nord, from Dunkirk 
 to Lille, are of this variety, the position being 
 taken by reason of their early laying and 
 hatching. They are above the medium in size, 
 and 'are said to be very hardy, precocious, fine in 
 the quality of their flesh, and fair as layers. 
 
 " The Bourbourg cock is a handsome, vigor- 
 ous bird, thick-set arid short in leg. The head 
 is large and rather short ; beak short and strong, 
 white, streaked with horn ; eyes orange-red ; 
 comb single, upright, regularly serrated with 
 large spikes, and rather large ; wattle medium 
 sized ; ear-lobes little developed and red. There 
 isi a bfeard, formed of white feathers, growing 
 upwards, and the cheeks,'red, are slightly covered . 
 with small white feathers. The head is white ; the 
 neck well arched, covered with an abundance of 
 neck hackle, is white striped with black ; back, 
 saddle, and body white ; tail black, the coverts 
 edged with white. The body is large, rather 
 sloping in front ; thighs stout, covered with an 
 abundance of feathers, but no hock feathers ; 
 legs strong and long, very slightly feathered ; 
 legs and feet reddish-white, with white toe-nails. 
 Weight, 7 lbs. to 9 lbs. The colour is that of 
 the Light Brahma, or what the French call 
 Ermine. The Bourbourg hen is very pretty, 
 large at the shoulders, with back flat and long, 
 and also of a pretty ermine colour. Her laying 
 is very good, and her salmon-tinted eggs are 
 good in flavour. She sits early and well, is a 
 good mother^ but does not sit often, twice in the 
 year at most. Her conformation corresponds 
 with that of the cock, and her weight is from 
 6 lbs. to 7 lbs. It will be seen that the breed 
 corresponds closely with the ermine-coloured 
 Faverolles ; and it has, indeed, been termed by 
 the French themselves the Faverolles of the 
 North. 
 
 " In the north-eastern district of France the 
 Bourbourg fowl has now a rival, which is called 
 
 the fowl of Estaires. It would 
 Fowl of appear that this is a half-bred 
 
 EstaireB. Langshan, that breed having been 
 
 largely used in its production ; but 
 at the same time it is distinctly different from 
 
 the Langshan, although it retains some of its 
 features. The plumage is entirely black. The 
 comb is single and large, standing upright in the 
 male bird, but falling over in the hen ; the eye is 
 yellow-orange, and the ear-lobes red. The body 
 is carried well forward ; the breast large ; the 
 tail very short, and terminating, in a point. The 
 legs arid feet are dark and slightly feathered. 
 Ft has been suggested that this breed is due to a 
 cross between the Langshan and the Game fowl, 
 and it is noteworthy as showing how the French 
 have introduced the Langshan as well as the 
 Brahtria, into their races of table poultry." 
 
 The predominating impression left from a 
 survey of the French breeds of poultry, must' 
 be in the first place the great value of the 
 Polish race as a source from which may be 
 derived quality of flesh of the highest character, 
 and prolific egg-production ; and secondarily, 
 the extraordinary variety of the results attain- 
 able from one such "source. We may have 
 crest and muffling fully maintained,- as in 
 Craves and Houdans, or all but banished as 
 in La Fleche and others ; and with form and 
 carriage as various as the latter compared 
 with the Faverolles. 
 
 The following are the Standards adopted 
 by the Poultry -Club for the popularly recog- 
 nised French breeds. 
 
 HOUDANS. 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck.— Heaii ; Bold, crested. Beak: Short 
 and stout. Eye : Bold. Comb : Well defined, even, 
 smooth leaf cornb, in shape somewhat resembling a 
 butterfly placed on the centre of the head ; neat, medium 
 sized. Crest : Large, full, and compact, with sufficient 
 inclination backwards to fully expose the comb. Wattles : 
 Rather short and well rounded. Beard and Muffling, or 
 Whiskers : Large, full, compact. Hackles : Full, coming 
 well down on back. 
 
 Bodj. —Breast : Broad and deep ; breast-bone long 
 and straight. Back : Broad, moderately long, and 
 straight. Wings : Carried Well up, but by no means on 
 the back. 
 
 Tail.— Very full and well arched, with long and 
 prominent sickles. 
 
 Legs and Teei.— Thighs : Short, stout, and wide 
 apart. Shanks: Rather short and stout, perfectly 
 straight, free from feathers. Toes : Five in number ; 
 the fifth should start separately from the fourth and 
 curve gently upwards ; the other toes straight and well 
 spread apart. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Bold and lively. 
 
 Size and Weight. —Large. Adult cocks 8 lbs. to 9 lbs.; 
 cockerels 6 lbs. to 7 lbs. ; if above these weights so much 
 the better. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 Head and T<!eck.~Head : Crested. Beak and Eye • As 
 in the cock. Comb: Leaf shaped but. small. Crest: 
 Large, tuU. and compact, and, above all,' globular in 
 
STANDARDS FOR FRENCH BREEDS. 
 
 463 
 
 shape, evenly set on the head. Wattles : Very small 
 and rather round. Muffling : Large and full. Beard : 
 Pendulous. Hackle : Full. 
 
 Body. — As in the cock. 
 
 Tall. — Full, carried well away from body. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short and wide apart. 
 Shanks and Toes : As in the coclt. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Sturdy and active. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Adult hens 6 lbs. to 7 lbs. ; pullets 
 5 lbs. to 6 lbs. ; if above these weights so much the better. 
 
 COLOUR OF HOUDANS. 
 
 In Both SexeB.^Beak : Light horn. Eye : Red. Comb 
 Face, and Wattles ; Bright red. Ear-lobe : White or 
 pinky white. Crest : Black and white, but may be 
 lighter than the rest of the plumage. The two colours 
 to be as evenly distributed as possible. Beard and 
 Muffling : Same as crest. Remainder of Plumage : Glossy 
 green black and white, evenly mottled. The former 
 colour may and often does preponderate in chickens, 
 but in every case the mottling should be as evenly 
 distributed as possible. Legs and Feet : Pinky -white 
 mottled with blue or black ; dark coloured legs not at 
 all desirable. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN HOUDANS. 
 
 THE COCK. 
 
 Deduct 
 Defects. up to 
 
 ■ Deficiency of crest 12 
 
 ,, beard and muffling 8 
 
 Faults in comb 15 
 
 ,, colour 15 
 
 ,, legs and feet 10 
 
 Want of size 18 
 
 „ symmetry 12 
 
 „ condition , 10 
 
 muffling. Muffling : Full and deep. Wattles : Moder- 
 ately long and pendulous. Neck : Rather long and 
 graceful, hackle very full. 
 
 Body.— Square and large. Breast : Broad and full, 
 the breast-bone long and straight. Back : Broad and 
 flat. Wings : Large, carried well up but by no means 
 on the back. 
 
 Tail.— Very full, and carried moderately high. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short and wide apart. 
 Shanks : Short, free from fea,thers. Toes : Straight and 
 long, four in number. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Bold and ejegant. 
 
 Size and Weight. —Large. Adult cocks g lbs., cockerels 
 7 lbs. ; if above these weights so much the better. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. —Hearf ; Well set on, rather large. 
 Beak and Eye : As in the cock. Comb : As in the cock, 
 but very small and neat. Crest : Large, compact, and 
 globular. Ear-lobes and Muffling: As in the cock. 
 Wattles : Small and rounded. Neck : Medium length, 
 hackle full. 
 
 Body. — Square and well developed. Breast : Deep, 
 prominent, and full, breast-bone long and straight. 
 Back and Wings : As in the cock. 
 
 Tail. — Broad and full, may be carried moderately high. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Lively and bold. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Adult hens 6 lbs. to 7 lbs. ; pullets 
 5 lb. to 6 lbs. ; if above these weights so much the 
 better. 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 COLOUR IN CREVECCEURS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beaky Dark horn. Eye: Bright 
 red ; black eye admissible. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and 
 Wattles : Bright " red. Shanks : Black or slaty blue. 
 Plumage : Very lustrous greenish black. No other 
 colour admissible except a few white feathers in crest 
 of adults, which are not desirable. 
 
 "\ 
 
 Deficiency of crest ... . ... 
 
 ,, beard and muffling 
 Faults in comb 
 
 ,, colour 
 
 ,, legs and feet 
 Want of size 
 
 „ symmetry 
 
 ,, condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 .. 15 
 .. 12 
 
 .. 8 
 
 ■ ■ 15 
 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 20 
 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be. passed : 
 Any deformity ; red or straw coloured feathers ; outside 
 spur ; other than five toes on each foot. 
 
 CRfeVECCEURS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck.— He^ii; .Erect and .stately, crested. 
 Beak : Strong and well curved. Eye : Full and bright. 
 Comb : Even, two horned, V-shaped, not curved, and 
 free from branches or tynes; moderate size, standing 
 well up against the crest. Face : Well muffled. 
 Crest : Large and full, inclining backwards so as to 
 show the comb. Ear-lobes : Small, well covered with 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN CREVECCEURS. 
 
 
 THE COCK. 
 
 Deduct 
 
 Defects. 
 
 
 up to 
 
 Deficiency of crest and muffling 
 
 ... 20 
 
 White in crest ... 
 
 .. 
 
 ... 10 
 
 Faulty comb 
 
 
 ... 15 
 
 ,, colour ... 
 
 ... ... 
 
 ... 13 
 
 Want of size . . . 
 
 ... ■*■ ... 
 
 ... 20 
 
 ,, symmetry 
 
 .. ... ... ... 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ,, condition 
 
 
 ... 10 
 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 100 
 
 
 THE HEN, 
 
 
 Defects. 
 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 Deficiency of crest an 
 
 d muffling 
 
 ... 20 
 
 White in crest ... 
 
 ... ... ... 
 
 ... 10 
 
 Faulty comb ... 
 
 ... ... ... 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ,, colour ... 
 
 ... ... ... .. 
 
 ...20 
 
 Want of size 
 
 ... ... ... ■■■ 
 
 ... 20 
 
 ,, symmetry 
 
 ..• 
 
 ... 10 
 
 „ condition 
 
 ... ... ... ... 
 
 ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed ; 
 Any deformity ; coloured feathers. 
 
464 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 LA FLECHE. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck.— Heati ; Rather long, thin, and flat 
 at the side, often slightly crested. Bmh : Rather long, 
 nostrils elevated. Eye : Full and bold. Comb : Con- 
 sists of two very even round horns, witho\it any branches, 
 resembling a V ; medium size and neat. Face : Free 
 from feathers. Crest (if any) : Very small, consisting 
 merely of a few short feathers, curved evenly backward. 
 Ear-hbei : Neat, round, free from folds, medium size, of 
 fine texture. Wattles : Long and pendulous. Neck : 
 Long and s,tylish j hackle not too much developed. 
 
 Body. — Rather plump. Breast : Full, breast-bone 
 long and straight. Back : Long, not too wide, sloping 
 towards tail. Wings : Large and carried well up, but 
 by no means on the back. 
 
 Tail. — Long, not too full, Slanting backwards. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Long. Shanks : Long, free 
 from feathers. Toes: Four in number, eveu and straight. 
 
 Plumage. — Close. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage.— Sprightly, graceful, and 
 upstanding. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large. Adult cocks Slbs., cockerels 
 6 lbs. If above these weights' so much the better. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 HeadandNeck. — Head: Rathersmall. Beak, Eye, Comb, 
 Face, Crest, and Ear-lobes : As in the cock. Wattles : 
 Small and round. Neck : Rather long and graceful. 
 
 Body. — Breast and Wings: As in the cock. Back: 
 Broad, tapering, and slanting slightly towards the tail. 
 
 Tail. — Small, rather erect. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Upright and sprightly. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Adult hens 6 lbs., pullets 5 lbs. ; if 
 above thfese weights so much the better. 
 
 COLOUR IN LA FtfecHE. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Dark horn. Eye: Bright red; 
 black admissible. Comb, Face, and Wattles : Ked. Ear- 
 lobes : Pure white. Shanks : Dark slate colour or black. 
 Plumage : Black, with brilliant green gloss. ' 
 
 POINTS IN LA FLfecHE (COCK OR HEn). 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Faulty comb 
 Showing much crest 
 White in face . . .' 
 Stained ear-lobe 
 Faulty colour ... 
 Want of size ... 
 „ symmetry 
 „ condition 
 
 Deduct 
 
 up to 
 .. lO' 
 .. 10 
 .. 10 
 .. 10 
 ■■ 15 
 
 .. ao 
 
 •■ 15 
 .. 10 
 
 100 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 Serious defects, ior which birds should be passed : 
 Any deformity; squirrel tail; coloured or white 
 feathers ; red ear-lobes. 
 
 FAVEROLLES. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and T!!eck.~Head : Broad, flat, and short, free 
 from crest. Beak : Stout and short. Comb : Upright, 
 single, medium size, four to six neat serrations, free 
 from coarseness or any side work. Ear-lobes : Small 
 hidden by muffling. Wattles: Small, fine in texture! 
 Beard and Muffling: Full, but the beard, should be 
 short. ' Neck : Short and thick, especially near the 
 body, into which it should be well let in. 
 
 Body. — Thick, deep, and cloddy. Breast : Broad, 
 , keel-bone very deep and coming well forward in 
 front, but not too rounded. A hollow breast is very 
 objectionable. Back : Flat, square, very broad across 
 the shoulders and saddle, and pi fair length, but not so 
 long as in the hen. Sides : Deep. Wings : Prominent 
 in front, but small and carried closely tucked to body. 
 
 Tail. — Carried rather upright, feathers and sickles 
 stout and medium length ; long, thin, flowing tail 
 feathers carried low or straight are very objeotionable.- 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short, wide apart, plenty 
 of body between them. Shanks : Medium length and 
 stout, straight, sparsely feathered down to outer toe. 
 Knees straight, carried well apart ; narrowness or 
 tendency to be in-kneed very objectionable. Toes : 
 Five in number, the fifth toe clearly divided from the 
 fourth, outer toe sparsely feathered. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Active and alert. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large. Cocks, 7 lbs. to 8-J- lbs. ; 
 cockerels, 6J lbs. to 7J- lbs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, Ear-lobes, Wattles, Beard, 
 and Muffling : As in the cock. Comb : Similar to the 
 cock, but much smaller and very neat,- and fine in 
 texture. Neck : Short and full, carried straighter than 
 in the cock. 
 
 Body. — Generally longer and deeper than in the 
 cock. Breast : Deep, full, and prominent keel-bone 
 longer than in the cock. Bach : Broad and flat, longer 
 thin in the cock. Wings : As in the cock. 
 
 Tail.— Fan shaped, feathers broad, stout, and medium 
 length, carried midway between upright and drooping. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Active and alert. 
 
 Size and Weight. —Large. Hens, 6 lbs. to 7 lbs.; 
 pullets, 5 lbs. to 6^ lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN SALMON FAVEROLLES. 
 
 laBothSexes.— Beak : Horn or white. Eye: Grey 
 or hazel. Comb: Red. Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles: 
 Red, both partially concealed by muffling. Shanks and 
 Feet: White. 
 
 In the Cook.— Beard and Muffling : Black, ticked with 
 white. Hackles : Straw. Bach and Shoulders : A mixture 
 of black, white, and brown. Breast: Black. Wing- 
 bows: Straw. colour. Wing-bar: Black. .Secondaries: 
 Pure white on the outer edge of feathers and black on 
 the inner edge and tips. Primaries : Black. Thighs and 
 Undw-fluff: Black. Tail: Black. 
 
 In the B.eii.— Beard and Muffling: Creamy white. Head 
 andNechHackle: Wheaten brown, striped with same colour 
 of darker shade. Back and Shoulders : Wheaten brown 
 W^ngs : Similar to back, but the colours are softer" 
 and lighter. Primaries and Secondaries : Wheaten brown. 
 Breast,Thighs, and Fluff: Cream. Tail: Wheaten brown. 
 
 POINTS IN FAVEROLLES (COCK OR HEn) 
 Defects. 
 
 Bad comb 
 
 Insufficient beard and muffling .'.".' "' 
 
 Defective colour \\ 
 
 Want of symmetry ... ..." " ''[ 
 
 „ size [\ 
 
 II condition '" [][ 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 Skin and leg? other than white. Absence of all beard 
 and muffling. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ... 20 
 
 ... 25 
 ... 20 
 ... 15 
 
 ... 10 
 
 100 
 
46s 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 OTHER CONTINENTAL BREEDS. 
 
 BESIDES the breeds generally recognised as 
 French, and described in the last chapter, 
 there are several known in other parts of 
 Europe which are distinct enough to be worth 
 description. We are only able to give details of 
 those originating in Belgium, Holland, and 
 Southern Russia, of which- the Belgian breeds 
 are longest and best known in this country. 
 One of these, the Campine or Braekel fowl — for 
 there can be no doubt that both form essentially 
 one breed — has only lately attracted considerable 
 attention, and acquired considerable popularity ; 
 it will be convenient therefore to' describe it and 
 other Belgian or Dutch breeds first, and after- 
 wards the most distinctive Russian fowls. 
 
 The fowls known as Campines are un- 
 doubtedly of great antiquity ; and it is in fact 
 quite evident, now we have them over here, that 
 
 they exactly answer to the G. turcica 
 Campines. or Turkish fowl of old Aldrovandus, 
 
 which has been already alluded to 
 in treating of Pencilled Hamburghs, and which 
 is pictured as a single-combed breed, with 
 pencilling like a Hamburgh's, and the cock's 
 body pencilled like the hen's. Further, there 
 are found both single and rose-combed Cam- 
 pines in Belgium, though single combs arc 
 adopted in England to keep the breed as 
 distinct as possible ; and we have said already 
 that single combs still appear in Hamburghs, 
 and that old representations of these also 
 depict pencilled cocks as well as hens. All 
 the evidence is convergent, and points to the 
 breed here mentioned as being the original of 
 the old Chittiprat or Everyday Layer, before the 
 latter had been' refined in head and pencilling, 
 at the expense of some loss in size, hardihood, 
 and prolificacy. It is as a hardy fowl and prolific 
 layer that the old breed has been re-introduced 
 into this country. 
 
 The following notes upon Campines are con- 
 tribiited by Mr. Thomas B. Bracken, Slyne 
 Road, Lancaster, one of the earliest exhibitors, 
 and who took the bulk of the prizes at the Crystal 
 Palace show of 1900. As it is yet too early to 
 present drawings of standard birds as in other 
 
 cases in this work, we are indebted to Mr. 
 Bracken also for photographed reproduction of 
 a life-like drawing made by a lady artist of some 
 of his Campines, the cock in the centre being 
 the father of the three winning Palace cockerels, 
 and also of the other two birds, of which the hen 
 won at Liverpool. His sickles must certainly be 
 pronounced rather too short. 
 
 " I myself remember my parents keeping the 
 old Chittiprat, and although I cannot remember 
 the points,. I recognise a similarityto the present 
 day Campines. My poultry runs adjoin the 
 great North Road, at a point where a rise in 
 the ground makes it convenient for pedestrians 
 who are no longer young, or- who ■ carry too 
 much adipose tissue, to take a view of the sur- 
 rounding scenery ; and in the summer time I 
 hear very many expressions of admiration for 
 my birds, the older generation calling them. 
 Chittiprats, Bolton Greys, etc. etc. Frequently 
 I am asked what breed they are ; I reply 
 Campines (pronounced Kampeens), and it is 
 very amusing to hear the result : Campions and 
 Champions , being the most familiar repetition, 
 Campines with the long i, occasionally, but very 
 rarely indeed is it correctly repeated. 
 
 " I was led to take up Campines by reading 
 an account of a tour through Belgium in June, 
 1897, by Mr. Edward Brown and Mr. A. F. 
 Hunter (of Farm Poultry, Boston, U.S.A.), in 
 which the wonderful laying qualities of the breed 
 were referred to. Shortly afterwards I imported 
 eggs and birds from the late M. Moons de Coen, 
 Calmpthout, Antwerp, who was, I believe, the 
 leading Belgian breeder of this variety. 
 
 " The Campine, as is now generally known, 
 is a Belgian breed, and derives its name from a 
 large district in Belgium, extending from Ant- 
 werp to Hasselt in Limbourg. The breed is- 
 undoubtedly a very old one ; indeed, the people 
 of the Campine district go so far as to say that 
 when Julius Caesar left their country, he took 
 back to Rome a number of these fowls, which 
 the Roman epicures pronounced 'food for the 
 gods.' Be this as it may, when chickens six to 
 seven weeks old, Campines are as plump as- 
 partridges, and remarkably good eating. The 
 
466 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Belgians have, however, bred them chiefly with 
 a view to quantity and size of eggs, and not for 
 feather. The result is a remarkable layer of 
 good-sized white eggs. I regret I have not 
 been able to keep an exact record of quantity, 
 but a friend of mine in the hilly district of north- 
 west Westmorland wrote me in April, 1900, as 
 follows : ' I have four pullets hatched middle 
 of June, which commenced laying early in 
 November, and have laid ever since ; been 
 getting three and four eggs daily, sometimes 
 four per day five days in succession.' 
 
 " They are what I call a ' homely ' breed, and 
 
 After the plumage and smart, graceful ca,rriage, 
 the most striking characteristic is the dark, 
 apparently black, full, prominent eye; when 
 closely observed, however, it is found that the 
 pupil only is black, the iris being a very dark 
 brown. 
 
 " The chicks are hardy, and feather quickly. 
 I have had them successfully reared on a stiff 
 clay, with an excess of moisture for weeks 
 together. In a fairly extensive experience, they 
 are the most precocious youngsters I have ever 
 come across. When hatched in fine weather, I 
 have had the cockerels crowing under five weeks. 
 
 Silver Campines. 
 
 with decent treatpient readily eat out of the 
 attendant's hand ; and although when thoroughly 
 alarmed they can fly a great height, I find in 
 practice that 6-feet netting keeps them within 
 bounds. They are non-sitters, and remarkable 
 foragers, so that on a free run they require very 
 little assistance in the matter of food. 
 
 "The plumage of the hens is very similar to 
 our Pencilled Hamburghs, but the pencilling is 
 broader. In cocks the breast and wing-bar are 
 pencilled like the hens, the back and saddle in 
 most specimens being at present white. The 
 main tail is black, and the sickles in the best 
 specimens are edged with white or mackerel 
 markings. The combs are single, erect in the 
 cocks, and falling over in hens like a Leghorn's. 
 
 The colour, when hatched, of both Golds and 
 Silvers, is dark brown, the Golds being^a shade 
 richer. 
 
 " In order to avoid that bane of so many 
 otherwise good breeds, double, mating, the 
 Campine Club have recently' revised their 
 standard, and made the plumage of cocks 
 identical with that of hens ; and, with a view 
 to discourage the introduction of Hamburgh 
 blood, have also made red eyes a disqualifi- 
 cation. The question of broad versus narrow 
 pencilling has not been discussed, but my own 
 idea is to go for the broad markings. In this 
 respect my second prize Palace cockerel excels 
 my cup winner, the latter having narrow 
 markings, though bred from the same pen. 
 
CAMPINES AND BRAEKELS. 
 
 467 
 
 " In regard to the two colours, Silvers and 
 Golds, at present the Golden are a trifle smaller 
 than the Silvers, but, generally speaking, they 
 have whiter lobes. I find, however, that both 
 my Golds and Silvers are increasing in size as 
 well as improving in markings." 
 
 Golden Campines are similar to the Silvers in 
 all respects save ground-colour. They are much 
 less common, and we agree with. Mr. Bracken 
 in thinking that those we have seen have been 
 rather smaller. The chicks of both colours are 
 a sort of golden brown, rather richer perhaps 
 in the Golds ; but as the feathers come the 
 Silvers become white. 
 
 The future of the Campine will probably 
 depend upon the degree in which it can be kept 
 distinct from the Hamburgh ; and the standard 
 drawn up by the Campine Club in 1901 seems 
 fairly calculated to promote this object. The single 
 comb, falling over in the hens, is one distinction ; 
 the eyes are also to be dark, red eyes being dis- 
 qualified; the ear-lobes are to be inclined to 
 almond shape ; and the sickles of the cock are 
 defined as black in the centre, with mackerel 
 markings at the sides. On the tail, and the 
 character of the pencilled markings, will prob- 
 ably depend future distinctiveness. The cock's 
 pencilled body and dark tail make the entire 
 scheme like that of the older pullet-breeding 
 strains (full-tailed) of Chittiprats or Pencilled 
 Hamburghs. We have seen in winning cockerels 
 approach to the laced tail, to an all black tail, 
 and to black centres with mackerel markings at 
 the sides ; on the whole the latter seems most 
 characteristic, and most likely to promote pullet- 
 breeding. In regard to pencilling, that closely 
 resembles the broader marking formerly known 
 in Pencils when both sexes could be bred from 
 one pen ; and we are quite certain that such 
 marking is alone consistent ,with this, and with 
 adequate size of body, hardiness of constitution, 
 and size of egg. But already there are signs of 
 danger. Drawings of Campines by several 
 artists have depicted pullets with the slender 
 bodies and fine markings of Hamburghs, and 
 cockerels with laced tails; and recent corre- 
 spondence has shown that while good Campines 
 lay eggs of 2 ozs. each, or slightly over, some 
 birds known as such lay quite small ones, and 
 have proved very delicate. We also know for a 
 fact that Campine cocks have been mated with 
 Silver-pencilled hens, and the, produce sold as 
 Campines ; and the only way to avoid these 
 dangers is to keep the pencilling coarse, and the 
 body broad in front, compact in shape, and of 
 adequate size. Density and evenness of pencil- 
 ling, and ringlet marking, should of course be 
 sought, and are not inconsistent with any of 
 
 these objects. The club's scale of points (1901) 
 is as follows ; we think it distinctly regrettable 
 that none are allowed for size. 
 
 Comb ... 
 
 Eye 
 
 Ear-lobe 
 
 Legs 
 
 Hackle 
 
 Condition 
 
 Beetle green sheen 
 
 Tail 
 
 Distinctness and evenness of marliing 
 
 5 
 5 
 5 
 5 
 
 10 
 10 
 15 
 15 
 30 
 
 A peffect'bird to coont 100 
 
 There is an allied race in Belgium known as 
 the Braekel (so called from a village in East 
 Flanders), about which some confusion has arisen. 
 Some Continental writers have called 
 Campines ^^g rose-combed birds Campines, and 
 BraekelB. the singles Braekels. The truth 
 appears to be that the race is really 
 identical, but that the Braekel is the larger bird - 
 and lays rather larger eggs and makes a better 
 bird for poulets de grains : while on the other 
 hand the Campine appears to have been a little - 
 stunted and hardened by exposure on the 
 northern Campine plains, yet developed into a 
 better layer by selection for that object. We 
 have before us as we write the Standard adopted 
 by the Continental Braekel Club on April 16, 
 1899, with illustrations; and from both illus- 
 trations and text it appears that there is really 
 no difference in type between these birds and 
 Campines. 
 
 Campines of really good stock are certainly 
 amongst the very best layers known, many 
 individual yields of 250 eggs being reported, and 
 these of wonderful size for' that of the fowl. 
 They are also hardy, and wonderfully pretty ; and 
 young cockerels- are plump and tender, if small. 
 But the preservation of these qualities, all for- 
 merly possessed by the old Chittiprats, must 
 entirely depend upon not breeding away from 
 them, as was done with the Chittiprats, to the 
 modern Hamburgh type. 
 
 A breed known as. Gueldres or Bredas, the 
 former name being given to the Cuckoo variety, 
 has long been known in Belgium, the- Nether- 
 lands, and some parts of northern 
 Bredas France. It was much praised by 
 
 Gueldres. M- Jacque and other early French 
 
 writers, and was introduced into 
 England by Mr. Geyelin and Mr. Schroder, in 
 the days of the disastrous National Poultry 
 Company. It was also at one time considerably 
 bred in the United States ; but appears to have 
 lost ground of late years everywhere, being 
 elbowed out,, on the Continent as well as here, by 
 
468 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 more recent favourites. The breed has a small 
 crest, and slightly feathered rather short legs, but 
 its chief peculiarity is an entire absence of comb, 
 there being instead a depression in the red skin 
 just over the cavernous nostrils, and behind the 
 barest little ridge of flesh. Fig. 133 shows this 
 formation, and the entire head of a Breda fowl, 
 as drawn by M. Jacque so far back as 1864. 
 The breed is reported as hardy, good in- flesh, 
 and a fairly good layer, but not much of a 
 sitter. 
 
 Fig. 133. — Head of Breda Cock. 
 
 We are indebted to Mr. Edward Brown, 
 F.L.S., who has travelled much upon the 
 Continent, for the following notes and de- 
 scriptions of the following other breeds in 
 Belgium and Russia. 
 
 "The leading variety of Belgian fowls for 
 table purposes is the Coucou de Malines, which 
 is bred extensively in Brabant, to the north of 
 
 the city of Malines, and fatted in 
 
 Coucou the villages to the west of Malines, 
 
 de chiefly in the district around Merch- 
 
 Maiines. ^gjjj ^nd Opwyck, in Flanders. 
 
 These fowls when dead are known 
 under the name of Pdules des Bruxelles. It may 
 be explained that the fattening does not take 
 place in the district where the birds are chiefly 
 reared, the breeders and fatteners meeting at 
 a large market which has been established at 
 Londerzeel. In many respects the Coucou de 
 Malines resembles the Plymouth Rock. It is 
 generally of the Asiatic type — that is, heavy in 
 build, substantial in bone, upright in carriage, 
 and with a small tail, though this is not so small 
 as that of the Brahma and Cochin. The males 
 weigh about 9 lbs. unfatted. The legs are stout 
 and rather long, the latter being flesh-coloured 
 or rose-white, and ornamented on the outer side 
 
 with small feathers ; the tail is short and thick ; 
 the head stout, surmounted by a single comb, 
 small in size and upright in both sexes, with 
 clear indentations ; the wattles and earlobes are 
 red ; the neck is thick and short, the body 
 massive, thick-set, and the breast prominent. 
 There are two colours, namely, what is known 
 as cuckoo, and the white ; the former are chiefly 
 met with, and the whites appear to be a sport 
 therefrom. Comparatively few of the latter are 
 bred, but they are increasing in favour. The 
 hen is a fair layer, but the eggs— as is usual in 
 the case of birds of the Asiatic type — are rather 
 small as compared with the size of the birds . 
 from which they are produced. The eggs are 
 well tinted, and are usually short in comparison 
 with their size. The hens are excellent sitters, 
 and make very good mothers, although they are 
 somewhat heavy. 
 
 " The Malines fowl is quiet in temperament, 
 and a very good fattener. The flesh is excellent 
 in quality, but the birds, by reason of their 
 weight of bone, are not very rapid growers, and 
 I do not think they are equal to the best French 
 and English so far as flesh properties are con- 
 cerned. From such evidence as can be obtained, 
 it would appear that this breed owes its origin 
 to the Brahma engrafted upon the. common fowl 
 of the country, though such a statement scarcely 
 atibrds an explanation as to the origin of the 
 cuckoo plumage, and it is probable that some 
 other influence has been at work in this direction. 
 As cuckoo plumage is practically a mixture of 
 black and white, frequently appearing in other 
 breeds, it may be that the result was accidental 
 in. the first place, and the fixing of the type due 
 to careful selection. The breed is well suited to 
 the district in which it is kept, and meets that 
 dem'and for large birds with good flesh qualities 
 which is found in nearly all countries. My ex- 
 perience has been that the Coucou de Malines 
 does very well in other places. I have had 
 specimens over some time, and they have 
 succeeded very satisfactorily. 
 
 " The breed known as the Bruges fowl is 
 frequently called the Combattant dti Nord, and 
 it is met with to a moderate extent in Belgium 
 and the French-speaking districts 
 Bruges. of Flanders. It is in appearance 
 
 distinctly of the Game type, and 
 in some cases it is used for fighting pur- 
 poses. The appearance, however, is more 
 like the Indian Game or the Malay, in that it is 
 much heavier in build than the majority of our 
 Game fowls. The comb is .single, and very 
 small, the colour being deep red, as is that of 
 the wattles and earlobes ; the tail is horizontal, 
 
JiUSSIAN BREEDS OF POULTRY. 
 
 469 
 
 the legs and feet are lead colour. In size, car- 
 riage, shape, and comb, the breed distinctly 
 follows the Malay, whilst by its activity, the 
 colour of the plumage, and general instincts, it 
 is more nearly allied to the English Game. It 
 is a very hardy breed, easily reared ; it is a poor 
 layer and uncertain as a sitter. Like most of 
 the Game fowls, the rapidity of growth and 
 quality of flesh are strikingly in its favour, and 
 the breed is used to a considerable extent for 
 table purposes. 
 
 RUSSIAN FOWLS. 
 
 " Very little has been known as to the fowls 
 chiefly met with in Russia. From time to time 
 reference has been made in various books to 
 fowls which were called ' Russian,' having 
 certain special characteristics, but until the 
 Poultry Exhibition held -at St. Petersburg in 
 1899 I never met with any of these birds. 
 
 " In an interesting paper which was read at 
 the Congress held in the Russian capital, it was 
 stated that of the breeds of Russian fowls the 
 first place must be accorded to those 
 Orloffs. called Orloff. The best specimens 
 
 of this race are all of a very large 
 size, in general the adult cock weighing 
 about 10 lbs., but in some cases they reach 
 12 -lbs. and more, the hens being about 2 lbs. 
 less. The head of these birds is large, nearly 
 round, without the slightest sign of crest, but 
 with heavy whiskers and beard. The hackles 
 swell out below the head into almost a spherical 
 protuberance, but at the base of the neck the 
 feathers lie close, so that the neck appears thin- 
 ner at the shoulders than above. In body it is 
 large, closely feathered, and very deceptive in 
 the actual weight ; in appearance it is not unlike 
 the India_n Game in some respects, although it 
 is not quite so wide in body or heavy in bone, 
 and has a distinct appearance of being deeper 
 in breast, though this is partially due to the fact 
 that the breast is longer and more prominent in 
 front than in the case of the Indian Game. 
 Still it follows that -type very largely, and with 
 the exception of the muffs, the head has a 
 similar appearance. Good specimens are rather 
 difficult to obtain. Various suggestions have 
 been made as to the origin of the breed, which 
 is not widely distributed. It has been suggested 
 that it was due to the crossing of the Malay 
 tipon the Faverolles or Mantes fowl ; but this is 
 denied, and the fact that birds of the Orloff type 
 have been met with for a longer period of time 
 than the Faverolles or Mantes fowls appear to 
 have been known, would indicate that this could 
 not be the origin. As one Russian writer says, 
 the difference between the Orloff and all other 
 
 species is chiefly in the conformation of the 
 head, which is round and large, the frontal bone 
 being particularly prominent. The conformation 
 of the beak is equally remarkable, no other 
 species having the beak curled as sharply, and 
 which is very evident even in the chickens. The 
 following quotation from a paper read at the 
 St. Petersburg Congress by M. Houdekoff 
 affords all the information obtainable at present. 
 
 "'The Orloff" fowl has received this name 
 from the fact that it is supposed to have been 
 introduced by Count Orloff- Tschesmensky. This 
 is not, however, very probable, because it was 
 well known by Russians before the time of 
 Count Orloff. We find a description in the 
 work of an unknown writer published in 1774, 
 where it is named " Chlianskaia." Breeders knew 
 the race under the latter denomination until 
 a much later period. Now, without any reason, 
 it is customary to call them the Orloff. The 
 more probable supposition is" that they were 
 brought prominently forward by the celebrated 
 horse-breeder. Count Orloff-Tschesmensky, and 
 principally in the province of Ghilan. But he 
 did not give them the name. We may ask 
 whether there are not a few races of domestic 
 fowls, yet unknown, in the centre of Asia ? 
 That country has been explored in many parts 
 to a small extent, and it is not impossible that 
 it contains many surprises. It may be that this 
 race of poultry had its origin there, and was not 
 produced in Russia. But we have made it 
 known first to Europe and America.' , 
 
 " My own observations are that the Orloff is 
 not widely distributed, and it was with consider- 
 able difficulty that I secured a trio. Unfortun- 
 ately both the hens died before they bred, and 
 I have not yet succeeded in securing other 
 specimens. Hence I have no experience as to 
 their qualities, but they would appear to me 
 to be moderate layers, but good in table 
 properties. There are three colours : ist, dark 
 mahogany ; 2nd, speckled ; 3rd, white. The 
 first named is the most wonderful in sheen and 
 colour of any fowls I have seen. 
 
 "A very .interesting class of fowl is that 
 called the Pavloff, and so far as I can learn it is 
 really the progenitor of what we now call the 
 Polish. " There were quite a number 
 Pavloff. of these birds exhibited at the St. 
 
 Petersburg show, both by Russians 
 and Germans, and they are evidently found 
 in the border sections of these two countries. 
 They differ, however, very distinctly from 
 the Western European Polish, but some of the 
 same characteristics are present, though in a 
 less degree. These birds are much smaller than 
 
47° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 our Polish, and have feathers upon the legs, in 
 some cases being very "thickly feathered, but 
 they are also crested, though the crests are small 
 and difife'r distinctly from the Polish in shape. 
 As is well known, the crest of the Polish fowls 
 is large and round, whereas these are small. In 
 some cases the crest feathers stand almost erect 
 upon the head ; in others there is a transverse 
 line on the top of the head, part of the feathers 
 falling back and the others to the front ; a third 
 form was that the larger number of the feathers 
 fall forward over the face like a fringe, with only 
 a few standing up behind ; and a fourth had the 
 majority falling behind like a lady's veil thrown 
 back, with a few in front. . In no case do the 
 feathers cover the eyes, as is the case with our 
 Polish fowl, and not only can we trace to this 
 breed the Polish, but it is also more than prob- 
 able that the Sultans, which came to us from 
 Turkey, are sports therefrom. The beards and 
 whiskers are very thick, quite covering the 
 ear-lobes. 
 
 " In respect to this breed M. Houdekoff says : 
 ' There are in Russia some crested and muffed 
 fowls which are known under the name of 
 Pavloff. These fowls are original, and have 
 definite characters which distinguish them. 
 They have received the name " Pavloff," because 
 they are bred principally at Pavlovsk in the 
 Government of Nijni-Novgorod, where, it is 
 said, they were introduced by the Empress 
 Catherine II. There are two varieties — the Gold 
 and the Silver. Another breed is called the 
 Russian Dutch, and this is similar to the White- 
 crested Black Polish, but has not so large crest, 
 and has a great deal of red in the plumage. 
 The plumage of the others is as in golden 
 and silver Spangled Hamburghs, the ground- 
 colour being golden-bay or silver-white, the 
 feathers ending in both cases with a round, 
 black spangle. The legs and feet are slaty blue.' " 
 
 Russian statements respecting the antiquity 
 of the above breeds may perhaps be received 
 with some scepticism. The photographs which 
 we have seen of Orloffs, irresistibly suggest a 
 cross of Indian Game ; and all known of the 
 spread of breeds of poultry, makes it far more 
 probable that the great Polish race should have 
 spread from south to north, than from north to 
 south. Mr. Brown also forwards Standards 
 published by the Russian Poultry Society of 
 four other breeds, of which he has no personal 
 knowledge, and which did not appear at the St. 
 Petersburg Exhibition of 1899. They are 
 named as Ushanki, Russian Crested, Siberian 
 Feather-footed, and Rose-combed. Except 
 that the Feather-footed seems in many 
 points to resemble the Sultan, jt is difficult 
 to gather any definite ideas from these descrip- 
 tions beyond the general prevalence (except 
 in the Rose-combed) of crest and whiskers 
 among Russian fowls. 
 
 We believe that there are one or two breeds 
 with some character in Germany, but several 
 letters of inquiry have failed to elicit any par- 
 ticulars about them. A very curious but quite 
 minor breed known in Austria, is mentioned 
 in the next chapter. The tendency in Scandin- 
 avia is more and more to import from southern 
 Europe, and on the Continent generally, to cross 
 with stock from England ; in fact, all the recent 
 history of Continental poultry goes to show the 
 increasing value set there upon that stock of 
 English breeders, which some writers have per- 
 sisted in representing as so inferior to French 
 and Belgian races. Perhaps the most likely 
 source of anything really new in the poultry 
 world, is now the southern and eastern Continent 
 of Africa, and it is by no means improbable 
 that the opening up of that country may ere 
 long introduce something really characteristic. 
 
471 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 UNCLASSED BREEDS OF POULTRY. 
 
 THERE are several fairly old and well- 
 known breeds which can hardly be 
 classed under any definite heading ; and 
 others less known, which it is also desirable 
 to gather together in such a chapter as this. 
 Most exhibitions have, besides classes for the 
 usual breeds, one for "Any Other" Variety," 
 which has in its time done yeoman service to 
 the poultry world. Brahmas and French fowls 
 made their earlier appearances in it, till strong 
 enough to claim classes of their own ; it is to 
 be regretted that the converse is now the case, 
 and that such old and once popular breeds as 
 Spanish and Polish too often lately have found 
 their only chance of a prize in this refuge for 
 the destitute. 
 
 Such facts suggest that 'the "Any Other 
 Variety" class ought to have more careful 
 attention than it often receives. And especially 
 it is desirable, now that really old standard 
 breeds so often invade it, to provide prizes for 
 a greater number of varieties in the class. To 
 add to prizes is the obvious remedy ; but where 
 funds forbid that, we can but repeat an old 
 suggestion, that in this one case it is desirable 
 to depart from the single-bird system, and in 
 place of three prizes each for males and females, 
 to offer two firsts, two seconds, and two thirds 
 (or pairs. ■ More breeds would then have chance 
 of recognition. 
 
 In the paragraphs which follow we have 
 placed the varieties or breeds most worthy of 
 consideration alphabetically, under separate 
 headings, and collected those of minor interest 
 together at the close. 
 
 ALBIONS. 
 This variety of fowls was recently originated 
 in the county of Sussex, Mr. Godfrey Shaw, 
 of Scaynes Hill, near Haywards Heath, having, 
 we believe, bred the first pen of them about 
 the year 1897. They were produced, as stated 
 in a former chapter, by selecting and breed- 
 ing together the whitest of the Sussex farm- 
 yard stock, and, of course, much false colour 
 had to be bred out of the earlier produce. 
 Classes have been provided at several shows, 
 and some of the birds which have appeared 
 
 in them bear traces of the White Plymouth 
 Rock, in a coarser and somewhat flat head, 
 and coarser skin. This might possibly come 
 from Rock blood . already absorbed in local 
 stock'; but if real attempt be made to cultivate 
 such a breed, it is highly desirable that the blood 
 should be confined to that Sussex type which 
 has proved so well adapted for useful purposes. 
 
 The Albion may be described briefly as an 
 all-white fowl, excepting the head points. It 
 should have white beak, white legs, clear white 
 plumage. A great point js and should be, 
 smallness of bone, and some closeness of 
 feather, no apparent size being lost in fluff. In 
 weight it is about the same as Rocks and 
 Orpingtons, all the really market breeds tending 
 to nearly the same average weight. The shape 
 should be rather long, somewhat resembling the 
 Dorking, or American type of Rock. The bird 
 might be described as equivalent to a small- 
 boned white Dorking, without the fifth toe or 
 the difficulty of a rose comb, but it is doubtful 
 if it becomes popular as a fancier's fowl — few 
 white breeds are, for obvious reasons. 
 
 Both Mr. Shaw and Mr. Richardson, who 
 has also shown Albions, report the birds as good 
 layers of fair-sized tinted eggs, hardy, maturing 
 fast as chickens, and easily reared in any 
 weather, even on clay land. At ten to fourteen 
 weeks they are ready to go in the fattening 
 pens, and the white plumage makes the carcase 
 specially attractive a-t the season when pin- 
 feather abounds, on the skin. The Albion is 
 really an attempt to fix one colour of the 
 present market fowls of Sussex ; and for market 
 poultry white is an advantage, whilst the feathers 
 are also worth much more per lb. to sell to 
 manufacturers. 
 
 FRIZZLED FOWLS. 
 The characteristic of these birds is that each 
 feather is curled back, as if they had been 
 stroked the wrong way, leaving the curl perma- 
 nent. The tail feathers cannot, of course, be 
 thus curled, but the webs are also peculiarly 
 fashioned, in a way difficult to describe. The 
 whole appearance is very grotesque and quaint : • 
 people differ as to whether it is attractive, 
 
472 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Other points vary at times, but most usually- the 
 birds have rose-combs, and rather short dark 
 legs, the plumage being of all colours. Years 
 ago the most common colour was white; we 
 have also seen all black : at preseiit the majority 
 appear brown or partridge. Temminck says 
 that the breed was in his time found throughout 
 Southern Asia and the Eastern Archipelago ; it 
 is well known in Ceylon ; and is very common 
 in the Mauritius. That fowls so widely spread 
 should have so much in common, is remarkable. 
 
 Contrary to the common belief, every 
 breeder who has had real experience with the 
 Frizzle'd Fowl, that we have yet met with, pro- 
 nounces it distinctly hardy. Mrs. Taylor, of 
 Ardgillan Castle, in Ireland, reported to us in 
 1872 that her Frizzles were the first to moult 
 (often featherless by the middle of June) and the 
 first to lay in the autumn. She found them 
 excellent mothers, and more tender for the table 
 than any other poultry she had experience of, 
 even two-year-old birds being good, and white 
 in flesh. They are very small in bone also. 
 Though good mothers when they did sit, this 
 was very seldom. She found the chicks hardy 
 and easily reared, but slow in feathering, and 
 requiring in consequence long brooding ; but 
 the plumage did not harbour vermin nearly so 
 much as that of other fowls. The weights were 
 then about 5 lbs. for cocks and 4 lbs. for the 
 hens. Lately there has been a tendency to 
 breed them small, till they at last found their 
 way among the Bantams, and will be found 
 again under that section of this work. 
 
 In breeding Frizzles for exhibition, almost 
 the only point to look to (besides colour, if the 
 latter be a self-colour) is perfection throughout 
 the bird of the curled or frizzled character. Any 
 tendency to ordinary or natural character, in 
 any part of the body, should be discarded. 
 Some birds also seem to " show " the frizzle 
 better than others, and these are to, be preferred, 
 since judging of this variety, wherever it has a 
 chance, is very much a matter of first impression. 
 
 JAVAS. 
 The Black Java has been described in Dr, 
 Bennett's and several other American poultry 
 books from 1850 onwards, and some eighteen or 
 twenty years later, it undoubtedly shared in the 
 production of the Plymouth Rock ; but we 
 cannot hear of any being imported into England 
 before 1885, when pens were obtained by Mr. 
 Joseph Pettipher and several other fanciers. 
 The variety seemed likely at one time to meet 
 the views of those who wanted a large black 
 fowl, but did not care for the very scanty leg- 
 feathering of the Langshan. The clean-legged 
 
 Orpington or Langshan, however, ultimately 
 took that place, and interfered with any such 
 prospects, and the Java is now in England 
 confined to one or two breeders only. 
 
 Yet it is a handsome and "distinctive" fowl. 
 It is of the large type, the cocks reaching 
 10 lbs. and the hens, 8 lbs., but average weights 
 in England have been a pound less than this. 
 The plumage is close, of a very glossy black 
 all over, with green reflections. The legs are 
 black also, with generally a yellow shade under 
 the feet, and a tendency to get rather willow 
 with age ; but black throughout is to be pre- 
 ferred, and is often found. The ear-lobes are 
 red, and there are distinctive points about both 
 the eye and the comb ; in our own opinion 
 these are the most truly characteristic points 
 of the fowl. The latter is single, rather small, 
 but somewhat thick at the base, and in the 
 main evenly serrated ; but the serrations com- 
 mence farther behind the beak than usual, 
 having a kind of smiooth edge first. This 
 should be recognised as the typical and proper 
 "Java comb," and carefully preserved. The 
 eye stands alone, so far as we have observed, 
 except in a few Langshans. It is brown, very 
 large and full, and of a peculiarly soft and 
 yet sprightly expression, difficult to describe. 
 The body of the fowl should be full and deep, 
 the legs only medium in length, the cock's tail 
 rather full and flowing, but not squirrel-fashion.- 
 
 Economically, the Java is very hardy, and a 
 good layer, the eggs being coloured. The meat 
 is very white and juicy, exactly resembling that 
 of the Langshan. There is, in fact, an obvious 
 similarity in many respects between the two' 
 breeds, as observed in Chapter XVII. The hens 
 are clever sitters and good mothers. 
 
 Like all other black fowls, the Java "sports" 
 occasionally into white. From some of these 
 sports a white Java has been produced in the 
 United States ; and from others, or by crossing 
 these whites with the black, a mottled colour, 
 much resembhng the black-and-white of the 
 Houdan. 
 
 RHODE ISLAND REDS. 
 
 Under this name a fowl has been attracting 
 considerable attention in the United States, 
 and has for some time been prominent in the 
 Boston market, for whose cultivation a Club 
 has been recently formed which in 1900 agreed 
 upon a provisional Standard. Its origin was 
 similar to that of the Buff Orpington in England : 
 it was a local race of poultry found extensively 
 in Rhode Island, produced by the farmers them- 
 selves without any definite breeding, and from 
 uncertain and probably various materials. The 
 
RHODE ISLAND HEDS. DUMPIES. 
 
 473 
 
 inquiries of Mr. Babcock, a well-known American 
 writer, make it extremely probable that a con- 
 siderable foundation of this local Rhode Island 
 poultry was an old smooth-legged " Cochin- 
 China", stock disseminated by Mr. G. Burnham, 
 and bred sometimes under the name of Buff 
 Malays ; but that ordinary Cochins were also 
 largely bred is undoubted, and there is strong 
 evidence that the Asiatic stock was considerably 
 crossed and intermingled with Brown Leghorns. 
 Some birds were smooth-legged, some slightly 
 feathered, a few more heavily feathered ; and 
 both single, rose, and pea-combs were found. 
 But this local stock was very hardy, very prolific, 
 and good for table according to American ideas; 
 and in 1879 or 1880 a Mr. Jenny seems to have 
 exhibited them under their present name at a 
 show in Southern Massachusetts. Subsequently 
 they were written of as "Reds" and as "Golden 
 Buffs," Dr. Aldrich exhibiting them under the 
 latter name at the show of the Rhode Island 
 Poultry Association . in 189 1 ; the old and first 
 name of Rhode Island Reds only re-appearing 
 at another show held in the Island in 1895, 
 when a Mr. Browning, of Natick, exhibited 
 specimens under that name. 
 
 By the standard of the Club, adopted in 
 1900, pea-combs are discarded, but both rose- 
 combs and single combs are allowed. Shape or 
 type is pronounced the most important con- 
 sideration. The body should be long, wide, and 
 deep (especially being long in keel and wide in 
 breast), and the whole body well rounded ; 
 neck moderately short and slightly curved ; 
 thighs and shanks rather short, defined as 
 " shorter and less coarse in bone than in any 
 other variety of the American class." The body 
 is said to be longer and wider than the accepted 
 Rock style, and much longer in keel and carried ' 
 less upright than the Wyandotte type. The 
 beak is reddish horn, the eyes red, wattles and 
 ear-lobes medium size and red. The standard 
 for colour is purposely so drawn as to recogttine 
 darker colour in the cocks, and avoid double 
 matings for securing similar colours. The 
 cock's colour is bright cherry red, with back and 
 wing-bows darker red ; tail black, which is also 
 allowed in the concealed feathers of the wing ; 
 under-colour lighter red or rich salmon, free from 
 slate or grey. The hen is lighter, of golden-red 
 surface colour, with black tail, and the lower 
 end of hackle tipped with black ; under-colour 
 as in the cock. The shanks are clean, and deep 
 yellow or orange colour. The standard weights 
 are 7|^ lbs. for cocks and 6^ lbs. for cockerels, 
 6 lbs. for hens and 5 Ib.s. for pullets, but many 
 birds are much heavier : the medium-sized ones 
 afe however considered the best. The dis- 
 
 qualifications in show birds are feathers or down 
 on the shanks, white feathers anywhere, white 
 in ear-lobe, sprigs or bad lop in single combs, 
 black in surface colour, or anywhere except in 
 parts specified, and deformities or "missing" 
 feathers. Faults to be avoided are fluffy or 
 Cochin plumage, or Cochin cushion on females, 
 light yellow bills or black in bill^ pearl eyes, 
 long spike to rose combs, high or upright tails, 
 tendency to green in shanks. 
 
 That the Rhode Island Red is a good and 
 useful fowl there is no doubt, and it will be very 
 interesting to see whether it is found possible to 
 cultivate and exhibit it upon utility lines, and 
 to keep it distinct, in a form that can be 
 recognised by the American Poultry Associa- 
 tion. The Standard as proposed is avowedly 
 provisional to some extent. It is acknowledged 
 that the same stock has furnished specimens 
 for exhibition of both Rhode Island Reds, Buff 
 Rocks, and Wyandottes ; and published portraits 
 have not so far made very manifest those 
 distinctions in " type " which standard-makers 
 profess to define as above. The red colour 
 appears the only real distinction ; and as that 
 has always appeared among Buff breeds of all 
 kinds, but has generally been disliked, the 
 future status of this breed seems rather un- 
 certain. But- it is very interesting as a parallel 
 case to the evolution of the Buff " Orpington " 
 out of the Lincolnshire Buff in England. 
 
 SCOTCH DUMPIES. 
 
 These fowls are of considerable antiquity in 
 Scotland, of how great it is impossible to dis- 
 cover ; and they have been known in England 
 since 1852, when the late Mr. John Fairlie intro- 
 duced them into his yards near Newmarket. 
 They were also called Bakies, Go-laighs, and by 
 other synonyms. About 1870 they appeared 
 nearly extinct, and Mr. Thomas Raines, of 
 Stirling, wrote to us that he knew of only one 
 or two people that still had them ; but national 
 feeling has recently made commendable efforts 
 to resuscitate a breed which certainly has com- 
 mendable qualities, and with such result that it 
 has found a place in the Standard. 
 
 As a rule Dumpies have a rather large, single 
 comb, fair-sized wattles, and red ear-lobes. The 
 real characteristics lie in a long and large and 
 deep body, carried upon extremely short shanks, 
 rarely exceeding i\ inches in length. In all the 
 lighter colours the shanks are white; in blacks 
 they may be dark. The plumage is found 
 of all colours ; and while single combs are 
 most common, rose-combs are also allowed. 
 These variations denote considerable mixture 
 in breeding. 
 
474 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 The Dumpy cock attains to 7 lbs. or 8 lbs. 
 weight, the hen a pound less. The bird is a 
 very good layer, and the flesh exceedingly 
 tender and juicy, surpassing that of Dorkings 
 in the opinion of some who have compared the 
 two directly. They are admirable sitters, 
 covering more eggs than their size would 
 appear to warrant, and make good and assiduous 
 mothers, who have the quality of generally 
 taking readily to the chicks of other fowls. 
 Taking it all in all, the fowl is one well worth 
 more cultivation on both sides of the Border. 
 The Standard will be found at the end of 
 this chapter, and is not very definite. 
 
 SCOTCH GREYS. 
 
 This is a most useful breed, which we have 
 often wondered has not been more popular in 
 England. It has long been known and valued 
 in Scotland, but about twenty-five years ago 
 seemed losing ground even there ; more recently, 
 how^ever, it has been taken up with energy, and 
 at many Scottish shows there are now large and 
 good classes. It has been called the Scotch 
 Dorking, but is entirely different in carriage and 
 shape from that fowl, being more sprightly in 
 form, with something of the Old English Game 
 style about it. The comb is single and moderate 
 in size, upright in the cock, usually falling over 
 in the hen, the ear-lobe red, wattles medium in 
 size, legs white or white mottled with black. 
 The plumage in general resembles that of the 
 barred Rock, but has a tendency to finer mark- 
 ing, and the more pronounced black and white of 
 American Rock breeders. Compared with birds 
 we saw at the Scottish shows in 1869-75, those 
 of the present day have gained considerably in 
 size, typical shape, and absence of white, black, 
 or rust in the plumage. We do not remember at 
 that time the "mouse-colour" mentioned below, 
 which has probably been more apparent since 
 the banishment of distinct white and black. 
 
 The Scotch Grey is a very rhoderate eater 
 and good forager, and an especially hardy fowl, 
 especially in cold or damp situations. The flesh 
 is as a rule more juicy than that of the Dorking, 
 partaking more of the Houdan character. The 
 breed was not formerly known as a very good 
 layer in comparison with some others ; but it 
 has been found that this quality, as in other 
 breeds, can be easily developed, and good laying 
 strains formed. We know it to be making 
 progress both on the Continent and in the 
 United States. The fowl does not appear, how- 
 ever, well adapted for confinement in sheds or 
 very small runs, being too restless or active, and 
 (like other breeds of that disposition) rather apt 
 in such circumstances to start feather-eating. 
 
 The following article upon this valuable 
 breed is kindly supplied by Mr. John Carswell, 
 Falkirk, N.B., Secretary of the Scotch Grey 
 Club:— 
 
 " The Scotch Grey, or ' Chick Marley ' as old 
 Scotch country people used to call it, is one of 
 our good all-round breeds of poultry. They are 
 very good layers, and lay a fairly large egg of a 
 pale cream colour. They are not good broody 
 hens, sitting often ten or twelve days and then 
 deserting the nest, and at a meeting of the 
 Scotch Grey Club some years ago in Perth, it 
 was agreed after some discussion, to class them 
 as non-sitters. They are grand table fowls, 
 being finely covered with flesh, of a very close 
 texture and fine flavour, and pale cream in 
 colour. They are also very prolific fowls, and 
 you may cross them with any breed, and have a 
 fine cross, showing distinctive traces in size, 
 shape, or colour of the Scotch Grey parent. 
 
 " There has recently been a great demand 
 from America, and even more so from Germany, 
 for our good old breed, and a ' Scotch Grey 
 Club ' has been started in both countries, and is 
 doing well. I have myself quite recently sent 
 three lots of birds to German fanciers, who 
 speak highly of the Scotch Grey as producing 
 large eggs, and also of their very excellent 
 qualities as a table fowl. 
 
 " When mating birds for breeding, one has to 
 be very careful about the strains, or you may 
 have a large percentage of both black and very 
 light chickens. Strange to say nearly all the 
 blacks are pullets, and the very light-coloured 
 ones are cocks.* Select a good shaped, fairly 
 large, well and evenly marked cock, being sure 
 that his colour is good and free from all rustiness 
 in back and wings, and from mousey colour 
 in body. Put him to hens, equally well bred, 
 evenly marked, and of specially good colour, 
 with dark necks, and darker all over than the 
 cock ; such mating will produce the best birds, 
 and give you more satisfaction than breeding 
 from a dark cock and lighter coloured hens. A 
 great evil, too, is breeding from either cocks or 
 hens with white in tail, especially in sickle 
 feathers. I never would breed a cock with a lot 
 of white in tail, though all his other qualities 
 were nearly perfect ; you simply can't get rid of 
 white tails if you once get them. There are, of 
 course, a lot more things to avoid, such as wry 
 tail, squirrel tail, etc. ; but as colour and marking 
 are the two things most difficult to get, I deal 
 more with them here, 
 
 "We have a very good Club in Scotland, 
 first formed in December, 1885. It holds its 
 annual show at different places- throughout the 
 
 * It is the same in Barred Rocks. 
 
CO 
 
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 LU 
 
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 CO 
 
SCOTCH GREYS. SILKIES. 
 
 475 
 
 country, where it offers good prizes. There has 
 been great improvement worked in the Scotch 
 Grey by the Club; small markings and pure 
 colour, viz. hard black and clean white, being 
 now the accepted standard. This is hard to 
 breed, but still we are coming nearer the ideal. 
 Cocks have still often a nasty brown on the 
 saddle, and a mousey colour over the back and 
 wings ; but to have a good Scotch Grey we 
 must get rid of all rustiness. I should prefer an 
 opener marked bird, if clean in colour, than 
 some of our small marked birds with the rusty 
 backs ; but some of our oldest breeders have 
 still that strain, arid it is hard to get them to 
 come out of this evil, which quite spoils the 
 general appearance. What we really want is 
 only black and white ; the black glossy and 
 with a metallic lustre. The hens again ought to 
 be fine and even in markings, clean colour and 
 distinct, like shepljerd tartan. 
 
 " The young birds grow up quickly; ar^d 
 thrive well in almost any climate, being extremely 
 hardy. I favour high, dry, and rather cold soil 
 for bringing up show birds, however, as the 
 colour is always better, harder, and of a more 
 glossy black and clean white." 
 
 The Standard will be found at the end of the 
 chapter. 
 
 SILKIES. 
 These peculiar fowls are described by several 
 of the oldest naturalists, " hair like cats " being 
 one of the expressions employed regarding their 
 plumage. Hence they must have been known 
 from an early date ; but it is remarkable that 
 some later authors, such as Willoughby and- 
 Ray, write of these accounts as fanciful and 
 unworthy of belief. The soft and flossy plumage 
 is not the only distinguishing characteristic, how- 
 ever. The skin is of a deep violet colour, almost 
 black, and the periosteum or covering of the 
 bones is of the same colour: hence the fowl, 
 though really excellent eating, is rather repellent 
 to ordinary notions upon a dish. There is a 
 moderate crest, standing well up, and in the 
 cock rather backward. The comb, face, and 
 wattles are of a deep mulberry colour, the ear- 
 lobes should be a bright or turquoise blue, though 
 often tending to the same purplish tinge ; the 
 legs also are of a deep bluish black. The strong 
 dark Jalood obviously runs through the whole 
 fowl. The legs are slightly feathered, and have 
 five toes. The general shape, in some respects, 
 resembles that of the Cochin, with ample cushion 
 or saddle, and short tail, but without any of the 
 latter breed's heavir'=;ss of carriage. The size 
 has varied considerably : formerly cocks scaled 
 4 lbs. and hens 3 lbs. ; lately the fashion has been 
 
 to make them small ladies' pets of 3 lbs. and 
 2 lbs,, and the name itself is spelt "Silkie" by 
 true believers. 
 
 The most obvious point is of course the 
 peculiarity of plumage. In fowls generally the 
 stem of the feather is strong, and from it pro- 
 ceed fibres which are stiff and elastic, and 
 furnished with fibrils differently arranged on the 
 forward and backward sides, so as to interlock 
 and form the "vane" of the feather. In the 
 Silky fowl's plumage the stem is thin and weak, 
 and the fibres weak and non-elastic, with rudi- 
 mentary hair-like fibrils which have no holding 
 power and no locking arrangement. The result 
 is the loose and flossy character shown ip Fig. 134, 
 
 Fig. 154. — Feather from Silky Hen. 
 
 which is a body feather from a Silky hen. Ordi- 
 nary Cochin plumage is what one might almost 
 call halfway towards this silky character ; and it is 
 not surprising, therefore, that the Silky sfiould 
 present much Cochin character, and that the Emu 
 Cochin should be the one breed which should 
 sometimes present the silky type of plumage. 
 
 No one has probably known and bred Silkies 
 so long as the Rev. R. S. Woodgate, of Pembury 
 Hall, Kent, who has kindly contributed the 
 following notes, and who was a prominent 
 exhibitor even before the first edition of the 
 Illustrated Book of Poultry was published. 
 
 " I cannot but remark how pleased I am to 
 write these notes, as I did in the original edition 
 
476 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 long ago of Mr. Wright's Illustrated Book of 
 Poultry., I have been acquainted with this most 
 interesting breed for forty years. A Captain 
 Finch brought home a pair about i860, which, 
 to my juvenile recoUectio'n, were as beautiful as 
 any now on view. I have since endeavoured 
 to find out where they came from, as the 
 captain's widow still lives here (aged ninety-two), 
 but could only glean that it was believed that 
 China was their home. Again in 1869 I was 
 introduced to a Miss Hawker, an old lady, 
 whose garden was filled with Silkies, bad, good, 
 and indifferent. She told me that an eminent 
 officer in the Navy (her brother) had brought 
 them home for her, but again she did not know 
 where from : she thought Japan. I obtained 
 some half a dozen birds from her, and with them 
 made a strain which has held its own until the 
 present day. With much trouble' a great fancier 
 of this variety has been trying to find if the 
 Silkies are found in Japan. He sent photo- 
 graphs of birds to see, if they could be traced, 
 but no one seemed to know the variety. I„ have 
 quite recently had here, however, a gentleman 
 who had spent twenty-seven years in Japan, ■ 
 and who told me that he had seen there fowls 
 similar to those in my runs ; and upon his 
 sending photographs which I gave him to another 
 friend who had lived some years there, the 
 latter wrote : ' I have seen the fowls you 
 mention in Yokohama and neighbourhood, but 
 do not recollect them at Kobe or Nagasaki.' It 
 seems therefore probable that the popular name 
 of 'Japanese Silkies ' is fairly justified. 
 
 " It is surprising to notice the small difference 
 that there is in the Silky of thirty years ago 
 and that of the present day. Perhaps the head- 
 points are not now quite as good as they were 
 then, for I remember them three decades ago " 
 as being most exquisite, with the turquoise lobes, 
 the perfect crests, and small mulberry combs, 
 with an indentation in them which, to my mind, 
 the male bird certainly- should possess ; but the 
 present-day birds are rather shorter in the legs 
 and have more silk on the wings, which I look 
 upon as a great improvement so far as it goes. 
 We must not however forget that Silkies should 
 have tails. I am afraid that many are now 
 sliding into a pure Cochin or Pekin Bantam- 
 shaped bird. This should not be. The tips of 
 the tail feathers, as silky as possible, should 
 protrude beyond as dense a mass of silk as is 
 possible. The colour in cocks I do not think 
 on the whole has improved. I know, naturally, 
 how all white birds go to yellow, more or less in 
 the summer, but there does not seem the purity 
 all round that there was some years ago. 
 It is hardly necessary to say that Silkies 
 
 should be exhibited as white as possible, and 
 ■ this is not a difficult breed to produce pure- 
 coloured stock when the birds are properly 
 mated. But beware of the drip from trees. So 
 many put their birds in an enclosed run round 
 an oak or a beech, or so on. Whether winter 
 or summer, the rain brings something from the 
 leaves or bare boughs which discolours the birds. 
 I have noticed the same with Sultans enclosed 
 under forest trees ; so now, and oddly enough, my 
 dark coloured birds have very leafy roosts, and 
 the white ones the sunshine, with temporary 
 shelter, when enclosed, of sacks or shutters. 
 
 " Some express difficulty in obtaining the 
 beautiful blue ear-lobe and the deep-coloured 
 mulberry comb in small birds. I have found 
 the same. Nevertheless it can be done, as my 
 own experience knows. I grant that the coarser 
 birds come with charming head-points and ' 
 generally with excellent feet, while the feet and 
 beaks are both blue, but the birds are too big. 
 We have therefore to cross these birds with the 
 smallest hens that we can find, and then dis- 
 carding all but the true , in ear and comb, cross 
 again once more these with the grand-parent or 
 his brother. I have thus obtained a regular 
 strain of beautifully headed birds. Some speci- 
 mens have been winning during the past season 
 with either lead-coloured ears or ears of no 
 colour at all. I think that the points of the 
 head should be most certainly taken into 
 consideration as well as the silk. 
 
 " The next question is that of green beaks 
 and legs. The former are not so aggressive if 
 they are only slightly tinged ; yet they should 
 be as blue as the beak of a cock Budgerigar. I 
 have known a greenish beak in time grow blue ; 
 in fact, quite frequently so. . But I have never 
 known a green leg turn blue, not even a greenish 
 one. Green legs shaw decidedly some mes- 
 alliance between strains. Green-legged birds I 
 always recommend to be killed in their baby- 
 hood : it saves trouble, expense, and the dawn 
 of hope which never comes to fruition. 
 
 "These exceedingly attractive fowls are good 
 layers of small, cream-coloured eggs, all the 
 year round. The hens will lay with cackling 
 delight through the deepest snowstorm, and 
 seem as hard as bricks. They are very bright 
 and contented, and a trio or two on a lawn, 
 when they can have a small roosting-house in 
 a neighbouring shrubbery, are not only, most 
 beautiful and attractive, but they decidedly pay 
 their way. The pullets lay early, and continue 
 to do so until they have laid .some number of 
 eggs, but the hens will only lay from seven to 
 ten eggs before desirjng to sit upon them. 
 "It is unfortunate that so many Silky 
 
478 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 chickens turn out to be cockerels. I am told 
 the same story all round in regard to this. And 
 sometimes it is a difficulty to keep the legs of 
 this variety clean ; they so often suffer from the 
 insect disease known as elephantiasis. This can 
 easily be warded off, for a rubbing on the feet 
 and legs of some compound sulphur ointment 
 once a fortnight will keep the difficulty absolutely 
 away." 
 
 Besides the usual white Silkies . mentioned 
 above, we have seen on several occasions speci- 
 mens quite black, and of most singular beauty 
 they were. We feel sure that if such a sport 
 occurred again, in these modern days, a fowl 
 with its plumage like a sleek long-haired black 
 tom-cat. would carry all before it. Crosses 
 between the Silky and other breeds usually 
 lose the peculiar plumage, but the black skin 
 and bone persist for generations. Such crosses, 
 have found mention by some older writers as 
 " Negro fowls," but have no merit. Cross-bred 
 birds often possess, however, the sitting pro- 
 pensities and qualities of the Silky parent. 
 
 This strong incubating instinct of the Silky 
 viiakes it a most valuable fowl for those persons 
 who need sitters to hatch pheasant or Bantam 
 eggs. We cannot say that the general reports 
 we receive quite bear out Mr. Woodgate's re- 
 marks about the laying of the pullets : most of 
 our friends state that even these rarely lay 
 more than fourteen or fifteen eggs, and many 
 less, before desiring to incubate ; though they 
 are easily dissuaded if necessary, and soon lay 
 again. As they lay early and with certainty 
 if hatched in time, and incubation can be 
 hastened if desired by leaving eggs in the nest, 
 Silkies and their crosses may be a most valuable 
 portion of the poultry plant, being splendid 
 mothers for small birds, and going rather long 
 with their charges. The one objection to them 
 in this respect is the really extraordinary 
 tendency of the breed to scaly leg, which will 
 in turn be transmitted to the chickens if an 
 affected bird be employed as a mother. The 
 remedy is of course to watch and guard against 
 the complaint from the first, though we think 
 an occasional greasing with oil containing some 
 kerosene, better as a mere precaution than the 
 sulphur ointment mentioned above. When 
 Silkies are kept for this purpose, the larger 
 specimens should be bred from, being much 
 more useful. 
 
 White Silkies require care in washing for 
 exhibition, else a bird well feathered in shanks 
 as it entered the bath, may be found nearly 
 denuded when finished. The legs should not 
 be washed in hot water, but only lukewarm at 
 most. The water for the rest must only be 
 
 comfortably warm ; and if the bird faints, as it 
 is rather'apt to do if too hot water is used, it 
 should, be plunged at once into a tub of cold 
 kept handy. In any case this should never be 
 omitted at the end. This treatment will tend 
 to prevent the shank-feathering coming out. 
 
 The Standard of the Silky and Poultry 
 Clubs is given at the end of the chapter. 
 
 SULTANS. 
 
 These birds belong to the great Polish family. 
 Those now bred are from fowls sent to Miss E. 
 Watts from Constantinople in 1854 ;_ but very 
 similar birds appear to be mentioned in several 
 old writers, and to be known in South Russia. 
 Only one or two specimens have been imported 
 since Miss Watts' originals, and breeders have 
 never been numerous. Yet it is a pretty fowl, 
 with very pretty ways and habits, and a dis- 
 position to accept and return petting, and a 
 mixture of tanieness and sprightliness, which are 
 very attractive. 
 
 The crest of the Sultan is full and globular, 
 the comb two tiny horns, beard and whiskers 
 very full, and wattles scarcely visible. So far 
 they are simply smallish white Polish fowls ; but 
 have five toes on each foot, the shank-s being 
 well feathered, and the thighs heavily hocked. 
 The plumage is entirely white. 
 
 The following notes on the characteristics of 
 Sultans are by the Rev. R. S. S. Woodgate, 
 of Pembury Hall, Kent : — ■ 
 
 " Although I have but of recent date taken 
 to keep this beautiful variety, still I have 
 followed the breed for some thirty years with 
 keen interest. It is a very charming fowl, with 
 an immense deal of character. I have found them 
 impatient if disturbed, in fact they will fly out of 
 their homes like birds^ arid alight on any adjacent 
 tree or wall, only in -two or three minutes to 'fly 
 down again, and to be as domesticated as is 
 possible. They do .well in confinement, and are 
 layers of large white eggs, and these in goodly 
 numbers. It would hardly be credited how 
 large is the size; of the egg from even a pullet of 
 this variety, considering ils size. The eggs also 
 appear to be peculiarly fertile ; anyhow this has 
 been my experience. I have found the Sultans 
 to be most hardy, almost equalling the Silky in 
 this respect, while the chickens soon fledge and 
 wander about over the dew-covered grass with 
 pleasure and impunity. 
 
 "It appears to^ me a pity that this pleasing 
 variety should not have rnore admirers, for the 
 habits of the birds, whether in confinement or 
 otherwise, are interesting in the extreme. I 
 think, however, whether from inbreeding or other- 
 wise, that the Sultan is hardly as massive or' 
 
YOKOHAMA FOWLS. 
 
 479 
 
 shapely as it was some twenty-five years ago. 
 Anyhow it will be a sad pity for the breed to be 
 allowed to pass away, and a class or two at our 
 big -shows, at least, ought to show us what we 
 still have in specimens of this beautiful and at 
 the same time useful variety." 
 
 The spurs of the cocks of this breed are 
 especially apt to grow very long as the bird gets 
 old, curling upwards so that the point enters the 
 leg if let alone. Now and then we have seen a 
 white Cochin cock in the same condition, but 
 not so often as in the Sultans. When this 
 occurs the spur should be partially sawn off and 
 the point rounded. 
 
 Fowls resembling Sultans in being all white, 
 crested, muffed and bearded, feather-legged and 
 vulture-hocked, but differing in being distinctly 
 high on the leg, were exhibited many years ago 
 under the name of Ptarmigans, but have long 
 been extinct. They were probably descendants 
 of some former importation, the effect of long 
 in-breeding in producing weediness of build 
 being well known. 
 
 Sultans have been given a Standard, which 
 will be found at the close of the present section. 
 
 YOKOHAMAS. 
 
 About the year 1878 there appeared in 
 Germany, and a year or two later in England, 
 fowls imported from Japan, whose principal 
 peculiarity consisted in length of tail and im- 
 mense development of the cock's sickles and 
 saddle feathers. Sofne were exhibited as Yoko- 
 hamas, others as "Phoenix" fowls ; but careful 
 comparison of the representations published, 
 and of photographs and drawings which reached 
 us direct from the Continent, failed to show any 
 distinction beyond greater or less development 
 of the peculiar plumage. The long plumage 
 was, however, unique, and a fair idea of it may 
 be gathered from the illustration. This was 
 drawn from a pen of German birds, and it will 
 be noticed that one of the cock's feet has five 
 claws, a proof of the crossing which had un- 
 doubtedly taken place. 
 
 Correspondence brought out the fact that 
 such birds had been occasionally exhibited as 
 "Japanese Game" so far back as about 1872. 
 It further appeared that in the Japanese Great 
 National Museum at Tokio there were preserved 
 two specimens of the race, in which the 
 sickle-feathers measure 13^ feet and 17 feet 
 respectively ! and a feather has been actually 
 sent to France which measured 2 metres. 85 
 centimetres in length. In 1884, Mr. Gerald 
 Waller, of Twyw-ell, imported a pen of these 
 still more extraordinary birds ; and from his 
 statements it appears that they are known in 
 
 Japan as Shinowaratao, Shirifuzi, or Sakawatao 
 fowls, and by other various names. The very 
 long-tailed ones are kept in high, narrow cages, 
 always sitting on a perch covered with straw 
 rope, with no room to turn or get down, but 
 with a food and water tin at each end of 
 the perch. Three times daily they are lifted 
 down for a few minutes' exercise, their tails 
 being carefully rolled up and enclosed in paper 
 cases to keep them from injury. The Japanese 
 state that a tail has been measured 23 feet 
 in length, and that the birds only moult the 
 tail once in three years. This last fact is highly 
 interesting. It is obvious that if a tail 23 feet 
 long were grown in one year, it must be at 
 the rate of nearly three-quarters of an inch 
 per day ; and though Madame Bodinus states 
 that she could "see the tails grow daily," it is 
 difficult to realise this. 
 
 Tails exceeding 6 feet in length have how- 
 ever never reached Europe, the saddle-hackles 
 of Mr. Waller's birds having been about 
 16 inches; and in Japan itself tails over 6 feet 
 are exceedingly rare. But the stock has had 
 to be further crossed to prevent extinction. 
 Nearly all th.it on the Continent was indubitably 
 crossed with English Game, and from this the 
 present known stock has been derived. By this 
 somewhat has been lost in mere length of 
 feather, but much has been gained in hardiness 
 and real beauty. 
 
 Many names have been proposed. The 
 Germans were mainly answerable for "Phoenix," 
 which has no meaning; and "Japanese Long- 
 tails " was too general. Some attempt was 
 made to get Shinowaratao recognised, but to 
 the appellation of " Yokohamas " the breed has 
 now fairly settled down. We are indebted for 
 the following notes upon it to Mr. Frank E. 
 Rice, of Sudbury, Suffolk, who has kept and 
 bred it for some years : — 
 
 " To speak or write adequately on the 
 beauty of Yokohamas (sometimes called Long- 
 tailed Phoenix or Japanese Long-tails) is beyond 
 the power of tongue or pen. They rank above 
 all other breeds of poultry in their highly 
 graceful character, and the beautiful formation 
 of the tail, which is their special characteristic. 
 The long sickle-feathers grow about 2 feet 
 the first .year, and each moult they come out 
 longer, till the tails reach 5 feet and some- 
 ,times 6 feet in length. It is not altogether 
 the length, but also the sprightly way in 
 which they carry their tails : not in a droop- 
 ing, dangling fashion, but in a most graceful 
 curve from the formation which carries the- 
 weight, which adds perfect symmetry to an 
 evenly balanced tail. 
 
48o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 "The feathers should be bfcad and strong, 
 except the hangers, which are soft and flowing, 
 the saddle feathers hanging to the ground in 
 great abundance. The wings, which are very 
 long, are carried close up. The head should be 
 neat and small, with evenly set pea comb, and 
 the neck should have a great abundance of 
 hackle feathers. Legs are medium length, of a 
 bluish willow, colour, and should have only four 
 toes. In all respects the Yokohama should be a 
 long-made bird, with long neck, long body, and 
 long tail. 
 
 "There are several colours; those best known 
 
 Their eggs are very rich, and although small, 
 contain the same amount of nutriment as a full- 
 sized one. The birds themselves are a dainty 
 dish. Being exceedingly active their eggs are 
 wonderfully fertile. I very rarely have a clear 
 egg, and find chickens hatch out very strong." 
 
 The birds that we have most admired have 
 not been those with most length ot sickle. Of 
 this five to six feet can be got, as above 
 described, but specimens of less age, and not 
 exceeding three feet, have more impressed us. 
 A young pair of birds appeared at the Crystal 
 Palace show of 1900, of 'which the cockerel 
 
 Yokohama Fowls. 
 
 are the Duckwing colour, and pure white, the 
 former being the most attractive. At present all 
 are exceedingly rare. The sickle feathers are 
 used as plumes in officers' helmets and ladies' 
 headgear, as in the former coloured birds they 
 are of a most beautiful lustrous black. 
 
 " Notwithstanding their bcaul y, Yokohamas 
 are very hardy and easy to rear. Chickens should 
 be hatched in March, April, May, and June, 
 to grow to maturity, as I have found very late 
 hatched birds never grow much tail, which is 
 such an important feature in the fowl. As 
 layers it would be hard to beat them : wet or dry, 
 snow or wind, t'^'"" continue quite unconcerned. 
 
 scarcely reached that, but for pure and simple 
 beauty in fowls we never saw anything to surpass 
 them. Long as the male's plumes were, he had 
 actually reached the inside of an exhibition pen 
 with every sickle and hanger absolutely smooth, 
 sound, and unbroken 1 The sound smoothness of 
 every feather seen in this case, should we think 
 be taken more account of than any mere length 
 of feather which cannot be kept in order ; but so 
 long as such condition can be maintained, doubt- 
 less the longer the better. To attain it, good 
 range and " hard " feeding are obvious means ; 
 also mature age, hatching in good time, and 
 an occasional pinch of sulphur in the food. 
 
VARIOUS MINOR BREEDS. 
 
 481 
 
 A few brief paragraphs will suffice for 
 certain fowls only seen on very rare occasions, 
 which can hardly be said to be systematically 
 bred, and which have no qualities likely to bring 
 them into greater popularity, though one or two 
 of those produced in America have shown good 
 points, and might have attained greater recog- 
 nition, but for the appearance of othe;r types with 
 more to appeal to popular favour. 
 
 A very strongly marked race without tails, 
 known as Rumpless fowls, has been known for 
 centuries, and is spoken of as such by Temminck, 
 Linnaeus, and other naturalists, be- 
 Rumpiess sides old Aldrovandus. It was 
 Fowls. known in India and China ; and 
 
 perhaps the most remarkable state- 
 ment on record is that of the Rev. J. Clayton so 
 far back as 1693,* to the effect that he had 
 observed in Virginia how most of the cocks and 
 hens there were without tails, adding that he 
 was assured English stock also after a time lost 
 their " rumps." Buffbn adopted this latter 
 statement ; but it is obvious that the effect 
 was simply the result of crossing with the 
 Rumpless stock, which perpetuates the feature 
 with very great persistence. A West Indian 
 gentleman informed us personally, in 1872, that 
 the greater number of fowls in his own neigh- 
 bourhood had no tails ; and this prevalence of 
 such a feature in certain localities is a curious 
 parallel to the Frizded fowls of the Mauritius, 
 the tail-less race of cat**Ai the Isle of Man, and 
 other instances. 
 
 Rumpless fowls are destitute of the caudal 
 appendage sometimes termed the "parson's 
 nose," from which the tail grows, and the spine 
 itself is — at least it is usually — minus the final 
 vertebrae. By long descent this characteristic is 
 so fixed, that a Rumpless fowl, crossed with any 
 other, generally produces a large majority of 
 Rumpless birds ; hence a Rumpless breed can 
 be readily produced of any colour and character 
 desired. Thus it is that we see Polish, and Ban- 
 tams of all colours and bree;ds, thus distinguished. 
 Careful selection is however necessary with 
 these cross-bred birds. Those shown other than 
 in Bantam classes generallj-^ average about 5 lbs. 
 and 4 lbs., and always attract attention, but 
 rarely any prizes, being regarded more as 
 cur-iosities than anything else. 
 
 As a rule, Rumpless fowls are very hardy 
 and prolific, those qualities being kept up by 
 the frequent crosses they receive. The saddle 
 and cushion feathers are curled down over the 
 stern, from which cause the eggs of birds in 
 their natural state are often sterilt ; but if the 
 * Phil. Transactions, 1693, P- 992- 
 
 hen's saddle be plucked to the requisite extent 
 this drawback is removed, and the produce will 
 be found as fertile as usual. 
 
 Under the name of Naked Necks is nov/ 
 and then seen a very curious variety, with 
 perhaps the most extraordinary characteristic 
 known in any race of poultry. 
 Naked Necks. The first specimens we ever saw, 
 and we believe the first to be seen 
 in England, were exhibited by Mr. John C. 
 Eraser in 1874. These birds were imported from 
 Austria, their place of origin being Transylvania, 
 and one or two pairs have been imported since 
 the year mentioned. The heads are feathered 
 as usual, but the entire neck is absolutely bare 
 of plumage down to the shoulders, as bare as if 
 plucked, the skin being of a red colour, almost 
 as if a healed wound. There seems no other 
 fixed point, and of the first pair we saw the cock 
 was feathered, and the hen smooth-legged, while 
 the plumage was of a mere mongrel type. The 
 effect to most spectators is absolutely repulsive, 
 which no doubt accounts for the birds being so 
 little kept. A friend who had travelled and 
 seen the birds in Transylvania, told us there 
 was a curious tradition that their origin was a 
 bird severely scalded on the neck, so as to lose 
 all the plumage ; the loss being permanent, and 
 the point afterwards transmitted. It seems to 
 us wildly improbable; it is certainly true, how- 
 ever, that the bare skin does give precisely 
 that idea. Possibly enough that fact originated 
 the legend. 
 
 A breed known as Sumatras or Sumatra 
 Game fowls was at one time rather popular 
 in America, and if it were fairly introduced 
 in England to-day, might possibly 
 Sumatras. even now attract attention. It has 
 already been referred to under 
 Indian Game, as probably imparting- gloss to 
 that breed under the name of the Pheasant 
 Malay. It was a true Eastern Game fowl, 
 fighting to the death, and differing chiefly from 
 the Aseel and kindred races in a magnificent 
 flowing tail (carried low) and pheasant-like 
 grace and carriage. In gloss the breed was 
 •absolutely unequalled. The Black Sumatra was 
 thought to be most beautiful in the. United 
 States, and is still bred, though from want of 
 support, and in-breeding, smaller than formerly. 
 Jt is said to be an excellent layer, but, rather 
 singularly, of white eggs. 
 
 The Jersey Blue, chiefly found in the State 
 of New Jersey, is little cultivated in America, 
 but managed to get intp the , Standard in 188S, 
 
482 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 and is still bred, so that it has at least sur- 
 vived for thirty years since we first mentioned 
 it. The colour is that of the Andalusian, the 
 
 beak dark, and the eyes dark bay : 
 Jersey Blues, the shanks dark or slaty blue, as 
 
 usual with this plumage. From all 
 the descrfptions we have read, and one or two 
 directly received, it appears to resemble the 
 Plymouth Rock in type, with perhaps a rather 
 larger neck and shorter tail, and being a shade 
 larger in size. It also resembles the Rock in 
 general qualities, both as regards laying and 
 table. It appears to have failed in popularity, 
 in comparison with that, owing to the dark 
 shanks and white skin, which in the United 
 States have been less valued than yellow. 
 
 Another large blue variety may be mentioned 
 as often exhibited at northern and Midland 
 shows in England^ under the curious name 
 of "Likeliest Hen for Laying Purposes." The 
 class thus described was probably meant simply 
 enough in the first place ; but the competition 
 seems to have settled down to large birds of 
 Andalusian colour, and generally rose combs, 
 which probably owe their size to Blue Langshan. 
 A hen of this breed was recently sold for twelve 
 guineas. The rose comb differentiates the bird 
 from Langshans and Jersey Blues ; otherwise all 
 these large blue birds have much in common. 
 Possibly the breed — for it really approaches that 
 character — which originated in this singular 
 way, may be cultivated presently under some 
 other name. 
 
 Under the name of Sherwoods, a fowl has 
 found considerable favour amongst many prac- 
 tical American breeders, though it has never 
 
 been admitted to the Standard, 
 Sherwoods. probably as not being distinctive 
 
 enough. The birds themselves have 
 been known for forty years or more, and are 
 spoken of as exceedingly hardy, very tender in 
 flesh, and good layers of large brown eggs. ' The 
 cocks weigh 9 lbs. to 10 lbs., the hens 7 lbs. to 
 8 lbs. They are believed to have been first 
 advertised under the present name in i8go. 
 The plumage is all white, the beaks yellow, 
 combs single and straight, ear-lobes red, shanks 
 yellow, lightly feathered to the outside toe. The 
 slight feathering, rather larger size, and the 
 larger eggs appear the chief distinctions between 
 these birds and white Plymouth Rocks. Very 
 similar birds, but with rose combs, have been 
 advertised as "White Wonders," and seem to 
 have much the same relationship to the white 
 Wyandotte. It is obvious that almost in- 
 numerable varieties might be produced with 
 such small distinctions as some of those here 
 
 mentioned can claim : but " breeds " of such 
 a character can have little of real interest or 
 value for the poultry breeder. 
 
 Of the fowls described in this chapter, only 
 Dumpies, Scotch Greys, Silkies, and Sult*ans 
 have as yet been standardised. The Standards 
 for these are as follow : — 
 
 SCOTCH GREYS, 
 
 GENERAL CIIARACTER/STICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck.- — Head, : Neat, long, and fine. Beak: 
 Strong, well curved. Eye : Large, bright, and clear. 
 Comb : Single, medium size, fine in texture, perfectly 
 straight and upright, and with well-defined serrations ; 
 free from side sprigs, coming well down on the head 
 behind. Face : Fine in texture. Ear-lobes : Medium 
 size, fine in texture. Wattles : Medium length, • well 
 rounded on lower edge. Neck : Medium length, finely 
 tapered, well arched, and having hackle flowing down 
 on shoulders and back. 
 
 Body. — Medium length, compactly built, and 
 full of substance. Breast : Broad, deep, and full, and 
 carried well forward and upward. Back : Broad and 
 short. Wings : Medium size, carried well up, covered 
 by hackle and saddle feathers. 
 
 Tall. — Medium size, carried well up, and receding 
 from body — not squirrel — with flowing sickles and 
 secondaries nicely and evenly barred. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Long, straight, wide apart, 
 and strong-»not quite so pre m.'.nent as in Game. Shanks : 
 Strong, and rather long. Toes : Four in number, stout 
 and strong, straight and well spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage.— Neither Dorking nor 
 Game, but a blend of both — i.e. having feathers allied to 
 both ; erect, lively, active, bold, and graceful. 
 Size and Weight, — Large. About 9 lbs. to 11 lbs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTfiRISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, Eye : As in the cock. 
 Comb : Medium size, fine, evenly serrated, either erect 
 or falling slightly over. . ace. Ear-lobes, and Wattles .- 
 As in the cock. Neck : Rather long. 
 
 Body. — As in the cock. 
 
 Tail. — Medium size, well marked, receding from 
 body, not squirrel. 
 
 Legs and Feet.— Thighs : Long, strong, and well 
 shown. Shanks : Rather long. Toes : Four in number, 
 stout and strong, straight and well spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — As in the cock. 
 
 Size and" Weight. — Large. About 7 lbs. to 9 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN SCOTCH GKEYS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : White or white streaked with 
 black. Eye: Red. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, Wattles: 
 Bright red. Shanks: White or white mottled with 
 black — not sooty. 
 
 In the Cock.— Plumage : Ground colour pale greyish 
 blue finely and evenly barred with a dark metallic blue ; 
 the alternating bands should be equal in width, and 
 proportioned to size of the feather. The shades should 
 be the same in all parts of the body, whilst the mark- 
 ings all over should be rather small, even, distinct, and 
 sharply defined. 
 
 In tlie Hen. — Plumage : Same as cock, but markings, 
 rather larger, even, and distinct^ producing an appear- 
 ance like a shepherd's tartan. 
 
VARIOUS STANDARDS. 
 
 483 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN SCOTCH GREYS. 
 
 Derects. 
 
 Defects in head and comb 
 
 „ colour and markings of hackle 
 
 1, „ „ wings and across 
 
 shoulders 
 
 Defects in colour and markings of back ... 
 
 „ „ „ on breast and 
 
 thighs 
 
 Defects in colour, markings, and carriage of tail ... 
 
 „ legs and feet 
 
 Want of size 
 
 „ symmetry 
 
 „ condition 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN SCOTCH DUMPIES. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 5 
 15 
 10 
 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Any bodily deformity; other than four toes. Colour 
 other than blue in shades. 
 
 SCOTCH DUMPIES. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head: Neat and fine. Beak: Strong, 
 well curved. Eye : Large and clear. Comb : Medium 
 size, single, perfectly upright, free from side sprigs, 
 coming well down on the head behind. (A rose comb 
 not a defect.) Face : Fine in texture. Ear-lobes : Small, 
 and to lie close. Wattles : Medium size. Neck : Well 
 arched, full, and flowing. 
 
 Body. — Square, broad, and deep. Breast : Broad 
 and deep. Back : Broad and flat. Wings : Medium 
 size, neatly carried. 
 
 Tail. — Full and flowing, with good sickles. 
 
 Legs and Feet.— Very short, shanks not over i| inches 
 in length. Toes : Four, well spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Heavy, with a waddling 
 gait. The extreme shortness of legs gives them the 
 appearance of swimming on dry land. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium (the larger the better), 
 7J lbs. and upwards. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head, Neck, and Body. — As in the cock. 
 Tail. — FuU and well shaped. 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 General Shape and Carriage. — As in the cock. 
 Size and Weight.— ^Medium (the larger the better), 
 6 lbs. and upwardsj 
 
 COLOUR IN SCOTCH DUMPIES. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : To match the legs. Eye : 
 Red. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. 
 Plumage : May be of any colour, but silver grey, dark 
 Dorking, cuckoo, or black preferred. Shanks : White, 
 except black variety, which may be black or slate 
 colour, and cuckoo variety, which may be mottled. 
 
 Note. — Shortness of leg alone, should not constitute 
 their claim to notice ; they must have large, low, heavy 
 bodies and other points of excellence. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head and comb 
 
 ,, shape 
 
 ,, colour 
 
 Want of size 
 
 „ condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 . 15 
 
 . 40 
 
 . 10 
 
 . 20 
 
 • 15 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 White ear-lobes; squirrel tail or any other deformity; 
 yellow or feathered legs ; other than four toes. 
 
 SILKIES. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Short and neat, with good 
 crest, soft and full, as upright as the comb will permit, 
 and having half a dozen to a dozen soft silky feathers 
 streaming gracefully backwards from lower and back 
 part of crest, to a length of about one inch and a half; 
 the crest proper should not show any hardness of 
 feathers. Beak : Short, stout at base. Eye : Brilliant, 
 and not too prominent. Comb : An almost circular 
 cushion of purple black flesh, with a number of small 
 prominences over it, and should have a slight indenta- 
 tion or furrow transversely across the middle. Ear- 
 lobes : More oval than round. Wattles : Concave from 
 without inwards, nearly semicircular, not long or 
 pendent. Neck : Short or medium length, broad and 
 full at base, ha,ckle abundant and flowing. 
 
 Body. — Breast: Broad, full. BacA; Short. Shoulders: 
 Stout, square, fairly covered with neck hackle. Saddle : 
 Silky, and rising to tail. Stern : Broad, abundantly 
 covered with fine fluff. Wings : Soft and fluffy at 
 shoulders, the ends of flights ragged and fairly covered 
 with overhanging soft saddle hackles. 
 
 Tail. — Short, very ragged at end of the harder 
 feathers of tail proper, and sickles (allowable), if to 
 be seen, not too noticeable nor too hard. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short. Shanks : Short, 
 moderately feathered on the outer side. Feet : Flat on 
 the ground, always five toes, the fourth and fifth diverg- 
 ing from one another preferably, the middle and outer 
 toes feathered, but these feathers should not be too 
 hard. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Broad, stout looking, 
 with a stylish carriage, as silky as possible, with a 
 profusion of soft fluffy hair instead of feathers. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Not to exceed 3 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — The more silky or fluffy in general the 
 better. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Short, neat, crest like a 
 "powder-puff," no hard feathers, nor hanging over 
 the eye ; it should stand up and out, and not incline 
 backwards, nor be split by comb. Beak . Stout and 
 short. Eye : Brilliant. Comb : Small, neat ; hardly 
 to be noticed under front of crest. Ear-lobes : Small 
 and roundish. Wattles : Either absent or small. Neck : 
 Short. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Very broad and full. Shoulders : 
 Broad. Saddle : Broad, well cushioned with the silkiest 
 
484 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of plumage. Sttrn : Profusely covered with soft fluff. 
 Wings : Short, silky at shoulders, and ragged at ends ; 
 hard feathers a fault. 
 
 Tail. — Small, nearly smothered by the body plumage, 
 the ragged ends alone protruding, and inclined to be 
 cochiny in appearance. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short, set well apart, covered 
 with very abundant flufl", standing out prominently. 
 Legs : Short, moderately feathered on the outer side. 
 Feet : As in the coclc. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Compact and short on 
 leg ; the under fluff and thigh fluff should almost meet 
 the ground. Lively carriage. 
 
 Size and Weight.— Not to exceed 2 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN SILKIES. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Slaty blue. Eye : Black. 
 Comb : Purple-black. Face : Purple-black. Ear-lobes : 
 Preferably, a turquoise-blue colour, the next best colour 
 being purple-black, same as the comb and face. 
 Wattles : Purple-black. Skin : Deep violet colour. 
 Plumage: Snow white. Legs and Feet: Lead colour. 
 Toe-nails : Bluish white. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN SILKIES. 
 
 
 COCK OR HEN. 
 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 want of shape or colour of comb 
 
 want of darkness of face 
 
 incorrect colour of eye or lobe... 
 
 too great length of neck 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ... 10 
 ... 10 
 
 For 
 
 „ too great length of leg or absence of feather... 10 
 
 „ want either of a good saddle or a full hackle 10 
 
 ,, narrowness 10 
 
 „ want of fluff well covering in the wings ... 10 
 
 „ want of fluff generally ..; 10 
 
 „ want of general carriage 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 Single comb ; green legs ; other than five toes ; feather- 
 less legs and feet. 
 
 FauUs.^VvUnxe hocks, green beak, ruddy comb or 
 face, eye other than black ; incorrect colour in plumage 
 or skin; plumage not silky; want of crest, "pohsh," 
 or " split crest," long back ; want of fluff, scaly legs, 
 green tips to beak, or green soles to feet. 
 
 SULTANS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Medium size. Beah : Short 
 and curved. Eye : Bright. Comb : Very small, con- 
 sisting of two spikes only, almost hidden by crest. 
 .Face : Covered with thick muffling. Nostrils : Horny 
 and large, rising above the curved line of the beak. 
 Crest : Large, globular, and compact. Ear-lobes : Small 
 
 and round. Beard : Very full, joining with the whiskers. 
 Wattles : Very small, to be" hardly perceptible. Neck r 
 ■ Moderately short, slightly arched, and carried well 
 back. 
 
 ■ Body. — Body : Rather long and very deep. Breast .- 
 deep and prominent. Back: Short and straight. Wings: 
 Large, long, and carried low. 
 
 Tail. — Tail : Long, broad, and carried open. Sickles i 
 Very long and fine. Hangers : Numerous, long and fine. 
 Coverts : Abundant and lengthy. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short, and furnished with 
 heavy vulture.hocks to cover the joints. Shanks : Short, 
 and well covered inside and out with feathers. Toes r 
 Five in number and of moderate length, completely 
 covered with feather. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage.— Deep, but neat and 
 compact, and very sprightly. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium (the larger the better), 
 about 6 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Long ; very abundant and fairly soft 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, Eye, Nostrils : As in 
 the cock. Comb : Very neat, consisting of two spikes 
 only. Face, Wattles, Neck : As in the cock. Crest : Full 
 to the front and globular, comb to be barely visible. 
 Ear-lobes : Very small and completely covered by crest 
 and beard. Beard : Very full. 
 
 Body. — As in the cock. 
 
 Tail. — Moderately long, carried slightly open and a 
 little high. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — As in the cock. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Medium (the larger the better), 
 about 4i lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — As in the cock. 
 
 COLOUR IN SULTANS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Pale blue or white. Eye : 
 Red. Comb : Bright red. Face : Red. Ear-lobes, 
 Wattles : Bright red. Shanks and Toes : Pale blue. 
 Plumage : Snow white throughout. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN SULTANS. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head and crest 
 
 beard and whiskers 
 
 comb ... 
 
 type and symmetry 
 
 colour 
 
 leg and foot feathering 
 
 Want of size 
 
 „ condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 15 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 15 
 15 
 
 8 
 15 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed t 
 Wry tail, or any other deformity ; coloured plumage ; 
 toes other than five in number. 
 
48s 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 BANTAM BREEDING. GAME BANTAMS. 
 
 AT no period in the history of the Poultry 
 /-A Fancy have Bantams reached such a 
 ^ ^ popularity, or carried with them such a 
 monetary value, as they do at the present time, 
 so that show promoters in certain places 
 are giving them exhibitions to themselves. 
 Bantam breeders comprise, however, a fancy 
 and world of their own, for which reason ^we 
 have thought it better for this section to be 
 treated throughout by some single special 
 authority. Though not, as in other cases, dis- 
 tinguished by quotation marks, owing to their 
 length, this and the following chapter upon 
 Bantams are therefore written throughout by 
 Mr. P. Proud, of Lea Farm, Formby, Liverpool. 
 Mr. Proud is so well known to every Bantam 
 breeder, not only as an ejchibitor, but as a 
 popular judge, a critic, and writer upon this sub- 
 ject, that nothing further need be added -beyond 
 our gratification that he has found it possible to 
 render us and our readers his valuable assistance. 
 The reasons for the great advance in 
 popularity of Bantams are perhaps likely to 
 increase rather than diminish. They can be 
 kept as pets by ladies, young people, and others 
 who would never trouble with larger breeds. 
 They can be reared in hundreds, where medium- 
 sized fowls can only be kept in dozens. They 
 stand a town Hfe well, and a few ;can be kept 
 successfully in a garden, or backyard, or, on 
 a pinch, in pens in an attic. They are small 
 consumers, and lay profitably for what little 
 they eat. They are well catered for at all the 
 best shows, and the returns from prizes won are, 
 pro raid with the expenses of carriage incurred 
 to and from exhibitions, greatly in excess of 
 what could be expected from heavier breeds. 
 Take for instance a consignment of six o-- 
 eight Bantams, each in separate sections of & 
 properly divided . hamper ; it costs only about 
 4d. or 5d. per bird in carriage from the north of 
 England to London and back. At a show like 
 the Dairy or Palace, the exhibitor, for about the 
 same carriage as he would have to pay for one 
 Rock or Orpington cockerel, can compete for 
 six or eight prizes. Finally, Bantams are now 
 kept so much by ladies and gentlemen of rank, 
 
 with Queen Alexandra at their head, that this 
 also has been no small factor in popularising 
 these beautiful and interesting birds. 
 
 In some respects Bantams require rather 
 special management, and there are some special 
 difficulties in hatching and rearing Bantam 
 chicks. The selection of a suitable 
 Hatching broody hen is highly important. For 
 Bantam Eggs, years I was greatly troubled by my 
 hens breaking two or three eggs 
 in every sitting, and crushing chicks when on 
 the point of hatching, simply because they were 
 too heavy and clumsy for Bantam' eggs. At 
 last I hit upon that cross between the Silky and 
 Pekin described in the next chapter. These 
 pullets proved excellent sitters and mothers, and 
 for iiatching and rearing Bantam chicks are 
 worth their weight in gold. They rarely lay 
 more than a dozen eggs before becoming broody, 
 and then they will sit till further orders ; al- 
 though it is not wise to let them hatch more 
 than two broods at one sitting. As to the nests, 
 where possible it is far the best to have a 
 separate house for sitting hens, where the in- 
 mates can be left perfectly quiet. For nests I 
 use orange boxes, which can generally be pur- 
 chased for twopence or threepence. These I 
 lay down on their sides, and nail a strip ot 
 wood along the front at the bottom. I then put 
 in a plentiful supply of fine soil or sand, and on 
 the top of this clean soft hay, the more the 
 better, making the nest the shape of a shallow 
 basin. In the early months — January, February, 
 and March — never give the hen too many eggs ; 
 rather put down too few than one too many. 
 Later on you may safely put down fourteen or 
 fifteen. During the time the hen is sitting her 
 food should consist of Indian corn, and she should 
 be moved from the nest every day for ten or 
 fifteen minutes. Before setting the hen give her 
 a good dusting with insect powder, and again 
 two or three days before she is due to hatch ; by 
 so doing you will save many a chick from being 
 infested with lice. In the sitting-house have a 
 large shallow box filled with cinder ashes for 
 the'hens to dust in. After five days the eggs 
 shoiild be tested by a candle as usual. At the 
 
THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 end of nineteen days they will commence to 
 hatch, and at this time the hen should be left 
 alone ; do not bother her more than you can 
 avoid. When possible always use fresh eggs 
 for hatching ; and never more than eight or ten 
 days old, if you would have strong chicks. 
 Never set very small eggs, or thin-shelled eggs, 
 for even should they hatch the chicks will be 
 fragile little mites that it is impossible to rear, 
 
 The next important point is the feeding of 
 Bantam chicks. For the first twelve hours after 
 hatching the chick does not require any food ; 
 
 let them remain perfectly quiet. 
 Eearing ^^ ^he end of that time give them 
 
 Chic^ their first feed of hard-boiled egg 
 
 chopped fine and mixed with stale 
 bread crumbs and coarse oatmeal, or what 
 is termed " pin-head oatmeal." This should be 
 their staple food for the first two days, given 
 every two hours. On the third day substitute 
 Spratts Chicken-meal for the egg food. The 
 food must be free from condiments or spices, 
 which are harmful to Bantam chicks, however 
 good they may or may not be for stronger 
 chicks. In cold weather it is best to give the 
 food warm, mixing it with boiling water ; but 
 in warm weather 1 find it keeps sweeter when 
 mixed with cold water. Feed every two hours 
 until ten days old, then four or five times a day 
 until they are ten weeks old ; then three times 
 a day will suffice. When the chicks are three 
 weeks old let the last feed of the day be groats, 
 millet-seed, and canary-seed mixed. At noon 
 a little lean meat cut fine, or a few maggots, 
 should be given. This once a day ; but do not 
 give too much : and above all feed your chicks 
 regularly at a given hour each day. If the 
 chicks have free range on grass, water is not 
 necessary. I am not a believer in water for chicks, 
 except what they can get off the grass after a 
 -heavy dew or shower. The less water you give 
 chicks the less diarrhoea you will have amongst 
 them. If you never give them water, they never 
 require it; but once you start to do so you must 
 go on to the end of the chapter. Although the 
 little chick does not require water, however, the 
 hen must not be forgotten. It is best to fasten 
 an ordinary zinc drinking tin for her inside the 
 coop, about 6 or 8 inches from the ground. 
 And of course, when the chick attains the age 
 of three or four months, when its food will be 
 principally hard corn, then water is necessary. 
 At this age the chickens should be separated, 
 the cockerels from the pullets. When feeding 
 the chicks in the early morning give the hen 
 a good feed of maize, otherwise she will eat 
 all the food away from the chicks. 
 
 Keep the coops scrupulously cleap, and 
 
 lime-washed every five or six weeks, and remove 
 to fresh ground every two or three days. Ex- 
 amine the chicks at intervals for lice, etc., and 
 whenever infested, dust well with insect powder. 
 Following these instructions, the rearing of 
 Bantam chicks will become quite an easy and 
 pleasurable task. 
 
 I am often asked what size of house Bantams 
 require. For a pen of half a dozen, the house 
 should measure 4 by 3 feet. From the floor to 
 the eaves should be 2 feet, and 6 or 
 Houses and 3 inches more to the ridge of the 
 Bantams. roof. Under the floor have a shelter 
 reaching 15 or 18 inches from the 
 ground, and boarded all round except the front. 
 This shelter will be very useful in bad weather, 
 and should have a plentiful supply of moss 
 litter, or dry sea sand ; this will keep them dry, 
 and prevent colds when the weather is bad. The 
 run attached to the house should measure 9 feet 
 by 3 feet, 5 feet high, boarded 18 to 24 inches 
 from the ground at the front, the remainder of 
 the front wire netting ; back, end, and roof 
 boarded. On the floor of the run, also floor of 
 house, use dry sea sand, and rake over every 
 alternate day, .so as to keep it clean and sweet. 
 Use round perches for Game Bantams, about 
 the thickness of an ordinary broom-handle ; but 
 for feather-legged varieties flat perches are best, 
 and the perches should be so constructed that 
 they can readily be taken down and cleaned. 
 Houses and runs such as described can be put 
 up for 30s. to 40s. each. See that the houses 
 are well ventilated near to the roof ; this is 
 highly impprtant for the health of the lairds. 
 
 Many a good bird is spoiled for the want of 
 proper training, which is half the battle in the 
 exhibition pen. Take a cockerel direct from his 
 run and place him in an exhibition 
 Training pen, put your stick inside, and 
 
 ExMbition. endeavour to touch him, and the 
 chances are that he will dash madly 
 against the sides and top of the pen in his 
 endeavours to get away. A little care and 
 trouble at the right time obviates all this, 
 and when once properly done if is done for 
 the bird's lifetime. 
 
 In the first place get an ordinary 18-inch 
 exhibition pen, which will cost about is. gd., 
 and fix this pen, or your set of pens, on a bench 
 about 4 feet from the ground. Take the bird 
 at night-time and place him in the pen, letting 
 him remain quiet all night to get used to the 
 pen. Next morning approach the pen gently, 
 and feed him through the wires, tempting him 
 with a little bread-and-milk sop, which all birds 
 are passionately fond of He will be very shy 
 at first, but by degrees will come boldly up. 
 
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EK HI BITING BANTAMS. 
 
 487 
 
 Feed him again at noon in the same way, and 
 at night, when it is dark, take a candle and go 
 and stroke him gently from the top of his 
 shoulders to the tail with your hand, speaking 
 kindly to him all the time. It is surprising how 
 much tamer a bird is by candle-light than he is in 
 day-light. When you have succeeded in getting 
 the bird to stand perfectly still while stroking 
 him down the back, commence stroking him 
 down the breast from the throat. Do this as 
 gently and slowly as possible. When he has 
 got accustomed to this too, instead of the hand 
 use a small cane or stick, but always gently and 
 qxiietly. Should the bird be inclined to carry 
 his tail too high, by stroking him down with the 
 stick to the end of his tail, the tail-carriage can 
 be greatly improved. When a bird is well 
 trained, he will lower his tail immediately the 
 stick touches his back. They acquire a habit 
 of slightly walking away from the sticky and 
 naturally lower the tail to be free from it. 
 Should the bird droop his wings, which is often 
 the case, then I touch him with the stick under 
 the wings, at the same time lifting them up, and 
 induce him to tighten himself up into proper 
 shape before I leave off. These faults can easily 
 be remedied if the training is persevered with 
 for a few minutes two or three times daily. 
 Should the bird be wanting in style, a few 
 gentle taps on the back of the legs and toes 
 will quickly make him step out like a well- 
 drilled soldier. To give " reach " to Game 
 Bantams, get a little tit-bit of meat, or bread 
 and milk, and hold it high up in front of 
 the pen to induce the bird to reach up. He 
 will perhaps not come at once, but a little 
 patience will gain the day, and he will come 
 boldly up whenever you approach the pen. 
 Some birds take much more time than others. 
 When they have been well handled in chicken- 
 hood, they require very little training ; and again, 
 the more highly-bred the easier the training. 
 
 The next step towards perfecting Bantams 
 for the exhibition pen is washing. All birds 
 do not require actual washing ; those of dark 
 plumage need only be sponged over 
 Washing with tepid water prior to packing 
 
 Bantams. them off Moisten a sponge well, 
 and thoroughly sponge the bird 
 over, and afterwards dry thoroughly by a brisk 
 rubbing with a silk pocket-handkerchief It is 
 surprising what a " polish " can thus be put on 
 the feathers of any dark birds such as Black 
 Rosecombs, Black- or Brown-red Game, etc., 
 which look quite fifty per cent, better. 
 
 Whites and all light-coloured varieties re- 
 quire to be thoroughly washed, a process so 
 fully described in a former chapter that few 
 
 words are needed here. Three separate bowls 
 of water are required ; the first to contain soft 
 water as hot as you can comfortably bear the 
 back of the hand in; the second slightly 
 cooler ; and the third just tepid. Place the 
 bird in the first with his head just clear of the 
 water, and soak him thoroughly ; then soap him 
 well with Sunlight or white-curd soap until you 
 get a good lather, and freely rub it into the 
 feather ; then sponge well with the hot water, 
 and repeat this operation until all trace of dirt 
 has disappeared. Then in the second bowl 
 sponge him well with the clean water until 
 all the soap is removed ; and finally transfer 
 him to the finishing bovv'l containing the tepid 
 water, and rinse him well from head to tail, 
 sponging him all the while. After absorbing 
 all the water out of the feathers that you can 
 with the sponge, dry the bird with a soft towel, 
 then place him in an open wicker basket con- 
 taining clean hay, placed about 3 feet from a 
 good bright fire, and allow him to remain there 
 until dry. It is as well to place a cover round 
 the back of the hamper, to protect him from 
 draughts. In hard-feathered varieties it is a 
 good plan, when the bird is nearly dry, to take 
 him out and give him a good rubbing with a 
 silk handkerchief to get the desired polish, which 
 would not be obtained if left to dry by itself 
 It is best to wash the birds at least two clear 
 days before they are required to be sent to the 
 show, to give the feather time for webbing out 
 again. 
 
 In despatching birds to a show, see that the 
 basket is clean and weather-proof, in winter 
 using good thick lining : this is very important 
 for Bantams. Just before a bird is sent off, give 
 him a good feed of warm bread and milk, and the 
 same as soon as he returns; On his return, keep 
 him isolated for two or three days as a precau- 
 tion against the spread of any disease he may 
 possibly bring back, though you hope not. 
 But one never can tell vyhat disease a bird may 
 have contracted at a show, and the introduc- 
 tion of roup or diphtheria in this way might 
 be ruinous to a yard. 
 
 Apart from outside infection, -Bantanis being 
 in-bred to a great extent, are weaker, and 
 more liable to certain diseases than their bigger 
 brethren. The most common ailrrients from 
 which they suffer are cold and roup, the latter 
 being nothing more in its milder form than a 
 neglected cold. When a bird is noticed to have 
 a cold, or running at the nostrils, the best remedy 
 is a dose of Epsom salts, as much as will lie on 
 a shilling, given at night for two or three nightg, 
 afterwards giving half a teaspoonful of cod liver 
 oil, to which three or four drops of eucalyptus 
 
488 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 oil have, been added. This treatment will 
 generally cure a cold in a few days, if the bird 
 is kept free from draughts. Keep houses well 
 ventilated, and add a piece of sulphate of iron 
 — about the size of a small pea — to the drinking 
 water daily. Birds suffering from roup should 
 be isolated from any others to prevent the 
 disease spreading. 
 
 The most serious trouble the Bantam fancier 
 has to contend with during the breeding season 
 is egg-bound. This generally occurs in finely- 
 bred, small, and extra neat Game Bantam 
 pullets. The sooner it is noticed the better. 
 If the pullet is noticed to go to nest frequently 
 in one day, it may be assumed that she is finding 
 difficulty in passing her first egg, and it is by 
 far the best to take her in hand before she has 
 exhausted her strength in her own endeavours. 
 In ordinary cases all that is required is to place 
 the hen up to her thighs in hot water, as hot as 
 you can bear your hand in, and let her remain 
 for ten minutes ; then dry her with a towel, and 
 grease the vent well with vaseline. If the egg 
 is in view, a little gentle pressure outside with 
 the thumb and fingers will generally eject it, 
 but very great care should be exercised not 
 to break the egg, or the result will prove fatal 
 in nine cases out of ten. 
 
 In concluding these general hints and in- 
 structions, let me add a few "Don'ts," which 
 Bantam fanciers will do well to note. 
 
 Don't commence by buying several first-prize 
 winners from here, there, and everywhere, with 
 the idea that as the parents are all first-prize 
 winners the produce will be the same. You 
 cannot make a graver mistake. Start with some 
 reliable strain, and stick to that strain alone, and 
 in-breed so long as your chicks are fairly healthy 
 and vigorous. By so doing you are keeping the 
 blood pure and building up a strain of your own 
 at the same time. 
 
 ^Don't think that you are going to rear strong 
 healthy chicks, bred from birds that have been 
 doing the rounds of shows all the season. You 
 cannot do it. Don't exhibit your breeding birds 
 at all ; then you will have healthy chicks and 
 fertile eggs. 
 
 Don't put more than five hens to a cock, 
 especially during the first two or three months 
 of the breeding season. 
 
 Don't overcrowd and don't pamper your 
 chicks ; give them plain wholesome food, and 
 feed regularly. 
 
 Don't neglect to. dust your chicks frequently 
 during the summer months. Many thousands 
 of Bantam chicks, even in greater proportion 
 than the large ones, are lost annually through 
 being infested with lice. 
 
 No one will dispute the fact that of all 
 Bantams the Game varieties must take pre- 
 cedence. Of all the different kinds bred, none 
 seems to secure the popular vote 
 Game like these. Fanciers may drift into 
 
 Bantams. other varieties, but as a rule they 
 begin with Game. Fearless little 
 creatures they are, with a pluck and courage 
 all their own. No wonder they stand first 
 favourites ! The colours allow- a liberal margin 
 for the exercise of individual taste, though 
 Black-reds, Duckwings, Brown-reds, and Piles 
 have so far made the greatest advance towards 
 perfection, followed by Birchens and Whites. 
 As a rule Black-reds and Duckwings give the 
 heaviest returns for the capital and labour ex- 
 pended upon them. 
 
 In judging Game Bantams, shape and style 
 come first. In both male and. female we want 
 somewhat of the laundry flat-iron type, ie. a. 
 wedge shape, with no great keel, and tapering 
 from a square prominent front sharply to the 
 tail. The shoulders should stand out squarely, 
 the wings short and rounded and tucked well 
 in to the sides, not flat-sided. If the wings are 
 carried on the back, the bird is said to be goose- 
 winged, which is a serious fault in the sTiow pen. 
 The back should be as short as possible, and flat. 
 A round back is an eyesore, and practically 
 a disqualification. The thighs must be round as 
 well as long. A flat-shfnned bird comes of 
 delicate parentage, and will breed flat-shinned 
 ones. The thighs should be set on well apart, 
 as this affects greatly the Game-like look of 
 the movements of the bird. The shanks must be 
 long, fine, and round in bone, clear and smooth, 
 and terminated in long straight toes with good 
 claws. The hind toe should be planted firmly 
 on the ground in a straight line with the centre 
 front toe, any screwing about to right or left, or 
 inwards, is termed duck-footed, and is a certain 
 disqualification in the show-pen. Sometimes in 
 very reachy birds the back toe proves a trifle 
 short, but this is a minor fault compared" with 
 the other. The tail is a special feature. It 
 should rise to a little above the horizontal, and the 
 twelve feathers of which the tail proper is com- 
 posed should be whipped together as closely as 
 possible. The whole feathering from head to 
 tail should be of the shortest, narrowest, and 
 scantiest ; and in the body and tail feathers as 
 strong in quill and as wiry to the touch as 
 possible. The sickles and hangers have been 
 bred to a surprising narrowness, and very short, 
 so that the former only protrude beyond the tail 
 proper about a couple of inches. The head 
 should be long, lean, and snaky, with a long, 
 strong, slightly curved beak, and a full, defiant. 
 
fS^#^ 
 
 z 
 < 
 
 DQ 
 
 111 
 
 < 
 C3 
 
BLACK-RED GAME BANTAMS. 
 
 489 
 
 eagle-like eye, placed just under the top of the 
 skull. Look for a long and fine neck, with 
 bright, narrow, short hackles, and very upright 
 or perpendicular carriage. 
 
 Colpur is a great desideratum, and should 
 come next. A rich colour, giving wide contrast, 
 greatly enhances the appearance of a bird. In 
 the males there should be no rustiness, espe- 
 cially about the shoulders, wing- bars, or hocks. 
 The standard colours of the different varieties 
 will be described as we proceed. 
 
 Size, or want of it, is a very important point, 
 but diminutiveness may be overdone. All 
 other points being equal, the smallest bird would 
 undoubtedly win in the show-pen, and for this 
 reason small birds are much in request, and 
 command excellent prices. But very small 
 pullets are by no means desirable in the breed- 
 ing-pen-. Three possibilities may arise. The 
 first is they may never lay at all ; the second is 
 that their first egg may prove their death ; and, 
 lastly, should they produce a few eggs, the chicks 
 resulting will in all probability turn out such 
 stunted little, specimens as to be worthless. 
 Breed from small cocks and fair-sized hens or 
 pullets, feed judiciously, and you will secure 
 chicks small enough for keenest competition. 
 
 Thecolour of Black-reds may thus be described. 
 The face, head, lobes, and wattles in both sexes 
 should be of a bright healthy red, with legs, feet, 
 and bealc of a rich olive or willow. 
 Black-red Any tendency to slatiness shows 
 
 Duckwing blood. The neck-hackle 
 of the cock should be a bright 
 golden orange, free from striping, and the 
 saddle-hackle follows suit, only as a rule in the 
 best specimens the saddle-hackle runs a trifle 
 lighter, clearer, and richer golden hue than the 
 neck. The back and wing-bow are a bright 
 solid crimson ; wing-butts black ; wing-bars a 
 glossy steel blue, free from rusty ticking ; the 
 secondaries of the wings a clear bright chest- 
 nut, which should run through to the end of the 
 feather; breast, thighs, and tail, a rich black, 
 free from ticking, rustiness about hocks, or 
 chestnut shaftiness in sickles, which generally 
 denotes a pullet strain, and will tell slightly 
 against an exhibition specimen. 
 
 The Black-red pu'llet should have a pale 
 golden - coloured hackle, some shades lighter 
 than that of the cock, each feather being very 
 narrowly striped with black down either side 
 of the shaft. The main body colour is some- 
 what difficult to describe. It resembles the 
 medium brown drab shade of a partridge. If 
 each feather be examined carefully, it will be 
 found to be almost imperceptibly pencilled 
 
 Bautama. 
 
 through with the finest black, yet so exqui- 
 sitely fine as to produce one even soft shade 
 of colour all over back and wings. Imperfect 
 specimens often get this pencilling too much 
 in evidence. Such are termed "coarse." Even 
 in some of the best specimens there are two 
 or three feathers, usually the top flight feathers 
 of the wing, that show the undesirable blotch- 
 ing a little round the edge of the feather; but 
 this is considered a serious fault in exhibition 
 pullets. The breast may be described as a 
 rich deep broken salmon, shading into lighter 
 colour towards throat and thighs. The two top 
 outer feathers of the tail correspond exactly 
 with the colour of the body, otherwise the tail 
 is black. 
 
 Now for the mating. See that the birds 
 are sound in health : it is folly to hatch 
 diseased chickens, because it is money and 
 time thrown away. Do not crowd 
 Blaok-rfd up the pen with a lot of pullets 
 
 Bantams. under the mistaken notion that you 
 
 are going to produce a majority 
 of pullets ; or vice versd if you have but few 
 females to the male. This rule works far too 
 inconstantly to justify confidence in it, and 
 it is better to breed from three or four first- 
 rate pullets, rather than from a host of 
 indifferent ones. By all means, if the breeder 
 has funds and accommodation, let him mate 
 up two pens, one for cockerel-, and the other 
 for pullet-breeding ; although exhibition speci- 
 mens of both sexes have been produced from 
 one pen — e.g. the Crystal Palace Show of 1900, 
 where the ist prize Black-red cockerel and isl 
 prize pullet of Mr. Hugo Ainscough were 
 from the same (pullet-breeding) pen. 
 
 The cockerel pen should contain as bright- 
 coloured a male, cockerel preferred, as it is 
 possible to command, with all exhibition points 
 of shape and style, and especially neither duck- 
 footed nor slip-winged, the latter being a rathei 
 common weakness. Place with him three tah 
 reachy pullets or hens, extra stylish if pos- 
 sible, pullets preferred, prominent in shoulders 
 and light in hackle to the crown of the head. 
 Those foxy-coloured on wings, and a nice 
 golden edge round the feathers of back and 
 wings, are to be preferred. Some breeders 
 use Wheatens ■ to secure bright top-colour, 
 which acts satisfactorily. Only, let the breeder 
 beware that he never by any chance lets the 
 produce get mixed up with that of the pullet- 
 breeding pen, or there will be ruin, which years 
 of care will hardly suffice to eradicate. If the 
 chicks have to -run together, see that they are 
 marked from the first with dye, and afterwards, 
 when old enough, rung. Personally, I prefer to use 
 
49° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Black-reds only, finding that the produce i? quite 
 as satisfactory, and no irremediable result oc<;urs 
 should one or two break out of bounds and get 
 mixed. The next year the begt pullets from this 
 pen could be mated to the sire, giving the older 
 hens to the most suitable cockerel. In this way 
 you maintain much more vigour than from mating 
 brother and sister, and are gradually breeding 
 back to the parents on both sides, whilst making 
 a selection of the best each time from a show 
 point of view. A strain may thus be built up 
 and carried on for years, without recourse to 
 new blood. At any time the two lines are 
 crossed the produce will contain exactly half 
 and half of the blood of the original birds, 
 as shown in detail in Chapter VI. Should 
 the vigour of your stock decline from any 
 reason, then it would be well to introduce a 
 dash of fresh blood by going to some breeder 
 who had originally the same strain as you 
 started from. Otherwise you may find your- 
 self at a point of delicacy beyond which it is 
 impossible successfully to go. 
 
 The pullet - breeding pen should be put 
 together' on quite different lines. Each pullet 
 or hen should be sound in colour, free from 
 the objectionable coarseness on wing, deep in 
 breast colour, and really as perfect types of 
 show birds as it is possible to get. As a mate 
 to these seek out a tall, stylish cockerel, but of 
 a brickish top-colour, and of one even shade 
 throughout from hackle to tail. He should be 
 of a pure pullet strain, otherwise he is no good, 
 and should possess all the requisites of a first- 
 class show bird save colour. Both cockerel and 
 pullets should be short in back, good in neck 
 and limb, fine in tail, with good shoulder points, 
 and a raven black wing-bar in the cockerel, free 
 from any trace of lacing. The breast in cocks 
 may show a little lacing, and such birds are 
 often a little short in their bays, i.e. the bay 
 does not go quite through to the end of the 
 feather, a good sign if the bird be from true 
 pullet-breeding blood. Do not put more than 
 three or four pullets to an adult, especially early 
 in the season, say February, or clear eggs will 
 probably result. A cockerel may safely be 
 trusted with twice that number. 
 
 Though it is advisable for a young beginner, 
 if he can, to have two pens, it is proved by 
 actual experience to be easily possible to breed 
 winners, both cockerels and pullets, from the 
 same pen, though perhaps not so large a per- 
 centage as from two difTerent pens. I have 
 done it again and again. My plan is to select 
 a cockerel as near to an ideal pullet-breeder 
 as possible, only, in this case, of a brighter 
 top-colour, and mate with him two first-class 
 
 cockerel-breeding pullets and two good show 
 pullets. Such a pen will yield capital results, 
 and answer the purpose well for those who are 
 cramped for accommodation. ' 
 
 Piles are treated of next because of theii 
 striking appearance, though amateurs will "find 
 them more difficult to breed thain Black-reds 
 
 or Duckwings. The Piles are also 
 Pile the counterpart of Black-reds, if we 
 
 Bantams. substitute white in the cockerels for 
 
 black in the Black-reds, and a clear 
 creamy white in pullets for the partridge-brown 
 of the Black-red pullets. They can for a certain 
 length of time be bred solely from Piles ; but it 
 is found in practice that the colour " breeds out " 
 after some five or six seasons, and it is neces- 
 sary to resort to Black-red blood after a time. 
 The exhibition standard is met in cockerels 
 by a top-colour identical with that of the best 
 coloured exhibition Black-red cockerels. Some 
 judges prefer a deep claret back and saddle 
 shading down to a golden orange ; but I much 
 prefer the former. The breast and bays are two 
 very important features in the cockerels. There 
 should be no lacing, or ticking, or smokiness in 
 the former ; whilst the bays should run right 
 through the secondaries to the end, leaving no 
 white or paleness, but one deep, rich chestnut. 
 The eye should be kept as bright a red as 
 possible — a more difficult task than in Black- 
 reds. The pullets require to be free ifrom 
 foxiness on the wing, but, at the same time, the 
 breast should be a deep salmon, and to get the 
 two points in conjunction tries the utmost 
 resources of the breeder. With the deep breast, 
 as a rule, you get more or less rosihess or 
 foxiness on wings, and with a paler breast you 
 are more likely to secure clear colour on wing. 
 Still, in these days of keen competition, a high- 
 class bird, to be successful at our best shows, 
 must excel in both points, and they can be 
 obtained by patience, and careful mating of puj-e 
 pullet strains. Legs other than a rich orange 
 are a most serious blemish. Years ago willow- 
 legged Piles were successful in the prize lists, 
 but those days are over, however good the bird 
 may be in all other points. A rich deep orange 
 leg is somewhat difficult to obtain, espfecially in 
 certain parts of the country. Afccr repeated 
 experiments,- I have fully satisfied myself that 
 the maintenance of rich leg colour, when once 
 obtained in a chick, is dependent in nb small 
 measure on the nature of the soil. Clay, good 
 loam, and sand are helpful ; limestone seems to 
 fade and bleach the colouring matter consider- 
 ably. A good, rich leg colour is indicative of a 
 recent cross of Black-red blood, and when leg 
 
PILE AND DUCK WING BANTAMS. 
 
 491 
 
 Pile 
 Bantams. 
 
 colouring begins to fail in any young chicks it is 
 a sure proof that a cross is required. 
 
 Now let us see what can be bred respectively 
 from the pure Piles, and also by a cross. In 
 pure Pile breeding^^j.g. where both parents are 
 Piles — I will take .cockerel produc- 
 Breeding tjon first. Your male bird must be 
 A I, of the bright orange top-colour 
 type. He will have some weakness, 
 no ddubt, but, above and beyond all else, do not 
 let it be weakness of bays, or wing-ends, as they 
 are sometimes termed. If these are faulty, pale 
 in colour, and not carried one sound, rich chest- 
 nut from wing-bar to end of wing, you will 
 never breed a good one ; and, indeed, the bird 
 may be considered almost a Waster, both for 
 exhibition and stock purposes, as he will not do 
 for pullet-breeding either. Have no lacing or 
 smokiness on breast or wing-bar if you can 
 possibly avoid it, and if the eye is a bright ruby 
 red, all the better. Now With this bird you 
 want three or four tall, stylish, reachy pullets, 
 short in back, good in limb, fine in tail, and with 
 shoulder points well forward. If rosed on the 
 wing all the better, only have a care that the 
 ends of the secondaries do not run creamy. Such 
 a pen will give you plenty of rosy-winged, 
 cockerel-breeding pullets, and rich, sound 
 coloured, smart, reachy cockerels. Take every 
 care of these pullets, as they are invaluable for 
 cockerel-breeding, mated back to their sire. 
 
 In pullet-breeding the great difficulty will be 
 to find the pullets. Rich, deep breast we want, 
 but above all clear wings, not wings that have 
 had a few rosy feathers faked out of them for 
 exhibition purposes — a trick practised by some, 
 but easy of detection. The cock must be sound 
 upon wing ends. Insistence upon this is as 
 necessary as in cockerel breeding. Top colour 
 is preferred quite uniform, of the dark type, a 
 brick-red colour. Naturally the cockerels will 
 be too light in colour for exhibition, but if pure 
 in their whites, and above all pure in their bays, 
 they should be reserved for another season's 
 breeding. 
 
 We next turn to Black-red-crossed Piles. 
 For the cockerel pen secure a really sound 
 coloured Black-red cockerel, tall and good in 
 shape, and as perfect in colour, as possible. See 
 that he is sound in his black both on breast, 
 bars, and fluff ; he must show ho trace of lacing 
 whatever. Mate him to two or "three lemon 
 Piles, fairly clear on wing, seeing^that they excel 
 in shape and reach — ^.this is m6st important — 
 and have rich, deep orange-yellow legs. The 
 cockerels will come yellow legged, but three or 
 four out of every half-dozen of the pullets will 
 be willow-legged. The latter are generally the 
 
 clearest in body colour and the hardest feathered, 
 and more stylish than the orangclegged ones ; 
 but having dark legs are almost useless in the 
 exhibition-pen. If judiciously mated to pure 
 Pile piillet-breeding blood, they will often pro- 
 duce good coloured pullets. Some of the 
 cockerels will be yellow-legged Black-reds. If 
 sound in wing-bars and wing-butts, witii a good, 
 rather light, even top-colour throughout, such a 
 one will, even though he be a bit laced on 
 breast, tend to correct washiness in breasts of 
 pullets. 
 
 But every one has not the space available 
 for double mating. In this case a single pen 
 can be made to answer very well. The Pile 
 cock or cockerel should approach the ideal 
 exhibition standard in every respect, and be of 
 the light, bright kind of top-colour, but perfectly 
 sound in wing-ends. Mate with him two rosy- 
 winged pullets excelling in style and reach, good 
 prominent shoulder- points, and short in back. 
 Also select two perfect-coloured pullets, with 
 sound salmon breasts and clear on wing, with 
 other points identical, the same as the other two. 
 As stated for Black-reds, the percentage oi first- 
 rate ones, either cockerels or pullets, would 
 probably be smaller ; but there would be several 
 available for successful second-rate competition. 
 At the same time the breeder cannot expect, 
 either way, to produce first or even second- 
 raters at the percentage he can in Black-reds. 
 He will do very well if one in every half-dozen 
 proves available for show purposes. This 
 naturally forces up the price of a really first- 
 class Pile, and ere this £^^0 has been obtained for 
 a cockerel at one of the Liverpool exhibitions. 
 
 Piles have one great drawback. They want 
 washing so frequently, especially if kept in a 
 smoky district, and washing, if long persisted in, 
 deteriorates the quality of the feather. There is 
 however no alternative. 
 
 Duckwings next demand attention. They 
 are lovely coloured birds, more easily bred than 
 Piles, and command ready sales at good prices. 
 Up to the present only the Golden 
 Duckwing variety is tolerated in the show-pen 
 Bantams. jn this country. The male is easily 
 d escribed. I n every respect save top- 
 colour and wing secondaries, which are white, he 
 is coloured as a Black-red. He must have the 
 same cherry-red face and appendages, including 
 the most important factor — a red ear (not one 
 trimmed up with scissors). In shape, style, 
 reach, eye, and quality of feathering he must be 
 identical with the Black-red. Then for bright, 
 crimson on shoulders and back, substitute a deep 
 straw colour, more or less shaded with maroon. 
 
492 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY: 
 
 which gives a very bright brassy look right across 
 the back of the bird down to the tail, shading off to 
 a creamy white on saddle, matched by the same 
 colour on neck. The hackle feather both on 
 neck and saddle should be as free from dark 
 striping as possible. The secondaries of wings 
 should be a clear white running right through 
 to end of feather, and free from chocolate 
 marking on the outer edge of the top feathers. 
 A great many otherwise good birds fail here. 
 
 The pullet for exhibition is distinguished 
 from the Black-red by the substitution of a 
 lovely pale slate or steel-grey colour; this is 
 exquisitely and finely pencilled over in the bfest 
 Specimens, but coarseness will show itself in 
 indifferently bred birds, and the fatal blotchiness 
 will in such also appear on wing-ends. Some 
 strains will show a tendency to shaftiness of 
 feather, which is also a defect. The back and 
 wings should show a delightful softness and 
 evenness of marking all over. The legs, as in 
 the cock,^ should be willow. One of the most 
 difficult points to secure in her is the deep 
 salmon breast, with a soft, even body-colour 
 of the lighter shade. With, a light body- 
 colour the breast is apt to run pale. If very 
 pale, then, it militates greatly against a show 
 bird, but a fairly deep breast is no serious 
 drawback. 
 
 With regard to mating, cockerels are in- 
 variably produced from the Black-red cross, 
 whilst pullets may be either pure Duckwing- 
 bred, or like the cockerels, be the 
 Breeding result of a cross. To produce 
 Duckwinga. cockerels you require a typical 
 Black-red cockerel, similar in every 
 respect to the one described for Black-red 
 cockerel production. He should be mated to 
 smart, reachy, good-shouldered and short-bodied, 
 pure Duckwing-bred pullets, with nice silvery- 
 white hackles. These should produce excellent 
 coloured Duckwing cockerels, but the majority 
 of the pullets from this cross vi^ould be Black-reds, 
 and these must not be allowed to mix with the 
 pure Black-red pullets, or the result the follow- 
 ing year to the Black-red pullet pen will be 
 disastrous. 
 
 If these Duckwing-bred Black-red pullets are 
 sound and even in colour they can be mated 
 back the following season to a silver Duckwing 
 cockerel, with a view to the production of first- 
 class exhibition pullets. The other way to. 
 breed pullets would be to mate up perfectly- 
 coloured show pullets to a light-coloured Duck- 
 wing cockerel — pure Duckwing-bred on both 
 sides. The silver Duckwing cockerel, useful as 
 he is as a pullet breeder, is entirely at a discount 
 in the show-pen. 
 
 Duckwing cockerels can also' be produced 
 from a deep rich top-coloured cockerel mated to 
 , Duckwing pullets ; if they are a little ruddy and 
 shafty on sides all the better. In mating up 
 your pens, always look for shape in your pullets 
 and colour in the cockerels. 
 
 The Brown-red .is a very taking variety, 
 and is making, steady progress, but has some- 
 how never found so muth favour as the three 
 preceding. These birds are in too 
 Brown-red few hands, and suffer considerably 
 Bantams. by reason of their want of distri- 
 
 bution. Pullets seem in advance 
 of cockerels, and I have seen some lately 
 which, for both type and style, could credit- 
 ably show the best Black-red pullets the 
 way. The chief fault at present is too 
 much feather and a certain softness of 
 feather, which seems incidental to the pale 
 lemon colour. The little Brown^red lends 
 itself very accommodatingly to the require- 
 ments of those who live in smoky and dusty- 
 places, and can be kept where a Pile would 
 be smoked out. They are also easier to 
 breed, good than either Piles or Duckwings, 
 and with a little management could easily 
 be bred from one pen. 
 
 Both sexes should have dark, mulberry- 
 Coloured faces, "gipsy" as it is termed, and 
 the eye should be as dark as it is possible 
 to get it. A light eye is indicative of a cross, 
 as is also a red face, both serious faults in 
 the show-pen. The legs and feet should be 
 almost black. The neck and saddle hackle 
 of the cock should be a light lemon colour, 
 not orange, but more of a mustard colour, 
 with the back and saddle a richer, deeper 
 lemon ; breast a black ground-colour, with a 
 pale lemon lacing (sharp and well defined) 
 round each feather, and extending well down 
 to the thighs ; wing-bars and secondaries black, 
 free from all lacing, rust, etc., shoulder points 
 black and free from lacing, tail green black. 
 As a rule the feathering is neither so fine nor 
 so short as in Black-reds, these points having 
 been sacrificed to obtain the light top-colour- 
 ing, which a few years ago viras more of an 
 orange tint than a deep lemon. Such a bird 
 now would have no chance, even if harder in 
 feather, so much does the lemon craze ' rule 
 everything. In type, shape, and size, the Black- 
 red ideal should be sought, though as yet the 
 best Brown-reds are rather too large. 
 
 The exhibition hen should have a pale lemon 
 neck hackle, with a very narrow stripe of 
 black running down each side of the shaft. 
 A most important Item is that she should not 
 
BROWN-RED AND BIRCHEN BANTAMS. 
 
 493 
 
 be coppery capped. It is one of the great 
 difficulties that engage the breeder's attention 
 to secure the pale lemon lacing from crown 
 of head downwards, as such birds are apt to be 
 also laced on shoulders and back. The breast, 
 as in the cock, should be exquisitely laced with 
 pale lemon from the throat right down to the 
 top of her thighs. The body, wing, and tail 
 should be a glossy black ; style, shape, and 
 size as in Black-reds. 
 
 In mating up for cockerel - breeding, a 
 first-class exhibition bird must be chosen as 
 lord of the harem, with sharp, clear breast 
 lacing, a beautiful lemon top and 
 Breeding. hackle, but free from lacing on 
 
 Brown-reds. his shoulder butts, which should be 
 black ; with a black eye and dark 
 mulberry face, two very important items, and 
 the style, shape, and size of an ideal Black- 
 red. If rhated to proper cockerel-breeding 
 pullets, fine in breast-lacing, as pale as possible 
 in neck hackle, with clear lemon caps, and 
 the requisite points of limb, style, and shape, 
 he is bound to produce good, bright lemon 
 cockerels. Never mind if these mates are a 
 bit laced on back and wings, all the better, 
 even down to thighs and saddle. These are 
 invaluable for the purpose in hand, and the best 
 should again be chosen from the prodqce for 
 next year's breeding. They are often, such 
 as money cannot buy, though in the show- 
 pen they are useless. 
 
 To produce exhibition pullets you want a 
 cockerel more of the orange shade of colour, a 
 sort of Second-rate show bird. He should be 
 sharply defined in breast lacing right down 
 to the thighs, but free from it elsewhere. There 
 should be no patchiness of lacing on breast, 
 and eye and face should be sound in colour. 
 The pullets to go with him exactly follow the 
 show type ideal, the lacing on breast being a 
 pale lemon, sharp and well cut, taken well 
 down "to the thighs, and the neck hackle a pale 
 lemon striped narrowly with black, and pure 
 lemon capped, not coppery, The remaining 
 colour should be a glossy black, free from 
 lacing, rust, and shaftiifess. 
 
 I am not much in favour of crossing with 
 Birchen blood ; but it has been done again 
 and again to secure the pale lemon colour, 
 as a Birchen is a cross between a Brown-red 
 and a Duckwing. It must, however, always 
 be at some expense of the mulberry face and 
 dark eye. Where the top-colour is running 
 too dark, and lighter birds are out of reach, 
 the only remedy appears to be to use a 
 Birchen, with as silvery white top-colour as 
 possible, and put him to three or four well 
 
 laced pullets, in this case not necessarily so 
 pale in their lacing as those required for 
 cockerel-breeding with a Brown-red. In all 
 these arrangements, if a cock be used, put 
 with him pullets, and if a cockerel put hens, 
 Grand light lemon-coloured exhibition cockerels 
 should result, if you can keep the dark gipsy 
 face and, black eye. One of these cockerels 
 should be mated up with the same hens the 
 next season, whilst another might be put to 
 the best-coloured and tallest pullets, with 
 darkest faces and eyes. You would still retain 
 the desired colour, and at the same time be 
 getting depth of colour in face and eye. 
 There would be some Birchens among the pro- 
 duce of the first cross, which could be returned 
 to the father for pure Birchen breeding, as it 
 would, be unwise to use him again with his 
 Brown-red progeny, or next season more 
 Birchens than Brown-reds would result. 
 
 Birchens at present are hardly so popular 
 as I should like to see, for really there is no 
 prettier or more taking bird than a good 
 
 Birchen pullet. As already stated, 
 Birchen they came originally by crossing 
 
 Bantams. Duckwings with Brown-reds, but 
 
 now it would seem preferable to 
 breed them as much as possible inUr se, so as to 
 get the proper mulberry face and deeply coloured 
 eye emphasised as much as possible. The 
 male bird is easily described, as he resembles 
 the Brown-red in every point save top-colour, 
 and lacing on breast, which should in both 
 cases be a pure silvery white. As there is 
 Duckwing blood, the greatest care should be 
 exercised to eliminate the tendency to red face 
 and eye resulting from a cross with a "red- 
 faced " variety. The pullet also resembles the 
 Brown-red in every point, if we substitute white 
 lacing of the breast and neck hackle for the 
 pale lemon of the Brown-red. Naturally there 
 will be some tendency to lemon hue in the 
 neck. This should be rigorously suppressed, 
 and is more in evidence in cross-bred than in 
 pure-bred birds. Another serious fault with 
 many pullets is a dark cap instead of a uni- 
 form silvery white from crown to end of 
 hackle ; and even some of the most typical 
 birds hitherto have failed in sparsity of lacing 
 on breast. The difficulty is when the breeder 
 has secured the lacing from throat to top of 
 thighs, to prevent it appearing elsewhere, as on 
 back and wing, with shafty feathering, which 
 would condemn a bird much more than the. 
 want of enough lacing on breast, though such 
 birds would prove gems in the cockerel-breed-" 
 ing pen. Of course the eye will give trouble ; 
 
494 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 it is only to be expected. Red eyes should 
 be rigorously eliminated ; though we often see 
 bifds with this defect winning; it ought not to 
 be so. A deep brown or black eye is the 
 correct thing, though it seems next to impos- 
 sible to get them as coal black as in Brown- 
 reds, owing to the Duckwing cross in them. 
 
 The. mating up pi-esents no difficulty. The 
 same lines should be followed as with Brown- 
 reds. It is preferable to breed from pure 
 Birchens, but if unable to procure these, one 
 must begin at the beginning, and procure two 
 or' three "typical Brown-red henS or pullets 
 heavily laced on breast, artd mate them to a 
 Silver Duckwing cockerel of good quality. 
 Birds of the right stamp can be easily com- 
 passed for about a sovereign or under from 
 any reliable Duckwing breeder, a:s they are of 
 no use in the show-pen. 
 
 .Whites, I think, will never secure the popular 
 vote. They are mostly sports from Brown-reds, 
 
 though doubtless _ some are bred 
 White from lemon Piles, and for some time 
 
 Bantams. '^''^^ show traces of their origin in 
 
 the' sulphury hue of the neck hackle. 
 Pile breeders look upon lemon Piles as rank 
 wasters, although in America classes are pro- 
 vided for them. Therefore it is an easy matter 
 to pick up birds at from 5s. to los. each 
 about August or September, so that any- 
 one who fancies this pretty variety — for they 
 are pretty — could set up very decently for a 
 matter of 30s. or so, and some day the popular 
 taste might change. The Pile-bred Whites 
 have the advantage over the Brown-red sports, 
 in that the latter are often willow-legged. -A 
 good White should have rich orange-yellow legs 
 to set him off to the best advantage, and be a 
 pure paper white all over in both sexes, with 
 brilliant cherry coloured faces and ear-lobes ; 
 eyes red. Do not attempt this pretty variety 
 unless you- can give them a country atmosphere, 
 free from smoke and dust, and where they can 
 have a free grass run. Otherwise disappoint- 
 ment will ensue. 
 
 OLD ENGLISH GAME BANTAMS. 
 After lying for years in a dormant state the 
 fancy for Old English Game Bantams suddenly 
 leaped at a bound into amazing activity. The 
 
 breed was as old as the hills, but had 
 OldEngliah been much overlooked since poultry 
 Game ' shows came into fashion. I remem- 
 Bantams. ^gj. having a fine pair when I was a 
 
 boy of some ten summers. They 
 were of the "spangled," or as it was then - 
 termed, the "speckled" variety, and handsome 
 
 birds they were, though perhaps a little larger 
 than those which would nowadays grace a show- 
 pen. But they were by no means new then, for 
 my grandfather kept them in his day, and the 
 probability is that his forefathers some genera- 
 tions back had them too. Latterly they have 
 come with a rush again, and no committee need 
 fear that their classes will not be filled with this 
 breed. And as to prices, what might have been 
 purchased a little while ago for a shilling, and 
 picked up in a backya:rd, compasses now a 
 couple of ;^5 notes. 
 
 The varieties of Old English Bantams, like- 
 those of Old English Game, are legion, but in 
 my estimation the palm for beauty must go to the 
 Spangles. In no way are the dwarfs inferior in 
 pluck and defiant attitude, though the little 
 fellows have hardly as yet the type, style, and 
 quality of their bigger congeners ; and the resus- 
 citation of an old breed generally means some- 
 thing far different from the introduction of a 
 new one. I feel sure that they will live long 
 and see good days, which they well xdeserve. 
 They are extremely hardy and healthy, easy to 
 rear as chicks, and may be kept in exposed 
 situations where the Modern Game Bantam 
 would perish. 
 
 I will now try to describe what in my opinion 
 an ideal Old English Game Bantam should be. 
 Head medium length, but thicker than the 
 Modern Game Bantam ; face bright red, with 
 a red fiery defiant eye, strong slightly curved 
 beak, comb small, of fine texture and single, 
 wattles and ear-lobes a bright healthy red, the 
 latter without a trace of white. Neck^hackle 
 plentiful, coming down well on to the shoulders, 
 and covering a fairly long neck, set well 
 between a pair of broad prominent shoulders, 
 and above a full broad deep chest. Back 
 broad and short, stern fine, giving the body a 
 wedge-like look, wings short, well tucked into 
 the side, but full, so as to avoid any appearance 
 of being " flat-sided," which is a serious defect. 
 Legs short and thighs muscular, well set apart, 
 shanks medium length and round in front, not 
 flat. The legs should be white or yellow in the 
 before mentioned Spangled variety, but white for 
 preference, toes long, straight, and muscular, 
 with no signs of being duck-footed. Carriage 
 bold, sprightly, defiant and independent. The 
 tail should be the complete antithesis of 
 that of a Modern Gaihe. The square, or hen 
 tail as it is sometimes termed, is longer and 
 broader in webbing, whilst the sickles are broad, 
 a good length and nicely bowed, with four or 
 five good side hangers on either side placed so 
 as to well clothe the tail proper. The bird 
 when in hand should feel corky and hard. 
 
OLD ENGLISH GAME BANTAMS. 
 
 495 
 
 The points of colour in Black-reds are 
 exactly those of a good Modern Black-red, 
 with beak to match the legs. The tail some- 
 times runs into white, which is to some extent a 
 defect, but only a slight one, in the exhibition- 
 pen. The pullet is either of the partridge or 
 wheaten type, broad in front, short in back, with 
 short muscular legs and a full tail. The part- 
 ridge colour has been fully described already, 
 under the Modern Black-red Bantam hens. 
 The Wheaten is a beautiful bird, with a bright 
 golden hackle, with narrow dark striping down 
 each side of the shaft. Her breast and thighs 
 are a pale fawn colour, whilst the top colour, 
 together with the two top outer feathers of her 
 tail, is that of red wheat, hence the name. The 
 tail proper is black. 
 
 The colour in Spangles is very beautiful, 
 both sexes in this respect being identical. 
 Heads cherry red, as in Black-reds, plumage 
 throughout black, red, or blue, evenly spangled 
 all over with white, tail black and white, legs 
 white or yellow. 
 
 The cocks run from 17 ozs. to 24 ozs., whilst 
 hens are from 14 ozs. to 20 ozs. 
 
 Breeding up to the present is rather a fluky 
 thing, as no very definite standard has yet been 
 arrived at, but the following methods may. be 
 taken as a guide to the best way of 
 Breeding procedure. Black-red cocks may 
 Old English be Wheaten-bred, or pure. If from 
 Game Wheatens, the colour is not so bright, 
 
 Bantams. strange to say, as from partridge, if 
 the cock be partridge-bred too. The 
 brightest golden-coloured cocks, partridge-bred, 
 are much brighter than the brightest from 
 Wheatens, and are generally a sounder black on 
 breast. The partridge hens must of course be 
 bred from pure partridge- bred birds on both 
 sides, with no admixture of Wheaten blood 
 whatever, and the same lines should be followed 
 exactly, as recommended for the production of 
 the Modern Black-red. To successfully breed 
 Wheatens we want Wheaten blood on both 
 sides, a Black-red Wheaten-bred cock with 
 Wheaten hens or pullets. 
 
 The best Spangles seem to be produced 
 from parents evenly spangled on both , sides. 
 Should the produce, however, rurt too light, use 
 a partridge hen, as producing a rather more 
 pleasing shade than a Wheaten, and harder 
 quality of feather. My choice, however, would 
 be to breed from evenly spangled birds, rather 
 than resort to this cross. 
 
 Blue Duns require a word or two, though no 
 very precise lines can be taken for their produc- 
 tion, as they may come from Black-red cocks 
 and blue hens, or a blue-red cock and a 
 
 Wheaten hen, all being very sound in colour to 
 begin with. Probably a good blue hen could 
 be bred from the latter, as well as from pure 
 blues on both sides. The fact is they can be 
 bred many ways, and it hardly matters how, as 
 if proper type, shape, and size be secured, 
 colour in an Old English Game fowl of any- 
 kind is quite a secondary consideration. What 
 must not be, is any attempt to foist upon the 
 judge a thick heavy waster of the Modern type, 
 as an Old English Game Bantam. It has l5eer> 
 tried, and in some cases with success, but new 
 century requirements are much ahead of the last 
 couple of years of the last century, and as there 
 are now hundreds of the genuine thing in the 
 land, there is really no necessity to try such 
 deception, which would be now instantly de- 
 tected by a good judge. 
 
 The following are the Standards for judging 
 Modern and Old EngUsh Game Bantams. 
 Their colours and other characteristics being 
 the same as in the larger breeds, it has only 
 been found necessary to give the proper 
 weights and scales of points : 
 
 MODERN GAME BANTAMS. 
 
 Weight. — As a cockerel not more than 20 ozs., nor 
 34 ozs. as a cock. Hen, 20 ozs. Pullet, 18 oz. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 
 
 
 
 Deduct 
 
 Defects. 
 
 
 up to 
 
 Defects in head and neck ... 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 10 
 
 Bad eyes 
 
 ■ M 
 
 ., 
 
 ... 8 
 
 Defects in body and wings ... 
 
 .... 
 
 ., 
 
 •• 7 
 
 „ legs and feet 
 
 
 .. 
 
 ... 12 
 
 tail 
 
 
 .. 
 
 ... lO- 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 
 .. 
 
 ... lO' 
 
 ;, • condition 
 
 
 .. 
 
 ... lO' 
 
 Bad colour of feather 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 ... 15- 
 
 Too much feather 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 ... 8 
 
 Defects in size 
 
 
 •• 
 
 ... 10 
 
 A perfect 
 
 bird to CO 
 
 lint 
 
 100 
 
 OLD ENGLISH GAME BANTAMS. 
 
 Weight. — Cock, 18 ozs. to 22 ozs. Hen, 16 ozs. to 
 20 ozs. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head and neck 
 
 ,, eyes 
 
 ,, body and wings 
 
 „ legs and feet 
 
 tail... 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 „ condition 
 
 Defects in colour 
 
 Too much, feather 
 
 Defects in size 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ..t 
 
 .. 10 
 
 .. 8 
 
 
 •• 15 
 
 
 •• 7 
 .. 10 
 
 
 .. i& 
 
 
 J. 10 
 .. 8 
 
 
 .. 10 
 
496 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 THE "variety" bantams. 
 
 WE now come to another section of the Ban- 
 tam fancy, and there can be little ques- 
 tion what breed should stand at its head. 
 So long as it lasts Game Bantams will probably 
 reign supreme, but the beautiful Rosecombs must, 
 I think, come next, standing as they do without a 
 rival amongst "variety" Bantams. This being so, 
 I must, at the outset, regretfully warn my readers, 
 even at the risk of offending some of them,^ that 
 this breed lends itself but too freely to the arts 
 of faking, inheriting this defect from its ancestors 
 the Hamburghs, than which there are no birds, 
 living more " manufactured " for the show-pen. 
 Giant strides have been made in really breeding 
 up to the ideal standards ; but nevertheless it 
 will not be overstepping the mark if I say that 
 45 or 50 per cent, of the Rosecombs exhibited 
 at present are manufactured rather than bred. 
 This is a large percentage, and I admit it in the 
 hops that the reprehensible practice may be 
 stopped, and both exhibitors and judges be put 
 upon their guard against a real danger. For 
 nothing kills a breed sooner than this kind of 
 thing. If the novice or real amateur is the 
 back-bone of the fancy, then to get the upper 
 hand of him constantly through proficiency in 
 art, and not in science, is to smother his enthu- 
 siasm, as well as trample on his exchequer, and 
 it is earnestly to be. desired that the Variety 
 Bantam Club, or the Poultry Club, or both, 
 \yill use all their influence to put down this 
 jsernicious evil. 
 
 Black Rosecombs are fairly hardy. The . 
 chicks, however, often require special care for 
 the first few weeks of their lives, after which 
 they forge ahead, and are able to 
 Black stand a decent share of knocking 
 
 about at shows, and indifferent 
 weather. They are capital layers, 
 but a cold, heavy, clayey soil is against them. 
 A dry, sandy, and somewhat shady locality is 
 the best. 
 
 We want a rose comb fitting close to the 
 head, fine in points, full of work, bright coral in 
 colour, and finished off with a long, fine, round 
 leader or spike behind. Ses that the comb is 
 square and full up in front, with no valley down 
 the centre, or leafy in front, both bad defects. 
 
 Rosecomb 
 Bantams. 
 
 The face must be a bright cherry red, entirely 
 free from white, which often shows its approach 
 by a tiny white speck under the eye or round 
 and under the white deaf-ear. This deaf-ear or 
 lobe must.be round, thick, large, and white, of 
 smooth, glove-like texture. The wattles are 
 bright red, and well rounded ; eyes dark and 
 full ; head short and fairly broad, with dark 
 beak, slightly curved ; neck short and thick, and 
 heavy in feather, spreading well over shoulders ; 
 back short and broad ; wings not too long, but 
 fairly large, and carried rather low ; tail as full 
 of broad feather as possible, both in the tail 
 proper and in the hangers and sickles, which 
 cannot well be too long or too broad, or too 
 many in number. The bird throughout requires 
 the most ample flow of feather, and the carriage 
 is jaunty and important. . Legs and toes black, 
 short, and fine, with either white or black nails. 
 Breast broad and prominent, carried somewhat 
 Fantail fashion, with head well thrown back. In 
 adult and old birds the legs will often be found 
 slate or pale coloured. The total weight should 
 be from 140ZS. to 18 ozs, and in Blacks the green 
 sheen should be one of the characteristic beauties 
 of the bird. 
 
 The hen should have the same red face, 
 comb, and wattles as the cock, only the two 
 latter should be much smaller than in the male. 
 See that the comb is not flabby, loose, and 
 coarse. The ear-lobes must be rather large, 
 with beautiful texture. The breast is full, 
 broad, and prominent, as in the cock. The 
 back should be extra short ; tail full, and car- 
 ried rather gaily; whilst legs are short and dark. 
 The whole carriage of the hen is strutty and 
 important. The wings may be fairly long and 
 drooping as in the cock, and as much sheen on 
 her raven feathers as possible should be secured. 
 
 In the breeding of Rosecombs, the first great 
 care to be taken is to get a good, reliable strain ; 
 and when it has been got, stick to it. Do not 
 go chopping about here and there, and mixing 
 up everybody's strain with your own, or you 
 will greatly regret it some day in the extra size 
 and coarse quality obtained by such a thought- 
 less system of breeding. Keep therefore your 
 own blood, as pure as possible, watching the 
 
ROSECOMB AND SEBRIGHT BANTAMS. 
 
 497 
 
 health of your chicks, and letting that regulate 
 your actions. You cannot, of course, go on for 
 ever without some new blood, but when you are 
 driven to get a little extra stamina into your 
 stock, see that you go to, the right place ; that is, 
 to the same yard whence yours originally came, 
 or mainly derived from it. If this cannot be 
 done, then get hold of a bird or two with at 
 least a dash of the same blood as your own. 
 Then you will be able to keep size down, whilst 
 maintaining a fair amount of constitution. 
 
 Select the cock as near to the ideal as pos- 
 sible. Do not be tempted to use a coarse, clumsy- 
 headed bird, or one scant of feather, as it is only 
 time and money thrown away. As your stock 
 birds are, so will the produce be. Mate him to a 
 few short backed, neat headed, clear lobed, coral 
 faced, jaunty hens. Get them as good a colour 
 as you can, not too big, free from any trace of 
 white in face, dark in eye, and full in tail. If 
 the two top feathers of the tail be broad, and 
 curved a little, all the better. From such a pen 
 you should get some cockerels worth looking. at. 
 " It is quite possible to breed really good birds of 
 both sexes from one pen, but if you have room, 
 time, and purse long enough, set up another pen 
 for pullets, as the male bird is better if he 
 possesses some re.d or bronze feathers in back 
 and saddle. It is a singular thing that nowhere 
 do we see a quantity of any colour without 
 what is called its complementary colour. That 
 to beetle green is red, and as we want as much 
 deep beetle green as possible in the pullets, the 
 more red there is in the plumage of the sire, 
 somehow the more green there will be in the 
 plumage of the daughters. In all other ways 
 the breeding-pen for pullets should resemble 
 that for cocks, provided always that the pullets 
 are the best procurable, exhibition birds, and 
 approaching the Standard as closely as they 
 possibly can. Then you need have no fear. 
 Only take care in the rearing. Remember that 
 soft food, as a rule, produces feather, whilst 
 grain is conducive to hard and scanty plumage. 
 
 Now for Whites. They are hardly what they 
 once were, and improvement during the past 
 few years has been very slight indeed, and yet 
 they are extremely handsome birds. 
 White They are doubtless less popular 
 
 Bosecombs. because of the ablutions necessary 
 before exhibition, for it is folly to 
 expect an unwashed bird of any white variety to 
 win. Again, beautiful as they are, they require 
 protection from sun and weather. The plumage 
 should be a pure white, free from all lemon or 
 straw tinge, and this is not easy to maintain 
 where there is not adequate shelter. Still it can 
 be done almost everywhere, with a little pains 
 
 and forethought ; and as the breed makes a 
 most lovely exhibit at the shows, it is well worth 
 taking up and persevering with. 
 
 Beyond the colour, it is identical with its 
 black brethren. It can either be bred pure, or 
 from Black cock and White hens. The produce 
 will come self-coloured throughout, black or 
 white ; no mottles, cuckoos, greys, etc., but 
 either Black Rosecombs or White. . If a Black 
 cock be used, his legs must be a shade or two 
 paler or more slaty than for breeding Blacks. 
 The White chickens will in all probability show 
 a little duskiness in the legs and feet the first 
 season, but a little judicious selection the follow- 
 ing year would remedy this, and a good plan to 
 follow is to put the White pullets to a good, 
 long-feathered White cock, and the old White 
 hens to the best of the White cockerels. By 
 doing this you will gjreatly improve the lobe and 
 length of feather. 
 
 In the Sebright or Laced Bantam we have 
 another most beautiful variety. If the ladies 
 cannot take to the Sebrights I shall lose all 
 faith in them (the ladies I mean, 
 Sebright "ot the Sebrights). The birds are 
 Bantams. prime favourites at shows, and in- 
 variably attract a lot of attention, 
 both from their style and carriage, and also 
 their beautiful lacing, which in good specimens 
 is almost perfect. This breed is no new 
 manufacture, dating from the days of Sir John 
 Sebright, who worked with it indefatigably, 
 and got together a host of enthusiastic friends 
 who took it up, and had special delight in 
 competing with one another in their frequent 
 exhibitions. It matters little how it was derived, 
 but it probably was of Poli.sh descent, differing 
 from the larger laced fowl in absence of crest, 
 and of sickles in tail. 
 
 There are two varieties, Silvers and Golds, 
 but at the present time Silvers are by far the 
 more popular, probably from the fact that the 
 contrast is greater in them, and in consequence 
 more catching to the eye, and also that they 
 are much easier to breed true to colour. In 
 both varieties it is not so much the lacing 
 that is difficult to get, as the quality of it. 
 We often see it a dusky, rusty colour, instead' 
 of a good beetle black, and especially so in 
 the" Golds. It requires much care in this case 
 to get a godd rich ground colour, combined with 
 the necessary quality of glossy black, at the 
 same time maintaining an absolutely clear as 
 well as rich ground. Often the Golds run far 
 too pale in ground-colour, which again is a 
 serious, fault. This can however to a certain 
 extent be remedied by colour feeding. 
 
498 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Sebrights require some management to secure 
 fertility in the eggs. The evil of infertility is 
 one which cannot be remedied quite so easily 
 in their case as in Pekins and Booted, since it is 
 the natural result of breeding from hen-feathered 
 cocks. Still much can be done by absolute rest 
 from exhibition during the breeding season, and 
 by choosing those male birds which actually do 
 chance to come sickled, or have' at least an inch 
 or two of sickles projecting beyond the tail 
 proper. There is nearly always an abundance 
 of eggs from a well kept and housed pen of 
 Sebrights, so this helps the breeder. But the 
 little chicks are delicate, especially during the 
 first few weeks of their lives, and require quite 
 professional care to rear them. They should 
 have dry, very dry sheltered runs, and be 
 absolutely cut off from cold east winds and 
 beating rain, with access to as much green food 
 as possible. Some breeders from long experi- 
 ence are very successful. Their percentage of 
 clear eggs is small, their run of luck with chicks 
 good, and their fortune in the show-pen excellent. 
 But such breeders are observant. They do not 
 overtax their breeding-pen in any way, they 
 shelter it and look well after it, and the young 
 broods have their individual attention. Others, 
 on the contrary, make very little out of a pen. 
 They cannot be convinced till it is too late, that 
 care and thought are necessary. They have 
 perhaps reared Brahmas, Cochins, Orpingtons, 
 and the like ; they " know all about it," they 
 say, and failure after failure does not rnake 
 them much wiser. 
 
 In describing what a typical Sebright should 
 be, I will take Silvers first. I like to see in the 
 cocks a short square back, perfectly flat, breast 
 full and prominent, wings carried somewhat low, 
 and tail somewhat up, giving to the little fellow 
 a very proud, strutting, jaunty air. The comb 
 should be helmet-shaped, fairly broad in front, 
 full of work, and with long fine leader curved 
 towards the neck. The face should be inclined 
 to mulberry. The cockerels can never be got as 
 deep a colour in face as the pullets ; still, the 
 deeper the better. They .should always have 
 a certain amount of dusky crimson about the 
 eye. The ear-lobes should be free from white, 
 but a little purple or blue is an advantage. 
 The eyes are very dark, beak horn colour, short 
 and stout, wattles fair size and nicely rounded, 
 not folded or creased. They should be clean 
 legged, of a slaty-blue colour. The tail should 
 be fairly large, and well spread, quite hen- 
 feathered, with no sickles or side-hangers as in 
 other rosecombs. Occasionally a sickled bird 
 will come, and such if good in all other points 
 will make a capital breeder, as a much larger 
 
 percentage of chicks will be produced from such 
 a bird, than from the somewhat unprolific hen- 
 tails. Head and tail should nearly meet in a 
 bird of e)icellent carriage. The plumage should 
 be a clear silvery white in the ground, with 
 a clear, sharp, beetle-gr^en black, but fine lacing. 
 Some lacing fails by reason of it being a sort of 
 brownish-black, or in some strains grey-edged 
 round the black. In others the lacing may fail 
 by reason of its disappearance at the extreme 
 end of the feather, whilst some again is spoilt 
 by reason of the increased width of the lacing 
 at the end of the feather, which is doubtless 
 a tendency after the Polish or spangled form 
 of marking. This defect is principally seen in 
 the larger feathers of the tail. See that the 
 secondaries of the wing are well laced right 
 down to the lowest feather. Often two -or three 
 feathers here fail. The tail coverts should also 
 be well examined. They should be numerous, 
 and well and sharply laced. There should be no 
 spotting or smuts, or dusky appearance in the 
 root of the large tail feathers. Such feathers 
 are said to be cloudy or peppery, and are a 
 most serious blemish. This fault however can 
 be found in at-least 50 per cent, of Silvers. It 
 will doubtless be bred out with time and 
 patience, and so the greatest care should be 
 taken that foul-feathered birds are not admitted 
 into the breeding pen. The Silver hen is 
 identical in ground-colour and lacing with the 
 cock, also in shape. She is however much 
 darker in face than her mate, and of course she 
 is smaller all through, and with a neater and 
 finer head. Long-backed pullets are a mistake. 
 See that your birds excel in short square backs, 
 as well as in colour, marking, and carriage. 
 
 The only difference between the Golds and 
 Silvers lies in the ground-colour. The former 
 should be a bright rich deep golden-bay or 
 chestnut, not the pale golden we often find in 
 the present day exhibits ; which get unfor- 
 tunately lighter and lighter, till eventually they 
 will probably approach a pale buff. Such birds, 
 too, generally have that rusty-black lacings than 
 which nothing can be more objectionable. 
 They are also liable to fail altogether in the 
 lacing of the flight or secondary wing-feathers, 
 and such are in these days of keen competition 
 worthless in the show-pen. 
 
 In breeding Sebrights a little discretion is 
 necessary. It is invariably found that a heavily 
 laced bird bred to a lightly laced one, will pro- 
 duce a greater percentage, and a better quality 
 of lacing, than if two good, quality medium-laced 
 were mated together. But yet another rule 
 obtains, that the heavily-laced bird should be of 
 the same sex as you wish to produce good 
 
SEBRIGHT AND PEKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 499 
 
 specimens of. You wish to breed cocks, say. 
 Put your pen together thus: heavily-marked 
 cockerel, beetle-green laced, good dark face and 
 orderly comb ; and to him two or three good 
 shaped, but lightly laced pullets. Be sure and 
 have shape in the hens, and perfect colour 
 and markings in the cock. In pullet-breeding 
 use a lightly laced cockerel, with pullets a trifle 
 too heavily laced for the show-pen. See that 
 every bird in both pens is laced to the wing-end. 
 Have no failures there, or on breast or tail 
 coverts, and use no rusty lacing in the pro- 
 duction of your stock. See that every feather 
 is clean from smut, splash, or other " ground " 
 defect. As a pullet-breeder, a cock with sickles 
 or any tendency thereto is much to be preferred, 
 by reason of his greater fertility. In pullet- 
 breeding you want a good amount of heavy 
 lacing down the thighs, tail coverts, and tail. 
 This is very important. For both cockerel and 
 pullet pens invariably select a small cock rather 
 than small hens. I say hens, for they are always 
 preferable in a Sebright pen to pullets, by reason 
 of the delicacy of the chicks. A pullet has not 
 come to maturity, and hence has not gained her 
 full strength; though if she be very forward, and 
 well grown and in good health generally, there 
 is nb reason why such a one should not be tried 
 with the hens. 
 
 In concluding the consideration of Sebrights, 
 I must yet once again urge the necessity 
 for in-breeding, and also keeping to one strain. 
 It plays havoQ with all breeding to go mixing 
 strains promiscuously. If you want to do 
 well, then purchase a first-rate breeding pen 
 from some well-known and established breeding 
 strain. Get the birds as above described with 
 a specific object in view, and stick to that strain, 
 certainly until you have reached the limit of its 
 breeding powers, and never be driven, so long as 
 you can rear chicks fairly easily, to go in for new 
 blood. A time does come when a change must 
 be made, but it is a time of crisis with the 
 breeder, and he may undo more in a single 
 season, by an injudicious cross, than he may 
 be able to set right again possibly in the next 
 -ten years. Go for new blood to as near your 
 own as you possibly can. Get a cock that has 
 come from the same strain as your own, and 
 you will be able to go on again as success- 
 fully as before. 
 
 No breed of Bantams has made more pro- 
 gress of late than the Pekins, named 
 Pekin from the city whence came the first 
 
 Bantams. pair of Buffs, in i860, small birds cer- 
 tainly, but wanting in many of the 
 show points of to-day. At the present time the 
 
 subdivisions of the variety are legion. We have 
 now Buffs, Blacks, Whites, Cuckoos, Partridges, 
 and Mottles ; a grand array with many admirers, 
 a Club to themselves, and presenting no trifling 
 competition to breeders or exhibitors of other 
 varieties. So great is their excellence, that if 
 we except the very best specimens of Buff 
 Cochins, the Pekins excel all other varieties of 
 their larger congeners. As a proof of their 
 immense popularity, at Liverpool show in 1899 
 there were exhibited in one class thirty-eight 
 specimens of Buff Pekins, whereas the Rose- 
 combs, with two classes, only mustered thirty- 
 nine entries ; and while the cup for the best 
 variety Bantam cock was taken by a Black 
 Rosecomb, a fine fellow too, that for the best 
 variety hen fell to a Black Pekin, which, like 
 the Rosecomb cockerel, was deemed as near 
 perfection as it was possible to attain. 
 
 Pekins can be kept almost anywhere, if they 
 can be liberally supplied with fine sand, chaff, or 
 peat moss dust to keep the foot-feather un- 
 broken and in good order. Use this liberally 
 both in pen, and in the sleeping quarters : it is 
 the only way to preserve the foot-feather in decent 
 trim, and this feathering is so important in the 
 show-pen, that too much care cannot be exer- 
 cised. They are capital layers of tinted eggs, 
 and they come on to lay early in the year, 
 so that by the time the breeding-season is over, 
 there is generally a good supply of eggs, both 
 for incubating and for sale. The chicks are very 
 easily reared, and thrive under circumstances 
 trying to other varieties. As with all other 
 feathered-legged breeds, a little scheming is 
 necessary for the production of fertile eggs ; but 
 if the feathers on the feet of the cock be cut 
 short, and also those around the vent of the 
 hens, no difficulty is found on this score. 
 It will therefore be seen that one ought not 
 to use exhibition birds as stock birds, and the 
 great breeders and exhibitors employ proper 
 stock-birds apart from their show specimens. It 
 is a wise precaution, and procures stamina and 
 health in the offspring. The Pekin hen is a 
 capital sitter and mother. Though she will lay 
 a decent number of eggs in a season, yet she 
 will have an incubating turn after every dozen 
 eggs or so. This fact, added to the feathered 
 feet, constitute- the only two real difficulties 
 in keeping Pekins. If the Pekin hen be 
 crossed with a Silky cock, they produce the 
 very best sitters for Bantams that can be 
 produced, which cannot be equalled either as 
 sitters and mothers for Bantam chicks.- No 
 wonder Pekins are such favourites, when wasters 
 in pullets will readily fetch 4s. to 5s. each from 
 January to April as broody hens. 
 
500 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Pekins do not lend themselves to the faker's 
 art to anything like the same extent as Rose- 
 combs; still the tail very often attracts his 
 attention, and goes into a premature moult. It 
 is time that this kind of thing was wholly and 
 entirely rooted out. It is nothing less than 
 fraud, and it is probable that before long, 
 exhibitors will be found so determined to put 
 down faking as to bring a criminal action for 
 attempt to obtain money by false pretences. 
 The Pekin faker has often been let off by judges 
 who would, in regard to Game Bantams, never 
 dream of abetting fraudulent practices ; it is 
 hard to see why they should thus act incon- 
 sistently, and stultify themselves. 
 
 In describing the general characteristics of 
 the Pekin, we must remember that he is intended 
 to be an ideal Cochin in miniature, in everything 
 except size. Commencing with the head, we 
 want a comb single, finely serrated, and as small 
 as possible, although it is almost an impossibility 
 to breed it in Pekins so small as the full-sized 
 Cochin ; red eyes, red ears, face, and wattles, 
 with short curved beak, and the face as smooth 
 as possible, free from all coarseness, the neck 
 short and thick, chest broad and carried well 
 forward, back short and broad, with nicely 
 rounded full cushion, and abundant feathering 
 on short legs, right down to the end of the 
 middle toe. The cock's tail should be composed 
 of soft feathers, softer than those of any other 
 breed of Bantam. The feathers of the tail 
 proper are twelve in number, and the hangers are 
 abundant, corresponding in colour with that 
 of the body. There are no long sickles, the 
 tail rising gradually from the back. The body 
 is extremely low on the ground, almost touching 
 it in fact, and though abundant feather is 
 required on the legs, yet it is a great defect 
 in Pekins if they are- "vulture-hocked." The 
 colour of the legs in all varieties should be a 
 rich yellow, the richer the better. It was no 
 easy matter getting this colour in Blacks, but it 
 has been done ; and willow or green legs should 
 count heavily against a bird. The bete-noir of 
 Pekins is scaly legs ; but where proper care 
 is taken, and an abundance of sand provided 
 in the pens, it rarely occurs. Should it how- 
 ever break out, the remedy will be found in a 
 later chapter of this work. 
 
 Colour will now engage our attention. Buffs 
 and Blacks will necessarily take the lead. The 
 exhibition Buff cock should be a rich, even, 
 dark orange yellow, not red, one 
 Buff uniform shade throughout, the word 
 
 Pekins. " throughout " iiicluding the tail, and 
 
 the extended wing, when primaries 
 and secondaries are opened out. Many a bird 
 
 looks well in the pen till we come to the secrets 
 hidden under the external side of the wing, 
 or probe down amongst the bunch of soft tail 
 feathers. Then the solid buff is often found to 
 have given place to white, or dusky colour, 
 or perhaps feathers are wanting where these 
 defects are usually found. Any bird whose 
 colour is thus unsound, ought under no circum- 
 stances to be bred from, as such a fault has 
 a tendency to perpetuate itself in the progeny. 
 The hen to match should be a rich golden 
 buff, just a shade lighter than the cock. The 
 happy medium will be found between being 
 too pale or too deep, if she match the breast 
 colour of the cock. 
 
 In mating Buffs, see that the hen is very 
 even throughout, a rich level buff everywhere, 
 free from all smutty, white, or peppery feathers, 
 and a perfect little Cochin all through. If she 
 be as she should be, you may with confidence 
 turn up the feathers on her anywhere with the 
 hand, and you will find them buff right down to 
 the skin, and if you spread out her wing, or 
 examine her tail, she will be sound. See 
 that she has no tendency to mealiness, i.e. to 
 run lighter in the centre or edge than the rest 
 of the feather. This is an important point, 
 and one that is keenly looked after by breeders 
 and judges. The colour cannot be pronounced 
 perfect unless she is one same rich even tone 
 of colour all through, from head to tail. She 
 should be mated to a cock of the darker shade ; 
 not of course to one of the deep red, or 
 cinnamon colour, but one with distinctly pro- 
 nounced golden buff, strong in colour, without 
 in consequence suffering from greater depth of 
 tone. Under no circumstances must he be on 
 the light side, nor yet have smutty or white 
 under-fluff. It is only the rich coloured birds, 
 solid in the buff down to the skin, that can 
 be confidently relied upon to produce really 
 first-class stock, as in all other varieties of 
 Buff fowls. For this reason it is absolutely 
 necessary that in judging Buffs every bird should 
 be handled before the verdict is given. 
 
 For a breeding-pen we generally like from 
 four to six hens to a cock, and not more. 
 Hatching can be carried on with advantage 
 down to the end of July, but no Pekin arrives 
 at perfection until about twelve months old, in 
 which point they differ from most other breeds 
 of Bantams. This has its advantages, as well as 
 its disadvantages. By late hatching size can be 
 kept down, and length of leg reduced, both 
 important features in Pekins ; and though length 
 of foot-feather may possibly be a little curtailed, 
 still I think the advantages of late breeding 
 outweigh the disadvantages. 
 
BREEDING PEKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 SOI 
 
 Now we will proceed to Blacks. Most 
 readers will be familiar with the rich beetle 
 green of the Black Hamburgh plumage. I 
 cannot say that such has yet been obtained in 
 
 all its lustre, but that is what we 
 Black want to aim at. This colour in 
 
 Pekins. Blacks is a great desideratum, and 
 
 when obtained, counts very heavily 
 in their favour. The fluff should also be black 
 right through down to the skin. Much oftener 
 we find it a grizzly grey, or almost white, 
 arising no doubt from crossing of the Black 
 variety with Whites for the sake of stamina, and 
 obtaining length of feather ; but all the same 
 this defective fluff is a great blemish, and every 
 care should be taken to eradicate it. Breed as 
 long as you can from Blacks pure and simple, 
 only crossing with White under compulsion. 
 
 Blacks can be bred from one pen, though 
 we prefer two, for the simple reason that the 
 rich beetle green of the pullets is best got 
 from a cock showing a tendency to ruddiness 
 or bronze, which would never do, of course, in 
 cock-breeding. The cock for that must be the 
 best coloured exhibition specimen obtainable, 
 rich and lustrous, but red feathers would be 
 fatal to him in the prize pen. But such red- 
 feathered cocks are just what you want for 
 pullet-breeding, i.e. birds with a tinge of red in 
 the saddle and back. Select in both breeding- 
 pens, birds as short in back as possible, low on 
 the leg, good in feather, and with as small and 
 neat combs as possible, and then you will not go 
 far wrong. See' that the middle toe especially is 
 clothed with feather to the nail, and that there 
 is no admixture of white in foot-feather, tail, 
 or under wing feathers. Do not have hens 
 tinged with any foreign colour, in either cockerel 
 or puUet-breedirig pens. They should be quite 
 pure, very sheeny, and as near exhibition 
 specimens as can be obtained. Discard grey or 
 white in fluff or lobe. 
 
 White Pekins are a charming variety, only 
 they must be white quite free from any straw 
 tinge, and very rich in orange leg- colour. They 
 
 are not quite so easy to keep as 
 White some of the other varieties for these 
 
 Pekins. reasons. They must have a grass 
 
 run, partly covered and boarded up 
 at sides ; in fact as much protection from wind, 
 sun, and rain as can well be given them, 
 compatible with their health. They do well on 
 a dry sandy run by the seaside, and are all the 
 better so far as leg colouring goes, if kept out of 
 a limestone neighbourhood. They are extremely 
 beautiful in the show pen, and are abundantly 
 feathered in the best specimens. Of course they 
 have to go through the tub, like all white birds. 
 
 before exhibition, but they soon get used to it, 
 and are unusually tame under the operation, 
 after they once understand it. Small woods or 
 orchards are capital places for them ; but never 
 try them in a backyard, or smoky place ; or 
 where there is" much grit and coarse matter to 
 injure the foot- feather. They are very easy 
 to breed true to colour, if you get the right 
 blood for a .start. Any tendency to a rich 
 creamy colour is against them. 
 
 They may be crossed with Black occasionally 
 to keep up their strength. The produce will be 
 black or white. The Blacks will show the cross 
 by grey under-colour, and possibly in chicken- 
 hood a few white feathers in their feet, but these 
 generally disappear before they are fit to show. 
 It is not advisable to breed from the Blacks, even 
 should they be perfectly sound in colour. The 
 Whites from the cross are usually very pure, 
 and altogether the cross is beneficial to them, 
 only that perhaps a little shorter feather is 
 produced thereby, and they may not be quite so 
 rich in leg colour, as if bred from Whites on 
 both sides. Crossing the two varieties seems to 
 multiply the quantity of feather upon them, 
 though as before, it may shorten it a bit in the 
 Whites. 
 
 Cuckoo Pekins have not been long in vogue, 
 and from present appearances do not seem 
 likely ever to become so popular as Blacks 
 
 or Whites. Seeing that the colour 
 Cuckoo is identical with that of the popular 
 
 Pekins. Plymouth Rock, or Scotch Grey 
 
 Bantam, this is rather to be wondered 
 at. We seldom or never see a really first-rate 
 specimen at a provincial show. One drawback 
 to the breed is the difficulty of getting the birds 
 true to colour. Like the two varieties just 
 named, there is much variation in the several 
 strains extant, in ground-colour, but the colour 
 should be very uniform all over the bird : a soft 
 pale shade of blue, with sharp clear definite 
 barring upon each feather, black or as near black 
 as possible, and the barring extending dov/n the 
 feather right through the fluff to the skin. This 
 is~an extremely important point. Many a bird 
 looks all right, and in the hands of some judges 
 will win, from mere outside colour, when there 
 is no fluff barring at all ; but such birds ought 
 to be rejected both by breeder and exhibitor, as 
 they are not what is required in a first-class 
 stock or exhibition bird. Again, never select a 
 bird with any great amount of white in the tail 
 or flights when opened out. It only leads to 
 disappointment. 
 
 In mating up the breeding-pens it would be 
 well to use two separate pens where space 
 allows, for cockerel- and pullet-breeding. For 
 
S02 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 cocks, choose a sire of the darker shade, with 
 good level ground-colour, no white in tail or 
 flight, tail well barred down to the root of 
 each feather, fluff barred down to the skin, 
 although this is difficult to get in cocks. Mate 
 him to three or four pullets or hens of the 
 medium shade, equally good in all points just 
 named. Reject birds having white tail, but a 
 little black does not matter at all. 
 
 In the pullet pen I should use a lighter 
 shade of cock, but quite free from any signs 
 of brassy feathers on back, which is a grievous 
 fault. See that the breast is clear and finely 
 barred, not blurred and indistinct ; this is most 
 important in pullet-breeding. As in the cock 
 pen, reject those with white in tail. Mate him 
 to clearly barred hens or pullets as near the 
 show ideal as you can get them, nice and clear 
 in ground-colour, specially sound black in the 
 barring, and as fine as possible. The cockerels 
 from this pen will be found useful if mated back 
 the following year to the hens again, as well as 
 mating cockerels and pullets together. Should 
 any of the pullets come black from either pen, 
 you may mate these to a distinctly barred light 
 shade of cock, with excellent results ; and the 
 pullets from this cross, apart from being good 
 exhibition birds, are very useful pullet-breeders 
 if mated to a pullet-bred cock. 
 
 The next and last variety of Pekins, the 
 Partridge, is one of the latest additions. These 
 are at present somewhat behind the other 
 varieties, both in popularity and 
 Partridge quality. Tliey are of course diminu- 
 Pekins. tives of the Partridge Cochin, and 
 
 should resemble their bigger con- 
 freres in colour and general shape ; but — in the 
 pullets especially — great difificulty is experienced 
 in getting the ideal in correct colour and mark- 
 ings, combined with length of foot-feather and 
 small size. A little reflection will show the 
 reader that these points cannot be very well 
 borrowed from Blacks, Whites, or Cuckoos : 
 they must be got by constant in-breeding, 
 and time and patience are the great essentials, 
 in fact the only means. 
 
 The colour of the Partridge Pekin cock 
 is easily described to those who are familiar 
 with the brilliant orange and black markings of 
 a first-class exhibition Black-red Game cockerel. 
 The neck and saddle are more heavily striped 
 with black, but in other respects both top- 
 and under-colour are identical. This striping 
 should be extremely sharp and clear, not a 
 woolly blurred attempt at striping. Look at 
 the striping of a first-rate Partridge Wyandotte 
 cockerel, and you have at once what is required 
 in the Partridge Pekin cock. The neck hackle 
 
 feathers are however sometimes a shade more 
 coppery towards the head, running down to a 
 pale golden on the shoulders, than we see in the 
 best Black-red Game. The breast, thighs, and- 
 fluff" should be a sound black, the greener the 
 better, with no coppery lacing or rust, and 
 the feet should be well furnished with long 
 black feathers to the end of the middle toe, 
 as free from white as it is possible to get it. 
 The hen to match should be a deep brown 
 partridge colour, having a sort of golden cast 
 about it when seen in certain lights, and should 
 be richly, sharply, and finely pencilled with 
 narrow black, not running straight across the 
 feather, as in Hamburghs, but in parallel zigzag 
 courses, and following the round-ended form 
 of the feather. The hackles should be a pale 
 golden. The ground colour and the pencilling 
 constitute two of the greatest difficulties in 
 breeding good pullets of this,variety. 
 
 It will be readily seen that it is all but 
 imperative that two separate pens should be 
 used for the production of Partridge cockerels 
 and pullets. The cock pen must have the lord ■ 
 of the harem as perfect a show bird as can be 
 got, specially bright in top colour, and equally 
 in his other parts free from all trace of rust and 
 grizzled foot-feather. The pullets or hens to go 
 with him should be the best specimens that can 
 be produced, save in colour and markings. The 
 sine qua non is bright neck hackling, in fact as 
 pale as you can get it. The foot-feathering 
 should be very ample, especially on the middle 
 toe ; legs and back short, and size generally 
 as small as possible. For breeding the best 
 exhibition pullets you want a cock a shade 
 darker than the above, and if he have an abund- 
 ance of rust about him he is not to be discarded. 
 He must be correct in form, size, and in every- 
 way up to Standard save and except in colour. 
 He will probably be broad in stripe, and have 
 rusty patches on breast and fluff". These are 
 sure indications that he is what we want, viz. 
 a typical pullet-breeder. To him mate ideal 
 exhibition hens, sound in ground colour, sharp 
 and defined in pencilling, with abundance of 
 feather, and possessing as many more show 
 points as it is possible to compass. In mating 
 up both pens keep the general characters well 
 in your eye. Let every bird, so far as possible, 
 be broad in chest, short in back, and low on leg, 
 neat in head and with ample feathering, and 
 do not forget the middle toe feathering, as 50 
 per cent, fail in this respect. Strive for colour 
 and shape first, then you may proceed satis- 
 factorily to the other points by in-breeding, but 
 if your colour be indifi'erent your birds are 
 comparatively worthless. 
 
BOOTED BANTAMS. 
 
 ;o3 
 
 Booted Bantams are an ancient breed whose 
 popularity has revived, but do not make the 
 progress one would like to see, although classes 
 are often provided for them at the 
 Booted chief shows, and as a rule are fairly 
 
 Bantams. well supported. There are several 
 varieties of them, but the most popu: 
 lar are Whites and Blacks. Whites are lovely 
 birds, but there is the usual extra trouble with 
 them : they are more difficult to keep from sun 
 tan, and foot-feather stain. Where however this 
 can be satisfactorily done, and the breeder does 
 not mind the trouble incurred. Whites are a 
 most taking, and I think will also prove a very 
 profitable variety. 
 
 Booted Bantams at present resemble the 
 Pekin rather too much. They are, or ought to 
 be, quite distinct in some respects, especially 
 " carriage." The Pekin has its' wings tucked in 
 tightly, like the Cochin, but the Booted should 
 have them longer, and drooping almost per- 
 pendicularly ; the tail elevated, though not too 
 near the head, that of the cock with good length 
 of sickles and side hangers. He is longer in leg 
 too, though the common fault is to have them 
 too long ; and with length of leg there is often 
 too much size. In-breeding and late-breeding 
 are the panacea for this evil. If these two 
 methods are pursued, size must come down. 
 Also by in-breeding the foot-feather, and hock- 
 feather, would be easily maintained. The 
 variety is single-combed, and should be red 
 lobed. Lobes splashed with white are not 
 infrequent, but it is a serious defect. The face 
 and wattles are cherry red, the latter not too 
 large, and we;ll rounded. The back should 
 be very short, the neck short and curved, the 
 breast prominent. This makes the carriage 
 much more erect than that of the Pekin. The 
 hock should be "vulture," that is, contain stiff 
 and long feathers, the legs and feet should have 
 an abundance of feather, and especially the 
 middle toe, right down to the nail. 
 
 In mating up a pen, which will breed both 
 cockerels and pullets of show calibre, see that 
 you have your birds extra short-backed, with 
 any amount of shank, hock, and foot-feather. 
 See that the lobes are a good coral, and the 
 comb a medium size, well pointed. In Blacks 
 the under colour or fluff should in first-class 
 specimens be dark right down to the skin. 
 Reject white fluffed birds ; it is a mistake breed- 
 ing from these. A cross of Blacks and Whites 
 is useful for the remedy of any straw or creamy 
 tinge in the white birds, but any Blacks that 
 come from the cross will have white fluff, and it 
 is not advisable to keep them. The Whites 
 may have a bluish tinge on the leg from the 
 
 cross, but this can easily be bred out the follow- 
 ing season by keeping exclusively to Whites, 
 and recrossing the half-bred with a whole-bred 
 White. Mark the White-bred Blacks when you 
 can, or you may have some trouble with them. 
 If you bred from them too much it is probable 
 you would get white in foot-feather and tail, 
 and the objectionable grey in fluff, which is 
 a serious failing. 
 
 There is a sub-variety whiskered or muffled. 
 Many people would not care for these. Some- 
 how a muffled fowl to many carries a kind of 
 mongrel appearance with it. Splashed and 
 spangled Booted are occasionally seen, but they 
 do not make progress. One can well imagine 
 that if almost perfect specimens could be bred, 
 they might be extremely beautiful, and might 
 catch on, So far they are under a cloud. 
 
 Hatch out Booted Bantams from April to end 
 of June or July; they will then do very well. 
 They thrive as chickens with ordinary care, 
 and are hardy, but of course the more you 
 in-breed to reduce size, the more delicate the 
 produce becomes. A little difficulty may 
 possibly arise in the matter of obtaining fertile 
 eggs, but this need not arise if proper pre- 
 cautions be taken, and the physical disability 
 from the long foot-feather of the cock be 
 removed. Nothing need be done to the hens, 
 but most of the foot-feather of the male should; 
 be removed with a pair of scissors. This of 
 course ruins the bird for that season's exhibitions, 
 but one cannot both breed successfully and show 
 at the same time. If you persist in exhibiting 
 at the breeding season, you will have to reap the 
 fruits in delicate chicks or no chicks at all. 
 Three hens will be sufflcient for each cock. 
 
 In keeping Booted, as in Pekins and Brahmas, 
 some extra provision must be made in the runs 
 and houses by way of preserving intact the 
 foot-feather. The runs should be covered 
 wholly or in part. It would never do to let 
 the birds tramp about on wet sticky soil, and 
 the way to avoid this is by a roof to the runs. 
 Then the run should be boarded, say about 
 1 8 inches from the ground. This will shield 
 the birds from inclement weather, high winds, 
 etc., and be productive of more fertility and 
 earlier eggs. The bottom of the run should 
 contain line sea sand, or river sand, to the 
 depth of four or five inches, or in lieu of this 
 some soft material such as oat husks, or what 
 is known by the name of " seeds " or chaff, 
 wherewith to make a soft footing. The oat 
 husks referred to can generally be procured 
 from a miller at about 3d. or 4d. per sack. 
 The inside of the house should be treated just 
 the same as the run. There need be no perches. 
 
504 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 as the birds will roost on the ground, but the 
 houses ought to be raked out every day, else 
 they are virtually spending the night sleeping 
 on an accumulation of dung. Now and again 
 replace the old with fresh clean stuff. The 
 fancier will be well repaid for a little extra 
 trouble over these matters by having the foot- 
 feathering always in exhibition form, which is 
 half the battle when the bird comes to the 
 show-pen. Damp runs, foul houses, and 
 general carelessness spell failure with Booted 
 or other feathered-legged Bantams. 
 
 The Scotch Grey, or as it is sometimes called, 
 the Cuckoo Bantam, is one of the oldest, as well 
 as one of the most interesting, of all the varieties 
 of Bantams, having been promi- 
 Scotoh Grey nently before the public forty years 
 Bantams. or more ago. The hen is a 
 
 capital layer, and the chicks are 
 fairly hardy and easy to rear. The colour is 
 almost the same as that of the most popular of 
 large breeds — viz. Barred Rocks, so that I have 
 often wondered that the variety has not been 
 even more extensively bred than it has. It 
 reproduces well to type, and requires no great 
 experience to keep up a bird to average form, 
 ^though if an amateur wants to keep in front of 
 ^he hottest battle at Sydenham and Bingley 
 Hall, he must be prepared to devote much 
 -thought and attention to them. He must also 
 ■J)e prepared heroically to suffer chagrin at the 
 -way some " reporters " dismiss really good 
 -specimens by simply announcing some little 
 fault they have. Good as they are to breed, 
 -too, nevertheless white feathers will come in 
 -wings, sickle feathers, and other places, and 
 .some cockerels have quite a provoking way of 
 -throwing these white, and even brown, feathers 
 at the very last moment, when the breeder has 
 just begun to congratulate himself that he has 
 Vot them into their exhibition suit without. 
 Black or white sickles ; brown saddles ; white 
 -flights ! — " there is many a slip 'twixt the cup 
 and lip." 
 
 The ground colour of the, Scotch Grey 
 ^Bantam calls for a remark. Most of the Scotch 
 ibirds I have seen are too dark, and the barring 
 .somewhat indistinct, whereas many English 
 -specimens have the reverse fault, and run too 
 light in ground colour, which gives a faded, 
 -washed-out look. The happy mean between 
 the two seems to be the desideratum. The 
 -ground should be a clear distinct steel-grey 
 ,colour, with close narrow distinct black barring ; 
 ..and this black should extend itself clean across 
 -the feather, whereas, in many specimens, we find 
 ,-it more or less as a blot in the centre. In other 
 
 words, the principle of the marking should be 
 pencilling, rather than any tendency to mooning ; 
 a modification of the former, rather than that 
 of the latter. A bird with the latter tendency 
 often does not present much difference from 
 one having the correct marking when in the 
 show pen ; still it is easily distinguishable when 
 the bird is handled, and is wrong. Breeders 
 should therefore be very careful on this point, 
 and choose only such birds for the breeding pen 
 as are correctly marked. They may develop 
 white in tail the second year. In fact, it is 
 rarely we see a two-year cock's tail sound in this 
 respect. Still, if his barring is good, take him in 
 preference to a blotchy-barred bird, whose 
 second year tail may be all right. 
 
 The legs should be fine in bone, and white, 
 free from feathers. Yellow and dark legs should 
 not be tolerated, though spotted legs I do not 
 greatly object to. The deaf-ears will give some 
 trouble to keep up to a good coral red, like 
 comb and face. It is a difficult point, and must 
 be carefully attended to, for Nature in some 
 strains seems determined to assert herself, and 
 let in a certain amount of the objectionable 
 white. It is a curious thing that the black 
 chicks produced from the Greys are more prone 
 to contaminated lobes than the barred ones. 
 Do not be alarmed by a batch of black " Greys," 
 and rush into complaints that you have got 
 cross-breds. We do not want the majority 
 black ; but a fair sprinkling is indicative of good 
 chances for those that are barred : and when no 
 " sweeps " are to be seen in a brood, the Greys 
 are generally too pale and washed-out in colour. 
 Not only will you find that you have black 
 chicks amongst your broods, but they will often 
 come with quite bronzy neck hackles. At 
 present the majority of Scotch Greys are too 
 big and coarse, and want fining down a lot in 
 both size and bone. They also want improving 
 in style and carriage. Sometimes we see the 
 results of attempts to improve these points in 
 birds of a distinct gamey type, short and narrow 
 in feather, and too long in leg. Then there is a 
 type of bird much too long and narrow in back, 
 and, worse still, with squirrel tails. What we 
 want is a short, broad-backed, full-chested, and 
 full-feathered bird, more like the Black Rose- 
 comb ; head erect, and tail flowing and well 
 thrown back. 
 
 Year by year it becomes more evident that 
 the best cockerels and pullets on exhibition 
 have been produced from the same pen. Here 
 is a very great incentive to the breeder of this 
 variety. Every bird from a rightly-mated pen 
 has the same chance, and he can rear double 
 the number of birds on the same ground likely 
 
CUCKOO AND NANKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 SOj 
 
 to turn out winners, than he could do of those 
 breeds which require double pens. One thing 
 he must take very great care about, as it is 
 especially a law of breeding when only one pen 
 is used. Never fix a fault. Never, under any 
 circumstances, use stock birds that are both of 
 them white in ears, or that have their feathers 
 tipped with white. If the birds show a tendency 
 to light ears, use every means possible to stamp 
 ■out this grave defect, by using a cock thoroughly 
 ■sound in his lobes, and which has been bred 
 from sound-lobed birds. The following year 
 iise only the best of his produce, mating the 
 sound-coloured pullets back to the sire. Examine 
 also the quality of the barring. See that it is 
 sound, and goes right across the feather. Reject 
 any bird with a tendency to spangling, or that 
 is too light or too dark in colour, though if your 
 niate be too light or too dark, you may with 
 profit put to him hens erring in the opposite 
 direction. And have no white in tail or flights 
 in the breeding-pen. 
 
 Keep to 6ne strain only. Procure the best 
 birds at the outset that the purse will allow from 
 some successful breeder. Get the right thing to 
 begin with, and keep to it wholly and solely 
 so long as you can rear the chickens, keeping 
 a strict account of the pedigree of each bird. 
 How this can be done ivithout losing stamina 
 has been shown in an early chapter of this work. 
 In the attempt to improve them, there should 
 •on no account be any raw importation of the 
 blood of another variety. If the pedigree of 
 ■each' is strictly kept the breeder has a plain 
 ■course before him ; knowing exactly how such 
 and such a bird is bred, notwithstanding some 
 glaring fault it may have, he is still able to use 
 it, often with more advantage than if it were 
 an exhibition bird ; but when no record is kept 
 lie is completely at sea. By keeping a pedigree 
 iist many a bird becomes worth pounds, when, 
 without it, it would hardly be worth as many 
 shillings. 
 
 Breeding should be done on the principle of 
 in-mating. Breed late also ; by so doing you 
 will reduce size. Strive after the style and 
 shape of the Sebright or Rosecomb, and' go 
 ■dead against long leg, white or black feathers, 
 splashed lobes, long narrow backs, squirrel tails, 
 spangled feathers, and all colours of legs other 
 than white or mottled. Aim for the medium 
 shade in colour. Get the barring glossy black, 
 .and as sharp as possible ; the feather broad and 
 flowing, comb evenly serrated and a nice medium 
 size. Then the judges will not forget you, and you 
 will have produced something which they can 
 honestly and honourably reward as a triumph 
 of science ; but — no art, please ! 
 
 Nankin Bantams are another ancient and 
 really distinctive breed, but seem to have fallen 
 on evil days, and become "beautifully less" 
 almost to the point of extinction. I 
 Nankin had them some twenty-four years 
 
 Bantams. ago, and had I kept them to the 
 present could have exhibited them, I 
 think, as Buff Orpington Bantams : they were a 
 great deal nearer the mark than the present-day 
 apology for a Buff Orpington Bantam. I never 
 saw such a mixed lot of Bantams collected 
 under one common name before as the so-called 
 Buff Orpington Bantams at Carlisle in 1899. 
 Barring the name, there was nothing buff about 
 them at all. The old Nankin, in point of colour, 
 would have had quite a walk over. During the^ 
 past year, however, at close upon three score 
 and ten shows, I do not remember seeing more 
 than a couple of pens of genuine Nankins. 
 
 These birds are single-combed, cherry-faced, 
 blue-legged, red-eyed. In colour the cock is 
 a deep cinnamon or reddish buff, often with 
 black in his tail ; but, as in all bufi" breeds, the 
 less of this, or of white, either in the tail or flights, 
 the better. The pullet is a lighter shade of buff 
 all through. She should be very even in her 
 colouring, with no patchiness as if she had got 
 about half-way through her moult, and the old 
 feathers were contrasting with the new. Neither 
 must the bird show any mealiness, or lacing of the 
 feathers with a lighter shade of buff or white. 
 This is often seen in buff birds of any variety ; 
 it appears on the wing-bow and bar as well ; 
 but if any set themselves to persevere with" the 
 Nankin, they should look out for these defects 
 as they arise, and eradicate them at once, so 
 far as they can. They can learn a lot by 
 examining buff birds generally at shows, and 
 fixing in their minds wherein the superlative 
 excellences of the best specimens lie, and trying 
 to import the same elements into their Nankin 
 prot^gh. Perhaps we may never reach this 
 ideal, for even at the Crystal Palace shows 
 classes are not provided for Nankins, nor have 
 they any place in the Standard. But who can 
 tell? Look at the Old English Game Bantam a 
 very few years ago ; and it may be that, owing 
 to some breeder or other of good position and 
 powers of pushing, the old Nankin may yet 
 jump into fame." Buff has always been" a 
 popular colour with the fancy, and so to arty 
 breeder of the Nankin we would say, Nil 
 desperandum. Meanwhile breed from one pen 
 only, and mostly for colour. When that point 
 is once got, as it ought to be, sound, rich, good 
 buff to the skin, free from black or white in 
 tail and flights, and no mealiness about it, then, 
 even if the Nankin fails to " take on " of itself. 
 
5o6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 it will nevertheless form a splendid basisj say 
 for Buff Orpington or Buff Rock Bantams. In 
 the former one would require white legs, and in 
 the latter yellow legs. The former when perfected 
 would probably soon become popular, and well 
 repay the time and trouble of production. 
 
 The charming Japanese Bantams are also 
 amongst the oldest varieties, and likewise most 
 characteristic and distinct, but like Nankins, are 
 not even in the Standard of 1901. 
 Japanese They were brought very prominently 
 Bantams. forward by the late Mrs. Ricketts, 
 who in her day advanced the breed 
 very much. How they will fare in the future 
 remains to be seen. Nevertheless they are very 
 attractive little birds, and so very different in 
 shape and style to any other Bantam extant. 
 No wonder Knighton Vicarage made them a 
 great hobby, and liberally patronised any shows 
 where classes were provided for them. 
 
 Japanese are very short in thigh and leg, 
 in fact so much so that their bodies are only just 
 clear of the ground ; the lower they are the 
 better. Their wings being somewhat drooping 
 and long, actually touch the ground, whilst the 
 tails assume a directly perpendicular position, 
 almost touching the head. The Whites are most 
 popular with the fancy ; but Blacks, Greys, and 
 Buffs are also successfully shown. 
 
 In Whites the body is white, whilst the sickles 
 and hangers, or tail-coverts, are black, with a 
 very sharp and distinct, but narrow lacing of 
 white round every feather. The primaries and 
 secondaries of the wings have the inner web 
 black. Altogether the tout ensemble is very 
 charming, aided, as it is, by the piquant style 
 of the little bird. The comb is single, face and 
 ears red, legs and beak yellow, the feet with 
 four toes. 
 
 The Blacks are the same shape and style as 
 the Whites, but a sound black throughout. In 
 consequence they are not quite so taking as the 
 Whites, though they have many admirers. 
 
 The Grey cock should be a silvery white on 
 back, wing-bow and hackles, on a black ground. 
 The hen is finely laced with silver, the lacing to 
 be clear and distinct. Wattles, comb, ears, and 
 face are a clear- cherry-red, eyes red, legs and 
 beak yellow. 
 
 Buffs should be what their name implies, a 
 good sound buff throughout, including the tail 
 and the flights. 
 
 Japanese, as a rule, are not difficult to breed 
 and rear, providing the ground is dry, and the 
 runs fairly well sheltered. They are, however, 
 hardly adapted to ccld, exposed situations, nor 
 to places with strong, cold, clayey, retentive 
 
 soil. They breed true to colour and type; No 
 doubt this arises from the fact that they were 
 probably bred for generations before being 
 brought into this country. -The older a breed i& 
 the purer it breeds ; the nearer it is to its origin,, 
 the more difficult becomes the task. I can 
 recommend Japs strongly to ladies. They are 
 taking little birds, look well on a lawn, and da 
 very little damage in a garden, as by reason of 
 the fact that their legs are so very short, they 
 cannot compass much scratching. 
 
 A group of Bantams whose distinctive points- 
 lie in the formation or character of the plumage,, 
 is represented by Silkies, Frizzles, and Rump- 
 less, all of which have Bantam repre- 
 Siikies, sentatives, but usually have to take 
 
 ^"^EmdT^' refuge in a mixed class. The popu- 
 Rumpless. larity of the Silky fowl has already- 
 been alluded to, and its points de- 
 scribed. It was Bantamised many years ago,, 
 and specimens exhibited of white, black, and 
 brown plumage ; but the crosses by which the 
 diminutive size had been attained were too- 
 evident in red faces, and occasionally almost 
 single combs. The present Silky fowl being^ 
 now bred much smaller than formerly, it is 
 possible that the pure Silky may yet be reduced 
 to a really Bantam scale, and bred in the two 
 forms ; but even should this never be the case 
 it merits mention here, by reason of its indirect 
 connection with the Bantam fancy, and great 
 usefulness to Bantam breeders. Not only are 
 Silkies good layers, and their eggs wonderfully 
 fertile, but, if bred at the right time, they are 
 sure winter layers, and provide very early sitters 
 for early Bantarn eggs. Not only will they sit 
 anywhere and for any length of time, but when, 
 broody they will often " mother " newly-hatched, 
 chicks without having actually gone to the nest 
 for a single day. Twice, having noticed them 
 walking about quietly clucking, and showing 
 other signs of a broody fit coming on, I have 
 taken them straight to the youngsters already 
 hatched out by a hen too big, but the only one 
 available when the eggs needed to be set ; and 
 the Silkie has at once relieved the other bird of 
 any further responsibility for the brood. This 
 is often a very useful trait in their character. 
 But still further, cross them with Pekins, and 
 you have, as already remarked, the very best 
 sitter and rearer possible for Bantam eggs, so- 
 much so, that I often wonder why some people 
 do not make a speciality of breeding these 
 crosses. Once, after mentioning their merits in 
 an article, I was simply inundated during the- 
 next breeding season for Specimens of it, far in 
 excess of any I could supply, having fifty or 
 
BRAHMA SANTA MS. 
 
 5°7 
 
 sixty applicants after I had none to spare. At 
 the early part of the breeding season such birds 
 •will • fetch from four shillings to six shillings 
 each when broody, for they are invaluable 
 iupon small, thin-shelled eggs, owing to their 
 extreme lightness, and to the very great care 
 they take both of eggs and chicks. They will 
 sit for six weeks with the greatest composure, 
 and even longer, if required ; but by the time 
 they have brought off a second brood they are 
 so poor in flesh as to have little heat left in 
 their bodies, and it is advisable to give them 
 their second chicks, and let thern go their way. 
 
 The Frizzles which are shown as Bantams, 
 are believed by some to have come from Japan, 
 and it is not unlikely that a dwarf race should 
 do so. They have been shown with all sorts of 
 combs, clean and feathered legs, four and five 
 toes. The Standard allows single or rose 
 combs, but demands clean" legs and four toes, 
 the shanks being exceedingly short. They 
 are very pretty when small enough, and many 
 have been shown very small indeed. They 
 require great care in wet weather. 
 
 Rumpless Bantams have been shown in all 
 colours, and both clean-legged and booted, but 
 after what was said of the parent race, mention 
 is sufficient. They are hardy, but the same 
 precaution is required to ensure fertile eggs as 
 in the case of the larger variety. Their colours 
 and marking are obviously derived from the 
 Bantam breeds with which they have been 
 crossed. 
 
 We come finally to a large family of Ban- 
 tams of modern origin, reproducing in miniature 
 almost all the known breeds of larger fowls, and 
 produced in most cases by mating the smallest 
 specimens procurable with the nearest or most 
 suitable Bantam breed available, and in-breeding 
 the produce. The large Asiatics were amongst 
 the first to be thus bred down, Pekin and Booted 
 being mostly used to cross with Brahmas and 
 grey Aseel to produc.e the Brahmas, and Game 
 Bantams to reduce the size of the smooth-legged 
 Asiatic breeds. 
 
 Brahma Bantams are of quite modern make, 
 and, being in few hands, outside the two or three 
 largest shows very few classes are provided for 
 them. They are a taking variety, 
 Brahma and very hardy, yet it is doubtful if 
 
 Bantams. they ever rival the Pekin or Booted 
 in popularity, being difficult to keep 
 down in size, and also to breed true to colour. 
 The foot-feathering, also, is not easy to obtain 
 in the length and amplitude we should like to 
 see it, quite 50 per cent, of the present Brahma 
 Bantams failing in this respect. There are two 
 
 varieties, as in the Dark and Light Brahmas. 
 It has been no light task to get these massive 
 birds down even to the present size, and still the 
 Brahma Bantam is too large. The Lights are 
 most in favour, from the greater ease with 
 which they can be bred true to colour, but the 
 Darks also are very handsome birds indeed, 
 in fact a most taking variety. Chicks from 
 both varieties are fairly hardy, and easier to 
 rear than either Sebrights or Rosecombg, and 
 the hens are good layers of tinted eggs. 
 
 In shape they are not unlike the Pekin. 
 The cock is a trifle longer on the leg, and the 
 hens are longer in back and tail than Pekins. 
 The cock in both varieties should have a triple 
 or pea comb, face, wattles, and ear-lobes red. 
 The Light cock should have a silver hackle, 
 with sharp dark striping towards the bottom ; 
 back, wings, shoulder, breast, and thighs white ; 
 the tail black, with the two top outer feathers 
 slightly but sharply edged with white ; legs 
 yellow, heavily feathered with white feathers to 
 end of middle toe, the freer from black the 
 better ; beak yellow, to match the legs ; and 
 eyes yellow or red. The hen is similar to the 
 cock in colour ; the hackle is white, distinctly 
 striped with black towards the shoulders, the 
 rest of her quite white, save the tail, which,. like 
 that of the cock, is black slightly edged with 
 white, her legs, beak, and eyes yellow (latter 
 sometimes red), and she must be abundantly 
 feathered on legs and toes with white feathers. 
 The tout ensemble is pleasing in the extreme. 
 
 The Dark Brahma cock is identical in colour 
 with that of the cock in the giant variety, and 
 must have all the properties described for the 
 Lights in perfection. His hackle is silvery 
 (not creamy) white, heavily striped with black, 
 the striping increasing in width as it falls more 
 upon the shoulders. The neck should be short, 
 and the hackle abundant. The breast, fluff', and 
 foot-feathering must be a sound, intense black, 
 as sheeny on the former as you can get it ; tail, 
 shoulders, wing-butts, and wing-bar a good 
 sound black too ; whilst the back, shoulders, 
 and wing-bow are a clear, silvery white, without 
 any admixture of coppery or chocolate feathers. 
 The saddle hackle resembles the neck hackle, 
 tail a rich green glossy black, like the wing-bar ; 
 leg and toe feathering to be as black as possible, 
 abundant and lengthy. White feathers will 
 sometimes appear in the foot-feathering; the less 
 of it the better, although white will show now 
 and again in the foot-feathering of the best 
 Darks, and also black in that of some of the 
 best Lights. We do not meet with these 
 troubles much in the hens ; it is generally the 
 cocks that are prone to be thus mis-marked. 
 
So8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 The Dark hen should be a broken bluish grey, 
 what is called a steel grey ground-colour, dis- 
 tinctly and sharply pencilled with black, down 
 from the throa't and extending over the fluff as 
 much as possible, the ground-colour and pencil- 
 ling being the chief points, together with abund- 
 ance of feather especially on feet and toes. 
 
 In breeding Dark Brahma Bantams, the best 
 course to pursue is to use two pens ; in fact, 
 wherever the colouring of the male bird in any 
 breed differs materially from that of 
 Breediifg the female, the double system of 
 
 Bantams. mating is preferable, and in some 
 cases imperative. For cockerel mat- 
 ing, I should require the soundest coloured exhi- 
 bition specimen I could compass, no tips of 
 white or lacing on the black parts, but the 
 colours sharp and decided, with no intermingling 
 of straw, brassy, or bronze coloured feathers any- 
 where. The pullets or hens to go with him need 
 not be up to exhibition standard in colour. 
 Size, or rather the want of it, extra silvery 
 hackle, abundance of feather, and correct shape 
 are the desiderata. If your hens are a little 
 washed out, either in ground or pencilling, it 
 hardly matters, as they will produce good 
 cockerels, ie. if they are of a reliable strain. 
 Remember that in all your breeding " strain " 
 has most to do with success or failure. Now 
 and again birds apparently fulfilling all demands 
 for the breeding-pen come to hand, and some 
 are tempted to use them, judging purely by 
 appearance only ; but the produce often clearly 
 indicates that they have been bred anyhow, and 
 were altogether worthless. 
 
 In pullet-breeding the order must be reversed. 
 The cock should have all the qualifications 
 described before, except that if he shows a little 
 lacing on breast, and fluff, and even on the 
 wing-bar, all the better ; it is indicative that he 
 has come of a pullet-breeding strain. But the 
 pullets to go with him should have no such flaws 
 in colour. They should be extra good in ground- 
 colour and pencilling all over the body, breast, 
 back, and even jlufif as far as possible. From 
 the produce it would be advisable to save three 
 of the best coloured and marked pullets, and 
 also a couple of the best cockerels, and if these 
 are mated together another season you will 
 thus establish for yourself a thoroughly reliable 
 pullet-breeding strain, v/hilst you are improv- 
 ing ground-colour and pencilling, and also 
 reducing the size considerably. 
 
 Lights hardly require the dual system, the 
 feathering of cock and hen being similar in 
 colour. A cock with a medium shade of hackle 
 should be used, by which I mean the striping 
 should not be too heavy, nor yet the hackle 
 
 altogether too silvery, but about even quantity 
 of both. Let what there is of the striping be 
 sharp and dense, not washed out nor mealy. 
 He should be a good colour throughout, have 
 plenty of feather, and be a good shape, and his 
 head should be Ai as to comb and wattle, lobe 
 and eye. To such a bird should be mated four 
 pullets, not more. Two I should select fine in 
 striping, and sharply but not too densely striped 
 in saddle and neck hackles. Two others shoilfd 
 be as sound in white on back and wings as can 
 be procured, and white in under-flufT, but the 
 pullet-breeders will require to be as broad in 
 hackle striping as possible, dense, and well 
 defined. From such a pen as thi.s, both good 
 cockerels and pullets should result. Of course, 
 two separate strains could soon be established, 
 the one for cockerel- and the other pullet-breed- 
 ing, but where such can be avoided it gives the 
 breeder a chance of raising more chickens that 
 are likely to turn out winners ; for by the other 
 plan all the cockerels on one side, and all the 
 pullets on the other, though invaluable from a 
 breeding point of view, would be unfit for the 
 exhibition pen where the competition was good. 
 Brahma Bantams require the same kind of 
 accommodation as Booted and Pekin Bantams. 
 The main thing in their upbringing is to find 
 them a run where the foot-feather can be pre- 
 served intact, no small consideration with all 
 foot-feathered breeds. 
 
 The Malay is, or ought to be, wholly difTerent 
 in points from our English Game, and in the 
 big breeds it undoubtedly is so ; but I regret to 
 
 say that in Bantamising these birds 
 Malay a great deal of Game Bantam blood 
 
 Bantams. seems to have been introduced, and 
 
 in consequence there are many birds 
 passing under the nomenclature of Malay Ban- 
 tams which do not bear as they should do the 
 principal characteristics of the larger fowl, of 
 which they purport to be dwarfs. Therefore, in 
 judging Malays great care is required, and 
 adjudicators should go as much as possible for 
 Malay type, rigorously rejecting all that show 
 strong traces of the "base" origin. A Malay 
 Bantam should first show type, shape, and car- 
 riage ; then head points, size, and colour. The 
 latter is only a secondary consideration, for no- 
 matter how small, and of what colour, if type, 
 carriage, and general character be wanting the 
 bird is not a true Malay. Malay Bantams are^ 
 as a rule, too large, hence the temptation to- 
 dwarf them by crossing with the Game Bantam. 
 Still, good true-typed small specimens are to be 
 found here and there at some of the best shows,, 
 and when so found, as Captain Cuttle says. 
 
MALAY BANTAMS. 
 
 S09' 
 
 "should be made a note of." What fanciers 
 should do is this : They should first get the 
 true characteristics, and then in-breed and late- 
 breed from this true type. They will never get 
 the desired effect the way some of them seem to 
 be going about it, 
 
 Therp are four varieties of Malay Bantams, 
 Reds, Whites, Piles, and Blacks. The two 
 former are those chiefly figuring at our shows ; 
 very seldom do the others put in an appearance, 
 though they are bred in some parts. Of the 
 Reds and Whites one good thing can be said : 
 they are not all in the hands of one or two 
 breeders. Their many admirers are widely^ 
 spread, and this augurs well for the future 
 prosperity of the breed. 
 
 In conformation, colour, style, etc., the Malay 
 Bantam should be a perfect miniature of the 
 larger fowl. The beak should be strong and 
 curved, horn colour or yellow, latter preferred, 
 expression fierce, owing to the overhanging eye- 
 brows and cruel look of the eyes, which are 
 deeply sunk in the head, and may be either 
 daw or yellow. A walnut comb well set on the 
 front of the head, face, lobes, and wattles red, 
 give a tout ensemble by no means alluring to 
 other birds of their own size. The neck is long 
 and snaky, hackle short and fine, back slopes 
 at some length towards the tail, which in the 
 cock should bp drooping, medium length, narrow 
 in feather and sickles, which should be slightly 
 curved. The shoulders are prominent, broad, 
 and carried well forward, and when the bird is 
 in highj condition have the appeararice of stand- 
 ing out apart from the body, thus adding much 
 to the bold appearance. The hen's tail should 
 be short and square, and carried a little above 
 the horizontal. The breast in both sexes is 
 broad, deep, and almost naked of feathers, thighs 
 long and powerful, but again with plenty of 
 naked skin on view, and set wide apart. The 
 yellow or orange shanks should be long and 
 fine, round in front, toes long and straight, back 
 toe set on low, resting firmly on the ground. 
 The general feathering throughotit should be 
 tight and glossy, what is commonly called " hard 
 as nails." 
 
 Of the Reds there are two legitimate shades 
 — the dark, and the bright orange. Either is 
 in agreement with the Standard ; the latter is 
 identical with the colour of a pullet-breeding 
 Black-red Game cock. A partridge hen should 
 be mated to a cock of this sort. If she be sound 
 in colour she should produce both good cock- 
 erels and pullets, for it is one of the virtues of 
 Malays that they come very true to colour. 
 Then we have the dark maroon .cock, and with 
 him should go the cinnamon or wheaten hen. 
 
 The breast, wing-bar, thighs, flights^ and' 
 shoulder points are a lustrous black, with green 
 black tail. The neck hackle, secondaries, or 
 wing-ends are a deep chestnut. The feathering 
 on the deeper shaded bird is generally shorter 
 and harder than on the brighter coloured cocks. 
 
 Whites are a very handsome variety. The 
 only difficulty with them is one common to alt 
 white birds, viz. that of getting them a good 
 " blue " wJiite, free from any trace of lemon. or 
 straw tinge. There is only one way to secure 
 this : breed from it, and not from the tinged 
 birds. See you have the true Malay character- 
 istics, and stick to in-breeding and late-breeding. 
 One pen will suffice for cocks and hens. Dis- 
 card any appearance of willow leg. "Go" for 
 orange and orange only, and if the right birds 
 as described are secured, you will have no 
 difficulty with this variety. 
 
 Piles naturally give more trouble. The 
 proper colour in the male is hard to get, and 
 when got, difficult to keep up ; but if the direc- 
 tions for breeding Pile Game Bantams be strictly 
 followed, namely to secure rich, deep colour, 
 sound bars, wing-ends,' and back, with no trace 
 of rustiness, and you mate this Red cock to good 
 type White hens, success is assured ; there is 
 bound to come a fair percentage of good birds. 
 The follo-^ing year the same lines may be 
 pursued, if the result of the previous attempt 
 turned out as anticipated, but another pen 
 might well be set up by mating together for 
 cocks brothers and sisters. Never use a Pile 
 cock that is weak on his bay ends. It is simply 
 courting disaster, for such birds are veritable 
 wasters, either for exhibition or stock purposes. 
 When my- friends hear me say this, the common 
 complaint is, " Don't ; you are telling secrets too 
 fast." My aim, however, and that of this work, 
 is to tell beginners how they should act, and I 
 leave no stone unturned to let them have the 
 whole sum and substance of information gained 
 in much experimental work. My object is not ' 
 to hide, but to reveal what is really known about 
 breeding exhibition birds, and if I bring to the 
 knowledge of any some things they did not 
 know before, all the better. I wish all true 
 Bantam fanciers well, and my object is to further 
 their interests if I can. The best specimens of 
 Bantams are yet to breed, the highest prices yet 
 to realise ; and every fancier who gets the right 
 knowledge, and will skilfully apply it, should 
 have an even chance with the best of us. 
 
 Indian Game Bantams are a probable cross 
 between the larger Cornish Indian Game and 
 the Aseel. It was no light task to reduce such 
 giants as the Cornish Indian to Bantam size. 
 
510 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY 
 
 and, as a matter of fact, there is often yet 
 more" of the individual specimen than there 
 should he ; but time and patience will work this 
 out, if in-breeding and breeding late 
 Indian Game be followed up rigorously. What 
 Bantams. should not be done, is to again im- 
 port into any strain foreign blood, for 
 the simple sake of securing diminutiveness. To 
 do so is to destroy in great part type and 
 character ; and just as in the Malay, these two 
 qualities should be first, over such considerations 
 as smallness or colour. The latter have their 
 value, but they occupy a secondary place by the 
 side of true type and character. Anyone can 
 breed a small bird, if they have a mind to choose 
 small parents and in-breed ; but the result is not 
 the proper type of Indian Game Bantam at all. 
 Where the bird is of true blood, even though it 
 may be a little larger, yet all the same it is the 
 true breed we seek, and in the generality of cases, 
 the patience, labour, time, and expense of procur- 
 ing it thus pure, far exceeds that of the smaller 
 cross-bred. The latter is unworthy of a place by 
 the side of the former, and certainly should 
 never be in front of it. The policy of crossing 
 is pursued, no doubt, in the hope that reduced 
 size will catch the judge's eye, and the fact of 
 the cross remain undetected. 
 
 Indian Game Bantams have many admirers, 
 for the miniature, after all, is a very noble and 
 captivating little creature, and its popularity has 
 got it so far a considerable share of attention 
 from committees of the more important shows, 
 who have provided classes for it somewhat 
 freely. The Indian Game Club also, by ad- 
 mitting Bantam breeders within its membership, 
 have accelerated the freer and wider classifica- 
 tion extended to it. Altogether breeders and 
 admirers have ample reason to be satisfied with 
 the progress of the breed so far, and the future 
 rests with themselves. If they rigorously keep 
 to themselves all the choicest specimens, and, 
 like the man who argued that money was made 
 flat that it might pile, are only bent on piling 
 up in their own yards the cream of the fancy, 
 they must expect things to stagnate, as the 
 breeding of Brown-red Game Bantams has done. 
 If, on the contrary, they rather think that money 
 was made round that it might " circulate," and 
 allow others to get of the best and be in the 
 swim, the Indian Game Bantam will not look 
 back, but may be a thing of beauty for ever. 
 
 From these remarks it will be gathered 
 that I am not wholly satisfied with the Indian 
 Game Bantam as it is. It savours too much 
 of the Malay. There is too much leg, too great 
 length of back, and other indications of Malay 
 blood. The sooner breeders of the variety 
 
 recognise this, the better it will be for the welfare 
 of their birds. They must stick to Indian Game, 
 and not breed a conglomeration of any kind 
 of Game, Malay, etc. Therefore, as said 
 before, type must come first, and if the neces- 
 sary shape and built be absent, the bird is 
 better in the kitchen, than either the exhibition 
 or breeding-pen. 
 
 The cock's head is rather long and thick, 
 the skull broad, and the eyes (though not so 
 much so as in the Malay) are somewhat arched, 
 and the face "beetle browed." A moderately 
 long neck with a strong curved beak gives the 
 bird a powerful expression. He is pea-combed, 
 with a red face of fine texture and fairly smooth. 
 Pale red eyes are preferred, full and prominent. 
 The general shape is thick and compact, back 
 short and flat, and as broad as possible, tapering 
 towards the tail, but not having flat sides. The 
 breast should be deep and wide, but well rounded, 
 with a straight breast-bone. The wings should 
 be short and tucked in tightly to the sides, but 
 be proniinent at the shoulder points. The thighs 
 should be much shorter than in Malays, the 
 .shanks a medium length, short, well rounded, 
 with close fitting scales, a deep rich yellow colour. 
 The feet should be well spread, toes straight, 
 long, and the back toe firmly down on the 
 ground. The tail is beetle green, medium 
 length, slightly drooping, and with a few narrow 
 glossy hangers at the sides. Sickles short and 
 narrow. 
 
 The general plumage is hard and glossy ; 
 appearance sprightly and vigorous, with a bold 
 upright carriage, the back sloping towards the 
 tail, the flesh hard and firm in handling. In 
 colour the cock's feathering is a lustrous green 
 black save on the back, which like the lower 
 part of the neck hackle is broken with a rich 
 bay. He is also bay or chestnut on wing-ends 
 or secondaries. The coloured feathers of the 
 neck hackle should be almost lost in the body 
 feathers, and the wing-bow, though black, should 
 have the shafts bay. The tail coverts or hangers 
 particularly should be a rich glossy beetle green, 
 the wing-bar a rich black. Lustre is one of 
 the great features of this bird. There must be 
 no flat shins, twisted toes, or crooked breast- 
 bones. Rusty hackles, white in hackle, heavy 
 feather, and long limbs are all serious defects. 
 
 The hen is similar to the cock in shape and 
 build, head points, neck, and legs. In colouring 
 she is wholly dissimilar. The ground colour is 
 a rich dark chestnut, but each feather should be 
 double-laccd with sharp dark lacing. There 
 should be an outer edge of sharp black, not too 
 deep, but sufficiently distinct, and then on the 
 clear ground of the feather there should run 
 
INDIAN GAME AND OTHER BANTAMS. 
 
 another sharp lacing. The chestnut ground en- 
 closed by the two lacings should be quite free 
 from smut, spots, or other foul marks, and be 
 one uniform shade of chestnut. The defects in 
 the hen, otherwise than in colour, are identical 
 with those of the cock. 
 
 Two pens ought to be set up ; it is next to 
 impossible to manage with one. For cockerel- 
 breeding, choose a typical show specimen. There 
 must be no rust on him, and he must be sound 
 in wing-ends. Then look to his breast, that it 
 is broad, his shoulders prominent, no flat sides, 
 not too leggy, short in hackle and back, tight 
 and hard to handle. The hens to go with him 
 should have all these qualifications too. Colour 
 is not so material; shape, style, and type come 
 first. Then choose them for preference of a 
 rich deep mahogany or chestnut, and from such 
 a pen you may expect good results. The 
 following season the pullets might be put back 
 to the sire, and the best shaped cockerels to the 
 hens. It is a splendid plan for keeping down 
 size. Moreover you .are making your own 
 strain, and in a season or two will be able to 
 predict with almost certainty the kind of stock 
 you will get. In the pullet pen things will be 
 different. You want here correct colour and 
 lacing, and so you had better select your cock 
 with more or less indications of a propensity to 
 achieve these results. If he be slighty laced on 
 breast, or a bit red in hackle, all the better. Do 
 not sacrifice style, type, and character for a 
 moment, but having secured these, see that the 
 others exist also if possible. To him mate 
 clear chestnut ground, well-laced, typical shaped 
 hens or pullets. The lacing should be as sharp 
 and dark as possible, with a beautiful green 
 gloss upon it. See that they are low on leg, 
 broad at shoulder, and short in back, in fact as 
 ideal specimens as you can compass. From this 
 pen retain a couple of cockerels for next season's 
 breeding, in addition to the pick of the pullets. 
 The more the cockerels are laced the better ; 
 you are sure they are half-blood of the ideal 
 hens, and if they show it in their external 
 appearance, there is all the more chance they 
 will prove excellent pullet-breeders. When this 
 process has been going on for a few seasons, and 
 especially if cockerels have been put back to 
 their mothers, a large percentage of their blood 
 is pure pullet, and of the richest quality. In 
 fact a reliable pullet strain will have been set up, 
 and must go unmixed until such time as failure 
 to rear the chicks is evidence that a little fresh 
 blood should be introduced. It is, however, 
 possible to so conduct matters, by keeping two 
 lines going from the first, that" after many 
 generations stamina is maintained. 
 
 Aseel Bantams are occasionally seen, and 
 should of course possess all the points of their 
 parent race, without the very heavy eyebrows of 
 the Malay. Those exhibited generally have- 
 been fairly true to points, but the breed seems, 
 too nearly allied to the two preceding to obtain 
 any great measure of popularity. 
 
 Black Spanish Bantams, although a most 
 handsome variety, do not appear to make much 
 headway, although single specimens exhibited 
 by Mr. Thompson, of Kendal, have. 
 Spanish been as typical as the best of their 
 
 Bantams. bigger brethren. They are a very- 
 taking breed, and when exhibited 
 find such a host of admirers, that I have often, 
 wondered why they were not more popular. 
 How they are produced I am not certain, but 
 should jmagine that a small Spanish cock put 
 to a big-lobed Black Rosecomb hen, and the- 
 produce bred back and in-bred, would produce 
 the desired results. I should prefer a rather 
 large Rosecomb hen, with preference to one 
 showing white in face. Of course you would 
 get several Rosecombs from this cross, and a. 
 few with the desired single comb. I should 
 breed as late as possible in the season, in order- 
 to reduce the size. The best of the pullets I 
 should put back to the sire, and afterwards, 
 in-breed as long as the chicks were healthy and 
 fairly easy to rear. The birds should resemble- 
 their bigger brethren in every point except size. 
 
 Hamburgh Bantams appear to be at a stand- 
 still ; and were it not for Mr. Farnsworth, of 
 Lincolnshire, it . is more than probable the- 
 
 variety would sink into oblivion^ 
 Hamburgh The prettiest of them are the Silver 
 Bantams. Spangles, evidently a cross betweerh 
 
 the Hamburgh and Silver Sebright 
 Bantam, or White Rosecombs, either of which 
 would give the desired result, although a big 
 percentage of wasters would be produced from, 
 either cross. Still, with patience and perse- 
 verance the ideal could be reached in time, and 
 once perfected they would be certain to become 
 popular on account of their beautiful colour and 
 length of feather. There is a good opening in 
 this variety for any fancier who is prepared to- 
 devote time and patience to a very pleasurable 
 hobby. 
 
 As already intimated, almost every other- 
 of the larger breed of poultry has also been, 
 more or less perfectly reproduced 
 V^""ti s '" Bantam size, and the very few- 
 
 left are probably in process of 
 being so. The miniature Minorcas, Andalusians, 
 
SI2 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 I^eghorns, Polish, and Sultans, as will be seen, 
 liave found a place in the Standard, but are 
 rarely seen, and do not require detailed treatment 
 here. All have been produced by the sarfte 
 general methods, crossing the smallest specimens 
 obtainable with the most appropriate Bantam 
 stock, and in-breeding back to the desired 
 points ; the useful offspring at first obtained 
 being very few, but gradually increasing with 
 time and skill in breeding. The success of any 
 such new variety is very uncertain, popularity 
 being most capricious in these matters, and a 
 variety class affording very little and uncertain 
 reward meanwhile ; but the number of breeders 
 who find pleasure in these experiments appears 
 increasing. 
 
 [Judging Bantams is an art in itself, and we 
 have noticed that it is rarely performed well by 
 those judges who- principally do their work 
 
 amongst the large breeds of poultry. 
 Judging It seems to require a " different eye," 
 
 Bantams. and it is pretty easy to see that the 
 
 difficulty arises from the much 
 greater proporlionate value of carriage in the 
 
 • case of small birds. 
 
 All Bantams cannot be equally small. It is 
 not reasonable that the dwarf of a Brahma 
 
 ■should be as small as that of a Game fowl. The 
 late Mr. W. F. Entwisle originated the useful 
 
 : general rule, that about one-fifth of the standard 
 weight of the breed reduced, should be taken as 
 its Bantam standard ; and while a little smaller 
 would be so far on the right side, it is better to 
 have the real points well brought out on this 
 scale, than to partially lose these in a smaller 
 bird. At the same time, it is pretty obvious 
 that smallness must be worth more in the scale 
 
 • of points for a Bantam, than size in the large 
 breed. 
 
 The Standards are as follow. Only a few 
 
 . are described in detail ; the others merely give 
 
 the scales of points, which are necessarily some- 
 
 v/hat different from those for the large breeds, 
 
 ;for the reasons indicated above. — L. W.] 
 
 ROSECOMB BANTAMS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Broad and short. Beak : 
 Rather short, stout at the base. Comb : Neat, long, 
 
 • square, and well filled in the front, and set firmly on 
 the head, tapering off in width to the setting on of the 
 leader. Face : Fine in texture. Top : Perfectly level 
 and full of work, i.e. crowded with little round spikes. 
 Leader : Set on with a stout base, firm, long, perfectly 
 straight, and tapering to a point ; the comb rising 
 
 : slightly from the front to the back, the leader rising 
 
 . also, and at the same angle as the comb. Ear-lobes : 
 
 Absolutely round, having nicely rounded edges, thick, 
 
 ;and of uniform thickness all over, set firmly on the face, 
 
 perfectly smooth, of kid-like texture, proportioned in 
 size to the bird, but not smaller than a sixpence or 
 larger than a shilling. Wattles : Round, neat, and of 
 fine texture. Neck : Rather short, and covered with 
 wide hackle feathers, and having a well-defined curve at 
 the back, the hackle falling gracefully and plentifully 
 over the shoulders and wing-bows and reaching out 
 nearly to the tail. 
 
 Body. — Breast: Broad, and carried well forward and 
 upward, showing a bold curve from wing-bow to wing- 
 bow. Back : Short, broad, and flat. Shoulders : Broad 
 and flat. Wings : Flight feathers wide (each feather 
 rounding off with a broad end, not too long, but in 
 keeping with the bird's cobbiness), carried rather low, 
 showing the front half of the thighs only. Stern : Flat, 
 broad, and thick, i.e. not running off to nothing at the 
 setting on of the tail, and covered with a profusion 
 of long saddle feathers, hanging down on either side 
 like a fringe, and extending from the tail to the middle 
 of the back. 
 
 Tail.— Carried well back, consisting of broad feathers 
 overlapping one another neatly. Sickles : Long, broad 
 from base to end, well circled round with a bold sweep 
 (the inner tail feathers not protruding beyond the sickles). 
 Furnishing Feathers : Broad from base to end and 
 uniformly circled with the sicklefe, tips level, and hanging 
 somewhat shorter than the sickles. Side Hangers : 
 Broad and long, and, together with the saddle hackles, 
 hanging down gracefully, and filling the space between 
 the stern and the wing-ends. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Set well apart, short, stout, 
 and setting on, tapering to the hocks. Shanks : Rather 
 short, round, small, and of fine texture. Toes : Four in 
 number. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Thick set or cobby 
 (without being dumpy and coarse). 
 
 Size and Weight. — Not to exceed zo ozs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, Beak, Face, and Wattles : As 
 in the cock. Comb : As in the cock, but smaller. Ear- 
 lobes : Similar to cock, but not larger than a threepenny 
 piece. Neck : Rather short, and covered with wide 
 hackle feathers of nice length, and having a well-defined 
 curve at the back. 
 
 Body. — Breast, Back, Shoulders : As in the code. 
 Wings : Flight feathers wide (each feather rounding off 
 with a broad end, not too long, but in keeping with the 
 bird's cobbiness), carried rather higher than the cock's, 
 but not by any means tight up to the body. Stern : 
 Flat, broad, and thick — i.e. not running off to nothing 
 at the setting on of the tail, and having an abundance 
 of saddle feathers. 
 
 Tail. — Carried well back, consisting of broad feathers, 
 overlapping one another neatly. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Thick set or cobby 
 (without being dumpy or coarse). 
 
 Size and Weight. — Not exceeding i6 ozs. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK ROSECOMB BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes.— BeflA ; Black. Eye : Hazel or brown. 
 Comb, Face, Wattles : Brilliant cherry red. Ear- 
 lobes : Spotless white, especially near wattles. Shanks : 
 Sound black. Plumage : Black, with as bright a green 
 sheen as possible all over from the throat to the sickle 
 ends. There should be a clearly defined wing-bar of broad 
 feathers, extra bright green in colour in the wings ot 
 both cock and hen, and it is a point of rare quality in 
 bbth sexes for the tail feathers to bear a strong green 
 sheen. 
 
STANDARDS l^OR BANTAMS. 
 
 ■in 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE ROSECOMB BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes.~BeaA ; White. Eyi: Red. Comb, 
 Fac0, Wattles : Brilliant cherry-red. Eay-lobes : Spot- 
 less white, especially near wattles. Shanks : White. 
 f6 ; Snow white all over, free from straw colour, 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN ROSECOMB 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb • 
 
 ear-lobes 
 
 •> tail 
 
 „ legs and feet 
 
 „ colour 
 
 Want of shape and symmetry 
 
 „ condition 
 
 BANTAMS. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ... 20 
 
 ... 15 
 
 ..; 15 
 
 ... 8 
 
 ... 13 
 
 ... 15 
 
 ... 15 
 
 A perfect bird to count loo 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 Crooked back, squirrel tail. 
 
 SEBRIGHT BANTAMS. , 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Seek.— Head : Small and carried well back. 
 Beak : Rather short, slightly curved. Eye : Full. Comb: 
 Rose, firmly and evenly set oh the head, 'square in front, 
 free from hollows, covered on the top with coral-like 
 points, narrowing behind to' a distinct slightly upturned 
 spike. Face : Smooth, fine in texture. Ear-lobes : 
 Medium, and flat or free from folds. Wattles: Medium 
 and well rounded. Neck : Tapering, well arched and 
 carried very far back ; the feathers resembling the hen's, 
 and quite free from true hackle feathers. 
 
 Body. — Body: Compact. Breast: Full, broad and 
 prominent. Back : Very short, the saddle feathers 
 resembling the hen's. Wings : Carried very low, almost 
 touching the ground. 
 
 Tail. — Hen shaped, that is square, well spread and 
 carried high, not too large, and after first moult much 
 shorter. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Short. Shanks : Short, 
 slender, perfectly free from feathering. Toes : Four, ■ 
 straight and well spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Compact and cobby; 
 short and deep with a strutting and tremulous carriage 
 on tiptoe something like a Fantail Pigeon. 
 
 Size and Weight. — About 22 ozs. 
 
 Plumage.— Short, tight, not too wide, but never 
 pointed. _ 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Small. Beak : As in the 
 cock. Eye : Full. Comb ; Rose, similar to the cock but 
 small. Face : Smootlj, fine in texture. Ear-lobes : 
 Small and flat. Wattles : Small and well rounded. 
 Neck : Tapering and Upright. 
 
 Body. — As in the cock. 
 
 Tail. — Not too long, well spread and carried high. 
 
 Legs and Feet.— As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Compact and cobby; 
 short and deep, with a strutting and tremulous carriage. 
 
 Size and Weighfe^About 18 ozs. 
 
 Plumage. — Short, tight, not too wide, but never 
 pointed. 
 
 COLOUR IN SILVER SEBRIGHT BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Dark blue or horn. Eye: 
 Black, or as dark as' possible. Comb and Wattles : Dark 
 purple or dull red. Face : Dark purple or dark red, the 
 former ptefef red ; if the latter, darker round the eyes. 
 Ear-lobes : Dark purple or dull red; as free as possible 
 from white. Plumage: Silvery white throughout, each 
 feather evenly and distinctly laced all round its edge 
 with a narrow edging of rich glossy green black. Under- 
 colour : Dark grey. Shanks and Toes : Slaty blue. 
 
 COLOUR IN GOLD SEBRIGHT BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark horn. Eye : Black or 
 as dark as possible. Comb and Wattles : Dark purple or 
 dull red, Face : Dark purple or dull red. Ear-lobes : ■ 
 Dark purple or dull red, as free as possible from, white. 
 Plumage : Of a uniform Golden Bay throughout, each 
 feather evenly and distinctly laced all round its edge 
 with a narrow edging of glossy green black. Under- 
 colour: Dark grey. Shanks and Toes : Slaty blue. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN SEBRIGHT BANTAMS. 
 
 Deduct 
 Defects. up to 
 
 Defects in comb 10 
 
 „ face and ear-lobes 10 
 
 ,t ground-colour 15 
 
 „ lacing 25 
 
 „ tail 10 
 
 ,, size (too large or too small) 10 
 
 Want of symmetry ... 10 
 
 ,, condition.., ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Single comb ; wry tail or any other deformity ; hackle 
 or sickle feathers in cOck ; feathers on legs ; legs any 
 other colour than slaty blue ; other than four toes. 
 
 COCHIN OR PEKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head "and Neck. — Head : Small, fine, and neat. Beak : 
 Rather short, but stout and slightly curved. Eye : 
 Bright, large, and full. Comb : Single, fine, neat, and as 
 small as possible, perfectly straight and erect, well 
 serrated and nicely curved from front to back. Face : 
 Quite smooth and fine in texture. Ear-lobe ; Smooth, 
 fine, and well developed. Wattles: Long, ample, 
 smooth, fine in texture, and neatly rounded. Neck : 
 Short, fuU, nicely arched, and carried well forward, the 
 hackles being very profuse and falling gracefully over 
 the shoulders and back. 
 
 Body. — Body : Broad, deep, and short. Breast : Very 
 broad, deep, full, and rounded in appearance. Back : 
 Broad and short, rising into a full round cushion. 
 Wings : Small, very short, tightly tucked up, the ends 
 hidden by the saddle hackle. 
 
 Tail. — Very short, soft, and fuU. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Short, strong, and straight ; set well 
 apart, and abundantly covered with feathers. Toes : 
 Four, straight, the outer aiid middle toes abundantly 
 feathered to nails. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Broad, deep, pliimp, 
 and well rounded. Carriage slightly. drooping forward, 
 the head being very little higher than the tail, the gait 
 dignified. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Fairly small ; about 33 ozs. 
 
5U 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Very small and neat. Beafe, 
 Eyi, Face, and Ear-lobe : As in the cock. Comb : 
 Single, small, neat, well serrated, perfectly erect and 
 straight. Wattles : Fine in texture, small, round, and 
 thin. Neck : Short, thick, and carried rather forward. 
 
 Body.— Body, Breast, and Back : As in the cock. 
 Wings : Very short, and well tucked up to the sides. 
 
 Tail. — Very short and soft, almost hidden by cushion. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the cook. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Broad, deep, plump, and 
 well rounded. Carriage slightly drooping forward, 
 the head being almost on a line with the tail. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Fairly small ; about 38 ozs. 
 
 COLOUR IN PARTRIDGE PEKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sezes.— Beak : Yellow, shading to horn. Eye : 
 Red or orange, the former preferred. Comb, Face, 
 Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. . Legs : Rich yellow. 
 
 In the CoaTi.— Plumage. -Head: Dark orange red. 
 Hackle : Bright orange or golden red, becoming Ughter 
 in shade towards the shoulders, each feather to be 
 distinctly striped down the centre with black. Back : 
 Full rich crimson. Saddle : Bright orange, each feather 
 having a black stripe down centre. Shoulders, and Wing- 
 bows : Full rich crimson. Wing-bar: Lustrous green 
 black. Secondaries : Bay on outer web and black on 
 inner. Breast and Under-parts : Sound black. Tail, 
 Sickles, and Tail-coverts : Glossy green black. 
 
 In the Sea.— Head : Light golden, each feather dis- 
 tinctly striped with black. Hackle : Light golden, each 
 feather distinctly striped down the centre with black. 
 Body and Wings : Light golden brown ground, finely 
 and evenly pencilled, with concentric rings of green 
 black. Tail: Brownish black, top feathers golden 
 brown, pencilled. 
 
 COLOUR IN BUFF PfiKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Rich yellow. Eye : Red or 
 deep golden. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : .Bright 
 red. Legs : Rich yellow. Plumage : Any shade of buff 
 from lemon buff to rich buff, on the one side avoiding 
 washiness, and on the other side a reddish tinge. The 
 colour to be perfectly uniform throughout, allowing for 
 the greater lustre on the hackle and saddle feathers, 
 and of the wing-bow in the case of the cock only ; the 
 wings to be free from splashies of black or white, and 
 the tail free from white or black. 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE PEKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak: Rich yellow. Eye: Red or 
 orange, former preferred. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and 
 Wattles : Bright red. Legs : Bright yellow. Plumage : 
 Pure snowy white, glossy, and free from all creamy or 
 yellow tinge. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK PEKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Black, edged with yellow. 
 Eye: Red or yellow, former preferred. Comb, Face, 
 Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. Legs : Yellow pre- 
 ferred, but dark allowable. Plumage : Glossy raven 
 black, perfectly free from feathers of any other colour and 
 sound to the roots, the more metallic sheen the better. 
 
 COLOUR IN CUCKOO PEKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Pale yellow. Eye : Red. 
 Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. Legs : 
 Pale yellow. Plumage : Light bluish grey ground, each 
 feather barred across with bands of darker grey or blue, 
 The marking to be uniform throughout, and the colours 
 shading into each other so that no distinct line or 
 separation of the colours is perceptible. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN PEKIN BANTAMS. 
 
 Defects. Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and comb 10 
 
 „ fluff and cushion 15 
 
 ,, leg and foot feather 10 
 
 „ colour 80 
 
 „ shape and carriage z5 
 
 „ condition ... 10 
 
 „ size and weight 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Wry tails or any deformity ; twisted or drooping comb ; 
 white ear-lobes; other than four toes; legs any other 
 colour than standard ; total absence of leg feathers. 
 
 BOOTED BANTAMS. 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head: Small and neat, carried 
 well back. Beak : Rather stout, medium length. 
 Eye: Full, bright, and prominent. Comb: Single, of 
 medium size, well serrated, firm, and perfectly straight 
 upon the head. Face: Smooth, fine skin, free from 
 hairs. Ear-lobes : Flat, small, "and neat. Wattles : 
 Small, finfe, and well rounded. Neck: Rather short 
 and curved, with fuU hackle. 
 
 Body. — Body : Short and compact. Breast : Full 
 and prominent. Back : Short ; saddle feathers long 
 and abundant. Wings: Large, long, and carried 
 drooping. 
 
 Vail.— Tail : Large, full, and upright. Sickles : A 
 little longer, and slightly curved. Coverts: Abundant, 
 long, and nicely curveid. 1 
 
 Legs and Teet.^TMghs : Short and well feathered at 
 hocks. Shanks : Fairly short, and heavily feathered 
 on the outer sides with long and rather stiff feathers, 
 those growing from the hoCks almost touching the 
 ground. Toes : Four, well spread and straight, very 
 heavily feathered on the outer and middle toes. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Erect and strutting. 
 
 Size and Weight. — About 34 ozs. 
 
 Plumage. — Long and abundant throughout. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck.— Head : Small and neat, carried well 
 back. Beak, Eye, Comb, Face, Ear-lobes : As in cock. 
 Wattles : Small and neatly rounded. Neck : Rathei 
 short and curved. 
 
 Body.^B(7rfy : ' Short and compact. Breast : Full 
 and round. . Back : Short. Wings : Large, moderately 
 long, and carried. drooping. 
 
 Tail, — Full, well spread, and carried erect. 
 
 Legs. and Feet. — As in the cock. 
 
 General Shape and Cairiage.— Erect and strutting. 
 
 Size and Weight. — About 20 ozs. 
 
 Plumage.— Long and abundant throughout."] 
 
 COLOUR IN WHITE BOOTED AND WHISKERED BOOTED 
 BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : White. Eye : Red. Comb 
 Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles : Bright red. Shanks and 
 Toes : White. Plumage : Pure snow white throughout. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK BOOTED BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Black, or horn colour. Eye : 
 Dark red. Or very dark brown. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, 
 and Wattles : Bright red. Shanks and Toes : Black. 
 Plumage ; Blaick throughout, as rich and lustrous as 
 possible. 
 
STANDARDS FOR BANTAMS. 
 
 5^5 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN BOOTED 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head, comb, and face 
 „ colour of plumage 
 „ colour of legs and beak ... 
 
 Deficiency of leg and foot feathev . . . 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 „ condition 
 
 Defects in size 
 
 BANTAMS. 
 Deduct up to 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 • 15 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Wry tail, or any bodily deformity ; other than single 
 comb ; other than four toes. 
 
 FRIZZLED BANTAMS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCK AND 
 
 HEN. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Small and neat. Eye : 
 Bright and full. Beak : Short and strong. Comb : 
 Either single or rose ; single preferred. Face : Smooth, 
 fine in texture. Ear-lobes : Moderate in size. Wattles : 
 Pendulous and well shaped. Neck : Rather short and 
 nicely arched. 
 
 Body. — Breast : Full and well rounded. Bfich : 
 Broad and short. Wings : Rather long and drooping. 
 
 Tail. — Large, full, and erect, the cock having plenty 
 of side hangers and a good pair of sickles. 
 
 Legs' and Feet. — Thighs: Moderately .short and set 
 well apart. Shanks : Very short, and quite free from 
 feathers. Toes : Four in number and well spread. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Compact, erect, lively, 
 and strutting. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Cocks, 16 ozs. to 18 ozs. ; hens, 
 14 ozs. to 16 ozs. 
 
 Fliuuage. — Very short, hard, and wiry, every feather 
 being curled backward towards the head, and the 
 curling as close and abundant as possible. 
 
 COLOUR IN FRIZZLED BANTAMS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and Wattles: 
 Bright red. Eye : BrUliant red. Beak : Yellow or 
 horn. Legs and Feet : Yellow for the whites and golden ; 
 dark willow or black for the dark feathered varieties. 
 Plumage: Pure white, sound black, rich golden, 
 partridge, grey^ pr blue. Whichever colour the birds 
 are of, they should be as even as possible through- 
 out. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN FRIZZLED 
 
 BANTAMS. 
 
 ' Defects. 
 
 Deduct up to 
 
 Defepts in head and comb 
 
 ... 5 
 
 „ feet 
 
 ... 5 
 
 Defective colour of plumage 
 
 ... 15 
 
 Insufficiency of curl 
 
 ... 25 
 
 Feather too soft ... 
 
 ... 20 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 ... 10 
 
 . „ condition 
 
 ... 10 
 
 Incorrect size and weight , 
 
 A r-.j. i.:-j A. 
 
 ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed: 
 Deformity of any kind, many feathers uncurled. 
 
 The following Bantams have the same 
 characteristics as the large breeds of their 
 variety ; the Standard therefore only gives their 
 weights and scale of points. 
 
 ANDALUSIAN BANTAMS. 
 
 Weight. — Cock : 18 to 22 ozs. Hen : 16 to 20 ozs. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 Defects. Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and comb 20- 
 
 . Badly shaped or stained lobes 10 
 
 Light eyes 10 
 
 Defective colour and lacing 30 
 
 Want of symmetry 10 
 
 „ condition ...■ , ... 10 
 
 Defects in size 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 ASEEL 
 
 BANTAMS. 
 
 
 Vlns\A.—Cock : 20 ozs 
 
 . Hen : 18 ozs. 
 
 
 VALUE 
 
 OF POINTS. 
 
 
 Defects. 
 
 
 Deduct up to 
 
 Coarse head and comb 
 
 ... ... ... 
 
 ... 10 
 
 Weak neck 
 
 
 ... 10 
 
 Roach back 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 10 
 
 Narrow long stern 
 
 
 ... 5 
 
 Upright tail 
 
 
 ... 10 
 
 Bad carriage 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 20 
 
 Softness in condition... 
 
 ••• ... ... 
 
 ... 20 
 
 Bad plumage 
 
 ■•, ••■ 
 
 .... 5 
 
 Scars and blemishes ... 
 
 
 
 ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 100 
 
 BRAHMA BANTAMS. 
 
 Weight. — Cock : 2 lbs. 5 ozs. Cockerel : % lbs. Hen : 
 a lbs. Pullet: 28 ozs. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 Defects. * Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and comb 10 
 
 f ' „ colour ,, 20 
 
 Bad shape and carriage 15 
 
 Want of fluff and cushion 15 
 
 Deficiency of leg and foot feather 10 
 
 Want of symmetry 8 
 
 ,, condition i3 
 
 Defects in size 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 CUCKOO OR SCOTCH GREY BANTAMS. 
 
 Weight,— CocA : 16 to 20 ozs. Hen : 14 to 17 ozs, 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and comb 
 
 15 
 
 White in ear-lobes 
 
 10 
 
 Defects in colour and marking 
 
 35 
 
 feet 
 
 10 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 15 
 
 „ condition 
 
 15 
 
 Defects in size 
 
 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
5?6 
 
 THE BOOK . OF. PO UL TR V^. 
 
 :. ,, , HAMBURGH BANTAMS. 
 
 - Weiffht.^Ci!iV/6; i6'to'20 ozSi-' /f««; 14 to 17 ozs. 
 VALITE 0F POINTS. ' 
 
 Defects. Deduct, up to 
 
 Defects in head and comb" 15 
 
 Stained ea:r-lobes ,._...■ ... , ,10 
 
 Bad carriage of tail 10 
 
 Defects in colour and marking ... 30 
 
 Want of symmetry 10 
 
 „ condition 15 
 
 Defects in size ib 
 
 A perfect bird to count 160 
 
 Weight.— CtfC/J 
 Pullit : 23 ozs. 
 
 INDIAN GAME BANTAMS. 
 
 32, Cockerel : 38 ozs. Hen . 
 
 34. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 Defects. Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and neck • 15 
 
 ., eyes 5 
 
 „ body and shoulders 15 
 
 „ legs and feet 10 
 
 „ . tail 5 
 
 Want qf symmetry .12 
 
 „ of condition 8 
 
 Defective coloujr io 
 
 Want of hardness and brilliancy of feather •■■ 10 
 
 Defects in size... ' ,. ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to cojiint 100 
 
 LEGHORN BANTAMS. 
 Weight. — Cock : 18 to 22 ozs. Hen : 16 to 20 ozs. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 
 
 Defects. Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and comb 20 
 
 Badly shaped or stained lobes 15 
 
 Defective colour and marking 15 
 
 Pale legs 15 
 
 Light eyes ■ 5 
 
 Want of symmetry 10 
 
 „ condition *. 10 
 
 Defectain size 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 
 
 100 
 
 MINORCA BANTAMS. 
 
 Weight. — Cock : 18 to 32 ozs. Hen : 16 to 30 ozs. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 
 Deduct up to ' 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head and comb 
 Stained ear-lobes 
 Defects in colour 
 Want of symmetry . . . 
 
 „ condition 
 Defects in size 
 
 30 
 10 
 
 25 
 10 
 
 15 
 10 
 
 MALAY BANTAMS/^ ' 
 
 Weight.— C(?c/^; 38 to 33 ozs. Hen : zz to 24 ozs. 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 Defects. ' , ' Deduct up to 
 
 Defects" in head and neck 15 
 
 ,, eyes ... 10 
 
 Want of shoulders 10 
 
 Defects in legs and feet ... .; 10 
 
 tail ■ 5 
 
 Want of reach and symmetry 12 
 
 „ -condition ... .. 10 
 
 Defects in colour 8 
 
 Too much, or long and soft feather 10 
 
 Defects in size... 10 
 
 'A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 POLISH BANTAMS. 
 
 Weight. — Cock : 17 to 22 ozs. Hen : 14 to 18 ozs. 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 
 Deduct up to 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 : 15 
 
 25 
 
 Defects. 
 
 Want of shape or size in crest 
 
 „ muffling 
 
 Too much comb 
 
 Defects in colour and marking 
 
 Want- of symmetry 
 „ condition 
 Defects in size.... 
 
 10 
 10 
 10 
 
 A perfect bird to coimt 100 
 
 SPANISH BANTAMS. 
 
 Weight. — Cock : 18 to 23 ozs. Hen : 16 to 20 ozs. 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in comb 
 
 Too small or stained face and lobes 
 
 Defects in plumage 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 „ condition 
 
 Defects in size 
 
 Deduct up to 
 
 ... 15 
 
 - 35 
 
 ... 15 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ... 15 
 
 ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 SULTAN BANTAMS. 
 Weight. — Cock : 16 to 20 ozs. Hen : 13 to 14 ozs, 
 VALUE OF POINTS. 
 Defects. 
 
 Deficiency in size or faulty shape of crest 
 Want of beard and whiskers 
 Deficiency of leg and foot feathers. . . 
 Defects in leg — wrong colour or too long . 
 „ colour of plumage 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 ,, . condition 
 
 Defects in size 
 
 Deduct up to 
 
 ... 15 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ... 15 
 
 ... 10 
 
 ... 20 
 
 ... 12 
 ... 8 
 
 ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count loo 
 
 A. perfect bird to count loo— 
 
517 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 TURKEYS. GUINEA FOWL. PEA FOWL. 
 
 ALL the domestic varieties of turkeys are 
 /-\ undoubtedly descended from the wild 
 "^ -^ race of North America. This no one 
 questions now ; and the obstinate incredulity 
 of some naturalists respecting the fact is one 
 of the most curious phenomena in the history 
 of science. It was stated that the wild turkey 
 could not be domesticated, and refused to cross 
 with the domestic race ; both statements having 
 no atom of foundation, so far as we have ever 
 been able to learn. On the contrary, the fine 
 strain known as American Bronze owes its size 
 and lustre to possessing about three-fourths 
 of wild blood, some specimens being indeed 
 almost pure wild in strain, though bred for some 
 generations in captivity ; • and Andubon had 
 long ago stated as of his own personal knowledge, 
 that the wild turkeys frequently fed, bred, and 
 associated with the domestic stock, and were 
 tempted in every possible way to do so by the 
 owners of the latter, as the half-bred birds were 
 finer in size and hardier in constitution. 
 
 The varieties of the wild turkey are usually 
 reckoned as three, viz. the wild breed of more 
 northern America and Canada, known as 
 
 Meleagris, Americana, whose colours 
 Wild are confined to iridescent dark. 
 
 Turkeys. colours and bronzes ; an equally 
 
 fine race found in Mexico and the 
 southern States, and hence called by some natu- 
 ralists M: Mexicana, which is somewhat shorter 
 in leg, and has the tail and other feathers 
 tipped with white ; and a still more southern 
 variety found in Honduras and Central America, 
 known as M: ocellata, distinguished by absence 
 of breast-tuft, differences in carunculation, and 
 the iridescent splendour of its plumage. The 
 ground-colour of this last is usually described 
 as a beautiful bronze green, banded with 
 gold bronze, blue, and red, with some bands 
 of brilliant black ; and it is much to be desired 
 that so magnificent a. variety should be added 
 to domestic stock; but all attempts hitherto 
 have been unsuccessful, the birds dying when 
 removed to a colder climate. They breed freely, 
 however, and several' times hybrids have been 
 produced ; and we cannot help thinking, as the 
 bird is readily domesticated, that by breeding 
 
 back the hardier hybrids to wild stock, the 
 glorious plumage might perhaps be perpetuated : 
 moreover the rearing of turkeys and tropical 
 breeds is better understood now, than at the date 
 of the latest attempts we ever heard of (about 
 1872) to domesticate the Honduras turkey. 
 
 Much useless argument has been expended 
 upon the relation of the wild races to domestic 
 stock, about which there is practically no doubt 
 at all. It is quite certain that turkeys were 
 first introduced to Europe by the Spaniards, 
 who of course would get hold of the more 
 southern, or Mexican bird ; and hence no doubt 
 the general prevalence of more or less white 
 marking in all the older European varieties. 
 But there is no real line of division between the 
 northern and more southern birds, which breed 
 freely together, and merge into each other on 
 the great Continent ; and there seems no reason 
 for the difference in colour between those at 
 the two extremes of latitude, except warmer 
 climate and more plentiful food. . These causes 
 almost always produce some variation in colour 
 or marking in birds, and hence the more northern 
 turkey has itself been several times recorded 
 to have produced white marking in the third 
 generation of domestic rearing and feeding. 
 The greater delicacy of the Honduras variety 
 has undoubtedly been caused solely by tropical 
 conditions, and it is rather remarkable that 
 in India also turkeys are found to degenerate 
 in size, thus showing sensitiveness to tropical 
 heat in another way. All the varieties inter- 
 breed with perfect freedom, thus showing that 
 they are but local varieties of one great race. 
 
 As no one ever supposed that these birds 
 came from Turkey, or from anywhere except 
 North America — not one single, old writer can 
 be quoted for any such mistake — the origin 
 of the name is a very curious question. Some 
 have suggested that it came from a supposed, 
 resemblance of the. red carunculations to the 
 old Turkish costume of a red fez coming down 
 to the ears, with a dark flowing robe beneath. 
 Another guess is that the word is corrupted 
 from turquoise, supposed to be applied to the 
 bluish carunculations about the head. Others 
 point out that the name of "a Turk" is often 
 
Si8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 applied in popular language to any one remark- 
 able for domineering and pompous disposition, 
 or 'appearance, and thus became attached to 
 the turkey cock, and gradually modified. 
 The reader can take his choice. 
 
 The original wild turkey is of necessity 
 disappearing fast from the United States, as 
 settlement extends and population increases; 
 and, unless preserved in wood coverts as a 
 game bird before it is too late, the time cannot 
 be distant when it will be extinct except in its 
 descendants. It is a fowl that can only live in 
 its original condition upon ample ranges of forest 
 or woodland, where the ground is quite untainted, 
 and it can find suiiScient subsistence in its 
 own wild way. Domestication has not improved, 
 but actually decreased its size, for wild gobblers 
 have occasionally been shot weighing 60 lbs., 
 whilst the heaviest American Bronze which we 
 • have record of, fed, up for exhibition, only reached 
 46 lbs., and very few exceed or even reach 40 
 lbs. Domestication has also reduced hardihood 
 in regard tcv-weather or exposure, whilst increasing 
 it in regard to domestic conditions. Thus the 
 turkeys long bred in Norfolk and Cambridge 
 have become very much smaller than the wild 
 breed, and would perish under exposure which 
 the wild race would brave with impunity ; but 
 on the other hand they can be reared with 
 success in large numbers, where the wild race 
 viTOuld die from disease, in conformity to the 
 law explained .in the first chapter of this book. 
 
 The domestic varieties of turkeys have under- 
 gone considerable- transformation during the 
 last generation. . About 1865 those kept in 
 England consisted mainly of the 
 Domestic black Norfolk breed, which largely 
 Varieties. supplied the Christmas market, 
 seldom then exceeding about 22 
 lbs. . for full-grown cocks and say 14 lbs. for 
 hens, and of which there were pure white and 
 solid fawn-coloured varieties of about the same 
 size ; and the larger Cambridge turkeys, weigh- 
 ing about 24 lbs. and 16 lbs., of a beautiful 
 bronze and black and white plumage, known 
 as variegated. The birds exhibited were gener- 
 ally of this latter type, but of course larger, the 
 old gobbler in the first prize pen at Birmingham 
 in 1865 weighing 30 lbs., and the hen 17 lbs., 
 which may be taken as about the heaviest weights 
 obtainable in England at that time. About the 
 same period birds of much the same stamp as 
 these last, but somewhat finer because occasional 
 crosses of the larger wild bird had always more or 
 less taken place, began to be more systematically 
 crossed and bred in that way in America, 
 resulting in the magnificent American Bronze 
 breed, in which white marking was much 
 
 diminished, whilst colour and gloss were 
 improved, and the size was so increased that 
 individual specimens of full-sized old gobblers 
 reached as much as 40 lbs. Some of these birds 
 were imported by English breeders, and crossed 
 upon the Cambridge, improving them both in 
 colour and in size. A Turkey Club was also 
 formed, which further stimulated the breeding 
 of these fine birds. Finally the American 
 Bronze ideal was fully accepted for this, the 
 largest and finest race of birds, and the standard 
 for adult gobblers raised to 34 lbs. ; and so 
 much American blood was bred into them, 
 that English and American Bronze turkeys 
 may now be -regarded as_ practically the same. 
 Meanwhile American breeders had not been 
 idle, but introduced more and more of the fast- 
 vanishing wild blood, breeding and rearing 
 with such success that gobblers of 45 and. 46 
 lbs. have occasionally been seen in exhibition 
 pens. 
 
 The older and smaller, domestic varieties 
 notwithstanding hold their ground, for the 
 obvious reason that there is no general market 
 demand for birds beyond a certain size. Let 
 any one ask himself how he could manage with 
 a turkey weighing 40 lbs., from a table point 
 of view, and he will at once understand why 
 black or white turkeys, whose top figure is only 
 about 20 lbs., are still so largely bred in England 
 and Normandy. It is the really marketable 
 kind of bird, 10 lbs. to 15 lbs. being the weights 
 most in demand ; and moreover a great many 
 people consider (with real foundation in our 
 opinion)that the Black and White whole-coloured 
 birds are somewhat superior to the Bronze in 
 juiciness of flesh and delicacy, of skin, both of 
 which points have money value. At exhibitions 
 where only one class is provided for turkeys, 
 it is of course almost useless for any to compete 
 except the immense and magnificently-coloured 
 Bronze breed ; but at Birmingham extra classes 
 are still offered for other varieties, and these 
 are still occupied by the older sorts. Such 
 classes rarely have many entries of the Black 
 Norfolk birds, whose dark plumage makes them 
 suffer by more direct comparison with the 
 immense Bronze exhibits, with which they 
 cannot compete : still very fine specimens of 
 these sometimes appear, the plumage being 
 all black except a few touches of white occasion- 
 ally, the less the better. The beaks of these 
 are dark horn-colour to black, and the legs 
 slaty black or lead-colour. 
 
 The entries in such extra classes chiefly 
 now consist as a rule of Whites and Fawns, 
 both very old breeds, as already mentioned. 
 The Whites are often entered or described as 
 
VARIETIES OF TURKEYS. 
 
 S19 
 
 " Austrian " Whites, why we do not know, as 
 they can be traced back in England for over 
 a hundred years, and there were little imports 
 of any kind from Austria at that time. These 
 birds should have flesh-coloured or pink beaks, 
 and white or pale pink shanks and toes, the 
 eyes being of the same dark hazel as the Blacks, 
 from which they were no doubt sports. The 
 plumage must be pure and clean white all 
 over except the " beard " or tuft of hair on the 
 breast, which is black, deep, and ungrizzled. 
 They are beautiful birds, and very widely spread 
 over the country, though seldom in flocks of 
 any size. We found many small lots about 
 Sussex, where they are rather liked for their 
 white feathers, and are stated by the Sussex 
 farmers (who should be as good judges of table 
 quality as any) to be very fine in skin and 
 flesh, and rather long, though not large, in 
 body. They have been said to be delicate, but 
 those who really kept theni did not seem to 
 consider them any more so than others. 
 
 The Fawns are much less common than 
 Whites, and may be described as pale buff. 
 The tails of those we have seen appeared a 
 little long in comparison with other colours, 
 and the bodies a little more slender. The shanks 
 and toes are flesh-colour in such as have come 
 under our notice. There have usuallj^ been 
 one or two of each sex at Birmingham, but they 
 are certainly less seen than we can remember 
 some years ago, are not standardised, and 
 appear to be gradually dying out in this country. 
 We have not seen enough of them dressed for 
 table, to judge how they compare with others 
 in this respect. 
 
 Besides the beautiful Bronze breed, which 
 is sufficiently described in the Standard at the 
 end of this chapter, these are all the varieties 
 bred in England. They are also 
 American recognised in the United States 
 Turkeys. and Canada, where the fawn-colour 
 is known as Buff; and the Norfolk 
 breed as Black, while it is singular that Whites, 
 instead of being termed White "Austrian" as 
 in England, are known as White " Holland " 
 turkeys. Besides these, Americans have two 
 varieties not known in England. Qne of them 
 is standardised as Slate, the colour being an 
 ashy-blue resembling Andalusian colour of 
 the dull cast, but without lacing, atid which is 
 often rather peppered with black. This does 
 not appear much thought of ; but another breed, 
 known as the Narragansett, is next to the 
 Bronze the largest turkey in America. The 
 beak is light horn, the shanks salmon-colour 
 or brown or pinky-brown. The plumage is 
 mainly black, but most of the feathers have 
 
 a band or bar of light grey or steel grey near 
 the tip, the tip itself being a jet-black band 
 beyond the grey, and the wing feathers barred 
 • with grey. Only in the tail feathers and inner 
 webs of the primaries some brown is found, 
 and the tail feathers terminate in a broad black 
 band edged with light grey. The effect of this 
 uniform grey edging and barring is very beautiful, 
 and the breed altogether is very fine and charac- 
 teristic. Of late years the Narragansett has 
 been growing in popularity amongst Rhode 
 Island breeders; but through the States gener- 
 ally, next to the Bronze, the White Holland is 
 the favourite, and is considered by many rearers, 
 and also by some city dealers, to be more 
 delicate in flesh than the Bronze breed — an 
 opinion which we have seen to be also held 
 in England. 
 
 We may now proceed to practical considera- 
 tions. Whether turkey-breeding is profitable 
 or not depends very much upon circumstances, 
 
 and of course still more upon 
 Breeding management. In regard to circum- 
 Turkeya. stances, they thrive best upon rather 
 
 high and dry land, such as grows 
 rather poor grass, and are not well adapted as 
 a rule for low-lying rich pastures. On a holding 
 where there is much variety in these respects, 
 it often happens that turkeys will thrive in one 
 field, and not in any other part ; and this in 
 spite of' the general rule that they do best on 
 fresh ground, other things being equal. On the 
 whole they are better avoided by such as farm 
 heavy land. Another important point is, not 
 to rear turkeys and other poultry together. 
 This is often seen as regards small lots ; and 
 with only a brood or two, the evil may not be 
 apparent if there is good range ; but it does 
 not answer, and with larger numbers would be 
 ruinous, the turkey needing ground as sweet as 
 can be managed, and the poultry suffering 
 somewhat also. On any given portion of a 
 holding there may be one or the other, but 
 should not be both. 
 
 This is the more important because a turkey- 
 house should never be enclosed. Even through 
 the winters of North America, houses open at 
 the front are found best, and many breeders 
 prefer to let the grown birds roost in trees, on 
 the sheltered side of some large building. 
 Any ordinary fowl-house is poison to them, 
 and even if the birds have a high and roomy 
 house to themselves, but closed in, unless the 
 ventilation be very much more free than it is 
 at all easy to give, they will be seen to hurry 
 out in the morning, pining for fresher air. A 
 high and open cart-shed may do, or a high shed 
 open in front, and preferably with the highest 
 
S20 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 part of the roof to the front, though it may of 
 course be wired in if necessary. More shelter 
 than is afforded by the sides and back wall, is 
 never needed even in the most severe weather, 
 and merely does harm. 
 
 In regard to the selection of breeding stock, 
 it might be supposed from what was said above 
 as to the marketable value of the different 
 
 varieties, that the exhibitor and the 
 Selection niarket breeder have quite different 
 
 Breeding stock, ends to serve in selecting their stock 
 
 and rearing its produce. To some- 
 extent this is no doubt true ; but it is only so 
 to some extent, and size in the stock really is 
 of great importance to the breeder for market 
 also. Supposing the exhibition weight of a 
 fully-grown gobbler .of one of the English 
 breeds to be 30 lbs., a full average weight for 
 cockerels would only be about 18 lbs., and of 
 course many only reared for market would be 
 less than this. Thus, the lessons in breeding 
 which the . exhibitor has learnt by experience, 
 are of the greatest importance to the breeder 
 for market also ; though in his case they bear 
 chiefly upon the question of weight at a cost, 
 and not, as in the exhibitor's case, of getting 
 the utmost weight at any price. The same law 
 holds good for both, that the finest young stock 
 is bred from fully-matured old birds of full 
 size, two and three years old ; and especially is 
 this true in the case of the male parent. The 
 turkey cock is really not matured for breeding 
 till two years old, though hens are very good 
 at twelve months ; but they will be better the 
 next year, and quite as good if not better the 
 year after that. Amongst many experiments 
 which have been made on this point, the 
 following may suffice. An unusually fine 
 gobbler bred the preceding season, and weighing 
 25 lbs., was mated with year-old hens, and 
 produced a really fine flock, some of the pairs 
 weighing 35 lbs. by Christmas. Next year the. 
 cock weighed when mated 30 lbs., and the hens 
 1 8 lbs. : and the young stock that year averaged 
 fully 5 lbs. per pair more, and were hardier, and 
 reared with less trouble and loss. It need 
 hardly be pointed out that it is the young birds 
 which, with only the same feeding and care, 
 make extra weight, that are reared at the least 
 cost per pound. 
 
 To this general rule respecting the value of 
 matured stock there are no exceptions whatever, 
 and there is little doubt that some Norfolk 
 breeders have been in some degree handicapped 
 against those of Normandy and other parts of 
 France, by trusting too much to their young 
 stockj whilst the French breeders, though 
 sending only moderaAe-sized birds to the 
 
 London market, have produced these at less 
 cost, by breeding from older birds. It may be 
 urged that large old gobblers are often too 
 heavy for the hens; but this can always be 
 avoided, as it is the custom in America to do 
 Tvith the heavy Bronze birds, by shutting the 
 gobblers up a while before breeding, and feeding 
 rather sparingly, but on nitrogenous food, so as 
 to reduce their weight, making them lean and 
 active. This precaution is important, and should 
 not be forgotten. 
 
 We place this rule of selecting fine and 
 mature stock first and by itself, because it is of 
 such wide and far-reaching importance in turkey 
 breeding, and because the fact that immense 
 birds are not desired for market, rather tends to 
 obscure it. Yet the very largest birds are by 
 no means to be preferred. Even the largest 
 exhibition turkeys are not often bred from the 
 largest specimens, but from vigorous medium- 
 sized representatives of stock whose average size 
 is great. A change of blood every three years or 
 so, is advisable. Particular care must be taken 
 not to over-feed the breeding birds, or make 
 them fat : such plump stock may look very fine, 
 but eggs will be small, and often infertile. This 
 especially applies to the gobblers, and most of 
 all if they are very large in frame ; but it is 
 applicable to the hens also. Perhaps the most 
 important point of all in individual selection, is 
 to get birds with a long breast-bone. If the -dead 
 turkeys are examined at any Christmas display, 
 whether at shops or exhibitions, this point will 
 be found to differ to an extraordinary extent, 
 some birds having breast-bones very nearly 
 twice (in proportion) as long as others. This 
 feature alone makes a great difference in the 
 price, and is entirely hereditary and within 
 control : the numerous short-breasted turkeys 
 seen at Leadenhall every winter, show that 'it 
 has not received from many breeders nearly 
 the attention it requires. 
 
 It has been proved beyond doubt that one 
 visit to a turkey gobbler is sufficient to fecundate 
 all the eggs laid in one batch by the hen. Some 
 farmers who only keep a few hens and do not 
 rear rnany, send their birds to stud to a neigh- 
 bour in this way, and others have argued that 
 the number of hens to one gobbler may be almost 
 unlimited. It does not prove so in practice, 
 again showing what has already been mentioned, 
 that mere, fecundation is not the only factor in 
 breeding. When too many hens are mated to 
 one torn, the produce is never the same in size 
 and vigour, and general experience has settled 
 upon about ten hens in a pen, as a limit that 
 can rarely be exceeded, or at least much ex- 
 ceeded, with good results. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF TURKEY HENS. 
 
 521 
 
 Domestication has greatly modified the lay- 
 ing and prolificacy of turkey hens. About half- 
 a-century ago" the hen usually laid twelve or 
 thirteen eggs, in March, April, or May, 
 ^^® more than eighteen being seldom 
 
 Hen ^^ recorded, and such second sittings as 
 were occasionally produced being too 
 late to be profitably reared. Two or three years 
 ago we heard of a poult laying her first egg on 
 December 22nd, and batches of twenty up to 
 twenty-five are riot at all uncommon, so that 
 many birds have laid fifty eggs in one year, even 
 a hundred having been occasionally recorded. 
 The second batch is now often early enough 
 to rear to profit in favourable seasons. It is 
 very usual to set some of the earlier eggs under 
 common hens, giving the last fifteen to the 
 turkey herself, and adding those from the hen 
 to the turkey's own brood. 
 
 There are different ways of managing the 
 breeding stock, according to national custom, 
 number kept, and range at command. One 
 of the most successful American raisers — a lady, 
 who rears 95 per cent, of all she hatches — 
 usually keeps three pens of breeding birds, 
 one torn and ten hens in each, and each pen 
 having a run of one to three acres fenced in 
 for them, and secluded nests arranged about 
 the runs for the hefts, easily kept under observa- 
 tion. Though these pens are used later for 
 . young birds also, such a plan requires room, 
 and supposes that turkeys are the chief object 
 of the ground thus occupied. This number 
 of hens to one gobbler is found a good average 
 everywhere ; but on many farms only a pen 
 of four to six birds may be kept, allowed to range 
 at liberty, which answers very well for a few 
 breeders, provided they are not shut in at night, 
 and not overfed. But in such a case there 
 must be a close watch kept upon the laying 
 and sitting, for it is often very difficult to get 
 hens which are left at large to lay in a house, 
 the older breeds being in this respect better 
 domesticated than the more wild-bred Bronzes. 
 When about to lay, which may be known by 
 the hens poking about in corners, they may 
 be shut in till mid-day ; then if their shed is 
 dark on the floor, and the nests are contrived 
 and so arranged that they look secluded, they 
 will be induced to lay there, and once they 
 have laid a few eggs, will continue in the same 
 place, if not disturbed by unwise interference. 
 Or a number of barrels and other contrivances 
 may be arranged about the grounds outside, 
 in secluded corners, well concealed, and watched 
 to see if any of the birds resort to them. Now 
 and then one will steal a nest right awaj-, and 
 generally does well in such a case, but there 
 'O 
 
 is great risk from weasels, foxes, and other 
 vermin. When Bronze turkeys are kept " wild " 
 in wooded parks, they are best left entirely to 
 themselves ; while on the other hand some of 
 the older and more domesticated breeds will 
 lay in a house as sedately as a Dorking hen. 
 
 The laying nest will very often settle the 
 question of the sitting nest ; but turkeys are 
 such close and attentive sitters that there is 
 no difficulty in setting them in any sitting house 
 if more convenient. As they are very shy, 
 none but the one regular and well-known at- 
 tendant should visit them during incubation ; 
 nothing interferes so much with a good hatch 
 as the hen being startled in any way, and failure 
 of the eggs rarely occurs from any other cause. 
 But the regular attendant can do anything in 
 reason with all except the wilder birds. If a 
 broody bird be set on a few nest-eggs at night, 
 and an attr.active-looking nest be prepared close 
 by and filled with eggs, she will generally take 
 possession of it next day, and in another day 
 the real eggs may be given her ; but if she does 
 not, she can be placed on and shut in, and taken 
 off daily, providing food (for which Indian corn, 
 answers very well) and water and dry earth 
 close at hand. Plenty of grit should also be 
 within reach. As already mentioned in a pre- 
 vious chapter, many turkeys could even be kept 
 hatching for months continually, as in France, 
 removing them daily to feed and to clean the 
 nests. Some Bronze hens, however, could not 
 be so treated, and the individual character ot 
 the stock may have to be studied, in the manner 
 here indicated. On the whole it is generally- 
 least troublesome, when feasible, if the turkey 
 hen sits in the nest which she has chosen, 
 herself, and where she has laid. 
 
 Insect vermin must be carefully guarded 
 against. While dusting material should be 
 provided, many hens rarely if ever make use 
 of it. With outside nests on a free range this, 
 will matter little ; but when set indoors, botk 
 nest and hen should be thoroughly dressed with, 
 insect powder : or the nest may be well painted 
 over inside with one of the volatile liquid 
 vermin-killers so popular in America (see final 
 chapter), and the hen confined in such another 
 nest before being placed in the permanent one. 
 Insect powder may also be dusted on the nest 
 when the hen is off, or even on the hen herself,, 
 when she is tame and knows the attendant well. 
 A vety large consensus of American experience- 
 agrees that success in rearing the poults after 
 hatching depends as much upon these pre- 
 cautions, or more, strictly, upon a vermin-free- 
 condition of the hen at the date of hatchings 
 as upon any factor whatever, and that many- 
 
522 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 cases of drooping and death formerly attributed 
 to other causes, were really due to insect 
 vermin. 
 
 Where turkey-rearing is a business, it is best 
 to provide each hen with about twenty-five 
 chicks ; and as she can only properly cover 
 fifteen to seventeen eggs herself, it was formerly 
 the custom to put six or seven at the same 
 time under a common hen, giving the whole 
 when hatched to the turkey. This plan is still 
 often followed, but many now prefer to place 
 the surplus eggs in an incubator, which hatches 
 perfectly well, though brooders do not answer 
 for rearing so well as with chickens. The 
 turkey often lays several eggs after she has 
 begun to sit, and the eggs should therefore 
 always be marked. The time for incubation is 
 normally twenty-eight days, but it is not unusual 
 to hatch either a day sooner or a day later. The 
 day but one before hatching is expected, it is 
 well to give the nest a good cleaning from any 
 excrement and feathers, and both nest and hen 
 another dusting with insect powder. She should 
 not again be disturbed, though food and water 
 may be left within reach. It may also be well 
 to mention that the turkey cock should not be 
 allowed access to the sitting-house unless he is 
 known to be harmless ; as the wild bird seeks 
 to destroy the eggs or young chicks, and some 
 of the dojTiestic race retain the same strange 
 instinct : others, however, are quite free from 
 it, and walk about proudly with the chicks 
 which some would, if allowed, trample to death. 
 AH experienced breeders agree that the hen 
 should be left with her chicks quite undisturbed 
 for twenty-four hours after they begin to hatch, 
 
 after which they must of course be 
 Turkey put out. At this stage there are 
 
 Chicks. three requisites to be considered, 
 
 viz. shelter from wet, fresh clean 
 ground, and plenty of air. In an uncertain 
 climate like that of England, a very good plan 
 is to put the mother under a large crate in a 
 cart-shed, or any other shed entirely open in 
 the front, taking care that there is fresh dry 
 earth underneath, and keeping it clean by 
 diligent attention. Some breeders do very well 
 with a large covered coop, moved every day on 
 to fresh ground, as turkeys should not be 
 hatched till there is likely to be fine weather. 
 If the chicks themselves should get wet, a 
 proportion generally perish ; and while the 
 weather is treacherous, therefore, there should 
 always be shelter at hand under which the 
 mother and brood can be driven when a shower 
 threatens. Yet in dry weather, on fairly dry 
 soil, there is no doubt that young birds thrive 
 much better with free range after they are a 
 
 week or ten days old, and have got strong upon 
 their legs. This can often be afforded in favour- 
 able seasons, and there is no prettier sight than 
 the stately march of a turkey hen with her 
 brood, across an ample run where they can 
 in great degree forage for themselves. 
 
 These cardinal requisites of shelter from wet 
 while young, while yet seicuring fresh air and 
 ground, with ample exercise, lead to great 
 differences in even successful turkey 
 Bearing , rearing. Mr. Tegetmeier did useful 
 
 Turkeys. service some years ago in drawing 
 
 attention to the success obtained 
 by some breeders in America, on the plan of 
 leaving the young broods with their mothers 
 entirely in the open, with no artificial shelter 
 and very little feeding. Such facts have their 
 lessons for all breeders; but conclusions have 
 been drawn' from them which are entirely un- 
 warranted, and which fail to take into account 
 the wide difference in American circumstances. 
 When, for instance, it is said that the American 
 climate is "more severe than the British," the 
 only reply possible is that, in regard to rearing 
 young birds, the exact contrary is the case. 
 Every one knows that adult turkeys are hardy, 
 and we have already enlarged on the necessity 
 of open shedding for the roosting birds. But 
 at the season whilst the chicks are growing, the 
 American climate is not only warmer, but far 
 more uniformly dry than in this country, so 
 that the great danger in. England of exposure 
 to wet during the period of infancy, is almost, 
 non-existent. Land is also abundant and cheap 
 in America, and very great numbers are sel- 
 dom reared on one farm. The largest breeder 
 cited for the " natural " plan, Mr. Tucker, of 
 Providence, R.I., only raises three or four 
 hundred ; and when it is stated that his 
 daughter had to walk three miles to go the 
 round of the broods, it will be obvious that such 
 a system would fail absolutely to manage the 
 large numbers reared by some producers for the 
 British Christmas market. The same plan has 
 been followed, and with the same success, by 
 gentlemen in England who have parks, coverts, 
 or similar advantages, and who have not to 
 make a profit out of a market price ; but for 
 such market purposes, and in a thickly popu- 
 lated country, other methods must necessarily 
 be followed, even leaving such risks as those 
 from poachers and foxes out of account. 
 
 Neither are the- older methods necessarily 
 attended by " disaster," as is freely alleged by 
 some. It is by them that the British market is 
 mainly supplied, both from England itself and 
 from France ; and the large numbers reared at 
 a profit are a very simple reply to extreme 
 
REARING YOUNG TURKEYS. 
 
 523 
 
 statements of that kind. Lastly, the really largest 
 and most successful rearers, even in America, 
 employ more moderate and domestic methods, 
 which keep the broods more under control, 
 while carrying out the same general principles. 
 Differences in race also have to be borne in 
 mind, and it is interesting to observe that in 
 America also, where the more domesticated, 
 " White Holland " turkey is largely bred, and 
 by many preferred for profit to the Bronze, 
 this breed is found to require far less range 
 than the wilder race. 
 
 While therefore the beneficial effects of real 
 freedom and exposure deserve the attentive 
 study of all rearers, there is more to be learnt 
 from the general American methods, which 
 have reduced such principles to application on 
 farms, and we have been interested in collating 
 more than a scojre of accounts furnished by 
 different breeders concerning their systems of 
 rearing and management. One lady already 
 referred to, Mrs. Charles Jones, who raises 
 turkeys on a farm in Illinois, has for years 
 raised 95 per cent, of all she hatches in con- 
 siderable numbers, and in fact finds that trifling 
 mortality considerably less than amongst her 
 chicks, is still of opinion, after trying the other 
 plan, that " if you do not keep them near the 
 house so that you can run them under cover 
 when a heavy storm comes on, you are liable to 
 lose a large percentage." She uses for this pur- 
 pose a large shed with a board floor, and watch 
 is kept in showery weather against all such 
 contingencies. As birds grow they are put in 
 flocks of about fifty, which she finds enough for 
 one yard or field of two or three acres, till 
 about two months old, when they are driven 
 out to their summer liberty. Her hens are 
 cooped for a few days, and then let out in a 
 home lot, except for showers as just mentioned. 
 A considerable majority of the breeders 
 just mentioned adopt a plan which is more or 
 less general throughout the United States, and 
 in a dry season is found to answer well. Three 
 boards, each twelve to sixteen feet long and 
 twelve to fifteen inches wide, are fastened to- 
 gether on their edges as an equilateral triangular 
 pen, on a piece of grass cut very short, and 
 quite fresh. The turkey chicks are put out in 
 this, in the sun, and the hen put down close by 
 to step into the pen, when she will gather them 
 together. For about a week the boards will con- 
 fine the chicks, and when they can get over them 
 they are strong enough on their legs to be left 
 at liberty. About three -such pens, each with a 
 hen and her brood, is considered enough for a 
 five-acre lot or field, and gives ample range, 
 while keeping all under control. Care has to 
 
 be taken that there are no hollows in the pen, 
 else the turkey is very apt to choose just that 
 spot for brooding, and if it rains the water col- 
 lects there and the chicks come to grief : with 
 this precaution many of the Bronze mothers are 
 found to shelter their broods with great care 
 and certainty during a storm, and bring them 
 up in safety, the White mothers being less to be 
 relied upon in this respect. Some prefer to 
 choose a spot for the pen which is bare of grass ; 
 and a great many move the pen every two days 
 to fresh ground. By far the greater number 
 agree that in the dry seasons of America, the 
 young ones do best if given full liberty (i.e. in 
 their field) with their mother after the first 
 week or ten days. 
 
 On the othei' hand, some of the largest 
 American breeders who have tried the " three- 
 board " system, have given it up in consequence 
 of losses ; and we find this chiefly, as might 
 be expected, in those States which have the 
 most spring and summer rainfall. Some of 
 these tether the mother by the leg under a 
 shed, where she has a considerable amount of 
 liberty : others coop her in a large slatted coop 
 under such a shed : others confine her in a large 
 covered coop, and give the chicks their liberty, 
 as countless English breeders do with their hens 
 and chickens. Much depends on whether grass 
 is long or short, and upon the season. All 
 agree that too many must not be allowed in 
 one field or lot, and that it is better if there 
 have been no turkeys in that lot the year before, 
 when the birds are reared in great numbers ; of 
 course a brood or two ranging over the whole 
 farm produce no ill effects. 
 
 The best English practice, it will thus be 
 seen, does not really differ in any essential point' 
 from the best American, and so far as it does 
 so at all,- that difference is necessitated by the 
 far greater liability to rain-storms in this 
 country. A few people may still roost their 
 breeding stock in close houses, and shut over- 
 crowded broods into close coops on foul ground, 
 and such folly must of course be often followed 
 by disaster. But the more intelligent and 
 successful English breeders either use open- 
 fronted coops or open sheds, get their broods 
 " out " as soon as possible, to roost out of doors, 
 and so far as practicable try to rear each year 
 upon a fresh field or part of the farm, taking a 
 crop before young turkeys are turned upon it 
 again. This cannot, however, always be done 
 in a thickly-populated country like England, 
 and in some places a system of disinfection is 
 practised which appears to be effectual. Un- 
 slaked lime is scattered freely over the grass 
 on a dry day, and left for about a week. Then 
 
524 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 it is scratched over by a harrow or rake, and 
 a layer about half an inch thick put upon 4t of 
 well-decayed farm manure, ashes, road-scrap- 
 ings, or even arable soil if there is nothing else. 
 This promotes a free growth of fresh grass, 
 and next spring the ground is found sweet 
 and recupera,ted.' 
 
 Where there is covert, nothing may be 
 needed in the way of shelter after the poults 
 are once well upon their legs ; but on any 
 ordinary farm some available shelter from wet 
 is found as necessary as ever, to which the 
 young ones can be driven when the necessity 
 arises. This danger remains till they have 
 " shot the red " about their heads, which is 
 generally at about ten weeks old. In some 
 parts of France, whence so many birds come 
 to the London market, sheds with dry boarded 
 floors, and even garrets, are still used for the 
 young birds, and the breeders affirm that with- 
 out these they lose their birds from colds or 
 cramp. Much of all this, as repeatedly ex- 
 plained, will depend on whether the turkeys 
 belong to the more domestic or semi-wild races, 
 the Bronze breed thriving where Norfolks would 
 perish, and vice versd. 
 
 TJiere are somewhat similar differences re- 
 garding the feeding of turkey chicks, but here 
 again thought and intelligence will disentangle 
 the real essentials. The chicks at 
 Peeding f^j.g^ seem stupid at picking up food. 
 
 Chicks. 3,nd some breeders are still accus- 
 
 tomed to put one or two eggs from 
 large fowls under the mother about the seventh 
 day, so as to hatch with the others and " teach " 
 them to feed. This may be useful, and there 
 is at all events no harm in it ; but our later 
 observations incline us to the opinion that the 
 turkey chick goes longer than other chickens 
 before requiring food, and is perhaps slower to 
 eat because less hungry. The majority of 
 breeders in both hemispheres feed for the first 
 two or three days upon a mixture of choppe4 
 hard-boiled egg and stale bread-crumbs. A few 
 mix raw egg with the bread-crumb (which must 
 always be stale), and some American breeders 
 prefer bread-crumb soaked in milk and squeezed 
 dry, or squeezed curd. The fact is that the 
 young turkey chicks are (at least under artificial 
 feeding) particularly prone to a slightly inflam- 
 matory irritation of the intestines, tending to 
 diarrhcea, which has constantly to be guarded 
 against, and is, next to wet, the greatest peril 
 of their early lives. The egg should be left 
 ofif gradually, substituting some Spratt, or meal 
 mixed with rice boiled in milk, with some kind 
 of minced animal food or cut bone. Gradually 
 a little grain may be added, but soft food should 
 
 predominate for some weeks, and be given in 
 fair proportion throughout. A rather favourite 
 American diet is Indian-corn meal and curd 
 made froni sour milk, a little cracked corn, and 
 wheat once a day. While penned up, it is 
 better to give them in addition some chopped 
 dandelion or lettuce leaves : the wild birds seem 
 to prefer dandelion to all other green food, and 
 there are no doubt reasons for this. The chicks 
 much enjoy the minced leaves, and seem in 
 general to thrive better with a supply of such 
 salad besides their food ; yet there are occa- 
 sional exceptions to even this, and we remember 
 one breeder writing that he never could give his 
 chicks such green food without starting the 
 dreaded diarrhoea, while he got along all right 
 so long as he reared them without any till they 
 could get it for themselves. We never could 
 get at the reason for this ; but any breeder 
 would, be foolish to disregard such experience, 
 and there will always be an individuality about 
 the birds on any given farm, which may require 
 study and allowance of this kind. 
 
 Broadly and generally, however, in England 
 most success will follow feeding as above, and 
 cooping the hen under cover for three or four 
 weeks, either in a very large roofed coop with a 
 dry wooden floor, or under a shed. Where 
 coops are used, in the open, it will be all the 
 better to move them at intervals ; and by 
 degrees of course the food will be brought 
 round to rougher diet, avoiding too "soft" or 
 new grain as tending to looseness. We have 
 more doubt about egg-food than in former 
 years, and in case of any diarrhoea appearing, 
 would omit it at once, substituting some Spratt 
 mixed with rice boiled in milk, or even in water, 
 but so as not to be too soft, and if necessary 
 sprinkling on the food a little powdered chalk. 
 Some still give chopped onions, but we think 
 this a mistake. 
 
 By far the most important general rule, is to 
 feed often, but to feed sparingly. Above almost 
 all chickens, young turkeys require to be kept 
 on the move, and to eat little at a time, and 
 while walking about, so far as possible. Full 
 feeding, of any kind, always upsets their 
 digestive system before very long ; and we 
 suspect that such disasters as occur under the 
 older methods of rearing have been far more 
 often owing to either this cause, or to insect 
 vermin, than to any other. 
 
 This latter pest must throughout be guarded 
 against, and it is largely because American 
 breeders have at last become so fully alive to it 
 as a cause of weakness and death, that their 
 results have so much improved over those of 
 former years. The British climate is not so apt 
 
FEEDING YOUNG TURKEYS. 
 
 525 
 
 to encourage insects; still we have seen flocks of 
 young birds obviously pining from this cause. 
 Such should always be caught and examined, 
 and if necessary energetically treated, either by 
 using volatile insecticide in a large box, or by 
 powdered sulphur or insect powder. One great 
 advantage of the more open-air system is that it 
 keeps the poults more free from this danger. 
 
 Another point to be borne in mind is that 
 young turkeys, as indeed old ones also, specially 
 require abundance of grit. Plenty of gravel or 
 other grit should always be provided near their 
 ■coop or shed, and it will be seen that they take 
 <i rather surprising quantity of it. Grit should 
 also be well scattered over the grass near the 
 coop. Some believe that coarsely crushed 
 charcoal amongst the grit is an advantage : we 
 ■can testify to its being eaten, at all events. With 
 plenty of grit, and very sparing but frequent 
 feeding upon good food, on clean ground, most 
 of the supposed difficulties of rearing young 
 turkeys will be found to disappear, and they will 
 make even larger frames than if fed more freely. 
 This kind of feeding is the more necessary 
 because they are eager feeders, and if allowed to 
 ■eat to repletion, suffer as above indicated. 
 
 Some American breeders mix a portion of 
 red pepper in the food of the young birds, and 
 •believe them to do better with it. They state, 
 that if allowed the chicks will attack pods of red 
 pepper eagerly ; and it is just possible that the 
 old popular superstition of putting a peppercorn 
 •down the throat of each poult may have been 
 originally based upon some such observation. 
 The condiment prescription No. 2, given on page 
 203, may be of considerable service if used with 
 -discretion, giving it only to chicks that seem 
 flagging, or on wet days. It is used by many 
 turkey-raisers in France, for whom it was origin- 
 ally devised by a French chemist, who also 
 raised turkeys himself, and who found its value 
 in bringing his birds through the critical weeks 
 before the " shooting of the red." 
 
 In America many turkeys get no feeding at 
 all during the summer, after being turned loose ; 
 and many others only a feed of corn at night, 
 given partly to supplement what they pick up, 
 and partly to keep them in the habit of coming 
 home : they make their growth on vegetable 
 food and insects, and are found to be larger as 
 well as more healthy in the fall. On English farms 
 they would not often get enough in this way, 
 though they will make splendid birds when 
 allowed to run wild on unlimited space in park 
 or covert. In some places it is still customary 
 for large farmers to buy young birds from the 
 smaller ones about the end of August, and turn 
 them into the stubbles, where they can get 
 
 plenty of food for some time ; but this plan is 
 less followed since other poultry are kept so 
 much more largely upon the farms. As a rule 
 English turkeys have to be regularly fed, and 
 the best breeders continue some soft, food till the 
 poults are at least four months old, and even 
 longer, though gradually more grain is given in 
 proportion. Ground oats and skim milk, and 
 whole white oats, make the whitest flesh, and 
 turkeys thus fed present the best appearance ; 
 but in some districts this food would be too 
 expensive. They ought not to be allowed to 
 feed themselves really fat until the time for the 
 final fattening approaches ; such as fatten too 
 early not being later on so fine in quality, and 
 being seldom so fine in frame. The great _ 
 object during the earlier months should be to 
 keep in vigorous health and to make frame, 
 towards which some cut bone is a great 
 assistance. 
 
 About six to eight weeks old, when nearly 
 feathered, the poults will begin to try to perch 
 about on walls and fences, and should be 
 encouraged, if at all convenient, to roost either 
 in trees or on the beams of some open shed. 
 They should not be crowded too many together, 
 and as they grow up, should be sorted out a 
 little, and those to be kept for stock taken out 
 from the rest. Once having " shot, the red " and 
 got fairly started on their open-air life, they are 
 extremely hardy as regards any weather, and no 
 further anxiety need be felt on that score ; if on 
 the other hand shut up to roost in closed houses, 
 there is likely to be a great deal of trouble from 
 colds and " swelled head." This last complaint 
 is the form in which loss most frequently occurs 
 in rearing turkeys, and is doubtless the turkey 
 form of catarrhal roup. The best treatment is 
 to pen the birds in a large barn or shed with 
 plenty of air, but no draughts, fomenting the 
 heads with hot water in which poppy heads are 
 infused, and giving either mild doses of Epsom 
 salts, or almost any approved roup pills, but 
 dividing these so as to give smaller doses not 
 less than four times a day. This complaint 
 usually occurs only in birds too much confined 
 at' night, scarcely ever attacking such as roost 
 out of doors, or in a tall shed entirely open on 
 one side to the weather. The other most usual 
 trouble of intestinal irritation or diarrhoea has 
 already been rnentioned, together with the 
 methods by which it can be warded off. In 
 some places large flocks are still placed under 
 the care of a boy, and driven some distance 
 from their roosting place to any good foraging 
 ground. If the space is ample this system pays 
 very well, as the birds need little other feeding 
 until the time for fattening arrives, but it only 
 
526 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 answers upon really wide and good range. It 
 will be seen that circumstances and appropriate 
 management may differ in many details which 
 it is impossible to specify, but which intelligence 
 will grasp and turn to account. 
 
 As they approach full growth, turkeys are 
 prepared for market in various ways. Those 
 which haye been well fed for growth and frame, 
 
 can be brought to the highest pos- 
 raitening sible condition by merely confining 
 for iflMket. them to somewhat smaller range, 
 
 and feeding them freely twice a day 
 on ground oats mixed with milk, with a full 
 feed of whole oats at night. This is not a very 
 general plan, but we can vouch for the excellence 
 of the results. Some feeders add to the meal 
 diet, carrots boiled in lard and sliced up ; some 
 give one meal of thick oatmeal porridge. In 
 Norfolk the usual plan is to confine the fattening 
 birds in a shed, or hovel walled with furze to 
 keep the draught out while giving air, with peat 
 moss or other clean litter pretty deep on the 
 ground. A usual mixture for feeding is oat- 
 meal, barley-meal, and Indian-meal in equal 
 proportions, with house-scraps and boiled carrots 
 and other vegetables, mixed with skim milk 
 where this can be had, asit whitens the flesh. 
 During the last fortnight some fat or suet 
 rendered from butchers' scraps is often added to 
 the meal. In some sheds two meals per day 
 only are given, as with Sussex fowls, and the 
 sheds kept in semi-darkness between meals, 
 the birds being only let out for a few minutes 
 before each feed to stretch their legs ; in others 
 they are allowed daylight, and fed oftener, say 
 three times a day. ' Grit is always supplied 
 freely, and the birds generally roost on perches, 
 all on. the .same level at about thirty inches 
 from the ground. Many excellent turkeys come 
 to market which have never been confined at 
 all, but simply fed well three times a day for 
 some weeks before killing^ 
 
 In Normandy a few birds are shut up, but 
 not many. ' The usual plan there is to cram 
 them every morning and evening, driving them 
 out on to the pastures during the day. They are 
 crammed with boluses composed of barley flour 
 {i.e. most of the husk taken out) and potatoes, 
 with some minced grass. and a little bran — these 
 are dipped in milk before being placed down 
 the throats of the birds. One point in which 
 Continental raisers surpass many in England, 
 though the large British raisers also give atten- 
 tion to, it, is in the grading or sizing of their 
 produce. They contract to deliver so many 
 birds of a definite average weight, and thus the 
 dealer knows what he will be receiving when the 
 time comes. Two or three fine birds among a 
 
 dozen or two small ones never fetch their value ; 
 what impresses a London market salesman is 
 the character of the lot as such, and far too little 
 importance has been attached to this matter. 
 
 Turkeys are usually killed in England by 
 dislocating the neck, and plucked while warm 
 like Sussex fowls ; the large wing feathers must 
 be plucked quickly, or there is great difficulty in 
 drawing them. Some people think the flesh is 
 whiter and more delicate if the birds are bled, 
 which is very usual in America and on the 
 Continent ; but-this plan loses weight. 
 
 Turkeys meant for exhibition should not be 
 unduly fattened. The birds will of course have 
 been selected carefully, both as regards the 
 perfection of their plumage, and 
 Exhibiting large frames, since it is the apparent 
 Turkeys. ^i^g of a turkey rather than mere 
 
 weight, which tells most in a pen. 
 They should be fed carefully and systematically 
 for this, but kept among their hardy surroiind- 
 ings till late in the season — after that they 
 should be gradually accustomed to somewhat 
 closer quarters, and be occasionally penned. 
 They usually take to this discipline very well, 
 being quite conscious of the admiration which 
 they excite. As soon as confined, a portion of 
 dandelion or lettuce should form part of their 
 diet, and good sharp grit not be forgotten. 
 The plumage of dark breeds will always be 
 in good condition if the birds are healthy, and 
 washing removes the wonderful gloss ; only the 
 heads and legs should therefore be cleansed. 
 White birds must of course be dealt with accord- 
 ing to circumstances ; but unlike fowls, even 
 these are often clean enough to pass muster. 
 
 Crested turkeys have been mentioned by 
 various naturalists; but all attempts to breed 
 them true to this point having failed, the crests 
 must be considered to be merely accidental 
 sports. Various specimens of these have been 
 found from time to time, and have been bred 
 from, but have hitherto failed to produce any 
 crested progeny. The experiment has been 
 tried both by Mr, Simpson in America and 
 by Mr. Tegetmeier in this country, but both 
 gentlemen failed to produce even a trace of a 
 crest. The crest, therefore, remains as an 
 accidental " sport," and nothing more ; though 
 Temminck states that Madame Backer had a 
 whole flock of crested turkeys in her aviary 
 at the Hague. 
 
 THE GUMEA FOWL. 
 
 Under the general head of Guinea fowls, or 
 
 the genus Numida, naturalists have grouped 
 
 many wild varieties ; but the fact that all 
 
 belong to some part of Africa, makes a common 
 
THE GUINEA FOWL. 
 
 527 
 
 origin almost certain. Many of these sub-races 
 have been crossed, and we believe in every 
 case the progeny have proved fertile. Of these 
 various races of Guinea fowls, some have a 
 peculiar bony helmet on the top of the head; 
 others have this replaced by a crest of feathers, 
 the shape and size of which crest varies ; and 
 in a third section which appears to have 
 more distinctiveness, there is neither crest nor 
 helmet, and such a general resemblance to the 
 vulture that the bird has been graphically 
 termed the Vulturine Guinea Fowl. 
 
 To the first or helmeted group belongs 
 •the common Guinea Fowl of West Africa, or 
 Numida meleagris, long regarded as the original 
 of our domestic race. Some author- 
 Wild ities have objected to this view, on 
 Varieties. the ground that as the bird is ad- 
 mitted to ha;ve been known to the 
 Romans, and they had more intercourse with 
 the Egyptian side ' of the great African 
 -continent, one of the varieties common in 
 Abyssinia is more likely to have been the 
 .original. It may have been so with the Roman 
 .birds ; but in regard to the present European 
 rStock, not onl)' is the name entitled to 
 weight in a case of this kind, but at Bristol, 
 -which is a considerable centre of the West 
 African trade, we have on many occasions seen 
 'Guinea fowls perched on the rigging of African 
 -vessels, brought from the coast by sailors ; 
 :and in every case these birds were obviously 
 identical with the domestic breed, both in head 
 and plumage, being only somewhat slighter 
 in build. 
 
 The wild crested varieties are chiefly found 
 in Eastern and Central Africa, though one or 
 two are known on" the West Coast. They have 
 black crests instead of the bony casque, the 
 spots are blue instead of white, and the necks 
 and wattles are more or less blue. Specimens 
 are sometimes to be found at the Zoological 
 Gardens in Regent's Park, London, and some 
 have been so beautiful as to give interest to 
 the probcible prospect of their becoming better, 
 known with the opening up of Uganda.- 
 
 The finest variety of Guinea fowls belongs 
 to the class with neither helmet nor crest, and 
 is known as the Royal Vulturine Guinea fowl. 
 The neck and tail are very long in comparison 
 with the comrhon variety, and the other points 
 have been described as follows : The head and 
 Upper part of the throat are destitute of feathers, 
 the lower part of the neck ornamented with 
 long, lanceolate, and flowing feathers, having 
 
 ,a broad stripe of white down the centre, to 
 Which on each side succeeds a line of dull 
 
 ;black, finely dotted with white, and margined 
 
 with fine blue. The feathers of the inferior 
 part of the back are of similar form, but 
 broader, with a narrower line of white down 
 the centre, and with the minute white dots ' 
 disposed in irregular and obliquely transverse 
 lines. The wing-coverts, back, rump, tail, under 
 tail-coverts, and thighs, are blackish brown, 
 ornamented with numerous spots of white sur- 
 rounded by circles of black, the intermediate 
 spaces being filled by very minute spots of 
 white ; the primaries are brown, with, light 
 shafts and spots of brownish white on the 
 outer web ; the secondaries brownish black on 
 the tips, with three' imperfect' lines of white 
 disposed lengthwise on the outer web, and 
 three rows of spots of white on the inner 
 web ; the breast and sides of the abdomen 
 are of a beautiful metallic blue, the centre of 
 the abdomen black, the flanks dull pink, with 
 numerous spots of white surrounded by circles 
 of black. Mr. Gould writes of this magnificent 
 variety of Guinea fowl : " It is certainly one 
 of the most noble birds that has been dis- 
 covered for some years." It is the long neck 
 adorned with lanceolate feathers, the absence 
 of casque or crest, and the long tail and legs; 
 which "give it so strange a resemblance to the 
 vulture. It has been introduced into one or 
 two menageries ; but appears more delicate 
 in cold situations' than any of the precedihgr 
 kinds. 
 
 As a rule the common Guinea fowl is 
 Very uniform in colour, the wattles being red, 
 the neck bare near the head, with a great 
 deal of white about it and a thin mane of 
 bristles behind, and the general plumage 
 marked with small round white spots all over 
 a very dark purplish grey ground. Variations 
 do, however, occur in a state of domestica- 
 tion. In some birds the spots have almost 
 disappeared : in a few the colour is reversed, 
 the spots being dark and the grouhd-colour 
 light grey : quite white birds are also known 
 (Ellis mentions white ones in Madagascar) ; 
 and from crosses of these last, pied fowls have 
 been produced. The birds are smaller than 
 they appear, rarely weighing more than i\ lbs. ; 
 but the bones are small and fine also. The 
 flesh is dark, but very delicate, and of a 
 gamey flavour : fqr this reason the birds are 
 most in demand about February or March, 
 when game is going out, and spring chickens 
 are scarce and dear. At this season from 53. 
 to 7s. per couple is sometimes realised for 
 plump birds, but the demand so far has been 
 limited : possibly it might- be increased by a 
 regular supply. 
 
 But for this limited demand, Guinea Fowls 
 
5^8 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 would be very profitable poultry in some 
 localities, being best of all adapted to the 
 _" let alone " system on a farjn, where they 
 will find nearly all their own living, laying 
 about seventy eggs a year, and devouring more 
 insects than any other poultry, for practically 
 no cost in food. But there is at present no 
 great market for them ; and their eggs are 
 small, and very apt to be laid away and get 
 either lost or stale in such circumstances. 
 The cocks are also \^ery pugnacious with other 
 poultry, driving them away from their food. 
 
 twenty-eight days. The chicks are small, and 
 rather delicate as" regards damp ; and having 
 very small crops, require feeding not less than 
 
 six times a day. Until they can. 
 Breeding roam about, they require a fair pro- 
 Guinea Fowls, portion of animal food, and plenty 
 
 of succulent green food. They should 
 at first be confined to a small wired grass- 
 run, shifted every two days, or they may run- 
 away and get lost. After they are large and 
 strong enough to range about, they require little 
 feeding. This should be given them with the 
 
 The Cominon Guinea Fowl. 
 
 Given, however, any steady demand for young 
 birds, Guinea fowls will pay very well indeed. 
 It should perhaps be remarked, that while 
 generally most saleable at the season above 
 mentioned, they are really more delicious and 
 tender if eaten in late autumn and winter, when 
 they are younger. Birds eaten then, of course, 
 save their keep through the winter ; but though 
 a delicious dish at home, at that time of year 
 there is little market demand for such small birds. 
 A stock of Guinea fowls should be commenced 
 from eggs, not from purchased birds, and these 
 should be hatched under hens, when they grow up 
 much more tame. The normal time for Jiatch- 
 ing is twenty-six days, extending sometimes to 
 
 other fowls, when they will come back to the 
 yard at night ; and if the fowl-house is large and 
 lofty, or, still better, if a large and lofty one 
 can be given up to them, with high perches, 
 they are readily taught to roost at home. 
 
 The wild bird is monogamous ; in domes- 
 tication two hens may be allowed to each cock ; 
 more than this sometimes succeeds,, but nearly 
 as often fails. The cock closely resembles the 
 hen, but is generally slightly larger, has larger 
 wattles, his voice is a more shrill shriek instead 
 of the female's well-known "' come-back " note, 
 and he has a peculiar habit of strutting on tip- 
 toe, and arching his back. The hen begins to 
 lay from the end of March in very warm spring 
 
KING SOLOMON'S PEA FOWL. 
 
 529 
 
 seasons, to the middle of May in colder ones, and 
 seldom lays less than sixty eggs, going occasion- 
 ally as high as over a hundred, according to the 
 locality and supply of insect food : she continues 
 till about the end of August. This supposes 
 them to roost in a house, which they prefer to 
 .do in really bad weather, and if brought up to it. 
 The eggs are rather small, with pointed ends, of 
 a very rich colour and fine flavour ; and if col- 
 lected fresh, sometimes find a good and regular 
 market at first-class shops, packed in dozen 
 baskets with a little moss, like the eggs of some 
 game birds. Of course the earlier eggs, in April 
 and early May, should be used for breeding, and 
 the Guinea hen herself seldom becomes broody 
 till late in summer, if the eggs are gathered 
 daily, leaving only one in the nest. If they 
 are to lay in the house, some pains should be 
 spent, as with turkeys, to arrange nests which 
 are not only secluded, but look naturally so : 
 otherwise care must be taken to regularly visit 
 all likely places about the farm. . 
 
 All writers have noticed the good qualities of 
 Guinea fowls as night-guards. No strange person 
 or noise escapes them ; and then their screaming 
 is not only effectual, but calculated of itself to 
 frighten off any evilly disposed marauder. 
 
 The common Guinea fowl is now found wild in 
 the Cape de Verde- Islands, and also in Jamaica, 
 to both of which there is no doubt it was taken 
 from Africa. • Any covert, in a fairly warm and 
 dry locality, can be readily "swarmed" with them, 
 and they then become very wild and shy ; hence 
 many attempts have been made to utilise them 
 as game birds. Such attempts have, however, 
 always had to be given up, as the Guinea fowls 
 displaced all other game from the covert, while 
 themselves, as Mr. Hewitt wrote us long ago, 
 running before dogs like a corn-crake, and hence 
 affording no sport. They are essentially mere 
 domestic poultry, but suitable only for certain 
 markets and circumstances. 
 
 Hybrids have occurred between the Guinea 
 fowl and common poultry : we knew of one with 
 a Dark Brahma hen. The progeny in all such 
 cases is of course very wild and perfectly sterile. 
 The Guinea cock has also been known to cross 
 with small turkey hens occasionally. None of 
 these results are of any practical interest. 
 
 THE PEA FOWL. 
 
 If the references to the peacock in the two 
 parallel passages of Scripture, i Kings x. 22 
 and 2 Chron.' ix. 21,* are correct translations 
 of the Hebrew Tukiyylm, the bird has been 
 known from the earliest times ; and the question 
 
 * The passage in Job xxxix. 13 has an entirely different 
 word, which probably refers to the ostrich. 
 
 3p 
 
 invests the pea fowl with a Biblical, historical, 
 and geographical interest greater than can be 
 attached to any other bird, since upon its 
 answer depends the destination of Solomon's 
 voyages, and the locality of that Ophir to 
 which they are said to have been directed. 
 As every one of the various products named 
 in these verses except the Tuhiyyim could 
 have been obtained from either Arabia, Africa, 
 or India, the whole of this interesting question 
 almost entirely depends upon what creature is 
 meant by the Hebrew word. This word has 
 been supposed by Hebrew scholars to be 
 derived from a foreign root, signifying " tufted," 
 or " crested " ; and although the Peacock is 
 crested, it has been objected that the crest is 
 far from being so conspicuous a characteristic 
 as the gorgeous plumes. Hence a crested 
 parrot has been conjectured by those who 
 would place Ophir in Africa ; but it does not 
 appear that the ancients were acquainted with 
 parrots, and much less with any crested parrot, 
 till long after. Besides other indications, how- 
 ever, which may point to Ophir being in the 
 East Indies, the natives of Malacca still call 
 their gold mines ophirs (De Poivre); and in 
 Malabar the peacock is still called Togei, and 
 in one of the Indian dialects, Tikki, which 
 word furnishes a very probable origin for the 
 Hebrew Tukiyyun, and seems to show that 
 the name was brought along with the bird to 
 which it belonged, from the place of origin. 
 In such a case this is very likely to have 
 occurred ; that such a gorgeous bird should 
 be sought for and valued by a magnificent 
 monarch like Solomon, who is expressly 
 stated to have taken special interest in natural 
 history, is highly probable ; and on all these 
 grounds, it is considered far the most likely 
 that Solomon really was nearly or quite the 
 first to import this beautiful bird from the 
 East, and that some southern region of the 
 Indies was the locality from which both it and 
 the other precious products enumerated were 
 procured. If such conclusions be correct, it 
 will be observed that they clearly point to 
 Solomon as the first importer of fancy poultry, 
 and, singularly enough, from the very same 
 region whence the most striking of our own 
 more modern varieties have been obtained. 
 
 The pea fowl, as will be gathered from the 
 preceding paragraph.s, is found exclusively in 
 Eastern Asia, in which it has, however, a pretty 
 wide range, extending through part of China, the 
 whole of India, and the adjacent islands. It is 
 found in three natural or wild varieties. 
 
 The common pea fowl {Pavo cristatus) is 
 so well known as scarcely to need description. 
 
53° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 The head, neck, and breast of the male are 
 a rich purple, with beautiful blue reflections, 
 the head having an aigrette or crest com- 
 posed of twenty-four feathers, which 
 Varieties ^''^ °"'y webbed at the tip, 
 of where they show blue and green 
 
 Pea Fowl. reflections. The back is green, 
 with a copper-coloured lacing 
 to the feathers ; the wings whitish, striped or 
 barred with black, gradually shading into deep 
 blue. The primaries and true tail-feathers are 
 a dark rich chestnut ; but the feathers of the 
 train are glossy green, ocellated at the tips. 
 These feathers, commonly called the " tail," 
 are not really tail-feathers, but tail-coverts, 
 springing from the back, the true tail being 
 under them, and serving to support them when 
 erected. The thighs are generally greyish, and 
 the belly and rump black. The eyes are dark 
 hazel, pearled round the edges, and legs brown, 
 spurred as in the common fowl. The neck is 
 very long, slender, and snaky, and the head 
 small in proportion to the body. The female 
 is much more subdued in colour, being of a 
 prevailing chestnut brown, variously shaded 
 on different parts of the body, and mottled 
 or shaded in places, especially about the. wings 
 and tail, with dull or greyish white. She has 
 a crest like the male, but duller in colour and 
 not so tall. This variety is common through- 
 out India, Ceylon, and the adjacent islands. 
 In some parts of India Peacock-shooting is a 
 recognised sport ; while in others, and in some 
 parts of Ceylon, the birds are so plentiful as 
 to be cared little about. Colonel Williamson 
 writes : " In the Jungleterry districts, I have 
 seen such quantities of pea fowl as have ab- 
 solutely surprised me. Whole woods were 
 covered v/ith their beautiful plumage, to which 
 a rising sun imparted additional brilliancy, and 
 I speak within bounds when I assert that 
 there could not be less than twelve or fifteen 
 hundred peafowl of various sizes within sight 
 of the spot where I stood for nearly an hour." 
 He also mentions the curious fact that wherever 
 Peacocks abound the tiger is generally found 
 also more near than convenient, so that 
 Peacock-shooting is by no means devoid of 
 danger. 
 
 The Japanese Peacock {Pavo miUicus) differs 
 considerably in colour and some other points 
 from the ordinary bird. The crest on the 
 head is nearly twice as long, and the feathers 
 of which it is composed are also webbed or 
 barbed from their bases, instead of only at 
 the tips. The colour of the neck is a glossy 
 gi-een, margined or laced with coppery gold, 
 and arranged not as ordinary neck-feathers in 
 
 most birds, but like the scales of a fish. The 
 metallic gloss is extraordinary, and far superior 
 to that on the other variety. On the back, 
 which is a rich copper-bronze marked with 
 bars of green and light brown, this lustre is 
 still more conspicuous. The shoulder-coverts 
 resemble those of the common bird, but are. 
 a deeper and more intense blue ; the tail- 
 coverts or train are rich green, barred across, 
 or shot with gold and copper-bronze reflections. 
 In the breeding season, which commences about 
 March, these barred feathers are replaced by 
 other ocellated plumes, resembling those of the 
 Common Peacock, but with more bronze. The 
 hen is sober in colour, much like the preced- 
 ing variety. This magnificent Peacock inhabits 
 Burmah, Siam, Java, Sumatra, and Japan, but 
 is believed not to be found in India. The 
 two kinds breed freely, however, and the 
 progeny is fertile. 
 
 The Black- Winged Peacock {Pavo nigripen- 
 nis), was believed by Dr. Sclater **■ to be a 
 distinct species, on the ground that it pro- 
 pagates true to points. It diff'ers from the 
 Common Peacock chiefly in the dark colour 
 of the wings, from which it takes its name, 
 but the thighs are also of the same dark tint ; 
 the hens, on the contrary, are 'almost white, 
 with dark tails. Mr. Darwin has, however, 
 shown almost conclusively that it is 'merely 
 a " sport " from the Common, which has been 
 recorded on many occasions, and is probably 
 due to domestication. To the same cause are 
 due the white and pied sports occasionally seen. 
 Pea fowl are so rarely thought of now as 
 table poultry, that it is remarkable how most 
 historical notices of the bird are from a gastro- 
 
 nofnic point of view. A favourite 
 Domestic dish of VitelHus was partly com- 
 PeaFowl. posed of the brains of Peacocks; 
 
 and Columella gives full directions 
 /or their management. In 1254 Henry III. 
 offered a Peacock as a prize for "running at the 
 quintain." The whole bird was considered a 
 dainty dish, and a " pecok enhakyll" (mean- 
 ing with the train-feathers), is named by Fabian 
 as one of the dishes at the wedding-feast of 
 Henry VI. From a curious old MS. in the 
 Library of the Royal Society, we quote the 
 recipe for this noble dish, as follows : " For 
 a feste royal, pecokkes schol be dight on this 
 manere: Take and flee off" the skynne, with 
 the fedures, tayle, and the neck and head 
 thereon. Then take the skynne and all the 
 fedures, and lay it on a tabel abrode, and 
 straw thereon grounden comyn. Then take the 
 pecok and roste hym, and endore him with 
 
 * " Pioceedings of Zoological Society," April 24th, i860. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF PEA FOWL. 
 
 53^ 
 
 rawe yolkes of eggs ; and when he is rested 
 take hym off and let hym cole a whyle, and 
 take and sowe hym in his skynne, and gild 
 his combe, and so serve him forthe with the 
 last cours." According to the old play by 
 Massinger, called The City Madam, " The car^ 
 cases of three fat wethers were bruised for 
 gravy to make sauce for a single peacofck"; 
 and it is plain enough that the royal bird was 
 the principal dish of the course.. A young 
 pea fowl of either sex is in fact as delicious 
 eating as can possibly be. 
 
 But it is on the lawn, in the park, or in a 
 ptiblic garden, that the Peacock finds its 
 proper place, and displays its full beauty. It 
 can be confined in wire pens Jike the Pheas- 
 ant ; but unless these are very large, and 
 well furnished with shrubbery, it seldom breeds 
 well in such confinement, though some restric- 
 tion is advisable at first, while domesticating 
 birds in a new home. They do best where 
 they can make their own nests in a shrub- 
 bery, or piece of long grass left for them, and 
 can roost in the trees. When settled down they 
 will range round the house, but generally stay 
 near it, and if regularly fed become very tame, 
 tapping at the window and calling if their morn- 
 ing feed is delayed. Where not regularly fed, 
 they wander much farther, and may get lost. 
 When full grown they may have mash in the 
 morning, and corn at night, like other poultry, 
 but practically will eat anything that is at all 
 eatable. They are long-lived, and have been 
 recorded as reaching the age of thirty years. 
 
 The wild bird is polygamous, and should not 
 have less than three hens, if possible, up to a's 
 many as six being quite permissible. They are 
 spiteful and quarrelsome among other poultry, 
 and the cocks will sometimes not only kill, but 
 eat, newly hatched chicks, if he has the oppor- 
 tunity. Some cocks have been known to attack 
 children ; but this is very unusual, and they 
 usually are very tame as regards human beings. 
 They are not of full age, as regards either size, or 
 plumage, or fitness for breeding, till two years 
 old, and should not be mated before. The hen 
 may begin to lay in March, or more probably 
 April, and is the best mother for her own chicks, 
 as she goes all the rest of the year with them, 
 and they need this long protection : on this 
 ffccount it does not answer to set the eggs under 
 hens, which leave them before they can bear it. 
 The number of eggs usually laid is eight or ten, 
 iomelimcs more. The nest of a hen should 
 never be disturbed, but when she leaves it, which 
 she usually proclaims by a shrill cry, food and 
 water should be given promptly. The period 
 of incubation varies from twenty-eight to thirty 
 
 days. The young chicks are delicate as re- 
 gards wet and wind, but should be allowed to 
 run about on dry soil, and be given, if possitle, 
 some ants' eggs',,' worms, or other live aniipal 
 food, besides Spratt and oatmeal mixed with 
 milk. They will soon come on to grain- of 
 different kinds, and be reared afterwards with 
 little trouble. On damp soil they should not 
 be attempted. The hen will take care of therq 
 till about February, when she beats them off at 
 pairing time. 
 
 Pea fowl moult fast, and the cock especially 
 seems to droop more than other poultry, owing 
 no doubt to the immense amount of feather 
 which he has to renew. The birds at this 
 time seek the deepest seclusion they can find, 
 and should be allowed it, providing nourishing 
 diet for them in proper places. If all goes 
 well the moult is soon over, and they are all 
 right again. The male's plumes do not reach 
 their full size and beauty till the third season. 
 
 Within the last few years there has been a 
 rather curious demand for Peacock feathers to 
 be sold for use (or abuse) as " ticklers " during 
 crowded rejoicings. The object cannot be com- 
 mended, and indeed it is to be hoped may be 
 hindered by the police; but this odd and novel 
 market has had the effect of perceptibly develop- 
 ing Peacock breeding in France, in order to 
 supply it. Some of this has been carried on 
 upon ordinary lines ; but we are informed that 
 several breeders have kept the birds in large 
 pens to produce the eggs, which are hatched in 
 incubators, and the chicks reared artificially. 
 By artificial brooders the continued shelter 
 which hens fail to afford, can be given to the 
 chicks ; and so far as the method has been 
 carried, it is stated to answer very well. 
 
 Nearly all good shows have classes for tur- 
 keys ; but where there is only one for each sex, 
 it is almost useless to exhibit anything but the 
 Bronze, though now and then we have seen a 
 fine White come in for second or third prize. 
 They used to be judged mainly by weight at 
 Birmingham ; but that is a thing of the past. 
 The real or apparent size is, of course, of great 
 importance, but mere excessive weight is not 
 now encouraged, as it spoils the bird for breed- 
 ing. Below is the standard of the Poultry 
 Club and Turkey Club for these birds. 
 
 We have only a very few times seen classes 
 for Guinea fowls, and they have never been 
 standardised. The one or two classes which we 
 have seen were so much admired, that we have 
 sometimes thought greater encouragement might 
 call out sufficient support from breeders of these 
 pretty birds. 
 
532 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 STANDARD FOR TURKEYS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COCK. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head, : Long, broad, carunculated. 
 Beak : Strong, curved, well set in the head. Eye : 
 Bright and clear. Wattle : Large and pendent. Neck : 
 Long and curving backward toward the tail. 
 
 Body. — Body : Long, deep through the centre and 
 handsomely rounded. Breast : Broad and full. Back : 
 Somewhat curving, rising from the neck to the centre 
 and then descending in a graceful curve to the tail. 
 Wings : Large and powerful. 
 
 Tail. — Rather long. 
 
 Leg3 and Feet, — Thighs: Long and stout. Fluff: 
 Short. Shanks : Large, long, and strong. Toes : 
 Straight and strong. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large. In Bronze : Cockerels, 
 22 lbs. ; cocks, 34 lbs. In Whites : Cockerels, 16 lbs ; 
 cocks, 26 lbs. In Blacks : Cockerels, 18 lbs. ; cocks, 
 27 lbs. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEN. 
 
 Similar to that of the cock. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Large. In Bronze : Pullets, i4lbs.; 
 hens, 18 lbs. In Whites : Pullets, 10 lbs. ; hens, i5 lbs. 
 In Blacks : Pullets, 12 lbs. ; hens, 18 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN BRONZE TURKEYS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Light horn at the tip and 
 dark at the base. Eye : Dark hazel. Face, Jaws, Wattles, 
 and Caruncle : Rich red. Shanks and Toes : Dark, 
 approaching brown in young birds ; usually of a pinkish 
 hue or flesh colour in adult birds. 
 
 In the Cock. — Plumage. Neck : Rich, lustrous, bronzy 
 hue. Back : Brilliant bronzy hue, which glistens in the 
 sunlight like burnished gold, each feather terminating 
 in a narrow black band, which extends across the end. 
 Breast : Dark bronze, with a lustre in the sunlight 
 similar to that of burnished gold. Body : Black, beauti- 
 fully shaded with bronze, but not so decided or so rich 
 as that of the breast. Wing-bow : Black, with a bril- 
 liant bronzy or greenish lustre. Coverts : Beautiful rich 
 bronze, the feathers terminating in a wide black band, 
 forming a broad bronzy band across the wings when 
 folded, and separated from the primaries by a glossy, 
 black, ribbon-like mark, formed by the ends" of the 
 coverts. Secondaries : Black or dark brown, evenly and 
 regularly pencilled across with bars of white or grey, the 
 colours changing to a bronzy brown as the centre of the 
 back is approached, with but little admixture of white ; an 
 edging of white on primaries or secondaries very objec- 
 tionable. Primaries : Black or dark brown, pencilled 
 across with bars of white or grey, the more evenly and 
 regularly the better. Tail: Black, each feather irregularly 
 pencilled with narrow bands of light brown, and ending 
 in a broad black band, with a wide edging of dull white 
 or grey. Coverts : Black or dark brown, each feather 
 
 irregularly pencilled with narrow bands of light brown, 
 ending in a wide black and bronze band extending 
 across the feather, with a wide edging of dull white or 
 grey; the more distinct the colours throughout the 
 whole plumage the better. 
 
 In the Hen. — The entire plumage is similar to that of 
 the cock, but the colours are not so brilliant or clearly 
 defined, and the edging of the feathers is generally a 
 dull white or grey. 
 
 COLOUR IN V^HITE TURKEYS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Pinkish or flesh colour. Eye : 
 Dark hazel. Face, Jaws, Wattles, and Caruncle : Rich 
 red. Shanks and Toes : White, pinkish, or flesh colour. 
 Plumage : Pure white throughout, except the beard, 
 which is deep black. 
 
 COLOUR IN BLACK TURKEYS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark horn or. slaty black. 
 Eye : Dark hazel. Face, Jaws, Wattles, and Caruncle : 
 Rich red. Shanks and Toes : Dark lead or slaty black. 
 Plumage : Lustrous black throughout. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN TURKEYS. 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head 
 
 ,, wattle 
 
 „ neck. Shape 3; colour 3 
 
 I. back. ,,3; ..3 
 
 ,, breast ,,4; ..4 
 
 ,, body and fluff. Shape 4 ; colour 4 
 
 ,, wings. Shape 4; colour 6 
 
 .. tail. ,,3; ..5 
 
 ,, legs and feet 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 „ weight , 
 
 ,, condition 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 ■ 5 
 
 . 5 
 
 . 6 
 
 . 6 
 
 5 
 8 
 
 25 
 6 
 
 A perfect bird to count lo.o 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Decidedly wry tails ; crooked breasts ; deformity of 
 any kind. 
 
 In Bronze. — White feathers in any part of the 
 plumage; wings clear black or dark brown; colour 
 of back, tail or tail coverts, clear black, brown, or grey ; 
 adult cocks weighing less than 28 lbs. ; adult hens 
 weighing less than 16 lbs. 
 
 In Whites. — Feathers other than white in any part of 
 the plumage; cocks weighing less than 18 lbs.; hens 
 weighing less than 10 lbs. 
 
 In Blacks. — Feathers other than black in any part of 
 the plumage; cocks weighing less than 18 lbs. ; hens 
 weighing less than 12 lbs. 
 
533 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 DUCKS AND ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. 
 
 WITH perhaps one exception (the Mus- 
 covy) the whole of 'the "farm" breeds 
 of ducks, and many of the others also, 
 are descended from the Wild duck or Mallard 
 (Anas dosc/ias), which is distributed more widely 
 than perhaps any other bird over the entire 
 continent of Europe and a great part of North 
 America. Its range extends from the vicinity 
 of the pole in summer, to almost the torrid 
 zone in winter, the bird migrating regularly 
 towards the south on the approach of cold 
 weather, and returning with the summer to 
 northern regions. In the more- southerly 
 countries it is a less frequent visitor, the tem- 
 perate latitudes being its favourite home ; but 
 it has been known to reach North Africa during 
 its winter migrations. Italy, Greece, and Spain 
 are however its most favourite winter quarters. 
 The colour of the Mallard resembles generally 
 that of the Rouen duck ; the shape is, however, 
 more slender and upright, and the habits much 
 more active. 
 
 Every year a singular change takes place in 
 the plumage of the Mallard drake, which, as 
 it is common not only to the Rouen, but to 
 nearly all varieties of ducks in which the 
 plumage of the male greatly differs from that 
 of the female, deserves special notice. It is 
 described by Waterton as follows : " About 
 the 24th of May the breast and back of the 
 drake exhibit the first appearance of a change 
 of colour. In a few days after this the curled 
 feathers above the tail drop out, and grey 
 feathers begin to appear amongst the lovely 
 green plumage which surrounds the eyes. 
 Every succeeding day now begins marks of 
 rapid change. By the 23rd of June scarcely 
 one green feather is to be seen on the head 
 and neck of the bird. By the 6th of July 
 every feather of the former brilliant plumage 
 has disappeared, and the male has received a 
 garb like that of the female, though of a some- 
 what darker tint. In the early part of August 
 this new plumage begins to drop off gradually, 
 and by the lOth of October the drake will 
 appear again in all his rich magnificence of 
 dress, than which scarcely anything through- 
 out the whole wide field of nature can be 
 seen more lovely, or better arranged to charm 
 the eye of man." The dates mentioned are 
 
 of course subject to some variation, as Water- 
 ton observes, especially with domesticated and 
 other breeds. 
 
 Marshes and fens are the chief resorts of 
 the Wild duck ; and drainage and other forms 
 of cultivation have now driven it away from 
 many an old haunt where it formerly was a 
 regular visitant. To others, however, it still 
 comes in large numbers, and is taken in various 
 species of decoys, or shot by hundreds, espe- 
 cially in Lincolnshire. About March it pairs, 
 the wild bird being strictly monogamous. The 
 duck usually lays from seven to ten eggs, 
 making her nest of flags or sedges somewhere 
 near the water. She sits for twenty-eight days, 
 and the same period is common to all her 
 various descendants except some of the smaller 
 varieties, which, like Bantams among fowls, 
 often hatch in somewhat less. She sits with 
 great steadiness, and on leaving the nest 
 always covers her eggs carefully over with 
 leaves and grass. As soon as the duck begins 
 to sit, the drake leaves her, and joining the 
 others, begins the curious moult described. 
 Later on, when the young are partly grown, 
 the male rejoins his family, and several unite 
 to form one flock. They then remain together 
 till the autumn, when the whole colony fly in 
 consort to their warmer winter quarters. Dur- 
 ing this migration they generally fly in long 
 lines in the shape of the letter V, a mode of 
 flying which is more or less common to all the 
 waterfowl. 
 
 Wild ducks have often been domesticated, 
 eggs being taken and hatched under tame 
 ducks or hens, when they are brought up 
 with no difficulty, though of course there is 
 some wildness of disposition. It is found that, 
 down to about the third and sometimes the 
 fourth generation, domesticated wild drakes 
 pair strictly like their ancestors, instead of 
 taking a small harem like the domestic varieties. 
 When thus domesticated, however, the progeny 
 after a while almost always begins to vary in 
 colour, showing in this way the origin of our 
 domestic races. 
 
 In treating these, it will be most convenient 
 to devote a few lines first to general habits 
 and management; then to describe the prin- 
 cipal breeds which are. exhibited and used for 
 
534 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 market purposes, and the methods chiefly used 
 in supplying the markets with this class of 
 poultry ; and finally to give such short account 
 as space will permit of the best known amongst 
 those exquisite varieties occasionally seen 
 at shows or on ornamental waters, and some 
 of which are among the most beautiful in 
 plumage of all the feathered tribes. 
 
 The house for a single pen of ducks need 
 only be a few feet square, and: may be as freely 
 ventilated as desired, so that it is needless to 
 be particular about stopping every 
 General crack in the walls: the more air 
 
 of Dalks. they have the better. The roof 
 should be tight, however, and the 
 chief requisite of all is a dry floor, as the birds 
 get cramp very quickly if this is not attended 
 to. The best, floor for a duck-house is concrete, 
 sloping a little from the place where the birds 
 sleep; another good plan is to make a, floor of 
 slats raised two or three' inches above the 
 ground, with half an inch of space between the 
 slats. On the floor dry straw is laid, on which 
 they sleep, and which must be renewed wholly 
 or in part whenever it is found wet or dirty. A 
 few bricks on the floor make as good nests as 
 anything, and some prefer none at all, the ducks 
 laying in the loose straw. It is generally the 
 best plan to shut laying ducks in the house till 
 nine or ten o'clock in the morning (they usually 
 lay early, and sometimes before light) as other- 
 wise they are apt to lay away anywhere, or even 
 in the water whilst swimming. 
 
 Though most of the ducklings reared for 
 market have never entered water in their lives, 
 breeding and exhibition stock require water, in 
 which copulation often takes place, and without 
 which the eggs are not fertile as a general rule, 
 though " dry " rearing in the United States has 
 produced strains that breed satisfactorily even if 
 ' not allowed to swim, and some dry-reared ducks 
 are found fertile in England also. Where there 
 is good range over farm or garden, however, 
 quite a small, pond made of concrete, or by 
 sinking an iron cistern in the ground, will 
 suffice. A pen of ducks thus kept is useful in 
 a garden, eating many slugs and worms, and 
 doing little damage if fenced away from straw- 
 berries, of which they are specially fond. A 
 foot of wire netting is quite sufficient to confine 
 them anywhere, or a board stood up on its edge 
 will do the same. 
 
 It is usual to mate three or four ducks to 
 one drake, and the eggs are generally fertile, 
 except that the first dozen eggs which a duck 
 lays are very often not so. The birds are 
 almost always peaceable, and several pens will 
 agree perfectly well together. With good range. 
 
 stock birds do not require much feeding, as" 
 they pick up a great deal in the water in the 
 shape of small molluscs, animalculse, and weed, 
 and also from the ground in the way of snails, 
 ^ugs, and worms ; in such circumstances a little 
 meal in the morning and grain in the evening 
 will suffice. When kept in smaller space more 
 food is required, and amongst this a portion of 
 animal food is absolutely necessary, far more' 
 so than in the case of fowls, as nature intends 
 them to obtain a great deal of this description 
 of food, and without it they cannot thrive, much 
 less keep up a supply of eggs. Plenty of grit 
 must also be provided in such circumstances, 
 some being also placed in the trough of water. 
 
 A few ducks may be kept with profit, either 
 as providers of eggs, or of young birds. Where 
 ducklings are chiefly valued, the Aylesbury or 
 Pekin will generally pay best, or a cross between 
 the two ; where eggs are most desired, Pekins or 
 Indian Runners of good strains will lay as many 
 eggs in a year as the laying breeds of fowls ; or 
 one of the Qampbell varieties will be useful. The 
 young are much more easily reared than chickens, 
 having unfailing appetites, and growing much 
 faster^ so that they are eatable at a much earlier 
 age. The eggs are much better set under hens as 
 a rule, and if the duck be placed in a pen by her- 
 self for a few days, her broody fit will go off and 
 she will soon lay again. It should be mentioned 
 that duck eggs are very often covered with a 
 sort of slime wiien laid (sometimes of quite a 
 different colour from the shell beneath), which, 
 if left on, sometimes hardens the shell so much 
 as to hinder hatching ; if this is apparent it 
 should be wiped off, either at once, or before 
 incubation, where the eggs are intended for that 
 purpose. 
 
 If a cosy house and bedding be provided 
 for the night, one hen can look after a 
 very large brood, the ducklings keeping them- 
 selves warm with much less brooding in com- 
 parison than chickens. They are generally fed 
 mainly on one part of chopped hard-boiled egg 
 mixed with two parts of stale bread-crumb, for 
 the first five or six days, giving the food on a 
 board about every two hours, and adding twice 
 daily some green vegetables or weed chopped 
 up, of which they prefer lettuce to anything else. 
 A sod of turf may also be placed in front of the 
 coop when there is no grass run, of which they 
 will swallow a great deal of the earthy part as 
 well as of the green. Later on coarser grit 
 must be supplied, as for the old birds. After a 
 few days the t.^^ and bread may be replaced by 
 Spratt and barleymeal, with which must be 
 mixed a fair portion of some animal food — it 
 matters little what — soaked dry meat or crissel, 
 
AYLESBURY DUCKS. 
 
 535 
 
 boiled greaves chopped up, horse-flesh, or any 
 wholesome butcher's refuse, or a portion of fresh- 
 cut bone — any of these will suffice ; but, as 
 already explained, a fair proportion of such food 
 is absolutely necessary for rearing fine or healthy 
 ducklings. At a month old the five or six- daily 
 feeds may come down to four, and at six or 
 seven weeks to three, leaving, however, in their 
 sleeping place, but not near their bed, -some 
 grain in a shallow pan of water. They will 
 thrive just as well (if not better) hatched in an 
 incubator and reared in a brooder ; but food 
 must on no account ever be given in the inner 
 chamber, which must be kept clean and dry. 
 
 A few ducklings mky be reared even for 
 exhibition in quite a small space, if it includes 
 an exercise yard, and a small pond. The best 
 time for hatching exhibition stock is March or 
 April. Those which promise best, either for 
 this purpose or as breeding stock, should be 
 picked out when a few weeks old, kept speci- 
 ally clean and dry at night, and given all the 
 exercise possible, feeding mainly for frame, with 
 nitrogenous food, and after three weeks old allow- 
 ing them to dabble in a large tin of water 
 kept indoors, if the pond outside is too cold 
 The remainder, which are only destined for 
 table, may be kept penned up, and forced on 
 with more fattening diet, on the same principles 
 as described presently in connection with larger 
 undertakings. Care must be taken to keep all 
 out of the hot sun, which produces in ducklings 
 a kind of sunstroke or heat apoplexy, and kills 
 many if exposed to it, besides spoiling the bill 
 in the case of Aylesburys. They also catch 
 cold and cramp readily, if left out in a shower 
 of rain before they are fledged, or allowed in 
 cold water too early. In nature, the duck takes 
 them to water at once, and the skin at once 
 gets hardened to it : but with a hen or iacubator, 
 and at earlier seasons, this is not so, and they 
 get chilled. 
 
 The domestic varieties of ducks are much 
 more numerous than in 1861, when Mrs. Fer- 
 gusson Blair wrote in The Henwife that " there 
 is not a great variety in our domestic 
 Aylesbury ducks ; only three distinct exhibition 
 Ducks. breeds exist, viz. the Aylesbury, 
 
 Rouen, and Buenos Ayres or East 
 Indian." Though, curiously enough, the last- 
 named has now practically disappeared, being re- 
 placed by the Cayuga, the list now would be twice 
 as long ; but the first place, at least in England, 
 must still be given to the Aylesbury breed, 
 named from the county town of Bucks, which 
 has- for generations been the chief, and is still 
 the largest centre of the duck-rearing industry, 
 
 and where scarcely any other kind of duck is 
 thought of in connection with it. 
 
 The Aylesbury duck is long in the body, 
 which is carried horizontally, the legs appearing 
 almoLt in the middle. The neck is fine and 
 rather long, with a somewhat swan-like carriage, 
 the head a little snaky, with the bill long and 
 coming out straight like a woodcock's^ The 
 most obvious characteristics to catch the' eye 
 are the pure and spotless white of the plumage, 
 entirely free from the least yellow, which may 
 contaminate Pekin-crossed birds, and the delicate 
 colour of the bill, which should be a pale soft 
 pink, " like that of a lady's finger-nail." This 
 colour is partly the result of 'long and careful 
 breeding ; but there appears little doubt that 
 it is partly due also to constant scouring in a 
 fine shell}' gravel found throughout the Vale of 
 Aylesbury about the streams and ponds, of 
 which the ducks are very fond ; and it is only 
 found in perfection when the birds are kept 
 out of much sun, and away from ferruginous 
 soil or foul water, which injures the colour 
 greatly. Left to wander at pleasure in other 
 localities, the progeny of the best stock will often 
 turn yellow in the bill, but it is found that this 
 can be prevented by care, and by placing in 
 their troughs abundance of fine white sharp 
 gravel. The legs are bright orange. The drake 
 differs in no respect from the duck, except in 
 being rather larger, and having two or three 
 curled feathers in his tail ; . and at an early age 
 it is difficult to distinguish the sexes, as these 
 male feathers do not develop till the first moult. 
 As the young ones grow to the age of six or 
 eight weeks, however, the voice of the two sexes 
 will be found to differ, the ducks giving a dis- 
 tinct " quack," whilst the note of the drake is 
 not a quack at all, but much fainter, and husky 
 in character. 
 
 In one respect the Aylesbury duck has 
 somewhat changed during recent years. As 
 we remember it in i860, and for some years 
 afterwards, it was not what duck-breeders term 
 " keeled " underneath the body. By degrees 
 this character was more and more cultivated, 
 from a desire to increase the massive look of 
 the birds, and at the present day the Standard 
 describes and requires keel — the term is self- 
 explanatory — in exhibition birds. To a certain 
 moderate extent, while confined to a fairly deep 
 breast-bone, the point is useful ; but the present 
 exaggerated keel is disliked by market dealers,- 
 and has had something to do with a partial dis- 
 placement of Aylesbury ducks by Pekins in the 
 London market. The average weight of good 
 stock is about 7 lbs. for drakes and 6 lbs. for 
 ducks, in ordinary condition at twelve months 
 
S3<5 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 old ; and such weights, if of large frame, are 
 quite large enough to breed from. The heavy 
 weights of lo lbs. and 9 lbs. seen at exhibitions 
 are obtained by forcing diet; and birds once fed 
 and fattened up to it are practically worthless 
 as breeding stock afterwards. As if that were 
 not enough, both these and other ducks are 
 often crammed before judging, or tempted to 
 eat a pound or more of raw sausages, or meat ; 
 or some exhibitors even provide a quantity of 
 live worms ! Some ducks have been killed in 
 this way, but a moderate quantity of uncooked 
 sausage, or something of the same kind, often 
 seems to pick up the birds and make them look 
 better in every way after the journey. 
 
 The bills of Aylesbury ducks kept for 
 exhibition require much care. If a bird with the 
 best of bills is allowed to grub about in filthy 
 places after the manner of its tribe, and be shut 
 up at night uncleansed, a very few days will dis- 
 colour it ; and a very few days of hot sun will 
 tan it perceptibly yellow. Show birds should 
 only be let out for an hour or two in morning 
 and evening, though the breeders must have 
 liberty even at the cost of tanning their bills, or 
 the eggs will fail. The houses must be kept 
 clean, and a pan of sharp white gravel and 
 water always kept in it, with some wheat to 
 induce them to scour in it freely. A young bill 
 is thus kept in order, but with age a coarse, 
 horny substance forms upon it, especially on a 
 bird with much liberty. Before exhibition this 
 is very carefully pared away with a sharp knife, 
 taking care not to trench upon the inner skin or 
 make it bleed. The bill is then smoothed with 
 fine sandpaper, and the duck kept in a darkish 
 house or pen for two or three weeks, with the 
 gravel -and wheat above mentioned. This will 
 bring out a really good bill nearly as fresh as 
 ever. The bills of other varieties sometimes 
 need similar attention, though in less degree, 
 
 The special economic merits of the Aylesbury 
 duck are its size, its hardiness in all climates, and 
 above all its rapid and early maturity. Owing 
 to this quality of quick and early growth, many 
 are marketed at eight weeks old, and some 
 weigh as much as 4 lbs. at that age. The white 
 feathers are also of more value than coloured 
 ones. The colour of the eggs varies. Most 
 generally they are rather long and pointed, and 
 white, of a peculiarly pearly or transparent 
 quality, but others are green, and the same duck 
 will even lay eggs of one colour and then of the 
 other. Cream-coloured eggs are also not at all 
 uncommon. The eggs are thought by many, 
 more delicate in flavour than those of other 
 breeds. The ducklings when hatched are a 
 bright primrose yellow. 
 
 The Rouen duck closely resembles the wild 
 Mallard in its plumage, except that this has been 
 bred darker and richer. It is very probably cor- 
 rectly named. from the city of Rouen, 
 Rouen Ducks, as ducks more or less resembling it in 
 colour are still plentiful in Normandy, 
 though not bred to. such a precise standard of 
 feather, or so massive. In general conforrhation 
 the Rouen is somewhat shorter and deeper in 
 body than the Aylesbury, and considerably deeper 
 in keel. The bill should be long and broad and 
 straight,as in that breed, that of the duck, however, 
 being rather shorter than the drake's. The drake's 
 bill should be a greenish yellow with a black" 
 bean at the tip, lead-colour amounting to dis- 
 qualification, and too bright a yellow being also 
 . disliked. The head is a rich green, glossed with 
 purple, which extends down the neck to a 
 collar of pure white ; this does not quite meet at 
 the back, but must be clear and distinct so far as 
 it goes. The breast is a rich deep claret extend- 
 ing down well below the water-line, and free 
 from the fine white lacing which is called by 
 breeders "chain armour." There it joins the 
 delicate French grey of the flanks and under 
 parts, which should extend to under the tail, any 
 pure white under the tail being a great objection. 
 This French grey is minutely pencilled all over 
 with fine black lines. The back is a rich 
 greenish black, the curls in the tail being a dark 
 green. The wings are a greyish brown, with a 
 " ribbon-mark " across them, which must be a 
 very bright and distinct blue, edged on both 
 sides with black and white bands. The flights 
 are grey and brown, white in a flight-feather 
 being highly objectionable. The drake's legs 
 are a rich orange. » 
 
 The bill of the duck is of an orange colour, 
 with a splash of nearly black upon it, two-thirds 
 down from the head, but not reaching the base, 
 tip, or sides ; this colour, however, changes 
 during the laying season to a dirty brown, and 
 sometimes they become almost black all over. 
 The head is brown, with two distinct shaded 
 lines on each side, running from the eye down 
 to the darker part of the neck. The breast is 
 brown, pencilled over with dark brown ; the 
 back pencilled with very dark brown, or black 
 glossed with green upon a brown ground. This 
 pencilling must be very distinct, though judges 
 differ somewhat as to the shade of brown which 
 should form the ground-work. The wing has 
 a ribbon-mark, as in the drake, and the legs are 
 like his, orange, but of a dusky shade. 
 
 Rouen ducklings when hatched are brown 
 and yellow. When first feathered the drake 
 has the same plumage as the duck, but at three 
 months or soon after begins to moult into the 
 
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 LU 
 3 
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THE PEKIN DUCK. 
 
 537 
 
 male colours. The following summer and every 
 summer afterwards, about June or July, he 
 moults temporarily into very nearly the sombre 
 garb of the female, until late in the autumn he 
 resumes his male plumage again. 
 
 In mating Rouen ducks for exhibition, the 
 breeder should look to markings, and shape and 
 size of frame, rather than weight, a drake of 
 7 lbs. being quite heavy enough to breed fine 
 stock, and if more than a pound or so heavier 
 than that, being seldom so vigorous and fertile. 
 He is better not over eighteen months old, but 
 the duck may be older. Dark drakes mated 
 with dark ducks generally produce the best 
 coloured drakes, and a dark drake with light 
 but well marked females the best coloured 
 ducks ; thus one pen can be made up very well, 
 with ducks of different shades. Sometimes a 
 fine drake will come with .his wing twisted : such 
 a bird, if of good strain, need not be rejected 
 for breeding. 
 
 Rouen ducks are hardy, and delicate in flesh, 
 and fully as large as Aylesburys ; but they are 
 not such good or such early layers, and do not 
 mature in size nearly so quickly. Hence they 
 are not so well adapted for a spring trade, 
 neither are the feathers so valuable, nor does 
 the carcase look so- nice when plucked as the 
 white-feathered birds. The heavy keel is also 
 somewhat against them. For a later market, 
 some think that they make finer birds. Some 
 portion of Rouen blood enters very widely into 
 the common coloured ducks seen in farmyards 
 all over the country. 
 
 The Pekin duck is a comparatively recent 
 introduction, and one of the most valuable. It 
 is rather doubtful whether the first importations 
 were made into England or America, 
 Pekin Mr. Palmer in the United States and 
 
 Ducks. Mr. Keele in England having both 
 
 imported birds, in 1873, ^^^ both 
 exhibiting them in 1874; but in each case there 
 is no doubt they came from Pekin, and were 
 from the first a most well-marked variety, though 
 they bred freely with other ducks. 
 
 The Pekin duck differs from others in the 
 shape and carriage of its body, in a full spherical 
 growth of feathers under the rump, and a singular 
 turned-up carriage of the tail, the whole irre- 
 sistibly suggesting the outline of an Indian canoe. 
 The legs are set far back, which makes the bird 
 walk rather upright or penguin fashion. The 
 neck is somewhat long, and the head decidedly 
 large in proportion. The legs and bill are a rich 
 yellow or reddish orange, the bill being shorter 
 than in the two preceding varieties ; and the 
 plumage approaches white, with a peculiar canary 
 
 yellow running through it. At one time some 
 exhibitors showed pure white, but such specimens 
 nearly always had pale bills, and there is no 
 doubt that they originated in a cross with the 
 Aylesbui'y, which was atone time very prevalent 
 in both breeds, and is even now not altogether 
 banished from either. But it is now fully recog- 
 nised that canary plumage, deep orange bill 
 and legs, and erect canoe-like body make the 
 true type of the Pekin, It differs further from 
 both the preceding in having no keel. 
 
 The Pekin duck has strong characteristics in 
 qualities, as well as in colour and shape. It is a 
 non-sitter, and a most prolific layer, especially 
 if bred for that quality systematically as in 
 America, where many ducks have laid over 150 
 eggs in a year. When at large they are very 
 active, and their plumage and colour of bill give 
 no reason for keeping them out of the sun. 
 They are very large in frame, but the plumage is 
 so thick that they rarely weigh what they look in 
 England, where they were rashly pronounced 
 small, not adapted for fattening in confinement, 
 and dry in flesh. In America, on the contrary, 
 this duck is the one almost universally bred on 
 the great duck ranches ; and there it proves, not 
 only the best layer, but the most succulent in 
 flesh. Some of the American breeders describe 
 their birds as " keeled " ; but this is not what is 
 understood by " keel " in England, as explained 
 farther on. A pair on Mr. Hallock's ranche 
 at Speonk, Long Island, where 25,000 are raised 
 annually, weighed weekly, proved 3 ozs. each at 
 I week old, 5^ ozs. at 2 weeks, 7 J ozs. at 3 weeks, 
 
 I lb. 3 ozs. at 4 weeks, 2 lbs. 6 ozs. at S weeks, 
 3 lbs. 12 ozs. at 6 weeks, 4 lbs. 12 ozs. at 7 weeks, 
 6 lbs. 1 2 ozs. at 8 weeks, 7 lbs. 4 ozs. at 9 weeks, 
 8 lbs. at 10 weeks, and 9 lbs. 3 ozs. (each) at 
 
 I I weeks. The pair were admittedly somewhat 
 above the average, but by no means exceptional. 
 Such weights as these would not be attained 
 by British Pekin stock at the time we write. 
 But the old prejudices are dying out, and several 
 dealers in the London Central Market have told 
 us that year by year the Pekin is by degrees 
 displacing the Aylesbury, the flesh being much 
 liked, and the absence or comparative absence 
 of keel being a point in its favour. 
 
 On the water the Pekin duck is particularly 
 ornamental. 
 
 The best laying ducks, according to English 
 experience — in America the Pekins have been 
 
 bred to attain nearly as high an 
 Indian average — are those now called 
 
 Ducks. Indian Runners, which until recent 
 
 years were little known, and received 
 only occasional notice under the name of Penguin 
 
538 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 ducks. The best account of their origin is that 
 by Mr. J. Donald, of Wigton, who states that 
 the first were brought to Whitehaven about 
 fifty years ago by a sea-captain, who noticed in 
 India their erect carriage and active habits, and 
 on being told of their constant laying, and that 
 they would nearly pick up their own living, 
 brought them home as a present to some 
 friends in Cumberland. A few years later he 
 brought home more from the same locality, and 
 from these two lots all the present stock are 
 descended. They gradually made a local 
 reputation in Cumberland and Westmoreland, 
 and were a good deal crossed on the common 
 ducks of those two counties, but remained 
 practically unknown anywhere else till about 
 1890. Then a few breeders took them up, and 
 eventually a large class of twenty-one pairs was 
 collected at Kendal, chiefly by the efforts of 
 Miss Wilson-Wilson of that town. This was 
 the real beginning of their popularity, the 
 display at Kendal being rapidly followed by 
 classes at the Dairy, Crystal Palace, and other 
 great shows. 
 
 This duck is small, the drakes only weighing 
 Ar\ to 5 lbs. each, and the ducks a pound less. 
 The plumage is very close and tight, making 
 them appear rather small even for their weight. 
 The head is flat, making the eye appear near 
 the top of it, and the head very long and fine 
 looked at sideways ; and the bill, which is thick 
 at the base, comes out very long in the shape of 
 an almost straight wedge, dishing or concavity 
 on the top being a fault. The neck is long and 
 thin, and the whole body also long and slender, 
 the breast having no keel and being carried 
 high in front, as also the head, upon legs set 
 far behind. In this attitude the bird literally 
 does "run" quickly along the ground. The 
 legs are fine in bone, and orange red in colour. 
 
 In colour, two schools are recognised, the 
 fawn and the grey ; but there is very little doubt 
 that the fawn is the original colour, and the 
 grey the produce qf crossing it upon local stock, 
 which has however been since bred true to type 
 in other respects. The bill is yellow when 
 hatched, but gradually becomes green, the 
 drake's being of a rather more yellowish shade 
 than the duck's. The head has a dark cap, 
 divided by a white line from dark cheeks below 
 the eye, which are separated by another white 
 line from the base of the bill. The neck is 
 white to about an inch above the shoulders, 
 from whence descends a coloured breast below, 
 and on the back is a large heart-shaped patch, 
 whose point reaches to the tail. The tail and 
 posterior end are coloured. The fluff and under 
 parts are white, up to the coloured breast, which 
 
 commences about half-way between the legs 
 and the point of the breast-bone. The tail of 
 the drake is darker than the rest. Whether 
 grey or fawn, the colour should be as uniform as 
 possible all over^ and pretty sharply cut where 
 it meets the, white. From the crossing which 
 has taken place, breasts almost claret, and even 
 ribbon-marked wings are sometimes found, but 
 any such signs at once stamp the stock as 
 impure. 
 
 Indian Runners are too small to rank as 
 market ducks, but when killed young are 
 deliciously tender and juicy, with fine flavour, and 
 pay well for home consumption. They are not 
 fit for confinement, in which they fret and do 
 not thrive ; nor are they very fond of swimming, 
 just one bath daily, at the utmost, seeming to 
 satisfy them. Their propensity is to wander all 
 over a farm in search of animal food, and on 
 a good range they often do not care even to 
 wait for feeding in the morning, preferring to be 
 off over the fields ; but will return for a little 
 grain of some kind at night. They very often 
 begin to lay at about four months old, and quite 
 ordinarily will lay on this regimen 120 or 130 
 eggs per annum, May ducklings laying right 
 through the winter. They lay well till six or 
 eight years old, and if not more than five ducks 
 are kept with one drake, the eggs are very 
 fertile. The eggs are white in colour, and 
 average five or six to the pound, being large 
 for the size of the birds, and quite delicate 
 in flavour. The young grow very fast, and 
 are quite hardy. 
 
 The black Cayuga duck is called after the 
 lake of that name, and comes to us from 
 America, though a large black duck which 
 bred pretty true was known half 
 Cayuga a century ago in Lancashire. The 
 
 Ducks. first American specimens were sent 
 
 to us by Mr. W. Simpson, in 1871, 
 and the late Mr. J. K. Fowler imported them a 
 few years later. These early specimens were 
 not very large, and were rather dingy in colour, 
 and there is no doubt that they were crossed 
 with Black East India ducks in order to get 
 the green gloss of the latter. This was accom- 
 plished, but kept them still small ; and they 
 were afterwards crossed, by some with Ayles- 
 bury and by others with Rouen, to get size. 
 Unfortunately with this the type was also 
 changed, as the original birds had no "keels," 
 while the modern English exhibition Cayuga 
 has this feature very pronounced. It has 
 thus been made an exhibition duck, at the 
 expense of popularity in the market. 
 
 Owing partly to this change, perhaps, the 
 
MINOR BREEDS OF DUCKS. 
 
 539 
 
 Cayuga has never quite had its deserts ; for 
 general consent attributes to it decided superi- 
 ority in flavour over any other of the large 
 -breeds. It is now a large breed, very similar in 
 size and shape to the Aylesbury, and ex- 
 hibited about the same weight, the plumage 
 being a rich black heavily glossed with green, 
 the legs a sooty orange, the bill a leaden or 
 bluish black, with an intense black splash in the 
 middle and a black bean at the tip. The skin 
 is very white. The breed is hardy, matures 
 early, is a very good layer, and of more quiet 
 and stay-at-home habits than most If ever 
 Cayugas should come into fashion, these qualities 
 would be in its favour as a market duck ; but 
 the black feathers would of course be against 
 it, and may be a reason why it is so little bred. 
 After the first year Cayugas are apt to moult 
 more or less white feathers, especially at the 
 base of the bill ; but this is no sign of impurity 
 of race. 
 
 Blue races of ducks are obviously allied to 
 black, and have often appeared. The late Mr. 
 Teebay several times told us that about i860 
 
 there was a recognised local race of 
 Blue large blue ducks in Lancashire, and 
 
 Ducks. more or less of that colour would be 
 
 produced by crossing white with 
 either black, or even any dark breed like the 
 Rouen. The same colour has been imported and 
 bred in the United States under the name of 
 blue Swedish ducks, \yhich it is said really were 
 introduced from northern Europe, and only 
 differ from the foregoing in having a white throat 
 or semi-collar at the front of the base of the neck. 
 More recently blue ducks have been bred and 
 sold as "Orpingtons." There is no reason why 
 ducks of such a colour should not prove as large 
 and profitable as any others; but the colour is 
 not attractive, and they certainly have no points 
 of advantage over the standard varieties, and 
 can scarcely be called a breed, varying con- 
 siderably in the colour of their progeny. 
 
 A more successful attempt to create by 
 crossing and selection a new breed of ducks 
 which should exhibit real superiority in useful 
 
 qualities, has resulted in what are 
 Campbell known as Campbell ducks, produced 
 Ducks. by Mrs. Campbell, of Uley, in 
 
 Gloucestershire. These are now 
 bred in two colours. The original strain was 
 descended from one duck which exhibited most 
 remarkable laying powers, and was probably 
 something of the Rouen colour, since the original 
 Campbells are somewhat like Rouens in ap- 
 pearance, but much lighter, with a plain head of 
 
 a greyish brown shade, and no streak running 
 from the eye: the drakes have grey backs, and a 
 pale claret breast — the legs yellow. The object 
 was to produce excellence in laying, with fair 
 table qualities and quick maturity; and it is 
 stated that for years past the egg-average has 
 been over 200 per annum, while the young are 
 hatched at all seasons, and do well all the year 
 round. They are not very large, stock birds 
 weighing 4I lbs. to 5 lbs., and in flavour con- 
 siderably resemble the wild Mallard, which 
 was used in crossing as one of the foundations 
 of the strain. 
 
 The other sub-variety is more recent, and is 
 known as the Khaki or Khaki-Campbell duck. 
 The drake is khaki colour all over except, the 
 head and stern, which are bronze green; the duck 
 is entirely khaki colour, a delicate lacing of 
 darker buff showing on each feather. The 
 Indian Runner has been used in crossing to 
 produce this variety, and as the result the Khaki 
 duck is of extremely active habits, doing best on 
 a good range, and showing very little desire for 
 swimming — in fact Mrs. Campbell, we believe, 
 only allows them drinking water. At twelve 
 weeks old the ducklings come up to about 4 lbs. 
 to 4j lbs., the laying being about the same average 
 as the other strain. Whatever time of year they 
 are hatched, they are said to commence laying 
 at or before six months old, so that by hatching 
 about three lots, very early, medium, and late, 
 eggs are easily obtained every day in the year. 
 
 Much was said at one time about the Duclair 
 duck, named from a town between Havre and 
 Rouen, and the chief duck of that district ; but 
 
 there appears nothing distinctive 
 Continental about it at all. The colour is 
 Ducks. much like that of carelessly bred 
 
 and mis-marked Rouens, or rather 
 of common farmyard ducks with Rouen blood; 
 and those imported gave no better results than 
 the old English breeds. The beautiful smooth 
 white skin so admired is the result of French 
 feeding, devoted to birds without keel. These 
 ducks are long in shape, and not_so deep in body 
 as Rouens, and are very good layers. The same 
 in effect may be said of the Belgian races called 
 Laplaigne, Merchtem, etc., occasionally seen at 
 London shows of table poultry : their distinct- 
 ness of race is mostly very dubious, and the 
 same feeding would certainly, in a generation 
 or two, produce better results with the races 
 familiar to our feeders. 
 
 The most distinctive race of all is the 
 Peruvian or Muscovy or Musk duck, which 
 alone appears not to be descended frcm the 
 
54° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Mallard. It comes not from the north at 
 all, but from South America; is very different 
 in many characteristics ; and the progeny when 
 crossed v/ith other varieties appear 
 Muscovy to be real hybrids, being decidedly 
 
 Ducks. sterile inter se, though fertile more 
 
 or less with either parent strain. The 
 name is derived from an odour of musk which 
 pervades the skin, but which disapp&ars when 
 cooked. The generic name is Cairina moschata. 
 
 The wild Muscovy duck is very agile, often 
 perching upon trees, and even making its nest 
 occasionally in such situations. Another pecu- 
 liarity is the disparity in size between the sexes, 
 a fine drake weighing perhaps ii lbs. or 12 lbs., 
 while the female will be only 6 lbs. or 7 lbs.; 
 and the male has no curled feathers in his tail 
 like other breeds. The feathers on the body are 
 very large and broad, and often appear loose as 
 if ready to drop out. The head of the drake 
 is very large, and in both sexes the cheeks are 
 naked, with scarlet fleshy carunculations, very 
 developed in the male, and giving him a peculiar 
 leery and wicked expression. This is not 
 belied by his temper, which is very bad vi^ith 
 other ducks and poultry, and the drakes also 
 fight fiercely among themselves, another point 
 in which they differ from other breeds. The 
 period of incubation also differs, being from 
 thirty-four to thirty-five days. 
 
 The general colour of the Muscovy duck is 
 pied black and white ; whole white, whole black, 
 and blue dun being also found. The legs are 
 pale yellow, and the toes have very- sharp claws. 
 The eggs are large and white, but the duck is a 
 poor layer. The flesh is rich, and at one time 
 the bird was popular in America, and con- 
 siderably used for crossing; but this has been 
 nearly abandoned, and the breed cannot be 
 considered a profitable one. 
 
 Duck-raising for market, or duck-farming, is 
 an ancient industry in England, being for some 
 generations almost confined to the Vale of 
 
 Aylesbury, which is still a great 
 
 Duck-Farming centre of supply for the best trade 
 
 in of the London market. That the 
 
 England. business should so long have been a 
 
 local one, is rather surprising, as the 
 voracious appetite, hardihood, and rapid growth 
 of ducklings afford quicker returns from them 
 than in any other branch of poultry-rearing, 
 whilst numbers are handled with so much 
 greater facility in a small space : the local breed 
 had, however, doubtless much to do with this. 
 So long ago as 1870 the receipts of the Vale 
 amounted to over ;^2o,ooo a year, and in 1900 
 this had increased by about fifty per cent., but 
 
 since that date the trade of this locality has 
 practically not increased. As a rule the birds 
 are sent up to London twice or three times a 
 we^k, several tons sometimes going up in a. 
 single night; and a system has grown up, as in 
 Sussex, by which the railway companies collect 
 the birds in " flats," and return the empty pack- 
 ages to the roadside, for an inclusive charge of 
 one penny per bird. 
 
 While there always have been a few larger 
 raisers, the bulk of the trade in Bucks at this 
 time was in the hands of moderate or small 
 men, who raised probably about a thousand 
 birds each. These "duckers" would begin to 
 collect eggs for sitting from the farmers after 
 Michaelmas, generally contracting to take all 
 any man could supply them with from that time 
 till next June, at one average price, which in 
 1870 was 2s. or 2s. 6d. per dozen ; if eggs were 
 bought in December and January only, the cost 
 per sitting would be double that price. Hens 
 were hired at about 3s. 6d. each, and were set 
 as fast as they and the eggs for them could be 
 procured. When hatched, four or five broods 
 were put together, so that every hen left in 
 charge had twenty-five to fifty ; and the young 
 birds were, as the hatching progressed, dis- 
 tributed in some cottages over every room in 
 the house, including bedrooms, a single room 
 accommodating in some cases two or three hens 
 with their families, separated by boards placed 
 on edge. The noise at feeding times was 
 deafening. The first food was usually chopped 
 e.g'g and bread-crumbs, then chopped egg and 
 boiled rice mixed with meal, later on mainly 
 meal and rice mixed with boiled greaves, or 
 other cheap meat, with green food "as required. 
 
 In 1890, while this trade had considerably 
 extended as stated above, the profits had some- 
 what decreased. The cost of eggs had gone up 
 to about 4s. per dozen through the season, or as 
 much as 12s. a dozen for December only, and 
 the average market price had fallen about 2s. 
 per couple, though a guinea could still be 
 realised for the choicest ducklings in February 
 and March. Against this, the cost of food had 
 somewhat fallen. Sanitary legislation had also 
 placed salutary check upon the extraordinary 
 indoor arrangements above described, once so 
 prevalent in many cottages, and more birds 
 were reared in consequence out of doors than 
 formerly, in pens with soine slight shelter, 
 though many ground floors were still occupied 
 in the old way. A few larger raisers were 
 graduaUy beginning to use incubators, and some 
 of them to keep ducks and breed their own 
 eggs for hatching ; but the main business of the 
 "duckers" was still done by purchasing eggs, 
 
DUCK- FARMING IN ENGLAND. 
 
 S4I 
 
 and hiring hens, in the old way. The cost of 
 rearing a duckling to 4 lbs. weight at eight or 
 nine weeks old, was usually reckoned at is. 6d. 
 to 2s. per bird. They should be ready by that 
 age ; and must at all events be marketed before 
 they are eleven weeks old, as about that age 
 they begin to moult into their adult feathers, 
 after which they grow no heavier for many 
 weeks, whilst the pin-feather lowers both quality 
 and price terribly. 
 
 Since 1890 further changes have taken place 
 in British duck-farming. The industry has 
 grown and developed very largely, either find- 
 ing or creating a much larger market than in 
 former years ; but the Aylesbury Vale portion 
 of it has not done more than hold its own, if it 
 has even done so much, the extension taking 
 place in other districts. For this some reasons 
 have already been given ; but it should also 
 be observed that a large part of the new 
 demand has been due to the middle classes, and 
 the more prosperous portion of the working 
 classes, who have required ducks at more 
 ordinary seasons and at lower prices, thus 
 prolonging the season for hatching, and con- 
 tinuing sales into September, though at lower 
 prices than during the spring trade. Some have 
 connected with this change in length of season, 
 the more extensive cultivation of Pekin ducks, 
 or crosses with them, which have formed a 
 large portion of the new supplies ; but the 
 results of inquiries which we have made go to 
 show that these ducks have also gradually 
 found favour in the London spring market, and 
 that crosses are beginning to form part of even 
 some of the Aylesbury trade. In Bucking- 
 hamshire itself a system of large rearing-sheds 
 has been introduced to some extent, thus 
 replacing in a way the birds no longer allowed 
 in cottage rooms ; but otherwise the old cottage- 
 methods are still followed pretty largely. The 
 following description of duck-farming as now 
 carried on in England is contributed by Mr. 
 Edward Brown, F.L.S., of Theale, Berks, who 
 jhas made special personal investigation in order 
 to prepare it for these pages. 
 
 " Since the first publication of the Illustrated 
 Book of Poultry many and great changes have 
 taken place in the English duck-raising industry. 
 About the year 1875 the bounds were broken, 
 first over the border into Bedfordshire, where, 
 large numbers are reared around Eaton Bray, 
 and subsequently the area has been still further 
 extended. Probably more ducklings are now 
 produced around Chesham and Princes Ris- 
 borough, in Bucks, and in the eastern districts 
 of Oxfordshire, than in the Aylesbury district 
 itself ; and other parts of England have shown 
 
 that they can equal Buckinghamshire as to 
 quality, and excel it as to quantity of ducklings 
 produced. Aylesbury men still claim that their 
 birds are the finest in the world, but their pre- 
 eminence has been lost, and birds from other 
 districts now compete with them successfully. 
 That many of these duckers are yet very skilful 
 is unquestionable ; but their very success has led 
 to neglect. They have been content to con- 
 tinue in the old ruts, have neglected the pre- 
 vention of tainted soil, and being firmly con- 
 vinced that their locally bred ducks were the 
 best, have bought stock from each other, so that 
 in-breeding has resulted, with consequent de- 
 generacy. Soft-bill, which appears to be a 
 result of close breeding, and other weaknesses, 
 are now seriously prevalent in Bucks, whilst 
 they are practically unknown elsewhere. Re- 
 cently there has been an awakening among the 
 younger duckers in that county ; but much of 
 the trade has gone, never to be regained. From 
 the national point of view this is not regret- 
 table, as it has led to a great increase in duck- 
 raising in other parts of the country. 
 
 " In the districts of Bucks and Beds to which 
 reference has already been made, the method 
 adopted is very much on the old lines, with the 
 exception that in a few cases artificial methods 
 are now being introduced, and in others opera- 
 tions are carried out upon a larger scale than 
 formerly. I have visited a farmer near Eaton 
 Bray in Bedfordshire, who markets about io,oog 
 ducklings a year. In this case, as in most 
 others, he buys the eggs, hatches them under 
 hens, and rears and finishes off" for the market. 
 For the work of rearing he has a long range of 
 shedding, with doors in front similar to those 
 fitted to stables, divided into two parts so that 
 the birds can be enclosed within the building 
 and yet obtain plenty of air and light. This 
 shed is about ten feet wide, and divided into 
 compartments six feet or more in width as the 
 birds grow larger, each holding about fifty 
 birds ; the divisions being simply boards about 
 18 inches in height, which can be easily stepped 
 over. In front are enclosed yards where the 
 birds are fed. In his case, as in many others, 
 there is great variety in the food given to the 
 birds. It is generally conceded that the best 
 food during the latter part of the feeding is rice, 
 but in many cases barley meal and Indian meal 
 are employed by reason of their cheapness, 
 though it is universally admitted that the 
 results are not so satisfactory as with rice-feed- 
 ing. Most of the duckers employ tallow greaves 
 for mixing with the meal or rice, as the case 
 may be, and large quantities of greaves are used 
 in this way. 
 
542 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 " The majority of the duck fatters are small 
 occupiers, and a report presented to the last 
 Royal Commission on Agriculture in 189S, 
 written by Mr. Aubrey Spencer, Assistant 
 Commissioner, summarises the methods still 
 adopted in Bucks and Beds. 
 
 The persons who engage in duck fattening are 
 generally men of the labouring or small village trades- 
 man class. The number of ducklings reared and sold 
 annually by individuals varies, from a few hundred to 
 several thousands. The ducks require constant care 
 and attention all through the spring months, and no 
 one who rears a large number has, during that period, 
 time to engage in any other work ; but where a com- 
 paratively small number are reared the female portion 
 of the household may do most of the necessary work. 
 Many of those engaged in rearing, however, find time to 
 carry on some other occupation in the autumn months, 
 such as shoe-making, or at any rate can earn a little 
 extra money by harvesting and occasional agricultural 
 work. At Weston Turville I was told that about eleven 
 men in that village fattened 1,000 ducks apiece annually, 
 and that about 16,000 or 17,000 were sent from there to 
 London in a year. As a rule the duck fatteners do not 
 themselves keep stock ducks, but buy eggs from farmers 
 or others who keep breeding ducks, so that the breeding 
 and rearing are in different hands. 
 
 It is a main object of the duck fattener to bring out 
 as many young ducks as he can ready for the market in 
 February or early in March, when the game season is 
 over, and the highest prices are obtainable for duck- 
 lings. The season for ducklings commences in February 
 and continues till about the end of August,-the prices 
 falling as the year advances. In P'ebruary or March as 
 much as £1 is. a couple is occasionally obtained for 
 ducklings, and one fattener at Weston Turville 
 informed me that in 1894 he had obtained the very 
 exceptional price of 24s. for a couple, which was the 
 highest figure he had ever reached. The average in 
 March is more usually about 12s. or 14s. the couple. 
 The carriage and salesman's commission (5 per cent.) 
 for the ducklings are reckoned at about 3d. a bird, and 
 duck fatteners commonly estimated that after deducting 
 carriage and commission they would receive on the 
 average throughout the season about 3s. to 3s. 3d. a 
 duck. I am, however, inclined to think that this 
 estimate is rather under than over the mark, for in 
 August, when I visited the district, prices were still as 
 high as 6s. to 7s. a couple. 
 
 " Large quantities are now produced around 
 Diss in Norfolk, where the system is very similar 
 to that followed in Buckinghamshire, in Lincoln- 
 shire, and North Lancashire ; and recently many 
 ducklings have been produced in Cornwall, 
 where for climatic reasons there may probably 
 be a great development in process of time. At 
 many of these places the system adopted does 
 not call for any special mention ; but two cases 
 afford an excellent example of what can be 
 done by other methods, and may perhaps be 
 regarded as the most advanced duck farms in 
 the country. 
 
 " The first of these duck-farms is at Bourne 
 Hall, near Poulton-le-Fylde, in North Lanca- 
 shire, and is owned by Mr. Peter Walsh, who 
 
 possesses the most extensive duck-farm at the 
 present time in this country. Mr. Walsh has 
 occupied his farm, which comprises about 285 
 acres, for twelve years. It consists of a clay 
 loam, and is situated a mile from the sea, about 
 five miles from Fleetwood, and six miles from 
 Blackpool. The farm is largely pasture, and 
 the other members of the Walsh family devote 
 themselves to dairying, selling the milk, about 
 sixty-five cows being kept. Eleven years ago 
 Mr. Walsh, who had read a great deal about 
 duck-fattening in the South Midlands of 
 England, determined to try whether it was 
 possible to establish an industry in his district. 
 For two years he worked against manifest dis- 
 advantages from inexperience, and at the end of 
 that time was so discouraged that he gaye it up. 
 But a year afterwards he commenced again. 
 The first season he hatched, reared, and fatted 
 slightly under 2,000 ducklings, steadily advanc- 
 ing since year by year, until during the season 
 of 1901 he hatched and reared 25,000 ducklings, 
 in addition to which he purchased nearly 5,000 
 more to feed off. Such an industry is worthy 
 of careful observation, because there, can be no 
 question that Mr. Walsh has made it profit- 
 able, and some of his methods have been con- 
 siderably modified since he first began his 
 enterprise. 
 
 " Mr. Walsh now keeps no breeding ducks 
 whatever, but as a resultof the demand created 
 by him (especially as his example has been 
 followed by others in the district), a very much 
 greater number of ducks are kept throughout 
 that part of Lancashire, the farmers finding it 
 profitable to keep the ducks, and to sell the 
 eggs to Mr. Walsh's (and other) collectors. 
 These collectors go round regularly to the 
 farms, and attend the markets almost as far as 
 Lancaster and Preston. Whilst the majority ot 
 the birds are largely of Aylesbury blood, there 
 has been a good deal of Pekin influence intro- 
 duced into the district, and Mr. Walsh believes 
 that the cross between the Aylesbury and the. 
 Pekin gives the best results for his class of 
 trade. He does not attempt to produce first- 
 class ducklings, such as still come from Bucks 
 and Beds, especially as his demand is chiefly 
 in Lancashire and Yorkshire, where the prices 
 obtainable in London during the spring months 
 of the year are not paid. But it is impossible 
 for him to obtain sufficient eggs from the 
 immediate district, and therefore he buys more 
 wherever he can secure them, obtaining a goodly 
 number from L-eland, as well as from the south 
 of England. These longer-distance eggs are 
 not nearly so good for hatching as those pro- 
 duced in the immediate district, and give him- 
 
MR. P. WALSH'S DUCK-FARM. 
 
 543 
 
 many more coloured specimens than he likes. 
 The prices paid for the eggs are 2s. and is. 6d. 
 per dozen, in accordance with the time of year, 
 and farmers find the production of eggs at these 
 prices profitable. 
 
 "So far as hatching is concerned, dnring 
 some of my former visits to Bourne Hall I 
 found that Mr. Walsh then used a considerable 
 number of hens ; but these have now been 
 altogether discarded. He is the inventor of 
 what is known as the Acme incubator, a 
 machine which is regulated by means of a 
 capsule, and very similar in many respects to 
 the Hearson. During the season of 1901 he 
 had sixty-five of these incubators at work, each 
 of which holds about loo duck eggs. They 
 were accommodated in five rooms, not specially 
 built, but simply some of the existing farm places 
 adapted to the purpose. They would have been 
 better for the purpose had there been more 
 ventilation. He does not keep a great number 
 of machines in a room, and believes that this 
 gives better results than having one large 
 incubator house. His experience is that in- - 
 cubators are more reliable^ and more easily 
 managed than hens, provided of course that 
 proper attention is given to the machines, and 
 this work he does almost entirely himself. No 
 moisture is placed in the trays ; but every time 
 of cooling the eggs are damped. Mr. Walsh 
 does not attempt to keep records, but says that 
 the near-by eggs (that is, those produced in 
 the Fylde district) give much better results than 
 those coming from a distance. 
 
 " When the ducklings are hatched, and 
 thoroughly dry, they are removed to a large 
 foster-mother, which is fitted with circular pipes, 
 and under these pipes they are placed in trays, 
 where they are kept for two days. This foster- 
 mother accommodates 1,000 young ducklings 
 at one time. They are then placed in other 
 foster-mothers, which are kept out in the open, 
 and at a low temperature. This is to harden 
 the birds off, and the heat given depends largely 
 upon the period of the year, in warm weather 
 being comparatively low. 
 
 " At the end of nine days the ducklings are 
 divided into flocks -of 100, and placed in 
 small houses. These houses are of the very 
 cheapest make, in fact consist of large packing 
 cases, which are bought at about 6d. each, 
 and require very little alteration ; a door being 
 simply cut from the lid, which is then nailed 
 on to the box, the door alone being hinged, 
 and the cost of each house being under a 
 shilling. Each case is on an average about 
 30 inches square-, and when the ducklings are 
 first put out, two of .them are placed in each 
 
 run of about twenty feet square, and after 
 feeding they are put back, fifty in each case. 
 As they increase in size, another box is added, 
 or even two to avoid overcrowding. The runs 
 are formed of inch-mesh wire netting one foot 
 wide, and (as mentioned shortly) are put down 
 temporarily. The birds are fed at first every 
 two hours, as also while in the foster-mothers, 
 and gradually the period is extended until the 
 feeding is five times a day. They are allowed 
 out in the runs for feeding, but as soon as 
 satisfied they are driven back into the houses, 
 and kept there until the next time of feeding. 
 Thus they are not exposed at this stage to 
 the air except during the feeding. 
 
 " The food given is as follows : When first 
 hatched clear eggs are used, hard boiled, 
 chopped fine, and mixed with the best bread, 
 special loaves being baked, weighing 8 to 10 
 lbs. each, with plenty of crumb. The bread is' 
 used new, and this method of feeding is con- 
 tinued for about a week, but during the last two 
 or three days a little bran is added to the bread 
 and hard boiled egg, the whole being slightly 
 moistened with milk. At the end of about a 
 week the feeding is changed, and now consists 
 of barley meal, bran, middlings, oatmeal, and 
 a little maize meal, in accordance with the 
 prices at which the meals can be purchased. 
 Oatmeal is greatly preferred, but it can only 
 be used to a limited extent by reason of its 
 cost. In the second week meat is added in 
 the shape of tallow scrap-cake, or liverine. The 
 food is prepared by steaming, but is not always 
 given hot. This system of feeding continues 
 until the birds are five to six weeks old, in 
 accordance with their development. Mr. Walsh 
 has found by experience that when they are 
 about from three to five weeks old they must 
 have animal food, as this is the stage when 
 the feathers are growing, and if denied this they 
 are found to pull the feathers from each other. 
 The system pursued during this period yields 
 an astonishing frame in about six weeks, when 
 the final process of fattening commences. 
 
 " The birds are now placed in larger runs 
 about twenty-five yards square, divided by wire 
 netting in the same manner as already indicattd, 
 and from this time until the period of killing 
 are not kept under cover at all, but allowed to 
 sleep in the open air entirely. During this last 
 stage they are fed chiefly upon Indian meal and 
 fat, with which is mixed a little of the best 
 broad bran, the object of which is to keep the 
 bowels in proper order. Mr. Walsh would pre- 
 fer to use rice, to secure the best quality, but 
 finds this too expensive for his particular class 
 of trade. The system here described yields 
 
544 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 birds averaging about 6o lbs. per dozen when 
 killed, which for the Aylesbury and Pekin cross, 
 should be when they are between nine and ten 
 weeks old. It will be seen that the system 
 employed is not so speedy as that followed in 
 Bucks and Beds, and it is evident that the 
 quality, as already referred to, would not com- 
 mand the best prices in southern markets. 
 During the whole period of rearing and fattening 
 the birds are not allowed to swim in water, but 
 are given a small quantity to drink. 
 
 " The killing is by dislocation of the neck. 
 As soon as the bird is killed, it is hung up by 
 one of the feet for five or ten minutes. The 
 killer has a barrel with the open end upwards, 
 and in the side of the barrel there are slits, into 
 which he puts one of the feet of the bird, allow- 
 ing the head to hang down. The object of this 
 is that the blood may gather in the neck. Thus 
 the plucking does not comrhence until nearly 
 ten minutes after the killing, and it is stated 
 that if done immediately the bird is dead, in 
 certain parts of the body the blood goes to the 
 holes from which the feathers have been drawn, 
 instead of to tl^e neck. This statement I had 
 not heard before, and it may be peculiar to 
 ducks, as in connection with table poultry it is 
 customary to pluck directly the birds are dead. 
 The labour of attending to the ducklings, killing, 
 and plucking, occupied the attention of ten 
 men, chiefly Irishmen, who engage themselves 
 for the season from March to September. They 
 do everything, as no women are employed about 
 the place. 
 
 " One most important point to keep in view 
 is the system pursued to avoid tainting the 
 ground. Of course, upon so large a farm there 
 is practically no limitation of space, but for con- 
 venience the fields near the house are generally 
 used. No field, after being employed one 
 season for the ducklings, is used again in the 
 same manner for at least three years ; and as 
 upon the field which has been used during 1901, 
 sometimes as many as 7,000 ducklings were to 
 be found at one time, it will be seen that the 
 ground was very thickly covered, and the 
 amount of manure produced must have been 
 very large indeed. Of course, the grass was 
 eaten closely, but the following year the growth 
 is luxuriant, and of fine quality, so that the 
 manurial value is very considerable. Mr. Walsh 
 thinks that the effect of this manure is exhausted 
 quickly, and that it would not remain much 
 beyond the second year. Upon that point, 
 however, his observations have not been made 
 at all closely. 
 
 " This enterprise has now been carried on 
 without a break for eight years, and disposes of 
 
 a statement made in The Field not very long 
 ago, to the effect that no duck-farm had been 
 conducted for more than two years. The whole 
 enterprise is very simply carried out, yet with 
 great skill, and is a proof of what can be done 
 even in the most unlikely district by energy and 
 perseverance. Nearly all the birds are sent to 
 the great towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire, 
 and during the busy season as many as 1,500 
 are frequently despatched in one week. Mr. 
 Walsh is certainly favoured with railway I'ates, 
 as these are very reasonable indeed. It may be 
 mentioned that about Christmas time he also 
 feeds off something like 5,000 geese. The 
 feathers are carefully placed loosely in sacks, 
 which are hung up and sent away at the end of 
 the season. The wing and tail quills are thrown 
 away, as they cannot be sold, but the duck and 
 goose feathers realise very high prices. During 
 the season of 1901 a ton and a half of these 
 feathers were sold, and the money received, 
 amounting to nearly ;£^25o, goes a long way 
 towards paying the labour bill. 
 
 " Three miles from Woodbridge in Suffolk is 
 a duck-farm which is conducted upon different 
 principles. This is at Dallinghoo, and is owned 
 by the Rev. Stewart Walford, whose manager, 
 Mr. R. W. Murrell, has courteously given me 
 all particulars with regard to the business which 
 he is building up there. Mr. Murrell was born 
 and brought up in Norfolk, but has lived many 
 years in Canada and the United States, where 
 he had considerable experience in this industry. 
 The farm is 35 acres in extent, mostly a meadow 
 with a little arable land, the soil being heavy 
 in its nature and distinctly poor in quality, the 
 original grass being coarse, and covered with a 
 rough growth which is of little value for feeding 
 purposes. 
 
 " Here no attempt is made to keep breeding 
 stock, nor is any hatching done. The ducklings 
 are hatched by farmers, mostly in Norfolk, and 
 are bought very young, as follows : In January, 
 February, and March, one day old ; in April, 
 first week, one week old ; second week, two 
 weeks old ; third week, three weeks old; fourth 
 week, four weeks old ; in May, first week and 
 onwards, five weeks old.' The price paid for all 
 is one shilling each. The ducklings are never 
 purchased more than five weeks old, and none 
 are bought after August. When the birds are 
 received they are placed out in open pens, which 
 are formed by so-yard rolls of netting, 2 inches 
 mesh and 18 inches high ; thus each pen is fifty 
 yards in circumference. The ducklings always 
 sleep in the open at all seasons after the age of 
 four weeks; previous to that age being accom- 
 modated in small sheds. During very rough 
 
A SUFFOLK DUCK-FARM. 
 
 545 
 
 weather some canvas is hung on to the netting 
 to afford a little shelter. 
 
 " The feeding is as follows : A mixture is 
 made of barley meal, 4 parts ; middlings, 3 parts ; 
 bran, 2 parts ; maize meal, i part ; and tallow 
 greaves, one-eighth part in bulk. The food is 
 thoroughly mixed and prepared crumbly moist, 
 and it is kept always before the birds. It is 
 either put down upon the ground or upon sacks, 
 never fed from troughs. Mr. Murrell says that 
 the mixture given above is properly propor- 
 tioned, and that is of great importance. Water 
 is supplied, but not as much as the birds would 
 drink. As with those of Mr. Walsh, they are 
 not allowed to swim in water, from the time 
 they are hatched until they are killed, nor are 
 they given as much as they care to drink, only 
 a small quantity being supplied in tins about 
 6 inches deep ; it is stated that if they are given 
 more than that they will not eat nearly so well. 
 The weights attained are as follows : Nine 
 weeks, 5^ to 6 lbs. ; ten weeks, 6 to 7 lbs., and 
 they are killed at this stage. The breeds chiefly 
 preferred are a cross between the Aylesbury 
 and Pekin. Rouens and coloured ducks are 
 not liked, because they are too dark in flesh. 
 It is claimed that the Aylesbury and Pekin cross 
 are a better shape and stronger than the pure 
 Aylesbury. The greatest care is taken with the 
 feathers of the ducks, and it is stated that these 
 cover all expenses of labour, buying, selimg, 
 rearing, killing, and plucking. Considering the 
 prices at which first-class duck feathers can be 
 sold, this statement appears to be nearly correct. 
 The birds are killed by breaking the neck, and 
 are plucked immediately. They are shaped on 
 fiat boards, breast downwards. 
 
 "Duringthe month of August, 1901, there were 
 5,000 birds upon this place, and at that period of 
 the year 500 were being marketed every week.* 
 The labour employed in killing, plucking, and 
 packing, consisted of two men and five girls, and 
 four men were employed in attending to the live 
 birds. All the ducks are sent to one firm of 
 dealers in the Central Market, London, and Mr. 
 Murrell speaks of the treatment he has received 
 from that firm in the highest terms. He states 
 that the profit made upon, the enterprise is 
 equal to 6d. per bird. 
 
 " One of the most surprising points, and one 
 which will appeal to multitudes of farmers 
 throughout the country, is the effect upon the 
 
 * It ihould be stated that this was far the highest number ; 
 and in fact the total for the entire season only reached 8,000, 
 there being very few comparatively during the earliest and 
 latest months. It will be obvious that if 5,000 were an ordinary 
 number all through the season the acreage stated would not 
 suffice for each pen to occupy the ground only one week in five 
 years. More land is, however, available if required for extension. 
 
 land itself. During my visit to this farm I was 
 accompanied by one of the best farmers in the 
 Woodbridge district, who knows the land very 
 well ; and he was astonished at the result. As- 
 already explained, each pen is enclosed within 
 50 yards of wire netting, 100 to 200 ducks- 
 being put into one of these pens, not so much, 
 according to the size, as to the number on hand 
 at. the time. They are kept there for a week,, 
 and then removed on to fresh ground. In that 
 time every particle of grass is eaten off, and it 
 might be thought that it would be destroyed. 
 The change in the parts over which the birds 
 have run is the most remarkable feature of the 
 whole place. A week after the birds are re- 
 moved, during at any rate the growing periods 
 of the year, the ground is thickly covered with, 
 the finest grass, of a rich green colour, and thus- 
 from a poor useless piece of common land, a 
 magnificent meadow has been made. It is not 
 intended to put the ducks upon the same piece- 
 of ground again for five years. The land will 
 be in grass during that time, and it is supposed 
 that no more manure will be needed. It will be 
 seen that this is rather antagonistic to Mr. 
 Walsh's opinion that the effect is exhausted in 
 two years, and probably one or the other may find 
 it necessary to modify his opinion.f However, 
 during the past season, in the prolonged drought,, 
 when there was no hay in the district generally,. 
 Mr. Murrell cut from 2\ acres ten tons of the 
 finest meadow hay. It is evident from both 
 statements that the manure from ducks specially 
 feeds the finer qualities of grass, and enables- 
 these to displace the coarser growth. 
 
 " A year or two ago a somewhat pretentious 
 attempt was made in Kent to establish another 
 duck farm upon a large scale. Its manager had' 
 induced a gentleman living in Kent to invest 
 about ;£^2,ooo, very fine buildings being put 
 up, large numbers of birds imported from 
 America, and American incubators used. The 
 returns, however, in hatching and rearing did 
 not equal expectations, and up to the present 
 this could not be cited as a successful duck 
 farm. It has now passed into other hands, and 
 its future will be watched with considerable 
 interest." 
 
 In each of the recent developments here- 
 described American methods have obviously 
 exerted considerable influence ; and in this 
 branch also of the poultry industry the greatest 
 development has been in the United States,, 
 where there are numerous establishments that 
 market from 16,000 to 15,000 birds annually,. 
 
 t Mr. Murrell means m grass. Mr. Walsh probably means- 
 under arable cropping, which Mr. Murrell also believes would, 
 probably require fresh manure in two or three years. — L. W. 
 
546 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 m 
 America, 
 
 and a fair number whose output is consider- 
 ably more. A remarkable fact about this 
 American industry is that the supply appears 
 to have really created the demand, 
 Duck-Farming which the rapidly increasing popula- 
 tion has maintained. The pioneers 
 in it are admitted by all to have 
 been Mr. James Rankin and Mr. 
 A. J. Hallock, both of whom began to raise 
 ducklings by artificial methods before i860, and 
 who soon found the business profitable, but for 
 the fact that there was then little market. It 
 was about 1876 before either raised any con- 
 siderable number ; and five or six years after 
 that, when producing only about 1,500 per 
 annum, Mr. Rankin records that he found these 
 hard to sell, and had to solicit orders for them. 
 But the public then began to appreciate fine 
 ducklings, so that later on, when he reared 10,000, 
 he could not supply the demand. The many 
 others now in the business have also found, so 
 far, that if the quality be good enough the 
 demand and the price are both forthcoming. 
 Some reasons for this immense demand have 
 already been stated (see page 164), others being 
 found in the well-being of the people, and the 
 number of independent large cities widely 
 separated, which do not centralise sales in one 
 chief market as in London". 
 
 This great industry has been built upon the 
 basis of the Pekin duck. Up to 1873 local 
 farm ducks were crossed with Rouen or 
 Muscovy drakes, Aylesburys being also tried, 
 and crossed with Muscovy too, the last being 
 generally considered best, but these best being 
 small and carrying little meat compared with 
 those now bred. In 1873 came Pekins, which 
 at once were found superior, but still were very 
 different from those of the present day, being 
 longer and narrower in body, coarser in bone, 
 and with far less development of flesh. The 
 Pekin as now bred is Uiuch broader and thicker, 
 and fuller in breast meat, with much less bone 
 and offal in proportion, and also differs much 
 from the bird as known in England at the 
 present time. Possibly some of the early 
 Pekins imported into America may have been 
 somewhat superior to those brought to England ; 
 but it is doubtful, as Mr. Rankin states that 
 twenty years ago it was difficult to find a young 
 bird that could be got up to real weight at ten 
 weeks old. It is more likely, perhaps, as the 
 breed admittedly needs more space to grow in 
 than the Aylesbury, that American conditions 
 more favoured it. At all events this breed of 
 •ducks has since been so improved in size, 
 precocity, and fecundity, that ten-weeks drakes 
 iiave weighed down 9 lbs. to 10 lbs., and ducks 
 
 8^ lbs. ; that many ducks will lay, if the least 
 forced, at five months old ; and some raisers 
 and many odd breeding pens average 150 eggs 
 from each duck in a year.. Owing to this 
 advance ducklings now mature in three-fourths 
 of the time formerly required. English Pekins 
 are imported from time to time in order to 
 furnish strong out-crosses, which as such are 
 valued ; but these birds have rarely if e"ver been 
 found hitherto to equal in either size or shape 
 the best American Pekins, as may be seen 
 from the weights of breeding stock. Several of 
 the largest American raisers, who keep 1,000 
 breeding ducks or more, find drakes weighing 
 1 2 lbs. quite common in their flocks ; and one 
 of them (Mr. Weber) when pointing the repre- 
 sentative of a poultry journal to a certain flock 
 of his breeders, numbering sixty ducks and a 
 dozen drakes, made the statement : " Every 
 duck in that pen weighs 10 lbs. or over." These 
 results have been obtained by long and careful 
 breeding, with special reierence to fine market 
 shape and quality of meat, avoiding that false 
 idea of " keel " which has done so much 
 harm in England. This English notion of 
 " keel " (as bred for exhibition) does not 
 seem understood by American breeders ; for 
 while Mr. Rankin writes expressly against 
 " deep-keeled " birds, and describes a " wide, 
 plump-breasted, and finely rounded contour," an 
 article upon another great duck-rancher speaks 
 of the "deep, long keel" of his stock, and 
 again of the " depth of keel " in even the 
 youngest birds. But there is appended to it 
 a set of drawings of a pair of birds at every 
 successive week of their age, and it is curious to 
 observe that in spite of all this, at no age is 
 there the least keel as understood by British 
 exhibitors : the American writer and artist both 
 mean merely a deep plump breast, covered with 
 meat level to the top of the breast-bone, which 
 every salesman knows to be the true model. 
 American breeders, in short, have bred the Pekin 
 systematically for fecundity, early maturity, and 
 deep flesh on the breast ; and the results are a 
 striking testimony to their skill. 
 
 In management there are some differences 
 amongst the largest raisers, though in most 
 points there is practical agreement. The chief 
 difference is that some provide ponds or other 
 swimming range for their breeding stock, and 
 a few even smaller puddles for their market 
 ducklings, though nearly all raise the latter dry. 
 Others, including some of the largest, have 
 nothing but drinking troughs even for their 
 breeders, and these are found fertile provided 
 there is adequate yard-room for exercise. This 
 is more matter of location than choice, however, 
 
DUCK-FARMING IN AMERICA. 
 
 547 
 
 and it is admitted by most that swimming- 
 water really is better for fertility, and promotes 
 stronger hatches. The almost universal pro- 
 portion of breeders is one drake to five ducks ; 
 and the great majority keep five drakes and 
 twenty-five ducks in one pen, those who have 
 water often reducing the proportion with 
 warmer weather to one drake in six or eight. 
 Some, liowever, keep more together, penning 
 forty or fifty or even sixty together. They are 
 generally taken out from the general flock of 
 breeders and mated up early in November. A 
 very usual arrangement for the breeding ducks 
 is a long large house with a passage up the 
 centre, each side being divided into pens about 
 ten feet square, which have outside yards of the 
 same width and about loo feet or more long, 
 the water-range (where there is any) being at 
 the bottom and also wired out in divisions. 
 
 The general diet for breeders is a mixture of 
 one part of maize meal to one varying to two 
 parts of bran, as the foundation ; with this is 
 mixed about 25 per cent, of cooked vegetables, 
 10 per cent, meat meal or " beef-scrap," and a 
 portion of grit. This is fed twice a day, and in 
 addition most give a good allowance of green 
 food, such as cut cabbage, cut clover, or chopped 
 green rye. This plenitude of green food, with 
 adequate regular animal food, is an integral part 
 of the system. It is found that any sudden 
 change of diet affects laying very seriously, 
 and that in particular a failure in supply of 
 the beef-scrap so largely used, will, in two or 
 three days, bring down the egg-yield by an 
 alarming figure, and also affect the fertility. 
 
 ' Of the eggs incubated, on an average about 
 50 per cent, hatch, counting the whole seasoa, 
 the early eggs being, of course, less fertile than 
 later on. A few do rather better, something 
 depending upon the incubator used, and much 
 more on the stock and the feeding. In considering 
 this average, it must be remembered that it is 
 the result of birds kept in many hundreds, and 
 of eggs incubated in many thousands, in winter 
 as well as in spring. When hatched, the ducklings 
 are never left less thantwenty-fourhours.and more 
 commonly thirty-six hours, without feeding; then 
 transferred to brooders or brooder-houses, with 
 the hovers kept at about 90° the first day or two, 
 gradually reduced. After a week old, they are 
 often shut away from the hovers in daytime on 
 warm days, and may or may not be let out into 
 small open yards in front of the pens, according 
 ^ to the weather. As soon as possible, they are 
 got into cool brooder-houses, also divided into 
 pens, and with yards in front of these averaging 
 100 feet long, each pen and yard carrying 50 to 
 100 ducklings, according to size. Some bed the 
 
 covered pens with pine sawdust, others with 
 shavings and chaff, or cut straw, and they are 
 kept wholesome and dry. 
 
 All do not feed quite alike, though a general 
 method prevails. Messrs. Seeley give for the 
 first week equal parts of rolled oats and cracker 
 (biscuit) crumbs, to which is added some chopped 
 egg and some grit ; for the next two weeks 
 equal parts of rolled oats, cracker crumbs, maize 
 meal, and bran, to which is added 5 per cent, of 
 meat and 5 per cent, of chopped green food, 
 with grit ; then, till eight weeks old, equal parts 
 of maize meal and bran, with 5 per cent, meat 
 and green food as before ; and the final two 
 weeks before killing, two-thirds maize meal and 
 one-third bran, with 10 per cent, of meat. Mr. 
 Hallock's system is, for the first week equal 
 parts of maize meal, bran, and coarse flour, with 
 10 per cent, coarse sand; thence till eight weeks, 
 equal parts of same meals, but adding 10 per 
 cent, beef-scrap, \2\ per cent, green food, and 
 10 per cent, sand ; for the final two weeks, two 
 parts maize meal, one part each bran and flour, 
 \2\ per cent, beef-scrap, \z\ green food, and 
 coarse sand as before. The general principle is 
 to increase maize meal and meat during the 
 finishing period, giving all through regular green 
 food, and grit or sand. They are fed first every 
 two hours, after a few days five times a day, 
 gradually down to four and three times. The 
 food is by some given in troughs, by others 
 on boards; and water is kept close at hand, as 
 Pekins appear to need to wash down every two 
 or three mouthfuls ; but many raisers do not 
 leave water by them between meals. Milk to 
 drink has been tried by some small raisers who 
 had enough of it to make the experiment, but 
 was found to get into the eyes and make them 
 sore, and it is never given except in the food 
 occasionally. " Bad eye " is also sometimes 
 produced by over-crowding upon sawdust. 
 
 Pekin ducks are found to need special care 
 in regard to several points. They are never 
 caught or handled by the legs, which are very 
 tender and easily sprained, especially with their 
 great weight — always by the neck. They are 
 also very timid and nervous, especially at night 
 — if disturbed with a lantern it often upsets 
 them for the whole night, and causes a set back 
 in weight. If anything is done at night in the 
 routine, it is usual to leave enough lanterns to 
 see by, burning in their pens. Adequate shade 
 is provided in hot weather by canvas or other- 
 wise, hot sun being fatal ; as afso found in 
 England. If any do really ail at all, the hatchet 
 is usually applied at once, as possibly avoiding 
 danger, and almost always saving trouble in the 
 end. Besides " bad eye," and bowel complaints 
 
S48 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 ■due to some mistake in feeding, the only other 
 trouble usually met with is feather-plucking, 
 the causes of which are either over-crowding, 
 or a deficiency in meat-scrap and greens. As 
 Sl general rule, the yards are finally vacated in 
 August, being immediately ploughed over and 
 •sown with rye, which grows profusely and purifies 
 the ground, as well as providing much green 
 food in due time. When ready for market, the 
 •ducklings are usually killed in America by a 
 knife stuck in the roof of the mouth. The 
 weight at the universal ten weeks ranges from 
 lO lbs. to 13 lbs. per pair ; but this depends upon 
 the amount of food given and the weight really 
 worked for, as much as upon the stock. The 
 best-formed birds, meant for stock, are generally 
 picked out at three or four weeks old, when 
 transferred from the nursery brooders, and 
 brought up with as much liberty as convenient 
 in a somewhat hardier way. 
 
 Space will only allow of any details respect- 
 ing a very few American duck-farms. These are 
 not selected as being largest, there being several 
 which raise more than most of those mentioned 
 here, but. partly for some variety of their circum- 
 stances or practice, and partly for the reputation 
 of their owners as breeders ; many of those who 
 raise largely for market also having a reputation 
 for eggs or breeding stock. And all are confined 
 to establishments which have now had years ot 
 experience and continued success. 
 
 Some raise a relatively considerable number 
 on a small space. Mr. George Pollard, well 
 known as a breeder, raised S,oco on less than 
 two acres, and if he had continued with that 
 plant, stated his ability to raise 8poo on it, 
 purchasing, of course, all the food ; but he 
 afterwards bought a sixty-acre farm as a larger 
 ranche. It may be useful to state that he 
 bought the small plant from an " enthusiast 
 who had rushed into it and sunk 5,000 dollars 
 therein, selling out " on account of his health." 
 As Mr. Pollard remarks, many others think like 
 that young man, that it is an easy business 
 and quick road to fortune ; his stock had also 
 become weakly from in-breeding. The ex- 
 perience of all the successful men is that 
 duck-raising requires intense application and 
 constant supervision ; and many of the largest^ 
 who are making thousands of dollars a year 
 by it, work sixteen and seventeen hours a day 
 during the busy part of the season. 
 
 Mr. James Rankin, though now approach- 
 ing seventy years of age, is still in the business, 
 and raises about 15,000 for market. He also 
 sells 1,200 to 1,500 breeders at two to five 
 dollars each, and in the last season of which 
 we have any statement, sent out about 50,000 
 
 eggs for hatching. He breeds from about 
 1,000 stock birds, and these have no water 
 except for drinking. The area not used for 
 duck-yards is mainly devoted to growing green 
 and vegetable food — rye, turnips, cabbage, 
 clover, etc. — of which tons are accumulated to 
 supply his breeders during the winter. Grit 
 is constantly mixed in the food, in the pro- 
 portion' of 5 per cent, of its weight, and 
 this practice is very general. 
 
 Mr. A. J. Hallock, of Speonk, Long Island, 
 as before intimated, has also been in the busi- 
 ness, or rather his father had before him,_since 
 about i860. His ranche is about fifty acres, 
 and all his stock have swimming-water. He 
 raises from 20,000 to 25,000, of which 4,000 
 or more are selected for breeders, the spare 
 ones selling from two to as high as twenty-five 
 dollars each, being well known as exhibition 
 stock. He reckons his laying average at 135. 
 Though many of the females are more, he 
 prefers to breed fro-m ducks about 8 lbs. and 
 drakes 12 lbs., finding birds of 13 lbs. less 
 satisfactory. He raises many chickens as well, 
 and several years ago, when rearing consider- 
 ably less than now, 3,000 lbs. of food was 
 fed per day to the birds on this ranche, to 
 facilitate which a rail -or tram-line is carried 
 across the yards, over the tops of the low 
 fences. His breeders are weeded out after 
 three years old, and such ducklings as may 
 be behind in growth are put back betimes 
 among rather younger ones, when they often 
 catch up. He employs four or five men and 
 a number of women. 
 
 One of the most successful duck-farms in 
 the States is that of Messrs. Weber Brothers, 
 at Wrentham, Mass. The father was a German, 
 who with his sons struggled along, on the farm 
 with little success, till in 1888 they visited 
 Mr. Rankin's duck-ranche, saw his results, and 
 concluded to follow his example, raising in 
 1889 800 chickens and 500 ducklings. Though 
 still 3,000 dollars in debt, they were so 
 satisfied with the prospects that they bought 
 two incubators holding 600 eggs each, and 
 from forty breeders hatched in 1890 3,000 
 ducklings, marketing 2,800 and clearing over 
 1,500 dollars. That was their real start. Six 
 years later, in 1896, they had paid off all 
 debt and sunk 2,000 dollars more in plant, 
 and that year from 500 breeding ducks 
 hatched about 21,000, selling 19,000 and real- 
 ising 7,000 dollars. In 1899 they raised about 
 35,000 ducklings, to produce which they em- 
 ployed 1,500 breeders, and were collecting 
 from these six or seven bushels of eggs every 
 day. The plant comprises several large brooder 
 
ORNAMENTAL DUCKS. 
 
 549 
 
 houses, cool houses, a grain house, a cooking 
 house, incubator rooms, etc., and has an engine 
 to pump water, cut bone, and do other work 
 needing power. In the swing of the season, 
 two tons of grain are used every day. The 
 rest of the farm {i.e. not used by the ducks)' 
 is occupied in growing vegetables and green 
 crops for them, which are immense, owing to 
 the manure. Grass and rye mostly serve till 
 late in the year, and when this fails the food 
 is mixed with 20 per cent, of boiled turnips, 
 beets, or carrots, except that two or three times 
 a week they are given raw cabbages and turnips 
 cut up. The breeders on this ranche have no 
 ponds, but the egg-average is reckoned at 150; 
 and in 1896, when they were carefully tabu- 
 lated, the ducklings hatched amounted to 58 
 per cent, of the eggs put down. 
 
 The Trenton Farm, New Jersey, has mar- 
 keted 20,000 to 30,000 ducklings for several 
 years, but there are no details of special 
 interest ; neither have we seen any of nearly 
 a dozen plants on a similar scale which might 
 be cited. Mr. Charles Stauffer, of Harrisburg, 
 Pa., hatched 30,280 in 1899, and actually 
 raised just over 27,000 of them, figures which 
 are interesting as illustrating the small mor- 
 tality under good management. And Mr. 
 W. H. Truslow, of Stroudburg, Pa., whose 
 output is about 20,000, may be mentioned on 
 account of his exceptional feeding- — he feeds 
 his ducklings on Spratt for the first five days, 
 and half Spratt for the next five, after which 
 the birds have about the usual rations. 
 
 It will be seen that American methods 
 and results are well worthy of attentive study. 
 It does not appear that in all points those 
 results are superior. These breeders never 
 possessed such Aylesbury stock as produces 
 • tender birds of 4 lbs. and more at eight weeks 
 old ; and we have seen also that of late British 
 raisers have marketed Pekin crosses which 
 have equalled the American average weight at 
 ten weeks. But still heavier Pekin ducklings 
 could be produced if there were demand 
 for them ; and when we read of breeding 
 drakes weighing 12 lbs. and ducks 8 lbs. to 
 ID lbs., yarded in such flocks, and with such 
 egg-averages, it is impossible not to be struck 
 by the advance due to systematic breeding, 
 according to a real "utility" standard. That 
 these immense establishments breed their own 
 stock, are self-contained and self-sufficient for 
 all their wants except grain food, and occupy 
 to profit permanent buildings of such a char- 
 acter, is also noteworthy. It by no means 
 follows that in the milder climate of England 
 such expensive plant is either necessary or 
 
 desirable ; but the importance of green food in 
 the system, and the fact that the stock has 
 been bred to such perfection by the great 
 raisers themselves (who know the bird they 
 want), will not fail to be remarked. 
 
 Very little need be said in regard to Con- 
 tinental duck-raising. By feeding with rice, 
 ■ and oatmeal, and white fat, more or less mixed 
 with milk, some of the ducks fed in France 
 and Belgium are made as smooth and white 
 in skin as a La Fleche capon, and have 
 attracted some attention at the Smithfield 
 Table Poultry shows ; but this kind of finish, so 
 far as we can learn in the markets, is not much 
 valued in England. In curious contrast to this 
 is the fact that the celebrated French ducklings 
 from the Rouen district, being killed by sheer 
 suffocation (the bill being held shut and the 
 nostrils covered) pluck dark and discoloured : 
 but the black carbonized blood thus retained is 
 held to give a higher flavour. More practically 
 suggestive is the fact that these birds are with- 
 out keel, and are fed so that the breast is full and 
 level. That has a considerable value. In none 
 of these ducks have we seen much evidence of 
 -distinctive race ; but by care in selecting the 
 stock of the district, they have been bred 
 successfully for the same deep flesh on the 
 breast which American breeders have so 
 developed in the Pekin. 
 
 ORNAMENTAL DUCKS. 
 
 There are a large number of wild or natural 
 varieties of ducks which are occasionally seen 
 at exhibitions, and some of which are amongst 
 the most beautiful in plumage to be found in 
 the feathered world. These are bred more 
 often by amateurs in Holland and Germany, 
 and even in France, than in England, where 
 less attention seems at present given to this 
 class of birds than was even the case some 
 years ago. We can remember seeing at Bir- 
 mingham about 1875 really large classes 
 of Black East India ducks, another good 
 class of Mandarins and Carolinas, another 
 of Call ducks, and yet another for any other 
 variety : now the single class last mentioned 
 is the only one generally found at even the 
 largest shows. Some day perhaps the great 
 beauty of many of these birds may revive 
 their popularity. 
 
 They are not as a rule very easy to breed 
 successfully, which may be one reason for their 
 present scarcity ; but any difficulty in merely 
 keeping them has been exaggerated. One or 
 two pairs may be kept in a comparatively small 
 space, with a small pond ; but, unlike other 
 ducks, these kinds must have clean or fresh 
 
55° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 water: with only a stagnant puddle such as 
 suffices large market ducks for weeks, these 
 neither keep healthy nor can preserve their 
 
 plumage. With adequate shade and 
 General a few shrubs and such a fresh pool, 
 
 Management a pair or two of birds will keep in 
 FMKiy ^^''y good order and health ; but to 
 
 Waterfowl. breed most of them, more should be 
 
 provided. The \\ater should for such 
 a purpose be rather larger, and have tall "rushes 
 round it in some parts, or shrubs for shelter, 
 with some grass, and the whole be fenced round. 
 Where there is any danger from rats, inch-mesh 
 netting should be carried all round a foot into 
 the ground, which is generally effective ; but 
 fancy ducks are specially in danger from such 
 vermin. If the pond is large enough to have 
 a small island in the middle, or even a raft, 
 all the better. If there are many shrubs and 
 trees, it is better still; and besides the shelter 
 given by these and the flags or ru.shes, small 
 nesting boxes like little kennels may be placed 
 about in sheltered places, and even a few up 
 among low branches, where perching ducks like 
 Mandarins or Carolinas are kept. Care should 
 be taken not to startle or frighten them, and 
 to feed them regularly, giving the adults grain 
 in pans of water, and if in small yards adding 
 duck-weed and some boiled liver chopped 
 small : in larger enclosures they will forage 
 greens and animal food for themselves. A few 
 of the less wild and larger varieties, such as 
 Bahamas, will range over a farm, and need 
 give no trouble at all. 
 
 The eggs of small ducks mostly hatch in 
 about twenty-five or twenty-six days, and do 
 best under Silky hens. When hatched they 
 should be cooped with the mother in a warm 
 place, but provided with ample shade, with some 
 clean turf in front, and be fenced in pretty 
 near the hen for two or three weeks. They 
 can be fed first on egg and bread-crumb and 
 duck-weed or minced grass, gradually adding 
 Spratt or rrieal, and a little minced boiled liver, 
 or small worms, and small seeds and grain. 
 They should not have too much water, and it 
 is best given with duck-weed in it, which will 
 supply small molluscs and other food as well, 
 and helps greatly in rearing them. Gradually 
 they come on to seeds and grain only, given 
 in their water with the duck-weed, but clearing 
 away all that is left every day. 
 
 There are two ways of confining them. If 
 the enclosure is small, it is not very expensive 
 to enclose it entirely with netting, either of 
 wire or tanned twine. Otherwise, before they 
 begin to fly the young birds must be pinioned. 
 A sharp knife or strong pair of scissors is 
 
 brought nearly close to the knuckle at the 
 first joint of the wing, and cuts the latter off, 
 carefully leaving on the limb the little pro- 
 jecting point carrying a plume of feathers, 
 which will protect the part. Let the bird then 
 dabble in cold water, and bleeding will quickly 
 stop, or hazeline lotion may he applied. 
 
 Before exhibiting any of the more wild 
 varieties, the pair should be confined two or 
 three weeks in a quite small enclosure, alsa 
 with its pond, but with comparatively little 
 hiding place, that they may become tamer ; 
 and while thus taming, before transference to 
 a pen, particular care should be taken not to 
 frighten them. As a rule all the varieties, if 
 well kept, improve in brilliance of plumage, 
 and become more and more domesticated, the 
 longer they live. A pair should never be ex- 
 hibited unless they have mated, or at least 
 lived together on friendly terms, as otherwise 
 the drake may very likely kill the female, most 
 of these ducks being very constant in their 
 affections, and resenting any interference with 
 them. This constancy to some extent facili- 
 tates hybridising, several of the small ducks 
 being so much alike that if brought up on 
 the same ground from the egg, they often 
 attract males from kindred varieties. 
 
 From the immense number of beautiful 
 waterfowl, distributed almost all over the world, 
 we can only here briefly describe a few of the 
 best known and most worthy of cultivation. 
 
 Call Ducks are small descendants of the 
 Mallard, and formerly had a class at Birming- 
 ham, but are little kept now except in puolic 
 
 parks. The Grey resembles the 
 Call Ducks. Rouen in colour, the White is white 
 
 all over with a yellow bill. The 
 bills and heads are shorter than the Rouen 
 and Aylesbury, the forehead being rounded, or 
 with considerable " stop " as it is termed. 
 These birds breed freely, are very hardy, and 
 may be kept at large. 
 
 The Black East India duck, known also as 
 the Buenos Ayres and Labrador, once filled 
 large classes, but appears little kept now. It 
 also descends from the Mallard, and 
 Black ig fertile with all ordinary breeds. 
 
 East India Ti. n i i /• i 
 
 Ducks. ^^ ^^^^ ^ small duck, of plumage 
 
 all black with intense and brilliant 
 green lustre, and has been shown as small as 
 2 lbs. for the drake and if lbs. for the female, 
 though most exhibition birds would reach 5 lbs. 
 the pair. This duck is delicious eating, and 
 hence was also bred, by scores, larger in size ; 
 these larger sizes being hardy, v/hile the small 
 
THE MANDARIN DUCK. 
 
 55' 
 
 were delicate. The delicacy of the smaller 
 sized, and gradual crossing of the larger with 
 the Cayuga, has almost exterminated this 
 breed in England ; but specimens still exist, 
 and it could soon be recovered by -judicious 
 line-breeding. It can be kept at large, and 
 intense green gloss is the chief exhibition point. 
 
 The Mandarin duck {Aix galericulata; 
 Chinese Teal) is confessedly the most orna- 
 mental of all waterfowl, the drake exhibiting 
 almost all the colours of the rain- 
 "^^ J . bow. These birds are very small. 
 
 Buck. but the most dimmutive m size are 
 
 never the best breeders, and it is 
 also found that they grow rather larger with 
 age and more thorough domestication. 
 They are found in flocks between May 
 and August in the countries watered by 
 .the river Amur, but are exceedingly dififi- 
 •cult to approach or to capture. Those 
 kept by Chinese mandarins are caught 
 ■north of Pekin, so far as wild stock is 
 concerned, but are also bred with great 
 ■success, under the name of Li- chi-ki. They 
 are highly prized both for their exceed- 
 ing beauty and as striking examples of 
 conjugal fidelity and affection, a pair being 
 often carried in a gilt cage in marriage 
 •processions. The first few pairs ever 
 seen in England, so far as known, were 
 obtained with the greatest difficulty by Sir 
 John Bowring in 1850, but a little before 
 that two pairs had reached Rotterdam. 
 From these two importations all European 
 ■stock known for many years was bred ; 
 but Messrs, Baily and Son then succeeded 
 ■in getting other pairs, and since that 
 time others have been equally fortunate. 
 
 In shape these birds are very compact, 
 and slightly chubby. The drake's head has 
 a large and long crest carried backward, 
 which is erected or lowered at will, and 
 rgreen and purple on the top, shading off to 
 rich chestnut and green. Along each side 
 of the head, back into the crest, is a broad 
 band of cream colour. The neck has round 
 jt a full ruffle of feathers rather like the 
 hackles of fowls, but stiffer and more apart, 
 of reddish glossy chestnut, which are tei^med 
 "whiskers." The upper breast and shoulders 
 are deep claret, terminated across each 
 shoulder by two bars of black and white, 
 the under parts being white; and the flanks 
 are greenish yellow very finely pencilled with 
 black lines. The back is light brown, the 
 wing metallic brown quills with silver edging 
 to the webs and, tipped with blue, and with a 
 
 purple bar. His greatest peculiarity lies in 
 the wing-fans, the inner web of the inner 
 feather of each wing being enormously 
 developed into a sort of fan, which is carried 
 up like a sail, and which is a rich brown 
 edged with bright blue on one side and 
 white on the other. The eye is black, the 
 bill crimson, the legs pink, with yellowish 
 feet. The duck also has a crest. Her beak 
 is more of a horn colour, and her general 
 plumage a sober greenish brown and mot- 
 tling, except for eye-marks and a wing-bar. 
 In summer the drake casts his whiskers and 
 fans, and moults into summer plumage. 
 
 The Mandarin is naturally a percher, and 
 will breed very well in a small house raised 
 
 Mandarin Ducks. 
 
 a little above the water, if necessary. The 
 duck will lay two and even more nests of 
 a dozen eggs each, white in shell. It is a 
 pretty sight to watch them, the drake being 
 obviously vain of his beauty, and the duck 
 fondling' his handsome whiskers, and the two 
 " kissing " each other like doves. A pair 
 may be kept and will breed in an enclosure 
 eight or ten feet square, if arranged with a 
 little care for appearances ; but it is worthy 
 of note that the produce so bred is not equal 
 in furnishing or brilliance of colour to either 
 imported birds, or those reared in wider and 
 more natural surroundings. These general 
 remarks apply also to the next variety. 
 
 The Carolina Duck {Aix sponsa ; Summer 
 Duck, etc.) is a native of the United States, 
 and also of the West India Islands. It, too. 
 
552 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 is a percher or tree duck, often carrying its 
 young to the water when hatched ; and in 
 the crest of the drake, the deep claret of 
 
 the ' breast, the pencilled flanks, 
 The and the broad black and white 
 
 Duck'°* shoulder-marks (though single in 
 
 this case) there are evident signs 
 of some former common origin, the lines of 
 descent being probably connected through 
 Behring's Straits. The wild birds also fly 
 in flocks, though strictly pairing. The 
 drake's head and crest are glossy green and 
 violet, with pure white stripes arranged as in 
 the illustration, the lowest forming a collar ; 
 the upper breast claret, but spotted prettily 
 with white, the shoulder being crossed by a 
 
 Carolina Duckg. 
 
 single bar of intense black and one of white ; 
 flanks a yellowish drab finely pencilled with 
 black, and with pure white and black wider 
 pencil marks along the upper margin (there 
 are traces of these latter also in the Man- 
 darin). The under parts are white, the back 
 bronze and green, tail green-black, wings 
 almost glossy black, with a bright blue and 
 green ribbon-mark edged with white. The 
 legs and feet are yellowish red, bill red mar- 
 gined with black, the eyes black in pupil 
 with red irides. The duck has a much 
 smaller crest, carried close, her back is a 
 kind of glossy bronze, which extends more 
 or less over the bird, the sides more of an 
 ashy brown and drab, with spots near the 
 breast. She has a. white mark round the 
 eye, which increases in size with age. Her 
 quiet colours have, in spite of differences, great 
 
 resemblance to the Mandarin duck, but she 
 is rather brighter and more glossy. Owing 
 to this resemblance hybrids or crosses some- 
 times occur. 
 
 The Carolina lays about the same as the 
 Mandarin, but the eggs are more of an ivory 
 colour. It generally grows slightly larger 
 than that variety, and tends to increase in 
 size when bred and fed in captivity, and these 
 rather larger birds are usually the best breeders ; 
 but beyond reasonable latitude size should 
 not be encouraged. 
 
 The entire family of ducks known as 
 Teals are small and very pretty. The British 
 Common Teal and the Garganey Teal are 
 widely spread and very hardy. 
 The and breed well on any orna- 
 
 Teais. mental water. The Garganey 
 
 {Querguedula circid) is the 
 -European representative of a group which 
 is characterised by the upper shoulder- 
 coverts of the wings assuming the form 
 of broad pointed hackles. The most 
 beautiful examples of this feature are the 
 Japanese Teal (Q. formosa) and the 
 Falcated duck {Q. falcarid). 
 
 The former of these is rare, but has 
 been imported now and then : the first 
 we ever saw were a splendid pair ex- 
 hibited at the Crystal Palace in 1874. 
 In some slight degree these had some 
 general resemblance to the Mandarins, to 
 which we should place them next in 
 beauty. The top of the drake's head is 
 black or dark grey, below which is a 
 white streak just over the eye. From the 
 eye descends nearly perpendicularly a black 
 stripe, meeting a black patch under the 
 throat, and enclosing a triangular white space 
 in front of the face. -Behind this stripe is 
 another of white, behind which and back- 
 wards from the eye is a large crescent of 
 bronze-green, the lower horns of which come 
 forward and nearly meet in front of the 
 breast. The breast is a light purple beauti- 
 fully spotted with black, shading off to white 
 on the under parts. The shoulders and 
 flanks are a beautifully pencilled silver-grey 
 with a broad white stripe or crescent on the 
 shoulder at the same place as that on the 
 Mandarin. The wing-spot is bronze-green, 
 bordered above with brown and 'below with 
 white. The tail and wings are brownish 
 grey, but the shoulder or upper wing-coverts 
 are long and pointed like hackles, and falling 
 over the wings. These hackle-feathers are 
 black in the centre, edged on one side with 
 
VARIOUS ORNAMENTAL DUCKS. 
 
 553 
 
 brown and on the other with white, and give 
 a very handsome appearance. Under the 
 tail is black. The female is a plain bird, not 
 unlike -the female Mallard. In habits the 
 birds resemble the Mandarins. 
 
 The Falcated duck has similar hackle- 
 like appendages to the wings. The drake is 
 most beautifully pencilled all over the body 
 with black on a silver-grey ground ; the head 
 purple, beautifully glossed with green, and 
 having a crest of the same colour; the throat 
 white, below which is a collar of green, and 
 below that another ring of white. ' We have 
 only seen one pair, which was at Manchester 
 many years ago, and we are not sure they 
 have yet been bred in this country. 
 
 The Shieldrakes, or Sheldrakes {Kasarkas), 
 are large birds. Both the Common British 
 Shieldrake and the Ruddy Shieldrake are hardy, 
 
 handsome, readily domesticated, and 
 The can be fed in a farmyard with other 
 
 Shieldrakes. poultry, though apt to be a trifle 
 
 spiteful now and then, which seems 
 general in the family. They also do well in a 
 garden, if there is even a very small pond. The 
 wild birds often nest in rabbit-holes ; farm-reared 
 ones may nest almost anywhere, and may some- 
 times be seen in the act of carrying their 
 young to the water in their bills. They are 
 not. well adapted to excessively small runs. 
 
 Of foreign Shieldrakes, the best known is the 
 Paradise duck {K. variegatd) of New Zealand, 
 remarkable for the extraordinary difference be- 
 tween the colours of the two sexes. The drake's 
 head is glossy green black, while the duck's is 
 -pure white : his body is mainly a dark pencilled 
 grey, with deep bronze stern ; she has a great 
 deal of white and red, with some of the pen- 
 cilled grey intermingled. This duck often took 
 prizes some years ago. A larger and more 
 beautiful bird is the Australian K. tadornoides. 
 The drake has dark hazel eyes and a black 
 beak, black head and neck, below which 
 comes a clean white collar, then succeeds a 
 ruddy brown, gradually lightening; round the 
 top of back and centre of breast another white 
 collar runs completely. The body is mainly a 
 silvery grey ; the wings white on the shoulder, 
 blue in the bar, and black in the flights, 
 with a curious expanded feather on each 
 side in the same place as the Mandarin's fan, 
 but lying flat over the rump, and chestnut in 
 colour with a white edge. This is perhaps the 
 noblest in appearance of all the ducks. 
 
 The largest of the Shieldrakes is known as 
 the Egyptian Goose, which is not a goose at all, 
 though known as such for hundreds of years. 
 
 Years ago we noted its affinity to the Shiel- 
 drakes, and that it had bred with even common 
 ducks; it bred with Shieldrakes at Regent's 
 Park Gardens in 1887, and again in 1901. 
 Similar hybrids were produced in one of the 
 London parks, we think the St. James's. It 
 has been seen in wild flocks in England. It is 
 tame, but quarrelsome in a yard, and does best on 
 the water of a park, where it will breed freely. 
 
 The drakes of this family do not moult into 
 female plumage in the summer. 
 
 The Pintail family {Dafild) are named from 
 their long pointed tails. The Common Pintail 
 is a British bird, the drake being distinguished 
 by long pointed shoulder- hackles, 
 The which are black edged with pale 
 
 Pintails. buff". The head is dark brown with 
 
 bronze or purple gloss,' the breast 
 white, tail black, back and flanks silver-grey, 
 formed by beautiful fine bla.ck pencilling on 
 white ground; the wing -bar brilliant green. 
 The bill is lead colour. The female is brown, 
 edged with lighter colour. This duck breeds 
 freely, and often hybridises with others. 
 
 There are two foreign varieties often seen. 
 The Chilian Pintail is small, very long and slim 
 in shape, and rich but quiet in colour, varying 
 from chestnut to fawn, the drake's back being 
 brown edged with black, and his wing-bar blue. 
 The most beautiful and popular is the Bahama 
 Pintail, which is a perching bird where it has a 
 chance. The bill and feet are lead colour, the 
 head deep glossy brown, the general colour 
 cinnamon, passing on the breast to greyer colour 
 spotted with black, the tail deep bronzy cinna- 
 mon, the shoulder feathers black edged with 
 chestnut ; both • sexes are nearly alike. This 
 pretty duck is hardy and prolific, and, as already 
 noted, will range over a farm. 
 
 Of the Whistling ducks {Dendrocygna) 
 only two varieties are commonly seen, and 
 may be mentioned as specially adapted, from 
 their tameness, to be kept in any 
 Whistling small grass run with a little 
 Ducks. pond at the bottom of a garden, 
 
 requiring no special privacy to 
 thrive. They do not, however, breed well in 
 this climate, and require a tight shed or house 
 in the winter. 
 
 The Widow duck {D. viduata = " little 
 widow ") has rather long, thin, lead coloured legs, 
 and stands very upright, the feet having less web, 
 and more claw than usual. The bill is nearly 
 black, the head from base of bill to behind the ■ 
 eyes white ; back of head and neck black, with a 
 patch of white rather below the throat; all along- 
 
554 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 centre of breast and belly black ; the feathers of 
 back and shoulders dark brown edged with 
 lighter colour, tail black, rest of flanks and 
 shoulders mostly brown pencilled across with 
 black. Both sexes are marked alike. The Red- 
 billed Whistler (^D. autumnalis) has a red bill 
 and pinky legs, crown of the head chestnut, 
 cheeks and throat greyish white, lower neck 
 and back and shoulders chestnut well bronzed, 
 the belly, thighs, and tail black. 
 
 Of varieties usually exhibited, the only other 
 calling for special mention is the Indian Spotted 
 Bill duck. This is a true duck of the Anas 
 family (^ pmcilorhynchd). It breeds 
 Other freely, and often crosses with others 
 
 Varieties. in a pond, especially with the 
 Mallafd — it is, in fact, the wild duck 
 of India. The bill is black, with a red border at 
 the base and a bright yellow spot at the tip. 
 The drake's head is brown, his breast paler 
 brown with dark brown spots, or dark brown 
 broadly edged with pale, the back rather darker, 
 till the tail and stern become black. The 
 wing-bar is probably the most brilliant green 
 possessed by any duck, with a band of black and 
 w h'te above and below. Both sexes are nearly 
 alike, but the duck rather duller in colour. This 
 duck has been by turns very popular, and again 
 quite neglected. We remember the few then in 
 England once selling readily at £\o for a pair. 
 
 Several other of the wild British ducks are 
 very handsome, and though not adapted to close 
 confinement or exhibition, are often seen on 
 ornamental waters in parks and public gardens. 
 The short and chubby Pochards are often kept 
 thus, being generally knov/n as " diving ducks," 
 and watched with interest on that account. The 
 Shoveller and Common Wigeon are frequently 
 thus seen. Many of the wild "British" 
 varieties can often be obtained at a cheap rate 
 in Leadenhall Market, or at the annual sales of 
 waterfowl now held by the managers of the 
 larger public parks. They need for successful 
 breeding the natural surroundings and range 
 mentioned at the comm.ericement of this section, 
 and to be left much to Nature, and are not 
 adapted for small runs. 
 
 In judging the larger kinds of ducks, the 
 chief duty of the judge is to distinguish between 
 mere cramming or gorging of the crops just 
 previous to his awards, and real size and weight 
 of frame. Much harm has been done even by 
 the recognition of a degree of fattening which 
 ruins the birds as breeders. The Standards of 
 the Waterfowl Club and Poultry Club for the 
 recognised classes sufficiently deal with other 
 points, and are as follows : 
 
 ROUEN DUCKS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DRAKE. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Massive and heavy. Beak : 
 Long, wide, and flat, well set on, in a direct line with the 
 eye. Eye : Bold and bright. Neck : Long, gracefully 
 carried, slightly curved but not arched. 
 
 Body. — As wide and long as possible, deep and 
 square in Iceel with good bow in front. Breast : 
 Broad and deep. Back: Long and .broad. Wings: 
 Large, well covered with flanlc and side feathers, 
 carried in a line with body, flights resting gracefully 
 on rump. 
 
 Tail. — Three inches in length, only 2 to 2J inches 
 visible, composed of stiff feathers with two or three 
 curled feathers in centre. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Strong and massive in bone, medium 
 length, well set, so as to balance body. Toes : Straight, 
 connected by the web. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Great length, broad and 
 square, deep in keel, just clear of the ground from stem 
 to stern. 
 
 Size and Weight. — As large and massive as possible. 
 From 9 lbs. to 11 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Bright and lustrous. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DUCK. 
 Head, Neck, Body. — As in the drake. 
 Tail. — As in the drake without the curled feathers. 
 Legs and Feet. — As in the drake. 
 General Shape and Carriage.— As in the drake. 
 Size and Weight. — As large and massive as possible. 
 From 8 lbs. to 10 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Bright and lustrous. 
 
 COLOUR IN ROUEN DRAKE. 
 
 Head and Neck : Rich iridescent green. Beak : 
 Bright green yellow, with black bean at the tip. Ring : 
 Perfectly white and clean cut, about an inch above the 
 shoulder, dividing green neck and. claret breast, not 
 quite encircling the neck, but leaving a small space at 
 the back. Back and Rump : Rich greenish black from 
 between the shoulders to rump. Breast : - Rich claret 
 colour, quite free from white lacing or chain armour, 
 coming well below and clean cut, not running into 
 body colour. Flank and Sides : A blue French'-grey 
 ground, very finely but distinctly pencilled with lustrous 
 black, quite free from rust or white. Large Coverts : 
 Pale clear grey. Small Coverts: French-grey finely 
 pencilled. Pinion Coverts : Dark grey. Bars': Com- 
 posed of a broad purple-blue band, on each side of 
 which is a narrow bar of black, then an outer bar of 
 white, the three colours to be clear and distinct, making 
 a striking and lustrous contrast of colours. Flights : 
 Slaty black with brown tinge, free from white. Stern : 
 Same ground colour as flanks, boldly pencilled close up 
 to vent, finishing in a curved line, perfectly free from 
 white, followed by rich black feathers up to tail. 
 Tail : Slaty black with brown tinge. Tail Coverts and 
 Ctirl Feathers : Glossy green-black. Shanks and Feet : 
 Bright brick red. 
 
 COLOUR IN ROUEN DUCK. 
 
 Head : Dark chestnut-brown, with a wide brownish- 
 black line from the base of the beak to neck, two light 
 brown strips running from the base of the bill above 
 the eye on either side. Beak : Bright orange ground 
 with a black bean at the tip, also with a decided black 
 centre mark on the upper part, which must not extend 
 to base of the bill, the side edges, or to the bean. Neck : 
 Same colour as the head, with a wide brownish line 
 
STANDARDS FOR DUCKS. 
 
 ^55 
 
 running from the shoulders up the back of the neck and 
 shading to black at head. Body.— Down and Under- 
 colour : Black or dark brown. G round -colotir : Rich 
 golden or chestnut-brown, even in colour throughout, 
 every feather excepting wing-bars and flights, distinctly 
 pencilled from throat and breast to flank and stern, 
 with rich black or very dark bi;own. There should be 
 a greenish lustre on the pencilling of the back, wings, 
 and rump. The Wing-bars are the same as in the 
 drake. Flights : As in the drake. Tail : Chestnut- 
 brown, pencilled with dark greenish brown. Legs and 
 Feet : Dull orange brown. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN ROUEN DRAKE. 
 
 Defects. Deduc* up to 
 
 Defects in head 
 
 colour of beak 
 
 neck 
 
 ring 
 
 colour of breast 
 
 ,, body 
 
 ,, back and rump 
 „ wings 
 
 ,, tail 
 
 legs and feet 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 size 
 
 condition 
 
 5 
 5 
 3 
 5 
 
 13 
 10 
 
 5 
 5 
 5 
 5 
 
 10 
 20 
 lO 
 
 A perfect bird to count loo 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN ROUEN DUCK 
 
 Defects. Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head, shape 3, colour 3 ... ... 6 
 
 „ colour of beak ... ... ... lo 
 
 „ '., neck 4 
 
 >, „ wing 5 
 
 „ ground-colour i2 
 
 „ pencilling 20 
 
 ,, legs and feet ... 5 
 
 Want of symmetry ;. ... 10 
 
 „ size ... .; 18 
 
 ,, condition ; ... 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Leaden beak ; crooked back ; wry-tail or any other 
 deformity ; wing dowjj or twisted ; no wing-bars ; white 
 flights; broken down in stern. In the drake: No ring 
 on neck ; black saddle on beak. In the duck : White 
 ring, or approaching white on neck. 
 
 AYLESBURY DUCKS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS (EITHER SEX). 
 
 Head and Necb.—Head : Long and straight. Bill: 
 Long, broad and strong. The head and bill measures 
 from 6 to 8 inches. Eye : Dark and full. Neck : Long, 
 medium thickness, slightly curved. 
 
 Body.— Breast : Full and deep. Keel : Very deep, 
 quite straight and extending from just behind the legs 
 to breast. Back : Long and broad. Wings : Strong 
 and carried close to the side. 
 
 Tail.— Short, ' slightly elevated, with two or three 
 curled feathers in the centre of the drake's. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Very strong and thick in bone ; well 
 set so as to evenly balance body. Toes : Straight, con- 
 nected by the web. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Large, straight head and 
 bill, well carried on 1 airly long neck. Body, very 
 massive with good girth, deep and straight keel, and a 
 full breast carried low. 
 
 Size and Weight. — The larger the better. Drake at 
 six months should weigh not less than 10 lbs. ; a 
 duckling not. less than 9 lbs. The second year and 
 afterwards the duck should equal the drake in weight, 
 and neither should be under 11 lbs. Anything over 
 these weights to count extra merit. 
 
 Plumage. — Bright, glossy, and smooth. 
 
 COLOUR IN AYLESBURY DRAKE OR DUCK. 
 
 Bin : Pinky white. Plumage : Pure white through- 
 out. Shanks and Feet : Bright orange. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN AYLESBURYS. 
 
 Defects. Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and bill 15 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 neck' 
 
 breast and keel 
 
 „ legs and feet . . . 
 „ plumage and colour 
 
 Want of symmetry 
 
 ,, size 
 
 „ condition 
 
 5 
 10 
 10 
 20 
 15 
 
 A perfect bird to count ico 
 
 , Serious defects, ior which a bird should be passed: 
 Crooked back, wry tail, or any other deformity. Any 
 coloured feathers. 
 
 PEKIN DUCKS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS (EITHER SEX). 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Large, with broad and 
 prominent skull, rising rather abruptly from base of bill. 
 Bill : Short, broad, and thick, slightly convex between 
 the juncture of the head and the tip. Eye : Dark, and 
 partially shaded by heavy eyebrows. Neck : Long and 
 thick, carried well forward, and well arched. 
 
 Body. — Body : Medium length, and as broad as 
 possible. Breast: Wide and prominept, and descend- 
 ing even, solid and uniform with girth to paunch. No 
 indication of keel. Paunch : Broad and to end of tail 
 forming a perfect half-circle when standing erect. 
 Back : Broad. Wings : Short and carried closely to 
 the side. 
 
 Tail. — Well spread and carried high. The drake 
 should have two or three curled feathers on top. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Strong and stout, set far back, 
 causing erect carriage. Toes : Straight, connected by 
 the web. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Almost upright in 
 appearance, elevated in front, sloping downward 
 toward the rear. 
 
 Size and Weight. — As large as possible. Drakes from 
 8 lbs. to 9 lbs. Ducks from 7 lbs. to 8 lbs. Any excess 
 over these weights to count as extra merit. 
 
 Plumage. — Very abundant, with plenty of long, soft, 
 downy feathers on the thighs. 
 
 COLOUR IN PEKIN DUCKS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Bill : Bright orange colour, free from 
 black marks. Eye : Dark leaden blue. Plumage : Deep 
 creamy white colour throughout. Shanks and Toes : 
 Bright orange colour. 
 
SS6 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN PEKIN DUCKS. 
 
 Defects. Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and bill 15 
 
 „ neck 5 
 
 „ body 10 
 
 tail 5 
 
 „ legs and feet 5 
 
 „ plumage 15 
 
 Want of style and symmetry 15 
 
 „ size 20 
 
 „ condition 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : 
 Crooked back, wry tail or any other deformity, white 
 plumage, black marks or spots on bill. 
 
 INDIAN RUNNER DUCKS. 
 
 CAYUGA DUCKS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS (EITHER SEX). 
 
 Head and Heck.— Head : Large. Beak : Long, wide, 
 and flat, well set in a straight line with the eye. Eye : 
 Full. Neck,: Long, tapering, and gracefully curved. 
 
 Body. — Body : Long, broad, and deep. Back : Broad 
 and long. Breast : Prominent. Keel-bone : Deep and 
 heavily fleshed, well-rounded underline. 
 
 Tail.— Carried well out, and closely folded, with two 
 or three curled feathers in that of the drake. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Large and Strong in bone, well set, 
 so as to balance the body in a straight line. Toes : 
 Straight, connected by the. web. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage.— Similar carriage to the 
 Rouen ; of a lively appearance. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Drakes, 7 lbs. ; ducks, 5 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Bright and glossy. 
 
 COLOUR IN CAYUGA DUCKS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Beak : Slaty black, with jet black 
 saddle down centre coming within one inch of the 
 tip, but not touching the sides. The bean black. 
 Eye : Black. Legs and Feet : Dull orange brown. 
 Plumage : A deep black with a bright and lustrous 
 green sheen all over, though naturally more lustrous 
 on the wings than elsewhere. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN CAYUGA DUCKS. 
 
 Defects. Deduct up to 
 
 Defects in head and bill 10 
 
 tailj 5 
 
 ,, neck 5 
 
 „ legs and feet 8 
 
 „ colour ... 20 
 
 Want of style and symmetry 25 
 
 „ size 15 
 
 „ condition... i2 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Crooked back, wry tail or any deformity ; orange or 
 dished bill. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS (BOTH SEXES). 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head : Fine and comparatively flat. 
 Bill : Strong at the base, broad and long, coming as 
 nearly as possible straight down from the skull,-giving 
 it the appearance of a long wedge. Eye : Situated high 
 in the head. Neck : As long and thin as possible from 
 base. 
 
 'SoAj.— Body : Long and narrow, without any indica- 
 tion of keel. Breast : Round and full. Back : Long and 
 narrow. Wings : Carried close. 
 
 Tail. — Slightly elevated, with two or three well- 
 curled feathers in that qf the drake. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Legs : Set well back, causing the erect 
 carriage of body. Toes : Straight, connected by the " 
 web. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Racy -looking, the body 
 carried erect somewhat after the form of a Penguin. 
 
 Size and Weight. — Drake, 4J lbs. ; duck, 4 lbs. 
 
 COLOUR IN INDIAN RUNNER" DUCKS. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Head : The head should be adorned 
 with a cap, and cheek markings of fawn or grey to 
 match body-colour as near as possible ; a narrow line 
 of white divides the cap from the cheek marks, 
 whilst a line of white about one-eighth of an inch should 
 divide the base of the bill from the head markings. 
 Bill: Yellow when young, gradually changing to green in 
 the adult bird, with a black bean at tip. Neck : Pure 
 white from the head to where the breast markings begin, 
 about I5 to 2 inches from the base of the neck. Back : 
 Fawn or grey. Wings : The shoulders and top part of 
 wings fawn or grey, the flights white. Breast : Fawn or 
 grey, evenly cut about half-way between the point of 
 the breast-bone and the legs. Fluff: White, except an 
 indistinct line of colour from the base of tail to the 
 thighs. Tail : Fawn or grey. Legs and Toes : Deep, 
 bright yellow. 
 
 The colour of an Indian Runner, whether fawn or 
 grey, should be uniform throughout the whole of the 
 surface plumage, except the tail of the drake, which 
 is darker. The fawn or grey of the shoulders, top part 
 of wings, and tail should be the shape of a heart pressed 
 flat on the back. 
 
 4.LUE OF POINTS IN INDIAN 
 
 RUNNER DUCKS. 
 
 Defects. 
 
 DedULt 
 
 up to 
 
 Defects in head, eyes, and bill 
 
 
 15 
 
 „ head markings ... 
 
 .. 
 
 
 10 
 
 „ neck and neck markings 
 
 
 10 
 
 „ body 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 ,, body markings ... 
 
 
 
 as 
 
 legs 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 Want of symmetry , typical carriage 
 
 , and CO 
 
 ndition 
 
 25 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed: 
 Clarfet breasts, blue wing bars, horizontal carriage 
 or shape, absence of feathers from the flights or any 
 other part of the body, twisted wings, wry tail, or any 
 other deformity. 
 
557 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 GEESE AND SWANS. 
 
 SEVERAL wild breeds of Geese are more 
 or less spread over Europe and northern 
 Asia and America ; but there is no doubt 
 that all of the domestic varieties are descended 
 from the Grey-lag {Ansey cinereus), which 
 alone still breeds in Scotland and our northern 
 islands, and also breeds freely with the domestic 
 races and produces fertile progeny. This bird 
 ranges as far as northern India, and has an 
 orange bill and general resemblance to the 
 common grey geese of many farm-yards, though 
 smaller and lighter in build. It is singular 
 that the most common goose now found wild 
 in Britain is the somewhat smaller Bean goose, 
 which has longer wings and a shorter bill, but 
 is only a winter visitant ; as is also the Pink- 
 footed goose. Both these may be allied to the 
 Grey-lag, and have hybridised with it ; but 
 the other best-known wild geese, the very dark 
 grey Brent goose, and the Bernacle goose, 
 which has grey sides with each feather banded 
 with black and white, appear to be more allied 
 to the Canada goose presently mentioned, and 
 most of their recorded hybrids have been with 
 that bird. 
 
 Wild geese resemble the wild ducks in their 
 habit of flying, which is in a V-shaped phalanx, 
 even more decided than in those birds ; but 
 they differ materially in habits and diet, which 
 difference is still more accentuated in the 
 domestic races. While the duck is a very 
 omnivorous and somewhat foul feeder, but 
 requiring a pretty large proportion of animal 
 food, the domestic goose especially, and the 
 others less so, seeks a vegetable diet, and is 
 a very clean feeder. Some of the wild birds 
 feed largely upo^ water-weed, but the domes- 
 tic breeds chiefly graze upon land. The period 
 of incubation is about thirty days ; rather less 
 in the smaller birds. 
 
 Geese pay best to rear in an ordinary way, 
 where access can be had to commons or waste 
 lands, as then the stock birds will only need 
 a little grain in the morning, and 
 General graze for themselves the rest of the 
 
 Management ^^y^ \^ jg not advisable to run 
 Geese. them very thickly upon good pas- 
 
 ture, as they eat it freely, and crop 
 the grass even closer thaij a sheep, and would 
 rather "sour" the land for that year by their 
 
 manure ; but in smaller number they are a 
 benefit to it, and grazing stock often thrive 
 better, as they are found to eat off the seeds 
 and ergot of the rye-grass. For housing they 
 should have a comfortable shed large enough 
 for the number kept, well bedded down with 
 straw, and in which it is better to keep them 
 confined in the breeding season until they have 
 laid, as the female is rather apt to try to steal 
 a nest abroad if there is any chance. They 
 spend so much time' in grazing on land, that 
 large swimming range is not required, though 
 they enjoy it :. they can do with even a very 
 large tub sunk in the ground, but it must be 
 large enough and deep enough for them to 
 bathe themselves in thoroughly, and of course 
 a' pond is better. 
 
 A gander is generally mated with three geese, 
 and they should be put together not later than 
 the new year. A month or two earlier is much 
 better, and- would prevent many disappointments, 
 as explained more fully further on. For very early 
 breeding young geese must be used, and usually 
 lay in February; but the strongest birds are bred 
 from females a year older. They have been known 
 to breed till thirty, and even forty years old, and 
 are often kept on farms for twenty years and 
 m'Ore-; but old ganders generally become very 
 fierce and dangerous to children long before that, 
 and have to be killed. Breeding stock must not 
 be allowed to get over-heavy during the winter, 
 but, on the contrary, kept rather thin and spare. 
 All eggs should be taken away as laid, in 
 order that they may lay as many as possible. 
 Some breeders set all the eggs under the largest 
 hens procurable, which will cover about five: in 
 which case the eggS must be well sprinkled, 
 or the nest well watered, which is better. 
 Others let the goose (unless a Toulouse) also sit 
 when she desires, giving her a roomy nest in a 
 damp place. The gander will often stay an 
 hour or two by a sitting goose, and when she is 
 sitting the birds must not be disturbed, at least 
 by a stranger, or the male may attack, and a 
 blow from his wing is capable of breaking an 
 arm. The eggs hatch at or before the expira- 
 tion of thirty days. They also do very well in 
 an incubator, or under turkey hens. 
 
 A goose which has hatched a family is best 
 cooped out when they are about twenty-four 
 
5SS 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 hours old under a large crate, on dry ground, but 
 sufficiently shaded, as goslings cannot stand the 
 sun. No coop for them should have a wooden 
 floor, as their feet seem to slip about on this in a 
 strange way, and they may get their leg-joints 
 dislocated. For about a week it is well to keep 
 the goslings confined in a run; but after that 
 they begin to graze and forage, and may have 
 liberty, provided they are housed and well 
 bedded down at night. They need no brooding 
 after that age if properly sheltered, but the 
 natural parents take great interest for a long 
 time in the young family, which on a good 
 grazing ground will need scarcely any other 
 attention until nightfall. Incubator - hatched 
 goslings do quite well in an outdoor brooder, 
 cooled down as soon as possible. 
 
 They may be fed the first day on chopped 
 egg and bread-crumb Uke ducklings, but mixed ' 
 with some chopped weed or greens, which they 
 need from the very first. After that there is no 
 better diet than barley-meal and wheat, scalding 
 the wheat with boiling water and mixing rather 
 dry meal with it : any boiled greens and 
 vegetables niay be mixed with it, and minced 
 grass, or boiled potatoes. The drinking water 
 should be in a fountain into which they can only 
 get their bills. When strong, they need very 
 little, food if there is good grazing, so that 
 formerly many were killed at Michaelmas just 
 as they came from the grass, as " green " geese. 
 When kept after that for -greater size, they are 
 usually either turned into stubbles, or folded on 
 a piece of turnips to eat it off" like sheep — eating 
 off the greens themselves, and having the roots 
 chopped in two for them, or put up to fatten in 
 sheds. During such fattening they are usually 
 fed three times a day, having by them clean 
 water and a tub of coarse gravel. The finest 
 flesh is probably produced by whole or crushed 
 white oats in water ; but they will fatten more 
 quickly on a mixture t)f fresh brewers' grains 
 and barley-meal, or with some Indian meal. 
 They are more contented if some sweet hay 
 is fastened up so that they can nibble at it, 
 but not get it down under foot ; and so far as 
 possible, only the number should be penned 
 together which are likely to be killed together, 
 since they form strong companionships, and are 
 apt to fret and "go off" if a portion of the 
 flock are taken away. As a rule it pays best 
 either to keep them on till near Christmas, if 
 there are stubbles to run them on ; or else to 
 fatten them up as quickly as possible for 
 market ; or else, spending less upon them, to 
 sell them in good condition, but small, as 
 indicated later on. 
 
 In regard to exhibition, nothing need be 
 
 added to the articles which' follow respecting the 
 chief varieties of geese. For practical purposes 
 these consist of the Embden, the Toulouse, the 
 Chinese or African, and the Canada goose; the 
 first three of which are descended from the wild 
 Grey-lag, while the Canada is distinct. The 
 ordinary domestic goose has also given rise to 
 one or two sub-varieties. 
 
 The most valuable breed of geese at the 
 present day, for reasons stated presently, is 
 probably the Embden. The following article 
 on Embden geese is kindly con- 
 Embde tributed by the Hon. Sybil and 
 
 Goose. Florence Amherst, who are well 
 
 known as successful breeders and 
 exhibitors oi this variety. 
 
 " The development of the white domestic 
 goose can be traced from the earliest times. 
 Before show Standards required certain geese to 
 be 'spotless white throughout,' it had been the 
 study of breeders, from the remotest ages, for 
 utility purposes, to establish white varieties of 
 geese. An account is given on a papyrus* of an 
 Egyptian prince, who, in ordering ten geese to 
 be given as payment to his workmen, cautions 
 those who are to kill the geese not to touch ' the 
 white bird on the cool tank.' In much later 
 times, large flocks of white geese were driven 
 to Rome from north-western Europe for the 
 sake of their feathers. According to Lucretius, 
 the sacred geese that saved the Capitol were 
 white. Horace! describes a famous Romati 
 dish made of the liver of white geese fed on 
 fat figs. Varro, about JO B.C., urges that geese 
 chosen for stock should be large and white.J 
 for the goslings are generally like them, and 
 points out the advantage of their ' domesticated, 
 placid nature.' Columella, in the beginning of 
 the Christian era, writing on the same subject, 
 remarks § that ' care must be taken that male 
 and female of the largest bodies and of a white 
 colour be chosen ' (avoiding the wilder grey 
 kinds). These scattered notes show that it 
 has been by careful selection that pure white 
 breeds of geese have been formed. 
 
 " The work of generations is shown to per- 
 fection in the Embden goose as now bred and 
 exhibited in the United Kingdom. All nations 
 recognise the creation of this beautiful bird by 
 the English. In Germany, the original home 
 of the Embden, they say, ' Embdens were ex- 
 ported to England a long time ago, and how 
 admirably they have succeeded, and surpassed 
 
 * Anastasi Papyrus, 
 t Sat. Lib. viii. 66. 
 t Lib. iii. cap. v. 
 § Lib. viii. cap. xiv. 
 
THE EMBDEN GOOSE. 
 
 559 
 
 us with this variety, ib well known.' The present 
 race is called ' the new English breed,' and as it 
 exists now, is not known in Germany, except 
 as imported from England ; and, ' For the last 
 ten years there has been no chance of obtain- 
 ing a prize at any exhibition for the old type of 
 Embden.' English exhibitors, who have seen 
 the older German Embdens at shows on the 
 Continent, also say, ' They are correct in shape, 
 but too small to compete with our birds.' 
 
 " The old Continental Embden goose, or as 
 it is spelt in Germany, Emden (Anser dom. 
 frieslandictis), is sometimes, though wrongly, 
 called the ' Bremen' gpose. It derives its name 
 from the town of Embden, having been bred in 
 East Friesland, in the valley of the River Em, 
 and the adjoining Jeverland, from time imme- 
 morial. The export of feathers from East Fries- 
 land to the Levant in-very early days formed an 
 important trade, and the rearing of geese on 
 the coast, in the regions of the River Em, for 
 centuries was extensive ; but the area of its 
 activity from floods and other causes gradually 
 decreased, and it is now only carried on in two 
 little villages, Riepe and Simonswolde, two or 
 three hours distant on foot from Embden. At 
 the present day, in the middle of May, Embden 
 goslings of four to five weeks old are sent from 
 that district to all parts of Germany, and also to 
 other countries, principally Hungary, Bohemia, 
 and Russia. Eggs for sitting are also sold at 
 high prices, and there is a large export of 
 feathers. 
 
 " There is a myth in Friesland, that the geese 
 in olden days were grey, but that a wild swan, 
 which had come among them unnoticed, paired 
 with a goose, and this was the origin of what, 
 in those parts, they call their ' Embden swan 
 geese.' Apart from this myth, it is a fact that 
 Continental Embdens in moulting go through a 
 change of colour like a. swan, being, it is said, 
 the only tame goose that thus changes its plum- 
 age. As soon as they grow their quills, fhey 
 show more or less grey feathers (sometimes pure 
 white young ones are seen, but they are invari- 
 ably ganders), a bird not becoming pure white 
 till its second autumn moult. In pure Embdens 
 as now reared in England, grey feathers in 
 young birds occasionally appear (which they lose 
 after their first moult), but careful breeders avoid 
 these swan-Hke propensities. It is considered 
 quite wrong for a young prize-bred Embden to 
 have any grey feathers, as these also mark a cross 
 with the Toulouse. The naturalists of Embden, 
 and others, do not consider the Embden repre- 
 sents a distinct breed. The geese on the north 
 coasts of Holland and north-western Germany, 
 and the white Flemish goose bred in Belgium 
 
 and northern France, may all be considered to 
 be of much the same race. The ordinary birds 
 of Friesland also resemble in many respects the 
 variety known as Pomeranian, especially when 
 the latter are white. 
 
 " It is impossible to state when Embden 
 geese were first imported into England. In the 
 beginning of the last century a great deal of 
 poultry was reared in Nesserland, close to 
 Embden, and as there was a brisk trade in fowls 
 between England and Embden, it is probable 
 that geese were also imported. Mowbray re- 
 marks, 'At present (1815) Embden geese are 
 in the highest esteem,' but respecting their table 
 qualities he adds, ' I am unable to say, having 
 yet had no experience in this variety.' From 
 this latter remark it might be inferred that this 
 variety was a somewhat new addition to English 
 geese. English writers about fifty years ago 
 say these geese had been imported ' some time 
 ago ' from Embden in Hanover, and also from 
 Holland, and at the time they wrote birds 
 were still being largely imported. They state 
 that Embdens differed in no way from our 
 white geese in England ' except from their 
 great size and uniform clear white plumage.' 
 Pure stock was kept, and they were largely used 
 for crossing to improve our common white 
 geese. The breed, as it exists at present, 
 owes something to a cross with Toulouse 
 geese, the object having been to increase the 
 size, while still trying to retain intact the dis- 
 tinctive attributes of the Embden breed. 
 
 " Embden geese were exported from Ger- 
 many to America in 1821 as 'Bremen' geese, 
 but the letter relative to the care of the geese on 
 the voyage, addressed to the captain of the ship, 
 was dated from Embden, showing Bremen to 
 have been merely the port of embarkation. In 
 1852 a pair were again sent to America as 
 Bremen geese. Some were exported direct 
 from Embden in 1882. 
 
 " The advantage of Embden geese over 
 Toulouse in rearing is, that while the Toulouse 
 perhaps is susceptible to greater growth for 
 extra care, the Embden is better grown under 
 neglect than the Toulouse. Embdens are very 
 good foragers, and by this means assist in keep- 
 ing down the food bill. The chief advantage 
 of Embdens, however, is their rapid growth.- 
 They are well grown and ready for killing at 
 an earlier age than are the Toulouse, and thus 
 Embden goslings can be got ready for the 
 ' green ' goose trade in the autumn, which is 
 impossible with the Toulouse. Embdens look 
 their best for table just before Christmas, when 
 their feathers are well up. Owing to their 
 white plumage they dress more quickly, and 
 
S6o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 look very superior to coloured geese. A large 
 dealer states -that if other qualities are equal, 
 he would give preference to white geese. The 
 flesh is of finer quality, and lighter in colour. 
 When cleaned and dressed and cooked, the 
 Embden loses less weight in proportion than 
 the Toulouse. The marketable value of white 
 feathers is also a consideration, the value being 
 certainly 2d. or 3d. per lb. more than the 
 coloured ones, and white down is worth 2s. 6d. 
 per lb. The five first wing feathers are quills, 
 and have a certain value, though not so much 
 as formerly. For utility purposes and quick 
 fattening, however, a cross between an Embden 
 gander and a Toulouse goose is often found 
 most valuable. 
 
 " Ganders and geese are at their best for 
 stock from two to ten years old. They live 
 to a great age — it is stated to thirty or more 
 years — but' after ten years they cannot be 
 reckoned upon as reliable assets on a farm. 
 Two years old is the best age to mate them, 
 making up pens of a gander and two or 
 three geese at the New Year. It is difficult 
 sometimes to distinguish ganders from geese. 
 A practical man is, however, rarely mistaken. 
 Some say they make a different noise. The 
 size and thickness of the neck is some indica- 
 tion. You can generally distinguish the young 
 birds about Christmas time. A curious plan 
 is said to be adopted in Cambridgeshire : all 
 the geese are shut up in a shed, and a small 
 dog is put in. The geese, it is stated, will 
 lift their heads up, and go to the back of the 
 shed, while the ganders will lower and stretch 
 out their necks, hissing all the time. 
 
 " Embdens are of a quiet, tractable dis- 
 position. As layers, they are not considered 
 so good as the Toulouse, an ordinary farm bird 
 laying about twenty to twenty-four eggs in 
 a season, the larger show birds about sixteen to 
 eighteen. Embden geese lay two sets of eggs 
 in the season. They lay in February and leave 
 off in April. The egg is larger than that of a 
 Toulouse, or of an ordinary goose, with a hard 
 white shell. Young geese, as a rule, begin 
 to lay in their first February, but it is not 
 advisable to set the eggs of young birds. A 
 prize-bred goose will lay eight to nine eggs 
 before she wants to sit, ordinary ones perhaps 
 more. It is, however, better not to let her sit 
 the first time, as she may fail to have a second 
 brood if allowed to do so. Her eggs should 
 be put under hens. A hen can cover from three 
 to six eggs according to size. Eggs should 
 be gathered each day the geese lay, and be set 
 as fresh as possible. A goose broken off the first 
 time ihe wants to sit will, after fourteen to 
 
 sixteen days, begin laying again, and when she 
 has laid her second complement of eggs, can 
 be allowed to sit, as convenience admits. She 
 generally sits on about ten up to fifteen eggs. 
 
 " The eggs take twenty-eight to thirty days 
 to hatch. They are very hard and tough, and 
 sprinkling them with water, especially if laid in 
 boxes, is a good precaution to assist the hatch- 
 ing. In all rearing, however, individuals must 
 be guided by their experience. One breeder of 
 Embdens, when he lets a goose sit, as a rule 
 leaves her entirely alone, to make her nest 
 where she likes, and allows her to hatch off her 
 own brood. Under this arrangement, a prize 
 goose appeared on one occasion with twelve 
 splendid goslings. Many approve of this natural 
 treatment. But another breeder has tried this 
 plan of leaving the goose to nature, to find 
 invariably, when hatching, the eggs broken and 
 the goslings squashed, as if she was too heavy 
 to hatch them properly. 
 
 " A sitting goose will come off to be fed 
 with the rest of the poultry. She carefully 
 covers her eggs with down, and straw, or what- 
 ever is available, before leaving them. She 
 will often choose a place for her nest near a 
 stack yard or where there is litter, giving 
 preference to a situation near a pond,, instinct 
 telling her that the result of a good bath 
 helps to moisten the eggs. The other geese 
 will not disturb her on her nest, and the 
 gander always takes a special interest in the 
 sitting goose. 
 
 " Embden goslings when hatched are yellow, 
 some, however, with a grey tinge on their down. 
 Observation has proved that the grey ones 
 are geese, and the bright yellow ones invariably 
 ganders. It is said that Pfannenschmidt, who 
 was a well-known merchant and connoisseur of 
 geese at Embden, also certifies this ; but this 
 theory is not accepted by all. 
 
 " Embdens can be brought up like ordinary 
 geese, and are hardy; but prize birds, like all 
 highly-bred exhibition stock, are more difficult 
 to rear than the ordinary ones. For goslings at 
 twenty-four hours old, little rolls of dough, 
 sometimes mixed with raw or boiled eggs, put 
 down their throats, form the most suitable food. 
 At about two or three days old they will be 
 able to eat meal, or whole corn, which is better 
 when soaked. As with all goslings, care must 
 be taken to avoid damp, or very hot sun, where 
 they cannot get shade. Where there are ten or 
 twelve goslings together, they can be left without 
 a heri at a week old, but where there are only 
 two or three, the hen should have charge of 
 them for two or three weeks. They can be 
 allowed as a rule to sleep out at a month old. 
 
FO/A'TS OF EMBDEN GEESE. 
 
 S6i 
 
 March-hatched goslings are generally found to 
 be the strongest. 
 
 "Grown-up birds hardly ever ail anything, 
 but if they do become ill they rarely recover. 
 They are .sometimes seen to 'droop,' their 
 feathers looking draggled and damp. This state 
 of health is caused by cold clay soil, and a 
 change at once on to dry gravel soil, as a rule, 
 sets them right again. There is probably a 
 want of oily secretions to" supply the feathers. 
 By some this appearance is said to be caused 
 by an irritating insect on the birds. Diluted 
 paraffin is said to be a cure. The defect of a 
 twisted or hanging wing in Embdens can some- 
 times be remedied by tying the wing into the 
 right position. Owing to their white plumage, 
 though not absolutely a necessity to Embden 
 geese, a pond is an advantage ; and essential 
 with show birds. Embdens can sleep out at 
 night (where there is no fear of foxes) even 
 in the severest weather. 
 
 " The prize points of an Embden gander and 
 goose are the same. Any signs of a Toulouse 
 cross, such as a throat-gullet, breast-keel, or 
 looseness of feather, must be avoided. Judges 
 agree that these defects ought not to be allowed. 
 The contrast of the two breeds with regard 
 to type has been described as that shown 
 between a typical hunter and a Shire cart-horse. 
 It is a question whether the cross with the 
 Toulouse gave size to the Embden, or only 
 semblance of size from loose feathering. The 
 compact feathering of the true Embden often 
 deceives the eye as to actual size and weight. 
 The judges discourage Toulouse points in the 
 Embden, in order that Embdens may stand on 
 their own merits, and thus develop their own 
 good qualities. 
 
 " At about two years old Embden geese and 
 ganders attain their full weight, and do not as 
 a rule increase very much after that. The 
 standard gives weights up to 30 lbs. for a gander 
 and 22 lbs. for a goose, and the weight of prize 
 birds should be from 24 to 30 lbs. for ganders, 
 and 20 to 26 lbs. for geese. The weight of a 
 fine Embden, in proportion to its size, is some- 
 times deceiving. A few weights which were 
 taken of young birds may roughly serve as 
 average specimens. A goose eight weeks old 
 weighing 15^ lbs.; by Christmas would be 22 lbs. 
 A gander at eleven weeks i6Jlbs., would be by 
 Christmas 24 lbs. or more. A gander at sixteen 
 weeks weighing 20 lbs., would probably scale 
 more than 24 lbs. by Christmas. Twenty is a 
 good average weight for birds hatched in April 
 to attain at .Christmas. The following weights, 
 given by two fanciers, may be quoted as 
 examples of fine birds. A gander (in store 
 St 
 
 condition) 26\ lbs. A pair, exhibited, 55 lbs. 
 The weights however, are very variable. A 
 good deal of the weighty of course, depends on 
 ' feeding,' and extra food will soon add a pound 
 or two. Birds also lose weight quickly, even in 
 going to and from a show. Prize geese should 
 always be well fed, and very little extra food 
 will then bring them into condition for exhibition. 
 
 " Shows under the Waterfowl Club rules 
 require geese to have a ring on one leg, to 
 show the year of hatching. They should be 
 put on at about three weeks old, as soon as the 
 gosling's feet are large enough to prevent their 
 falling off, for if forgotten at the right age, it is 
 impossible to put them on afterwards. The 
 plumage of Embdens should be spotless white 
 throughout, and condition requires hard feather- 
 ing. The description of an unsophisticated 
 visitor at a Royal Agricultural show, when look- 
 ing at a champion Embden gander, was singu- 
 larly appropriate : ' He looks as if he was 
 carved out of marble.' The bill is longer than 
 that of the Toulouse. It should be bright 
 orange, the nut at the end being paler, and the 
 nostrils and softer parts of the bill shading into 
 red. This colour becomes brighter in the spring. 
 The feet and legs should be bright orange. The 
 eye is blue, with an orange rim. The blue eye 
 is probably a form of albinism, and the brighter 
 the blue, the stronger indication of the genuine- 
 ness of the white breed. In breeds of geese 
 that vary between the white and grey, the 
 blueness of the eye is variable. Preserving, 
 therefore, the point of blue eyes is a means of 
 helping to ensure the reliability and pure white- 
 ness of the race. The twisted or curled neck 
 feathers, which are also seen in the Toulouse 
 and other European geese, is a characteristic 
 of their ancestor the Grey-lag. 
 
 "Geese should have a good swim in a clean 
 pond the day before they are to be sent off to a 
 show, and should then be shut up for the night on 
 clean straw. They should not be frightened 
 when caught, and be handled gently by whoever 
 is accustomed to look after them. The way to 
 hold a goose is to take the rieck in one hand, 
 the bird's back towards you, putting the other 
 arm right round the goose, keeping the wings 
 quite firmly down. The bird should be put 
 head foremost into the basket, so if the feathers 
 are touched they are rubbed the right way. 
 The best basket is a round wicker one, covered 
 with canvas, about 30 inches high and 30 inches 
 diameter. The only drawback to exhibiting 
 geese is their weight for carriage. 
 
 " The best proof of the value of this breed in 
 the United Kingdom is the great increase in the 
 numbers kept. In Norfolk about twenty years 
 
S62 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 ago there was only one breeder of pure Embdens, 
 and now there are over a score, besides numbers 
 of rearers who buy Embdens for crossing 
 purposes. Thirty years ago exhibition Embdens 
 were in the hands of a few fanciers, the most 
 famous coming from Lancashire. The ex- 
 hibitors of this variety may now be counted by 
 hundreds. Not only in this country are these 
 fine birds sought' after, but goose breeders from 
 all parts of the world are eager to obtain them. 
 Both sittings of eggs, and birds, are exported 
 far and near. Possessors of Embdens may well 
 be proud of their geese. It is an interesting 
 study to preserve their swan-like whiteness, 
 to increase their size, to maintain their special 
 capacity for early growth and delicate quality 
 of flesh for table, and to improve their laying 
 qualities, always endeavouring to keep the 
 stock hardy and healthy. With care and prac- 
 tical work, these objects can easily be attained. 
 The breeder of a typical Embden may indeed 
 feel that he is the happy possessor of the goose 
 that lays the golden eggs, and will be able to 
 say that 'all his geese are swans.'."* 
 
 The Toulouse breed takes its name from 
 the well-known city in southern France, round 
 which birds generally similar to, though not so 
 
 fine as the English stock, are still 
 ^^® reared to a large extent ; and it is 
 
 Goose. this variety which is used in the 
 
 production of the celebrated pat(^ 
 de foie gras, so much imported from the Con- 
 tinent, the essential part of which consists of 
 goose-livers potted with truffles. Did people 
 realise how this delicacy is produced, it is to 
 be hoped that it would be less popular than 
 it is, even amongst fashionable epicures. To 
 make a painful story as short as possible, even 
 by the more merciful feeders the geese are 
 confined in a very hot room or caged near a 
 stove, and there forced with fattening food 
 
 * In compiling this article most of the standard English 
 works on poultry have been consulted, also the following 
 authors: Blanchon ("Canards, Oies"), Diirigen ("Gefiiigel- 
 zucht"), Kramer ("Rasse gefliigelzucht "), Vienkoff ("Les 
 Oies en Russie"). The Journals of the Royal Agricultural 
 Society, and Soci^te d'Acclimatation de P'rance ; the 
 American Poultry Journal, and Live Slock Journal. Notes on 
 the rearing and exhibition of Embdens have been most kindly 
 given by many breeders and judges, including Messrs. Abbot, 
 Baily, Bagshaw, Bragg, J. Pettipher, MM. Flescher and Marchand 
 (Muids, France), Herr Radetzky (Wiirzburg). Information 
 has also been received through the kindness and courtesy of Mr. 
 Brown (Secrelary, National Poultry Organisation Society), 
 M. L'Hoest (Soci^t^ Royale de Zoologie, Antwerp), M. Loyer 
 (Secretary, Soci6e Nationale d'Acclimatation de France), M. 
 Oustalet (Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris), Mr. Theobald (British 
 Museum, Natural History), M. Van der Snickt (Brussels), 
 Captain Boyle (British Consul, Copenhagen), Mr. Boyes 
 (British Vice-Consul, Bremen), Mr. Zorn (British Vice-Consul, 
 Embden). 
 
 until they would die in a day or two more, 
 when they are killed, and their livers are found 
 swelled to an enormous size ; but there is un- 
 fortunately no room for doubt that by some 
 the wretched birds are tied down . to prevent 
 their moving, and by a few, actually nailed by 
 their feet to a board. 
 
 This goose is beyond doubt the result of 
 breeding and feeding up the grey or dark 
 descendants of the Grey-lag,- and presents 
 marked differences from the preceding in 
 several respects. For the following descriptive 
 notes we are indebted to Miss Campain, of 
 Deeping St. Nicholas, Spalding, known as a 
 prize-taker with this variety for many years : — 
 
 " It is twenty years since I started breeding 
 geese, and for several years I have been an 
 exhibitor at the leading shows of both the 
 Embden and Toulouse, with a fair share of 
 success, but I treat here of the Toulouse variety. 
 I started by buying a pair of his celebrated 
 geese from Mr. Fowler, of Aylesbury, who had 
 then quite as good birds as anyone, if not the 
 best at that time. The gander I think was 
 without exception the longest bird in' every 
 way I have seen, and the goose was remark- 
 ably good in colour, very wide and deep, and 
 not showing the least tinge of brown in 
 plumage, but of a beautiful silver grey. I 
 have bred them ever since. . 
 
 " This variety should be massive and heavy 
 in appearance in every way. In both the 
 gander and the goose the head should be broad 
 and deep, in face, the beak being in a straight 
 line from the top of the head to the tip, very 
 strong and without any indenture or hollow in 
 the top bill, which gives the bill a most ob- 
 jectionable snipy appearance. The bill should 
 be of a rather brown flesh-colour, the dewlap 
 should hang well down, and be as large as 
 possible. The neck should be long and grace- 
 ful ; a short neck completely spoils the appear- 
 ance, and in mating up for breeding, care should 
 be taken in this point, because they are apt 
 to breed short. Both for the show-pen and for 
 breeding, the birds should be exceptionally well 
 bowed in front, and ' keeled ' deeply, points which 
 in this variety are of almost primary import- 
 ance, with their bodies almost touching the 
 ground behind. They must be -very broad 
 across the back, and long to the tip of the 
 tail. Their legs must show as large an amount 
 of bone as possible, to get which is a great 
 indication of size and massiveness. In colour 
 they should be rather dark grey on the head, 
 neck, back, and wings; rather lighter on the 
 breast, gradually becoming lighter towards the 
 belly, where it ends in good pure white. The 
 
THE TOULOUSE GOOSE. 
 
 5.63 
 
 plumage should be as free as possible from a 
 brown tinge, which I strongly object to, though 
 it is prominent in some strains. The sun has 
 some influence on this, but very little com- 
 paratively on good-coloured ones compared with 
 others. The legs are a deep orange colour. 
 
 • " I consider the birds of this variety are 
 more commanding-looking, if I may use the 
 term, and more graceful, than they were when 
 I first started breeding and exhibiting them. 
 The Toulouse are more prolific than the 
 Embdens, as I have frequently known them to 
 lay forty or fifty eggs before leaving off, and 
 seldom ever showing any tendency or wish 
 to sit. 
 
 " Formerly in this district the goose industry 
 was a very large one. It was no uncommon 
 occurrence to meet a thousand geese on the 
 road six or eight weeks before Christmas, going 
 to the various dealers or breeders to be fattened 
 up, and which in due time were dressed and 
 forv.arded to market, or to various clubs. The 
 breeders would send to the various farmers the 
 stock birds, two or three geese and one gander ; 
 then about Michaelmas divide the produce with 
 the farmer, giving him half he had reared, or 
 allowing him half (about 2s. 6d.) upon the whole, 
 or else 5s. each for his half sharp. ^ It was 
 nothing unusual to see as many as ten thousand 
 geese on one place, collected from the farmers 
 prior to selling them to the feeders to fatten 
 up, and I have heard of half a dozen of such 
 feeders, in this neighbourhood, also sending as 
 much as ;^50 worth of feathers and down to 
 Boston in a cart at one time. I am sorry to 
 say that there is nothing of the sort now ; I 
 do not know a single person carrying on this 
 business near here. The large foreign import- 
 ation of both turkeys and geese has almost 
 completely killed the industry, or rather the 
 profitable part of it, but I am rather inclined to 
 think that turkeys are also taking the place 
 of, geese to a certain extent." 
 
 The Toulouse goose is generally stated to 
 surpass the Embden in weight, but this idea is 
 by no means borne out by historical records, and 
 appears •mainly founded upon the reputation of 
 certain celebrated birds, an element of crossing 
 having also something to do with it. In regard . 
 to the last point, it has been already mentioned 
 above that the Embden is in some degree 
 indebted to the Toulouse; and it is. equally 
 beyond doubt that many Toulouse geese have 
 been crossed with the Embden, the motive m 
 both cases having been the fact that a cross 
 between any ordinary stocks of the two, usually 
 produces goslings heavier than either of the 
 parent races. But the size of these cross-bred 
 
 birds is not kept up if breeding is continued 
 with them ; and a further result has been the 
 obliteration of proper distinctive marks in many 
 prize pens. Breeders of pure Embdens and 
 Toulouse have during many years often com- 
 plained to us that they have been unfairly beaten 
 by specimens obviously cross-bred; and we have 
 frequently seen so-called Embdens with dewlap 
 and keel, while, conversely, Toulouse geese have 
 been shown with clean gullets, and too high on 
 the leg for pure Toulouse. In the absence of 
 such obvious signs of crossing, there can be little 
 doubt that even the " orange " bill described in 
 the Standard, where it exists, is more or less due 
 to an infusion of Embden blood ; for not only is 
 the bill described above by Miss Campain as 
 brownish flesh colour, but in 1872 the late 
 Mr. J. K. Fowler himself described it to us as 
 resembling "sunburnt flesh," which is practically 
 the same thing, and is beyond dispute the 
 colour of the bill in the original pure breed. 
 Another frequent sign of crossing is found 
 in white feathers round the base of the 
 bill, which in some cases is even accompanied 
 by a light eye. Returning to the question 
 of weights, however, there are many who 
 still remember when the late Mr. J. K. 
 Fowler and Mrs. Seamons were the principal 
 champions of the day in the goose classes. It is 
 within our own personal knowledge that- Mr. 
 Fowler's heaviest Toulouse gander weighed once 
 38 lbs., while the heaviest Mrs. Seamons ever 
 had was 36 lbs. Probably those weights have 
 never been equalled by any white goose, though 
 we had strong reason to suspect some white 
 blood in both. In 1870 the heaviest Grey pair 
 at Birmingham weighed 62\ lbs., probably never 
 equalled by any other pair; and in 1 871 they 
 were 60 lbs. But in 1874 the heaviest Greys 
 were 58^ lbs., while the heaviest Whites were 
 59^ lbs. After that, extreme fattening foi 
 weight began (happily) to go out of fashion. 
 In 1875 the heaviest Birmingham Greys were 
 51 lbs. 9 ozs., against 58 lbs. 9 ozs. for Whites ; 
 and since that time the weights have often 
 been still less, and Whites quite as often as not 
 the heavier of the two breeds. 
 
 The Toulouse usually looks larger than the 
 Embden, owing to its much looser feathers ; 
 and its heavy keel gives a far more massive and 
 heavy appearance. Owing to this different con- 
 formation, two geese to one gander generally do 
 better than three in this variety. As it does not 
 sit, or at least not with any steadiness, the eggs 
 must be hatched otherwise ; and, owing to the 
 greater number laid, a larger flock can be 
 reared from one pen of Greys than from one 
 of Embdens. The ordinary saddle-backed geese 
 
5*54 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of farm-yards are generally descended from.half- 
 bred stock, and some of them are very fine. 
 
 The Chinese or African goose (Anser 
 cygnoides) has also been termed the Hong Kong 
 goose and Knobbed goose, and some birds have 
 been written of as Spanish geese. 
 The Chinese which appear to have had the 
 same general characteristics. It was 
 classed by Cuvier actually with the 
 swans, which it resembles in the longer and more 
 slender neck, and the knobbed bill, also in the 
 neck feathers being smooth and not curled as 
 in the two preceding varieties ; and it has been 
 recorded on two or three occasions (on rather 
 doubtful authority, but the gander is such an 
 
 or African 
 Goose. 
 
 African Geese. 
 
 ardent breeder that it is not unlikely) to have 
 produced swan hybrids. But that it is a true 
 goose is proved by not only its domestic habits 
 and prolificacy, and the number of its vertebrae 
 (sixteen), but by the fact that it breeds freely 
 with other geese, and that the produce is fertile 
 and not a hybrid ; the common goose of India 
 being, as Mr. Blyth pointed out long ago, a cross 
 between the Chinese and the ordinary domestic 
 race known to us. This immemorial crossing, in 
 India and elsewhere, is the explanation of differ- 
 ences that seem to have puzzled some writers in 
 America, between the " African " goose as there 
 known, and their smaller Chinese. 
 
 The original Chinese variety ranges over all 
 China, much of Siberia, and most of India, but 
 chiefly northern India. In size it is midway 
 between the wild goose and the swan, but con- 
 
 siderably less than our large domestic geese. 
 The neck is long and slender, but the head 
 rather large for the bird, with a knob or protuber- 
 ance much like that of a swan at the base of the 
 upper bill, and a heavy dewlap under the throat. 
 The usual colour is brownish grey on back and 
 upper parts, passing into light grey or almost 
 white underneath, the breast and front of neck a 
 yellowish grey, and a dark brown stripe running 
 all down the back of the neck : in this colour the 
 knob is generally black, the bill orange or dark 
 brown, or even black, the legs orange. There 
 are also white birds, which have orange knob 
 and bill ; in these also there is a stripe behind 
 the neck which, although v/hite, is more glossy, 
 and different in appearance from the other 
 plumage. 
 
 This Chinese race is very prolific, laying 
 twenty to thirty eggs in a sitting, and 
 several sittings in a year, the eggs being 
 " about two-thirds the size of those laid 
 by fine ordinary geese. The breed is 
 very hardy and easily reared, and the 
 flesh of very delicate quality; but it is 
 not so domestic in habits as the Eqropean 
 geese, and rather fond of swimming at 
 night. It has a harsh and peculiar cry, 
 the mo6t shrill amongst any of the true 
 geese known in domestication. 
 
 The " African " goose, as known in 
 America, is stated by American writers 
 to have come from either India or Africa, 
 and is considered by most of them to be a 
 distinct " pure " variety. It is very much 
 larger than that just described, adults 
 weighing as much as 24 lbs. for ganders, 
 and 19 lbs. for geese, and being described 
 by Mr. Cushman and others as actually 
 the largest of all the geese. It is stand- 
 ardised at the same weights as the 
 Embden and Toulouse ; but the standard 
 American weights for these are only 20 lbs. 
 and 18 lbs. for the two sexes, which is far 
 less than in England. All the known facts and 
 circumstances point to the conclusion that this 
 African goose of America is originally simply 
 a cross of the Chinese with the domestic goose, 
 and especially with the Toulouse. ' During the 
 last twenty years Africa has been opened up 
 in all directions — north, south, east, and west — 
 as it never was before, but no wild goose re- 
 sembHng this breed has ever been found. It 
 probably did come from India, where such crosses 
 have existed for generations ; and it is even quite 
 likely that some of these Indian birds may have 
 beerf carried to East and South Africa by the 
 coolies and Banian traders who have visited 
 those districts so largely ; but every single point 
 
THE CANADA GOOSE. 
 
 565 
 
 about the bird tells unmistakably of such a 
 mixed origin. The breed has more of the solid 
 carriage of the Toulouse ; the brown has become 
 more grey ; the knob is less prominent in pro- 
 portion ; the neck is shorter and thicker ; and— 
 most significant of all — the eggs have become 
 fewer, and often as large as those of the older 
 domesticated varieties. The voice also is deeper 
 and more approaching that of the domestic 
 goose, and the flesh more of the same character 
 as in that breed. In the only American 
 specimens of "African" geese which we have 
 seen, a strong element of the ordinary domestic 
 goose was quite unmistakable. It is not neces- 
 sary to suppose any recent cross-breeding, as 
 some of the Indian birds may quite possibly have 
 possessed all the present features of the African ; 
 but it is significant that energetic crossing with 
 the European breeds is now openly practised 
 and strongly recommended by American writers, 
 and it is probable that it has taken place on 
 many occasions. The illustration herewith was 
 given in an American poultry journal as one 
 of the " Chinese" goose, and originally procured 
 for this work as such ; but on finally tracing it 
 back, with considerable trouble, to its origin, we 
 found that it really represents a photograph of 
 the " African," in which character it is reproduced 
 here. 
 
 This fact illustrates the direct connection 
 between the Chinese and African goose ; but it 
 cannot be questioned that in the American 
 modified race, however produced, we have the 
 most valuable and useful form of the breed. 
 Even the African, however, varies considerably. 
 While Mr. Cushman places it first in size, and 
 states that it lays the largest eggs of any, but 
 does not put the number higher than in the 
 Embden, if as high, Mr. Rankin does not put 
 size so strongly, but states that his birds are 
 better layers than ever, and reach about sixty 
 eggs per annum. These differences are largely 
 accounted for by the fact that recent Arnerican 
 breeders have chiefly crossed the African goose, 
 when crossed at all, with the Embden, in order 
 to get as many white goslings as possible. 
 
 The great merit of this characteristic race, 
 however, is as a breeder. Every goose breeder 
 knows that the ordinary goose is slow to mate, 
 and requires time, as presently mentioned. 
 Both Chinese and African ganders mate earlier 
 and more quickly, and at a pinch will mate suc- 
 cessfully with one or two more geese, being 
 ardent in disposition. The curious fact is also 
 noticed that even an Embden gander will be 
 prolific earlier, and mate with more African 
 geese than with his own variety. As the cross 
 makes weight early, and is of good quality, these 
 
 facts are of value. There is of course nothing 
 remarkable, to English notions, in ganders of 
 20 to 24 lbs. ; but as these are fully equal to the 
 American weights for other breeds, the real 
 aspect of the matter is the existence of a breed 
 equal to Embdens and Toulouse in size, with 
 the advantages just stated ; and from this point 
 of view the African, as developed in America, 
 appears well worthy of attention from English 
 goose-breeders who desire an early market. As 
 before intimated, the cross-bred produce are not 
 hybrids, but simply crosses, and perfectly fertile. 
 
 The 
 
 Canada 
 
 Goose. 
 
 The Canada Goose. 
 
 The only other breed requiring particular 
 mention is the Canada goose, the ordinary wild 
 goose of Canada and the United States, but 
 which has a much wider distribution. 
 It has often been shot on the wing 
 in England, where quite wild flocks 
 of it have been seen ; and it ranges 
 through most of the Arctic regions, 
 at least as far north as Spitzbergen. This goose 
 used to form an important portion of the food of 
 the Hudson's Bay Company's trappers, one 
 goose being reckoned as a day's ration, and 
 recorded in the Company's annals as averaging 
 about 9 lbs. The size and weight are thus equal 
 to those of the wild Grey-lag, though in com- 
 parison with domestic geese it must be called a 
 rather small breed. The somewhat long body, 
 the long and slender neck, and the character and 
 shape of the head, much resemble those of the 
 swans. Buffon states, indeed, that at Versailles 
 in his time the domesticated Canada geese had 
 bred, or hybridised with the swans kept there,' 
 and the older naturalists gave this goose the 
 generic name of Cygnopsis Canadensis ; but its 
 
566 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 affinities are clearly with the geese rather than 
 with swans, and it will breed with the races 
 previously described, though the progeny is 
 perfectly sterile. 
 
 The head, bill, and greater part of the neck 
 of this goose are black, with a conspicuous white 
 cravat rather than collar at the throat, the head 
 and bill being long. The feathers of the upper 
 parts of the body are greyish-brown, rather lighter 
 at the edges, shading into ashy grey at the wing- 
 coverts, and gradually shading into greyish-white 
 on breast and under-parts, to pure white on the 
 abdomen. The flanks are pale grey tipped 
 with white, the quills of the wings, and tail, 
 almost black. The legs are rather long, set 
 somewhat back so as to give a commanding 
 carriage, and in colour blackish-grey to black. 
 The amount of brown differs somewhat, some 
 birds being an almost pure black and grey. 
 
 Small flocks of these geese are often. kept 
 in a half-wild condition as ornamental water 
 fowl, on meres and lakes ; and such flocks do not 
 much exceed the weight above given. But by 
 selection in the United States, where they are 
 very largely bred in domestication, the size has 
 been increased, until they have adult ganders 
 weighing i6 lbs. and females of 14 lbs. The 
 goose is not a good layer, more than nine or ten 
 eggs being seldom produced in one laying, 
 though a second is often obtained by taking the 
 eggs away. It is cultivated there for the table 
 qualities, either of its own goslings, or of its 
 hybrid produce, which is almost always bred 
 with the African goose. The flesh of the Canada 
 goose is considered more- delicate and delicious 
 than that of any other known waterfowl except 
 one, the far-famed .Canvass-back duck ; and the 
 hybrids have almost the same reputation for 
 quality, and realise the highest prices of any 
 geese marketed in America. Now that the 
 somewhat gross and rich quality of the ordinary 
 goose appears to have lost much of its former 
 favour in England, this delicacy and quality of 
 flesh of the Canada and its hybrids are of 
 special importance, and may open out some 
 fresh possibilities. 
 
 The cross-bred birds are known and sold in 
 American markets as " wild mongrels," and the 
 largest Canadian ganders are specially valued for 
 breeding them, realising from ten to twenty-five 
 dollars. This kind of breeding is only success- 
 fully carried on by experienced men, who under- 
 stand both the Canadian and African breeds^ 
 The Canada gander only mates with a single 
 female, and is not very ready to mate with 
 another variety ; he has therefore to be run with 
 the goose for some time, and should have a good 
 range, with ample water, as natural-looking as 
 
 possible ; on the other hand, when once mated 
 he will breed for many years, forming very 
 strong attachment to his partner. The African 
 gander is also sometimes used. He may be 
 mated with several Canadian females, and will 
 breed more readily, but the Canadian females 
 lay few eggs, and those not very early in the 
 season. 
 
 One or two sub-varieties of the domestic 
 goose only require brief mention. The best 
 known is the Sebastopol or Danubian goose, 
 which has plumage of pure white, 
 Minor but of a peculiar character,somewhat 
 
 Varieties between that of the Frizzled and 
 Ornamental the Silky fowl. The feathers, except 
 Geese. those of the neck and breast, are 
 
 very long, and slender in the quill, 
 and curled, so that the wind blows them all 
 about. The head, bill, and body are rather long. 
 These birds are small, only averaging about 
 10 lbs. each, and are also poor layers, and by no 
 nieans equal to the ordinary races in quality of 
 flesh. They are the most quiet arid tame in 
 manners of all the geese, but are only valued by 
 some for their, quaint appearance, and are of no 
 practical interest. 
 
 A variety was highly recommended by several 
 writers about ten years ago under the name of 
 Italian geese: It has been stated to be un- 
 usually prolific, laying 50 to 60 eggs in one 
 laying, and sometimes a second. Mr. Teget- 
 meier describes them as mainly white, with a 
 blue-grey head; a grey roundish spot or patch 
 between the shoulders, and grey thighs. But a 
 great many we have heard of have certainly not 
 come up to that standard, and have been 
 decidedly small. Mr. R,. Fowler found them, on 
 trial, to possess no superior merits, and they have 
 been scarcely heard of during recent years. 
 
 Mr. Edward Brown' published in 1899 an 
 interesting account of two varieties of geese 
 which he had found in Russia, known as the 
 Arsamas and the Tula breeds, both bred in the 
 country south of Moscow, and for the special 
 purpose ol fighting! The Arsamas is described 
 as pure white, and weighing from 15 to 20 lbs., 
 while the Tula is grey, and from 12 to 15 lbs. 
 In both the head is very short, almost round, 
 with a wide forehead bearing two prominences 
 in old birds; the bill also very short and thick at 
 the base, coming down in almost an unbroken 
 line from the forehead. The wing-muscles are 
 enormously developed, causing solid flesh on 
 the breast, rather than depth of abdomen. It is 
 claimed that crossing this breed upon other . 
 European geese has somewhat of the same result 
 as crossing English fighting Game fowl^. upon 
 
GOOSE-FARMING IN ENGLAND. 
 large-bodied birds. The flesh of 
 
 567 
 
 j.«- ^ r , geese is so very 
 
 dififerent from that of fowls, that this appears 
 exceedingly questionable, and still more so that 
 the cross is likely to be of any service to breeders 
 of the recognised varieties. 
 
 The so-called Egyptian goose has been 
 
 run is good. The Magellan is fairly good- 
 tempered, but the Cereopsis gander is sometimes 
 dangerous. The Bar-headed goose comes from 
 India, is also of slight and graceful build, and 
 marked by three black bands at the back of its 
 white head. The Gambian goose has a knob on 
 
 Sebastopol and Gambian Geese. 
 
 already referred to as in reality a large Shiel- 
 drake. Of several other " geese " often kept 
 upon ornamental waters, the Cereopsis goose of 
 Australia, and the Magellan goose, can also be 
 scarcely regarded as true geese. Of the latter, 
 a South American bird, there is a variety called 
 the Chilian : both stand high on the leg, are 
 prettily barred in the plumage, and graceful in 
 shape, and can be kept with little water if their 
 
 the top of the head, something like, but farther 
 back than that of a swan, and a powerful bony 
 spur at the wrist -joint of the wing ; it has long 
 legs and stands very upright, the plumage being 
 chiefly white and black, the bill and legs dark 
 red. It is shy, but has been known to breed 
 in suitable circumstances. Several of the birds 
 here mentioned have been on rare occasions 
 exhibited, but are really only suitable for the 
 
568 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 lake or private enclosure, and are of no econom- 
 ical importance. In breeding them, they must 
 have as much as possible of secluded shelter, 
 and be left pretty much to nature. 
 
 The industry of goose-raising for the British 
 market has seen great changes, having been at 
 one time a very extensive one, which has con- 
 siderably declined of late years, as 
 Qgggg already indicated by Miss Campain. 
 
 for In 1896 a sensational account of an 
 
 Market. alleged great goose ranche in Essex 
 
 was published, and copied - rather 
 extensively, which contained some extraordinary 
 statements. It was alleged that there were 
 30,000 birds on the ranche ready for market, 
 with others coming on ; that thirty-five men 
 were employed ; that the owner cleared between 
 £'2fxxi. and ;£'3,ooo a year, and that "many 
 others do the same." It is- unnecessary to com- 
 ment on such statements as these, none of which 
 were correct at any period ; still, at one time 
 immense numbers of geese were reared and 
 fattened, especially in Lincolnshire and Norfolk. 
 Besides scouring the country for what goslings 
 were procurable young from the farmers who 
 had bred them, very large supplies of young live 
 birds were imported from Ireland and Holland, 
 the latter consignments coming most largely 
 from Rotterdam. A large dealer near Norwich 
 is stated to have imported from Rotterdam in 
 1872 very nearly 5,000 young birds for feeding, 
 which mostly came through Hull. Many foreign 
 goslings also came to Liverpool, for the more 
 northerly dealers,- Silloth being another northern 
 port of entry. This Irish and Continental trade in 
 live goslings for feeding is still carried on, but to 
 a very much less extent than formerly,for which 
 there are various causes besides an undoubted 
 fall in prices. 
 
 One cause often alleged for the falling off of 
 geese reared in England, is the considerable 
 decline in area of unenclosed commons and 
 waste lands. Such land is peculiarly favourable 
 to the goose industry, no doubt, and its diminu- 
 tion cannot but have had effect ; but so far as 
 prices are concerned, that effect would be rather 
 to raise them, whereas there is no doubt that they 
 have decreased, in spite of the diminished supply. 
 Thus a decline in price, and also of facilities for 
 cheap rearing, have worked together to m*ake 
 goose-breeding less profitable than formerly. 
 Another cause, though less important, has not 
 received the attention it deserves. The feathers 
 were once more valuable than now, and live 
 geese were often plucked several times a year to 
 supply them. Steel and other pens have nearly 
 destroyed the market for goose quills ; and 
 
 owing to the better knowledge of hygiene, where 
 respectable families once always provided feather 
 beds for good- bedrooms, these are now mostly 
 furnished with hard mattresses laid upon spring- 
 wire, and the returns from this source too have 
 greatly diminished. It is doubtful if profit has 
 really been much lessened by this cause, as it is 
 now known that the strain of being plucked 
 sapped both the vigour, and laying, and fertility 
 of the stock ; but the apparent inducements were 
 decreased, and this has had its effect, as no doubt 
 has the increase in cheaper foreign supplies. 
 
 The chief cause of all, however, is undoubtedly 
 that popular taste has changed. Roast fat goose 
 is a somewhat rich and gross dish, and all the 
 reports we have received from market salesmen 
 go to show that the demand for Christmas 
 poultry especially, has gradually been more and 
 more transferred to the more delicate turkey. 
 The goose has gradually become more a working- 
 man's dish, and the demand from even that 
 quarter has been checked considerably by recent 
 interference with licensed houses, many of which 
 were once centres of enormous Christmas goose- 
 clubs, so that some of them would order as many 
 as a thousand birds, which were desired large 
 and plump. From some or all of these causes 
 the demand for large fatted geese has greatly 
 decreased in the principal markets; while it is 
 remarkable that it keeps up best, and has in a 
 few localities even increased, in the thickly- 
 populated industrial districts of the Midlands 
 and north of England. 
 
 If goose-breeding and feeding is to be carried 
 on profitably in England, it must recognise these 
 modern conditions and this change in taste. 
 There will always be some market for large fat 
 birds at Christmas ; but it is more limited than 
 formerly, and the best quality will have the 
 preference. This depends upon even feeding for 
 flesh rather than fat; and as lean goslings fed up 
 rapidly with fattenirfg food do not supply this, 
 masses of fat on a goose will not " sell " now- 
 adays. Experience proves that feeding mainly 
 upon oats or other grain, given in water, largely 
 avoids this deposition of useless fat. But the 
 revival of any considerable goose-industry, apart 
 from the northern demand alluded to above, 
 seems likely in future to depend largely upon 
 earlier birds, of smaller size, but of first-rate 
 quality. It is probably this development which 
 has lately given greater predominance to the 
 pure Embdetj breed, which matures early, plucks 
 to a nice colour, tends rather to solid flesh than 
 fat, and is decidedly less "rich" than the Toulouse. 
 Still more worthy of attention appear to be those 
 hybrids or " wild mongrels " between Canada 
 and African geese, which top the American 
 
GOOSE-FARMING IN ENGLAND. 
 
 569 
 
 market, and are affirmed to be equal in flavour 
 and quality to the Canvass-back duck. It is by 
 no means certain that British consumers can be 
 educated to a similar taste ; but it is possible, 
 perhaps probable, that earlier birds of smaller 
 size and such surpassing quality might find more 
 room, and create a demand, as they have done 
 across the Atlantic. The earliest would cost 
 very little to feed, being killed as " green " 
 geese ; and up to Michaelmas the stubbles would 
 afford nearly all that was required. 
 
 Now that the margin is narrower, causes of 
 unprofitableness in the breeding stock must also 
 be avoided. Totally unlike fowls in this respect, 
 geese require time to get acquainted and to mate, 
 and fresh stock is very often put together too 
 late, with the consequence that eggs fail to 
 hatch. They will not breed together, as a rule 
 (we speak of the ordinary breeds), until they have 
 been acquainted for some time, and often not at 
 all the first season, unless put together early. 
 Two-year-old birds are the strongest, and these 
 should be put together not later than the begin- 
 ning of November, if possible. It is really better 
 in general to buy young stock, and indeed good 
 adult stock is often very difficult to procure ; but 
 young birds should be bought chiefly in antici- 
 pation of what they will produce the following 
 season and afterwards. From this point of view 
 the amorous disposition and generally much 
 quicker mating of the African goose may 
 offer the goose-breeder solid advantages. The 
 progeny of this bird with Embden is mainly 
 white, and the flesh is considered in America less 
 gross, or more delicate, than the old-fashioned 
 Embden and Toulouse cross. 
 
 Geese are generally killed bypiercing the brain 
 from the back of the skull. A spot will be found 
 •there just where head and neck join, at which 
 there is no protecting bone — there the knife is 
 inserted, and also severs a principal artery. 
 Many killers first stun the bird by a sharp blow 
 on the back of the head, which obviates pain and 
 struggling, provided it be done with sure hand 
 and eye. Some feeders stick them in the roof 
 of the mouth, after stunning them as above. 
 They are usually plucked before bleeding has 
 ceased. 
 
 The best geese of France are largely fed upon 
 whole buckwheat, giverr in troughs of water. This 
 produces whit.e flesh, with scarcely any fat, while 
 the same grain, ground ihto meal, is said to 
 produce too much fat. This confirms the results 
 in England from feeding upon white oats in 
 water. The best of these French geese are sent 
 to Paris, where they realise as much as U francs 
 per pound, and only inferior produce is sent over 
 for the cheaper markets in England. 
 
 The largest consumers of geese upon the Con- 
 tinent are the Germans, whose taste is exactly 
 suited by the rich flesh of this bird. Enormous 
 numbers are reared at home, every farmer keep- 
 ing more or less; but, in addition, immense 
 quantities are imported from Russia. An in- 
 teresting report from the British Consul- General 
 at Berlin, in 1901, states that a special "goose- 
 train " of from fifteen to forty cars arrives in that 
 city daily from the Russian frontier, fitted 
 specially for, and occupied solely with, this 
 traffic. The latest figures procurable show that 
 in 1899 these imported Russian live geese 
 numbered 6,875,810, and were of the value of 
 ;f 978,3 50. They are mofe or less fattened 
 after arrival, and average, when sold, 12 lbs. to 
 1 5 lbs. The trade may very likely be profoundly 
 modified by thfe new German tariff. 
 
 The industry of goose-fattening on a wholesale 
 scale has only developed in the United States 
 quite recently, Mr. E. A. Cornell, of Rhode 
 Island, being the principal pioneer. He has 
 lately been in the habit of fattening from I2,CXX) 
 to 15,000 annually, breeding none, but collecting 
 them from the farmers round, none of whom 
 rear more than a moderate number. He has 
 laid down plant costing about 15,000 dollars, and 
 up to last accounts had been in the habit of 
 penning about 300 together in one pen. The 
 birds, when ready, were sent to New York, where 
 they fetched the top price as " Rhode Island 
 geese," and considerably more than the breeders 
 themselves could realise by their old methods. 
 Similar business has been carried on by several 
 smaller men. But during the last year or two 
 the system has been put in jeopardy by the out- 
 break of a disease known as goose cholera, which 
 runs its course so rapidly that birds affected 
 almost always die within 36 hours of experi- 
 mental infection, and often within less than an 
 hour of the first apparent symptoms. The chief 
 of these are staggering gait and agonised motions 
 of the head, in the dirt and otherwise, that appear 
 to denote spasm of the glottis ; the passages 
 being found full of mucus, and the blood-vessel.s 
 much congested. The liver is studded thickly 
 with yellow nodules. Mr. Cornell, in 1900, lost 
 thousands from this disease. A bacillus was 
 found, and pieces of the viscera of dead birds 
 fed to healthy geese caused death in less than 
 30 hours. The success of Dr. Klein with con- 
 tagious fowl enteritis (see next chapter) gives 
 room to hope that a protective anti-toxin may 
 probably be prepared from pure culture of the 
 bacillus, but this had not been done up to the 
 last advices we have received. The. bacillus is, 
 however, stated not to have great vitality when 
 exposed to atmospheric influences. We have 
 
57° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 mentioned this matter because of its importance 
 in connection with such methods of fattening. 
 The system has been profitable to the smaller 
 breeders of Rhode Island, who sell their goslings 
 to the feeders ; but such losses must put an end 
 to it in that form unless a sure remedy be found. 
 AU British experience goes to show that geese 
 do best either at large on stubbles or roots, or 
 else in small quiet yards, without too much light 
 or exposure, and do not thrive well in very 
 large, pens of several hundreds. We have already 
 alluded to the desirability of only penning 
 together the number which can probably be 
 killed and marketed together ; a consideration 
 which tends in the same direction, and moreover 
 enables more systematic care to be given to 
 bedding and cleanliness. To shortcoming in 
 these respects such outbreaks may probably be 
 due, and it is likely that restriction of the number 
 in one pen to fifty or less, may prove more of a 
 cure than any direct measures. 
 
 We have never heard of any similar out- 
 break in England ; but amongst those reared 
 for exhibition a very peculiar affection of 
 the floor of the mouth is sometimes found, 
 called by some breeders "dropped tongue" or 
 " fallen tongue." We take the description of it 
 from a note by Mr. D. Bragg, in an article con- 
 tributed by Mr. Edward Brown to the Journal 
 of the Royal Agricultural Society, 1 899. The 
 skin is or becomes, so lax under the lower 
 mandible, that the tongue sinks down into the 
 hollow, and the bird is, consequently, unable 
 to swallow. The remedy is simple, resembling 
 that for enlarged crop described in the next 
 chapter. The outer skin below the mandible is 
 pinched up and pulled down, separately from 
 the floor of the mouth, and a strip about an inch 
 wide entirely cut out. The edges are then sewn 
 together, taking up the slack, and the difficulty 
 is at an end. While this deformity is less pre- 
 valent in Embden geese, the Toulouse, which 
 have heaviest dewlaps, are also said to be less 
 subject to it than smaller gulleted birds. We 
 believe that the real origin of the malformation 
 lies in the mixture of blood already referred 
 to, and to a sort of consequent struggle for 
 mastery between the two types of throat ; but 
 as it is practically confined to exhibition 
 specimens, it is no doubt stimulated by forcing 
 diet, or any other cause leading to a relaxed 
 state of the tissues. 
 
 SWANS. 
 
 The true swans are the largest of v/ater-fowl, 
 though the family, which comprises seven or 
 eigh": known varieties, has one or two members 
 smaller than an ordinary goose, and possessing 
 
 characters apparently midway between tht 
 geese and the ducks. Their general obvious 
 characteristics are a rather long body carried 
 horizontally, short legs, and very long, slender 
 necks, with long, snake-like heads. The wild 
 birds fly in flocks, in the V-shaped phalanx 
 common to all the larger waterfowl, and when 
 fairly on the wing fly strongly, and sometimes 
 at a height of several thousand feet ; but they 
 seem to rise with some difficulty. They usually 
 take flight from the water, and splash along for 
 twenty or thirty yards till they have gathered 
 " way " enough ; and they descend in the same 
 way. They are more or less migratory, like the 
 ducks and geese; though often remaining in 
 one locality that suits them. They are strictly 
 monogamous as a rule, though one or two rare 
 cases of two females mating with one male are 
 reported on credible authority; and usually pair 
 for life, which may amount to as much as a hun- 
 dred years if no accident happens. As usual when 
 such is the case, the two birds cherish the deepest 
 affection for each other, always swimming close 
 together, frequently caressing their mates about 
 the head and neck, affd, if necessary, fighting for 
 one another with the greatest courage. They 
 fight with their wings like geese, and strike with 
 fearful force. They feed chiefly on vegetables, 
 including the roots and stems of grasses and 
 plants which they pull up from the mud, stretch- 
 ing deep down with their long necks, but never 
 diving. They will, however, also graze to some 
 extent on land, and it is believed eat also fish- 
 spawn and animalculse ; probably they also eat 
 very small or young fish occasionally. 
 
 The male swan is called a " cob," the female 
 a " pen," and the young ones " cygnets." Both 
 parents help to make the nest, which when at 
 large is a very big affair, built up with sticks and 
 rushes and coarse grass outside, and lined with 
 fine grass and down. In this six to nine eggs 
 are laid, which are of course large, and ^ very 
 thick in the shell, of a dirty white or pale 
 green colour. The time of incubation varies 
 somewhat, from 35 to 40 days. The young are 
 densely covered with down, taken to the water 
 by the parents almost immediately, and watched 
 over with the greatest solicitude, more' than four 
 or five being rarely hatched out of one nest. 
 The first year the plumage of the ordinary or 
 mule swan is grey, and the bills blackish-grey 
 instead of orange. The flesh of j-oung bi-ds is 
 very tender, and resembling that of the goose, 
 but not quite so rich; and as swans hatched and 
 brought up under geese are much more dpmestic 
 in their habits, it was at one time thought pos- 
 sible that cygnet-rearing for market might prove 
 remunerative; but the decrease in the demand for 
 
MANAGEMENT OF SWANS. 
 
 571 
 
 very heavy geese has deprived any such attempt 
 of practical interest. 
 
 Owing to their slow development, the sex of 
 young birds is not easy to distinguish. When 
 approaching maturity the male of the Common 
 swan is larger and more bold-looking, with a 
 thicker neck, larger knob, and brighter bill. But 
 the first distinction which can generally be 
 observed is that the male swims or floats con- 
 siderably higher, or more on the surface of the 
 water, while the female sinks much deeper. 
 
 The Common or Mute swan is the largest 
 and most graceful on the water of all. It has 
 an orange-red bill with a black knob at the base, 
 brown eye, legs and feet blackish-grey, plumage 
 all over a pure white. Its note is soft and low, 
 but it is not mute, as the name would imply. It 
 is common to Europe and America. A sub- 
 variety called the Polish swan comes from the 
 Baltic region, and is characterised by paler legs 
 and knob, and the fact that the cygnets are never 
 grey, but white from the very first — a singular 
 parallel to the Embden goose. The Whistling, 
 Singing, or Whooper swan {Cygnus musicus) 
 really has a most beautiful note, especially when 
 flying in company overhead. It is also white 
 in plumage, but is smaller than the Common 
 swan, has no knob on the bill, and is shorter 
 and thicker in the neck, which is carried more 
 straight and upright. This swan is sometimes 
 found wild in England, and no doubt would 
 be seen oftener but for " sportsmen " ; a fine 
 specimen was shot at Avonmouth, near Bristol, 
 in 1901. Bewick's swan is still smaller, and 
 has a similar carriage of the neck. Both 
 these are very difficult to obtain in pairs. 
 The Black swan of Australia was imported 
 many years ago. It is not so large as the 
 Common swan, but the neck has a similar 
 graceful carriage, and the general shape of body 
 is the same. This swan breeds well in confine- 
 ment, sometimes two broods in a year, and the 
 young are hardy. It has no knob on the bill, 
 which is red, the legs are black, and the plumage 
 black except while in flights. The Chilian or Black- 
 necked swan is about the same size as the last, 
 with a leaden or grey bill, and the large knob 
 on it rich red, the legs orange-red. The body is 
 pure white, the neck and head jet black, all but- 
 a streak or patch across the eye. It carries the 
 neck upright and straight. This beautiful bird 
 is not a very ready breeder, but has been reared 
 successfully for many years in the gardens at 
 Regent's Park. Another so-called swan from 
 South America {Coscorobd) is smaller than many 
 geese, and has such long legs and short neck that 
 its place in the family is perhaps doubtful. It 
 has red bill and legs, and the body is white 
 
 except the wing-quills, which are tipped with 
 black. 
 
 Swans retain so much of their wild instincts, 
 and are such powerful birds and so jealous of 
 interference, that it is useless to attempt to 
 " manage " them at all like domestic waterfowl. 
 They resent the presence of anyone- very near 
 the nest. Where there is ample range of grass 
 and water, they are best left entirely to them- 
 selves, like the swans of the River Thames, or as 
 on many meres and lakes in England. On the 
 smaller ornamental lakes of parks and country- 
 seats they must be treated rather diiferently. 
 Here an enclosed shed should be built at the 
 edge of the water as a swan-house, with one 
 entrance from the water, though there may as 
 well be another from the land. Inside on, the 
 bank facility may be provided for a large nest 
 or two, so as to give a little choice of locality, 
 and a supply of sticks and rushes and sweet hay 
 may be placed at hand. Often a nest already 
 half made will be taken advantage of But for the 
 rest the birds must be left to themselves, beyond 
 throwing them some grain or broken biscuit upon 
 the water. The cygnets may be fed, if wild, in the 
 same way, by throwing Spratt's meal or grits 
 upon the water ; but when the old birds have 
 become familiar they will generally bring their 
 young, when once hatched, up to the bank, 
 where first poultry meal, and later on grain, can 
 be given in a trough of water, not forgetting 
 some clean gravel. It seems a rule rarely 
 broken for four cygnets of the Common swan 
 to be reared. 
 
 The judging of gee.se has seen many changes 
 during the last thirty years. At one time, as 
 already indicated, size and weight were almost 
 
 everything, especially at Birming- 
 Judging ham, and there is not the slightest 
 
 Geese. doubt that the heaviest winners were 
 
 in some cases directly cross-bred ; 
 the fact has been admitted to us, and where 
 classes are simply described as for " white," or 
 " grey," no one has any right to object, the 
 more so as at that time very large geese were 
 worth more per pound in the market. The 
 change in the market has brought other con- 
 siderations more to the front ; and the most 
 pressing need at present is to preserve purity 
 of race, especially in regard to the Embden. It 
 should be seen that Toulouse entrants have the 
 well-developed dewlap, the massive-looking, low- 
 carried body, an'd ample keel of that breed ; 
 while the Embden presents the clean throat, 
 longer neck, higher carriage, finely shaped breast 
 free from keel, and clean-cut hardness of feather 
 proper to it. In either breed, points of the other 
 
572 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 should be heavily penalised, and it is rather 
 regrettable that this is not made more clear in 
 th6 standard of the Waterfowl Club and Poultry 
 Club, which is as follows : — 
 
 EMBDEN GEESE. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS IN EITHER SEX. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Heflrf .■ Long and strfiight. Eye. : 
 Full. Bill : Fairly short, stout at the base. Neck : 
 Long and swan-like. Throat : Uniform with under 
 mandible and neck, without gullet. 
 
 Body. — Body ; Broad and thick. Breast : Broad and 
 solid, with as little indication of keel as possible. Back : 
 Long and straight. Wings : Large and strong. Paunch 
 and Stern : Very wide and deep. 
 
 Tail.— Carried close and straight out. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs : Strong and large. Shanks : 
 Short and very strong in bone. Toes : Straight, con- 
 nected by the web. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Sprightly, upright, and 
 defiant. 
 
 Size and Weight. — As large as possible. Gander, 
 30 lbs. ; goose, za lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Hard, tight, bright, and glossy. 
 
 COLOUR IN EMEDEN GEESE. 
 
 In Both Sexes. — Bill : Orange. Eye : Light blue. 
 Plumage : Pure white throughout. Legs and Feet : 
 bright orange. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN 
 Defects. 
 
 Defects in head and eyes 
 
 ., neck 
 
 „ breast 
 
 „ legs and feet 
 
 „ colour 
 
 Want of size 
 
 „ style apd symmetry 
 „ condition 
 
 EMBDEN GEESE. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 12 
 10 
 20 
 6 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 10 
 
 A perfect bird to count 100 
 
 Seriotis defects, for which birds should be passed : 
 Wry tail, crooked backs, or any other deformity. 
 Plumage other than white. 
 
 TOULOUSE GEESE, 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS IN EITHER SEX. 
 
 Head and Neck. — Head: Strong and massive. Eye: 
 Large and full. Bill : Strong and well set, in a uniform 
 sweep from point of bill to back of skull. Neck : Good 
 length and thickness. Throat : Well guUeted. 
 
 Body. — Back : Broad, slightly curved from the neck 
 to the tail. Breast : Very prominent, and to continue a 
 uniform and circular sweep with keel to paunch. 
 Shoulders : Broad. Paunch : Heavy. Stern : Almost 
 square. 
 
 Tail. — Well spread and carried high. 
 
 Legs and Feet. — Thighs: Short and stout. Shanks: 
 Short and very strong in bone. Toes : Straight, con- 
 nected by the web. 
 
 General Shape and Carriage. — Massive, broad, and 
 deep, with uniform length. 
 
 Size and Weight.— As large as possible. Gander 
 28 lbs. ; goose, 20 lbs. 
 
 Plumage. — Full, bright, and glossy. 
 
 COLOUR IN TOULOUSE GEESE. 
 
 In Both Sexes.— ,BiZ; ; Orange. Eye: Dark. Neck: 
 Dark grey. Back : Dark steel grey, each feather laced 
 with an almost white edging. Wings : Dark steel grey, 
 each feather laced with an almost white edging. Flights : 
 A sound dark grey without white. Breast : Sound grey 
 colour, shading a trifle lighter to thighs. Thighs : Same 
 as back. Keel : To match breast. Stern and Paunch : 
 White. Tail : White, with a broad band of grey across 
 the centre. Legs and Feet : Orange. 
 
 VALUE OF POINTS IN TOULOUSE 
 
 Defects, 
 
 Defects in head and throat 
 
 „ neck ... ." 
 
 „ breast and keel ... 
 
 ,, tail, stern, and paunch 
 
 ,, legs and feet ]" 
 
 „ colour and markings ... !!! 
 
 Want of size _" 
 
 „ style and symmetry 
 
 „ condition 
 
 GEESE. 
 
 Deduct 
 up to 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 10 
 10 
 
 5 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 10 
 
 \ perfect bird to count 
 
 100 
 
 Serious defects, for which birds should be passed • 
 Crooked back, wry tail, slipped wings, or any other 
 deformity. Patches of black or white amongst the grey 
 
573 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 POULTRY DISEASES AND VICES. VERMIN. 
 
 FOR several reasons, to treat minutely of every 
 disease known to occur in poultry would be 
 of little use to the practical poultry keeper, 
 especially as most competent veterinary practi- 
 tioners now devote real study to this branch of their 
 profession, and are able to render aid in serious 
 cases. There are several useful special treatises 
 accessible to the few who are really competent to 
 make use of them* ; but many causes of death 
 which can be easily determined by & post-mortem 
 examination present no symptoms during life to 
 mark them off from others, especially to the 
 ordinary observer, even though familiar with his 
 birds. The skin of a fowl does not perspire 
 (practically, at least, as there are no sweat- 
 glands), and very little liquid is excreted by the 
 kidneys ; and the skin being covered over with 
 feathers also, it will be seen how whole classes of 
 symptoms must be wanting, which in other 
 animals we can examine and form our opinion 
 upon. Many ailments from which fowls have 
 died, are also very rare ; and upon the whole little 
 can be done to assist the majority, except in 
 regard to complaints ordinarily met with, and 
 whose symptoms are fairly constant and defined. 
 That so large a proportion of these relate to 
 the respiratory system., arises from the peculiar 
 anatomy of birds. The moisture other animals 
 excrete through the skin and kidneys, is in them 
 almost entirely given off in breathing. In birds, 
 also, the ordinary lungs and air-passages are 
 supplemented by nine air-sacs, communicating 
 with those organs, and supplying them with a 
 certain quantity of air in the intervals of breathing. 
 This extra oxygenation is connected with the 
 higher temperature of the body, which exceeds 
 fever-heat in other animals. At all events, these 
 air-sacs expose larger surfaces to possible dis- 
 turbances, including certain microscopical para- 
 sites, and the wider functions of the whole 
 apparatus give more prominence to its work in 
 the system, and increase its liability to disease. 
 
 * For such British readers, The Diseases of Poultry, by J. 
 Woodroflfe Hill, F.R.C.V.S., "Feathered World" Office, 
 London, may be useful. The best American work is The 
 Diseases of Poultry, by D. E. Salmon, D.V.M., George 
 Howard and Co. , Washington, D. C. French readers possess 
 Medecine des Oiseaux, by Pierre M^gnin ; German poultry- 
 keepers have at command Die Krankheiten des Hausgeflugels, 
 by Friedrich A. Zuern. 
 
 There is another point of view, of great im- 
 portance. In a large proportion of cases of 
 disease, the birds ought to die or be killed. Even 
 where there is no constitutional taint, the fact 
 that they have succumbed to circumstances which 
 have not affected" others, marks them out as the 
 weakest, which unaided Nature would assuredly 
 weed out, and which if we preserve and breed 
 from, perpetuate some amount of that weakness 
 in the progeny. Rheumatism, for instance, can 
 be cured ; of that there is no doubt. But the 
 vast majority who have had such success, agree 
 that the effects are either never recovered from 
 as regards strength and vigour, or else that the 
 original weakness continues ; and the same may 
 be said of some severe contagious diseases, 
 such as diphtheritic roup, which may affect the 
 strongest. On the other hand, many diseases also 
 apparently contagious, and so attacking healthy 
 birds under certain predisposing conditions of 
 exposure or other coincident strain upon the 
 system, do not appear to leave serious results. 
 behind them, and are tolerably definite in 
 symptoms and character. It is these which majr 
 be most successfully treated, and in which treat- 
 ment is most worth while where fowls of value are 
 concerned. But it is significant that nearly all 
 breeders who rear really large numbers of poultry, 
 gradually come to the conclusion that, except in 
 special cases, with valuable birds, the most 
 economical treatment of serious disease occur- 
 ring in a yard is — execution. Concerning this 
 matter each must judge for himself. 
 
 Before proceeding with details, three other 
 general points require mention, (i) The first is 
 the absolute necessity for a hospital, adequate to 
 the establishment, where sick birds can be both 
 placed in comfort and under observation, and 
 kept from infecting others, at all events after dis- 
 covery. (2) The second is a question of dosage. 
 Fowls are not homoeopaths, and take relatively 
 large doses, so that if any reader wants to try 
 any new remedy, suggested perhaps by his own 
 doctor, a large fowl may have about one-third of 
 the dose for a human adult. Further, however, 
 where the doses are given as two for the day, it 
 would often be far better if the same quantity 
 could be subdivided and given in three or four 
 portions instead. For colds in particular, we 
 
574 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 always dose our own selves at short intervals ; and 
 between morning and night the effect of a drug 
 has often quite ceased. There would often be 
 more success in treating disease, with more 
 frequent and proportionately smaller doses. (3) 
 Never give castor-oil. This drug is almost 
 poison to fowls, making them always wretchedly 
 ill ; and whenever a purge is needed, salts or 
 ■jalap or calomel should be preferred. 
 
 Yet a few further remarks about symptoms. 
 To give medicine for one or two symptoms 
 only, is the mistake of quack-medicine vendors 
 and of some homoeogathists (not all). The same 
 symptom may denote very different diseases, of 
 which we will give two examples which cover, 
 perhaps, the widest ground. Take first lame- 
 ness. In a very young bird this denotes probably 
 £ramp, gouty or rheumatic. (See p. 85.) In 
 older chickens and adults, after bad weather, and 
 with evident pain, it probably means rheumatism. 
 In cockerels almost grown, and apparently 
 healthy in all else, it is most likely leg-zveakness. 
 With heat, and swollen joints, and after high 
 feeding, it will indicate ^^«A If an open wound 
 appear, it is joint disease (q.v.). And if more of 
 a dragging lameness, especially in right leg, with 
 evident ill-health, yellowish face, anxious eye, 
 and evident pain in .body, it probably means con- 
 gestion or inflammation of the liver. This will 
 explain what we mean ; but we give one more 
 instance in cough. Coming on gradually, of a 
 chronic kind, with little discharge or none, poor 
 appetite, and perhaps emaciation, it stands for 
 consumption. With rather hurried breathing 
 and a little discharge from nostrils, and some 
 expectoration, it is probably bronchitis, especially 
 if there be rattling in the throat. With still 
 more short and evidently distressed breathing, 
 slimy matter in the mouth, obvious pain and 
 fever, and disposition to lie down, the case is 
 probably pneumonia. Finally, some cough is 
 often associated with gapes. It is in this kind of 
 comparative study, from the descriptions follow- 
 ing, that indications for treatment are to be 
 found. 
 
 We have only further to add, before proceeding 
 to details, that any really serious case for ■&. post- 
 mortem should be sent to a qualified veterinary 
 surgeon. Reports rendered for a shilling or two, 
 vs^hich speak glibly of " germs " that can only be 
 made visible under first-class microscopes by 
 complicated staining processes, do not inspire 
 respect in those who know what a bacteriological 
 examination really means. The veterinarian, if 
 he deems such an examination desirable, will 
 say so and get it made, for an adequate fee, at 
 one of the establishments which do this kind of 
 work. It will not cost a great deal, and will be 
 
 reliable, and where serious interests are at stake 
 is worth the money. 
 
 Abortion of Eggs. — This is not to be con- 
 founded with the laying of soft eggs. These 
 last are laid when mature, and usually by fat 
 birds : but when violently driven or startled, or 
 subject to violence of any kind, or even if sud- 
 denly and greatly terrified, immature yolks are 
 sometimes detached from the ovary and ex- 
 pelled. This is most likely to happen with 
 - pullets not yet laying but about to lay, and 
 being a real miscarriage or abortion, may wreck 
 the constitution of a valuable bird unless 
 attended to. It is distinguished from the other 
 by not occurring as a rule in fat birds ; by the 
 immaturity and small size of the yolk or yolks ; 
 generally also by haemorrhage ; and always by 
 signs of illness and shock afterwards. Any such 
 bird should be placed for a few days in a quiet 
 and comfortable but rather dark pen, with a 
 nest in case of need, and fed on a little bread 
 and milk. Quiet rest is the main thing, but 
 20 grains bromide of potassium may be dis- 
 solved in half a pint of drinking water. With 
 such care the event may be entirely recovered 
 from. 
 
 Apoplexy. — The bird suddenly falls down, 
 apparently dead or nearly so, sometimes quite 
 so. The usual cause is too high feeding of the 
 bird itself, but it may also occur upon some 
 accidental provocation, from past generations of 
 very high feeding predisposing to it. A cock 
 may thus be attacked owing to a sudden 
 quarrel, or a hen from the strain of laying. ■ 
 Sometimes threatening symptoms of an attack 
 may be seen in unsteady and bewildered gait : 
 any such bird, obviously in high condition, 
 should be at once placed in a dark pen, fasted 
 for some hours, and then fed several days on 
 low diet, and given 30 grains of Epsom salts 
 next day, and for a few days after 10 grains of 
 bromide of potassium morning and evening. 
 After actual attack, if not dead, lift the wing, 
 and plunge the point of a penknife or lancet 
 lengthwise into the large vein there seen, letting 
 it bleed freely. When consciousness returns, 
 which may perhaps be hastened if smelling salts 
 or ammonia be at hand, apply some styptic to 
 the wound, such as hazeline lotion, alum, carbolic 
 acid, or cold water. Then place the bird in a 
 pen, and treat as above ; and afterwards take 
 care to-keep it in rather spare condition, and the 
 blood cool by occasionally putting a few grains 
 of Epsom salts or bicarbonate of potass in the 
 drinking water. 
 
 Bronchitis. — The leading symptom of this is 
 cough and quickened breathing, with perhaps a 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
 
 575 
 
 little discharge from the nostrils, but there is 
 more expectoration from the mouth if the case 
 is severe. The usual cause of this is a sharp 
 change of weather or a draught. If the 
 symptoms are sudden and serious, give fresh 
 ipecacuanha wine, 3 to 5 drops every three 
 hours, and, if possible, occasional inhalation of 
 steam from boiling water, on which has been 
 poured a few drops of pure terebene and pinol. 
 Less severe cases may be treated by 20 grains 
 liquorice and 10 grains ammonium chloride in a 
 quarter-pint of water. " Of course the bird will 
 be taken care of in hospital ; it is no use treat- 
 ing fowls with medicine, while left exposed to 
 the conditions which made them ill. Often 
 bronchitis finally assumes a mild chronic form, 
 but obstinate. Such are usually cured by adding 
 to the fountain enough of the B. P. dilute nitric 
 acid to make the water slightly sour, with two 
 teaspoonfuls of gum arable and two of glycerine 
 to a pint. Or two or three Keating's cough 
 lozenges may be dissolved in a quarter of a 
 pint, and given as drink for a few days. 
 
 Bumble-foot. — ^A corn, which may cause in 
 bad cases an abscess, under the foot. It may 
 be rarely caused in any heavy breed by bad 
 perches, or daily having to jump down from too 
 great a height on hard ground, or confinement 
 to a stony run. But it is chiefly confined to 
 five-toed breeds such as Dorkings and Houdans, 
 being thus evidently a functional weakness con- 
 nected with the fifth toe. It was once exceed- 
 ingly common in Dorkings, in conjunction with 
 greatly swelled (or apparently gouty) fifth toe. 
 But care in breeding, discarding such birds as 
 parents, has now nearly banished the trouble 
 from many yards ; and such a course should 
 always be pursued. When the ailment occurs, 
 while it is confined to a corn, this may be partly 
 pared away as on the human foot, and sahcylic 
 acid ointment (10 per cent strength) applied 
 every night, which will gradually soften the 
 rest, if the exciting causes be removed. 
 Should an actual abscess have formed, the bird 
 must be kept upon straw in a pen, and the place 
 may probably need poulticing. Whether poul- 
 ticed or not, when ready an incision is made and 
 the matter squeezed out, the wound cleansed with 
 Wright's Liquor Carbonis Detergens and half- 
 and-half water, and then dressed with carbolised 
 vaseline, or aristol, and tied up with rag. Some- 
 times the tumour appears hard and fibrous : in 
 that case if the incision be made in form of a 
 cross, it can be squeezed out whole in most 
 cases ; but here the wound is better dressed with 
 boric acid ointment. Abscesses may also form 
 occasionally in the feet from thorns, or cuts 
 from glass, etc. Such often appear more on the 
 
 top of the foot, and are easily opened, but taking 
 care to remove the cause of irritation if still 
 present. These can be treated with the Liquor 
 Carbonis and carbolised vaseline, ar.d generally 
 heal up quickly and well. 
 
 Chicken Pox. — This disease is rare in Eng- 
 land, but frequent in hot climates, such as the 
 Cape and Australia, and in America. It begins 
 as a whitey-brown excrescence something like a 
 carrier-pigeon's wattle, generally near the base 
 of the beak, and extends rapidly, becoming more 
 yellowish as it does so : sometimes it will invade 
 the feathered parts of the head and neck. If 
 the nodules are broken, they exude matter. It 
 is manifestly contagious, and isolation and dis- 
 infection are the first measures. Small doses of 
 sulphur should be given internally, with tonics 
 and green food; the diseased spots should be 
 washed daily with oxygen peroxide (burning 
 the bits of sponge after), and when dried painted 
 sparingly with a 2 per cent solution of formalin 
 or 5 per cent of resorcin in glycerine. 
 
 Cholera. — It is not known whether this dis- 
 ease is really the same as Asiatic cholera in the 
 human race, but that it is of the same type 
 is undoubted ; that is, it is a highly contagious 
 disease, conveyed by bacilli, which are found in 
 discharges of the rice-water type and in the 
 blood. There are first great thirst and diarrhoea, 
 the discharges at first generally greenish ; but they 
 soon become thin and white, often frothy. The 
 intestines are inflamed. The bird becomes 
 huddled and drowsy. The comb may be either 
 pale or very dark, and death may take place 
 either in .stupor or convulsions. The disease is 
 distinguished from mere severe diarrhoea by its 
 rapid course and evidently epidemic character, 
 and from contagious enteritis by the green or 
 white instead of yellow colour of the evacua- 
 tions. Death usually occurs within 36 hours. 
 The disease has caused immense losses on the 
 Continent and in America, Africa and Australia, 
 but some have said it is unknown in England. 
 We have known two or three outbreaks, and the 
 disease has also been reported on by Prof. 
 MacFadyean. Treatment of birds attacked is 
 practically hopeless ; but in the British climate 
 at least, an outbreak may be stayed by instant 
 isolation, careful collection and disinfection of all 
 infected evacuations by strong carbolic acid, and 
 the addition of 20 grains salicylic acid to every 
 pint of water. Every dead bird should be burnt. 
 Where the disease is most prevalent, recourse 
 must be had to Pasteur's vaccine ; this being, 
 in fact, the very first disease from which that 
 eminent man prepared any preventive anti-toxin. 
 The bacteria were by him cultivated in chicken- 
 broth exposed to the action of oxygen ; and by 
 
576 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 inoculating healthy chickens with this attenuated 
 virus a mild disease is produced which makes 
 them immune, as vaccination does to small-pox. 
 The vaccine can be obtained, in case of need, 
 from th(; Pasteur Institute in Paris, and out of 
 thousands of inoculations; scarcely any have 
 failed to produce immunity. For practical 
 purposes, no other treatment is of any avail 
 in a real epidemic of this disease, which so far 
 has been happily rare in England. 
 
 Cold or Catarrh. — This is ^common enough 
 in winter, from the same causes as amongst 
 ourselves, though there is little doubt that even 
 these mild diseases are contagious, so that a 
 cold will "go through the house." The main 
 symptom is watery discharge from the nostrils, 
 and, perhaps, a little frothiness at the eyes. 
 There may be a little sneezing and feverishness, 
 but it will be sneezing and not coughing, and 
 there may be a little diarrhoea. It often gets 
 well of itself if the weather improves and the 
 birds are taken care of and well fed, being kept 
 out of draught and wet. If seen very early, the 
 best treatment is about five drops essence of 
 camphor on a bolus of meal, followed- by a i m. 
 tabloid of aconite every four hours for a day, 
 and one morning and evening next day. Mean- 
 while the nostrils should be squeezed out and 
 syringed gently with hazeline tincture in equal 
 parts of water. Another good early treatment 
 is a 2 grain tabloid of quinine at once, and 
 then night and morning. This treatment is 
 only of use early, however; if the catarrh has 
 become confirmed, the nostrils and throat 
 should be cleansed with peroxide of hydrogen 
 and equal, parts water several times daily, 
 and the nostrils greased with vaseline which 
 has been melted and mixed with 5 per cent 
 eucalyptus oil. Internally, 20 grains Epsom 
 salts may be given, followed up by two or three 
 drops each of eucalyptus and pure terebene on 
 a meal pill every three or four hours, or half 
 a teaspoonful of each may be poured on the 
 bird's fountain. It is also of much benefit to 
 give them a thorough fumigation at night with 
 some sulphur on a red-hot shovel, or a teaspoon- 
 ful of eucalyptus on a shovel not so hot ; it will 
 make them sneeze, but do them good. If the 
 catarrh does not yield to this treatment, that for 
 catarrhal roup should be adopted. 
 
 Consumption. — See " Tuberculosis." 
 
 Cramp. — This complaint in young chickens 
 has been sufficiently treated of at page 85. 
 
 Crop-bound. — This terms denotes a crop so 
 gorged as to be hard and tense, in which con- 
 dition food may be unable to pass out, and the 
 bird may die if not attended 'to. No fowl 
 gorges itself in this way at the time, but if fed 
 
 irregularly and carelessly, so that it eats freely 
 of grain when very hungry, the dry grain swells 
 with the moisture, and so causes the mischief 
 The first measure is to dissolve a little Epsom 
 salts (not much) in warm water, and giving the 
 bird a spoonful at intervals, very gently to 
 knead the distended crop with the fingers. It 
 may take one or two hours, but generally the 
 contents can be' moved and made softer with 
 patience. If this can be effected, give then 30 
 grains of salts -in water, and leave the bird in a 
 pen. No further food should be given till the 
 organ is nearly empty, and then for several 
 days only a very little biscuit-meal, with a 
 little perchloride of iron in the water, in order 
 that the crop may contract ; else the case is likely 
 to be followed by the ailment described in the 
 next paragraph. If these measures fail, however, 
 an incision must be made, choosing a place near 
 the top free from any large blood vessels, and, 
 after plucking a few feathers, making a cut 
 about i^ inches long. Through this the con- 
 tents must be all removed with a small teaspoon, 
 and when empty it is safest to pare the nail of 
 one finger very short, oil it, and feel that the 
 outlet is open andTree, as in some cases a piece 
 of bone or other hard object may be found im- 
 pacted and so have caused obstruction. The 
 edges of the wound should then be washed with 
 dilute carbolic acid, and the edges sewn to- 
 gether. This is as well done by a white silk 
 thread which has been kept in the carbolic till 
 the time has come to use it, and continuously, 
 like one seam, taking inner and outer skin 
 together ; but most professional doctors would 
 make several separate stitches through the inner 
 skin first, and then through the outer skin in the 
 spaces between the others. The wound will 
 heal up either way. The bird should have no 
 water for 24 hours, and be fed sparingly for a 
 few days on biscuit meal or bread and milk, 
 not too moist. There is very seldom any 
 trouble if the operation is done in good time, 
 and it should never be delayed after it is once 
 clear that the crop cannot be evacuated by the 
 first milder measures; as the contents gradually 
 begin to putrefy, and the tissues lose their 
 healthy condition, after which healing may not 
 take place. In some cases, where a contributing 
 cause of the attack has been a crop already 
 over-distended from some previous occurrence, 
 the bottom of which hangs loose and pendulous, 
 so that this portion of the food cannot pass out- 
 wards, but lies there decomposing, a modification 
 of the operation is advisable. In this case a 
 longer incision should be made, transversely 
 across the front of the crop, and lower down, 
 about at the centre ; and a considerable oiece of 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
 
 577 
 
 bay-leaf shape should be cut out entirely. When 
 this is stitched up properly, the slack is taken 
 out, and a great deformity and source of danger 
 removed. This operation is as easy as the 
 other ; but owing to the lower position of the 
 wound, and its transverse character, the bird 
 must be very carefully fed for a longer period 
 before being left to itself 
 
 Crop, Soft or Swelled. — In this complaint the 
 crop is also large and full, but the contents are 
 fluid, generally very much like foul or dirty water, 
 which is easily expelled if the fowl be held with 
 the head downward, and the crop squeezed a 
 little. From many cases we have investigated, 
 the causes appear to be two. One is a continu- 
 ance of the relaxed pendulous condition referred 
 to above, the sour and foul food left in the bottom 
 of the bag gradually bringing the lining mem- 
 brane into an unhealthy catarrhal condition. 
 This admits of remedy by emptying the foul 
 contents thrice a day, and only feeding sparingly 
 two hours after with a little scalded Spratt, in 
 which some wheat grains are interspersed, with 
 a little grit ; after each feed let the bird have 
 a little chopped onion, and drink a little only of 
 rather strong brandy and water, in which i grain 
 of perchloride of iron is dissolved. The food 
 itself may be also seasoned a little with the No. i 
 mixture on page 203. If with this treatment 
 and care the foul secretion ceases, the operation 
 described above should be carried out ; but it is 
 useless otherwise, as the wound would probably 
 not heal while the organ was in an unhealthy 
 state. Other cases, apparently very similar, 
 appear to be a sort of dropsy, caused by defective 
 nutrition or circulation in the system at large. 
 Even such cases may often be alleviated by 
 occasional doses of jalap or salts, with iron in 
 the water and 2 grains iodide of potassium 
 twice a day ; but such a state denotes wreck of 
 the entire system, and the bird is totally unfit 
 for any real purpose, and should be killed. 
 These latter cases sometimes follow excessive 
 over-showing. 
 
 Debility. — Fowls, when first kept by inex- 
 perienced persons, in small runs, often appear 
 weak and anaemic generally, without any very 
 definite symptoms. Usually the great want is 
 light and air, which above all must be supplied, 
 and all birds which are too many for the space 
 cleared out. The necessities of green food and 
 cleanliness should next receive attention, and 
 possibly animal food also may be needed, which 
 can be judged from what has been said in our 
 early chapters. These matters being put right, 
 and exercise in various ways encouraged, some 
 cod-liver oil should be given if the birds are 
 thin, and in any case iron tonic or Parrish's 
 
 Chemical Food in the drinking water, or 2 grains 
 carbonate of iron may be given to each daily 
 in a pill for a time. This simple treatment 
 usually causes rapid improvement. Condiments 
 should be carefully avoided in such circum- 
 stances, doing more harm than good. 
 
 Diarrhoea and Dysentery. — Diarrhoea may 
 occur at any time without anything very serious 
 being the matter, from change in food, or even 
 sudden cold or wet, which often causes a sort of 
 catarrh of the bowels. Slight cases may often be 
 met by giving first of all 20 grains of Epsom 
 salts, afterwards mixing the food rather dry, with 
 a portion of rice in it boiled firm in whole grains, 
 sprinkling the whole with chalk; or, if apparently 
 the weather has been the cause, season the mash 
 (still mixed rather dry) with No. i mixture on 
 page 203, and on a small bolus of food give about 
 six drops essence of camphor. If more than this 
 seems needed, an excellent prescription is that 
 given by Mr. Tegetmeier, many years ago, of: — 
 
 Rhubarb 5 grains 
 
 Chalk 5 
 
 Cayenne ... ..-. ... 3 „ 
 
 To be given as a pill morning and night. 
 
 If still obstinate, or very severe, add \ grain of ■ 
 opium to three or four doses of above, or try 
 instead (not in addition) 3 to 10 drops of chloro- 
 dyne every three hours. Very severe cases, in 
 which the evacuations are tinged or mixed with 
 blood, have really become dysentery, and are 
 often fatal; but are sometimes saved by 5 to 10 
 drops of chlorodyne given as described. The 
 best treatment, however, which has been suc- 
 cessful in some instances that looked almost 
 desperate, has been the administration of 
 5 grains sulphur and i grain Dover's powder 
 every four hours for a day or two. A very 
 favourite remedy for, and preventive of simple 
 diarrhoea, in America, is - Venetian Red (red 
 oxide of iron) in the water. 
 
 Diphtheria. — This dreaded contagious malady 
 was unknown in England till about 1876, when 
 it suddenly broke out and spread to such an 
 extent as to be written about for months under 
 the name of "the new disease," being chiefly 
 spread by birds which were purchased, or had 
 returned from shows. The marked symptom is 
 the appearance of diseased growth in the throat 
 and inside of the mouth, resembling raised 
 patches of whitish or pale yellowish skin, which 
 may invade the entire throat and mouth, often 
 also appearing like ulcers or sores on the face, 
 comb, and about the eyes. It was first treated 
 by caustics, with practically no success : we were 
 the first to detect the true diphtheritic nature of 
 the malady and to prescribe for it as such, and 
 since then it has been found curable to a consider- 
 
578 
 
 THE BOOK QF POULTRY. 
 
 able extent. It very often commences as roup, 
 and has been confounded with that disease ; but 
 it is a true diphtheria, propagated by a bacillus 
 which has been isolated by Loffler and others, 
 and the truth seems to be that the mucous 
 surfaces already inflamed, and the system 
 already weakened by the roup, are peculiarly 
 unable to withstand infection from the diph- 
 theritic bacillus. Even in a recovered case, the 
 disease so greatly affects the strength and 
 constitution that such a bird should never, 
 if possible, be used for breeding ; and it is, 
 moreover, by no means certain that the disease 
 is not communicable to man. About 1895 that 
 question was believed to be settled in the 
 negative; but further investigations since have 
 revived the doubt, though the general opinion 
 of bacteriologists in America still is, that cases 
 which have been observed there of a sort of 
 diphtheritic sore throat rather common among 
 poultrymen working amidst an outbreak, is of a 
 much milder type and distinct from diphtheria 
 in man. Of course cases which have begun as 
 roup will have been treated as such, and the 
 treatment will so far have been good ; some 
 .have thought, in fact, that hydrogen peroxide 
 freely applied from the first, has often aborted 
 or prevented farther growth of diphtheric mem- 
 brane. As soon as any such growth is found, 
 however, the diseased surfaces should be assidu- 
 ously painted or swabbed several times a day. 
 A thoroughly good lotion is one of the earliest 
 we gave, as follows : — 
 
 Carbolic acid i drachm 
 
 Sulphurous acid solution ... 3 drachms 
 
 Tincture perchloride of iron 4 ,, 
 
 Glycerine ... 4 
 
 With this paint all the sore places, morning and 
 night, also removing any membrane that will 
 come off pretty easily, and burning all such care- 
 fully. Now and then a drop may go the wrong 
 way and choke a bird, but this can be avoided 
 with care, and some such dressing is necessary. 
 Quite as good an application, and often better, 
 is to make a swab of cotton wool tied on the end 
 of a stick, and well swab the mouth all over, 
 especially diseased places, with hydrogen 
 peroxide, full strength : it should not be taken 
 from the bottle, but some poured into a saucer, 
 not to contaminate the bottle, throwing away any 
 not used, and burning every swab after use. 
 Remove, as before, any of the growth that comes 
 readily. Open and squeeze out swellings on the 
 face, and cleanse with the same fluid; but if 
 necessary to cleanse the eyes, use for this a 
 dilution of two parts water, or a solution of boric 
 acid, 1 5 grains to the ounce. After this dressing, 
 touch all parts, except the eyes, with aristol 
 
 powder ; or, still better, apply with a brush a 
 2 per cent, solution of formalin in glycerine, or 
 resorcin in glycerine of the same strength. On 
 the whole these last dressings are the most 
 efficacious of any we know. For the throat 
 tincture of iodine may also be used, if- it 
 happens to be at hand, and other things are not. 
 For internal use, get from any chemist a bottle 
 of his ordinary sore-throat mixture of potass- 
 chlorate and perchloride of iron, and give about 
 a sixth to a third (according to size of the bird) 
 of the ordinary human dose every three hours for 
 two days — all chemists make a mixture of this 
 kind, but rather differing, and each will state his 
 own dose, which will turn out about the same 
 in the end. Some may prefer to try a homely 
 treatment much used in France, and easily 
 carried out. Equal measures of tar and tur- 
 pentine are mixed, and, the house being well 
 closed at night, enough of the mixture is burnt 
 to fill it with thick black smoke, so plentifully 
 as to " blacl: " the birds. They sneeze and 
 cough violently ; and, though this remedy is not 
 equal to the foregoing in advanced cases, it has 
 often proved effective when employed in good 
 time, the false membrane being detached, and 
 the throat returning to a healthy state. It also 
 appears to stop infection of the rest. Whatever 
 form of treatment be adopted, feed on the very 
 best soft food mixed with weak brandy and 
 water, and if the bird seems very ill give a raw 
 egg and brandy once a day. When conva- 
 lescent, nourishing food and tonics will be 
 called for. All dead bodies, as well as foul 
 swabs and rags, should be carefully burnt. 
 
 There are one or two other diseases which 
 rather resemble diphtheria, and no doubt often 
 pass as such. The mouth is sometimes found 
 coated with a sort of white " thrush," and occa- 
 sionally the air passages and the throat are 
 infested by rnicroscopic vegetable moulds of 
 the Aspergillus family, which are found in quite 
 thick growths, an eighth of an inch deep, or 
 even more. These last are generally yellowishj 
 with a pale green cast. As a rule, however, 
 these growths when present are lower than the 
 throat, and not therefore to be observed during 
 life, though readily seen under the microscope 
 whenever found post mortem. Diphtheritic treat- 
 ment would probably be as good as any, but 
 any treatment is rarely successful in such cases, 
 which are, fortunately, not common. It is of 
 chief practical importance to remember that 
 these vegetable microscopical growths are 
 generally introduced through the medium of 
 "musty" grain or straw, on which they may 
 often be found. 
 
 Dropsy. — The abdomen is sometimes found 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
 
 579 
 
 distended with fluid so as almost to touch the 
 ground. The bird may often be apparently 
 relieved by tapping the fluid and giving 5 grains 
 iodide of potassium daily. But it is worthless all 
 the same, and if exhibited and claimed by some- 
 one else, the proceeding can scarcely be -deemed 
 honest. 
 
 Egg-bound. — Inability to pass the matured 
 egg is of frequent occurrence. The bird either 
 goes often to the nest or remains long there, but 
 without laying. Neither of these is any proof; 
 but if such a bird, when off", walks with evident 
 distress, perhaps with wings nearly touching the 
 ground, it is probably a case, and gentle examina- 
 tion with the fingers will make it clear. The 
 cause may be a large, double-yolked egg ; or it 
 is not unusual for a pullet to have trouble with 
 the first egg or two, till the sphincter-muscle is 
 stretched ; or the difficulty may be the result of 
 too much fat, a condition which should be seen 
 to at once if it be found ; or finally the oviduct 
 may be rather inflamed, and form a very rough 
 shell. In most cases it is sufficient to gently 
 inject a tablespoonful of olive oil from a small 
 flexible syringe, or to lubrica:te the vent and 
 cloaca with the finger repeatedly dipped in oil, 
 and then hold the part over a jug of boiling water 
 for a quarter of an hour. If the bird be then 
 placed on the nest she will probably soon lay. 
 The process may be assisted by about five drops 
 of tincture of ergot every four hours, or 30 grains 
 of Epsom salts, or a tablespoonful of hot treacle 
 made into a sort of thin pudding with finely- 
 chopped groundsel. If such measures fail, the 
 egg should, if possible, be gently manipulated 
 from outside towards the vent, till its end can be 
 seen. Then this may be punctured, the egg 
 emptied with a very small spoon, and the shell 
 crushed and removed with tweezers, the oiled 
 finger being passed afterwards to make sure that 
 nothing is left. Should the &g% break of itself, 
 the accident is almost always fatal, leading to 
 peritonitis. A little cooling medicine should 
 always follow cases of egg-bound. 
 
 In the effort to lay, the oviduct is sometimes 
 extruded. This may sometimes be cured by 
 gently anointing with carbolised vaseline and 
 returning, giving 3 drops tincture of ergot. After- 
 wards it may need returning several times, which 
 should be followed by injections of hazeline 
 tincture and water, keeping quiet. Laying 
 should be suspended, however, for which there is 
 nothing better than Mr. Tegetmeier's old pre- 
 scription of I grain calomel and yV grain tartar 
 emetic, followed by low diet, and especially dis- 
 carding meat and condiments for a while, until 
 the bird is got into more spare condition. 
 
 Egg-eating. — This vice has been sufficiently 
 
 dealt with at page 47. Another expedient 
 pretty eff'ectual is to keep the beaks of offenders 
 cut back for a while sufficiently to be tender, 
 feeding on mash meantime. 
 
 Eggs, Soft, and Abnormal. — Soft eggs may 
 be caused by lack of shell-material, which, if 
 discovered, points to the remedy, the most rapid 
 being pounded raw oyster-shell. Or they may 
 be caused by the fowls being driven or frightened, 
 in which case they soon cease, and nothing need 
 be done unless the injury has been so severe as 
 to prematurely detach small and unripe yolks, 
 when the case becomes a real abortion (q.v.), 
 or they may be caused by condiments and too 
 much animal food, spices in particular leading 
 frequently to all sorts of trouble with the egg- 
 organs, particularly in the Mediterranean races 
 of poultry. A few small doses of Epsom salts 
 or jalap, and cessation of the extra stimulus, will 
 remedy this. But far the most usual cause is 
 simple over-feeding. A little careful investiga- 
 tion will find what is in fault, and that will 
 indicate the appropriate remedy. Want of shell 
 material is far less common than it used to be ; 
 over-feedingor over-stimulation probably moreso. 
 
 Of the other kinds of abnormal eggs the very 
 small ones, only containing albumen, need seldom 
 occasion any anxiety. They usually occur at 
 or near the end of a batch of eggs, and merely 
 show that the ovary is exhausting its supply ol 
 ova and yolks a little before the secreting parts 
 of the oviduct are quite ready to suspend business. 
 Neither need an occasional large double-yolked 
 egg cause concern, as it may be due to a hen 
 occasionally "holding up" one ovum till another 
 is also ready. But any frequent occurrence of 
 such eggs is a proof of over-stimulation, and 
 should be met by a little cooling medicine, or less 
 meat, or more green food ; not, however, over- 
 doing any such changes if things on the whole 
 look pretty well. 
 
 Eggs, Spots in. — Small spots of blood are 
 occasionally found in eggs. They may occur 
 in the yolk, which means a slight haemorrhage 
 in the ovary, or in the white, which locates it 
 in the oviduct. An odd instance or two means 
 little, and in fact can seldom be identified ; 
 but a series at the breakfast-table points to a 
 definite inflammatory condition, caused usually 
 by condiments, or too much meat, or consti- 
 pation. The remedy is obvious. Black spots 
 are more rare, and may mean an early stage 
 of gangrenous ovary, which has once or twice 
 occurred in America in epidemic form, and is 
 probably due to bacteria. For this reason, 
 whenever such occurs the bird should if pos- 
 sible be separated, and carefully treated by 
 herself till it is seen whether the spots cease. 
 
S«o 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 Enteritis, Contagious. — Simple enteritis or in- 
 flammation of the bowels is sometimes found in 
 poultry on post-mortem examination, and may, 
 of course, occur in them from irritating food, as 
 in other animals. ; but they can stand more than 
 most creatures in the way of diet, and it is very 
 uncommon, and not very distinct in symptoms 
 from other complaints during life. Most cases 
 found have occurred from coxxos\v& poisons {(\n^, 
 such as arsenic, phosphorus, or unslaked lime. 
 But there is a highly contagious form of enteritis 
 of which destructive outbreaks have occurred on 
 several occasions, and which has been described 
 by Dr. Klein.'*' Being called in, he states, to 
 investigate a contagious malady from which 400. 
 birds had died on a poultry farm at Orpington 
 between March 1888 and March 1889, he found 
 a clearly marked disease entirely distinct from 
 cholera in several obvious respects, though there 
 was some general resemblance in others, so that 
 the complaint appears to have been observed in 
 America and confounded with cholera on several 
 occasions years before. As already described on 
 page 9, on the farm attacked four or five hundred 
 birds had been kept on two acres of land. The 
 fowls did not appear ill till twenty-four or thirty- 
 six hours before death, but from his experiments 
 in feeding and inoculating the poison, these 
 earliest symptoms do not appear to occur until 
 three or four days after the first actual infection. 
 The birds become inert, but not sleepy as in 
 cholera ; and the diaiThoea, which is the 
 clearest outward symptom, is yellow, or the 
 colour of thin mustard, instead of being 
 greenish or white. Great thirst is always pre- 
 sent, with often dark comb, staggering, and 
 ruffled plumage. Post-mortem examination 
 showed that the spleen and liver were greatly 
 enlarged and softened, the heart filled with 
 stagnant blood, and the intestines inflamed ; 
 and the evacuations, intestines, blood, and much 
 of the above structures swarmed with a bacillus, 
 which could be cultivated by the usual bacterio- 
 logical methods on gelatine or in broth,' and 
 when so cultivated, reproduced the disease by 
 inoculation into healthy fowls. The rapid spread 
 of the contagion was obviously accounted for by 
 the fowls eating grass or other food contamin- 
 ated by the evacuations of diseased individuals. 
 Thus the disease is readily communicated, and 
 in point of fact outbreaks due to imported birds 
 have been observed in Ireland and elsewhere. 
 
 No treatment was found to cure birds once 
 attacked ; and although more recently we have 
 reason to believe that some genuine cases have 
 
 * "The Etiology and Pathology of Grouse. Disease, Fowl 
 Enteritis, and some other Diseases Affecting Birds." By E. 
 Klein, M.D, F.R.S. London : IVIacmillans. 
 
 been pulled through, the disease is so fatal, and 
 so easily spread by fowls apparently well, that 
 we do not think direct treatment desirable, even 
 if such results should be confirmed.'* Effort 
 should rather be directed to stamp out the 
 epidemic, by instantly separating all diseased 
 and suspected birds, and removing the others to 
 clean ground ; watching these carefully, and re- 
 moving at once every fresh one that is noticed 
 with thirst and fluid diarrhcea ; cremating all 
 dead bodies ; and disinfecting the runs with 
 quicklime, afterwards dug into the ground, and 
 leaving them empty for some time. 
 
 The next thing is to protect the remainder. 
 Terrible as this disease is in its effects, an un- 
 justifiable use has been nrude of it by several 
 writers who seem more really anxious to oppose 
 poultry-farming than to give useful information. 
 Fowl enteritis is not the necessary result of 
 even over-crowding, since it never appeared in 
 many cases we know of where crowding had 
 long been worse than even on this farm at 
 Orpington ; and on the other hand, it has been 
 introduced by infected birds and proved ruinous, 
 where there was no crowding at all, as in 
 Ireland. Those who so greedily seized upon it 
 as a mere argument to serve their purpose, have 
 (so far as we have noticed) carefully abstained 
 from stating that Dr. Klein succeeded in pre- 
 paring 2i protective anti-toxin or vaccine. Dr. Klein 
 grew his cultures of the bacillus in faintly alkaline 
 broth kept at 35° to 37° C (95° to 98° F). He 
 heated some of this culture to 55° C (131° F) for 
 fifteen minutes, and then injected 5 cubic centi- 
 metres of the preparation into eight healthy 
 birds All of these were quiet and off their feed 
 by the sixth to the eighth day, but had no 
 diarrhoea ; and in a few days apparently re- 
 covered. They were then inoculated with the 
 virulent culture, with two untreated fowls to check 
 or " control " the experiment. The two controls 
 both died ; and one of the inoculated also died 
 with enlarged spleen and showed bacilli ; but 
 the other seven were unaffected. This being 
 not quite successful, a virulent culture was next 
 similarly heated for twenty minutes, and 5 c.c. 
 again injected into eight healtliy fowls. All 
 were quiet and off food on the sixth and seventh 
 days, but had no diarrhoea, and by the tenth 
 
 * Up to the time of writing we have been unable to obtain 
 such definite information as we could wish, either as to the 
 results or the treatment ; it is not, indeed, often that experiments 
 can be made. In one case we believe the treatment was the 
 administration of I drop Calvert's No. 4 carbolic acid every 
 six hours, with chlorodyne, raw eggs, and tonics. Probably 
 greater success might be obtained by the administration of 
 creoform, a compound of formaldehyde and creosote. This 
 latter is a new drug, neither poisonous nor irritating, which may 
 prove useful in many intestinal complaints. It is insoluble in 
 water, but can be given in brandy. 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
 
 581 
 
 day they appeared well. They and two more 
 controls were then infected ; the two untreated 
 controls died on the seventh day as usual from 
 typical enteritis, but the others remained per- 
 fectly well. This then is Dr. Klein's preventive 
 vaccine, which can be prepared from these par- 
 ticulars by any competent bacteriologist, and 
 disarms this fatal disease of much of its terror. 
 A broth culture for preparing it should be recent, 
 and only needs to be incubated from twenty-four 
 to forty-eight hours. 
 
 Favus. — This formidable disease was at one 
 time, and still is by some writers, treated as if 
 only a severer degree of " white-comb," from 
 which it is entirely distinct. It is caused by a 
 microscopic vegetable parasite or fungus, on 
 account of which origin it may attack the most 
 healthy fowls, and is highly contagious. The 
 same fungus is known to attack man, dogs, cats, 
 mice, rabbits, and horses ; and one severe out- 
 break reported to us lately was probably due 
 originally to an infected pony in an orchard 
 rubbing itself against the trees. The fungus is 
 named Achorion schonleinii, and is one of the 
 contagions most easy of any to observe under 
 a microscope, in spite of its minuteness. If a 
 particle of one of the scabs be taken, moistened 
 with dilute acetic acid, and crushed on a micro- 
 scopic glass slip, a power of x 500 or even less 
 will show distinctly a quantity of thread-like 
 todies, or mycelium, in which are developed 
 ■spores, which also abound in a detached form. 
 No microscopist can miss so much as this ; and 
 more careful examination will- show that the 
 fungus even penetrates the shafts of the feathers 
 in severe cases. The disease has lately become 
 very common, and for some reason Anconas 
 have appeared to be specially subject to it — 
 perhaps from their lighting proclivities. At one 
 of the largest shows in 1901 we noticed the 
 disease as next predominating in the Buff 
 Orpingtons, and of these two breeds there were 
 numerous cases at this one show. Unless 
 allowed to become very bad, leading to loss of 
 feathers on the head and down part of the neck, 
 the general health seems but little affected, and 
 the fowls lay as usual ; but in severe cases the 
 health fails and the bird dies of weakness. The 
 first symptoms usually noticed are small white 
 or yellowish spots or papules on the comb, 
 which have a thin scale or crust, These crusts 
 seem to ex1:end, rather raised at the edge and 
 lower in the centre like a shallow cup ; they also 
 multiply and run together. When removed, 
 the skin underneath is red and excoriated. If 
 neglected, the eruption extends to the head and 
 down the neck, one of the little cups often sur- 
 rounding a feather, or the hole where the feather 
 
 once grew, and even the region of the vent may 
 be invaded. Birds allowed to become so bad as 
 this usually die of debility, and are difficult if 
 not impossible to cure ; but while confined to 
 the comb the disease may be successfully 
 treated. 
 
 For successful treatment, and impunity in 
 handling it, the nature of the disease must le 
 borne in mind. Being a vegetable fungus, many 
 of the usual insecticides are of little or no use ; 
 also it should not be forgotten that the invisible 
 spores are being detached as dust and floating 
 about, and if they reach any scratch or abrasion 
 on the hands may attack them ; this has several 
 times happened. They do not appear capable 
 of rooting themselves on sound and healthy 
 skin, but the . least scratch on a bird's conib, in 
 an infested yard, will probably be at once 
 infected, the whole scratch being marked by 
 diseased growth in a day or two. Hence two 
 cockerels which have fought will quickly both 
 develop the disease if it exists near them, and 
 there is reason to believe that even a flea-bite or 
 wound from a tick may give footing to the germ. 
 For local treatment we have several resources, 
 all the following having proved effectual, but 
 it may be as well to say that carbolic acid is 
 unsuitable, as enough of it to be effective would 
 be absorbed into the system, and prove poison- 
 ous. First of all, as we have seen above 
 that dilute acetic acid softens and breaks up the 
 growth, we may wash the affected parts with 
 vinegar, and after drying off that, strong brine 
 or solution of nitre in water will kill a great deal 
 of the fungus : this treatment followed up has 
 mastered several outbreaks. Another applica- 
 tion which has proved effectual is tar and 
 sulphur, provided the way has been first opened 
 to the spores by either the vinegar or a good 
 wash wiih hot water and soft soap. The most 
 powerful dressing is corrosive sublimate, strength 
 I in 1,000, but it must be remembered that this 
 is a strong poison, and in water almost tasteless. 
 For these reasons.it should be dissolved not in 
 water, but in methylated spirit, applying with 
 a brush to all the affected places night and 
 morning at first, and later on once a day. 
 Another very powerful dressing is solution 
 of resorcin, 40 grains in an ounce of water. 
 With any of the applications, a wash with 
 vinegar should_ be given occasionally, as . this 
 increases their effect for the reason stated above. 
 The most rigid cleanliness, burning of all matter 
 removed, and for the birds themselves good food 
 and tonics, should not be forgotten. 
 
 Feather-eating. — Fowls in small space espe- 
 cially, but sometimes in other circumstances, 
 often develop the deplorable habit of devouring 
 
S82 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 each other's plumage, plucking out the feathers 
 even till blood flows. Some of the varieties 
 appear more subject to it than others. Causes 
 and remedies are various. There is no doubt 
 that insect vermin are often the cause, the birds 
 plucking their own feathers from irritation, or 
 seeing them crawl on others, and pecking at 
 them, and some writers state that this is always 
 the cause. That is not so ; as we have re- 
 peatedly been consulted where the conditions 
 ■were of the best and the strictest scrutiny could 
 find nothing of the kind ; in these cases there 
 is obviously an appetite that craves for some- 
 thing not found in the dietary. Moreover, we 
 must place in the same category the habit of 
 pecking at the comb and face, in which case 
 almost invariably the hens alone are guilty, 
 and the cock remains unmoved, almost as if 
 he liked it, though his comb and wattles are 
 being torn to pieces. But when unchecked for 
 a time the habit becomes an inveterate vice, 
 very hard to cure. Naturally various remedies 
 are occasionally effectual. Where animal food 
 has not been given, meat or cut bone has 
 stopped it sometimes ; in other cases plenty 
 of greens, especially lettuces, have succeeded. 
 The administration daily of lo grains sulphur 
 and 5 grains of chlorate of potash has in many 
 instances worked wonders ; and so has one- 
 eighth grain daily of acetate of morphia, with 
 bi-carbonate of potash in the water. It is worth 
 remarking that a bad case broke out in a 
 breeding-pen at the great New York show of 
 1902, and that the owner was assured by a 
 Canadian breeder it could be cured by salt 
 properly given. He accordingly purchased a 
 Bologna sausage, cut it up, salted it somewhat 
 further, and fed it to the birds. It is stated 
 positively that they ceased at once, and the 
 occurrence seems worth recording, though we 
 have never known any particular treatment 
 always successful. Another treatment is the 
 administration of sulphuret of lime, which has 
 been repeatedly stated in Poultry to be very 
 successful. It is prepared ai follows : Put three 
 or four lumps of fresh burnt lime, the size of 
 eggs, into an iron pot, slack the lime with 
 boiling water, then stir into the lime about 
 6 ozs. of flowers of sulphur, add gradually two 
 quarts of boiling water, stirring all the time ; 
 then boil gently for an hour or so, pour off 
 the clear liquid (which will be the colour of 
 dark brandy), bottle and cork well. A second 
 boiling may be made with fresh water, but the 
 liquid will not be so strong. A tablespoonful of 
 this liquid to every six hens, put into the water 
 used for mixing the meal, is the best way to 
 give it. Given daily, or twice a week, it is 
 
 stated that this preparation will keep the fowls" 
 plumage in good condition, and soon put a 
 stop to feather-eating. The mixture should be 
 kept away from the dwelling-house, otherwise 
 every time the cork is removed from the bottle 
 the whole house will be filled with the sulphuric 
 vapour given off from the liquid. Full bottles 
 not in present use should be well corked and 
 sealed, and kept in a cool place. If vermin, 
 are found, that of course must have attention. 
 Other measures should be taken of a more 
 general character. Any bird specially attacked 
 must be secluded ; and so also any special 
 culprit, before she has finally corrupted all the 
 rest. The numbers must be reduced in proper 
 proportion .to the space ; and when this is con- 
 fined, care must be taken to provide occupation,, 
 as suggested in earlier chapters, for it is largely 
 idleness in confinement that has to be com- 
 batted. The birds should further be made 
 nauseous to each other, by drenching their 
 plumage with either Jeyes' Fluid, or Wright's- 
 Liquor Carbonis diluted with two parts water,, 
 or a strong solution of qUassia in water,, 
 and applying carbolated vaseline freely to the 
 bare places, which will also promote re-growth.. 
 Also the edges of both mandibles should be 
 filed away at the tips,- so that for an eighth 
 of an inch back they do not quite close : the 
 quick need not and should not be touched, oc 
 the bird could not peck, but when properly 
 done it can pick up corn, while unable to get 
 hold of a feather. Some hens appear quite 
 incurable, being then utterly useless except 
 for exhibition ; but intelligent use of one or 
 the other of these methods will in most cases 
 be successful. 
 
 Fractures. — A fracture of the shank caa 
 generally be treated quite satisfactorily, placing 
 the bones in position, and applying a splint 
 by wrapping around some soft brown paper 
 saturated with white of egg, which stiffens as 
 the albumen dries. A broken wing is not so. 
 easy to manage, and little can be done beyond 
 getting the bones in proper position as nearly 
 as possible, and then tying the quill feathers 
 together to prevent movement as far as 
 possible. The result is very seldom perfect 
 in the case of a wing, but a valuable bird may 
 in this way be often preserved for breeding. 
 
 Frost-bite. — This is not very uncommon^ 
 especially in the north. The comb really turns 
 pale first, but is seldom noticed till the edges 
 become dusky or livid, or finally black, and as 
 a rule the health seems little affected, though 
 part or the whole of comb and wattles may 
 drop off. If the first stages were noticed the 
 best treatment would be, as usual with our- 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
 
 583 
 
 selves, sharp friction with snow or ice-cold 
 water, but the time for that is usually past 
 when observed. In the United States, where 
 this accident is more frequent and more severe, 
 the best recommended remedy is lard 2 ozs., 
 quinine i oz., kerosene 3 ozs., melting and incor- 
 porating all together! Gentle friction with this 
 is said to cure even bad cases, if not left till 
 altogether too late. Others use vaseline S 
 drachms, glycerine 2 drachms, spirit of tur- 
 pentine ^ drachm. Frost-bite may be largely 
 prevented by well greasing all over the comb 
 and wattles every day in very frosty weather. 
 
 Gapes. — The disease well described by this 
 name carries off hundreds of chickens and very 
 young birds in England, and is still more destruc- 
 tive in France and America. Every chicken 
 which opens its mouth and gapes, has not how- 
 ever got the " gapes " : such an action may be 
 seen in healthy birds. The real disease is most 
 common in England from two to six weeks 
 old, but may occur at a week, or after several 
 months, and is shown not only by the frequent 
 gaping, but by the bird appearing also unwell, 
 coughing and sneezing occasionally (in which 
 process the worm may often be seen to be 
 coughed up), getting weak, rough in feather, 
 and often standing with closed eyes. When 
 badly affected, a few die from suffocation, but 
 more from weakness and exhaustion, as the 
 worms prey upon the juices as well as obstruct 
 breathing. The disease is as destructive 
 amongst pheasants as poultry, also among 
 other birds. It is caused by a small reddish 
 worm now known as Syngamus trachealis, the 
 male and female of which are almost always 
 found together in conjugation in the form of the 
 letter Y, the main stem being the female and 
 varying from half an inch to as much as 
 i;^ inches long, the attached male about one- 
 fifth of an inch. The worm attaches itself 
 to the surface of the trachea or windpipe by 
 both its mouths, or both tips of the Y. Out of 
 hundreds of specimens found and extracted, 
 we should estimate that not 10 per cent, were 
 single or uncopulated, and it is likely enough 
 that even of these the male had adhered by its 
 own mouth to the chicken, and been torn off. 
 The greatest number we have ever known in 
 one bird was thirty-five worms, or pairs. The 
 disease was once believed to be only one of 
 chickens or very young birds, an opinion which 
 we formerly shared ; but as we have since found 
 many specimens in full-grown fowls, and as the 
 larger and stronger chickens attacked often 
 recover without treatment, the truth appears 
 to be that such birds can endure a moderate 
 number of these parasites without serious 
 
 suffering, until they have run their course and 
 been ejected. 
 
 The eggs of the gape-worm do not exceed 
 ■aio-th of an inch in diameter, and there are 
 many thousands in the body of one female. 
 They are not laid, but liberated by the disinte- 
 gration of her body, each ^gg containing when 
 mature a small white embryo ; and it was 
 found by M. M6gnin that these never hatch 
 within the parent, however mature, but will do 
 so and liberate the embryo wherever they have 
 moisture and a heat of not less than 68 ° or yor' F. 
 Hence they will hatch in damp earth or tepid 
 water, and he kept some alive in water alone 
 at the requisite temperature. There is no doubt 
 that such polluted warm water will communi- 
 cate gapes, the embryo commencing to grow 
 whenever it reaches the trachea of a chicken ; and 
 possibly the &gg itself may hatch there, though 
 all known facts appear to negative the transmis- 
 sion of gapes by swallowed eggs alone. Hence 
 M6gnin concluded that no intermediate host 
 is concerned in an outbreak of gapes. Others 
 have affirmed the same, and a leaflet issued 
 by the Board of Agriculture in 1901, after 
 alluding to statements made in The Illustrated 
 Book of Poultry thirty years ago, and repeated 
 presently, concerning the probable connection 
 between gapes and insect vermin, affirms, 
 " Needless to say there is no connection what- 
 ever." To ignore a large quantity of positive 
 evidence on the ground cited, does not exhibit 
 so much the superior scientific knowledge 
 evidently supposed, as an ignorant dogmatism 
 which under pseudo-scientific pretences has done 
 so much harm in many cases besides this, and 
 would for instance have prevented the recogni- 
 tion of vaccination for small-pox. The fact 
 proved is simply that the life-cycle of the 
 worm requires no real " host " for any stage of 
 its development ; but whether it does not 
 practically depend upon some carrier or bearer 
 in the majority of outbreaks, is quite another 
 thing, and there are further /acts also known 
 which make this a very practical question, 
 (i) It is known that the eggs are often found 
 in large numbers in the digestive canal of 
 both the large and smaller earthworms : we 
 have seen many such under the microscope, 
 and in a few cases in summer free embryo.s, but 
 these latter have never appeared to us to show 
 any .growth whilst in the worms. (2) They 
 have also been found in and upon small 
 molluscs in water. (3) It has been proved 
 that infected earthworms fed to chickens may 
 produce gapes : but we could never obtain 
 enough infected molluscs to test that matter, 
 which is worth investigation. (4) The most 
 
5S4 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 remarkable facts, however, are the following : 
 Whole worms coughed up are eaten by young 
 chickens most eagerly, and every worm con- 
 tains, as already stated, many thousands of the 
 ova ; but in clean, healthy chickens never but very 
 few worms, and often none at all, can be found 
 after this in the trachea, if the chicken be kept 
 apart 1 It looks as if the fresh worms and their 
 ova passed through the digestive canal, most 
 of the ova being voided unhatched ; or, in other 
 words, a certain time seems needed for maturing. 
 Dr. Salmon states as the result of experiment 
 that ten to fifteen worms (containing many 
 thousands of eggs) have been fed to a single 
 chicken, with the result that only four or five 
 worms at the utmost ever appeared in the 
 trachea ; and he accordingly acutely remarks, 
 in reference to the path of the parasites from 
 the digestive canal to the trachea, that " lio 
 doubt the path is a difficult and dangerous one 
 for them." Still later Dr. Francis A. Winder, 
 of Glasnevin, co. Dublin, made experiments, of 
 which he has kindly given us seme details 
 (besides the general results stated in an article 
 in the Medical Press, of Feb. 12, IQ02). In 
 June, I90i,he penned a male and female chicken 
 a month old, and on June 7 gave the male two 
 worms ; on June 10 the female was given two 
 worms; on June 20 four worms were crushed 
 and mixed with food, all which was eaten ; and 
 on June 27 worms were placed in the drinking 
 water, which was left unchanged for a week. 
 Both remained perfectly healthy ; the cockerel 
 being killed and eaten at Christmas, and the 
 pullet being alive and Ijiying in March, 1902. 
 It is clear that fresh worms and ova can be 
 eaten with safety, and pass through the digestive 
 canal to the vent unhatched. It is well estab- 
 lished that in the case of the thread -worm 
 {Oxyuris vermicularis) children re-infect them- 
 selves by scratching alternately at the anus and 
 the nostrils. And these later researches seem 
 to make it probable that where a chicken is 
 infested with insects, which can range over its 
 body freely, and many of which insects can be 
 seen to resort occasionally to the nostrils, either 
 for moisture or some other purpose, ova may 
 become attached to them in the neighbourhood 
 of the vent, and, after thus spending sufficient 
 time to ripen, or perhaps even hatch, be con- 
 veyed from that region, in a state ready for 
 growth, to those portals of the trachea. It 
 appears to be established that in sufficiently 
 warm, damp seasons the ova will also mature, 
 probably into embryos, on the damp grass, and 
 so infect the chickens ; but all the facts seem 
 to render necessary some such course and means 
 of conveyance as here supposed. 
 
 This brings us to treatment, and has been 
 given as bearing upon one , method which has 
 been so well proved, that practical men will 
 hesitate to sneer at it. About 1865 the late 
 Mr. Halsted, of New York State, found on 
 his chicks some large insects — apparently ticks, 
 though he figures a louse — ranging from two 
 to a dozen, and whose heads were embedded in 
 the skin. He cleared one brood assiduously, 
 but not the others. That season he had gapes 
 badly, losing all or part of the other broods, 
 but not one chick of the brood he had cleared. 
 Picking was tedious, however, and Mr. Halsted 
 compounded the following ointment, except 
 that we have modified it for the official mer- 
 curial ointment of the British Pharmacopoeia : — 
 
 Mercurial ointment i oz. 
 
 Sulphur i „ 
 
 Crude petroleum \ „ 
 
 Lard 3 „ 
 
 This he applied to the heads of the young 
 chicks when putting them out (sparingly, or 
 mercurial poisoning would be produced), and 
 afterwards he never lost a chicken of those so 
 treated. Other experience in America cor- 
 roborated this. Not only so, but after we had 
 pubHshed this treatment, breeder after breeder 
 testified to its success in the Live Stock Journal, 
 particularly during the widespread epidemics 
 of 1880 and 1881. With only a few it failed, and 
 there chiefly through poisoning by carelessness 
 in application. Facts of this kind are not set 
 aside by sneers, and the practical breeder who 
 finds his yard in danger will be slow to neglect 
 a precaution which is so easy, and will, at all 
 events, benefit his young stock in other ways. 
 It is significant in the same direction that gapes 
 has been found much less severe where chicks 
 have been hatched and reared artificially in 
 detached broods. 
 
 When the disease has actually broken out 
 there are various remedies. As a preventive 
 for other broods which may be coming on, 
 camphor in the water has undoubtedly some 
 efficacy, and every vessel should be weekly 
 scalded. The old-fashioned cure was to strip 
 a small quill-feather, all but a small tuft at the 
 point, and (moistening it in turpentine or not) 
 introduce it into the trachea, turn it round, and 
 withdraw it with the worms. This is effectual, 
 but requires care to prevent lacerating the wind- 
 pipe or causing suffocation. In this way thirty 
 worms have been successfully extracted from one 
 chicken. A very much better method is to take 
 two strai^/ithaks from a horse's tail, laid together, 
 tie a knot on the end of the pair, and cut off" the 
 ends close to the knot. This is passed straight 
 (i.e. without twisting) down the windpipe as far 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
 
 585 
 
 as it will go without bending, then twisted between 
 the finger and thumb and drawn out. A trial 
 or twomay miss, but usually five or six attempts 
 will bring up four or five worms, and the hairs 
 inserted in this way, without twisting, do not 
 seem to hurt the chicks, and are used with the 
 greatest facility. The bringing up of even from 
 four to ten worms, and the failure of more to 
 come after a blank trial or two, may usually 
 be reckoned as a cure. Another method of 
 individual treatment is to get some carbolic 
 acid (which must be of the clear or white 
 quality), and placing some, in an iron spoon or 
 saucer, hold it over a lamp. Dense white fumes 
 will arise, in which the chicken's head is to be 
 immersed till nearly suffocated ; or if a number 
 have to be treated the whole may be confined 
 in a box and fumigated at once ; being, how- 
 ever, carefully watched through a hole in the 
 box covered by a piece of glass. For, while 
 this treatment is unfailing, it is a ticklish opera- 
 tion, since the worms have to be killed without 
 quite killing the chickens, which is very easily 
 done beside. There are other methods of a 
 more general character. M. M6gnin proved 
 repeatedly that to substitute an infusion of 
 garlic for water, and add fine-chopped garlic or 
 onions in the food, will check the complaint and 
 kill the worms. He has also tried, with marked 
 success, dissolving in the water (to kill all worms 
 that may find their way there) i part in 100 
 of salicylate of soda, and dosing each pheasant 
 ..with 7^ grains of yellow gentian and 7^ grains 
 of asafoetida — large fowls will need more. 
 Only vermifuges which, like these, have a 
 strong odour can kill parasites which inhabit 
 the air-passages rather than the digestive canal ; 
 but there is good evidence of the success of this 
 treatment in pheasant preserves which had been 
 all but exterminated by gapes. An English 
 " patent " taken out by Mr. J. H. Clark, a game- 
 keeper, is very similar. He takes and intimately 
 compounds the following : — • 
 
 Powdered quicklime i lb. 
 
 Powdered sulphur \ „ 
 
 Tincture of asafcetida ... i oz. 
 
 Arsenious acid (white arsenic) i drachm. 
 
 Oil of thyme, or oil of cummin i oz. 
 
 This is kept in a close-stoppered bottle, to 
 prevent slaking of the lime or evaporation of 
 the volatile constituents. When required two 
 or three tablespoonfuls are placed in a depres- 
 sion in the centre of a coop in which the 
 chickens are confined, and then a sharp blast 
 from the nose of a bellows blows it all up into 
 the air, filling the coop and entering the nostrils 
 of the birds. It is said that one application 
 is generally effectual, but if not that two, or 
 sw- 
 
 at most three, at intervals of a day, are always., 
 so. We should be disposed to omit the arsenic. 
 The advertised preparations known as "Kalyde'* 
 and " Camlin " are used in a similar way, and 
 are well reported upon ; even powdered air- 
 slaked lime is fairly effectual. A very im- 
 portant point is, when worms are extracted, to 
 do this on a clean sheet of paper and burn 
 every one ; and to burn, not merely bury, the 
 body of every bird that dies of gapes. 
 
 Gout. — This may be distinguished from mere 
 leg-weakness in young birds by evident pain as 
 well as weakness, and generally by some heat and 
 swelling of the principal joints, and sometimes of 
 the feet. From rheumatism it is known by want 
 of connection with cold and wet. A bird so 
 affected should not be bred from. The treat- 
 ment will be stimulating liniment to the joints 1 
 internally give a grain of calomel at night, and 
 20 grains of Epsom salts next morning, and 
 after that \ grain colchicum extract or 10 drops 
 colchicum wine every day for about ten days. 
 
 Joint Disease. — Dr. Klein found cases both 
 amongst game birds and chickens, in which a 
 disease, commencing with lameness, proceeded 
 until the bones were found softened, and some- 
 times broken, while the hock-joint became an 
 open wound. A writer noted for his hostility to. 
 rearing poultry in large numbers has confounded 
 this disease with " cramp " in chickens, stating- 
 that attempts to cure cramp are " worse thaa 
 useless," a statement that speaks for itself.. 
 This disease, however, really is a hopeless one,, 
 the bones and joints being practically eaten 
 away and necrosed by bacteria. If ever the- 
 bones of young chickens are found really 
 softened, much more with any open wound, the 
 birds should be destroyed and burnt. It is> 
 fortunate that, though destructive whenever it. 
 appears, this disease is rare. 
 
 Leg Weakness. — This -is distinguished from, 
 other forms of lameness by attacking almost, 
 exclusively cockerels as they begin to approach, 
 full size, and especially those rather long in; 
 leg, while in . all other respects the birds appear 
 in perfect health. The causes are length of 
 limb and too fast growth. The use of dry- 
 bone-meal is to a considerable extent a preven-- 
 tive. It can generally be cured if taken in 
 time by leaving off all condiments and (for a. 
 time) animal food, and giving the following- 
 pill :— 
 
 Strychnine i grain. 
 
 Citrate of iron i drachm. 
 
 Phosphate of lime ... i ,, 
 
 Quinine di-sulphate ... 15 grains. 
 
 Make 30 pills. One twice to three times a day. 
 
 Mr. Cobb advises colchicum,- but this is only- 
 
586 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 of use when the lameness has the character of 
 gout {q.v.),- and is a somewhat dangerous 
 medicine to administer freely. 
 
 Liver Disease. — Of late years persistent and 
 early in-breeding, combined with high feeding, 
 and want of exercise, and the injudicious use of 
 condiments, have caused a great increase in 
 cases of disordered liver amongst poultry, which, 
 however, differ much in symptoms, nature, and 
 seriousness. Poultry highly fed in small yards, 
 during summer, unless adequately shaded and 
 plentifully supplied with fresh green food, are very 
 liable to gradual enlargement or hypertrophy of 
 the liver. The symptoms are not very definite, 
 consisting chiefly of sluggishness in motion and 
 appetite, and a tendency to somewhat yellow 
 evacuations. The condition, when once fully 
 set up, cannot be cured, but may be kept in 
 check by shade, a more spare diet, green food, 
 and an occasional dose of salts or carbonate of 
 potash. Congestion is due to very similar 
 causes, and the symptoms are similar, but more 
 sudden and severe, and more evidently bilious, 
 sometimes reaching to a distinct yellow shade 
 about the face. There may be lameness, as in 
 the next more severe stage. Maize causes 
 many cases. The treatment, which in spite of 
 the greater severity is more hopeful in this case, 
 owing to its more sudden onset, is a course of 
 saline purgatives, such as lo grains of potass- 
 bicarbonate and 6 of Epsom salts twice a day 
 for a few days, or alternated with 6 grains of 
 rhubarb ; or if the attack has seemed very 
 sudden, a grain of calomel first will be very 
 useful, to be followed by a little of the B.P. 
 dilute nitric acid in the water for a day or 
 two, afterwards giving the above salines. Actual 
 inflammation of the liver is a disease of the 
 same class, but of an acute kind, and is 
 speedily followed by death unless the attack 
 can be relieved. The causes may be as 
 before, but in our experience exposure to wet 
 and cold, in conjunction with other causes tend- 
 ing to congestion, produces inflammation much 
 more frequently than heat docs. There will be 
 somewhat similar symptoms, but with evidently 
 more suffering, and especially the bird will show 
 tenderness or pain. The skin is almost always 
 yellow, and the evacuations yellow or tinged 
 with blood. The bird may seem too tender to 
 move about much, and very often there is lame- 
 ness, especially in the right leg ; if such lame- 
 ness accompanies other symptoms, the character 
 of the disease is nearly certain. Only energetic 
 treatment is of any avail. The bird is to be 
 held frequently over boiling water, when the 
 .steam will relieve the pain and inflamma- 
 tion ; and half a grain each of calomel and 
 
 opium must be at once given, , repeated after 
 four hours ; then lo drops of chlorodyne may be 
 given every four hours for two days. All water 
 to be acidulated with nitric acid as before, and 
 the bird kept quiet, and only allowed a small 
 quantity of bread and milk. If the urgent 
 symptoms disappear, careful diet and small 
 doses of salines, with .iron tonic, will complete 
 the cure. None of these functional diseases, 
 though they may weaken the progeny, neces- 
 sarily impart any constitutional taint. But the 
 case is very different with scrofulous disease of the 
 liver, the most common development in poultry 
 of the tuberculous taint. To stamp it out is the 
 only remedy for this kind of liver disease, as 
 much as in the case of pulmonary consumption, 
 for both of which see paragraph on Tuberculosis. 
 
 Paralysis. — Loss of power to move may 
 occur suddenly or come on gradually, and be 
 either almost general, or confined to one set of 
 limbs or the legs. The cause may be rupture 
 of a blood-vessel on or in the brain, allying 
 it closely to apoplexy (^.'y.), and in such cases 
 known usually by the sudden onset ; similar 
 treatment will sometimes be successful. True 
 disease or injury of the nerves is hopeless, except 
 in two cases, (i) It may result from sudden 
 injury, as by a blow on the back from something 
 falling, or from rushing under a low perch, or 
 through the entrance-hole of the house ; in such 
 a case rest and quiet for a few days, painting 
 iodine tincture every day on the spot believed to 
 have been struck or bruised will often be followed 
 by recovery, being injury and not disease. (2) 
 The other case is that of a hen or pullet subjected 
 to excessive sexual intercourse, under which the 
 poor bird's nervous system entirely breaks down. 
 Such a case is often known by the back being 
 nearly stripped of feathers, as well as the legs 
 being paralysed. In this case seclusion and rest 
 for a while, with a little iron tonic and a tea- 
 spoonful of coca extract in half a pint of water, 
 generally cures ; but care must be taken to give 
 the male bird a greater number of mates, 01 
 to restrict his company to an hour or two daily. 
 
 Peritonitis. — Inflammation of the lining mem- 
 brane of the abdomen. Now and then caused 
 by injuries; more usually due to the escape of a 
 ruptured ovum, or egg, into the abdominal cavity, 
 and in a less acute degree by excessive straining 
 or over-stimulation of the reproductive organs, 
 in which way many cases are directly due to the 
 stimulating condiments so largely advertised. 
 As to symptoms, peritonitis may usually be sus- 
 pected whenever a hen in full laying, with bright 
 red comb, and with no previous illness, shows 
 evident pain and distress, but does not seem 
 egg-bound. Severe cases are practically hope- 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
 
 587 
 
 less : those of the less severe type may often be 
 treated sugcessfully by perfect quiet and the 
 administration of five drops of tincture of hyos- 
 cyamus three times a day for a few days, with a 
 little brandy occasionally. Steaming over boil- 
 ing water is also most useful, which can be done 
 gently by keeping the bird in an open basket, 
 and holding this over a hot can. 
 
 Pip- — This word was once popularly applied 
 to almost any disease ; later it became identified 
 with a hard and horny appendage at the tip of a 
 fowl's tongue. In common with other writers, 
 we formerly did not consider this as any definite 
 disease, but as the effect of a dry mouth when 
 the nostrils were obstructed, to be treated chiefly 
 with cooling medicine, and perhaps applying 
 honey and borax to the tongue. There are in 
 truth many such cases. Dr. Salmon believes 
 that there are others due to some inflammatory 
 affection, causing secretion which deposits and 
 dries at the edges of the tongue, the dry coating 
 and epidermis gradually separating from the 
 skin beneath. This may perhaps be the cause; 
 but whether so or not, our experience has, in 
 this matter as in some others, justified the 
 popular idea against would-be scientific ^sneers, 
 and convinced us that, although they are not 
 common, there are occasional cases of a real 
 epidemic, which causes death unless relieved, of 
 which this is- the distinguishing symptom, and 
 with no ''dry" mouth at all. Three outbreaks 
 in different yards have come under our notice, 
 and in two of them the scale at the tip of the 
 tongue was nearly as thick, and quite as hard, as 
 the nib of a quill pen, while the edges were 
 almost as sharp as a knife. The fatal results we 
 believe to be due to the soreness produced by 
 these keen edges quite preventing the fowl from 
 swallowing. It was unmistakably " about " in 
 these yards. If a fowl apparently well in the 
 main, is seen to pick up and then drop its corn, 
 the mouth should be examined. If such a hard 
 and sharp scale (very different from the ordinary 
 rather hard and sharp tip of a fowl's tongue) be 
 found, it should be removed by the thumb-nail, 
 and the spot dressed a few times with honey and 
 borax. Give soft food for a day or two, and 
 a couple of morning doses of 20 grains Epsom 
 salts, and the bird will speedily be well. 
 
 Pneumonia. — Inflammation of the lungs. 
 Besides the cough, which might hardly be dis- 
 tinguished from that of bronchitis, there will be 
 evident distress in breathing, like gasping or 
 panting, and generally considerable matter 
 coughed up from the mouth rather than the 
 nostrils-: the bird spends much of the time lying' 
 down. A good ear can detect " crepitation " if 
 brought in contact with the back. The patient 
 
 must be put in a warm place, and fed on a little 
 bread and milk only. Rub in a little turpentine 
 between the shoulders among the roots of the 
 feathers, or paint on some strong iodine liniment 
 as a counter-irritant ; and, if observed early, give 
 a tabloid or drop of B.P. tincture of aconite in 
 a spoonful of water every half-hour. Later, or 
 as another good alternative treatment, give two 
 drops of antimonial wine or ipecacuanha wine, 
 in water, every hour. If improvement sets in, 
 give only half as often. If the bird is very weak, 
 give brandy and &gg. Very young chickens 
 reared artificially often succumb to pneumonia, 
 owing to coming from a far too hot and foul 
 brooder into cold air. The heat should at once 
 be reduced if this occurs ; but for those affected 
 special care, counter-irritation, and a little aconite 
 or medicated wine in their water, is all the 
 treatment such tiny creatures" are capable of 
 undergoing. 
 
 Poisons. — Acute inflammation of either\crop, 
 stomach, or intestines, or of all, is sometimes 
 caused in this way, and is rarely discovered till 
 too late for treatment. The most usual are the 
 following. I. Unslaked /2;«e may be eaten, when 
 used to disinfect runs. 2. Phosphorus may be 
 eaten from rat poison, or a dropped box of lucifers.. 
 3. Arsenic may also be picked up from poison 
 laid about. The main symptom is obvious, acute 
 suffering, of rather suddert onset : when this is 
 observed, it should at once be considered whether 
 any of the foregoing have been accessible, and: 
 treatment adopted accordingly, though usually: 
 too late. Phosphorus can be smelt strongly. 
 For lime, give two large tablespoonfuls of oil,: 
 and then linseed tea or gum-water. For phos- 
 phorus, avoid oil, which makes things worse, but 
 give thin cream of calcined magqesia, and then 
 white of egg. For arsenic, give calcined mag-, 
 nesia freely, and a little later olive oil. Unless 
 discovered and treated promptly, it is better to 
 kill the poor birds. 
 
 Rheumatism.- — This is to be distinguished 
 from mere weakness by pain, and from gout by 
 absence of swelling and heat ; also by pretty 
 evident connection with cold or wet, and by 
 affecting both sexes and all ages. Affected 
 birds should not be bred from, the tendency 
 being hereditary. Treat by well rubbing in any 
 stimulating liniment, such as Elliman, or Jacob's 
 oil, or belladonna liniment, and put some salicin 
 in the water. If this fails, try rubbing in Chaul- 
 moogra oil, and give two drops of same oil three 
 times a day. Another useful treatment is 30 
 grains salts, followed by 10 grains each of 
 bicarbonate potass, iodide of potassium, and' 
 salicylate of soda in half a pint of drinking' 
 water, for a fortnight, painting the joints and 
 
588 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 toes with tincture of iodine. As a general rule, 
 rheumatism is an indication for less meat and 
 more green food, for the last anyhow. 
 
 Roup, Catarrhal. — This differs from a mere 
 cold in being markedly contagious, and of course 
 introduced by contagion, though fowls crowded 
 into ill-ventilated houses contract it when others 
 do not, and in airy runs and houses the stronger 
 birds often escape when others do not. It 
 begins as catarrh or cold, and will have been 
 treated as such {g.v^ unless circumstances lead 
 to a belief from the first that the more serious 
 complaint has been introduced. The catarrh 
 resists simple treatment, soon becomes more 
 sticky, and acquires a bad smell, also increasing 
 from the eyes, which often become swollen of 
 closed, and with very obvious fever. Later the 
 discharge may become almost cheesy, and accu- 
 mulate in nostrils, eyes, and even throat, but 
 does not form a membrane in the latter as in 
 diphtheria. The disease assumes many p?iases 
 and forms, and in consequence there are many 
 widely different advertised remedies, of. which it 
 may be said that every one can chronicle both 
 marked successes and dismal failures, according 
 as it happens to "hit" the special type or stage 
 for which it is adapted. The best general treat- 
 ment is, as soon as thickening and smell of the 
 discharge make the case clear, to make a mixture 
 of pferoxide of hydrogen and water in equal 
 parts, with which spray (with an atomiser) or 
 sj'ringe ©r swab the throat, nostrils, and eyes, 
 squeezing matter out first, several times a day. 
 Internally give first half a teaspoonful of Epsom 
 salts, and then the following pills : — 
 
 Balsam copaiba 
 Liquorice in powder 
 Piperine 
 
 I oz. 
 
 4 drachms. 
 
 I drachm. 
 
 With sufficient magnesia to make a mass. 
 Make above into sixty pills, giving one morning 
 and evening. The following may be kept as an 
 alternative ; there are cases in which each is 
 best-: — 
 
 Copper sulphate 
 Cayenne 
 Hydrastin 
 Copaiba 
 
 30 grams. 
 
 I drachm. 
 30 grains. 
 
 4 drachms. 
 
 Add magnesia q.s., and make sixty pills, to be 
 given as before. Both these prescriptions have 
 been well tested. We need scarcely insist upon 
 the importance of isolation and of thorough 
 disinfection of houses and runs with carbolic 
 acid and unslaked lime ; and convalescents should 
 be cleansed with either the hydrogen peroxide 
 qr permanganate of potash solution up to the 
 very last, transferred to a clean pen from the 
 hospital for a few days before return, and only 
 
 turned out on a genial day. While birds can be 
 thus successfully treated, however, this ■ is a 
 disease which, when it has been fully developed, 
 should in our opinion discard them from the 
 breeding pen. When cases apparently at first 
 of roup develop white or yellowish raised growths 
 upon the throat or inside the mouth, the disease 
 is shown to be diphtheria (ij.v.). 
 
 Scaly Leg. — This is the well-known name 
 for an unsightly coating of whitish scurf on the 
 shanks of fowls, sometimes so thick as to form 
 masses a quarter of an inch deep. In very severe 
 cases left untreated, the joints sometimes become 
 affected, the toes may drop off, and the bird die 
 from the drain upon the system. It is most 
 common in feather-legged Asiatics, in Cochins 
 and Silkies most of all, but not confined to these. 
 This disgusting disease is now known to be due 
 to an itch-mite {Sarcoptes mutans), and is there- 
 fore very contagious, being often propagated 
 from a hen to her brood, but more commonly 
 from bird to bird. For this reason perches and 
 houses where it occurs should be well treated 
 with carbolic lime-wash, as well as dressing the 
 fowls, which can be cured if taken in reasonable 
 time. While cases are still mild it is sufficient 
 to give a good scrubbing twice a week with soap 
 and water, applying every night dilute sulphur 
 ointment, or any of the special ointments sold 
 by poultry medicine vendors, or a mixture of 
 one part petroleum oil and three parts olive or 
 colza oil. In severe cases, where the scurf is 
 very thick, it is quicker to remove the raised and 
 loosened scales under which the insects burrow. 
 This can be effected by applying with a brush a 
 thick dressing of soft. soap, leaving this on for 
 a night, and then standing the bird in hot water 
 and well scrubbing, rubbing, and pulling off the 
 scales, which will generally come pretty easily, 
 after which the shanks are dried and treated as 
 before ; but a bird should never be allowed to 
 reach a state to need this. Another excellent 
 after-application for such cases, and indeed for all 
 cases, is compounded by mixing half a pint of 
 petroleum oil, a pint of water, and half a pound 
 of soft soap, and simmering together on a hot 
 stove, taking care, of course, not to ignite the 
 petroleum. When cold this is bottled, and 
 applied \yith a stiff brush after, shaking. Twice 
 a day of this mixture for a week, and once a day 
 for another week, is usually sufficient for a cure. 
 An anointing with this before moult, or with the 
 petroleum and oil, is very useful as a preventive 
 where there is any reason to fear this disease. 
 
 Skin Diseases. — Poultry are subject to 
 various forms of these, but not very con:imonly, 
 owing partly to the absence of sweat-glands 
 already referred to; and they are not easily 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
 
 589 
 
 "distinguishable or very amenable to treatment, 
 for the simple reason of the birds being covered 
 by feathers. Those due to insects, with the 
 ■exception of scaly leg, are for this reason almost 
 'hopeless to treat, as the whole surface cannot be 
 dealt with. Such are fortunately rare, but any 
 cases of such "mange" diseases are best stamped 
 ■out. Those more of a pustular or eczematous 
 character are more hopeful. It is almost im- 
 possible for any ordinary poultry-keeper — or, 
 indeed, anyone else — to find the distinctions 
 mentioned by some veterinarians, but most of 
 them answer to a little cooling medicine, rigid 
 ■cleanliness, ample green food of the dandelion 
 or lettuce tribe, and application of benzoated 
 ^inc ointment. 
 
 Tuberculosis. — In-breeding and. late breed- 
 ing, and confinement in close houses, have made 
 this destructive disease, due as is well known 
 ■now to the Bacillus tuberculosis, terribly com- 
 mon amongst fowls. It is chiefly found in the 
 lungs, where it becomes " consumption," or in 
 the liver, where it is the well-known chronic 
 form of liver disease. The first sign of the 
 former is cough, but the case is distinguished 
 from bronchitis, catarrh, roup, or pneumonia 
 by the more gradual onset of the cough, the 
 absence of any acute .symptoms, and the 
 .gradual wasting. Liver disease is generally 
 manifested by a gradual failure of appetite, 
 emaciation or ." going light," and generally a 
 shrunken comb and dull look in the eyes ; 
 on post-mortem examination the liver is found 
 studded with whitish or yellowish cheesy nodules 
 or tubercles, which may amount to quite masses 
 of its substance. Tuberculosis in the liver is 
 especially grave in fowls, because the bacilli 
 -often reach the oviduct, and hence may become 
 actually included in the white of the egg, and 
 perhaps its yolk, in which case the chicks will 
 be born tuberculous, a thing scarcely possible 
 except in birds. 
 
 Tuberculous fowls should never be bred 
 from, and are unfit for food. Some cases may 
 be apparently patched up, as it were, by removal 
 to airy surroundings, feeding on oatmeal, with 
 cod-liver oil and a little raw meat, and 5 to 10 
 grains daily of urea. But if such, birds are 
 bred from, the penalty must be paid ; and as 
 there is no sacredness about their life, as in 
 the human race, the only sound policy is 
 resolute eradication. 
 
 Vent-gleet or Cloacitis. — This arises from 
 inflammation of the lower portion of the 
 passage. It probably begins. by redness and 
 swelling, but the first symptom usually ob- 
 served is a discharge, first rather milky, but 
 soon offensive, which excoriates the vent and 
 
 forms crusts. It always begins with a hen, 
 usually we believe from a broken e.^^ or yolk 
 causing septic inflammation, but is propagated 
 in copulation, and hence may spread in a yard 
 or be imported with an infected male bird. 
 Any hen found with it should at once be 
 isolated, and the male bird carefully examined, 
 and if necessary also isolated and treated. 
 Give 30 grains Epsom salts, and twice a day 
 inject first a 4 per cent, solution of cocaine, and 
 immediately afterwards a solution of nitrate of 
 silver 4 grains to the ounce. The fifth day 
 commence a small copaiba capsule daily, and 
 inject acetate of lead, i drachm to the pint. 
 Feed rather low meanwhile, and dust any sore 
 places outside with iodoform or aristol. If not 
 well after two or three weeks, we would kill the 
 bird, as the disease is not quite free from danger ; 
 for if the operator should touch his eyes acci- 
 dentally before he has cleansed his hands, the 
 result might be a most violent inflammation.* 
 
 Vertigo. — This is due' to pressure on the 
 brain, causing the bird to stagger or run round 
 and round. High feeding is generally in fault. 
 Quiet in the dark, with' low feeding and 10 
 grains daily of Epsom salts, are often effectual, 
 while immediately the bird may have its head 
 held for a long time in a gentle stream of 
 cold water. A short exposure to cold would 
 cause temporary congestion, and only do harm ; 
 but continuance removes this effect, and is 
 more analogous to application of ice to the 
 head in, brain fever. 
 
 Wattles, Swollen. — This may occur from 
 injury, or from a bad state of health, especially in 
 large-wattled birds. When the skin is unbroken 
 and the swelling seems to contain no fluid, if 
 it is a bruise it should be bathed with hazeline 
 tincture ; if a swelling, painted with iodine. 
 Where there is much fluid the wattle should 
 be lanced at the lowest part of the bag, the 
 fluid evacuated, and its sac gently syringed 
 out with a warm solution of perchloride of iron, 
 10 grains to the ounce. 
 
 White Comb. — This name is only properly 
 applied to a comparatively mild ailment shown 
 by an apparent white powdering on the comb, 
 like flour or plaster of Paris, which sometimes 
 extends over the head and down the neck, and 
 causing, more or less loss of feathers. It 
 
 * Many of Ihe symptoms so closely resemble those of gonor- 
 rhoea, ihat identity has been suspected by some; but we have 
 never been able to detect in the discharges, by any of the usual 
 microscopical methods, the true gonococcus. If any scientific 
 fancier should think he has identified this organism, we would 
 feel exceedingly obliged if he would forward to us, through the 
 publishers, a microscopical slide for examination, as the question ■ 
 may have a wider bearing than upon the immediate disease 
 before us. 
 
59° 
 
 THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 
 
 appears generally due to dirt, or over-crowding 
 in small space,- or want of green food. Appro- 
 priate treatment in any of these respects, with 
 iron tonic in the water, is necessary first of all, 
 with say 20 grains of Epsom salts to each bird, 
 followed by a pinch of sulphur in the food 
 every day for a week. The best local appli- 
 cations are carbolised vaseline to the comb and 
 other bare red appendages, and equal parts 
 of water and Wright's Liquor Carbonis to the 
 head and neck if also affected. A far more 
 severe and highly contagious disease, marked 
 by scabs and crusts, is sometimes confounded 
 with this, but is totally different, being of 
 fungoid origin, and treated under Favus. 
 
 Worms. — A variety of these parasites infest 
 the intestines of fowls, and some of them 
 occasionally reach the oviduct, and may thus 
 be found even in the albumen of an itg^. Such 
 an occurrence should always be followed by 
 treatment ; but the other usual symptoms, such 
 as wasting away, slow movement, etc., are so 
 common in quite other diseases also, that we 
 can seldom really diagnose worms unless they 
 are found whole or in portions in the droppings, 
 or else in the intestines of dead birds subjected 
 to post-mortem examination. The usual causes 
 are probably foul ground or water, contami- 
 nated meat or other animal food, or neglect 
 to remove the manure. The best remedies, for 
 a good sized fowl, are 2 grains santonin, or 
 10 grains powdered areca nut, or either three 
 or four drops of the oil or ten or twelve drops 
 of the extract of male fern in salad oil. ' Pro- 
 fessor Woodroffe Hill advises as the best 
 remedy and dose in his experience, i -grain 
 santonin combined with 7 grains of areca nut. 
 Any of these should be given after three hours' 
 fast, followed by a similar' time, and then by 
 a laxative dose of salts and warm mash only 
 for a day or two. All evacuations containing 
 worms should be carefully burnt. 
 
 Many other forms of disease, as already inti- 
 mated, are occasionally found in fowls when 
 examined post-mortem. Some of them are 
 due to small or microscopical parasites, vege- 
 table or anirnal ; indeed, some of the true mites 
 are occasionally found infesting the air-sacs, and 
 even the larger bronchi. Inflammation may be 
 found, from some cause, in almost any organ. 
 The kidneys and the reproductive organs are 
 found from time to time atrophied, or hypertro- 
 phied, or the subject of disease, due as a rule to 
 stimulating condiments, undue forcing with meat, 
 or sexual exCess. But while these ailments may 
 be easily distinguished upon the post-mortem 
 examination, they can rarely be distinguished 
 with any certainty during life, and it would be 
 
 of no practical use to discuss them at length, 
 while few of them would repay treatment even 
 if known. We have dealt, we believe, with such 
 as are of really practical interest to the practical 
 poultry-keeper. 
 
 VERMIN AND THIEVES. 
 
 Insect Vermin. — The combating of these has 
 been partially treated already at pages 39, 84, 
 but it is desirable to add here fuller details. They 
 consist mainly of fieis, lice, red mites, and ticks, 
 besides the leg mite treated above under the 
 head of scaly leg. 
 
 Fleas infest the houses, and especially the 
 nests, as much as they do the poultry. The 
 individual bird can be cleared at any time, for 
 the time, by a good dressing with Pyrethrum 
 insect powder, which also helps in a nest. 
 In powdering a fowl it is field by the legs 
 with the head downward, when the feathers fall 
 apart or separate, and the powder is readily 
 dredged in. Some like to give first a slight 
 spray of water to damp the roots of the feathers, 
 which retain the powder longer. Where it 
 can be obtained readily, a nest made largely 
 with leaves of common moor-fern or bracken 
 seldom has fleas ; and another good plan is 
 to use as a nest-egg one of the hollow white 
 perforated ones in which is a piece of sponge 
 soaked with eucalyptus oil. But the house must 
 iie systematically treated with hot lime-wash and 
 carbolic two or three times yearly, and frequently 
 spraying the walls with some carbolic mixture, 
 of which the following is cheap and effectual : 
 Boil half a pound of soft soap in three quarts of 
 water, and while still boiling hot agitate with it 
 a quart of the crude carbolic acid. Keep this 
 corked and labelled " Poison," and when a wash 
 is wanted mix a pint with a bucket of water, 
 and syringe with it freely. Another wash quite 
 as good is made by shaving up a pound of yellow 
 soap in three pints of boiling water, keeping hot 
 till all dissolved ; then i-emove from the fire 
 to avoid danger, add three pints of common 
 kerosene and a gill of crude carbolic acid, and 
 agitate briskly for fifteen minutes, which will 
 make a creamy emulsion. When well emulsified 
 add twelve quarts of weak soap solution and 
 mix well. This is to be sprayed freely over the 
 interior ; if twenty quarts suds are added instead 
 of twelve, it makes a very good dip or wash for 
 the birds. These mi.xtures are as good for mites 
 in the house or lice on the birds as for fleas. 
 
 Lice onbirds maybe also treated, as mentioned 
 on page 84, either with insect powder or oil con- 
 taining a little paraffin. The birds may also be 
 dipped in the above dip, or in one made by 
 mixing about 2| ounces of creolin to one gallon 
 
VERMIN AND THIEVES. 
 
 591 
 
 of water, or may be touched here and there 
 under the wings, near the tail, and in other places 
 with sweet oil in which is mixed one part in 
 eight of either paraffin oil or oil of sassafras. A 
 more wholesale plan much used in America, 
 where this pest is serious owing to the numbers 
 kept, is to employ volatile liquid " lice-killers," 
 of which many are advertised. A fair example 
 of them is naphthalene dissolved to saturation 
 in kerosene. This is often applied now and then 
 to the roosts ; but when a lot of chickens are to 
 be treated a dozen or so are put into a large box 
 without a cover, the bottom and sides being 
 painted with the "killer," and the whole covered 
 over with a coarse canvas lightly sprayed with 
 the solution. The canvas is necessary, that the 
 birds may have air enough to breathe. They 
 stay in the box to be penetrated by the fumes 
 for half an hour to an hour, and the process is 
 repeated three times at a week's interval, in 
 order to destroy the produce of the eggs or 
 nits. They sometimes have a slight looseness for 
 a day after treatment, but it passes off in a few 
 hours. 
 
 The red mite lives mainly in the crevices of 
 house and roost, coming out at night to feed on 
 the birds. It is naturally white, but becomes red 
 when fed with blood. The eggs are seen in 
 crevices, especially where ends of perches rest, 
 as white dust. All should be removable, and 
 the surfaces of such places washed daily with 
 kerosene, or still better the lice-killer above, 
 painting the perches themselves once a week ; 
 but fire must be specially guarded against. This 
 and frequent carbolic lime washing and removal 
 of manure will be effectual. The birds them- 
 selves may be partly protected by touching here 
 and there v/ith oil and paraffin as above, or by 
 the " dips " above given. 
 
 Ticks have been sufficiently dealtwith at page 
 84. Touching with carbolised sweet oil is also 
 pretty effectual. 
 
 Cats. — The best methods of guarding against 
 these creatures have been mentioned at page 83. 
 
 Foxes. — In some localities these aninials 
 are a very serious hindrance to poultry farming, 
 or indeed any other kind of poultry keeping. 
 Just in the very districts where this is most felt, 
 the killing of a fox is regarded as a crime, 
 socially at all events ; but where serious pecu- 
 niary interests are at stake, those who maintain 
 a sport should be willing to pay fair value for 
 the losses which it occasions, and where this 
 is not done reprisals in kind cannot be wondered 
 at. Short of this, there are several very effectual 
 precautions which may be taken ; and it is 
 curious that one or the other seems the best 
 deterrent in one district, and quite a different one 
 
 in some other, (i) A little asafoetida may be 
 sprinkled round the entrance to each house, and 
 about each gap in the hedge or fence where the 
 animals enter the field. The scent lasts well, and 
 the drug only needs resprinkling about once a 
 month. This has repeatedly proved effectual. 
 (2) Hang about six inches of iron chain in the 
 centre of the hole by which the fowls enter, from 
 the top. They will brush it aside: the fox dreads 
 a trap, being the most suspicious of animals. 
 Mr. T. C. Burnell vouches for the efficacy of this 
 plan. (3) Few foxes will cross even two feet of 
 wire netting, from the same dread of danger, and 
 they are still more deterred if it be roughly 
 brushed with tar now and then. (4) Bits of sack- 
 ing dipped in gas-tar and hung at intervals on 
 the hedge, will often protect the field thus 
 enclosed. (5) Another similar plan is to plant 
 short sticks or rods round the field, with hooks 
 about a foot from the ground, supporting any 
 rough cord well soaked in paraffin oil, and re- 
 dipped occasionally. (6) If the hole for entrance 
 is made at one corner of the house, and a sort of 
 tunnel be made to it along the side, from which 
 the birds turn in after walking about, few foxes 
 will venture, and a sprinkle of asafoetida increases 
 their dread. By day, of course, when the birds 
 are about, the best precaution is a dog at large 
 which has the proper animosity to " anything 
 with hair on't." 
 
 Hedgehogs.— \\. is only of late that the ravages 
 of hedgehogs have become generally known, their 
 attacks having been put down to rats or other 
 vermin. Biit recently a mass of evidence has 
 accumulated to the effect that the hedgehog 
 in the country frequently attacks fowls during 
 the night, generally seizing on the hinder parts 
 and eating away the entrails. In any case of this 
 kind the best plan is to employ a professed 
 hedgehog catcher. 
 
 Rats and Mice. — The former of these are often 
 most destructive amongst the stock, and the 
 latter to the food. Grain and meal should never 
 be kept in wooden receptacles, but in iron bins, 
 and never spilt about ; carelessness in this respect 
 is the principal attraction to the vermin. 
 Asphalt floors are seldom mined by rats, 
 especially if every hole is filled up with gas-tar 
 and ashes ; but when rats are known to be near, 
 it is worth while to lay inch-mesh netting under 
 the floor and a foot up the walls. When the 
 animals do abound there are various resources, 
 (i) Ferreting. This is very effective in ex- 
 perienced hands. (2) Poison. Phosphorus paste 
 is generally used, but means lingering torture, 
 and is dangerous to the poultry unless laid only 
 in the holes. If these last can all be located, 
 a plan often used in France is to stop all but one 
 
592 
 
 THE BOOK OF FOULTRl. 
 
 tight, and pour down that some bisulphide of 
 carbon, then stopping that also ; the vapour 
 asphyxiates them, but is explosive with a naked 
 light. We do not like poisoned food in any case, 
 owing to the suffering involved ; but if it is used, 
 the best is probably quite dry plaster of Paris. 
 Some oatmeal should be put about, in small 
 quantity at first, till the rats have found it, and 
 eat more and more, noticing what quantity they 
 do eat, and only giving that. Then put same 
 quantity made up of half plaster, first dried on a 
 red-hot shovel over the fire. A dish of water 
 should be placed on the ground not very far off. 
 The plaster will cause inflammation and thirst, 
 and the water they will hasten to drink kills them 
 almost immediately, more quickly, at least, than 
 any other poisonous proceeding. The fowls 
 must be carefully kept away from it. (3) Traps. 
 The trap in two compartments known to iron- 
 mongers as the " Wonder " trap, is the best, if 
 used with patience. It should be fastened open 
 for a week or two, with plenty of bait. It is 
 a mistake and cause of failure to try to catch the 
 first one or two, which would be decoys to tempt 
 others in ; they should be allowed to run through 
 a week or tv,-o. Then, when a good catch is 
 made, they should be allowed impunity again for 
 a bit. A herring's head, or meat, or cheese will 
 do for bait, especially if scented with oil of 
 rhodium. Some toast stale bread and soak with 
 ale, putting some round the entrance, with the 
 
 idea that when intoxicated the rats lose their 
 cunning; at all events, this also appears to 
 answer very well, but the main thing is to let the 
 rats have a safe run through for a while every 
 now and then. Another good and most simple 
 trap for mice as well as rats is a smooth, round, 
 iron cask or bin, not less than two feet deep, with 
 some corn and meal and a little cheese in the 
 bottom, and something outside by which they 
 can climb up. They will get in, but cannot 
 get out, and may sometimes be found a dozen at 
 a time. 
 
 Weasels and Stoats. — These are troublesome 
 in some country districts. They are not disposed 
 to enter traps much, but are not really suspicious,, 
 and can generally be trapped by hanging a dead 
 chicken or other bait from a hedge, about 
 eighteen inches from the ground, so that the 
 animal has to jump to reach it, and placing a 
 catch-trap underneath. The trap need not be 
 concealed in any way. 
 
 Thieves. — The best security against these 
 at night will be found in savage watch-dogs, 
 properly "wired." Stout galvanised wire is 
 fastened, where required, in fifty-yard lengths ; to 
 which a dog is tethered, so that the ring of the 
 chain slides along the wire. One dog thus 
 effectually commands a good range. Electric 
 alarms which give warning when a door is opened 
 at night, are easily arranged by any good electric 
 bell fitter. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abortion of Eggs, 574. 
 
 Acre, Number of Fowls per, 133. 
 
 Addled Eggs, 51. 
 
 African Geese, 564. 
 
 Age for Laying, 29. 
 
 of Breeding Stock, 197. 
 
 of Fowls, Maiks of, 28, 
 
 Aged Fowls, Cooking, 95. 
 Air-cell, Size in Hatching Eggs, 72. 
 Albions, 471. 
 
 Albumen, Function in Egg, 42. 
 Albuminoids in Food, 18, 20. 
 
 Best Way to Feed, 35. 
 
 Alexander, Sir Claud, on Aseel, 332. 
 AUantois of Hatching Chick, 44. 
 America, Artificial Incubation in, 63. 
 
 Broiler Plants in, 147. 
 
 Causes for Poultry Demand in, 164. 
 
 Duck-farming in, 545. 
 
 Energy of Farmers in, 164. 
 
 Fanciers and Farmers in, 182. 
 
 Feeding of Poultry in, 24, 32. 
 
 Goose-fattening in, 564, 569. 
 
 Poultry-farming in, 158. 
 
 Poultry Houses in, 14-16. 
 
 Table Poultry in, 157, 174. 
 
 ■ Utility Points Preserved in, 164, 182. 
 
 Amherst, Hon. Sybil and Florence, on 
 
 Embden Geese, 558. 
 Analysis of Foods, 19. 
 
 of Poultry Manure, 134. 
 
 Anconas, 4IZ. 
 
 New Type, 414. 
 
 Old Style, 412. 
 
 Qualities of, 413. 
 
 Standard for, 418. 
 
 Andalusians, 399. 
 
 • Breeding, 401. 
 
 ■ Characteristics of, 400. 
 
 Off-colours in, 401. 
 
 Origin of, 399. 
 
 Standard for, 402. 
 
 Aniline Dyes in Co'.our-feeding, 210. 
 Animal Food, 35. 
 
 for Chicks, 82. 
 
 for Layers, 24. 
 
 Necessity of, 26. 
 
 Anti-toxin for Enteritis, 580. 
 Apoplexy, 574. 
 Appetite, Preserving, 30. 
 Aratoma Poultry Farm, U.S., 161. 
 Artificial Brooding, 88. 
 Incubation, 53. 
 
 Artificial Incubation in America, 6^. 
 
 Success of, 76. 
 
 Aseel, 330. 
 
 Standard for, 339. 
 
 Assisting Chicks in the Egg, 52. 
 Atkinson, Herbert, on Old English Game, 
 
 349- 
 Atmospheric Incubators, 63. 
 Australia, Poultry in, 175. 
 Autumn, Layers for, 30. 
 Average of Laying Hens, 24, 137. 
 Aylesbury Ducks, 535. 
 
 Baby Chickens, Business in, 144. 
 Bahama Pintail Ducks, 553. 
 Bakies, Scotch, 473. 
 Balancing a Dietary, 22. 
 Bantams, 485. 
 
 Black Rosecombed, 496. 
 
 Booted, 503. 
 
 Brahma, 507. 
 
 Cuckoo or Scotch Grey, 504. 
 
 Frizzled, 507. 
 
 Game, 488. 
 
 ■ Standard for, 495. 
 
 Hamburgh, 511. 
 
 • Houses and Runs for, 4S6. 
 
 Indian Game, 509. 
 
 Japanese. 506. 
 
 Malay, 508. . 
 
 Nankin, 505. 
 
 Pekin, 499. 
 
 Rearing and Exhibiting, 486. 
 
 Rumpless, 507. 
 
 Sebright, 497. 
 
 ' Spanish, 511. 
 
 Standards for, 512. 
 
 Training for Exhibition, 486. 
 
 Variety, 496. 
 
 Various Minor Breeds, 511. 
 
 Washing, 487. 
 
 White Rosecombed, 497. 
 
 Barbezieux Fowls, 461. 
 
 Barley as Food, zi. 
 
 Barred Rocks, Various Matings for, 307. 
 
 Barring of Plymouth Rocks, 302, 304. 
 
 Beans and Peas as Food, 20. 
 
 Beldon, Late Mr. 11., on Hamburghs, 420. 
 
 Belgium, Eggs from, 165 ; Poultry, 16S. 
 
 Fattening Industry in, 99. 
 
 Killing Poultry in, 108. 
 
 Poultry in, 1 72. 
 
 Breeds o'', 468. 
 
 Bellamy, Mr. W., on Trussing Fowls, 130. 
 
 Binder, Arthur, on Duckwing Game, 362^ 
 
 Biscuit Meal for Chickens, 80. 
 
 Black East Indian Ducks, 550. 
 
 Blue Madras Game, 337. 
 
 Board, Feeding Chickens on a, 81. 
 
 Body, Composition of the, 17. 
 
 Bolton Greys, 431. 
 
 Bone, Fresh, as Food, 22, 24. 
 
 and Combs, 203. 
 
 Bone-cutting Machines, 35. 
 
 Bone-dust for Chickens, 86. 
 
 Bonnemain's Eccalobion, 54. 
 
 Booted Bantams, 503. 
 
 Bourbourg Fowls, 462. 
 
 Bourlay, Mrs. Constance, on Anconas, 413 
 
 Boyle's Incubator, 54 ; Regulator, 58. 
 
 Bracken, T. B., on Campines, 465. 
 
 Braekels, 467. 
 
 Brahmas, 259. 
 
 American Type, 277. 
 
 Changes in Judging of, 267, 272. 
 
 Characteristics of, 268. 
 
 Crosses of, 278. 
 
 • Dark,264, 271. 
 
 Light, 269. 
 
 Origin of, 265. 
 
 Qualities of, 277. 
 
 Standard for, 278. 
 
 Strains of, 265. 
 
 Types in, 266. 
 
 Bran as Food, 21, 23, 32. 
 Branford, Edgar, on Malays, 327. 
 Breast, A Good, 128. 
 Breastbone, Breaking the, in. 
 Bredas or Gueldres, 467. 
 Breeders, The Work of, 179, 185. 
 Breeding Chart, Felch's, 190. 
 Factors in, 187. 
 
 • Four Points usually in, 187. 
 
 from Best Necessary, 187. 
 
 Mistakes in, 186. 
 
 Stock, Ages of, 197. 
 
 Breeds, Value for Exhibition, 222. 
 Brent, W. , on Indian Game, 335. 
 Brindley's Incubator, 54. 
 Broiler-plant in Germany, Failure of, 142- 
 Broiler-plants of America, 147. 
 
 Dunbar's, 153. 
 
 Loughlin's, 151. 
 
 Management of, 156. 
 
 Broilers, 94, 129. 
 
 Broken Eggs when Hatching, 5 1 . 
 
594 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bronchitis, 574. 
 
 Brood, Hatching of a, 77' 
 
 Brooder Houses of America, 148. 
 
 • Double, 149. 
 
 MortaUty in, 150. 
 
 Piping for, 147. 
 
 Brooders for Chickens, 88. 
 
 Disinfecting, 93. 
 
 Management of, 92. 
 
 Number in, 93. 
 
 Types of, 89. 
 
 Brooke, Mr. C. E., on New-laid Eggs, 166. 
 
 on Prices of Fowls, 125. 
 
 Brown, Edward, on Continental Breeds, 
 459, 468. 
 
 • — — Duck-farming, 540. 
 
 Fattening Poultry, 95. 
 
 Russian Geese, 566. 
 
 Browne, F. C. M., on Blue Langshans,29l. 
 
 Bruges Fowl, The, 468. 
 
 Buckwheat as Food, 21. 
 
 Buff Breeds, Confusion in, 299. 
 
 • Colour, Breeding, 247, 298. 
 
 Building Poultry Houses, 3. 
 Bumble-foot, 381, 574. 
 Burnell, T. C, on Dark Dorkings, 373. 
 Burnham, G. P., on Brahmas, 261. 
 
 Cabbage as Food, 35. 
 
 Cages for Fattening Fowls, loi, 121. 
 
 Call Ducks, SSO. 
 
 Campain, Miss, on Toulouse Geese, 562. 
 
 Campbell, Mrs. A., on Brahmas, 275. 
 
 Camphor in Water, 37, 584. 
 
 Campines, 465. 
 
 and Braekels, 467. 
 
 • Silver and Golden, 467. 
 
 Standard for, 467. 
 
 Canada, Eggs from, 165. 
 
 • Geese, 565. 
 
 ■ Poultry in, 174. 
 
 Canned Eggs, 174. 
 Cantelo's Incubator, 54. 
 Capons, 112; the Operation, 113. 
 Capsule Regulator, Hearsoii's, 56. 
 
 Defects of, 59, 66. 
 
 Carbo-hydrates in Food; 18. 
 
 Carbon, Consumption and Excretion of, 17. 
 
 Carbonnier's Incubator, 54. 
 
 Carolina Ducks, 551. 
 
 Carswell, J., on Scotch Greys, 474. 
 
 Catarrh, 576. 
 
 Cats, Protection against, 83. 
 
 Cayenne Pepper in Colour Feeding, 209. 
 
 Cayuga Ducks, 538. 
 
 ChalazEe, The,, 43. 
 
 Chick, Development of the, 4 (. 
 
 Chicken Pox, 575. 
 
 ■ Pudding, 94. 
 
 Chickens and Cramp, 85. 
 
 and Diarrhoea, 8<| . 
 
 and Insect Vermin, 84. 
 
 Animal Food for, 82. 
 
 Coops for, 78. 
 
 ■ Drafting into Lots, 207. 
 
 Chickens, Fattening, 95. 
 
 Feeding at Night, 82, 212. 
 
 Feeding on a Board, 81. 
 
 Flagging, 87. 
 
 Food for, 77, 80. 
 
 Green Food for, 80, 81. 
 
 Grit for, 81. 
 
 Lean, for Fattening, 99, 125. 
 
 Marking, 206. 
 
 Milk, 1 14. 
 
 Shade for, 87. 
 
 Times of Feeding, 80. 
 
 Water for, 83. 
 
 ■ Weaning from Hen, 86^ 
 
 Chicks Dead in Shell, 73. 
 
 Hatching, Assisting, 52. 
 
 ■ Sale of Newly Hatched, 144. 
 
 Chilian Pintail Ducks, 553- 
 Chilling of Eggs when Sitting, 50. 
 Chinese Geese, 564. 
 Chittagongs and Brahmas, 262, 264. 
 Chittiprats, 431. 
 Cholera in Fowls, 575. 
 
 in Geese, 569. 
 
 Christy, Mr. T., and Hydro-incubators, 55. 
 Cleaning Birds for Show, 217. 
 Cleanliness in House and Run, 38. 
 
 in Shed, 7. 
 
 Climate and Size of Grass Run, 9, 163. 
 
 "and Time for Hatching, 30. 
 
 Clover as Food, 21, 24, 32. 
 Cochins, American, 254. 
 
 and the Poultry Fancy, 242. 
 
 and Vulture Hocks, 245, 254. 
 
 Black, 251. 
 
 Buff, 245. 
 
 Crosses of, 257. 
 
 Cuckoo, 254. 
 
 Mr. Sturgeon's Early, 243. 
 
 Partridge, 248. 
 
 . ■ Rearing, < 56. 
 
 Silky, 255. 
 
 Standard for, 257. 
 
 White, 253. 
 
 Cock, Dispensing with, 28, 46. 
 Cock-fighting, History of, 342. 
 
 in India, 331. 
 
 Mains or Matches in, 345. 
 
 Origin of, 341. 
 
 Spurs for, 346. 
 
 the Real Cruelty o'', 347. 
 
 Cockle-seed as Food, 34. 
 
 Cocks, Duration of Influence, 201. 
 
 Feeding Brood, 30, 198. 
 
 Sulky, 200. 
 
 Cold or Catarrh, 576. 
 Cold Storage and Eggs, 16S, 173. 
 Colony Poultry Farms in America, 162. 
 Colour Feeding, 208 ; Experiments, 210. 
 
 of Combs, 217. 
 
 —. — of Eir-lobes, 215, 
 
 of Shanks, Keeping, 207. 
 
 Combs, Care of, 204. 
 
 Colour of, 217, 220. 
 
 Exaggerated, 179, 182. 
 
 Combs, Trimming of, 236. 
 Condiments for Poultry, 202. 
 Condition and Feeding, 30, 34. 
 Conditioning for Exhibition, 213. 
 Consumption, see Tuberculosis. 
 Continental (Miscellaneous) Breeds, 465. 
 Cook, W., and Black Orpingtons, 294, 297. 
 
 and Buff Orpingtons, 295. 
 
 Cooling Eggs in Incubators, 69. 
 Cooping Hens with Chickens, 80. 
 Coops for Chickens, 78. 
 
 Dry Floors for, 79. 
 
 Copper Colouring Birds, 209. 
 
 Cornish, Mr. V., on Brahmas, 259, 260. 
 
 Corridor Plan for Poultry Houses, 12. 
 
 Cossack (French) Fowls, 461. 
 
 Coucou de Malrnes, 468. 
 
 Course of Breeding or Selection, 186, 18S. 
 
 Courtes Fattes, 460. 
 
 Cracked Eggs, Hatching, 51. 
 
 Cramming Fowls, Systems of, 102. 
 
 by Machine, 103. 
 
 Cramp in Chickens, 85. 
 
 Creels, 419. 
 
 Cresswell, O. E., on Exhibition Fowls, 
 
 178. 
 
 on Silver-grey Dorkings, 376. 
 
 on White Dorkings, 379. 
 
 Crests of Houdans, 452, 45;. 
 
 of Polish, 444, 447. 
 
 Preserving, 442. 
 
 Trimming, 449. 
 
 Cr^vecoeurs, 455. 
 
 Standard for, 463. 
 
 Criticism, Press, 226. 
 
 Crombleholme, Rev. J., on Buff-laced 
 
 Wyandottes, 317. 
 
 on Gold-laced Wyandottes, 316. 
 
 ■ — - on Silver Wyandottes, 312. 
 
 . on Violette Wyandottes, 318. 
 
 on White Wyandottes, 319. 
 
 Crooked Toes, 204. 
 
 Crop-bound, Operation for, 576. 
 
 Crop, Soft or Swelled, 577. 
 
 Cross, Breeding Back from a, 19 r. 
 
 Crossing a Cause of Reversion, 186, 188. 
 
 Crowding in Broiler- plants, 153. 
 
 Crowding, Mortality from, 9, 141. 
 
 Crushing Breast-bone, iii. 
 
 Cuca Extract for Nervous Debility, 222. 
 
 Cuckoo or Barred Marking, 302. 
 
 Custard for Chickens, 77. 
 
 Curtis, Mr. Grant, on Extent of Run, 163. 
 
 Dandelions, Cultivation of, 81. 
 
 Dari as Food, 21. 
 
 Darwin, Charles, on Brahmas, 260. 
 
 on Reversion, 186. 
 
 Davies, Rev. A. C, on Langshans, 285. 
 Dead in Shell, Causes of Chicks, 44, 73. 
 Debility, 577. 
 Delicacy, Two Kinds of, i, 
 Denmark, Ej. gs from, 165, 173. 
 Despatch for Exhibition, 221. 
 Diarrhcea and Dysentery, 577. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 595 
 
 Diarrhoea in Broiler-plants, 157. 
 
 in Chickens, 84. 
 
 Dietaries, Balancing, 22. 
 
 Special, 24, 32. 
 
 Digestibility of Food, 19. 
 
 Diphtheria in Fowls, 577. 
 
 Diseases of Poultry, 573, 592. 
 
 Dogs, Wiring them as Guards, 592. 
 
 Dominiques, American, 301. 
 
 Donald, J., and Indian Runner Ducks, 538. 
 
 Dorkings, 369. 
 
 Bumble-foot in, 381. 
 
 Combs in, 381. 
 
 Cuckoo, 379. 
 
 Dark, 370. 
 
 Fancy and Utility in, 179. 
 
 Origin of, 369. 
 
 Qualities of, 380. 
 
 Red, 375. 
 
 Silver-grey, 376. 
 
 Standard for, 383. 
 
 Vermin in, 375. 
 
 White, 378. 
 
 Double Mating, 183. 
 
 Causes of, 191. 
 
 Double-yolked Eggs, 42. 
 DoUglas, John, on Dorkings, 370. 
 
 — on Game Fowls, 355. 
 
 Drafting-out Chickens, 86. 
 Drakes, Change of Plumage in, 533. 
 Drinking, Excessive, 37. 
 Dropping-board System, 5. 
 Droppings, Removing, 38. 
 Dropsy in Fowls, 578. 
 Drying Fowls after Washing, 218. 
 Du Mans Fowls, 460. 
 Du Mantes Fowls, 461. 
 Dubbing Game, 366. 
 Duck Eggs, Hatching, 74. 
 Duck-farming in America, 545. 
 
 ■ in England, 540. 
 
 Ducks, 533. 
 
 Aylesbury, 535. 
 
 Bills of, 536. 
 
 Black East Indian, 550. 
 
 Blue, 539. 
 
 ■ Call, 550. 
 
 ■ Campbell, 539. 
 
 Carolina, 55'- 
 
 Cayuga, 538. 
 
 Continental, 539. 
 
 Duclair, 539. 
 
 ■ French, 549. 
 
 Indian Runner, 537. 
 
 Indian Spotted Bill, 554. 
 
 Keel m, 535, S37, S38. 546- 
 
 Management of, 534. 
 
 Mandarin, 551. 
 
 Muscovy, 539. 
 
 Ornamental, 549. 
 
 Pekin, 537. 
 
 Pintails, 553. 
 
 Rouen, 536. 
 
 Shieldrakes, 553. 
 
 Standards for, 554. 
 
 Ducks, Teals, 552. 
 
 Whistling, 553. 
 
 ^-Wild British, 533, 554. 
 
 Dumpies, Scotch, 473. 
 Dunbar Broiler-plant, Mass., 153. 
 Dust-bath for Poultry, 7. 
 Dutch Every-day Layers, 419. 
 Dyed Plumage at Shows, 236. 
 
 Shanks, 237. 
 
 Dysentery, 577. 
 
 Ear-lobes, Care of the, 215. 
 Early Breeding, Evils of, 198. 
 Early-hatched Pullets, Merits of, 29. 
 Eating Eggs, Treatment of Hens, 47. 
 Economy in Food and Labour, 138. 
 Edwards, Miss N., on Baby Chickens, 144 
 Egg, Development of the, 41, 44. 
 
 Protectors, 51. 
 
 Egg-bound, 579. 
 Egg-eating Habit, 47. 
 Egg-food for Chickens, 77. 
 Egg-ovens of Egypt, 53. 
 Egg-sales, Records of, 205. 
 Egg-testers, 52, 70. 
 Egg-trade of Ireland, 169. 
 
 Foreign, 165. 
 
 Eggs, Addled, 51. 
 
 ■ Breeding for, 39, 104, 179. 
 
 Canned, 174. 
 
 Chilled when Hatching, 51. 
 
 Cold Storage, 168. 
 
 ■ • Collecting, 39. 
 
 Constant Succession of, 30, 
 
 Cooling in Incubators, 69. 
 
 Duck, in Incubators, 74. 
 
 Feeding for, 24. 
 
 for Artificial Incubation, 69, 76. 
 
 for Sitting, Choice of, 47. 
 
 Packing, 48. 
 
 Imports into England, 165, 
 
 Increased Home Production, 166. 
 
 Marking, 40. 
 
 New Laid, 131 ; Prices for, 166. 
 
 Number for a Sitting, 50, 
 
 Preserving, 46. 
 
 Purchase of, 195, 196. 
 
 Recognising Parentage of. 39. 
 
 Resting, 48. 
 
 Shape and Sex of, 47. 
 
 Soft and Abnormal, 579. 
 
 Spots in, 579. 
 
 Storing, 46. 
 
 Testing for Fertility, 51, 70. 
 
 Turning, 69. 
 
 Egypt, Artificial Incubaticn in, 53. 
 Egyptian Goose, 553. 
 Embden Geese, 55S. 
 Enteritis, Contagious, 9, 580. 
 Estaires, Fowl of, 462. 
 Even Feeding for Table, 123. 
 Exhibiting Poultry, 195, 214. 
 
 Purchased Stock, 196. 
 
 Table Poultry, 129. 
 
 Exhibition and Utility, 176. 
 
 Exhibition, Conditioning for, 213. 
 
 Hampers for, 221. 
 
 Profit and Loss of, 222. 
 
 Selection for, 216. 
 
 Treatment after, 221. 
 
 Experimental Mating, 200. 
 Experiments in Colour Feeding, 210. 
 
 in Feeding, Mistakes in, 25. 
 
 Exposure, Results of Free, 2. 
 
 Faces of Spanish, 389. 
 Failures in Poultry.farming, 139, 142. 
 Fair Play at Exhibitions, 223. 
 Faking Birds for Exhibition, 233. 
 Falling-over of Combs, 214. 
 False Sickles, Insertion of, 238. 
 Fanciers, Work of the, 181. 
 Faiicy Points, Utility of, 178, 179. 
 
 Poultry, Merits of, 29 
 
 Farm, Poultry upon a, 133. 
 Farmers and Poultry, 135. 
 Fasting Fowls before Killing, 107. 
 Fat in Cramming Fowls, 106, 121. 
 Fats and Oils in Food, 18. 
 Fatted Poultry, 95. 
 Fatterjing a Critical Business, 117- 
 
 a Special Industry, 98. 
 
 Advantages of, 97. 
 
 Antiquity of, 95. 
 
 Breeds and Crosses for, 125. 
 
 Combined with Rearing, 117. 
 
 in Sussex, 96, 116. 
 
 Supply of Chickens for. 
 
 ■ Weight Gained in, 124. 
 
 FaveroUes, 457. 
 
 as Table Fowls, I25. 
 
 ■ Colours of, 458. 
 
 Qualities of, 459. 
 
 Standard for, 464. 
 
 Favus, 581. 
 Feather-eating, 581. 
 
 Danger of, 3:, 38. 
 
 Feathers, Disposal of, 110, 122. 
 
 Home-curedj 123. 
 
 White, a Cause of, 205. 
 
 Feeding at Shows, 223. 
 
 Chickens, 77, 80. 
 
 Early and Late, 202, 212. 
 
 for Eggs, 24. 
 
 for Exhibition, 220. 
 
 Vessels, 33. 
 
 Felch's Breeding Chart, igo. 
 Female, Influence of in Breeding, 197. 
 Females, Vigour of the, 198. 
 Fencing for Poultry Yards, 10. 
 Fertility of Eggs, 197. 
 
 Mechanical Obstacles to, 198. 
 
 Firth, Walter, on Pile Game, 364. 
 
 Fish, Dried, as Food, 22. 
 
 Fitch, J., on Cock-fighting in Schools, 
 
 Flagging in Growth, Chickens, 87. 
 
 Fleas, 590. 
 
 Flesh V. Fat in Fowls, 123. 
 
 in Geese, 568. 
 
 Flocks of Poultry in a Run, 141, 143. 
 
 116, 125. 
 
 .■?4"- 
 
596 
 
 INDEX^ 
 
 Floors, Dry, for Chicken-coops, 79. 
 
 of Poultry Houses, 3. 
 
 Fluffing Birds for Exhibition, 238. 
 Food, Constituents of, 17. 
 
 for Chickens, 80. 
 
 for Cramming Fowls, 105. 
 
 • Layers, 24. 
 
 for Newly-hatched Chickens, 77- 
 
 Purposes of, 17. 
 
 Quantity of, 27, 30. 
 
 Foods, Analyses of, 19. 
 
 Prepared, 32. 
 
 Forcing Diet, Dangers of, 25, 27. 
 
 Fountains for Water, 37. 
 
 Fowls, Old, for Table, 95. 
 
 Foxes, 591. 
 
 Fractures, 582. 
 
 France, Fattening Fowls in, loi. 
 
 Imports of Eggs from, 165. 
 
 Killing Poultry in, 108. 
 
 Poultry in, 171. 
 
 Fraud, Suppression of at Shows, 234, 238. 
 Fresh Air for Poul try-houses, 4. 
 
 Blood, 188; Incorporation of, 191, 
 
 200. 
 French Breeds of Poultry, 451. 
 Frizzled Fowls, 471. 
 Frost-bite, 582. 
 Funnel, Cramming with a, 103. 
 
 Game, Bantams, 488. 
 
 Birchen, 493. 
 
 Black-red, 489. 
 
 • Brown-red, 492. 
 
 Duckwing, 491. 
 
 Old English, 494. 
 
 Pile, 490. 
 
 Standard for, 495. 
 
 ■ Type of, 488. 
 
 White, 494. 
 
 Birchen, 362. 
 
 Black-breasted Red, 357. 
 
 Blue Madras, 337. 
 
 Brown-breasted Red, 360. 
 
 Cock, Trimmed and Heeled, 345. 
 
 Cocks, Feeding and Training of, 344. 
 
 Dubbing, 366. 
 
 Duckwing, 362. 
 
 Exhibition, Development of, 356. 
 
 Rearing, 365. 
 
 Standards for, 367. 
 
 Fowl, Origin of the, 341. 
 
 ■ Indian, 333. 
 
 Old English, 341. 
 
 Pile, 364- 
 
 Points of the Old, 343. 
 
 Wheaten, 364. 
 
 Gapes in Chickens, 583. 
 
 Geese, 557. 
 
 African, 564. 
 
 Canada, 565. 
 
 • Cereopsis, 567. 
 
 ■ Chinese, 564. 
 
 Dropped Tongue in, 570. 
 
 Egyptian, 553. 
 
 Geese, Embden, 5S8. 
 
 Exhibiting, 561. 
 
 for Market, 568 ; Hybrids for, 566. 
 
 French, 569. 
 
 Gambian, 567, 
 
 in Germany, 569. 
 
 Italian, 566. 
 
 — — Killing, 569. 
 
 Magellan, 567. 
 
 Rearing, 558, 560. 
 
 Russian, 566, 569. 
 
 Sebastopol, 566. 
 
 Standards for, 572. 
 
 Toulouse, 562. 
 
 Germ of the Egg, 43. 
 Germany, Eggs from, 165. 
 
 Failure of Broiler-plant in, 147. 
 
 Geese in, 569. 
 
 Germs, Detection of, 574. 
 Gloss, Means of Increasing. 217. 
 Go-laighs or Dumpies, 473. 
 Goodfellow, R., on Dark Dorkings, 374. 
 Goose Cholera, 569. 
 
 Fattening in America, 569. 
 
 ■ Raising for Market, 568. 
 
 Gordon, R., on Blue Madras Game, 337. 
 
 on Buff-laced Polish, 447. 
 
 Gould, Hon. J. S.,* on Exhibition Fowls, 
 
 176. 
 Gournay Fowl, The, 461. 
 Gout, 585. 
 Grain Dietary, A, 23. 
 
 for Chickens, 82. 
 
 for Feeding, 34. 
 
 Grapes and Poultry Manure, 118. 
 Grass as Food, 21. 
 
 ■ Cut Small for Chickens, 80. 
 
 Growing in Frames for Chicks, 81. 
 
 Runs, 8. 
 
 Area of, 9, l6j. 
 
 Sweetening, 9. 
 
 Gravel or Grit, 81. 
 
 Graves' Incubator, 55 ; Regulator, 58. 
 Grazing Animals and Fowls, 134. 
 Green Food, 24 ; Necessity of, 35. 
 
 ■ for Chickens, 81 
 
 Grit for Chickens, 81. 
 
 for Fowls, 36. 
 
 Ground Oats, 105, 119. 
 Ground, Tainted, 9, £5. 
 Gueldres or Bredas, 467. 
 Guinea Fowl, 526 ; Breeding, 528. 
 
 Half-fatted Fowls, 100. 
 
 Hallock, A. J., and Duck-farming, 546, 
 
 548. 
 Halsted's Incubator, 55 ; Regulator, 58. 
 Ilamburghs, 419. 
 
 Black, 434. 
 
 ■ Breeding, 420.. 
 
 Buff, 436. 
 
 Combs of, 4^1, 437. 
 
 Common Origin of, 419. 
 
 Drawbacks of, 436. 
 
 Golden-pencilled, 433. 
 
 Hamburghs, Golden-spangled, 426. 
 
 Qualities of, 419. 
 
 Silver-pencilled, 431, 433. 
 
 Silver-spangled, 421. 
 
 Standard for, 438. 
 
 Trimming of, 237, 437. 
 
 White, 436. 
 
 Hamlin, Harry, on Red Dorkings, 375. 
 Hammonton, N.J., Broiler-plants at, 147. 
 Hampers for Exhibition, 221. 
 Hardiness and Delicacy, I. 
 Ilarwood, J., on Minorcas, 392. 
 Hatching, Artificial, 53. 
 
 Commenced in the Fowl, 43. 
 
 Moisture in, 50. 
 
 of the Chick, 45. 
 
 • under Turkeys, 76. 
 
 Hay and Poultry Farming, 141. 
 
 as Food, 21. 
 
 Heap, Bros. , Messrs., on Anconas, 413. 
 Hearson'sjOramming Machine, 104. 
 
 Incubator, 56. 
 
 Heat of Brooders, 92. 
 
 of Incubator, 67. 
 
 of Sitting Hens, 49. 
 
 Heath, A., and Trimming of Spanish, 388. 
 
 Heathfield Poultry Trade, 96, HI, 117. 
 
 Hedgehogs Killing Fowls, 591. 
 
 Hempseed as Food, 221. 
 
 Henny Game, 351. 
 
 Hen-tailed Hamburghs, 422, 432. 
 
 Sebrights, 498. 
 
 Hewitt, E., on Malays, 326. 
 
 Higglers, The, of Sussex, 99. 
 
 Hinton, Jos., on Aseel, 331. 
 
 Holt, C, on Hamburgh Breeding, 423. 
 
 Home Products, Preference for, 167, 175. 
 
 Horseflesh as Food, 23. 
 
 Hot-air Incubators, 63. 
 
 Compared with Tank, 66. 
 
 Hot-water Pipes for Brooder Houses, 147. 
 Houdans, 451. 
 
 as Layers, 453. 
 
 Qualities of, 451, 453. 
 
 Standard for, 462. 
 
 Houses for Poultry, i. 
 Hovers for Brooder Houses, 148. 
 Hunter, A. F., and Poultry Houses, 14. 
 Hunter, Mr. S.,and Poultry Farming, 142, 
 
 145. 
 Hydrogen, Consumption and Excretion 
 
 of, 17. 
 Hydro-incubator, The, 55. 
 
 Imagination, Influence o'', 201. 
 Imports of Eggs in England, 165. 
 
 Poultry, 168. 
 
 In-breeding, 1S9. 
 Incubation, Artificial, 53. 
 
 Period of, 52. 
 
 under Turkeys, 76. 
 
 Incubator-room, The, 67. 
 Incubators, Choice of, 67, 
 
 Cleansing, 76. 
 
 Cosy Coop, 62. 
 
Incubators, Cypher's, 65. 
 
 ■ Final Hatching-out in, 73. 
 
 • Forester, 61. 
 
 Hearson's, 56. 
 
 Hillier's, 63. 
 
 in America, 63. 
 
 Management of, fj. 
 
 Monarch, 60. 
 
 Prairie State, 64, 
 
 Star, 65. 
 
 Temperature in, 67. 
 
 ■■ Various Early, 54, 55. 
 
 India, Cock-6ghting in, 331. 
 
 Fowls in, 325. 
 
 Indian Corn as Food, 21. 
 Indian Game, 333. 
 
 Breeding, 336. 
 
 Qualities of, 335. 
 
 ■ Standard for, 339. 
 
 Runner Ducks, 537. 
 
 Infertility, Causes of, 199. 
 
 Inheritance, Nature of in Breeding, 185. 
 
 Insect Vermin, 39. 
 
 and Chickens, 84. 
 
 . ■ in Dorkings, 375. 
 
 Ireland, Poultry and Eggs in, 168, 171. 
 Irish Agricultural Organisation Society; 
 169. 
 
 Chickens for Fattening, 99, 117. 
 
 Iron, Carbonate, for Colour Feeding, 209. 
 Tonic, 37, 203, 220. 
 
 Japanese Bantams, 506. 
 
 Long-tailed Fowls, 479. 
 
 Silkies, 475. 
 
 Teal, 552. 
 
 Javas, Black and White, 472. 
 
 Jersey Blues, 481. 
 
 Joint Disease, 585. 
 
 Judging, Abuses of, 225, 228, 235. 
 
 Early System of, 225. 
 
 Modern System of, 226. 
 
 Standards of, 228. 
 
 Table Poultry, 129. 
 
 Keel in Ducks, 535, 537, S46. 
 
 in Geese, 561, 562, 571. 
 
 Killing Ducks, 544, 548, 549- 
 
 Fowls, 108. 
 
 Geese, 569. 
 
 Turkeys, 526. 
 
 King, Nelson, on Black Leghorns, 411. 
 Klein, Dr. E., on Contagious Enteritis, 9, 
 
 580. 
 and Joint Disease, 585. 
 
 La Bresse Fowls, 459. 
 La Fl^che, 456. 
 
 Standard for, 464. 
 
 Labour and Poultry-farming, 133, 138, 
 
 140. 
 Lacing of Indian Game, 334. 
 
 of Wyandottes, 313. 
 
 Lameness Caused in Brooders, 93. 
 Lancashire Mooneys, 422. 
 Land, Management of, 141. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Langshans, 281. 
 
 American, 289. 
 
 and Cochins, 285. 
 
 Blue, 291. 
 
 'Buff, 292. 
 
 '■ Change of Type in, 286. 
 
 Original, 282. 
 
 Standard for, 293. 
 
 White, 290. 
 
 Large Poultry Farm, American, 162. 
 
 an English, 142. 
 
 Layers, Breeding for, 137, 140, 179. 
 
 Selecting, 28. 
 
 Laying, Age for, 29. 
 
 Average, Increase of, 179. 
 
 Development of, 39. 
 
 Hens, Diet for, 24. 
 
 Purposes, Blue Hens for, 482. 
 
 Lean Chickens for Fattening, Cost of, 125. 
 Leg Feather, Care of, 211. 
 
 Weakness, 585. 
 
 Leghorns, 403. 
 
 American, 416. 
 
 Black, 411. 
 
 Brown, 406. 
 
 Buff, 410. 
 
 Changes in, 403. 
 
 Cuckoo, 412. 
 
 Dubbing, 405. 
 
 Duckwing, 409. 
 
 Mottled, 412. 
 
 ■ Pile, 408. 
 
 Qualities of, 403. 
 
 Standard for, 417. 
 
 White, 404. 
 
 Lice in Poultry, 39, 84, 590. 
 Lime for Fowls, 36. 
 Lincolnshire Buffs, 296. 
 Line Breeding, 185, 189. 
 Linseed for Increasing Gloss, 217. 
 Little, Robert, on Andalusians, 399. 
 Liver Disease, 586, 589. 
 Lobes, Attention to, 215. 
 Loughlin, Mr. J., and his Broiler-plant, 
 151. 
 
 Machines for Cramming Fowls, 103, 117. 
 
 Madras Blue Game, 337. 
 
 Mains or Matches in Cock-fighting, 345. 
 
 Maize as Food, 21, 22, 23, 25. 
 
 Malays, 325. 
 
 Breeding, 328. 
 
 Early History of, 326. 
 
 Pheasant, 333. 
 
 Standard for, 338. 
 
 Male, Influence of, 197. 
 
 Duration of, 200. 
 
 Mallard or Wild Duck, 533. 
 Malt Culms or Malt Dust, 20. 
 Management of Shows, 223. 
 Mandarin Ducks, 55T. 
 Manure, Poultry, 38. 
 
 and Tomatoes, 118, 134. 
 
 Value of, 117, 134. 
 
 Market, Making a, 140. 
 
 597 
 
 Marlceting Eggs as New Laid, 138. 
 
 Table Fowls, in. 
 
 Markets, Opening up New, 128. 
 Marking Chickens, 206. 
 Marx, J. P. W., on Faverolles, 457. 
 Mash, Morning or Evening, 3 1 . 
 
 or Soft Food, Advantage of, 30. 
 
 Various Kinds of, 31. 
 
 Mating Breeding Stock, 196, 200. 
 
 Double, 183 ; Evils of, 192. 
 
 Matings, Experimental, 200. 
 Matthew, Samuel, on Black-breasted Red 
 Game, 358. 
 
 on Rearing Game, 365. 
 
 Meal Food or Mash, 30, 31. 
 
 Meals per Day, 34. 
 
 Meat Feeding and Combs, 203. 
 
 and Excessive Plumage, 204. 
 
 Mediterranean Race of Fowls, 385. 
 
 Mice, 591. 
 
 Middlings or Sharps, 21. 
 
 Milk Chickens, 114. 
 
 for Chickens, 80. 
 
 for Fattening Fowls, io5, 121. 
 
 Mill-stones for Grinding Oats, 120. 
 Minasi's Incubator, 54. 
 Minorcas, 391. 
 
 Breeding, 393. 
 
 Crosses of, 397. 
 
 Ear-lobe in, 395. 
 
 Exhibiting, 394. 
 
 History of, 392. 
 
 Langshan Cross in, 395. 
 
 Qualities of, 397. 
 
 Standard for, 398. 
 
 White, 397. 
 
 Mites, Red, 591. 
 
 • and Chickens, 80. 
 
 Mixing Soft Food or Mash, 33. 
 Moisture, Hatching without, 71. 
 
 in Incubators, 71. 
 
 Mooneys, 419, 423, 425, 426, 427. 
 Mortality from Crowding, 9, 141. 
 
 in Broiler-plants, 150. 
 
 Moss, Mr. H. E., on Hatching Ducks, 74. 
 Moult, 37 ; Feeding in, 38. 
 
 and Colour Feeding, 210. 
 
 and Vermin, 220. 
 
 Moulting Exhibition Stock, 219. 
 
 of Early Pullets, 29. 
 
 ■ of the Shanks, 220. 
 
 Murrell, R. W., and Duck-farming, 544. 
 Muscovy Ducks, 539. 
 
 Naked Necks, 481. 
 Nankin Bantams, 505. 
 National Poultry Interests, 165. 
 
 Organisation Society, 167. 
 
 Nature, on Following, 30. 
 Nests, 6, 46. 
 
 for Egg-eating Hens, 47. 
 
 for Sitting Hens, 49. 
 
 Recording or Trap, 192. 
 
 Neve's Cramming Machine, 104. 
 New-laid Eggs, 138; Fraud in, 167. 
 
598 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 New-laid Eggs, Market for, l66. 
 Newly-hatched Chickens, Sale of, 144. 
 Night, Feeding Chi.kens at, 82, 202, 212. 
 Nitrogen, Consumption and Excretion of, 
 
 17- 
 Notice of Sales and Awards, 224. 
 Number in one Breeding Pen, 197'. 
 
 of Fowls per Acre, 133, 141. 
 
 Nursing Birds for a Given Date, 213, 219. 
 Nutritive Ratio of Food, l8, 20. 
 
 Oatmeal as Food, 21. 
 Oats.as Food, 21. 
 
 Ground, J05. 
 
 Occupation for. Fowls, 36. 
 Old English Game, 341. 
 
 Bantams, 494. 
 
 Colours of, 351. 
 
 Henny, 351. 
 
 Judging, 352. 
 
 ■ Points of, 350. 
 
 ■ Qualities of, 349. 
 
 Revival of, 349. 
 
 Standard for, 353. 
 
 Fowls, Cooking, 95. 
 
 Open Judging, 224. 
 Open-air Houses, 4. 
 Orloff Fowls, 469. 
 Orpingtons, 294. 
 
 Black, 294. 
 
 Buff, 295. 
 
 Standard for, 3C0. 
 
 Ostrich Eggs, Hatching, 76. 
 Ovary of a Hen, 41. 
 Over-showing, Effects of, 221 
 Oviduct, The, 41. 
 Ovum, Formation of the, 41. 
 
 Packing Eggs for Sitting, 48. 
 
 — — Sussex Poultry, III. 
 
 Paralysis, 586. 
 
 Parentage, Influence of Former, 201. 
 
 Parrish's Chemical Food, 202. 
 
 Partington, J., on Black Orpingtons, 294. 
 
 Pavloft" Fowls, 469. 
 
 Payne, C. H., and Poultry Houses, 16. 
 
 and the Dunbar Plant, 153. 
 
 on Broiler Mortality, 150. 
 
 Payne, G., and Duckwing Leghorns, 409. 
 
 and Pile Leghorns, 408. 
 
 Pea Fowl, 529. 
 
 • — : — Varieties of, 530. 
 
 Teas as Food, 20. 
 
 Pedigree Breeding, 185, 189. 
 
 Pekin Bantams, 499. 
 
 Ducks, 537. 
 
 and Duck Farming, 546. 
 
 Penman's Incubator, 54. 
 Penning at Shows, 223. 
 Pens for Training, 216. 
 Perches for Fowls, 5. 
 Peritonitis, 586. 
 Petits Poussins, 94, 1 14. 
 Pheasant Fowls, 419, 422, 426. 
 Malays, 333. 
 
 Phoenix Fowls, 479. 
 
 Phosphates in Feeding Chicks, 202. 
 
 Pickles, H., on Breeding Hamburghs, 420. 
 
 Piercy, F. O., on Langshans, 288. 
 
 Pintail Ducks, 553. 
 
 Pip in Fowls, 587. 
 
 Plaisted, C, on Brahmas, 262. 
 
 Plans for Poultry-yards, ,11-16. 
 
 Plucking Birds for Exhibition, 237. 
 
 Table Poultry, 109. . 
 
 Plumage, Care of the, 207, 219. 
 
 Hastening, when backward,- 2 14. 
 
 Plymouth Rocks, 301. 
 
 ; — Barred, 302. 
 
 ■ Black Blood in, 302. 
 
 Buff, 308. 
 
 Characteristics of, 302. 
 
 Mating of, 303, 306. 
 
 Origin of, 301. 
 
 Pea-combed, 309. 
 
 Qualities of, 303. 
 
 Standard for, 310. 
 
 White, 308. 
 
 Pneumonia, 587. 
 
 Points, Fowls necessarily Judged by, 176. 
 
 — — of a Fowl, 240. 
 
 Produced by Selection, 185. 
 
 Polish Fowls, 441. 
 
 ■ and French Breeds, 451, 462. 
 
 Chamois or Buff-laced, 447. 
 
 Introduction of Muffs in, 441. 
 
 Minor Varieties of, 449. 
 
 ■ Skull of, 441. 
 
 ■ Spangled, 443. 
 
 Standards for, 449. 
 
 White-crested Black, 443. 
 
 Pollard as Food, 21. 
 Portable Houses, 6. 
 Post-mortem Examinations, 574- 
 Potatoes as Food, 21, 23. 
 Poulets de Grains, 115. 
 Poultry Club, Origin of the, 234. 
 
 Rules against Fraud, 234, 
 
 Manure, Application of, .134. 
 
 Quantity of, 134. 
 
 Value of, 117, 134. 
 
 Poultry-farming, 133. 
 
 DifiSculties of, 143. 
 
 Essentials of Success in, 140. 
 
 Failures in, 139. 
 
 in America, 15S. 
 
 in Sussex, 138. 
 
 Real Difficulty of, 133. 
 
 Poultry-farms, Colony, 162. 
 
 Large, 142, 162. 
 
 Press, The, and Exhibition, 226. 
 Pressing Trough for Table Poultry, no, 
 
 122. 
 Prices of Fatted Fowls, 97, 125. 
 
 of Foreign Eggs, 165, 166. 
 
 of New-laid Eggs, 166. 
 
 ■ of Table Poultry in France, 98, 126. 
 
 Privileges at Shows, Unfair, 223. 
 
 Prize Poultry, Breeding and Rearing, 194. 
 
 Profits from Breeding, 147, 194 
 
 Procter, G. H. , on Buff Cochins, 246. 
 Profit and Loss in Fattening, I24. 
 
 on Poultry, 40. 
 
 Protectors for Eggs, 5 1.. 
 Proteids in Food, l8. 
 Protests at Exhibitions, 224, 235. 
 Proud, P., on Bantams, 485. 
 Ptarmigans, 479. 
 Puddings, Chicken, 94. 
 Purchased Stock, Exhibiting, 196. 
 Purchasing Eggs, 195. 
 Prize Stock, 196. 
 
 Quantity of Food, 27, 30. 
 Quassia in Water, 37. 
 
 Rake for Removing Droppings, 38. 
 
 Ranges of Poultry Houses, 11. 
 
 Rankin, Jas., and Duck Farming, 546, 
 
 548- 
 
 Rats and Mice, 591. 
 
 Reaumur's Experiments in Incubation, 54. 
 
 Records of Breeding, 205. 
 
 Redcaps, 429. 
 
 Standard for, 440. 
 
 Red Hackles and Green Gloss, 253. 
 
 Mite, The, 80, 591. 
 
 Relation, Importance of Some, 196. 
 
 Renwick's Incubator, 55. 
 
 Reporting Shows, 225, 227. 
 
 Resting Eggs for Sitling, 48. 
 
 Return from Exhibilion, 221. 
 
 Reversion, Effects of, 18S. 
 
 Rheumatism, 587. 
 
 Rhode Island Reds, 472. 
 
 Rice as Food, 21. 
 
 Rice, Frank E., on Yokohama;, 479. 
 
 Richardson, W., on Buff Orpingtons, 297. 
 
 Rivalry, Evils of Unbridled, 228. 
 
 Roasting Chickens in America, 157. 
 
 Roberts, William, and Breeding Ham- 
 burghs, 420. 
 
 Rocks, Plymouth, 301. 
 
 Roofs of Houses, 3. 
 
 Roosting or Perching Chickens, 207. 
 
 Rouen Ducks, 536. 
 
 Roup, Catarrhal, 588. 
 
 Rouse; Miss E., on White Cochins, 253. 
 
 Rumpless Fowls, 481. 
 
 Runs, Extent of, in America, 163. 
 
 Management of, 141. 
 
 Small, 8. 
 
 Russia, Eggs from, 165 ; Poultry, 168. 
 
 Frozen Fowls from, 173. 
 
 Poultry in, 172. 
 
 Russian Fowls, 469. 
 
 Geese, 566, 569. 
 
 Rye as Food, 21. 
 
 Sales, Notice of from Shows, 224. 
 Salts in the Food, 17, 18, 26. 
 Scalding Table Poultry, 109. 
 Scales of Points, Theory of, 229. 
 Scaly Leg, 588. 
 Schools and Cock-fighting, 341. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 599 
 
 Schroder's Incubator, 54. 
 .Schwartz, V.,on Irish Egg Trade, 169. 
 Score-card Judging in America, 231. 
 Scotch Dumpies, Standard for, 483. 
 
 Grey Bantam;:, 504. 
 
 Greys, 474. 
 
 Standard for, 482. 
 
 Scratching Sheds of America, 14, 
 Season, Effect on Conformation, 199, 
 Sebright Bantams, 497. 
 
 Cochins or Wyandottes, 311. 
 
 Selection for Exhibition, 216. 
 
 in Breeding, 186. 
 
 Selling Prize Poultry, Difficulty of, 194. 
 Sex, Control of, 199. 
 
 Distinguishing, 206. 
 
 Sexes, Separating, 198, 206. 
 Shade for Chickens, 87. 
 
 Value of, for Plumage, 207. 
 
 Shank Feathering, Care of, 211. 
 Shanks, Colour of the, 207. 
 
 Dyed for Exhibition, 237. 
 
 Moulting of the, 220. 
 
 Shaping Table Poultry, no, 122. 
 
 Sharps as Food, 21. 
 
 Shed, Diet of Fowls Confined to a, 34. 
 
 ' or Covered Run, 7,1'. 
 
 Sheds for Cramming Fowls, 121. 
 Shelf in Poultry Houses, 5. 
 Shell of the Egg, 42. 
 Shells for Egg-Eating Hen=, 47. 
 Sherwoods, 482. 
 Shieldrakes, 553. 
 Shinowaratoa Fowls, 479. 
 Show Management, 223. 
 Shows, Abuses at, 233. 
 Sickles, Inserting False, 238. 
 -Silkies, 475. 
 
 Qualities of, 478. 
 
 Standard for, 483. 
 
 Sitting, Choice of Eggs for, 47. 
 
 Hens, 48. 
 
 Breaking off, 49. 
 
 Heat of, 48. 
 
 Nests for, 49. 
 
 Vermin on, 48. 
 
 -Simpson, II. and A. P., on Pile Leghorn^, 
 
 408. 
 Singeing Table Poultry, 109. 
 Size, Feeding Chickens for, 82. 
 Slipped Wings, 211. 
 Small Runs, Care of, 8. 
 
 Space, Poultry-keepitvg in, 28. 
 
 Smith, F. W., on Brown-Red Game, 360. 
 Smyth, M,.H., on Dark Dorkings, 371. 
 Soft Food or Mash, 30. 
 ■Solomon, King, and Pea Fowl, 529. 
 •Sour Milk in Fattening, 121. 
 Southern, R., on Partridge Cochins, 246. 
 Space, Smallest for Fowls, 7. 
 Spangles of Haraburghs, 421, 424. 
 Spanish, 385. 
 
 Breeding, 397. 
 
 . Bristol, Breeders of, 386. 
 
 Characteristics of, 386. 
 
 Spanish, Exhibiting, 388. 
 
 Faces of, 387, 388, 389. 
 
 Qualities of, 390. 
 
 Standard for, 390. 
 
 Trimming of Faces, 388. 
 
 White, 389. 
 
 Spots in Eggs, 579. 
 
 Spurs for Cock-fighting, 346. 
 
 Standard, Judging by, 230. 
 
 Need of Utility Points in, 182. 
 
 Use of in'Judging, 233. 
 
 Value of a, 232. 
 
 Standards, First American, 229. 
 
 First Poultry Club, 230. 
 
 The "Book of Poultry," 229. 
 
 The First, 228. 
 
 The Present Poultry Club, 230. 
 
 Sterile Eggs Keeping Better, 46. 
 Sterility, Causes of, 199. 
 Stimulants, Use and Abuse of, 203. 
 Stock for a Poultry Farm, 140, 143. 
 
 Weeding out the, 206. 
 
 Stones for Grinding Oats in Sussex, 120. 
 
 Storing Eggs, 46. 
 
 Strain, What it really is, 186. 
 
 Strains, Distinct, From one Stock, 191. 
 
 Stubbing Table Poultry, 109. 
 
 Stud-book, Importance of a, 205. 
 
 Study of Points and Type, 194. 
 
 Sugar in Fattening Fowls, 121. 
 
 Sulphur in the Food, 17. 
 
 Sultans, 478. 
 
 Standard for, 484. 
 
 Sumatra Game Fowls, 481. 
 Summer Shows, Chickens for, 2 1 3 
 
 Winners, Drawbacks of, 196. 
 
 Sunflower Seed as Food, 21, 23. 
 
 Growing, 204. 
 
 Supervision at Shows, 224. 
 Support for Falling Comb, 214. 
 Suppressing Fraud, Duty of the Public, 
 
 238. 
 Surrey Fowls, Old Breed of, 118, 382. 
 
 • • Decay of the, 181. 
 
 Sussex, Fattening Sheds in, 100, I2t. 
 
 Ground Oats in, 119. 
 
 • Growth of Chicken-Rearing in, 117. 
 
 Out-door Cages in, 100, 124. 
 
 . • Poultry Fattening in, 96, 1 16. 
 
 Sussex Fowls, Cramming, 103, 105. 
 
 Marketing, in. 
 
 Old Breed of, ll'S. 
 
 — '■ Packing, in. 
 
 Present Local Breed of, 118. 
 
 Shaping, 1 10, 122. 
 
 Symptoms of Disease, 574. 
 System in Management, 28. 
 Swans, 570. 
 Varieties of, 571. 
 
 Table of Foods, 19. 
 
 Fowl, Points of a, 128, 130. 
 
 Poultry, 94. 
 
 Exhibiting, 129. 
 
 in America, 157, 174. 
 
 Table Poultry, Shaping, iio, 122. 
 
 Shows of Dead, 126, 129, 183. 
 
 Trussing, 130. 
 
 Tail, Wry, Operation for, 2(6. 
 Tainted Ground and Chickens, 85. 
 
 and Fowls, 9. 
 
 Taking out of Exhibition Pens, 224.. 
 Tameness, Cultivating, 211. 
 Tank Incubators, 56. 
 Taste, Cultivating Public, 128. 
 Teal, Chinese, 551. 
 
 Japanese, 552. 
 
 Teals, The, 552. 
 Technical Poultry Terms, 239. 
 Teebay, R., on Spanish Fowls, 386. 
 Tegetmeier, W. B., on Brahmas, 260. 
 
 on Exhibition Fowls, 178. 
 
 Temperature in Incubators, 67. 
 Testing Eggs, 51, 70. 
 Thermometers for Incubators, 68. 
 Thermostats for Incubators, 57 ; Double, 
 
 60. 
 Thieves, Protection against, 592. 
 Thomas, S. W., on Crevecceurs, 455. 
 
 on Houdans, 451. 
 
 Thompson, E. B., on Plymouth Rocks, 306. 
 Thompson, Sir H., on Exhibition Fowls, 
 
 176. 
 Thornber, T. H., on Houdans, 453. 
 Thorniley, Percy, on Buff Orpingtons, 
 
 298. 
 Thumb-marks in Combs, 204. 
 Ticks on Chickens, 84. 
 Time for Hatching I^ayers, 29. 
 Toes, Crooked, 204. 
 
 Tomatoes and Poultry Manure, n8, 134. 
 Tomkins, F. C, on Black-breasted Red 
 
 Game, 357. 
 Toulouse Geese, 562. 
 Training for Exhibition, 216, 486. 
 Trap Nests, 192. 
 Trimming Birds for Exhibition, 233, 
 
 236. 
 Trough-feeding for Table, I02. 
 Troughs for Feeding, 33. 
 
 for Shaping, no, 122. 
 
 Trussing Table Poultry, 130. 
 Tuberculosis, 589. 
 Turkeys, 5^7. 
 
 American, 5 19. 
 
 Breeding, 519. 
 
 Cambridge. 518. 
 
 Crested, 526. 
 
 Exhibiting, 526. 
 
 Fattening, 526. 
 
 Fawn, 519. 
 
 Hatching under, 7S. 
 
 Narragansett, 519. 
 
 Norfolk, 518. 
 
 Rearing, 522. 
 
 Standard for, 532. 
 
 White, 519. 
 
 Wild, 517. 
 
 Turning Eggs in Incubat6r's, 69. 
 Type, Study of, in Breeding, 194. 
 
6oo 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 United States, Poultry in, 173. 
 Utility and Exhibition, 176. 
 
 Points, Decline in, 180. 
 
 Poultry Club, The, 183. 
 
 Value of Breeds for Exhibition, 222. 
 Variety Class, The, 471. 
 Vent-gleet or Cloacilis, 589. 
 Ventilation in Incubators, 71. 
 
 in Poultry Houses, 4. 
 
 Vermin and Moulting, 220. 
 
 • Insect, 39, 84, 590. 
 
 Retarding Effect o', 214. 
 
 — Predatory, 59 1. 
 
 Verrey, L. C, on Brown Leghorns, 406. 
 
 on Bufif Leghorns, 410. 
 
 Vertigo, 589. 
 
 Voelcker, Dr., and Poultry Manure, 134. 
 
 Vulture Hocks, 241, 245. 
 
 Walsh, Mr. P., and Diick-farming, 542. 
 Warmth in Poultry Houses, 4. 
 Washing Exhibition Poultry, 217 ; Bant- 
 ams, 487. 
 Water for Chickens, 83. 
 for Fowls, 37. 
 
 Water Fountains, 37. 
 
 Waterfowl, Fancy, 549- 
 
 Wattles, Swollen, 589. 
 
 Weaning Chickens, 86. 
 
 Weasels and Stoats, 592. 
 
 Webster, Mrs. F. M., on White Leghorns, 
 
 404. 
 Weeding-out Chickens, 2o5. 
 Westlake, W. B., on While Langshans, 
 
 291. 
 Wharton, John, on Partridge Wyandottes, 
 
 320. 
 Wheat as Food, 21. 
 Whistling Ducks, 553. 
 White Comb, 589. 
 
 ■ Feathers, A Cause of, 205. 
 
 of the Egg, 42, 43. 
 
 Wilkinson, Mrs., on Barred Rocks, 
 
 303- 
 
 on Biiff Rocks, 309. 
 
 Williamson, Capt R. S., on Blaclt Cochins, 
 
 2St. 
 Wings, Slipped, 211. 
 Winter Chickens or Roasters in America, 
 
 157- 
 Laying, Profit in, 29. 
 
 Wire Netting, 10. 
 
 Woodgate, Rev. R. S. S., on Silkies, 
 
 475- 
 
 • on Sultans, 478. 
 
 Worms in Fowls, 590- 
 Wry Tail, 215. 
 Wyandotte.s, 311. 
 
 • Breeding Laced, 314. 
 
 Bufif, 319. 
 
 Buff- Laced, 317. 
 
 Comb of ihe, 312. 
 
 Gold-Laced, 316. 
 
 Lacing of, 313. 
 
 Partridge; 320. 
 
 • Qualities of, 311. 
 
 Silver, 312. 
 
 Silver-Pencilled, 321. 
 
 ■ Standard for, 322. 
 
 Violette or Blue-Laced, 
 
 White, 319. 
 
 .l5. 
 
 318. 
 
 Yards, Plans for, 7^ 
 
 Yokohamas, 479. 
 
 Yolk, Nourishing the Chicken, 45. 
 
 Yorkshire Pheasants, 422. 
 
 Young Chickens, To Cook, 94, 114. 
 
 Printed by Casskll and Company, Llmited, La Belle Sauvage, Ludgate Hill, London, E.C. 
 
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