* „N\^ 
 
 V^ ^ 
 
 <^o. 
 
 ^' 
 
 ^^ « ^ • <Z^ 
 
 9j, "v 
 
 / . ^o 
 
 *"'. ■% 
 
 ^x.#^>^^'^''=^ 
 
 ^4'- ^^■'^'^ 
 
 
 
 
 ^' 
 
 
 
 .^%^ 
 
 Nf.V-.% 
 
 CWv^ O ^ 
 
 '^n .^^ 
 
 % 
 
 ,^^ 
 
 
 ^ c/% ^AP'^ ./ -% 
 
 '"■^^^y" .'','^H^')'- ^^.o. 
 
 'ifx 
 
 
 
 0^ ^V 
 
 
 ^%tf'/,.^■ . -^ .»<t' 
 
 
 v^ ."^,^^/u'- ^_ 
 
G^^ 
 
 
 C 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 %^. .A^ ^^ 
 
 
 .^^^ 
 
(fcmfltnental nni Jntnestir ^onltq. 
 
A TKEITISE _ ^^^ 
 
 HISTORY AND MANAGEMENT 
 
 dbmaniental ani Jntndir ^ntillq, 
 
 By Riv. EDMUND SAUL DIXON, A. M. 
 
 u 
 
 RECTOR OF INTWOOD-WITH-KESWICK, NORFOLK. 
 
 m WITH LARGE ADDITIONS, 
 
 a^b ' ^^ ^- '^' KERR, M.D. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTY-FIVE ORIGIJ^AL PORTRAITS, ENGRAVED 
 EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WORK. 
 
 ^Monlr Bliilwn. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO. 
 
 18 51. 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by 
 
 E. H. BUTLER & CO. 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 
 
 Pennsylyania. 
 
9ff 
 
 EDITOR'S PREFACE. ^^ 
 
 In offering to the public Mr. Dixon's Treatise " On 
 Ornamental and Domestic Poultry," the Editor begs to 
 submit a few preliminary remarks. Several gentlemen 
 in the vicinity of Philadelphia, amateur breeders of 
 choice Poultry, considering me to be one of some ex- 
 perience in that branch of rural economy, suggested 
 that I might fill up whatever leisure I had from pro- 
 fessional duty, in recording my experience, and thus 
 give to them, and others, the result of several years' ob- 
 servation. They seemed pleased with occasional articles 
 I had written on the subject, over the nom de plume, 
 ''Asa Bugg:' On reflection, I resolved to make my- 
 self better acquainted with all, or nearly all, that had 
 been written on the subject. With this view, I pro- 
 cured, through my bookseller, whatever Treatises on 
 Poultry I had not at hand. On carefully consulting 
 them, I came to the conclusion that the Rev. Edmund 
 Saul Dixon's work on " Ornamental and Domestic Poul- 
 try," was decidedly the best. I determined, therefore, 
 instead of adding another book to this branch of Natu- 
 ral History, merely to edit this, adding portraits of the 
 most important Fowls described, and descriptions of the 
 
10 PREFACE. 
 
 several kinds of Shanghaes,* Guelder land, and other 
 varieties, not therein specifically noticed. In addition 
 to this, there were wanting some remarks on the history 
 and method of making Capons, a practice which Mr. 
 Dixon seems, without sufficient reasons, inclined to con- 
 demn. There have been omitted, also, certain portions, 
 not deemed necessary or interesting to the American 
 Fancier. 
 
 In order that the reader may know how deeply Mr. 
 Dixon is interested in the prosecution of this and kin- 
 dred branches of Natural History, and how far his views 
 and statements may consequently be relied on, I take the 
 liberty of extracting the following from a letter I received 
 from him twelve months ago. He says, " I beg to thank 
 you very sincerely for your friendly offers of assistance, 
 and shall not hesitate to avail myself of them. . . . . . 
 
 As soon as the second edition of my book is finished, 
 which will be much enlarged, \tlie second is the one used 
 in preparing tJiis,'] I propose setting about a second 
 volume on Domesticated and Captive Birds, to comprise 
 the Fancy Pigeons, Guans, Curassows, Gold and Silver 
 
 * The Editor is qiiite confident that the Fowl described in English 
 Treatises on Poultry, as the Cochin China, is, when pure, identical 
 with our thorough-bred Shanghaes.— He avails himself of this occa- 
 sion to say, that though, in the main, he accords with the views and 
 statements of his kind and valued correspondents, herein recorded, 
 yet he would not be understood as agreeing with them in every par- 
 ticular. 
 
PREFACE. 11 
 
 Pheasants, etc., respecting which, any particulars of 
 their condition and cultivation in the New World may 
 be useful to me. I am daily expecting to receive from 
 a nobleman, a present of Passenger, Senegal, and other 
 
 Pigeons, to observe their habits in confinement 
 
 We have here Fowls nearly, if not quite answering to 
 all those you describe. At the great Birmingham Show, 
 last December, (1849,) at which I had the honour to act 
 as one of the judges, there were several such. I pre- 
 sume that you have good Cattle and Poultry Shows in 
 the United States." 
 
 Mr. Dixon is, from local circumstances, a man of more 
 leisure than the Established Clergy usually are; and 
 his position, taste, and learning, afford him every means 
 of cultivating those branches of Natural History to 
 which his inclination has led him. We have, therefore, 
 in the present treatise, so far as he is concerned, all 
 that can be expected, on such a subject, from a man of 
 learning, taste, and experience. As for myself, I have 
 little to say, farther than that mine has been a conge- 
 nial and pleasing task; the subject is one to which, 
 from early association and inclination, my attention 
 has been long directed. I have had my boyish experi- 
 ments, and the more mature trials of my manhood, on 
 many of the systems which I have since seen detailed 
 in the writings of the learned ; and it is to the result 
 of what I have found best in each of these, that I, in 
 
12 PREFACE. 
 
 the following pages, would wish to direct the attention 
 of those who now have, or desire to have a Poultry- 
 house. I have consulted with many eminent and ex- 
 perienced individuals on the subject, and have freely 
 added to the w^ork whatever I thought adapted to ren- 
 der it more valuable as a practical guide in the selec- 
 tion, breeding, and management of Domestic and Orna- 
 mental Poultry. 
 
 Of those to whom I am chiefly indebted, I would 
 gratefully mention Mr. Nolan, of Dublin ; Dr. Bennett, 
 of Plymouth ; Mr. Brown, of New York ; David Tag- 
 gart, Esq., of Northumberland, Pa. ; Geo. P. Burnham, 
 Esq., Dr. E. Wight, H. L. Devereux, Esq., and Mr. 
 Morse, of Boston ; Mr. Blake, of Mass. ; and Mr. E. 
 R. Cope, of Philadelphia. 
 
 The portraits w^ere drawn, chiefly from nature, and, 
 for the most part, under my own supervision, by Mr. 
 Croome, of Philadelphia, whose excellence as an artist, 
 is too well known to require a word of commendation. 
 
 J. J. Kerr. 
 
 Philadelphia, February ISth, 1851. 
 
 The Editor avails himself of this opportunity to inform his 
 friends and correspondents, that on and after the first day of March 
 ensuing, he will make the city of New York his residence, where he 
 hopes often to hear from them, and especially from those who take 
 pleasure in the cultivation and observation of "Ornamental and 
 Domestic Poultry." 
 
MR. DIXON'S PEEFACE 
 
 TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 (condensed.) 
 
 The history of the present volume is very simple, 
 and, it may be, runs parallel with that of many other 
 works on higher subjects. The author, with his wife 
 (now removed from worldly trouble) and his child, were 
 living in a small suburban house, that had a little back- 
 garden attached to it. As a harmless amusement, they 
 procured a few Fowls to keep, although totally ignorant 
 of their ways and doings. In aid of this ignorance, 
 books were procured — to little purpose. The difficulty 
 of obtaining instruction from others led to closer obser- 
 vation on our own part, and a more eager grasp at the 
 required knowledge. By degrees, a few water-fowl were 
 added to the collection ; but the only watering-places on 
 the spot were tubs and milk-pans. A neighbour, how- 
 ever, obligingly permitted the flock of strange Fowl to 
 be driven to a small pond a few score yards off. They 
 throve and duly increased ; but still, little help was to 
 be had from books. Encyclopsedias, though in them the 
 Natural History department is almost always well exe- 
 cuted, were little satisfactory. "Anser, see Goose," 
 " Goose, see Anser," is scarcely an exaggeration of what 
 often fell out. Several current Poultry-books were pur- 
 
 2 13 
 
14 PREFACE TO 
 
 chased, which proved to be compilations of matter, valu- 
 able, indeed, in the hands of an editor practically ac- 
 quainted with his subject ; but these works are full of 
 errors, grossly evident even to learners, and of contra- 
 dictions that must strike any attentive reader, even 
 though he had never seen a feathered creature in his life. 
 
 But a student is sometimes the best teacher of any 
 branch of knowledge, as far as he has himself advanced 
 in it, because he has a fresh recollection of the ques- 
 tions which gave him the most trouble to solve ; and 
 therefore notes were made, mentally, and on paper, from 
 time to time. It was afterwards encouragingly sug- 
 gested that the publication of them might be ventured 
 upon, as being possibly acceptable to people requiring 
 such information. They were offered to the editor of the 
 G-ardener' s Ohro7iicle, readily accepted, favourably re- 
 ceived by the readers of that valuable paper — a class of 
 persons whose good opinion I must think it an honour 
 to have obtained — and the reader now holds in his hands 
 the entire results of my present experience in that de- 
 partment of Natural History, in addition to what has 
 been already published in the Agricultural Grazette. It 
 is hoped that the need of some attempt of the kind, from 
 some quarter, will conciliate a lenient criticism of the 
 many errors and deficiencies with which the author may 
 doubtless be chargeable, whatever pains he may have 
 taken to guard against them. 
 
 Poultry has been too much undervalued as a means 
 of study and a field of observation. Insignificant, and, 
 to us, valueless wild animals, brought from a distance, 
 about whose history and habits we can learn little or no- 
 thing, are received with respectful attention by men of 
 education and ability, are embalmed in spirits, treasured 
 
THE FIRST EDITION. 15 
 
 in museums, and portrayed by artists ; but a class of 
 creatures inferior to few on the face of the earth in 
 beauty — useful, companionable, of great value in an eco- 
 nomical point of view — are disregarded and disdained. It 
 is possible that any one claiming to be considered as an 
 educated gentleman, may be thought to have done a 
 bold thing in publishing a book on Poultry, and giving 
 his real name on the title page. Moubray, who has 
 written, perhaps, the best modern treatise on the sub- 
 ject, only ventured to meet the public criticism under 
 the shelter of an assumed title. 
 
 But some very important speculations respecting or- 
 ganic life, and the history of the animated races now in- 
 habiting this planet, are closely connected with the 
 creatures we retain in domestication, and can scarcely 
 be studied so well in any other field. Poultry, living 
 under our very roof, and, by the rapid succession of their 
 generations, affording a sufficient number of instances 
 for even the short life of man to give time to take some 
 cognisance of their progressive succession, — poultry af- 
 ford the best possible subjects for observing the trans- 
 mission or interruption of hereditary forms and instincts. 
 
 I shall, no doubt, at the first glance, be pronounced 
 rash, as soon as I am perceived to quit the plain task of 
 observing, for the more adventurous one of speculating 
 upon what I have observed. I can only say that the 
 conclusion to which I have arrived respecting what is 
 called the " origin'' of our domestic races, has been, to 
 my own mind, irresistible, having begun the investiga- 
 tion with a bias towards what I must call the wild theory, 
 although so fashionable of late, that our tame breeds or 
 varieties are the result of cross-breeding between undo- 
 mesticated animals, fertile inter se. It will be found, I 
 
16 PREFACE TO 
 
 imagine, on strict inquiry, that the most careful breed- 
 ing will only fix and make prominent certain peculiar 
 features, or points, that are observed in certain families 
 of the same aboriginal species, or sub-species — no more : 
 and that the whole world might be challenged to bring 
 evidence (such as would be admitted in an English court 
 of justice) that any permanent intermediate variety of 
 bird or animal, that would continue to reproduce off- 
 spring like itself, and not reverting to either original 
 type, have been originated by the crossing of any two 
 wild species. Very numerous instances of the failure of 
 such experimental attempts might be adduced. The dif- 
 ficulty under which science labours in pursuing this in- 
 quiry, is much increased by the mystery in which almost 
 all breeders have involved their proceedings, even if they 
 have not purposely misled those who have endeavoured 
 to trace the means employed. 
 
 As to the great question of the Immutability of Spe- 
 cies, so closely allied to the investigation of the different 
 varieties of poultry, as far as my own limited researches 
 have gone — and they have been confined almost entirely 
 to birds under the influence of man — they have led me 
 to the conclusion that even sub-species and varieties are 
 much more permanent, independent, and ancient, than 
 is currently believed at the present day. This result 
 has been to me unavoidable, as well as unexpected ; for, 
 as above mentioned, I started with a great idea of the 
 powerful transmuting influence of time, changed climate, 
 and increased food. My present conviction is, that the 
 diversities which we see in even the most nearly allied 
 species of birds, are not produced by any such influences, 
 nor by hybridisation ; but that each distinct species, 
 however nearly resembling any other, has been pro- 
 
THEFIRSTEDITION. 17 
 
 duced by a Creative Power. I am even disposed to 
 adopt this view towards many forms that are usually con- 
 sidered as mere varieties. Half of the mongrels that one 
 sees are only transition-forms, passing back to the type 
 of one or other original progenitor. At least, my own 
 eye can detect such to be frequently the apparent fact 
 in the case of Domestic Fowls. 
 
 The reader will perceive that a description has been 
 given, in most cases, of the newly-hatched chicks of each 
 species of poultry. The idea of doing this was suggested 
 by an inquiry, which had for its object to ascertain the 
 amount of differences in the very young of our supposed 
 domestic races, compared with the difference of the ma- 
 ture animals, in relation to the general belief that, in 
 youth, species differ very little from each other ; it being 
 really the fact, that the embryos of even distinct orders 
 are closely and fundamentally alike each other. But 
 if these embryotic similarities between birds and any 
 other class of creatures be sought for, the time of the 
 exclusion of the chick from the egg is far too late in its 
 existence to look for them. Observant persons, who 
 have themselves been practically engaged in the rearing 
 of poultry, will immediately recognise the newly-hatched 
 chick of each variety with which they are acquainted. 
 Nay, when an egg has been accidentally broken, after a 
 fortnight's incubation, I have myself been able to de- 
 cide of what breed it would have been, had it survived. 
 I believe that a comparison of the newly-hatched young 
 of all wild birds, would lead to the like result. The only 
 chance of finding any such analogies, or rather confu- 
 sion, would be obtained by examining the embryos of 
 birds, reptiles, and fishes, two or three days after the 
 hatching of the ovum had commenced. 
 
18 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 But the reader has listened long enough to this prae- 
 ludium ; we will strike the final chords, which sound har- 
 moniously to our own ears. Thanks are the burden of 
 our closing song. Without great help, this volume, 
 though small, could not have been written at all ; with- 
 out great encouragement the writer would certainly not 
 have ventured to send it forth. It is scarcely possible 
 to mention by name all the persons to whom he is in- 
 debted for hints, and answers to inquiries. The addition 
 of initials to many paragraphs is an attempt to avoid 
 some part of the reproach of strutting in borrowed 
 plumes ; they will also perhaps serve as props to sustain 
 his own otherwise tottering edifice : but it would be an 
 ungrateful omission not to mention specially the obliga- 
 tions under which the author feels himself bound to the 
 Editors of The Cfardeners' ChronicUy and the Agricul- 
 tural G-azette. 
 
 Cringleford Hall, Norwich, 
 
 October, 1848. 
 
MR. DIXOFS PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 (CONDENSED.) 
 
 The Prefaces to the First and Second edition of any 
 book are written under very different feelings and cir- 
 cumstances. In the one case, an author is on the eve 
 of submitting his labours to the tribunal of criticism, not 
 always good-natured or impartial ; in the other, he has 
 passed the ordeal, surviving the several cuts and burns 
 that may have been inflicted upon him ; that best cen- 
 sor of the press, the British Public, has stamped the ap- 
 proving Imprimatur upon his fly-leaf; he may then be 
 allowed to rejoice and congratulate himself, if he do but 
 cherish, as he ought, due gratitude to those who held out 
 a helping hand while the success of his venture was yet 
 uncertain; for he may at length calculate upon the 
 votes of those who wait to hear what opinion others shall 
 pronounce, as well as of those who have the courage and 
 intelligence to think for themselves. 
 
 Exclusive of the fact that a large impression has 
 already been disposed of, this edition, it may be hoped, 
 will meet with a favourable reception from having been 
 carefully revised throughout, and enlarged with addi- 
 tional matter to the full extent that the space allowed 
 by the publisher would permit. The opportunity of at- 
 tending the great Birmingham Show of cattle, sheep, 
 swine, and poultry, at which the author had the honour 
 
 19 
 
20 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 to be selected to act as one of the judges, enabled him 
 to make a careful inspection and comparison of those 
 breeds of fowls whose nomenclature and arrangement 
 ■were most confused ; and by the kind and able assist- 
 ance, both previously and since, rendered by the gentle- 
 men connected with the management of that important 
 meeting, it may be said, without vain boasting, that a 
 fuller account is given of the Domestic Fowl, as at pre- 
 sent kept in England, than is to be found in any other 
 treatise on poultry. 
 
 Cringleford, 
 
 February, 1851. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP I. 
 The Domestic Fowl Page 25 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 The Rearing and Management of Fowls 69 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 Eggs — Their Colour, Form, and Sex 100 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 Eggs — Their Preservation for Culinary Purposes 106 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 — Their Preservation for Incubation 114 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 Varieties of the Shanghae Fowl 126 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 The Cochin China Fowl 143 
 
 Burnham's Importation of Cochin China Fowl 144 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 The Malay Fowl, sometimes (though erroneously) called Chitta- 
 
 gong 160 
 
 21 
 
22 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 The Pheasant-Malay Fowl Pag^ 168 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 The Guelderland Fowl ISl 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 The Dorking Fowl 183 
 
 Coloured Dorkings 198 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 The Spanish Fowl 203 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 The Game Fowl 214 
 
 The Mexican Hen-Cock Game Fowl 246 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 The Chittagong Fowl 270 
 
 The Java Fowl 272 
 
 The Shakebag Fowl 270 
 
 The Jersey-Blue Fowl.... 273 
 
 CHAP. XY. 
 The Poland, or Polish Fowl 274 
 
 CHAP. XYI. 
 
 The Spangled Hamburgh Fowl 287 
 
 The Bolton Gray, or Creole Fowl 288 
 
 CHAP. XYII. 
 
 The Rumpless Fowl, or Rumpkin 299 
 
 The Silky and Negro Fowls 302 
 
 The Frizzled, or Friesland Fowl 305 
 
 The Cuckoo Fowl 307 
 
 The Blue Dun Fowl 309 
 
 The Lark-crested Fowl 312 
 
CONTENTS. 28 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 The Smooth-legged Bantam Page 315 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 ,The Dunghill Fowl 828 
 
 The Dominique Fowl 328 
 
 Col. .Toques' Chicken Coop 329 
 
 Mr. H. L. Devereux's Method of Rearing Chicks without a 
 
 mother 330 
 
 Mr. E. R. Cope's Letter on Early Chickens 331 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 Caponizing Fowls 336 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 The Pea Fowl 344 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 The Ring-necked Pheasant 851 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 The Turkey 369 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 The Guinea Fowl 373 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 The Mute Swan, (Cygnus Olor.) 379 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 The Wild, or Canada Goose 396 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 The Domestic Goose 405 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 The Hong Kong, or China Goose 420 
 
24 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 The Bremen Goose Page 429 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 The White-fronted, or Laughing Goose 436 
 
 The White China Goose 440 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 The Bernicle Goose 449 
 
 The Brent Goose 463 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 The Tame Duck 456 
 
dDrnammtal mh MmtBllt fm\\x\\. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 Preliminary to a description of the different breeds and 
 varieties of fowls, some general account of them, and their man- 
 agement, will be appropriate; and I know of nothing better 
 than the following, which I quote from Mr. Dixon. He says, in 
 answer to the question. What is the earliest date of poultry- 
 keeping ? Nobody knows. My own belief is, that it is coeval 
 with the keeping of sheep by Abel, and the tilling of the ground 
 by Cain — a supposition which cannot be far from probability if 
 there is any foundation for the legend that Gromer, the eldest 
 son of Japhet, took a surname from the Cock. Indeed, it 
 would be to him that Western Europe stands indebted for a 
 stock of Fowls from the Ark itself. For, it is supposed by the 
 erudite, and shown by at least probable arguments, that the 
 descendants of Gromer settled in the northern parts of Asia 
 Minor, and then spread into the Cimmerian Bosphorus and the 
 adjacent regions, and that from them the numerous tribes of 
 the Gauls, Cermans, Celts, and Cimbrians descended. It is 
 true that there is no mention of Fowls by name in the Old 
 
 3 25 
 
26 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 Testament, except a doubtful allusion in the Vulgate transla- 
 tion of the book of Proverbs (xxx. 31), which is lost in the 
 authorized version; the Hebrew word translated "gallus" in 
 one place being rendered '^ greyhound'' in the other : " G-allus 
 succinctus lumbos ; et aries : nee est rex, qui resistat ei :" " a 
 greyhound ;" (some think the loar-Tiorse was meant), ^' an he- 
 goat also ; and a king, against whom there is no rising up," 
 It will be seen that the Latin and the English by no means run 
 parallel to each other. There is another equally disputable 
 passage in Ecclesiastes xii. 4 : " And the doors shall be shut 
 in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he 
 shall rise up at the voice of the bird (i. e. at Cock-crowing), 
 and all the daughters of music shall be brought low." Both 
 passages are quoted by the Rev. Mr. Pegg in his curious paper 
 on Cock-fighting, in the Archaeologia, vol. iii. A still less 
 certain reference occurs in the book of Job, xxxviii. 86 : " Who 
 hath put wisdom in the inward parts ? or, who hath given un- 
 derstanding to the heart?" running thus in the Latin: " Quis 
 posuit in visceribus sapientiam, vel quis dedit gallo intelligen- 
 tiam?" which is commented on by St. G-regory, and the word 
 ^^ gallus" spiritually interpreted as having reference to those 
 earnest preachers who rouse men from the slumber of sin, and 
 cry aloud that the night is far spent, the day is at hand. 
 
 In our English version, " fowls" as articles of provision are 
 mentioned at 1 Kings, iv. 23, and again at Nehemiah, v. 18. 
 Unfortunately, even Hebrew scholars often find a difficulty in 
 fixing upon the animals intended by certain Hebrew words. 
 On referring to the Septuagint translation of the Old Testa- 
 ment into Greek, I find that, in the passage in Kings, the 
 words rendered in our version "fatted fowl" are literally ^'hirdsj 
 select fatted ones from the select." But in Nehemiah, instead 
 of the "fowls" of our translation, the Septuagint reads, "a goat." 
 So that, though we do not doubt that Cocks and Hens were 
 domesticated in those early ages, and before them, still the 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. ^7 
 
 special mention of them by name in the Old Testament may be 
 considered as doubtful. It is curious that several creatures 
 with which we may believe that the ancient Egyptians must 
 have been acquainted, are quite omitted from their paintings 
 and sculptures. Thus, there seems to be no representation of 
 Pigeons or of Camels in their tombs or temples: whereas 
 other things, which we should have less expected to find, as a 
 flock of Domestic Greese, are depicted with great accuracy. I 
 have been anxious to find portraits of some of the Fancy Pi- 
 geons upon ancient monuments, but cannot, though I have 
 found mention of several in ancient literature. 
 
 The apparent omission of the name of the Domestic Fowl 
 from the Old Testament may possibly have arisen from this 
 cause, namely : that tending them would be the occupation of 
 women, whose domestic employments are less prominently 
 brought forward by Oriental writers than the active enterprises 
 of men; and also, that the birds specially named there are the 
 unclean birds, which are to be avoided, whereas those which 
 may be eaten are classed in a lump as " clean." See Leviticus, 
 xi. 13, and Deuteronomy, xiv. 11. ^'Of all clean birds ye 
 shall eat. But these are they which ye shall not eat; the 
 eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey," &c. Turtle-doves and 
 young pigeons are only mentioned as objects of sacrifice, not 
 as articles of food. 
 
 Aristotle, who wrote about 350 years before Christ, speaks 
 of them as familiarly as a natural historian of the present day 
 would. It is unnecessary more than to allude to the beautiful 
 comparisons taken from them in the New Testament. The 
 Roman authors of the commencement of the Christian era re- 
 corded that they were classed into such a number of distinct 
 varieties as could only have been the result of long cultivation. 
 Whether we suppose that different breeds were collected and 
 imported from different native stations, or assume that the dif- 
 ferences of those breeds were the artificial result of domestica- 
 
*28 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 don, — whichever case we take, Domestic Fowls must have 
 been held in familiar esteem for many, many ages before we 
 have any clear record of them. Either supposition attaches to 
 them a highly interesting and quite mysterious degree of an- 
 tiquity. Even in our own country they appear to have existed 
 at a time and in a state of society when we should least have - 
 expected to find them. "The inland parts of Britain are in- 
 habited by those whom fame reports to be natives of the soil. 
 They think it unlawful to feed upon hares, pullets, or geese ; 
 yet they breed them up for their diversion and pleasure." 
 Caesar de Bello Gallico, lib. v. cap. xii., DuncarCs Translation. 
 Dr. Kidd, in his Bridgewater Treatise, doubts whether the 
 Camel ever existed in a wild and independent state. We do 
 not go quite so far as that in scepticism in the case of Fowls, 
 but still believe that those who, at this epoch, hunt for Cocks 
 and Hens of the same species as our tame ones, either on the 
 Continent of Asia, or throughout the whole inhabited vast 
 Indian Archipelago, will have undertaken but a fruitless search. 
 For certain writers have been at great pains for some years 
 past, with but little success, except in their own conceit, to 
 pitch upon the wild origin of our Domestic Fowls. The first 
 decided attempts appear to have been made by Sonnerat, and 
 to have been followed up by succeeding French writers, whose 
 errors are glaring, and in whose praise little can be said. 
 R^aumer, whose writings are really philosophical and valuable, 
 devoted his inquiries to more practical objects, but Sonnerat 
 was merely a blind leader of the blind, if there is justice in the 
 criticism of Mr. Swainson, who pronounces that "Sonnerat's 
 works (Paris, 1776 and 1778), although often cited by the 
 French authors, are very poor; the descriptions vague, and the 
 figures, particularly of the birds, below mediocrity." BuiFon, 
 who did not die till 1788, had therefore an opportunity of 
 adopting Sonnerat's Jungle Fowl as the parent of Cocks and 
 Hens, and his vivid imagination made him very likely to have 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 29 
 
 adopted so apparently clear an account, ready telegraphed for 
 his reception. But instead of that, he speaks hesitatingly and 
 doubtfully of the derivation of our Domestic Fowls from Wild 
 Cocks, and seems to despair of indicating their origin. He 
 says, "Amidst the immense number of different breeds of the 
 gallinaceous tribe, how shall we determine the original stock? 
 So many circumstances have operated, so many accidents have 
 concurred : the attention, and even the whim of man have so 
 much multiplied the varieties, that it appears extremely diffi- 
 cult to trace them to their source. ^^ 
 
 Those authors who, by a pleasant legerdemain, so easily 
 transform one of the wild Indian GalK into a Barndoor Fowl — 
 who put the Jungle Cock, the Bankiva Cock, or the Gigantic 
 St. Jago (?)* bird under a bushel, hocus pocus a little, lift up 
 the cover, and then exhibit a veritable Chanticleer — write as 
 if they had only to catch a wild-bird in the woods, turn it into 
 a courtyard for a week or two, and make it straightway become 
 
 * St. Jago, one of the Cape de Verd islands, may furnish wild 
 Guinea Fowl, but scarcely wild Cocks. The "Gallus Giganteus," 
 the great " St. Jago Fowl," is the offspring of an absurd misquota- 
 tion from Marsden, which has run the round of most compilations. 
 Jago, the native Sumatran or Malay word for a particular breed, has 
 been mistaken for "St. Jago," the name for an island. Marsden 
 was well acquainted with his subject, and there is nothing like refer- 
 ring to an original authority. 
 
 " There are in Sumatra the domestic Hen (az/aTw), some with black 
 bones, and some of the sort we call Freezeland or Negro Fowls ; Hen 
 of the woods [ay am baroogo) ; the Jago breed of fowls, which abound 
 in the southern end of Sumatra, and western of Java, are remarkably 
 large ; I have seen a Cock peck off a common dining table : when fa- 
 tigued, they sit down on the first joint of the leg, and are then taller 
 than the common fowls. It is strange if the same country. Bantam, 
 produces likewise the diminutive breed that goes by that name." — 
 Marsden^s History of Sumatra, p. 98. 
 
 3* 
 
30 T H E D M E S T I C P W L. 
 
 as tame as a spaniel.* On such a notion comment is now su- 
 pererogatory. For a difficulty which speaks volumes, is, that 
 those birds which have been pointed out as the most probable 
 ancestors of the Domestic Fowl, do not appear to be more tame- 
 able than the Partridge or the Golden Pheasant; moreover, so 
 remarkable an appendage as the horny expansion of the feather- 
 stem, as seen in Sonnerat's Cock, would, according to what is 
 generally supposed to take place, be increased rather than di- 
 minished and obliterated by domestication ; and even if got rid 
 of by any course of breeding for a few generations, would be 
 sure, ultimately, to reappear. Now, in some races of Fowls 
 known only to the moderns, or at least not recorded, we ob- 
 serve feathered crests showing an affinity with the Lophophori, 
 the Pea Fowl, and perhaps distantly with the Curassows; in 
 others, certain Bantams, for instance, we find the feet and 
 legs covered with feathers, indicating some approach to Ptar- 
 migan and Grouse ; the Silky Fowl has a plumage akin to that 
 of the Apteryx and the Cassowary ; but in none do we see any 
 thing like the bony plates in the plumage of Sonnerat's Cock. 
 A bird with this peculiarity, either in the hackle, or in the 
 wing, after the fashion of the Bohemian Chatterer, would be 
 the greatest curiosity that a London dealer could produce. 
 
 * The Mute Swan is thus made to be descended from the Hooper. 
 
 "It has always had more attention paid it than its fellow subjects ; 
 it has never been kept captive (?) ; it has been destined to adorn the 
 pieces of water in our gardens, and there permitted to enjoy all the 
 sweets of liberty. The abundance and the choice of food have aug- 
 mented the bulk of the Tame Swan; but its form has lost none of its 
 elegance ; it has preserved the same graces and the same freedom in 
 all its motions ; its majestic port is ever admired : / doubt even whe- 
 ther all these qualities are found to equal extent in the wild bird.'' M. Bail- 
 Ion, quoted by Buffon. Just so we may manufacture Donkeys from 
 Wild Asses, Pigs from Peccaries, Dunghill Cocks from Jvingle Fowl, 
 nay, why not Men from Monkeys ? See the *' Vestiges of Creation." 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 81 
 
 Stilly our own Cocks and Hens must have had some proge- 
 nitors, and if I may venture to offer an opinion, it is this; that 
 the wild race, that which once ranged the primaeval woods and 
 jungles, unsubdued by man, is now extinct, forever gone, with 
 the Dodos and the Deinornithes. Such an idea quite agrees 
 with what we now see going on in the world. At no very dis- 
 tantly future time, the Turkey will be in exactly the same 
 position in which I am supposing our Cocks and Hens to be 
 now placed. The race will continue to survive, only from 
 having submitted itself to the dominion of man. Wild Tur- 
 keys are becoming every year more and more scarce in America, 
 and as population increases, and penetrates deeper into the 
 wilds, till the whole face of the country is overspread, occupied, 
 and cultivated, the Turkey in the New World must share 
 the fate of the Bustard in England, and where shall we find 
 it then, except under the same circumstances as we now see 
 our Domestic Fowls? 
 
 How long existing literature will endure it is impossible to 
 speculate; but should it be swept clean away by any social 
 convulsion, our descendants, two thousand years hence, will 
 have as much difficulty in determining the origin of the Tur- 
 key, as we have in deciding upon that of the Cocks and Hens. 
 At a later point of time than that predestined for the disap- 
 pearance of the wild Turkey, but one equally inevitable, the 
 last surviving specimens of the Emeu and the Kangaroo will 
 be such as shall be reared in captivity, for the gratification of 
 the wealthy or the scientific. Man has the power of trampling 
 underfoot, and sweeping every living thing before him in his 
 progress ; but in some cases, at least, he is likely, for his own 
 sake, to rescue the most valuable part of the spoil from de- 
 struction, if it will only submit to be rescued, and not refuse 
 to accept a continued existence on such conditions. A family 
 of savages would soon consume and destroy a whole province 
 full of wild Cocks and Hens, were it ever so well stocked; but 
 
32 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 civilized Man can see his interest in their preservation, and it 
 is lucky for Fowls that their destiny threw them in contact 
 with the Caucasian race instead of Australian aborigines. But 
 the increase of knowledge and humanity may even yet do some- 
 thing to extend a merciful and forbearing conduct towards ex- 
 isting animals. Had the Dodo survived to these days, it might 
 perhaps date a renewed term of existence from the day that it 
 was subjected to confinement in a menagerie. Now the utter 
 destruction of the Dodo appears, if we think of it, to have oc- 
 casioned a great loss to mankind: it might have proved a 
 valuable addition to our live stock. It was a gallinaceous, or 
 rather a columbine bird, covered with fine down. That its 
 flesh was good is proved by the fact of the whole race having 
 been eaten and consumed in so short a time, though there do 
 seem to have been two opinions, some preferring Turtle-dove 
 to Dodo. Its weight (fifty pounds) made it of importance; 
 its unwieldiness and inability to fly (being an avis not a volu- 
 cru) made it easy to confine. It was said to lay numerous 
 eggs : but if it produced only two or three young in the year, 
 it was at least as prolific as the Sheep. We do not find it 
 stated what was the food of the Dodo. Its strong scratching 
 feet, powerful digestion, thick neck, and enormous beak, seem 
 to indicate that roots might be its main sustenance. Let us 
 hope that the beautiful Honduras Turkey will not be permitted 
 to be extirpated in like manner. 
 
 The size, inactivity, and sluggishness of such creatures as 
 these are the main cause of the extinction they are undergoing 
 as wild races; but the common Hen has one peculiar habit, 
 which would alone insure the destruction of her progeny in an 
 unprotected state, in spite of all her fruitfulness and her great 
 maternal virtues. Her delight at having laid an egg, expressed 
 by loud cackling, which is joined in by all her companions 
 that are at hand, would, by itself, be sufficient to prevent much 
 increase of her young. The Latin writers called the cry iin- 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. &6 
 
 gultus, or sobbing, as if she had suffered pain ; the notice thus 
 gi\^en of her delivery was equally public at that distance of 
 time as now. How the squaws and their picaninnies would 
 chuckle to have wild birds abounding around them, that not 
 only produced an excellent egg every day, but told them where 
 to find it ! But without going into the wilderness, either east 
 or west, what would become of the larger ground-nesting birds 
 in England, the Water-hen, the Wild-duck (what has become 
 of the Bustard ?), if they were not as silent and stealthy in 
 depositing their eggs, and leading forth their young, as the Hen 
 is noisy and obtrusive ? Even Le Vaillant's ape " Kees" could 
 learn to listen for the cacklings of his master's Hens, and steal 
 their eggs. 
 
 The habit which so large a bird as the Fowl has of retiring to 
 roost by daylight, and composing itself to repose before it is hid- 
 den and protected by the shades of night, would also be a certain 
 source of danger in a wild state. The craving hunter who 
 wanted a meal, need not fatigue himself by a search during 
 the noontide heats. He would have but to bear the pangs of 
 appetite till evening approached, and then stealing with no 
 great caution under the outstretched branches, he would find 
 a ready prey distinctly apparent between himself and the ruddy 
 glare of sunset. No wild race could survive a few years of 
 such facile, such tempting capture. Those who would reply 
 by saying that when Cocks and Hens were wild they had not 
 fallen into the imprudent fashion of roosting before dark, and 
 cackling when they dropped an egg, beg the question which we 
 are not disposed to grant them unless they can positively es- 
 tablish their claim. 
 
 The antiquity which I thus assume for our existing race of 
 Cocks and Hens may perhaps startle some readers; but hear 
 Professor Owen on other analogous cases: ''It is probable 
 that the Horse and the Ass are descendants of a species of pli- 
 ocene antiquity in Europe. There is no anatomical character 
 
34 THEDOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 by which the present Wild Boar can he distinguished specifi- 
 cally from that which was contemporary with the Mammoth. 
 All the species of European pliocene Bovidse came down to the 
 historical period, and the Aurochs and Musk-ox still exist; but 
 the one owes its preservation to special imperial protection, and 
 the other has been driven, like the Eein-deer, to high northern 
 latitudes. There is evidence that the great JBos-primigenius, 
 and the small Bos-longifrons, which date, by fossils, from the 
 time of the Mammoth, continued to exist in this island after it 
 became inhabited by Man. The small short-horned pliocene Ox 
 is most probably still preserved in the mountain varieties of 
 our domestic cattle. The great Urus seems never to have been 
 tamed ;'^ note this : " but to have been finally extirpated in Scot- 
 land. Of the Cervine tribe, the Ked-deer and the Roe-buck still 
 exist in the mountainous districts of the north ; but, like the 
 Aurochs in Lithuania, by grace of special protective laws." — 
 British Fossil 3Iammals and Birds, Introduction, p. xxxii. 
 
 But if our domestic Fowls were thus early called into ex- 
 istence, where are their fossil remains to be found ? The 
 probabilities are against our finding them at all. We can 
 hardly expect them in any oceanic deposit ] and " extremely 
 rare,'^ says Professor Owen, ^^ are the remains of birds in the 
 fresh-water deposits, or marine drift of the newer pliocene pe- 
 riod, which so abound in Mammalian fossils. The light bodies 
 of birds float long on the surface after death ; and for one bird 
 that becomes imbedded in the sediment at the bottom, perhaps 
 ninety-nine are devoured before decomposition has sufficiently 
 advanced to allow the skeleton to sink." — Id. p. 557. It would 
 probably be in their supposed original Asiatic home that any 
 successful search would be made ; but we ought not to be dis- 
 appointed if none are discovered even there. Dr. Buckland, 
 in his Heliquiae Diluvianee, mentions twenty-two localities of the 
 remains of antediluvian animals, and in only three of them are 
 relics of birds found. 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 35 
 
 It certainly has long been tliought that our domesticated 
 .creatures^ beasts as well as birds, must necessarily be descended 
 from some wild stock, which still exists in an untamed state. 
 This petitio principii, this begging of the point at issue, has 
 unquestionably led to wrong conclusions, and left a host of 
 naturalists, particularly oeconomical writers, planted in the 
 midst of difficulties which are still unexplained. Where is 
 the wild origin of the sheep, or of the goat, to be found ? 
 Some say here, some say there, some fix on this species, some 
 on that, and the reader ends by ^'giving it up.'' But take 
 the simple theory that many of our domestic animals are the 
 survivors of extinct races, survivors, because domesticable, of 
 extirpated, because defenceless creatures, and the difficulties 
 vanish, and become reconcileable with what we see around us. 
 All those species which have of late become, or are likely soon 
 to become extinct, disappear because they refuse to be subju- 
 gated by man; for example, the yet untamed Aurochs of 
 Lithuania, which still survives only by virtue of strict pro- 
 tective laws enforced by the Emperor of Russia, and which 
 has had all the time, from the epoch of living Mammoths to 
 the present day, to become softened in disposition, but still 
 refuses to hear the voice of the charmer. In some few sad 
 instances, principally of birds, the work of extermination ap- 
 pears to have been completed before any fair experiment had 
 been tried, as with the Dodo and the Kivi Kivi. Other spe- 
 cies, on the contrary, as the Turkey, will probably long sur- 
 vive the utter disappearance of their wild progenitors, solely 
 on account of having submitted with a good grace to the 
 dominion of Man. One of these, the Cereopsis, seems likely 
 to owe its rescue to the happy exertions of the Zoological 
 Society, which thus becomes an ark of refuge amidst the flood 
 of population. 
 
 The Common Cock, the Galhis GalUnaceus and A%sxT;uip of 
 the ancients would, at first sight, appear to have received one 
 
S6 T H E D O M E S T I C F W L. 
 
 or two remarkable changes of form subsequent to its having 
 been saved from annihilation by becoming dependent on the 
 care of Man, if we can believe domestication to be capable of 
 producing such changes. The crest of feathers on the head 
 is an extraordinary metamorphosis to have occurred from an 
 original fleshy comb. There is no yet discovered instance, 
 that I am aware of, of any wild crested breed. Aristotle makes 
 such a pointed and so clear a distinction between the feathered 
 crests of birds in general, and the combs of cocks, as to lead 
 to a strong suspicion that he was unacquainted with Fowls 
 with top-knots; which he could hardly have avoided seeing in 
 the course of his unequalled opportunities for research, had 
 they existed in his day; "certain birds have a crest; in some 
 consisting of actual feathers; but that of Cocks alone is pecu- 
 liar, being neither flesh, nor yet very different from flesh in 
 its nature." — Hist. Aiiim., bookii., chap. xii. towards the end. 
 I can find no passage in the classical authors which implies 
 that the Cocks and Hens of their day bore a feathered top- 
 knot. The Latin crista is at least an ambiguous word. If it 
 occasionally means a plumed crest like that of the Hoopoe, it 
 is also most pointedly used for a fleshy comb. Pliny, lib. 
 xxvii., chap. 93, says, " The Alectorolophus (a plant), which 
 with us is called Crista, has leaves like a Cock's comb." This 
 passage may not be considered conclusive; because, although 
 the Cockscomb is a remarkable and striking plant, he might 
 intend to describe some other herb which bore tufts or tassels. 
 But in describing the Phoenix (lib. x., chap. 2), he mentions 
 that " it is adorned with wattles (using the same word that he 
 does to express the comb) on its throat, and a feathered top- 
 knot on its head.'' But further on he puts the interpretation 
 of the word beyond all doubt. " Messalinus Cotta discovered 
 the method of cooking the web of G-eese's feet, and fricaseeing 
 them in small dishes along with Cock's combs." — Lib. x., c. 27. 
 Not even the Romans would think a tuft of feathers any great 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 37 
 
 delicacy ; and a dish of Cock's combs is one of the few things 
 in which modern taste coincides with theirs. The Latin crista 
 must not, therefore, be translated by the English crest when 
 it has reference to Cocks and Hens. Cirrus is the Latin word 
 used by Pliny to denote the tuft of feathers on the head of 
 certain Ducks (^fuUgulce), and also properly adopted by Aldro- 
 vandi to express the top-knot of Polish Fowls. Theocritus 
 calls the Cock ^owvxo'ko^ov. We know something about the 
 red combs, but nothing of the red crests of Fowls. 
 
 There is a passage in ^lian, which at first sight would 
 appear to contradict the notion that the ancients had no top- 
 knotted fowls, but which, in fact, strongly confirms it. 
 
 "And (in India) Cocks are produced of the greatest size, 
 and they have a comh which is not red like those of our fowls, 
 but variegated like the corolla of flowers ] and they have their 
 rump-feathers, not curved nor twisted into screws (as in the 
 bird of Paradise), but broad ] and they drag them after them, 
 like Peacocks, when they do not erect them and set them up ; 
 and the colour of the feathers of the Indian Cocks is golden 
 and ca3rulean, like the stone smaragdus.'' — Lib. xvi., c. 2. 
 The smaragdus was the emerald ; a metallic lustre is clearly 
 indicated. That the bird in question was not the Gallus 
 Gallinaceus is certain, from the absence of the sickle feathers 
 in the tail. "What it was, is not our bounden duty to decide. 
 It is not, moreover, stated that the 7.6^0^, though variegated, 
 did consist of feathers. It might have been a helmet, like 
 that of the Guinea-fowl. The earliest notice of Crested Fowls 
 that I am aware of, occurs in Aldrovandi; one of which sorts 
 is "our common country Hen, all white, and with a crest like 
 that of a lark,^^ a very useful comparison, that will serve to 
 distinguish such-like from the Polish Fowls; the other, what 
 he calls the Paduan, evidently a variety of the Polish or Poland. 
 If birds with such peculiarities were unknown to the ancients, 
 it will be asked through what agency they have made their 
 
8.8 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 appearance in our days. Are they new species^ the result of 
 clever combination and nurture, or of mere chance ? Not con- 
 ceiving that they are any thing new under the sun, although 
 long unknown to us, I answer at once, No. The mercantile 
 enterprise and trading voyages of the English, Dutch, Spaniards, 
 and Portuguese, are quite sufficient to explain their arrival, 
 without having recourse to a new creation. It is strange that 
 any new or remarkable breed, like Sir J. Sebright' s Bantams, 
 or the Duke of Leeds' Shackbag, should invariably first appear 
 in the poultry -yards of the wealthy, and not in the homestead 
 of the small farmer or the cottager. The lately introduced 
 Cochin China Fowl, about which there is no mystery, and of 
 which her majesty has just reason to be proud, is a case in 
 point. But it is not strange or unlikely that gentlemen who 
 have succeeded in obtaining some exotic variety, should choose 
 to conceal the source and the channel by which it came into 
 their hands, or even take credit for having themselves raised 
 and generated a breed which excited the curiosity and admira- 
 tion of their neighbours. There are several varieties that are 
 extinct, or not to be obtained in this country, as the above- 
 mentioned Duke of Leeds' Fowl, and the White Poland Fowl 
 with a black top-knot.* Attempts have been made to repro- 
 duce them, both by the most promising systems of crossing, 
 and by acting on the imagination of breeding Fowls, after the 
 manner of Jacob's experiments with Laban's flocks; all in 
 vain. We can easily understand how certain points in any 
 race can be confirmed and made more conspicuous by selection 
 and breeding in and in, but we are at a loss to know how to 
 go to work to produce something quite original and new. If 
 these lost varieties do reappear, and they are both worth the 
 trouble they may give, it will probably be by a fresh importa- 
 tion from their original Indian home. 
 
 * I seriously doubt the existence of any such fowl. — Ed. 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. S9 
 
 The head-quarters of Domestic Fowl at the present day are 
 the islands of Java and Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula, a 
 vast extent of but partially explored country, seeing that the 
 area of this last alone is very little less than that of G-reat 
 Britain. But the prospects opened to natural history by Sir 
 James Brooke's occupation of Borneo, and his gradual pacifi- 
 cation of the enormous Oriental Archipelago by the suppression 
 of piracy, are scarcely appreciable at this early period. Ac- 
 cording to the Quarterly Review (July, 1848), no regions of 
 equal extent on the surface of the globe supply equally rich 
 and varied materials for commerce, ranging from gold and 
 gems of the costliest kind, down to the humblest necessaries 
 of daily life. Throughout the whole twelve thousand islands, 
 at almost every step towards the interior, we have discovered 
 ^ome new article of merchandise, some valuable kind of timber, 
 some odoriferous gum, some species of root, or fruit, or grain, 
 not yet included in the catalogue of human food, some rich 
 mineral or vegetable dye, calculated to improve the beauty of 
 our European fabrics; and yet we have hitherto scarcely 
 stepped beyond the threshold of Borneo, Celebes, Palawan, 
 Magindanao, or New Gruinea, All beyond the mere fringe of 
 the coast is unknown; though rivers of great breadth and 
 depth court the entrance of steamers, and promise to reveal 
 new lands at every stroke of the paddle. Here is a Paradise 
 for poultry fanciers; enough to make one entreat to be ad- 
 mitted into the Sarawak service as an attache and volunteer. 
 What delight in tracking some secluded river, or exploring 
 some lovely valley, to behold in the villages Cocks and Hens 
 that would here sell for their weight in silver, if not in gold; 
 or perhaps to stumble on unknown Pea-fowl and Pheasants, a 
 pair of which would draw half Middlesex and Surrey to the 
 Zoological Gardens ! 
 
 The addition of a fifth toe to the foot (the monstra per ex- 
 cessum of Blumenbach) as in the Dorking variety, is more 
 
40 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 likely than the crest to have supervened in the course of time. 
 I do not find it mentioned by any earlier writer than Columella. 
 The compilers of books on Poultry have stated that it is noticed 
 by Aristotle, but I cannot hit upon the passage. In his treatise 
 on the Parts of Animals, book iv., chap. 12, he speaks of the 
 four toes of birds in general, noticing the peculiarities of the 
 Ostrich and the Wryneck, but not a word about the fifth toe 
 in Domestic Fowl, which he would scarcely have passed over 
 had he ever observed it; particularly as other remarkable cir- 
 cumstances, connected with them, such as the development of 
 the egg, &c., attracted so much of his attention. From Aris- 
 totle to Columella is an interval of about 400 years; quite 
 time enough to render such a slight appendage permanent by 
 hereditary transmission. The new member would probably 
 appear only in a rudimental form at first, and become more 
 strongly developed in the course of succeeding generations. 
 A Cochin China Cock in my possession has the outer toe of 
 each foot furnished with two distinct claws, which we may 
 take to be the earliest indication of a fifth toe. His chickens 
 inherit the same peculiarity. A correspondent (H. H.) on 
 whom I can rely, says, "I had a Cock of the Golden Polish 
 variety that lost two of his claws by accident, and in their 
 place two smaller joints grew from the end of each toe, both 
 provided with little claws. This became hereditary, for next 
 season there were two chicks hatched, both having the afore- 
 said peculiarity.'' Analogous instances may be seen in Muse- 
 ums, of lizards with two tails; the original single one having 
 been lost by accident, and two grew in its place. It is said, 
 I know not with what truth, that a slight notch made in the 
 stump of the decaudated reptile will insure the production of 
 a double tail. From the time of Columella to the present 
 day, a fifth toe has been the well-known and distinctive cha- 
 racteristic of a certain breed. 
 
 Next to the Dog, the Fowl has been the most constant 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 41 
 
 attendant upon Man in his migrations and his^ occupation of 
 strange lands. The carnivorous diet of the Dog is one main 
 cause of his pre-eminence. But search where you will, except 
 in the very highest latitudes, you will find in New Zealand, 
 Australia, the American Continents, the West Indies, and in 
 islands innumerable, Fowls sharing in the possession and settle- 
 ment obtained by Man. As we approach the Poles, difficulties 
 arise in the way of their further companionship. In Gi-reen- 
 land they are occasionally kept only as curiosities and rarities. 
 And Sir Wm. Hooker tells us that Poultry of all kinds is 
 quite unknown to the Icelanders, except that a few are now 
 and then conveyed to the country by the Danes, who are ob- 
 liged at the same time to bring with them a sufficient supply 
 of necessary food, i. e. grain, for their support, of which the 
 island furnishes none. Fowls, however, would get on very 
 well with a fish and meat diet, with grass and vegetables, 
 assisted by a little imported corn, were there sufficient induce- 
 ment to make the inhabitants take pains about their main- 
 tenance. But a little powder and shot procures them an 
 abundance of wild-fowl that are much more to their taste; 
 and fresh-laid eggs would be little cared for by people, who, 
 like the Icelanders, prefer those eggs of the Eider Duck which 
 have young ones in them. 
 
 But the most mysterious, though not the most ungenial, 
 localities in which Fowls have hitherto been found^ are the 
 islands scattered over the vast Pacific Ocean. How they got 
 there is as great or a greater puzzle than to divine the origin 
 of the human population. The earliest discoverers found the 
 people to be possessed of pigs, dogs, and fowls, all domesticated 
 for the sake of being eaten. "On the walk to Oree's house 
 (in Huaheine), Dr. Sparrman and I (Mr. Gr. Forster, who 
 accompanied the expedition as Naturalist) saw great numbers 
 of hogs, dogs, and fowls. The last roamed about at pleasure 
 
42 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 througli the woods, and roosted on fruit-trees." — Cook's JSccoiid 
 Voj/a(/c, 1772. 
 
 " Mr. Forster learned from the people the proper name of 
 the island, which they call Tanna : . . . . The people of this 
 island can be under no such necessity (of eating human flesh) 
 for the want of other animal food; they have fine pork and 
 fowls, and plenty of roots and fruits." — Ihid. 
 
 " The traditions of the people state that fowls have existed 
 in the islands (Tahiti) as long as the people, that they came 
 with the first colonists by whom the islands were peopled, or 
 that they were made by Taarva at the same time that men 
 were made." — Ellis's Polynesian Researches, vol. i., p. 302. 
 
 This account would assign an unfathomable antiquity to the 
 domestication of Fowls, confirmed by the following legend : — 
 
 "Mr. Young said, among the many traditionary accounts 
 of the origin of the island and its inhabitants, was one, that 
 in former times, when there was nothing but sea, an immense 
 bird settled on the water and laid an egg, which soon bursting, 
 produced the island of Hawaii. Shortly after this, a man and 
 woman, with a hog and a dog, and a pair of Fowls, arrived in 
 a canoe from the Society Islands, took up their abode in the 
 eastern shores, and were the progenitors of the present in- 
 habitants." — Ellis's Missicniary Tour through Hawaii. 
 
 " The domestic Fowl was found in the Sandwich Islands 
 by their first discoverer, and though seldom used as an article 
 of food, is raised for the supply of shipping." — Ihid. p. 9. 
 
 Captain Cook remarked them on islands that had never 
 before been visited by civilized Man, and the very wide range 
 over which they are distributed precludes the supposition of 
 their having been introduced by Tasman or any of the other 
 early voyagers. " There is only one tame species of birds, 
 properly speaking, in the tropical isles of the South Sea, \'iz. 
 the common Cock and Hen : they are numerous at Easter 
 Island, where they are the only domestic animals; they are 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 43 
 
 likewise in great plenty in the Society Isles and Friendly Isles, 
 at which last they are of a prodigious size ; they are also not 
 uncommon at the Marquesas, Hebrides, and New Caledonia ; 
 but the low isles, and those of the temperate zone, are quite 
 destitute of them." — Mr. Forster's Journal of Captain Cook's 
 tiecond Voyage. The pigs have been affirmed to differ specifi- 
 cally from the European breeds; less has been said about 
 the Poultry. It appears that there are different varieties in 
 the different islands, some of very large size. Our great com- 
 mercial and political intercourse with the East makes that the 
 quarter from whence our importations of Fowls are mostly 
 drawn, either as curious specimens, or for the sake of im- 
 proving our stock ; but it would certainly be interesting, and 
 might prove useful, could we obtain a few new sorts, such as 
 the Friendly Island breed, from the less frequented spots in 
 the South Seas. Our Colonists and Missionaries in the Sand- 
 wich Islands and Tahiti might surely send us a few Cocks and 
 Hens in return for the many substantial benefits they have 
 derived from the mother country. Mr. Williams's theory, 
 which he supports by full details and arguments, is that Poly- 
 nesia was originally colonized and occupied by emigrants from 
 the Malay peninsula and Sumatra. He says, " so convinced 
 am I of the practicability of performing a voyage from Sumatra 
 to Tahiti in one of the large native canoes, that, if an object 
 of sufficient magnitude could be accomplished by it, I should 
 feel no hesitation in undertaking the task.'' — Missionary En- 
 terprises, p. 510. He also offers a probable hypothesis for the 
 existence of two distinct races of Men in the South Sea Islands, 
 both derived from the great Asiatic Islands. If his views are 
 correct, we have some slight clue to the introduction of Fowls 
 into the isolated recesses of the Pacific Ocean, which only 
 makes us the more anxious to get a sight of some genuine 
 South Sea Poultry, for the sake of comparing them with the 
 East Indian breeds. If they be found to resemble them closely, 
 
44 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 it will be an additional confirmation of my belief that the lapse 
 of ages upon ages is insufiicient to alter any one living creature 
 into a new species. And should this little book ever penetrate 
 so far into the other hemisphere, let it persuade the Sandwich 
 Islanders to preserve by domestication, and by transmission to 
 this country, a stock of their most interesting,* pretty, and 
 unique little Geese, before the race is quite swept out of 
 existence. 
 
 As to the estimation in which Domestic Fowls are justly 
 held, it is impossible for me to proclaim their merits ade- 
 quately. Every county has a '^strain'' which is superior to 
 that of the other fifty-one counties. ^'That strain again,'' as 
 the Duke said to the singing-boy. Every neighbourhood has 
 some crack breed which is unrivalled elsewhere; every old 
 woman, in every village, has some pet Cock or Hen which 
 she would not part with for twice its weight in butcher's meat, 
 and an ounce of snuff into the bargain : 
 
 **Non, mihi si lingu!» centum sint, oraque centunij 
 Ferrea vox, a strong steel pen, unlimited paper," 
 
 could I completely detail the virtues attributed to Cocks and 
 Hens. 
 
 Here is a list of " the Phj^sical uses of a Hen and its parts :'' — 
 
 "1. The Jelhj of an old Hen, made of a Hen cut with calves' 
 
 feet, and sheep's feet, or beef, boiled six or seven hours in a 
 
 close vessel, to which you may add spices, or cordial waters, 
 
 is a great strengthener and nourisher. 
 
 ^^ 2. Coch Ale is made of HenU flesh (a bit of a bull, surely), 
 boiled till the flesh foils from the bones; then it is beaten 
 with the bones, and strained for wine or ale with spices. — 
 Note. The flesli of Hens is hetter than that of Cochs, except 
 
 * They resemble tlie Anser albifrons in miniature, without the "white 
 front. They are so tame and attached as to follow their keeper 
 about the house, like dogs. 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 45 
 
 Capons. The Jlesh of a hlack Hen^ that hath not laid, is 
 accounted better and lighter. 
 
 "3. Cock-broth is thus made : Tire an old Cock, till he fall 
 with weariness, then kill and pluck him, and gut him, and 
 stuff him with proper physic, and boil him till all the flesh 
 falls off, then strain it. This broth mollifies, and by means of 
 the nitrous parts wherewith that decrepit animal is endued, 
 and which are exalted by that tiring of him, cuts and cleanseth, 
 and moves the belly, the rather if you boil therein purging 
 medicines. It is famous for easing the pains of the Colic 
 (boiled with purgers and discutients), good against a Cough 
 and Tartar of the Lungs (boiled with breast herbs). 
 
 " 4. The Brain thickens and stops fluxes, as that of the 
 belly (taken in wine). Women anoint therewith the gums 
 of Children to make them breed teeth. 
 
 '^ 5. The inioard tunicle of the Stomach, dried in the sun, 
 and powdered, binds and strengthens the stomach, stops vomit- 
 ing and fluxes, and breaks the stone. 
 
 "6. Is a virtue rivalling that of Balm of Syriacum. 
 
 " 7. The Gall takes off spots from the skin, and is good for 
 the eyes. 
 
 ^^ 8. The Grease of Hen or Capon is hot, moist, and softening, 
 between the Goose and Hogs^ grease, and obtunds acrimony, 
 cures chapt lips, pains in the ears, and pustles in the eyes. 
 
 ^'9. The Weasand of a Cock, burnt and not consumed, given 
 before supper, is an antidote to the influence of the herb 
 Dandelion. 
 
 " 10. The Dung doth all the same that the Pigeon's, but 
 weaker; and besides, cures the Colic and pain of the Womb. 
 Moreover, it is good especially against the Jaundice, Stone, 
 and Suppression of Urine. 
 
 " Note. The white part of the Dung is esteemed the best. 
 
 " Give half a drachm. Morning and Evening, for four or 
 five days. 
 
46 THEDOMESTICFOWL. 
 
 "Outwardly it dries running heads, and other scabs (the 
 ashes sprinMed on)" — Willughbi/, book ii., p. 157. 
 
 More medicinal properties are added ; so that a good Hen 
 seems to be a perfect walking doctor's shop. Aldrovandi has 
 filled more than sixteen large folio pages with an account of the 
 medicinal uses of Fowls and their Eggs, both for man and 
 beast, which we do not quote here, as they would meet with 
 little more serious attention than the foregoing. Hens were 
 sacrificed by the ancient pagans to ^sculapius, the G-od of 
 Medicine, on account of the services they were supposed to 
 render to the health of mankind. Fever, dysentery, melan- 
 choly, epilepsy, cough, colic, all yielded to some preparation 
 from gallinaceous materials. Even the surgeon was super- 
 seded by their virtues. A plaister composed of white of egg 
 and white frankincense cured broken bones; the albumen 
 alone was a sovereign vulnerary. Oil of eggs regenerated hair 
 more surely than Rowland's Macassar. Other preparations 
 were remedial against poison, corns on the toes, the bites of 
 mad dogs and vipers, and frenzy. In short, every one who 
 had a tolerable stock of poultry, had only himself to blame 
 if he did not repel the usual ills to which mortal flesh is 
 subject. 
 
 It can, therefore, be no trifling amount of intrinsic excellence 
 which has earned for them such a universal good opinion. 
 Independent of all considerations of profitableness, they are 
 gifted with two qualifications, which, whether in man, beast, 
 or bird, are sure to be popular; those are, a courageous temper, 
 and an afi'ectionate disposition. Add to these, beauty of ap- 
 pearance and hardiness of constitution, and it is no wonder 
 that each old wife thinks her own stud of Fowls invaluable. 
 It is recorded of Catherine the Second of Russia, who was 
 great in more senses than one, that she compelled a rival to 
 her throne to amuse himself with tending poultry, and "other 
 imbecilities.'' The story was meant to tell against her ; but 
 
THEDOMESTICFOWL. 47 
 
 worse things might be said of her, and perhaps of many other 
 jealous tyrants. 
 
 The courage of the Cock is emblematic, his gallantry admi- 
 rable, his sense of discipline and subordination most exemplary. 
 See how a good Game Cock of two or three years' experience 
 will, in five minutes, restore order into an uproarious poultry- 
 yard. He does not use harsh means of coercion, when mild 
 will suit the purpose. A look, a gesture, a deep chuckling 
 growl, gives the hint that turbulence is no longer to be per- 
 mitted ; and if these are not efi"eetual, severer punishment is 
 fearlessly administered. Nor is he aggressive to birds of other 
 species. He allows the Turkey to strut before his numerous 
 dames, and the Guinea Fowl to court his single mate unin- 
 terrupted ; but if the one presumes upon his superior weight, 
 and the other on his cowardly tiltings from behind, he soon 
 makes them smart for their rash presumption. His politeness 
 to females is as marked as were Lord Chesterfield's attentions 
 to old ladies, and much more unaffected. Nor does he merely 
 act the agreeable dangler; when occasion requires, he is also 
 their brave defender, if he is good for any thing. '^They 
 should sometimes offer resistance, and protect their flock of 
 wives, and even kill a serpent or other noxious animal that 
 threatens danger." — Got. lib. viii., cap. 2. A Hen, that I 
 caught to examine, screamed till she called her husband to her 
 assistance. Instantly his spur was buried deep in the fleshy 
 part of my thumb, nor did his anger cease till the lady was at 
 liberty. The same Game Cock, whenever fowls were killed 
 for the table, made a point of attacking the man whose busi- 
 ness it was to secure them, tore his trowsers, and made all 
 possible bold resistance. 
 
 "A Black Polish Cock that our shepherd has, struck him 
 the other morning on the temples, as he was catching one of 
 the Hens, making the poor fellow faint and bleeding for some 
 time. He said '• he did not mind hisself, but if er got vleeing 
 
48 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 at am of the chlldurn, he'd soon het his head off V I hope he 
 will not. Some years back I had an old Silver Polish that would 
 spur some time with my hat I if placed before him." — JET. IT. 
 
 The Game Cock is in his native country really a more for- 
 midable creature than he is here. "The Dutch doctors are 
 of opinion, that certain cases of hydrophobia which have 
 occurred in Java, notwithstanding no instance of canine mad- 
 ness was ever known on the island, may be attributed to cli- 
 mate, and the state of constitution as affected by it. The bite 
 of the large Indian rat, commonly called the Bandicoot, is 
 supposed to occasion hydrophobia and certain death • an opinion 
 which, I understand, is also entertained on the coast of Malabar. 
 The bite of an enraged man is said to be as certain of pro- 
 ducing hydrophobia as that of a mad dog, two cases of which 
 had happened not long before our arrival. Dr. Le Dulx 
 mentions several instances of hydrophobia succeeding to the 
 bite of enraged animals, as in the case of a boy bit by a Duck 
 which he had disturbed in its amours, and of a feeder of Cocks, 
 who, being pecked in the hand by one of these animals in 
 separating it from its antagonist, died under every symptom 
 of hydrophobia and madness." — Barroio's Voyage to Cochin 
 China. 
 
 " Omnes in primis Galli Gallinacei vitae actiones veri patris- 
 familias, et qui in eo omnem suam curam ponit, et studium, 
 ut familiae suse de omnibus necessariis prospiciat, significare 
 potest. Hsec enim ales tota die quicquid virium habet, id 
 totum ad suorum confert salutem, et nullius rei minus, quam 
 sui ipsius solicita est. Unde sapientissimus Pythagoras tarn 
 providam animalis, et erga suos promptam naturam considerans, 
 dixit, nutriendum quidem Galium esse ; at non immolandum." — 
 Aldrovandi. 
 
 The first sentence does not quite construe, but means to say 
 that the actions of the entire life of the Gallinaceous Cock 
 show that he is a most excellent family man, placing his whole 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 49 
 
 care and study in providing all necessaries for his household. 
 For this bird devotes whatever energy he has the livelong day 
 to the good of his dependants, and is solicitous about nothing 
 less than self. Whence the sage Pythagoras, considering the 
 provident and attentive nature of the creature, declared that 
 the Cock ought to be cherished, not sacrificed. 
 
 The Hen is deservedly the acknowledged pattern of maternal 
 love. When her passion of philoprogenitiveness is disappointed 
 by the failure or subtraction of her own brood, she will either 
 go on sitting till her natural powers fail, or will violently kid- 
 nap the young of other Fowls, and insist upon adopting them. 
 A Hen in my neighbourhood was kept incubating eleven weeks 
 before she was allowed to lead forth a clutch. One of my own 
 took two chickens away from the family of another Hen, and 
 went about with them the greater part of the summer. A 
 black Bantam belonging to H. H. "had a singular habit of 
 adopting in the first instance a single half-grown chick. An- 
 other years he actually took a whole brood of eight little things 
 off their mother's hands, first doing battle with her for them. 
 These chicks she tended carefully for nearly two months, and 
 then turned them oiF in the usual way." 
 
 In another case, and one which may be considered more 
 extraordinary, a Hen, of rather a violent disposition, was much 
 annoyed by a dozen small forsaken chickens repairing to her, 
 when she was sitting on some eggs in the crib of an outhouse, 
 and nestling under her at night. For a whole week she was 
 at constant warfare with these little orphans, pecking them, 
 and injuring some of them severely. On a sudden, she seemed 
 to change her mind, and from that time became excessively 
 fond of them, and in a day or two left her nest eggs, and 
 proved a careful and tender mother to them for several months. 
 This Hen was a Silver Poland. 
 
 " I witnessed this morning the daring courage of one of my 
 Hens, in knocking a Crow, stunned and senseless on the earth, 
 
50' THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 that had attacked a chick of hers. She did not allow it time 
 to seize the chicken, but struck at it with both beak and 
 spurs."— ^. H., July 13, 1848. 
 
 "But all Hens are not alike: they have their little whims 
 and fancies, likes and dislikes, as capricious and unaccountable 
 as those of other females. Some are gentle, others sanguinary ; 
 some are lazy, others energetic almost to insanity. Some can 
 scarcely be kept out of the house; others say, 'Thank you, but 
 rd rather be left to myself.' 
 
 "Finally, they differ in manners and disposition; for besides 
 that some are called Domestic, others Wild, even among the 
 Domestic ones, some by their very nature are so mild and 
 familiar that they cannot get through life without the society 
 of mankind; of which I am an eye-witness. For, some years 
 ago, I kept at my country-seat a Hen, which, besides keeping 
 by herself all day long, and wandering about the house apart 
 from the companionship of her fellows, in the evening would 
 go to rest nowhere but close to me among my books, and those 
 rather big ones (eosque majores), although she was often driven 
 away. Some, on the other hand, so far from taking pleasure 
 in the society of men, are so shy as to avoid them utterly; 
 others are cruel to their own young; others suck the eggs that 
 themselves have laid." — Aldrovandi. 
 
 A fact respecting Fowls, that has not been sufficiently re- 
 garded, but which goes far to prove their high antiquity, is 
 the permanent character of the different varieties. Before 
 attending much to the subject, people fancy that crossings and 
 intermixtures may be infinitely multiplied and continued, re- 
 stricted only by the algebraic law of Permutation and Combi- 
 nation ; and such is the current opinion among many who are 
 accustomed to see the diverse colours and appearance of Fowls 
 promiscuously bred in a farm-yard. But the observant breeder 
 knows that such is not the case. Nothing is more difficult 
 than to establish a permanent intermediate race between even 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 61 
 
 nearly allied varieties. In a few generations the character 
 reverts to that of one or other of the parents ; the peculiarities 
 of an old type reappear, and the new cross, on which the fancier 
 was beginning to glorify himself, vanishes. The more hetero- 
 geneous are the parents, the more sudden is the return to old- 
 established characters. The hybrid progeny are either utterly 
 barren, or their young exhibit the likeness of their grandfather 
 or grandmother, not of their actual parents. 
 
 "I have lately succeeded in producing a most magnificent 
 hybrid breed between the Golden and Black Polish, having 
 the rich spotted body of the former, and the handsome white 
 crest of the latter. This was a work of some difficulty and 
 time, and I am still so particular as to think it requires one 
 more generation to bring them to perfection. "" — "It struck me 
 that the Grolden would be much improved by the handsome 
 white crest of the Black Polish. By selecting at first some 
 of the former that had a few white feathers on the head, and 
 again crossing the best of these Hens with a Polish Cock for 
 two seasons, they are at length approaching perfection, and 
 will be the best and handsomest breed of all. A trial was 
 made vice versd, which brought them perfectly black, with 
 immense black heads." — " It is rather a curious fact, that my 
 hybrids, though originating from two varieties of Polish, neither 
 remarkable for being good incubators, are early and very good 
 and steady birds to set, but perhaps not remarkably sweet- 
 tempered to other chicks. I cannot explain this, unless we 
 take it on the rule that two negatives make an affirmative." 
 So far so good. A subsequent report is, " My hybrid chickens 
 are beginning to come out, and I find many ^cry back,' as I 
 had expected. The only remedy is to hatch a good many, and 
 then select. In a few years the breed will be established." — 
 M.H. 
 
 Will it? Or is this "crying back" only the beginning 
 
62 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 of the end? Peisthetaerus may still have to utter his com- 
 plaint : — 
 
 " Plague on thee ; but this bird of mine croaks * back again.' " 
 
 However, the latest accounts are favourable. 
 
 This is an instance of the results of crossing between two 
 very closely related sorts, and many experimentalizing amateurs 
 could produce similar instances. But the results of more dis- 
 cordant and ill-assorted matches are more immediate and 
 striking. The Zoological Society possessed, in May, 1848, two 
 birds bred between the Jungle Fowl (Sonnerat's Cock) and 
 the Red Bantam, that bearing the greatest resemblance to the 
 Bankiva Cock. Their pedigree and their relationship to each 
 species is the same ; namely, three-quarters Bantam and one- 
 quarter Jungle Fowl. But they would be pronounced, by most 
 persons to whom their origin was unknown, to be, one a Ban- 
 tam, the other a Jungle Fowl. In 1849, the keepers informed 
 me that, if hybrid chickens between the Jungle and Common 
 Fowl are made to go on breeding in and in, the progeny is at 
 last so weak, that it is impossible to rear them. A half-bred 
 Sonnerat's Jungle and Grame Cock, obtained from the Zoolo- 
 gical Society, differs much in voice, carriage, and plumage, 
 from any Common Fowl. He is not sterile, having already 
 been the parent of chickens, but his disposition is strange and 
 cruel : he has already killed one valuable Hen, and severely 
 injured others by lacerating their combs and heads. This does 
 not look as if the amalgamation of the Jungle and the Domes- 
 tic Fowl were a very natural proceeding. '^Le Boi, Lieute- 
 nant of the Bangers at Yersailles, put a hen Grolden Pheasant 
 to a cock Pheasant of this country, and obtained two cock 
 Pheasants very like the common kind : but the plumage had 
 a dirty cast, and only a few yellow feathers on the head like 
 those of the Golden Pheasant; and these two young males be- 
 ing paired with European hen Pheasants, one succeeded the 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 53 
 
 second year, and a hen Pheasant was hatched which could 
 never be made to breed. The two Cocks produced no more.^^ — 
 Buffon. We reserve for the section on the Pheasant Malay 
 Fowl, what is to be said respecting the absurd notion, that a 
 cross with the common Pheasant has been instrumental in im- 
 proving our Domestic Poultry. Baptista Porta states that he 
 himself reared hybrids between a Dove, " Columbus/' and a 
 dwarf Hen, which combined the lineaments of either parent. 
 We are not told whether they proved prolific or sterile; but, 
 in fact, such strange combinations appear to be in a state of 
 what mathematicians call ^^ unstable equilibrium" — St. PauFs 
 Cathedral turned upside down, and balanced by a cunning 
 professor of gymnastics on the tip end of the cross — the cen- 
 tre of gravity is in the wrong place, and the least touch, the 
 least hair's breadth of wavering, is sufficient to bring down 
 ruin. Or an analogy may be imagined forth by those delicate 
 chemical unions of matter, such as gunpowder and fulminating 
 silver, where the elementary particles are combined indeed, 
 but can hardly be moved without one flying one way and one 
 another, leaving little that is visible or satisfactory behind 
 them. Or a more homely comparison may be drawn from ill- 
 made melted butter, which is really not melted butter at all, 
 but a delicately manipulated commingling of water, flour, and 
 oil. Unless the" cook be skilful, the flour settles in one di- 
 rection, the water runs a second way, and the oil floats a 
 third; proving tffat melted butter, like gallinaceous monstrosi- 
 ties, is an unnatural aflair. The Zoological Society also pos- 
 sesses hybrids between the Gruinea Fowl and the Domestic 
 Fowl ; curious creatures, that are sterile hitherto, and look as 
 if they intended so to remain. Their plumage is barred, not 
 spotted, with dirty white and gray ; there is something between 
 a ruff and a hackle hanging around their necks; and every 
 poulterer who sees them must wonder, not that they do not 
 multiply, but that they ever came into the world at all. It is 
 
 6* 
 
64 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 very important, not only for practical purposes, but also as 
 involving a great physiological principle, to show that species 
 and varieties are permanent, not ever-changing; that like does 
 beget like ; and that creatures are not moulded and modified 
 according to circumstances, and do not remodel their members 
 or acquire new ones, as the exigency of their situation for the 
 time being demands. In the case of Fowls, the theory of pro- 
 gressive development and change is certainly unsupported by 
 evidence, though they and other domesticated animals are sup- 
 posed to be instances in which it is peculiarly likely to be ex- 
 emplified. Before the Christian era, the varieties of fowl were 
 not less numerous, but in many instances were probably iden- 
 tical with what we have at the present day. Columella par- 
 ticularly recommends as the best, those sorts that have five 
 toes and white ears — the marks of our highly-esteemed breeds, 
 the Dorking and the Spanish. He warns his contemporaries 
 that Bantams, ^^ pumiliones aves,^^ will prove troublesome, by 
 preventing the eggs of larger birds from being properly ferti- 
 lized. He dismissed the fighting breed as being foreign to his 
 subject, which treated only of profitable sorts, and had nothing 
 to do with cock-fighting. He mentions the Tanagric, the Bho- 
 dian, the Chalcidic, and the Medic, as tall birds of high cou- 
 rage, but prefers their own common sort, " nostrum vernacu- 
 lum,^' for economical purposes, allowing, however, that a first 
 cross produces fine chickens. " But the Adrianic Hens are 
 small indeed ; but they lay every day. They'are ill-tempered, 
 and frequently kill the (he does not say their own) young. 
 And they are of all sorts of colours." Many of our larger 
 Bantams exactly tally to this, particularly in the savage 
 propensity to kill chickens which they discover to be substi- 
 tuted. 
 
 We may, therefore, infer that our existing Domestic Fowls 
 are not improvements or modifications of those Cocks that are 
 now found wild in the East, but that they have as much right 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 55 
 
 to be called original varieties or species (whichever term it 
 may be thought right to apply to them) as any of those which 
 are allowed to rank in the catalogues of the naturalist. The 
 converse opinion, namely, that the forms of living creatures are 
 undergoing perpetual changes, according to the circumstances 
 under which they happen to be placed, has only to be stated 
 in the exaggerated length to which some theorists have carried 
 it, to refute itself by the outrageous shock it gives to experi- 
 ence and common sense. BufiFon thus accounts for the exist- 
 ence of various species of Pheasants : — " Since no naturalist or 
 traveller has given the least hint concerning the original 
 abode of the Black-and-White (our Silver) Pheasant, we are 
 obliged to form conjectures. I am inclined to suppose that, as 
 the Pheasant of Georgia (the common species of our preserves), 
 having migrated towards the east, and having fixed its resi- 
 dence in the southern or temperate provinces of China, has be- 
 come the Painted (with us Golden) Pheasant, so the White 
 Pheasant, which is an inhabitant of our cold climates, or that 
 of Tartary, having travelled into the northern provinces of 
 China, has become the pencilled or silver kind; that it has 
 there grown to a greater size than the original Pheasant, or 
 that of Georgia, because it has found in those provinces food 
 more plentiful and better suited to its nature; but that it be- 
 trays the marks of a new climate in its air, port, and external 
 form — in all which it resembles the Painted Pheasant, but re- 
 tains of the original Pheasant the red orbits, which have been 
 even expanded from the same causes undoubtedly that pro- 
 moted the growth of its body and gave it a superiority over the 
 ordinary Pheasant." By this sort of gentle transmutation, 
 any one bird may be easily manufactured from any other. 
 Dr. Erasmus Darwin proceeds boldly to the work, and carries 
 it out on a grand scale. "As Linnaeus has conjectured in re- 
 spect to th^ vegetable world (where ?), it is not impossible but 
 the great variety of species of animals, which now tenant the 
 
56 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 earth, may have had their origin from the mixture of a few 
 natural orders. 
 
 '^Such a promiscuous intercourse of animals is said to exist 
 at this day in New South Wales, by Captain Hunter. And 
 that not only amongst the quadrupeds and birds of different 
 kinds, but even amongst the fish, and, as he believes, amongst 
 the vegetables. He speaks of an animal between the opossum 
 and the kangaroo, from the size of a sheep to that of a rat. 
 Many fish seem to partake of the shark; some with a skait's 
 head and shoulders, and the hind part of a shark ; others with 
 a shark's head and the body of a mullet; and some with a 
 shark's head and the flat body of a sting-ray. Many birds 
 partake of the Parrot : some have the head, neck, and bill of 
 a Parrot, with long straight feet and legs; others with legs and 
 feet of a Parrot, with head and neck of a Sea-gull."* — Zooiw- 
 mia, vol. i., p. 499. 
 
 Again he continues, even yet more adventurously : — 
 " Another great want felt by animals consists in the means 
 of procuring food, which has diversified the forms of all spe- 
 cies. Thus, the nose of the swine has become hard for the 
 purpose of turning up the soil in search of insects and of roots. 
 The trunk of the elephant is an elongation of the nose for the 
 purpose of pulling down the branches of trees for his food, and 
 for taking up water without bending his knees. Beasts of 
 prey have acquired strong jaws or talons. Cattle have ac- 
 quired a rough tongue and a rough palate to pull off the 
 blades of grass, as cows and sheep. Some birds have acquii-ed 
 beaks adapted to break the harder seeds, as sparrows. Others 
 for the softer seeds or flowers, or the buds of trees, as the 
 Finches. Other birds have acquired long beaks to penetrate the 
 
 * Some of our decoy-men call the Godwit a "half-bred Curlew ; " 
 whether they have any belief in such a pedigree, they could not, 
 perhaps, themselves declare. 
 
THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 67 
 
 moister soils in search of insects or roots, as WDodcocks; and 
 others broad ones to filtrate the water of lakes, and to retain 
 aquatic insects. All which seem to have been gradually pro- 
 duced during many generations^ hy the perpetual endeavour of 
 the creatures to supply the want of food, and to have been deli- 
 vered to their posterity with constant improvement of them, for 
 the purposes required. 
 
 "Would it then be too bold to imagine, that all warm- 
 blooded animals have arisen from one living filament, which 
 the great First Cause endued with animality, with the power 
 of acquiring new parts, attended with new propensities, di- 
 rected by irritations, sensations, volitions, and associations ; and 
 thus possessing the faculty of continuing to improve by its own 
 inherent activity, and of delivering down those improvements 
 by generation to its posterity, world without end !" — Id. vol. i. 
 p. 505. 
 
 These extracts are not given from any disrespect to the abi- 
 lities or intentions of the writers, for they were both men to 
 whom science is much indebted, but to show what strange and 
 startling conclusions may be arrived at by arguing from pre- 
 mises that are not founded on proved facts, but on plausibility 
 and fashionable hypothesis merely. But we will now main- 
 tain unhesitatingly, that it was not man or his domestication, 
 or any inherent tendency in the creatures themselves, that gave 
 feathered crests to the Poland Fowl, dwarfed the Bantam, ex- 
 panded the Dorking, enlarged the Malay and Cochin-China 
 Fowl, inspired courage to the Grame Cock, or made the Hen, 
 next to Woman, the most exemplary of mothers : unless we 
 believe it was Man who arranged the strata in the ribs of the 
 earth, and prescribed to the sea its everchanging boundaries. 
 Man is powerful to have dominion; Grod alone is potent to 
 create — His Providence to overrule. Not by Man, nor Chance, 
 nor by generative force of an idol called Nature, have the 
 things which we see, and the diversities in our living fellow- 
 
58 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
 
 creatures, been brought about. No ; most thankfully, no . 
 Then would matters have been far less harmoniously, far less 
 benignantly arranged. It is our greatest consolation to feel 
 assured that all the physical changes which this earth has un- 
 dergone, and every renovation of its inhabitants, have been 
 from the beginning foreordained by that all- wise and all-power- 
 ful Being, in whose presence (and we are ever in His pre- 
 sence) the best and greatest of us would be crushed into 
 nothingness, did we not, to our comfort, believe that He is 
 not the Creator merely, but the Father and Protector of every 
 animated creature. "These wait all upon Thee, that Thou 
 mayest give them meat in due season. When Thou givest it 
 them, they gather it, and when Thou openest Thy hand, they 
 are filled with good. When thou hidest Thy face, they are 
 troubled. When Thou takest away their breath they die, and 
 are turned again to their dust." 
 
59 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 
 
 I CANNOT but think that Mr. Dixon underrates the profitable- 
 ness of good Fowls in the keeping of intelligent breeders ; they 
 may be unproductive in ignorant and careless hands, but not so 
 when properly attended to. I understand that a very respect- 
 able gentleman of Rhode Island, quite experienced in the 
 breeding and management of all kinds of Fowls, is wont to 
 say, that four acres of land, devoted to the rearing of the best 
 varieties of poultry, will, at common prices, be quite as pro- 
 ductive as a farm of 150 acres cultivated in the ordinary way. 
 The eggs of the common and cheaper kinds which might be 
 used for incubators and nurses, would pay, or could be made 
 to pay, if preserved as herein directed, and sold at the proper 
 time, all expenses of feed, etc.; and it is well known that good 
 Capons of the larger breeds will bring in any of our larger 
 markets from 3 to 5 dollars per pair, and early spring chick- 
 ens from 20 to 25 cts per pound. To make poultry profitable, 
 then, it is only necessary that the better kinds be bred from, 
 that suitable places be provided for them^, that they be proper- 
 ly fed, and carefully and intelligently managed — things which 
 have rarely conspired in any one instance heretofore to enable 
 us to judge what might be made out of poultry under the most 
 favourable circumstances. I have deemed this preliminary 
 remark necessary before introducing the reader to what Mr. 
 Dixon has further to say on the rearing and management of 
 
60 THE REARING AND 
 
 Fowls. He says : — There are two classes of Fowl-breeders : 
 those who rear them for amusement, and for the convenience 
 of having a few chickens at hand to kill, and a few Hens on 
 the goodness of whose eggs they can depend; and those whose 
 only object is to increase their stock as fast as possible, as a 
 matter of business, and solely for gain and profit. It may 
 safely be stated that the number of those who can strictly be 
 included in this latter division is extremely limited. Even 
 the poor cottager who has just a couple of Hens, and is depend- 
 ent upon some richer neighbour for a supply of eggs that will 
 produce chickens, keeps them more because she finds pleasure 
 in seeing the good creatures busying about with their broods, 
 than for any profitable advantage she is likely to get by them. 
 If she be poor, with a large family, she no more presumes to 
 indulge herself with keeping Fowls, than she would with a 
 caged Lark, or Groldfinch, or Thrush.* If she be lone and in- 
 dustrious, and so have a trifle to spare, or be the childless 
 wife of a thrifty husband, she may gratify her pride with 
 Cocks and Hens, to the envy of her neighbours. Even on 
 large farms it is more as save-alls and collectors of scattered 
 fragments, which would otherwise be wasted, that Fowls are 
 serviceable. And if the farmer were to charge his wife with 
 all the corn consumed in their rearing and fatting, we may 
 venture to assert that a much smaller supply of them would be 
 sent to market. These observations are less applicable to 
 Ducks, Greese, and Turkeys; but in no case is any account 
 taken of the time their tending demands, that being considered 
 as part of the household routine, or even in the light of a re- 
 laxation. It is not by those who usually rear chickens that 
 large profits are made, although the gross sum returned at the 
 
 ^ A laT/ing hen can be kept on good corn at an expense of only 
 2 cts. per week. Where chickens have a run, they can be raised for 
 half what they may be sold for. — Ed. 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 61 
 
 end of the year may appear to be large.* The greatest gain- 
 ers are the travelling dealers who scour the country, and buy, 
 for the lowest farthing they can get them, small lots of Fowls 
 and eggs here and there, the superabundant produce of various 
 housewives, either disposing of them immediately at advanced 
 prices, or shutting up the birds at once to be fatted f^ mar- 
 ket. The poulterers and feeders on a large scale in great 
 towns doubtless derive a remunerating trade. It is the middle 
 men who are the principal gainers. And when we shall have 
 succeeded in producing peaches and nectarines for the million 
 for dessert, we may calculate on rearing Poultry for the mil- 
 lion for dinner. 
 
 Those who set about keeping Fowls, as amateurs for the 
 first time, to whom alone we address ourselves, are recommended 
 to begin with a limited number, such as a Cock and four or 
 five Hens, of some distinct and choice breed; or, if it be de- 
 sired to test the value of different sorts of Hens, one or two 
 of them may be admitted, care being taken to separate all the 
 cross-bred progeny for the fatting coop and the dinner-table. It 
 will add to the amusement derived, if, in the first instance, 
 strong three-quarter grown chickens are procured, instead of 
 adult birds, so that an opportunity is given of watching their 
 progress to maturity. 
 
 As to fowl-houses and other accommodations, so much de- 
 pends upon circumstances, that minute directions are almost 
 impertinent. The three grand requisites are cleanliness, dry- 
 ness, and warmth. Those who wish for any thing on a large 
 scale, will find plenty of plans and descriptions in books, so 
 that if they choose they may lay out as much money in a hen- 
 house as would build a comfortable cottage ornee. But most 
 
 * The gross proceeds of eggs and poultry sold in the U. States 
 amount to twenty millions of dollars. In 1840, it was 12,176,170 
 dollars. — Ed. 
 
 6 
 
62 THE REARING AND 
 
 people have little choice in the matter: they must take or 
 adapt such conveniences as they find around them. The 
 Fowls themselves are not very fastidious; but we may be sure 
 that the more we attend to the comforts of our domestic ani- 
 mals, the more they will reward our trouble. 
 
 In the first place, then, the Fowls should have a good roof 
 overhead. IMany such outbuildings are merely tiled, my own, 
 till lately, among the number. During summer this con- 
 struction is the best, as all night long the house is ventilated 
 with warm air passing through the interstices of the tiles that 
 have been heated by the sun the whole day. Of course the 
 roof is supposed to be in such good repair, and the tiles so 
 well overlapped, .that no drippings of water from above are 
 admitted. But in winter such draughts are very injurious, 
 particularly as the Fowls will roost as near to the roof as they 
 can get, so that their head, the most sensitive part, is most ex- 
 posed to the influence of cold. In the autumn of 1847 I lost 
 several favourite birds — a valuable Turkey among the number 
 — solely from this cause, as I believe. The expense of ceiling 
 with lath and plaster is trifling, the winter comfort of the 
 Fowls must be much increased, and with it their health and 
 profitableness. Leaving the door open for a while every day 
 will sufficiently change the air in any weather. 
 
 Some people allow their Fowls to roost abroad all night, 
 in all weathers, in hawthorn or elder-trees, that stand near the 
 fowl-houses. But the plan is a slovenly mode of keeping even 
 the humblest live stock : it offers a temptation to thieves, and 
 the health of the Fowls cannot be improved by their being 
 soaked all night long in drenching rain, or having their feet 
 frozen to the branches. There is no difficulty in accustoming 
 any sort of poultry, except the Peafowl, to regular housing 
 at night. 
 
 Rough poles, two or three inches in diameter, with the hark 
 left on, make the best roosting perches; to which a hen-ladder 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 63 
 
 should afford a convenient means of ascent, to save tlie birds 
 the strain of flying up, and perhaps frequent falls in conse- 
 quence of failure. A hen-ladder is an iiidispensahle piece of 
 furniture^ though frequently absent. The nests or laying 
 places may be either wooden fixtures contiguous to the wall, 
 or the Hens may be accommodated with shallow hampers here 
 and there, out of the way of dirt, and easily reached.* The 
 fixed nests should be thoroughly whitewashed inside and out, 
 at least once a month during summer, to destroy fleas, &c. 
 The hampers may be taken down, shaken out, and completely 
 purified at intervals. 
 
 It is as well to have the fixed laying places made not larger 
 than is sufficient to accommodate a full-sized Hen, in order to 
 prevent two or more Hens from quarrelling for the same nest. 
 I have seen excellent laying and sitting-boxes, of a convenient 
 capacity, built with brick-work, up against one or more sides 
 of the fowl-house, much in the same way as is seen in the 
 lockers in old-fashioned manorial dovecotes. Each box was 
 fitted with a loose, thin wooden bottom, to slide over th^ 
 bottom of stone or brickwork, and having a half-inch rim in 
 front, to keep the eggs from rolling out. The plan is a good 
 one. After each sitting, the sliding bottom of the box can be 
 taken out, scoured and scalded, and the brickwork washed and 
 white-washed, as may the wooden slide also. A great con- 
 venience, especially where a numerous and various head of 
 poultry is kept, will be found in a range of small separate 
 fowl-houses about a cubic yard or a little more in size, each 
 with its own door fastened by a button, and a latticed aperture 
 to admit air over the door. Into these, each breeding fowl, 
 with her young, can be separately driven from the coops at 
 night, and remain there without disturbance or quarrels till 
 the proper time to go abroad next day. Each of these private 
 
 * Vide Mr. David Taggart's letter at the end of this chapter.— Ed. 
 
64 THE REARING AND 
 
 apartments can be gravelled or littered, according to the re- 
 quirements of their occupants, and supplied with pans of water, 
 green turves, a cabbage, a handful of corn, or whatever else is 
 wanted. A recent traveller in Connemara found the cottagers' 
 Hens accommodated with neatly worked straw-b"askets, fashioned 
 like a reticule, or a watch-pocket at the bed's head. These 
 were hung up against the wall at one end of the hovel for the 
 Hens to lay in ; the reason for the arrangement being, that 
 the sow and pigs occupied the other end, and would surely 
 devour any eggs that were laid on the ground. Though eggs 
 fetched only fourpence a score, it would not do to lose them : 
 other provisions bore proportionate prices. The paradox 
 of starvation amidst cheapness and abundance is extremely 
 puzzling. 
 
 If the floor of the fowl-house can be swept every day, and 
 sprinkled with fresh sand, gravel, or ashes, so much the better. 
 Dust and cobwebs on the walls, and up the corners, are neither 
 a decoration nor an advantage. Cobbett says that no pigsty 
 is what it ought to be, unless it is clean enough and dry 
 enough for a man, upon a pinch, to pass a night in it with 
 tolerable comfort; we say that no fowl-house is what it ought 
 to be, unless it is in such a state as to afford a lady, without 
 offending her sense of decent propriety, a respectable shelter 
 on a showery day. A false ceiling of wood suspended beneath 
 the roosting perches is a mode sometimes adopted of keeping 
 the floor of the house clean, by catching the dung as it falls 
 from the Fowls; but the plan requires extreme cleanliness on 
 the part of the attendants; the filth out of sight is apt to be 
 out of mind, and allowed to accumulate, and is also brought 
 too close under the Fowls themselves, even if it be removed 
 daily. To close all, a good door is requisite, with a small 
 wicket gate at the bottom, to allow ingress and egress. It 
 is better that Turkeys should not roost in the same house, as 
 they are apt to be cross to sitting and laying Hens; if they 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 65 
 
 do, the wicket must be of proportional size. My readers, I 
 hope, will not be offended at a hint that a hole that will admit 
 a Turkey, will also allow a Hen to pass; and that there is no 
 need to make a smaller aperture by the side of the larger, 
 unless they like the look of it. A first-rate lock can do no 
 harm on the door, as Columella advises, "That no cats or 
 snakes have access to the birds, and that other equally noxious 
 pests* be kept at a distance." Possibly even in classical times 
 there were such creatures as fowl-stealers. 
 
 With peace and plenty the newly arrived young Fowls will 
 thrive apace. Soon after they are full-grown, the comb both 
 of the Cock and the Hens will be observed to become of a more 
 brilliant red, the Cock will crow more lustily, and with more 
 of a canto fermo than before, the Hens will grow animated, 
 restless, full of busy importance, as if a new idea had lately 
 broke in upon their minds. By-and-by they will commence 
 prating and cackling, and in a few days the delighted Pullet 
 will lay her first egg. It is hard to say which receives the 
 most pleasure at contemplating the smooth, immaculate pro- 
 duction, the Hen or her amateur owner, f And when, time 
 after time, the first instalment is followed by similar deposits, 
 she thinks herself, and is thought, a perfect paragon. Such 
 are the pleasures of productiveness. Those whose inherited 
 wealth comes to them quarterly or annually, without any 
 thought or exertion on their part, have no conception how 
 bright and beautiful the money looks of which they can say, 
 '^I have fairly and honestly earned it; I have done something 
 useful for it.'' So with the Hen ; she is an industrious little 
 save-all. She rescues from waste many a minute portion of 
 
 * "Pestis, a rogue, a villain." — Ainsworth^s Dictionary. 
 
 f The very first egg, however, which a Pullet lays is seldom quite 
 immaculate, but bears marks of the efi'ort it has cost : those subse- 
 quently laid appear with greater purity. 
 
 6* 
 
66 THE REARING AND 
 
 nutritious matter, collects it in her crop, and converts it into 
 wholesome food for Man. After a while her own turn comes 
 to be served; the pleasures of motherhood must be accorded 
 to her. Nature has been sufficiently tasked in one direction; 
 she becomes feverish, loses flesh, her comb is livid, her eye 
 dull. She sees in her heated fancy her young ones crowding 
 around her, bristles her feathers to intimidate an imaginary 
 enemy, and, as if they were already there, she utters the 
 maternal *^ cluck" — " chioccia^' — ^^ glocientes" — " clock-hens;" 
 "Sic enim apellant rustici aves eas quie volunt incubare." 
 
 In no other bird, that I am aware, is the desire of incuba- 
 tion thus manifested. I am very much inclined to attribute 
 it to the imagination of the Fowl anticipatiog the duties that 
 are to follow. The cry is exactly the same, although other 
 various tones are afterwards made use of; for example, the 
 acute voice with which she calls her chicks to partake of some 
 dainty, which is also used by the male bird to assemble his 
 Hens on a similar occasion, — and the short staccato note which 
 gives warning of danger from a hawk, or a strange dog. In- 
 deed, the language of Fowls, though inarticulate, is sufficiently 
 fixed and determined for 2(*' to know what some of it means. 
 But the Hen that "clucks" is evidently thinking about her 
 future young; and she is not alone in indulo-inw such dreams 
 of offspring. A caged Virginian Nightingale has been re- 
 corded to go through the pantomimic actions of feeding its 
 brood in the spring ( Gard. Jlaijf.). A Bantam Hen was barren, 
 but always entered the nest daily, never laying; but at last 
 became broody, was supplied with eggs, and proved an excellent 
 sitter and mother. 
 
 When the determination to sit becomes fixed, — there is no 
 need to indulge the fii-st faint indications immediately — let her 
 have the nest she has selected well cleaned and filled with 
 fresh straw. The number of eggs to be given to her will 
 depend upon the season, and upon theh- and her own size. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 67 
 
 The wisest plan is not to be too greedy. The number of 
 chickens hatched is often in inverse proportion to the number 
 of eggs set; I have known only five to be obtained from six- 
 teen. Hens will in general well cover from eleven to thirteen 
 eggs laid by themselves. A Bantam may be trusted with 
 about half-a-dozen eggs of a large breed, such as the Spanish. 
 A lien of the largest size, as a Dorking, will successfully 
 hatch at the most five Goose's eggs. But if a Hen is really 
 determined to set, it is useless as well as cruel to attempt to 
 divert her from her object. The means usually prescribed are 
 such as no humane person would willingly put in practice. 
 If the season is too late or too early to give a hope of rearing 
 gallinaceous birds, the eggs of Ducks or Geese may always be 
 had; and the young may be brought up, with a little pains- 
 taking, at any time of the year. And if it be required to 
 retain the services of a Hen for expected valuable eggs, she 
 may be beguiled for a week or ten days with four or five old 
 addled ones till the choicer sort arrive. 
 
 Three weeks is the period of incubation of the common 
 Hen.* Sometimes when she do^s not sit close for the first 
 day or two, or in early spring, it will be some hours longer; 
 more rarely in this climate, when the Hen is assiduous and 
 the weather is hot, the time will be a trifle shorter. The 
 growth of the chick in the egg has been so fully and so well 
 described by many writers, from Aristotle down to Reaumur, 
 that I need merely refer the reader to them. The observa- 
 tions of the latter particularly have appeared in almost every 
 compilation that has been published on the subject; and I 
 must think it better taste for common inquirers to betake 
 themselves to such sources of information, illustrated as they 
 
 * I have, in warm weather, had chicks at the endjof the 18th day; 
 and a friend E. R. C. assures me that he had some to come out on 
 the 27th day.— Ed. 
 
68 THEREARINGAND 
 
 are by good engravings, than to desire that a set of half-hatched 
 eggs should be broken to gratify their curiosity. A shattered 
 and imperfectly formed chick, struggling in vain in the fluid 
 that ought to perfect its frame, till it sinks in a gradual and 
 convulsive death, is a horrible spectacle, though on a small scale. 
 
 "The shell of all Eggs, when newly laid, is nearly half as 
 thick again as it is when the young bird has to penetrate it. 
 Otherwise, especially in the case of some thick-shelled Eggs, 
 those of the Gruinea-Fowl for instance, the tender little creatures 
 would be scarcely equal to the task. As to what becomes of 
 the other part of the shell, there is an ingenious theory by 
 Knapp. ' The shell of the egg appears to be designed for the 
 accomplishment of two purposes. One of the offices of this 
 calcareous coating, which consists of carbonate and phosphate 
 of lime, is to unite with the white of the Egg, and form, during 
 incubation, the feathers and bone of the future young one; 
 but as a large portion of this covering remains after the young 
 are produced, its other object is to guard from injury the parts 
 within!'"— ^.^. 
 
 Shortly before the time of hatching arrives, the chickens 
 may be heard to chirp and tap against the walls of their shell. 
 Soon a slight fracture is perceived towards the upper end, 
 caused by foi'ce/rojn within. The fracture is continued around 
 the top of the egg,* which then opens like a lid, and the little 
 bird struggles into daylight. The tapping which is heard, 
 and which opens the prison doors, is caused by the bill of the 
 included chick : the mother has nothing to do with its libera- 
 tion, beyond casting the empty shells out of the nest. At the 
 tip of the bill of every new-hatched chick, on the upper surface, 
 a whitish scale will be observed, about the size of a pin's head, 
 but much harder than the bill itself. Had the beak been 
 
 * I have known tlie fracture occasionally to be towards the small 
 end ; in such cases the chick may require assistance. — Ed. 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 6» 
 
 tipped with iron to force the shell open, it would not have 
 been a stronger proof of creative design than is this minute 
 speck, which acts as so necessary an instrument. In a few 
 days after birth, when it is no longer wanted, it has disap- 
 peared ; not by falling off, I believe, which would be a waste 
 of valuable material, but by being absorbed and becoming 
 serviceable in strengthening the bony structure, minute as the 
 portion of earthy substance is. And yet some people direct, 
 that as soon as the chick is hatched, this scale should be forced 
 off with the finger nail, because it is injurious ! 
 
 All chicks do not get out so easily, but may require a little 
 assistance. The difficulty is, to know when to give it. They 
 often succeed in making the first breach, but appear unable to 
 batter down their dungeon walls any further. A rash attempt 
 to help them by breaking the shell, particularly in a downward 
 direction towards the smaller end, is often followed by a loss 
 of blood, which can ill be spared. It is better to wait a while* 
 and not interfere with any of them, till it is apparent that a 
 part of the brood have been hatched some time, say twelve 
 hours, and that the rest cannot succeed in making their ap- 
 pearance. After such wise delay, it will generally be found 
 that the whole fluid contents of the egg, yolk and all, are taken 
 up into the body of the chick, and that wearkness alone has 
 prevented its forcing itself out. The causes of such weakness 
 are various; sometimes insufficient warmth, from the Hen 
 having sat on too many eggs; sometimes the original feeble- 
 ness of the vital spark included in the egg, but most frequently 
 staleness of the eggs employed for incubation. The chances 
 
 * On finding an egg to be cracked, and no progress made during the 
 space of six hours, I have ventured with the point of my knife to 
 render a little gentle assistance, but on seeing any trace of blood, I 
 instantly desist, and return the egg to the nest. Such egg must, 
 however, be watched as assistance finally may be necessary. — Ed. 
 
70 THE REARING AND 
 
 of rearing such, chicks are small^ but if they get over the first 
 twenty-four hours they may be considered as safe. But all 
 the old wives' nostrums to recover them are to be discarded : 
 the merest drop of ale may be a useful stimulant, but an in- 
 toxicated chick is as liable to sprawl about and have the breath 
 trodden out of its body as a fainting one. Pepper-corns, gin, 
 rue, and fifty other ways of doctoring, are to be banished afar, 
 together with their subjects, namely, 
 
 "All the unaccomplislied works of Nature's hand, 
 Abortive, monstrous, or unkindly mixed, 
 Embryos, and idiots, eremites, and friars, 
 Into a Limbo large and broad, since called 
 The Paradise of Fools, to few unknown.''^ 
 
 The only thing to be done, is to take them from the Hen 
 till she is settled at night, keeping them in the meanwhile as 
 snug and warm as possible. If a clever, kind, gentlehanded 
 little girl could get a crumb of bread down their throats, it 
 would do no harm j but all rough, violent, clumsy manipula- 
 tion is as bad as the throat-tickling of the hard-fingered hang- 
 man. Animal heat will be their greatest restorative. At 
 night let them be quietly slipped under their mother; the 
 next morning they will be either as brisk as the rest, or as flat 
 as pancakes and dried biflB.ns. 
 
 Those who have ever undertaken the amusing task of tending 
 a brood of chickens from the shell, must have observed the 
 great change of apparent size which the first few hours pro- 
 duce. At the time when I had an affectionate assistant in 
 such matters, we used often to remark, how impossible it 
 would be to re-pack again in the same shell the creature which 
 was contained in it only a little while ago. We certainly 
 never tried the experiment, but the eye could measure with 
 some degree of accuracy, besides allowing for the elastic coat 
 of down which before had been flattened by moisture. How 
 could the vivacious little wretch have made such a sudden 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 71 
 
 start? Not from what it had eaten or drunk, certainly. The 
 solution appears to lie in the fact which the best comparative 
 anatomists have recorded, that the bodies of most birds are 
 injected with air to a considerable extent. While the embryo 
 remains in the shell, its vascular parts are compressed, or 
 contain merely fluid for future nourishment, but as soon as 
 the lungs come fairly into play, air is made to inflate many 
 an unsuspected cavity, even, perhaps, to the tip of every fila- 
 ment of down. Chamaslion-like, the chick makes a good meal 
 on the atmosphere. A case in point may be seen when the 
 shell of a chrysalis is disrupted by the emerging butterfly; 
 and the process is so absolutely magical, that those who have 
 never witnessed it will be amply repaid for their trouble, if 
 they collect a few chrysalides (those of the gooseberry-moth, for 
 instance) out of their garden, and keep them under a tumbler 
 in their dressing-room, or on their side-board or writing-table, 
 or wherever they are most likely to secure the chance of being 
 in at the birth. The black, hairy, quick-running caterpillar, 
 which is so common, may be secured, fed upon common 
 groundsel, and will speedily be metamorphosed into a hand- 
 some tiger-moth. Ten minutes after it has burst its shelly 
 covering, — 
 
 "Not all the Queen's horses, and all the Queen's men, 
 Could get tiger-moth into his shell again." 
 It creeps out with a little moisture adhering to it, the wings 
 appear merely rudimental, soon it is seized with a shivering 
 fit, it grows larger with every successive attack of tremulous- 
 ness, the wings may be seen to extend as a curtain is let down, 
 the moisture is absorbed or evaporated, its breathing-places in 
 its sides are at work, it is thoroughly injected with air, and 
 none but those who know the whole truth would believe, on 
 seeing the narrow case by the side of the expanded insect, 
 that Euclid had been practically contradicted, and that the 
 greater had been contained within the less. The chicks of 
 
72 THE REARING AND 
 
 Turkeys and Guinea Fowls exhibit tliis sudden expansion even 
 more strikingly than those of Cocks and Hens. 
 
 But what are we to do with the new-come chickens ? Let 
 us leave them quiet with their mother six or eight hours, or 
 till the next morning. Now is the time to listen to quackeries, 
 and fooleries, and heaps of babble and rubbish, if we do not 
 choose the better part of being as deaf as stones. How won- 
 derful must be the productive energy which is at work in the 
 universe, to replace the myriads of chickens and children that 
 have been laid low by sage nursing ! Whole pepper-corns, 
 gin, laudanum, tight-swaddling, cramming, dips into cold 
 water, suffocation with foul air, make us wonder that either 
 biped, plumed or unplumed, is to be found in any other than 
 a fossil state. 
 
 A roomy, boarded coop, in a dry sunny spot, is the best 
 position for them during the first month ; after which it may 
 be left open during the day for the Hen to retire to when she 
 pleases. In quiet grassy places, such as one sees on the skirts 
 of green commons and by the sides of country churchyards, 
 the Hen need scarcely be cooped at all. As to food, let them have 
 every thing which is not absolutely poisonous.* Sloppy matters 
 are better avoided till the little things are old enough to eat a 
 few grains of good barley, which they are before it is usually 
 suspected ; afterwards they do no harm. A little wheat, of 
 the best sample, will then not be thrown away upon them. 
 Meat and insect diet are almost necessary ; but raw vegetables 
 chopped small, so grateful to young Turkeys, are caviare to 
 chickens. But whatever be the bill of fare, the meals must 
 
 * If wet food be given, the chick is obliged to take water, whether 
 it require it or not, in order to get a sufi&cient supply of solid food, 
 and diseased bowels will be likely to follow ; whereas, if the food be 
 dry, they can supply themselves with food and water according to 
 their pleasui-e. — Ed. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 73 
 
 be given at short intervals ; as much as they can swallow, as 
 often as they can eat. The reader will please to remember that 
 when he came into the world, all that was expected of him was 
 to grow and be good-natured. He had not to provide his long- 
 clothes out of his mother's milk, nor to elaborate pinafores 
 from a basin of soaked biscuit; but for poor little chickens, 
 the only known baby-linen warehouse is situated in their own 
 stomachs. And with all their industry, they are only half- 
 clad till flesh and bone stop growing for a while, and allow 
 down and feathers to overtake them. 
 
 The period at which they are left to shift for themselves 
 depends upon the disposition of the Hen. Some will continue 
 their attentions to their chicks till they are nearly full grown, 
 others will cast them oif much earlier. In the latter case, it 
 may be as well to keep an eye upon them for a few days till 
 they have established themselves as independent members of 
 the gallinaceous community. For chickens in this half-grown 
 state are at the most critical period of their lives. They are 
 now much more liable to disease than when they were appa- 
 rently tender little weaklings crowded under their mother's 
 wings. It is just before arriving at this point of growth, that 
 artificially hatched chickens are so sure to fail, whether hot air, 
 hot water, or sheepskin, be the substitute for the mother's 
 care. Mere incubation has long ago been performed artificially 
 with success in various ways. Any lady or gentleman, at any 
 time of the year, can effectually complete that process by 
 means of a spirit-lamp and a sand-bath in their study or bou- 
 doir. The mere hatching of chickens deserves little credit, 
 however ingeniously it is done. But to rear them on a great 
 scale is the difficulty that has not yet been surmounted in this 
 country. A visit to the purveyors of Poultry for the Million 
 is not repaid by the sight of an approach to the fulfilment of 
 their great promises. They hatch, but they cannot rear, and 
 
 7 
 
74 THEREARINaAND 
 
 are not likely to do so.* The chicks for the first week or two 
 look well enough, and it is not to be expected that the very 
 first seeds of disorder should be apparent ; but no farmer's 
 wife would be pleased that her stock had the look of those that 
 get to be six weeks or two months old. Compare the tables 
 of mortality amongst infants in the French Foundling Hospi- 
 tals with those calculated on the families of healthy English 
 cottagers, and the contrast will be a guide to the relative me- 
 rits of the natural and the artificial modes of rearing Chickens, 
 Turkeys, and Gruinea-fowl. And what becomes of the Hens 
 belonging to such establishments which desire to sit, but are 
 prevented on principle from doing so, on eggs at least ? They 
 are just put up to fatten as soon as they become broody, and 
 after a certain time killed to be eaten. No one who knew 
 any thing about Fowls would select such for his table from 
 choice. It cannot be expected that those Professors, who are 
 unable to raise sufficient chickens for the supply of a small 
 neighbourhood, should be able to communicate the art of afford- 
 ing plenty to a nation, even by means of a patented apparatus 
 and an expensive license. Were all the chickens reared that 
 axe hatched by Hens alone, poultry would be much more 
 abundant than it is at present. The artificial hatching of 
 Ducks and Geese is a more promising speculation than the 
 same attempt upon Fowls ; but if it were entered upon to any 
 
 * My friend H. L. Devereux, Esq., of Declliam, Mass. writes me, 
 <* My experience in raising Fowls is, that the young chicks are as 
 well ofiE" without a Hen as with, provided you give them a dry, xoarm 
 place, they need much to be kept dry. I have this season raised 
 about a dozen fine pullets of the Foi'bes Stock, loiihout a Hen, which 
 did better than those I let run with a hen. I gave them to eat, 
 cracked corn, wet with water or milk, curd, broken wheat, bread, 
 some potatoes, and, in fact, they will eat almost any thing you throw 
 to them." — Ed. 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 75 
 
 extent, it would be found that the expenses of superintendence 
 and nursing more than absorb all profit. 
 
 The artificial hatching described by Fortune ( Wanderings, 
 p. 7S), as successfully carried on in Chusan, was only practised 
 on Ducks ; and the season when he saw it in operation was 
 the end of May, a time of year when there would be little 
 difiiculty in rearing Ducklings so produced in England, if time 
 and trouble were disregarded. 
 
 As to fattening fowls, Mr. Dixon says, the old Dutch mode 
 is by no means a bad one. 
 
 " Cardan is the authority, that if you mingle fat lizard (?),* 
 saltpetre, and cummin, with wheat flour, and feed Hens on 
 this food, they will get so fat, and the people who eat them 
 will grow so stout, as to burst. John Jacob Wecker records 
 that he learnt the following secret of fatting Hens from a 
 certain Hollander. ^In the kitchen/ he says, ^make to your- 
 self a box, divided into many little boxes, each one with its 
 own opening, through which the Hens can thrust their heads 
 out of doors, and take their food. Therefore, in these little 
 boxes, let youthful Hens or Pullets be incarcerated, one in each : 
 let food be ofi'ered every hour, drink being interdicted for the 
 time. But let the food be wheat, moderately boiled. The 
 little boxes ought to be pervious below, that the excrements 
 may pass through, and be diligently removed every day. But 
 the Hens ought not to be shut up beyond two weeks; lest 
 they should die from too much fatness. I am told, also, that 
 among some people they get gloriously fat, and quickly, if 
 beer is offered them for drink, instead of water; also, that, if 
 they are fed on brewer's grains, they lay more, as well as 
 larger Eggs.' '' — Aldrovandi. 
 
 * May not "lacerta" in the original text be a misprint or slip of 
 the pen for "lacerato?" If so, "fat lizard" should be replaced by 
 torn or "shred fat." 
 
76 THE REARING AND 
 
 A correspondent of the Agricultural Gazette, thus describes 
 the method which he successfully practised for many years in 
 India: — "The fowl-house, or rather feeding-house, for only 
 fattening Fowls were permitted to be in it, was kept as cool 
 as possible, (in Bengal, remember,) and almost dark. Each 
 Fowl had a separate pen; they were fed once, and only once 
 a-day, with rice, boiled as rice ought to be for Christians : not 
 to a mash; but so that grain from grain should separate. 
 The quantity to each Fowl was about two ounces (before 
 boiling). For the first three days to each was given about a 
 tea-spoonful of ^ghoor,' a coarse sugai' — about half as much 
 again of treacle would be an equivalent. This commencing 
 with sugar was held to be very important; it cleansed the 
 birds and disposed them to fatten; no water was given; 
 neither was any chalk or gravel, both being unknown in the 
 country. In about three weeks the Fowls were generally fat. 
 I never, in England, have seen finer than those I have killed 
 within that time, not even at Mr. Davis's of Leadenhall Market. 
 If they did not fatten in three weeks, we supposed that they 
 did not mean to fatten, but this was a rare occurrence, and 
 proceeded, no doubt, from some ailment beyond my power of 
 discovering; but, fat or otherwise, they were never tough. 
 To boil the rice in buttermilk is by far preferable to boiling 
 it in water; let the Fowls be as young as you can, if of full 
 growth. Many people run away with an impression that 
 Fowls fed on rice will go blind ; it is dirt and sourness that 
 cause it. How often do we see a trough loaded with meal 
 food, sufficient for two or three days, placed before the un- 
 happy prisoner in the pen, who cannot escape from it, or seek 
 other and sweeter food ! When the Fowls have done feeding, 
 the trough should be removed, cleaned, and exposed to the 
 air until the next day's feeding time. At my factory, in 
 India, the troughs were every afternoon thrown into a pond; 
 there they remained until next morning, when, after an hour 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 77 
 
 or two's sunning, they were returned to the coops : no blind- 
 ness was known there." 
 
 We may observe that a temperature which feels cool in 
 Bengal, would be thought warm here; and that, in this 
 country of rapid digestion, a single meal a day is insufficient 
 to fatten Fowls. It is a great point to keep them without 
 food the first twenty-four hours they are shut up, allowing 
 them to have drink only. If food be offered to them as sooa 
 as they are deprived of liberty, they will sulk and refuse it, 
 and, perhaps, be several days before they feed heartily; but, 
 if they be starved till they feel a craving appetite, hunger will 
 overcome their suUenness, and they will afterwards greedily 
 devour their allowance. 
 
 The oldest and toughest Fowls may be made into a savoury 
 and nutritious dish by the following method, which is given 
 as a tried and warranted recipe, because such birds are so often 
 pronounced uneatable, thrown away, and wasted. 
 
 When the Fowl is plucked and drawn, joint it as for a pie. 
 Do not skin it. Stew it five hours in a close sauce-pan, with 
 salt, mace, onions, or any other flavouring ingredients that 
 may be approved : a clove of garlic may be added where it is 
 not utterly disliked. When tender, turn it out into a deep 
 dish so that the meat may be entirely covered with the liquor. 
 Let it stand thus in its own jelly for a day or two (this is the 
 grand secret); it may then be served in the shape of a curry, 
 a hash, or a pie, and will be found little inferior to pheasant 
 under similar circumstances. 
 
 The cookery of the middle ages abounded in practical jokes. 
 Here is a very witty one with a Chicken, ^^f you wish a 
 Chicken to jump in the dish, take," says Albertus Magnus, 
 ''quicksilver, and powder of calaminth, and pour them into a 
 glass bottle, seal it, and put it inside the hot Chicken : for as 
 the quicksilver gets warm, it moves itself, and will make the 
 chicken jump." The brilliancy of this trick is only to be 
 
78 THE REARING AND 
 
 rivalled by the epigrammatic point of the question, ^' Did you 
 ever see a hun dance on a table ?'' 
 
 A specimen or two may be given of the savoury messes in 
 which our great graud-tathers delighted. 
 
 " The other delicious Broths, which none but the Rich can 
 afford, are, the Bisk'*' of Pigeons; the Pottage of health; 
 Partridge Broth with Coleworts, &c. &c., and the Pottage of 
 Folds toith green Pease. We put the Fowls to boil with 
 Broth, and skim them well; then pass the green Pease through 
 a'^rying-pan, with Butter, or melted Bacon; and afterwards 
 have them stew'd apart, with Lettices; and when the Fowls 
 are done, we mix the Broth and Pease together, and send it 
 to the Table. 
 
 ^' Chickens are roasted either larded, or harded, i. e., covered 
 before and behind, with a thin slice of Bacon, and wrapped 
 in Vine-leaves, in their Season. 
 
 "Folds are pickled with Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, andXemon- 
 peel, and are left in their Pickle till they be wanted; when 
 wanted, they are taken out, put to drain, and after they have 
 been fried in Butter, they are put to stew for a few Minutes, 
 in some of the Pickle, and then carried to Table. ^' — Dennis 
 de Coetlogon. 
 
 Fowls for cooking that are required to be sent to a distance, 
 or to be kept any time before being served, are plucked, drawn, 
 and dressed immediately that they are killed. The feathers 
 strip off much more easily and cleanly while the bird is yet 
 warm. On special occasions, such as Michaelmas, for Geese, 
 and Christmas, for all sorts of Poultry, when large numbers 
 have to be slaughtered and prepared in a short time, the pro- 
 cess is expedited by scalding the bird in boiling water, when 
 the feathers drop off almost all at once. But Fowls thus treated 
 are generally thought inferior in flavour, and are certainly 
 
 * Derived from biscuits, twice cooked. 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 79 
 
 more likely to acquire a taint in close warm^ weather, than 
 such as are plucked and trussed dry. The Norfolk poulterers, 
 especially those in the neighbourhoods of Norwich and Great 
 Yarmouth, may, in this art, challenge the whole world for 
 skill and neatness. All bruises or rupturing of the skin should 
 be avoided. A coarse half-worn cloth, that is pervious to the 
 air, like a wire safe, and perfectly dry and clean, forms the 
 best wrapper. The colour of yellow-skinned Turkeys, which, 
 however, are equally well flavoured, is improved for appearance 
 at market by wrapping them twelve or twenty-four hours In 
 cloths soaked in cold salt and water, frequently changed. For 
 the same purpose the loose fat is laid first in warm salt and 
 water, afterwards in milk and water for two or three hours. 
 The Essex mode is to dust with flour, both inside and out, 
 any fowls that have to travel far, or hang many days in the 
 larder. 
 
 To those who desire to keep only a few Fowls for the sake 
 of fresh eggs, etc. etc., and who are quite limited as to space, 
 the following remarks of one of Mr. Dixon's correspondents, 
 will prove interesting. He says — " There is one thing I 
 think necessary to impress upon those who keep Fowls in a 
 confined place, which is cleanliness. The droppings in their 
 roosting place should be taken up every morning, and a hand- 
 ful of dry ashes strewed under their perches. I have only a 
 confined yard in which to keep my Fowls. The plan I adopt 
 is to give them every day plenty of fresh cabbage leaves, and 
 once or twice a week I have some onions chopped up for them, 
 of which, after a time, they become very fond. I let them 
 have a plentiful supply of burnt oyster shells. I put the 
 shells into the fire until they are red hot, and well burnt. I 
 then break them into small pieces with the fingers, but not 
 into powder. I am satisfied that this is much better for them 
 than crude lime ; they eat great quantities of it. Their other 
 food consists of the best barley and oats, and to compensate 
 
80 THE REARING AND 
 
 for the want of insects, I occasionally give them a little raw 
 meat. By adopting this plan I keep them in decent health. 
 The only thing they appear to want is more exercise, which, I 
 think, is the reason I cannot rear chickens well, for with all 
 my attention I find they are stunted in their growth, no doubt 
 from the want of a sufl&cient run.^' I can only say that a 
 Cockerel which this gentleman did me the favour to send me, 
 showed no symptoms of stunted growth. He was a magnificent 
 black Spanish fellow, with all the distinctive marks of the breed 
 highly developed. He has since vanished, and is now doubt- 
 less the pride of the thief or the receiver, in some sequestered 
 dingy back lane. What a contrast such a situation for Fowls 
 is, to that described by another correspondent. ^' I wish you 
 could see my poultry-yard, which is in fact no yard, being part 
 of our park, where I always have the young broods, and as 
 some of it is now a hay-field, it is a nice place for them to run 
 about mr—H. H. 
 
 It has been suggested that none of the writers on Poultry 
 have dwelt sufficiently upon the profit and convenience of those 
 who keep a few Fowls for the sake of their eggs, having ever- 
 lasting layers, with perhaps one or two sitting Hens to enable 
 them to keep up their stock. If the sitting Hens were such 
 as lay hrown eggs, and the others white ones, it would save 
 trouble. This arrangement could easily be carried out by se- 
 lecting one or two Grame or Cochin China Hens that lay dark 
 eggs, and are all excellent incubators, and having the laying 
 Hens Black Spanish^ or Silver Hamburg, or the Andalusian 
 variety, imported by Mr. Barber. 
 
 Another plan, quite feasible, is to keep no Hens whatever 
 except those which lay everlastingly, and to make hen Turkeys 
 perform the duty of incubating for all parties. 
 
 The following hint may be useful to those who are not pro- 
 vided with a stud of everlasting layers : — " Amongst all the 
 remedies I have seen recommended for diseases in Poultry, I 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 81^ 
 
 have never seen Jalap mentioned, and / have «ver found it 
 most efficacious ; indeed, for many years I have never used 
 any other : as it appears to me to be the natural medicine 
 for Fowls. It is astonishing how soon it sets them up. In 
 the country, where they have a good run, they may not require 
 so much physic ; but even there I should imagine it would be 
 occasionally useful : as, for instance, when they have had the 
 incubating fever on them late in the season, and I have not 
 wanted them to sit, one or two doses have relieved them from 
 it entirely. In short, with me, it is a regular ' Morrison's 
 Piir for Fowls ; as it seems to cure all their complaints. The 
 dose for a full-sized Fowl is 15 or 16 grains. I moisten a 
 small piece of crumb of bread about the size of a hazel nut, 
 and mix the powdered jalap with it." 
 
 An inquiry has been made whether common salt would not 
 be a good thing to promote laying in Hens that were necessarily 
 kept in close confinement. But among the most experienced 
 practical rearers of Poultry there is an old, and I believe well- 
 founded prejudice against their eating salted food, even in 
 very small quantities. I have seen in some books G-lauber's 
 salts recommended, but should be sorry to try them, except as 
 an experiment on a lot of worthless or diseased Fowls. G-alli- 
 naceous birds reared by the sea-side or on the banks of a salt- 
 water river, avoid the saline stream, and search for food and 
 drink as far inland as they can range. I know not either how 
 common salt could be administered to them. It is more than 
 doubtful whether the Hens would pick it from the ground in 
 its crystalline form, and it would be difficult to distribute it in 
 equal doses by means of bread, &c., soaked in" salt water : the 
 chances are that some of the Hens would be poisoned. Pi- 
 geons, I think, are the only domesticated birds to whose health 
 salt is beneficial, and they prefer it in combination with ani- 
 malised matters : the more offensive it is to our senses, the 
 more agreeable it appears to be to theirs. 
 
82 THEREARINGAND 
 
 " I was told the other day of a gentleman at Highgate, who, 
 knowing that salt was beneficial to Pigeons, gave some to his 
 Hens, in consequence of which they all died. I have found a 
 little hemp-seed efficacious for making them lay, and a little 
 good ale) I give them all that is left at table) will have that 
 effect — not bread soaked in ale ; for it is a golden rule to know 
 that all moist food is injurious to Fowls, unless they are in- 
 tended shortly for the table. All cooked vegetables, except 
 potatoes, I have found bad for them.'^ — L. B. 
 
 An abundant supply of lime in some form should not be 
 omitted ; either chopped bones, old mortar, or a lump of chalky 
 marl. The shell of every egg used in the house should, be 
 roughly crushed and thrown down to the Hens, which will 
 greedily eat them. A green living turf, like those given to 
 larks, only larger, will be of service, both for its grass, and 
 the insects it may contain. A dusting-place, wherein to get 
 rid of vermin is indispensable. A daily hot meal of potatoes, 
 boiled as carefully as for the family table, then chopped and 
 sprinkled or mixed with pollard, will be comfortable and stim- 
 ulating. The French plan, namely bread soaked in hot vin 
 ordinaire, beer, or cider, appears from experience to be better 
 suited to fattening than to laying Fowls. After every meal of 
 the household, the bones and all other scraps should be col- 
 lected and thrown out. Hens are great pickers of bones ; I 
 have seen a Hen devouring the flesh and cleaning the skeleton 
 of her dead husband, doubtless on the native Australian prin- 
 ciple of respect and affection for the deceased. 
 
 It is a singular fact, that pullets hatched very late in Autumn, 
 and therefore of stunted growth, will lay nearly as early as 
 those hatched in spring. The checking of their growth seems 
 to have a tendency to produce eggs; of course very tiny ones 
 at first. 
 
 Fowls that are kept in close confinement will greatly miss 
 the opportunity of basking in the sun : warmth is almost as 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. »^ 
 
 necessary for thriftiness as food. Even in Italj, it was recom- 
 mended by Columella that "Fowl-houses ought to be placed 
 in that part of the farm which faces the rising sun in winter : 
 let them be joined to the oven or the kitchen, so that the smoke 
 may reach the birds, it being particularly healthy for them." 
 Modern amateurs have thought it would be a good plan to 
 have an Arnott or Dean stove erected in their fowl-house, 
 which could be lighted an hour before the Cocks and Hens 
 went to roost. Sharp weather is always a sufficient excuse 
 for the unproductiveness of Hens; but it may be suggested 
 that there are cases in which Fowls do lay, without their 
 owners being much the better for the eggs. This, however, 
 is less likely to happen in an aviary, if I may be allowed so 
 to term it, than in the farm, or the unenclosed poultry-yard. 
 It is an unfortunate fact, that in the country, where Fowls are 
 allowed unlimited range, choice specimens are remarkably apt 
 to disappear; and if they do not, their eggs do. The proprietor 
 is sure of just as many of the select kinds as he can himself 
 lay hands upon. He may often have the satisfaction of buy- 
 ing in a neighbouring village a fine brood of chickens, hatched 
 from eggs purloined from himself, and be thus considerately 
 saved all trouble of rearing them. These agreeable tricks are 
 played by a set of rascally half-poaching pilferers, who are 
 connected with the lowest class of dealers. If any fear of 
 detection arises, the "fancy'^ birds are immediately forwarded 
 to the metropolis, or some other large town at a distance. 
 
 The curiosities and absurdities of the literature of poultry- 
 breeding are inexhaustible. One " Ornithologus" states, on 
 the report of his people, that, in order to obtain all female 
 chicks from a setting of eggs, it is only necessary to set the 
 Hen while the moon is in the full, and to prefer such eggs 
 for the purpose as have been laid when the moon was at the 
 full, and also to contrive that they be hatched at the full 
 moon; but Aldrovandi, who quotes him, remarks, that it 
 
84 THE REARING AND 
 
 would be difl&cult to combine all these conditions, seeing that 
 chickens are hatched in three weeks, and that there are four 
 weeks from one full moon to another. 
 
 The same Ornithologus testifies to having read in a certain 
 German manuscript, that if eggs are stained with any colour, 
 chickens of the same hue will be produced. Others direct 
 that the aviaries in which they are bred should be covered, in 
 every part, with white hangings; with what view is not appa- 
 rent. But whoever wishes to have most beautiful chickens, 
 ^'visu jucundissimos," must pair his Hen with a Cock Wood 
 Pigeon, or Partridge, or Pheasant. Directions, too, are given 
 from Aristotle, for obtaining chickens with four wings and 
 four feet. 
 
 It is not our intention to enter minutely into the physicking 
 and doctoring of Fowls. One or two authentic cases will be 
 more instructive than a score of prescriptions. The epidemic 
 diseases to which they are subject are more easily warded off 
 by prophylactic than remedial measures. In bad cases, either 
 of roup or gapes, it is, nine times out of ten, more humane, as 
 well as cheaper, to knock the poor little sufferer on the head 
 at once, than to let it linger on to almost certain death. It 
 is natural to try to do all we can, either for an old favourite, 
 or for a valuable specimen; but even when we succeed in 
 restoring the patient, it is usually only a temporary recovery; 
 and it cannot be wise to keep such valetudinarians to become 
 the parents of future broods. 
 
 ^'When I came home the other day from the country, I 
 found one of my favourite Hens, which had lost nearly all its 
 feathers, (being in full moult,) in a sad way. It appeared as 
 if it had got a wry neck, and was tipsy, as it kept falling down, 
 and neither the Cock nor any of the other Hens would go near 
 it. I examined it, and found there was nothing in its crop, 
 and it was very thin. I immediately gave it one grain of 
 calomel in a small bread-pill, and three or four houi-s after- 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 85 
 
 wards I gave it fifteen grains of jalap, and, as it was evidently 
 better the next day, I repeated the jalap pill for four successive 
 nights, and it now appears quite well and feeds heartily. 
 After the first dose of jalap its droppings were green and 
 highly ofiensive. I mention all this, as I have never seen a 
 Fowl similarly affected/' — L. B. 
 
 The roup is an affection of the head, from which birds that 
 are really attacked seldom recover, and when recovered, are 
 still more rarely strong afterwards. It is the ^^pituita" of the 
 Koman writers, which they characterize as "infestissima," 
 most hostile to Poultry. A copious and ofi'ensive discharge 
 flows from the nostrils, in bad cases from the eyes also; indeed, 
 the whole head occasionally seems to suppurate. The creature 
 is stupified by suffering, and blinded also by the disorder. 
 All that can be done is to keep it in a warm dry place, to wash 
 the head frequently with warm vinegar and water, to cram the 
 bird with nourishing food when it cannot see to eat, and to 
 protect it from the cruelties of other Fowls. A solution of 
 sulphate of zinc, as an eye- water, is a valuable cleansing appli- 
 cation. Rue pills, and decoction of rue, as a tonic, have been 
 administered with apparent benefit. Cleanliness, warmth, 
 dryness, and good feeding, will, in a measure, keep ofii" the 
 evil, but we cannot expect entirely to eradicate it from a race 
 of creatures so far removed from their native country as our 
 Cocks and Hens are. Fowls are seldom affected by the roup 
 before they are at least three quarters grown. 
 
 We now produce one or two surgical cases. 
 
 '^Perhaps it may not be generally known that Fowls are 
 injured by eating hops. I mean the hops that have been used 
 in brewing and thrown aside. I had a Cock of a valuable 
 breed that appeared ill one morning, moping, and scarcely 
 eating any food at all. We tried all the usual remedies with- 
 out effect, when it occurred to me that the crop was more dis- 
 tended than ordinary, I therefore made an incision, and took 
 
86 THE REARING AND 
 
 out a vast quantity of these hops, evidently the cause of the 
 disorder. The bird now grew better, and had the crop been 
 relieved earlier, I think would have done well, but it was now 
 too much weakened, and died within a week after/' — H. H. 
 
 Another patient was treated with better success. 
 
 " The case of the Silver Hamburgh Hen, which was poisoned 
 and recovered again, stands thus. She was a very errant 
 Hen, and the only one that I could not keep in the proper 
 fowl-yard. Now I had for some time been feeding the Fowls 
 on soft food, and one Saturday afternoon I saw the Hen in 
 question reeling about as if she were drunk; presently she 
 put out her legs quite stiff and fell down with scarcely any 
 symptoms of life remaining. I took her up and felt her crop, 
 when I found she had been eating hard food. It then occurred 
 to me that she must have been poisoned by corn laid by my 
 neighbour to destroy the sparrows; which afterwards proved 
 true. Having a great partiality to that breed of Fowl, and 
 moreover the Hen being a gift from you, I felt great reluctance 
 to lose her; and finding there was no chance of saving her but 
 by rough means, I resolved to open her crop, which I did by 
 making an incision of about three-fourths of an inch, or an 
 inch long, with my penknife, and emptied her crop of as much 
 as it could possibly hold of wheat poisoned with nux vomica. 
 I then poured tepid water into her mouth, and rinced her out 
 well that way, letting it run out of her crop : after which I 
 carefully sewed her crop up, and gave her three antibilious 
 pills, not having any jalap in the house. It may be remarked 
 by the way, that a Hen can apparently take as much jalap or 
 pills, without inconvenience, as a man. Between hope and 
 despair, I put her at night into a warm place, and left her 
 bread and milk for her supper. Next morning, when I went 
 to see her, I found her as lively as possible : she made her 
 escape from me at once, and was immediately joined by her 
 husband. She had laid an egg during the night, and always 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 87 
 
 afterwards was as good a layer as any other Hen. But 
 although I could not myself find any fault with my execution 
 of the above surgical operation, the Hens her companions did, 
 and were so anxious to unlace her boddice, and otherwise ill- 
 treat her, that I was obliged to keep her away from them. 
 Some weeks after the operation, the cotton with which I sewed 
 her up came away from her; but before that time she lived 
 with the rest, and never, except on the day she took the poison, 
 showed any symptoms of illness. She is at present alive and 
 well, and yclept Susannah." — G. P. S. 
 
 The gapes is an inflammation of the respiratory organs, 
 causing Chickens to gasp for breath, and generally proving 
 fatal. Various forms and degrees of inflammation of the lungs, 
 accompanied by fever, are the great scourge of the young of 
 gallinaceous birds. Some attribute the fever to their bemg 
 overpowered by too much heat, but I cannot believe such to 
 be the cause of the symptoms. " Some of my Chickens, about 
 ten days old, have died lately of a sort of low fever, growing 
 thinner and thinner in spite of the best attendance and most 
 nourishing food. 1 cannot find out the cause, except their 
 being too much exposed to the meridian sun, and have obviated 
 it accordingly.''-- B^. H. But a wetting in a sudden shower, 
 a run through long grass before the dew is off, an insufficient 
 or irregular supply of food and drink for a single day, are any 
 of them sufficient to produce a similar disappointing result. 
 With Chickens at a more advanced age, one very likely cause 
 is the Hen being permitted to go to roost, leaving them to 
 take care of themselves during weather that is too cold for 
 them to do without the warmth of their mother, instead of her 
 being confined with them all night in the coop. Or, when the 
 coop has been left abroad in a garden or on a lawn, I have 
 known the family to be attacked by a rat or weasel; the Hen 
 has given the enemy a warm reception, and the little ones 
 have escaped for the time by squatting in strawberry beds, and 
 
88 THE REARING AND 
 
 behind box edgings, but they have all subsequently died from 
 their night's exposure. If these points of mismanagement are 
 carefully avoided, the malady will rarely make its appearance. 
 Some cruel French experiments are on record, in which Chickens 
 were purposely brought to an incurable state of inflammation, 
 by subjecting them to these baneful influences. 
 
 In some cases the presence of parasitic worms in the air- 
 passages is a further aggravation of the inflammatory symptoms. 
 In the elaborate article on Bronchitis in the "Penny Cyclo- 
 paedia/' a figure is given of one of these annoying creatures. 
 It is stated that in quadrupeds the bronchial tubes, and the 
 windpipe, and often the larynx and the fauces, are filled with 
 small worms, forming a kind of coat mixed with the mucus, 
 or connected together in knots of various sizes. The disease 
 is said to be either produced, or much aggravated, by the 
 presence of these worms and the irritation which they pro- 
 duce. No notice, however, is taken of the worms which some- 
 times infest Fowls similarly affected. 
 
 Having never detected any such worms in Chickens that 
 had died of the gapes, and believing that all the apparent 
 symptoms were to be accounted for by inflammation caused 
 by cold and wet, I began to doubt the existence of the para- 
 sites, and stated as much to a gentleman, who replied, "I wish 
 to make you a little less sceptical about the fasciolse. I used 
 to think as you do, that it was merely inflammation, but a 
 little dissection of the trachea soon showed me the worms ad- 
 hering to the inner membrane of the windpipe. I have actually 
 found as many as seven or eight in a single individual. If you 
 wish to be convinced, cut off the neck of the next Chick that 
 dies, the larger the better for investigation, and open the trachea 
 gently with yom- penknife, and your doubts will be set at rest 
 for ever. You are certainly right so far, that no Chick can 
 be cured that is either very young, or very far gone in the 
 disorder. But if not too young, and taken in time, the fasciol^ 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 89 
 
 can easily be either brought up by the insertion of a wire or 
 feather, or so loosened that the bird can cough them up. The 
 inhalation of tobacco smoke, and other useless and uncertain 
 modes, are ten times more distressing to the Chicken, and do 
 not produce the desired effect. 
 
 ''"Those writers, too, are totally wrong who recommend the 
 attempt to destroy fasciolae by thrusting down a straw and oil 
 into the windpipe. Pray do not try the method, as I have 
 suffered enough by it ; the straw being a bad thing in itself, 
 and the oil, the smallest quantity of which stops respiration, 
 and is therefore used by entomologists to kill insects, still worse. 
 Several Chicks have died under my hands by it. But the 
 proper and only successful way is, adroitly to put a small 
 wire, or feather without any web, except at the farther end, 
 down the windpipe. Give the wire a few turns, and the fas- 
 ciolaB will come up at the end, or the bird will cough them 
 up. This will, of course, only do for Chicks not less than a 
 fortnight or three weeks old; younger ones will not stand it, 
 and must be left to their fate, unless turpentine will save them. 
 Smoking them in a watering-pot, after Montague's plan, is a 
 doubtful remedy, and much more punishment to the birds. 
 
 " This season (1848) the fasciolae have troubled me a little, 
 and I have extracted some, but my hand is not in for it this 
 year. The disease seems more a slight annoyance and hin- 
 drance to their growth, than the fatal sweeping pest it is some- 
 times. I thought I would try turpentine, and find it, as I ex- 
 pected, perfectly useless. As, however, the fasciolas are some- 
 times too small to be brought up, turpentine might be of ad- 
 vantage to dip the end of the wire or feather before putting it 
 down the trachea. 
 
 " I do not think fasciolae are ever engendered by wet ; but 
 Chickens that have the disorder, in itself a weakening one, 
 become very much affected by a degree of damp that would 
 not otherwise have injured them. Fasciolas have raged with 
 
90 THEREARINGAND 
 
 me in tlie driest and hottest summers. You will observe, in 
 those I sent, that each worm is furnished with a large round 
 head and mouth, like the head of a pin, by which to attach 
 itself to the inner membrane of the trachea. A larger speci- 
 men than the one I sent (it is about an inch long) has not 
 3"et occurred to me ; but I know not how large they may grow. 
 My waj- of late j^ears has been to confine the Hens very much 
 in large coops, and move them to entirely fresh places every 
 other day, when the Chicks forage for insects. There is one 
 thing with regard to the number of Chickens asserted to be 
 reared by the Chiswick hydro-incubator, which I cannot un- 
 derstand, viz., how so many j'oung birds can be reared together 
 without producing disease, and especially the tasciolfe or gapes. 
 In my own experience (and in some seasons we have killed 
 one hundred and seventy for the table in the course of the 
 year) I am generally obliged to move the broods from yards 
 and houses to open fields, and if a place is selected where no 
 Chicks have ever been reared, so much the better. How Can- 
 telo manages I know not : perhaps his establishment has not 
 yet been many years in the same place. On a fiirm newly 
 built, and ground reclaimed, I would undertake to breed any 
 number, as this overcrowding (which Mowbray called the 
 ' taint') is the origin of nearly every disorder." — ff. IT. These 
 are useful and practical remarks ; but it will be only doing 
 justice to the merits of tm*pentine, which is a powerful vermi- 
 fuge, to give the report of another case. 
 
 "I have not been unsuccessful — or rather, I should say, a 
 deaf and dumb brother of mine — in raising Fowls this year 
 (1S47). My first two trips of Chicks had the ' gapes' very 
 badly. I gave them a little spirit of turpentine in rice, and 
 afterwards put a little salt in the water given to them, and saved 
 sixteen out of twenty. To all the Chicks since hatched, I gjwe 
 salt in their water, and I have about eighty without any sick- 
 ness. The reason of success from this treatment is very clear. 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 91 
 
 The 'gapes' are merely bronchitis. The worms are formed 
 in the stomach (?), and, if you put an ounce of unslaked lime 
 into eight ounces of water, and draw it off, adding to this some 
 salt, and put about a table-spoonful in the water the Chicks 
 drink, the insect is destroyed in the itf/marJi with certainty ; 
 salt alone, regularly given, will have this effect. When the 
 insect gets from the stomach into the windpipe, there is a 
 difficulty. But spirits of turpentine are absorbed into the lungs, 
 and the breath discharges part of the spirits through the wind- 
 pipe, and thus also destroys the worm. The common works 
 on the treatment of Chicks when ill of the ^ gapes' are full of 
 irrational matter and perfect nonsense.'' — T. F. 
 
 It may be observed that, if the worms do get from the sto- 
 mach into the windpipe, it must be by travelling up the gullet, 
 entering the mouth, and then passing down the windpipe ; 
 that though salt does destroy intestinal worms, it must be ad- 
 ministered cautiously to Chickens, lest we poison the patient, 
 as well as the parasites ; and that the mere vapour of turpen- 
 tine will have little effect upon worms that are deeply imbedded 
 in mucus. 
 
 We have now to notice another disgusting affliction to which 
 Fowls are liable, and which it would be more agreeable to pass 
 bj' altogether. 
 
 '' Some time ago I had a beautiful brood of Black Spanish 
 Chickens, and the day after they were hatched I happened to 
 take one in my hand, and was much struck by observing on 
 the top of its poll five or six large full-grown lice, evidently 
 caught from the mother. I then examined the whole brood, 
 and found them all similarly affected. Knowing that they 
 would not thrive until I had dislodged or destroyed the enemy, 
 the next day I attempted to pick them out ; but I found that, 
 having only been left one night, the whole poll was covered 
 with nits, and I could not get rid of them from their hanging 
 so tenaciously to the down. I procured some white precipitate 
 
92 THE REARING AND 
 
 powder^ and, witH a small camel-hair pencil, powdered them 
 over. On examining them the next day, I found the parasites 
 had all disappeared, nor could I detect one in their after growth. 
 They grew and thrived so remarkably afterwards, that T was 
 convinced this was a valuable discovery, and have ever since 
 treated all my broods the same, and have never lost one from 
 sickness. All Hens are affected with these parasites, and as 
 they do not dust themselves so frequently during the time of 
 incubation, they are more liable to them. I have ascertained 
 from observation, that as soon as the Chickens are hatched, 
 these pests leave the parent for the young, and if they are not 
 destroyed, they weaken the Chicken so much, that, if any com- 
 plaint comes on, the poor little thing has not strength to con- 
 tend with it. The best time to apply the precipitate is when 
 they are two or three days old, and at night after they are 
 gone to roost; but the Hens must not be touched with it; 
 as, in pluming her feathers she draws them through her beak, 
 and the precipitate being a strong poison, would no doubt 
 prove fatal to her. In fact, there is no occasion for it ; as I 
 could never detect them in her ; they had no doubt left her 
 for the young. A very small quantity should be used ; as one 
 pennyworth, purchased at a chemist's, is sufficient for several 
 broods."— i:. B. 
 
 A slight application of spirit of turpentine and water answers 
 the same purpose, and may be preferred by many persons who 
 have a natural dislike to the use of poison. For, where poi- 
 sons are admitted at all, there is no guessing what may be the 
 end of them, and the relief of one creature from parasites by 
 these means, may cause the death of another. For instance, 
 after a sheep-dipping, a gentleman lost a lot of valuable Ame- 
 rican Turkeys ; they had devoured the poisoned maggots, ticks, 
 &c., that dropped from the sheep, and were themselves poisoned 
 by them. This is a warning 72ever to allow sheep-dippings to take 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 9^ 
 
 jplace within the range of ijoultry, all of which, except Greese, 
 would be liable to the same fate. 
 
 There are some startling facts on the subject of parasitic 
 insects, to be found in the " Monographia Anoplurorum Bri- 
 tanniae/' by Mr. Henry Denny, Curator to the Leeds Philoso- 
 phical Society, a work which, although with a dog-latin title, 
 that has doubtless limited its circulation, is written in such 
 plain and truthful English, as to make the flesh creep on one's 
 bones. It is not easy to enjoy uninterrupted slumber the night 
 after reading Mr. Denny's Monograph. 
 
 " The author has had to contend with repeated rebukes from 
 his friends for entering upon the illustration of a tribe of in- 
 sects whose very name was sufficient to create feelings of dis- 
 gust. ^ Why not take up some more interesting or popular de- 
 partment of Entomology ? ' has been the frequent remark made 
 to him. He considered, however, that if he wished to render 
 any service to science, he must not consult popular taste or 
 ephemeral fashion, but must take a page from that part of the 
 great Book of Nature less generally read, and consequently 
 less understood and appreciated, by the world at large.'' 
 
 The number and variety of species given is frightful ; some 
 of those which infest Poultry are : — 
 
 " Goniocotes holog aster (Louse of the Domestic Fowl). 
 
 ^' Goniocles falcicornis (Louse of the Peacock). — This beauti- 
 ful (!) parasite is common upon the Peacock, and may be 
 found — after the death of the bird — congregated in numbers 
 about the base of the beak and crown of the head. During 
 the year 1827, three or four specimens of Pavo cristatus hav- 
 ing passed through my hands, upon each of which I observed, 
 for the first time, several examples of the large and well-marked 
 parasite of this bird, the Goniodes falcicornis, I was induced to 
 examine whatever other species of birds, &c., might come in 
 my way, to ascertain whether great diversity in size or ap- 
 pearance existed between the parasites of difierent species or 
 
94 THE REARING AND 
 
 genera. This I soon found to bo so considerable, that I re- 
 solved upon forming a collection, and ascert;iiniug what was 
 written upon the parasitic tribes. 
 
 " (7oniod<:s sfj/Ii/cr (Louse of the Turkey). — Common upon 
 the Turkey, frequenting the head, neck, and breast : a very 
 beautiful species. The males of this and all the other species 
 of Gout odes use the lii-st and third joints of the antennae witJi 
 great facility, acting the part of a finger and thumb. 
 
 " GonioJesdissimilis (Louse of the Domestic Fowl). — I sus- 
 pect this species is of rare occurrence. 
 
 ^^ Lipeuriis vanabih's (Louse of the Domestic Fowl). — Com- 
 mon on the Domestic Fowl, preferring the primary and se- 
 condary feathers of the wings, among the webs of which they 
 move with great celerity. 
 
 " Lij)curus 2^oI^fraj.^€zius (Louse of the Turkey). — A com- 
 mon parasite upon the Tui-key. Their mode of progression ia 
 rather singular, as well as rapid. They slide, as it were side- 
 ways, extremely quick from one side of the fibre of a feather to 
 the other, and move equally well in a forward or retrogade di- 
 rection, which, together with their flat polished bodies, renders 
 them extremely diflicult to catch or hold. I have observed 
 that where two or more genera infest one bird, they have each 
 their favourite localities ; for while the Gon lodcs sf^Ii/er will 
 be found on the breast and neck of the bird, the Lijycunis 
 poli/frajpezius will be congregated in numbers on the webs and 
 shafts of the primary wing feathers. 
 
 ^' Me7ioj)on j.HjUidum (Louse of the Domestic Fowl). — Found 
 in great abundance in Poultry, running over the hands of those 
 who are plucking Fowls, and diflicult to brush oft', from the 
 smoothness of their bodies." Those who are desirous of fuller 
 information should consult the work itself. 
 
 It may be suggested that the discovery by the microscope of 
 fossil parasites, might determine the species of doubtful ex- 
 tinct birds and animals, by the same sort of reasoning as the 
 
MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 95 
 
 order of fossiliferous strata is decided hy the organic remains 
 found in them. 
 
 But what a contrast is here displayed ! The glittering 
 argus-eycd plumage of the Peacock, undermined by lice I 
 Ach I Degrading! We are but smoking flax. The Pope, 
 at his coronation, is reminded, by the outward visible sign of 
 extinguished flame, and by words, *^Sancte Pater, sic transit 
 gloria mundi" — "Holy Father, thus passes away the glory of 
 earthly things.'' The Prelate, encased with gold and gems, 
 but wearing beneath his outward show sackcloth, and perhaps 
 vermin, voluntarily, and the Peacock, with his unrivalled 
 plumes, irritated by these odious defilers, involuntarily, that 
 in life move among the webs hastily, and after death "attract 
 notice'' about the seat of beauty and honour, the head and 
 crest — are the same in kind — apparent magnificence balanced 
 by unseen evil. Like unto them, also, are the great and power- 
 ful of this world, devoured by heart-eating cares and irre- 
 mediable disappointments. What a natural and almost true 
 superstition was that of the old Greek Nemesis ! The returned 
 ring of Polycrates is the fate of few mortals; nor to be wished 
 for. The boast, "Soul, thou hast much goods, take thine 
 ease," is apt to be followed by heavy retribution. 
 
 "See how glorious, how splendid, how secure we are! 
 What can touch us, or ruffle our luxurious calm ? Why need 
 we humble ourselves, and go softly, and think of our less 
 happy brethren now and then ? Nemesis is an exploded 
 phantom, self-denial a superstitious folly." Yes: "all men, 
 think all men mortal — but themselves." They who have 
 felt no loss, no sorrow, have need to be greatly fearful ! The 
 black threads which the Sisters weave into our web of life, are 
 healthful as warnings, merciful as threatenings, needful as 
 preservatives. A world was not saved without a sufficient 
 sacrifice. How shall frail and paltry individuals swim on in 
 everlasting sunshine ? The check in careering prosperity, the 
 
90 THE REARING AND 
 
 lice in the enameled panoply, remind us wliat we are in the 
 sight of The Ever-present. 
 
 *' And upon a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat 
 upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the 
 people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not 
 of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote 
 him, because he gave not God the glory : and he was eaten 
 up of worms, and gave up the ghost." 
 
 Let us be thankful for sorrows, humble and loving in good 
 fortune ; for it is of no use to sit in the sun, reflecting his 
 splendour by our trappings, and to be, like Herod, stricken 
 of worms at last. 
 
 The following letter, received by the Editor, from an 
 esteemed correspondent, will, I am sure, be read with great 
 interest by the Poultry breeder and fancier. If its suggestions 
 be carried out to the letter, they will never have occasion to 
 complain of vermin. The sulphur of which he speaks has a 
 very decided tendency to the skin, and destroys the vermin on 
 poultry, as it is the parasite constituting the disease vulgarly 
 known as " the itch." 
 
 Northumberland, Oct. 15, 1850. - 
 My dear Sir, — I have several tolerably good reasons for 
 not replying to you sooner — absence, business, felon on the 
 finger, &c. 
 
 You wish me to give my views on ^^ Henology," and par- 
 ticularly in relation to poultry-houses. On this latter subject 
 I do not feel prepared, either by practice or in theory, to give 
 satisfactory or reliable information. 
 
 In the country and in villages, where space is little worth, 
 and there is not much necessity for restriction. Fowls are gene- 
 rally allowed the "largest amount of liberty.'' And this, 
 with reasonable limitations, in connection with plentiful and 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 97 
 
 various food, is indispensable to perfect health, rapid growth, 
 and a profitable yield of eggs. It is not possible to compensate 
 a laying Hen for the want of liberty. Coop her up — give her- 
 grain, meat, vegetables, fruit, water, gravel, lime, every thing 
 that may be thought conducive to health and comfort, and 
 though her yield of eggs will greatly exceed that of a hen confined 
 and kept in an ordinary way, it will by no means compare 
 with that of a Hen in a state of liberty, equally well kept, 
 one that breathes the wholesome, free, circulating air, and 
 picks grass, gravel, worms, and insects, to suit herself. The 
 want of range has almost as much efi'ect on the comparative 
 barrenness of a Hep in winter j as the cold. Liberty and varied 
 abundance are the two greatest essentials for poultry, old and 
 young, to promote health, growth, beauty, and fertility. 
 
 Lice have very justly been considered the greatest draw- 
 back to the success and pleasure of the poultry-fancier, and 
 nothing short of unremitting vigilance will exterminate them, 
 and keep them exterminated. To attain this, whitewash 
 frequently all the parts adjacent to the roosting poles, take 
 down these, and run them slowly through a fire made of wood 
 shavings, dry weeds, or the light waste combustibles, until 
 every adhering louse and lousette is demolished. Flowers of 
 sulphur (which costs five or six cents a pound) given to Fowls 
 with Indian meal, is highly recommended; about one ounce 
 to a chicken, to be given in as short a time as they can be 
 induced to eat it. This to be repeated, at discretion. I have 
 tried these combined remedies, apparently with good result. 
 What share the sulphur had in it, I cannot positively say. 
 It certainly never injured the chickens, and very probably 
 improved their general health. In warm and moderate 
 weather, the best place for poultry to roost is in the open air, 
 where sunshine, and rain, and wind tfl|d equally to the de- 
 struction of parasites. 
 
 Hens should be made to lay in portable boxes, that may be 
 
98 THE REARING AND 
 
 carriod out occasionally, and the hay or straw composuig the 
 nest hunif in the Ihu\ In this way, thousands of vorniin 
 may he dostroyod. This is particularly beneficial, a day or 
 two before a lien brings out her brood. Remove the eggs 
 with great care into a box freshly burnt out, and put it in the 
 place of the old one. Then immediately burn out the one 
 removed. As soon as the chickens are hatched, put them into 
 a well lined basket, and if the weather be cool, place them 
 near the lire. When all are out of the shell, give the Hen a 
 thorough greasing under the wings and thighs, on the breast, 
 and, most particularly, in the hollow between the rump and 
 vent. In this last spot, lice are sometimes found in a crawling 
 mass six or eight deep. Then the chicks may be Si\fely re- 
 turned to the mother, and if compelled to roost in a /tnJt 
 clean place, they will keep clear of lice for weeks, and grow 
 twice as fast as lousy ones. 
 
 If perchance, through neglect or accident, they become 
 verminous, grease them on the parts named above, and on the 
 head and neck. This is the onl}' effectual, certiiin mode. By 
 continued, systematic warfare, the "nasty critters" may be 
 kept down. If they are not kept down, the chickens will be. 
 I have known young Fowls so afflicted, three months old, no 
 larger than clean healthy Chicks of six weeks, running about 
 with their heads and necks as featherless and more naked 
 than the day they were hatched. 
 
 Before leaving this lousy subject, let me amuse you with 
 an incident of experimental philosophy. Last year, I thought 
 I had discovered the gnmd secret of effectual louse-murder. 
 I had six large Hens, sitting on about ninety choice eggs, 
 game, Creole, and booby. My early chickens had been much 
 injured by vermin, and I resolved to give these summer Chicks 
 a better chance. I leased every brooding Hen from head to 
 tail, and patiently waited the result. "When the twenty days 
 of each expectant incubatrix had expired, I looked under her 
 
MANAGEMENT OP FOWLH. 99 
 
 in vain for the Bundcred BhcllH. No chick, nor chirp, nor 
 sign of life. In a couple of dayn 1 opened the eggs, and lo! 
 each little embryo Cock and lien appeared "in Ktatu quo" it 
 was when the grease was communicated from the Hen to the 
 egg, exccjpt that it was <Ufuw-t; — the very hour the pores of the 
 ehellH were dosed by the grease, the chickens "went dead." 
 
 I mention this incident, inasmuch as Dr. liennett, in his 
 Poultry Book, recommends eggs for hatching to be preserved 
 in grease. Try it, and Til wager two Chittagong roosters 
 against a Bantam, you don't <jf'X a chkken. 
 
 You suggest six compartments as requisite to a perfect coop; 
 among the rest, one for laying, and one for sitting. This is 
 certainly desirable, if easily effected. But the trouble is, a 
 hen will generally sit where she has laid, and nou^hf/rft dne. 
 In some cases they can be moved, but not often with success. 
 
 In connection with the subject of coops, I would mention, 
 what perhaps everybody knows who pretends to know any 
 thing about poultry : they should always be built fronting the 
 south or south-east, and furnished on that side with several 
 glazed windows, to give them, in winter, sun without cold. 
 
 Yours, very truly, 
 
 David Tagoart. 
 
 There is no doubt in my mind, from considerable experience, 
 that almost any kind of grease or unctuous matter is certain 
 death to the vermin of our domestic poultry; and although, if 
 used properly, it will remove all vermin, yet, in the case of very 
 young chicks, it should only be used in a warm sunny day, 
 and they should be put into a coop with the mother, and the 
 coop darkened for an hour or two, and every thing made 
 quiet, that they may get a good rest and nap after the fatigue 
 occasioned by greasing them. They should be handled with 
 great care, and greased thoroughly; the Hen also. After 
 resting, they may be permitted to come out and bask in the 
 sun, and in a few days will look sprightly enough. 
 
100 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 ON EGGS : THEIR COLOUR, FORM, AND SEX. 
 
 " Do you see that the resemblance of one egg with another has passed into a pro- 
 verb ? Yet, granting this to be true, I have heard that there were in Delos many 
 people who used to keep a number of Hens for the sake of profit ; and when they in- 
 spected their Eggs, were in the habit of pronouncing which Hen had laid that par- 
 ticular one." — Cicero, II. Academicarum. 
 
 The Deliaci, it is clear, knew something about '^ Eyes and 
 no Eyes, or the Art of Seeing '/' for Eggs are popularly sup- 
 posed to be so much alike, that what can be said about one 
 Egg is thought applicable to every other laid by the same spe- 
 cies of bird — the common Hen for example ; but there is nearly 
 as much distinguishable difference between the units in every 
 egg-basket which is carried to market, as there is between the 
 faces in a crowd of men, or the hounds in a pack. To every 
 Hen belongs an individual peculiarity in the form, colour, and 
 size of the Egg she lays, which never changes during her whole 
 lifetime, so long as she remains in health, and which is as well 
 known to those who are in the habit of taking her produce, as 
 the handwriting of their nearest acquaintance. Some Hens 
 lay smooth, cream-coloured Eggs, others rough, chalky, granu- 
 lated ones : there is the buff, the snow-white, the spherical, 
 the oval, the pear-shaped, and the emphatically Egg-shaped 
 Egg. A farmer's wife who interests herself in the matter, will 
 tell you with precision, in looking over her stores, " this Egg 
 was laid by such a Hen" — a favourite, perhaps — " this one by 
 
ON eggs: 101 
 
 such another ;" and it would be possible that she should go on 
 60 throughout the whole flock of poultry. Of course, the 
 greater the number kept, the greater becomes the difficulty in 
 learning the precise marks of each. From a basket of thirty 
 ^ggs, gathered in a farm-yard as they came to hand, eleven, 
 laid by one or two Hens, whose race we were desirous to con- 
 tinue, were selected in about two minutes by the friend who 
 supplied us with them. If four dozen Eggs, laid by no more 
 than four different Hens (especially if of different breeds), were 
 put at random on a table, the chances are that it would be as 
 easy to sort them as the four suits of a pack of cards. 
 
 This fact might give rise to curious doubts in a court of 
 justice. When petty pilfering has been suspected about a farm, 
 Eggs have been minutely marked and returned to the places 
 whence they were taken ; and the parties, in whose possession 
 they were subsequently found, have been convicted of the theft. 
 And this — if we shut our eyes to the crime (for it is a crime) 
 of laying traps and throwing temptation in the way of the 
 weak — was satisfactory proof. But there are some cases in 
 which the identity of an Egg could be sworn to without any 
 marking whatsoever; where the person robbed could affirm 
 positively, '' this Egg is my property, laid by such a Hen,'^ — 
 could pick it out from a quantity laid by other Hens, and could 
 produce other Eggs to pattern it in proof of his assertion. Few 
 town-bred juries would believe this; and yet it is quite as 
 possible as that a north-country shepherd should swear to the 
 countenance of a single sheep stolen from a flock of several 
 hundreds — after the death of the animal too — which has been 
 done. 
 
 A more practical and agreeable application of our remarks 
 may be made in the choice of Eggs for hatching. It has been 
 copied and re-copied from quarto to octavo, through duodecimo 
 and pamphlet, that small round Eggs produce female, and long 
 pointed ones male chicks. Now I assert that the Hen who 
 
102 ON eggs: 
 
 lays one round Egg, will continue to lay all her Eggs round ; 
 and the Hen that lays one oblong, will lay all oblong. Con- 
 sequently, one Hen would be the perpetual mother of Cocks, 
 another must remain the perpetual producer of Pullets j which 
 is absurd, as daily experience proves. Every dairy-maid knows 
 that when a Hen steals a nest and hatches her own Eggs only, 
 the brood which she brings home contains a fair proportion of 
 either sex. I know well that if any of the said Hen's female 
 acquaintance spy out her secret hoard, they will set other bipeds 
 a good example by adding to, instead of substracting from, the 
 property of her neighbour. But chance additions are not suffi- 
 cient to account for the mixture of Cocks and Hens in self-set 
 broods, supposing the theory to be correct, that the sex of the 
 future chick is denoted by the form of the Egg. 
 
 Here is an experiment in point. An old lady, whose fowls 
 were all white, gave me a small globular Egg, as round as a 
 ball ; it was added to a clutch of Speckled Dorkings. The re- 
 sult was the due number of Dorkings, and one white cockerel, 
 which we kept till he began to crow : it ought to have been a 
 pullet, unless the compositor's fingers have been busy in re- 
 printing one error at least. 
 
 Another supposed test is the position of the air-bag at the 
 blunt end of the shell. We are told that, " if it be a little on 
 one side it will produce a Hen ; if this vacuity be exactly in 
 the centre, it will produce a Cock." But, take a basket of 
 Eggs, examine them as directed, by holding them between 
 your eye and a candle, and you will find very few indeed in 
 which you can say that the air-bubble is exactly concentrical 
 with the axis of the Egg. A Cock ought thus to be, like 
 Ovid's Black Swan, a rare bird. But, in many broods, the 
 cockerels bear a proportion of at least one-third, sometimes two- 
 thirds; especially in those hatched during winter or in unfavour- 
 able seasons ; the immediate cause being, doubtless, that the 
 Eggs producing the robuster sex possess a stronger vitality ; 
 
THEIR COLOUR, FORM, AND SEX. 103 
 
 the more remote cause being the same wise la\r of Providence, 
 through which, in the human race, more males are born into 
 the world than females, to meet the wear and tear of war, 
 labour, and accident. 
 
 ' " Neither," as Mr. Bissell shrewdly suggests, " are these 
 two tests, viz., the shape of the Egg and the position of the 
 air-bubble, consistent with each other. Since I have been an 
 experimenter upon that subject," he says, " and my experience 
 is corroborative of all that you have said, I will just give you 
 the facts as they occurred in one or two instances out of a great 
 number of similar ones. 
 
 " The fact of the situation of the air-bag being as varied iu 
 a round Egg as in an oval or long one, seems to me, of itself, 
 to be fatal to the test by which we are told to distinguish the 
 sex of future chickens ; for if the round Egg produces a pullet, 
 and an Egg with the air-bag a little on one side produces the 
 same, it argues that all round Eggs should have the air-bag in 
 that position (the same argument applie^s to the long or oval 
 Egg), or one test contradicts the other. That such is not the 
 case, and that the position of the air-bag differs as much in a 
 long Egg as it does in a round, I need hardly assert, for the 
 doubt may be decided by the examination of a few Eggs by 
 the light of a candle. In hatching my Spanish Fowls, I was 
 careful to examine, and set none but round Eggs, with the air- 
 bag on one side, and if there is any truth in either principle, I 
 ought to have had all pullets ; but this, instead, is the result : — 
 From thirteen Eggs selected as above stated, were hatched, in 
 June, ten chickens, which proved to be four cocks, six pullets ; 
 from eleven Eggs, set early in July, were produced six chick- 
 ens, viz., three cocks and three pullets j from thirteen Eggs, 
 set in July, were produced eight chickens, viz., five cocks and 
 three pullets 3 so that you have about equal numbers of either 
 sex from Eggs which were as like each other in form, size, and 
 
104 ON eggs: 
 
 position of air-bag as it is possible for Eggs to be like each 
 other. So much for the over wise \" 
 
 In short, the Bubble Theory, as far as I have seen, is pro- 
 perly described by its name; and there are, I believe, no 
 known means of determining beforehand the sex of fowls, ex- 
 cept, perhaps, that Cocks may be more likely to issue from 
 large Eggs, and Hens from small ones. Knowing, however, 
 that the Egg of each Hen may be recognised, we have thus the 
 means of propagating from those parents whose race we deem 
 most desirable to continue. 
 
 A correspondent of the Agricultural Gazette has recorded 
 another experiment : — " During the last summer I wanted to 
 raise a stock of poultry from a favourite Hen and Cock. They 
 were of the black-breasted red Game breed. The Cock was 
 purely bred, but the Hen was a little crossed. The Eggs she 
 laid were of a deep buff colour, and as she was the only Hen I 
 had which laid yellow Eggs, they were easily collected. When 
 I had twenty-six Eggs, I put thirteen of the largest under a 
 brood Hen to be hatched ; one Egg got broken, the other 
 twelve had chickens in them : one, however, died in the shell, 
 and so the number was reduced to eleven. Of these one died 
 before I could ascertain its sex; of the ten remaining, eight 
 were cocks and two were pullets. The thirteen smaller Eggs, 
 I also put under a broody Hen, and she hatched me ten chick- 
 ens. Of these eight were pullets and two were Cocks. There 
 is no difference in the shape of the Eggs laid by the same 
 Hen ; in size they vary but little. I observe this peculiarity, 
 that although the Hen has yellow legs and the Cock black, yet 
 throughout four broods which I have had from the same Hen 
 and Cock this summer, every yellow-legged chicken has 
 proved a Cock, and every black-legged one a pullet." Sir 
 Thomas Brown was quite right : " that the sex is discernible 
 from the figure of Eggs, or that Cocks or Hens proceed from 
 
THEIR COLOUR, FORM, AND SEX. 105 
 
 long or round ones, as many contend, experiment will easily 
 frustrate." 
 
 Horace, Columella, and Pliny had the same notions re- 
 specting the shape of Eggs as are current now, but they ap- 
 plied them to eating, rather than hatching purposes. The 
 long eggs were better tasted, according to them, because they 
 contained Cocks : " Those which are laid round, produce a 
 female; the rest a male." — Pliny j lib. x.,c. 74. 
 
 I 
 
106 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EGGS : THEIR PRESERVATION FOR CULINARY PURPOSES. 
 
 I HAVE taken some pains to ascertain the best means of 
 preserving Eggs. I have visited country-produce dealers, 
 freely exchanged views with them on the subject, and the con- 
 clusion in every case was that h'yne-icater ('tis not very mate- 
 rial whether salt be added or not) is the only means of pre- 
 serving Eggs that will remunerafe/or (lie trouble. I have seen 
 hogsheads of Eggs thus preserved in cellars from midsummer 
 to the following spring, and preserved very well too. The 
 water must be kept as highly charged with lime as it will bear. 
 
 Mr. Pixon, quoting Mr. Cobbett, says, '' Preserved Eggs 
 are things to run from, not after." Perhaps so, perhaps not, 
 as the case may be. At any rate, many articles of cookery, 
 which cannot be made without Eggs, are not things to run 
 from ; and, therefore, preserved Eggs must be had, unless you 
 choose to disappoint the little folks of their Christmas plum- 
 pudding. The greater part of the Eggs brought to market in 
 Norfolk during winter, are certainly displeasing enough, quite 
 uneatable tii; I^t/gs, and only not offensive to the smell. They 
 are saved from putrefaction by immersion in lime-water, to 
 which salt is added by some housewives. When wanted, they 
 are fished out of the tub, wiped, rubbed with a little silver-sand to 
 give a fresh-looking roughness to the shell, and sold at the rate 
 of eight for a shilling, if the season happen to be seyere. 
 
eggs: theie pre6ervation. 107 
 
 Cooks say they answer their purpose : "but it is assuredly worth 
 while to try for something better. 
 
 Reaumur's experiments with varnish, so well known through 
 the industry of compilers, appear to have succeeded. But 
 varnished Eggs would be both too troublesome and too ex- 
 pensive to be the subject of more than mere experiment. The 
 best way of obtaining a practical result is to inquire what me- 
 thod is pursued by any set of people to whom preserved Eggs 
 are a matter of necessity, not luxury. Now there exists a 
 tribe of men, British subjects, whose daily food, whose staflF of 
 life, is Fowls and Eggs — both preserved during great part of 
 the year. In maps of the Ancient World, the orhia veteribus 
 notus, we see nations marked down as Ichthyophagi, Fish- 
 eaters, Lotophagi, Lotus-eaters; and a new race, peculiar to 
 the present day, appears to be springing up, the Mycophagi, or 
 Fungus-eaters, who will be wise if they listen to the warnings 
 of Dr. Lindley. Had the people of St. Kilda been known in 
 those days, they would have been styled Ornithophagi, Bird- 
 eaters, and Oophagi, I]gg-eaters. Instead of their keeping 
 Fowls, the Fowls keep them. Martin, in his voyage to the 
 Island of St. Kilda, (London mdcxcviii.) says, "I remember 
 the allowance of each Man per diem, besides a Barley Cake, was 
 eighteen of the Eggs laid by the Fowl called by them Lavy^^ 
 and a greater number of the lesser Eggs, as they differ in pro- 
 portion ; the largest of these Eggs is near in bigness to that of 
 a Goose, the rest of the Eggs gradually of a lesser Size. We 
 had the curiosity, after Three Weeks' residence, to make a Cal- 
 cule of the number of Eggs bestowed upon those of our Boat, 
 
 * Subsequently he says, " The Lavy, so called by the inhabitants 
 of St. KiLda; by the Welch, a Guillem ; it comes near to the bigness 
 of a Duck; its head, upper-side of the Neck all downwards, of a 
 dark-Brown, and White Breast, the Bill strait and sharp pointed ; 
 the upper Chop hangs over the lower ; its Feet and Claws are Black." 
 
108 eggs: their preservation 
 
 and the Stewart's BirUn, or Galley — the whole amounted to 
 Sixteen thousand Eggs ; and, without all douht, the Inhabit- 
 ants, who were triple our Number, consumed many more 
 Eggs and Fowls than we could. From this it is easy to ima- 
 gine, that a vast number of Fowls must resort here all Sum- 
 mer, which is yet the more probable, if it be considered that 
 every Fowl lays but one Egg at a time, if allowed to hatch." — 
 P. 12. Subsequently (p. 66) he tells us, ^^The Eggs are 
 found to be of an Astringent and Windy Quality to Strangers, 
 but, it seems, are not so to the Inhabitants, who were used to 
 Eat them from the Nest (or cradle ?). Our Men, upon their 
 arrival Eating greedily of them, became Costive and Feverish," 
 &c. * * * (Then follows the remedy, which seems to have 
 astonished the natives.) 
 
 But this diet is to be had fresh only during a short part of 
 the summer, and provision must be made to prevent famine in 
 the winter, when it is too stormy to fish ; therefore, says Mar- 
 tin, ^^They preserve their Eggs commonly in their Stone- 
 Pyramids, scattering the burnt ashes of Turf under and about 
 them, to defend them from the Air, dryness being their only 
 Preservative, and moisture their Consumption ; they preserve 
 them. Six, Seven, or Eight Months, as above said; and then 
 they become Appetizing (ly and Loosening, especially those 
 that begin to turn." Later travellers inform us that the same 
 system still continues to be practised. 
 
 The shells of these sea-birds' Eggs are more fragile than those 
 of the common Hen, which circumstance must cause them to 
 be more difficult to preserve ; and turf-ashes clearly make a 
 sweeter and more effectual packing than lime-water, or the 
 means usually adopted in England. But they are only to be 
 had in certain localities. Wood-ashes are too light, and cinder- 
 
 * Does this mean heavy on the chest, from the Italian a, and^e«o, 
 the chest ? 
 
FOR CULINARY PURPOSES. 109 
 
 ashes too loose, to exclude the air. The Irish plan of smearing 
 fresh-laid Eggs with butter answers well for a limited time, but 
 is insujQ&cient to keep them through the winter. The plan I 
 have found to succeed best, and can recommend, is to dip each 
 Egg into melted pork-lard, rubbing it into the shell with your 
 finger, and pack them in an old fig-drum, or butter-firkin, set- 
 ting every Egg upright, with the small end downwards. Eggs 
 thus prepared in August, directly after harvest, have been 
 boiled and eaten with relish by myself and family in the fol- 
 lowing January. They were not like the Eggs we are used to 
 in spring ; but I heard no complaint from the little ones, and 
 they were much better than any kept Eggs we could buy. 
 
 The following is a cheap and easy recipe on the same prin- 
 ciple. Pack the Eggs to be preserved in an upright earthen 
 vessel, with their small ends downwards. Procure from your 
 butcher a few pounds of rough tallow the same day on which 
 the sheep is killed j have this immediately cut into small pieces 
 and melted down; strain it from the scraps, as is done with 
 pork-lard, and pour it while warm, not hot, over the Eggs in 
 the jar till they are completely covered. When all is cold and 
 firm, set the vessel in a cool dry place, till its contents are 
 wanted. 
 
 The rough tallow will cost about 3^. a pound, and, if treated 
 as directed, will be free from its usual unpleasant smell, caused 
 by the fleshy parts being suffered to remain in the fat till melt- 
 ing-day comes. When the Eggs are used, the grease need not 
 be wasted, but will serve for many homely household purposes. 
 
 But for those who scorn preserved Eggs, and must and will 
 have fresh ones during the winter, the means most desirable to 
 obtain success are to have young Hens — pullets hatched early 
 the previous spring are the best — extreme liberality in feeding, 
 and a cautious abstinence from overstocking the poultry-yard. 
 Eggs are the superfluity of the animal's nutrition — ^the pro- 
 fitable balance of its stock of provision. A certain quantity of 
 
 10 
 
110 eggs: their preservation 
 
 food will keep a certain quantity of Hens in health, without 
 being sufficient to cause them to lay. Increase the quantity of 
 food, or decrease the number of Hens, and you have a super- 
 abundance, which produces Eggs. But as the rejected scraps 
 of every family, and the refuse odds and ends of every farming 
 premises, are tolerably steady in their amount, taking one 
 month with another, it is better to have a small number of 
 Hens, leaving them to forage fi-om the supply which is con- 
 stantly open to them, than to trust to extra hand-feeding, which 
 may be often neglected or shortened. 
 
 A warm and dry night's lodging is good, but not so confine- 
 ment during the day, even in the best of poultry-houses. The 
 Hens will always keep themselves out of the wet, and no care 
 can compensate for the exercise and variety of food afforded 
 them by a state of liberty. 
 
 There is nothing so instructive as a case, whether in law, 
 physic, or poultry-keeping. During the hard winter of '46— '47, 
 our own Hens not laying, we obtained a plentiful supply fresh 
 laid from a neighbouring farm. The Hens were common dung- 
 hill mongrels, the accommodation for them not so good as our 
 own. But the Eggs were the perquisite of the farmer's wife — 
 her pin-money by a mutual understanding — ^while the corn 
 went into the pocket of the farmer. The lady consequently 
 permitted her pullets, without the least remonstrance, to make 
 a large hole in a barley-stack, pull out the straws one by one, 
 and, when they had tasted an ear, if they did not approve its 
 flavour, try another. Whether the man grumbled, and the wife 
 pouted and carried her point, is not for us to tell, if we 
 knew. It is certain that the price we were charged for the 
 Eggs did not pay for the damage done by their production. 
 
 A paragraph from the Perth Courier ran the round of the 
 papers, and obtained considerable attention at the time (Dec, 
 1847) from inexperienced poultry-keepers : — " Hens will lay 
 Eggs perpetually, if treated in the following manner. Keep 
 
FOR CULINARY PURPOSES. Ill 
 
 no Roosters" — what an elegant word ! — ^' give the Hens fresh 
 meat, chopped up like sausage-meat, once a day, a very small 
 portion, say half an ounce a day to each Hen during the win- 
 ter, or from the time insects disappear in the fall, till they ap- 
 pear again in spring. Never allow any Eggs to remain in the 
 nest for what is called Nest-eggs. When the Roosters do not 
 run with the Hens, and no Nest-eggs are left in the nest, the 
 Hens will not cease laying after the production of twelve or 
 fifteen Eggs, as they always do when Roosters and Nest-eggs 
 are allowed, but continue laying perpetually. My Hens lay 
 all winter, and each from seventy to one hundred Eggs in suc- 
 cession. If the above plan were generally followed. Eggs would 
 be just as plentiful in winter as in summer. The only reason 
 why Hens do not lay in winter as freely as in summer, is the 
 want of animal food, which they get in summer in the form of 
 insects. I have for several winters reduced my theory into 
 practice, and proved its entire correctness." 
 
 No allowance is here made for the different laying and in- 
 cubating capabilities of different breeds of Fowls; and the 
 reader will be wise in hesitating before he consents to banish 
 Cocks from his poultry-yard and Nest-eggs from his hen-house. 
 The act of laying is not voluntary on the part of a Hen, but 
 is dependent upon her age, constitution, and diet. If she be 
 young, healthy, and well-fed, lay she must; if she be aged 
 and half-starved, lay she cannot. All that is left to her own 
 choice is, where she shall deposit her Egg, and she is some- 
 times so completely taken by surprise, as not to have her own 
 way even in that. The poultry-keeper, therefore, has only to 
 decide which is the more convenient ; that his Hens should 
 lay here and there, as it may happen, about his premises, or in 
 certain determinate places, indicated to the Hens by Nest-eggs. 
 It is quite a mistake to suppose that the presence of a Nest- 
 egg causes a Hen to sit earlier than she otherwise would. The 
 eight of twenty Nest-eggs will not bring on the hatching fever ; 
 
112 eggs: their preservation 
 
 :md when it does come, the Hen will take to the empty nest, 
 if there be nothing else for her to inonbate. Any one whose 
 Hens have from accident been deprived of a male companion, 
 will agree with me in saving that they have not done so well 
 till the loss has been supplied. During the interregnum, mat- 
 ters get all wrong. There is nobody to stop their mutual bick- 
 erings, and inspire an emulation to please and be pleased. The 
 poor deserted creatures wander about dispirit^, like soldiers 
 without a general. It belongs to their very nature to be con- 
 trolled and marshalled by one of the stronger sex, who is a 
 kind, though a strict master, and a considerate, though stem 
 diseiplinman. It does not appear what should make Hens 
 lay better under such forlorn circumstances as are recommended 
 in the Perth paragraph. They will sit just the same, when the 
 fit seizes them, and so will Ducks ; as may be seen amongst 
 those cottagers who, to save the expense of barley, keep two 
 or three Hens or Ducks only, and procure from a neighbour a 
 sitting of Eggs, as they want them. It has been stated by 
 Reamuur, who is a high authority, that clear or unfertile Egga 
 will keep good longer than those that would be productive ; 
 but it is doubtful whether the difference is so great as to make 
 it worth while keeping the Hens in a melancholy widowhood 
 on this account. The most natural and least troublesome way 
 of having a winter supply of Eggs, is to proems pullets hatched 
 early in the previous spring, and to give them all they can eat 
 of the best barley, or, if expense be disregarded, of the finest 
 wheat. But all people are not so nice about their Eggs, par- 
 ticularly during a long sea-voyage.* For example, '* It was 
 upon one of the islands that I went on shore, and I foimd there 
 such a number of birds, that when they rose they literally 
 
 * *• Much depends on taste in matters of this sort ; and we once 
 had a Londoner on a visit, who • heaved the gorge ' at the milk of 
 new-laid Eggs, but ate Scotch Eggs with much satisfaction.'* — J. S. W. 
 
FOR CULINART PURPOSES. 113 
 
 darkened the sky, and we could not walk a step without tread- 
 ing upon their EggH. As they kept hovering over our heads 
 at a little distance, the men knocked many of them down with 
 stones and sticks, and carried off several hundreds of their 
 Eggs. After some time I left the island and landed upon 
 the main, where our men dressed and eat their Eggs, thr/ayh 
 there were youmj Urdu in most of them.'' — Commodore Bi/rorCs 
 Voyo/je round the World. 
 
 10« 
 
114 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 EGGS : THEIR PRESERVATION FOR INCUBATION. 
 
 Before quoting Mr. Dixon in continuation of this subject, 
 I will briefly mention the method of preservation I have used 
 for some time with great success. I put the Eggs on their 
 points in a box in a cool dry place; the temperature about 
 60° or 65°. I cover the bottom of the box with wlieat hran, 
 then put in a layer of Eggs, and cover them with bran also, 
 and so on while filling the box. The Eggs are kept dry, cool, 
 and, being covered, the evaporation of their contents is ef- 
 fectually prevented; at the end of six weeks, or even two 
 months, the Eggs are as full as when they were laid, and 
 almost as certain to hatch out. 
 
 "Eggs for hatching,'^ says Mr. Dixon, should be as fresh 
 as possible; if laid the very same day, so much the better. 
 This is not always possible when a particular stock is required 
 to be increased; but if a numerous and healthy brood is all 
 that is wanted, the most recent Eggs should be selected. 
 Some books tell us that Eggs to be hatched should not be 
 more than a fortnight, others say not more than a month old. 
 It is difficult to fix the exact term during which the vitality 
 of an Egg remains unextinguished; it undoubtedly varies 
 from the very first according to the vigour of the parents of 
 the inclosed germ, and fades away gradually till the final 
 moment of non-existence. But long before that moment, the 
 
FOR INCUBATION. 115 
 
 principle of life becomes so feeble as to be almost unavailable 
 for practical purposes. The chicks in stale Eggs have not 
 sufficient strength to extricate themselves from the shell; if 
 assisted, the yolk is found to be only partially absorbed into 
 the abdomen, or not at all; they are too faint to stand, the 
 muscles of the neck are unable to lift their heads, much less 
 to peck; and although they may sometimes be saved by 
 extreme care, their usual fate is to be trampled to death by 
 their mother, if they do not expire almost as soon as they 
 begin to draw their breath. Thick-shelled Eggs, like those 
 of Geese, Guinea-fowl, &c., will retain life longer than thin- 
 shelled ones, as those of Hens and Ducks. Those who are 
 anxious to secure a valuable variety, one chicken of which is 
 worth a whole brood of ordinary sorts, will run all risks; 
 after seven or eight weeks their chance is not utterly gone. 
 Some of the chicks will be found dead in the shell, but those 
 that are hatched, if they survive the first eight-and-forty hours 
 — the great difficulty — are not afterwards more weakly or 
 troublesome than others. In the mean while, air should be 
 excluded from the Egg as much as possible : it is best to set 
 them on end, and not to suflFer them to lie and roll on the 
 side. Dry sand or hard-wood sawdust (not deal, on account 
 of the turpentine) is the best packing. But when choice Eggs 
 are expected, it is more prudent to have a Hen waiting for 
 them than to let them wait for her. A good sitter may be 
 amused for two or three weeks with a few addle-eggs, and so 
 be ready to take charge of those of value immediately upon 
 their arrival. 
 
 Eggs sent any distance to be hatched, should be tightly 
 inclosed in a wooden box, and arranged so as neither to touch 
 each other, nor the sides of the box. An oyster-barrel answers 
 excellently for a small number. Mr. Cantelo, in his pamphlet, 
 has recommended oats as a packing, and no doubt they form 
 an excellent vehicle, taking little time to pack, filling all inter- 
 
116 eggs: their preservation 
 
 slices, and moreover being useful at the journey's end. The 
 Eggs shouki be shaken as little as possible, for fear of rupturing 
 the ligaments by which the yolk is suspended in the centre of 
 the Egg, and mixing the two strata of albumen surrounding 
 it and letting the yolk loose. Nor should they be suflered to 
 come in contact with any greasy substance that would close 
 the pores of the shell, so as to exclude air from the chick. 
 But my own experience of Eggs for hatching received from 
 any long distance, is so utterly discouraging, as to forbid all 
 future attempts, unless" the parcel can be carefully brought by 
 hand. However well packed, they get so recklessly knocked 
 about by the superabundant strength and activity of the rail- 
 way porters, who would handle a box of Eggs and a box of ten- 
 penny nails exactly in the same manner, that, at the end of a 
 couple of hundred miles, and after shifting carriages three or 
 four times, the germs of the Eggs are as completely destroyed 
 by the concussion, as if they had been baked or boiled into 
 custards. Mr. Cantelo advises, " should any valuable or rare 
 Egg have a defect in the shell, it may be worth while to gum 
 a piece of paper over the part affected, as it is through the 
 extra-evaporation that it would otherwise fail in hatching." 
 The following case, which has been communicated to me, is a 
 practical commentary. "A Duck's egg was broken at the 
 small end by a careless Hen when within a week of hatching. 
 Perceiving that the inhabitant within was a fine lively fellow, 
 I closed it over well with wax, and returned it to the nest. 
 At the proper time the duckling came out lively enough, and 
 proved the best of the brood." The same gentleman (H. H.) 
 experienced another curious instance of difficulty in hatching. 
 *' A young pigeon was unable, for reasons best known to him- 
 self, to get more than his head and shoulders out of the egg. 
 In this state he remained for days, the parts not growing, and 
 the old birds still feeding him ! I released him afterwards, 
 but he did not do nearly so well then, and soon died." 
 
FOR INCUBATION. 117 
 
 " After a Hen has sat a week, if you have a thin board with 
 a small orifice in it, place a candle at the back, and hold up 
 each Egg to the point of light ; you will see at once whether 
 the Eggs are fertile, when of course the others may be removed, 
 and made use of hard boiled for young chickens. This hint 
 I got from Mr. Cantelo's Exhibition, where the number of 
 Eggs made it a great desideratum : but, in any case, it is much 
 better to remove the bad Eggs." — W. D. F. 
 
 Now we are on the subject of hatching, we may as well refer 
 to the perplexity to which Poultry -keepers are sometimes sub- 
 jected, when Hens vnll sit, at seasons of the year at which 
 there is little chance of bringing up Chickens. Some advise 
 the Hen to be soaked in a pail of water cold from the pamp : 
 but if they have a mind to kill her, it is more cruel to do so 
 by giving her fever and inflammation of the lungs, than by 
 simply knocking her on the head. A less objectionable 
 remedy, communicated by a gentleman who is not likely to 
 speak unadvisedly, is the following, of which, however, I have 
 no personal experience. ^^I have known one or two doses of 
 jalap relieve them entirely from a desire to sit; and, in my 
 opinion, it is far better than the cold-water cure. I have 
 known English Fowls lay in three weeks afterwards.'^ But 
 why not let the poor creatures obey their natural propensity ? 
 Or, surely, some neighbour would gladly exchange a laying 
 Hen for one that wanted to sit. Others, borrowing an ancient 
 piece of barbarism,* recommend a large feather to be thrust 
 through her nostrils; that she may rush here and there in 
 terror, and give up all thoughts of sitting. The person who 
 
 * "The inclination to hatch is prevented by thrusting a small 
 feather through the nostrils." Columella, lib. viii., cap. 5. Pliny 
 more humanely prescribes the same operation as a cure for the roup, 
 *' pituita." " A feather thrust through the nostrils, and moved every 
 day:" a seton, in fact. Lib. x., c. 78. 
 
118 eggs: their preservation 
 
 would be capable of such cruelty, would properly walk arm- 
 in-arm with the man who had tied a tin-kettle to his dog^s 
 tail. The wisest way is to guide, instead of thwarting, the 
 impulses of nature. Let your good Hen indulge the instinct 
 implanted in her by a wiser Being than you : give her a sitting 
 of Duck's or G-oose's Eggs, and, unless the winter be extra- 
 ordinarily severe, you must be a bungler if you do not rear 
 them by the aid of bread-crumbs, barley-meal, and a kitchen 
 fire. The autumnal laying of the China, and also of the Com- 
 mon Goose, is very valuable for the purpose. It need only 
 be remembered that too much confinement will give your 
 Goslings the cramp. But it is better to take a little pains, 
 than to be guilty of the above-mentioned cruelties, or to let 
 the poor creature spend her vivifying energies on an empty 
 nest. Turkey-hens frequently have this late fit of incubation, 
 and on the Continent are much more used as general hatchers 
 than they are with us. One, which had been supplied with 
 Duck's Eggs, hatched fifteen. As soon as she found out what 
 sort of beings she had inti-oduced into the world, she glanced 
 at them a look of that ineffable scorn, which a Turkey's eye 
 can so well express, strutted slowly away, and never would 
 notice them more. The Ducklings, however, were reared in 
 spite of her airs ; the fire-side and their own innate vigour sus- 
 taining them under the excusable neglect of their haughty 
 foster-mother. One of mine chose to sit on some of her own 
 Eggs in the middle of a turnip field at the end of October, 
 1847. This would never do; so we brought her home, and 
 set her upon seven Eggs of the Common Goose in a warm 
 out-house. She hatched six birds, one of which was killed by 
 accident. The remaining five she reared with the greatest 
 affection. A little ordinary care, with a liberal supply of 
 endive, cabbage-leaves, and other garden refuse, and, in time 
 also, of barley, thus furnished us with a welcome lot of early 
 
FOR INCUBATION. 119 
 
 However it is sometimes inconvenient for townspeople to 
 have Hens wanting to sit unseasonably. Mr. Bissell says, " I 
 have been sadly troubled in this way, and have tried almost 
 every known method of getting them to forsake their nests, 
 when I have not wanted them to sit, but without the least 
 effect, until about two years ago I tried the simple plan of 
 placing them in an aviary for about four or five days at most, 
 and, feeding them but sparingly, when they will, from the 
 commencement of their confinement, gradually leave off cluck- 
 ing, and when they have done so, you may again set them free 
 without the least fear of their wishing to take to the nest again; 
 and, besides getting rid of a great deal of trouble with them, 
 they will in a very short time commence laying again with 
 renewed vigour." Keeping a Hen out in a coop on the cool 
 grass for three or four days and nights has a similar tendency 
 to abate the hatching fever. 
 
 One of the most extraordinary feats of hatching on record, 
 is that performed by Pliny's Syracusan drunkard, under whom, 
 as he lay enjoying himself on the ground, some Sicilian wag 
 slipped a sitting of Eggs, which at the proper time became 
 Chickens ! 
 
 Monstrous and misshapen Eggs are not uncommon. They 
 are to be seen in most collections; and an Oologist of ordinary 
 experience would be less puzzled by them, than by unex- 
 pectedly meeting with the Egg of a tortoise. They have 
 given rise to several absurd opinions, the oldest of which is a 
 belief in "Cock's eggs," abortions of very small size, some- 
 times properly shaped, sometimes shperical, and sometimes 
 contracted in the middle like an hour-glass, with a thick shell 
 and little or no yolk. We had a Hen that laid oUe every day, 
 till we put a stop to the practice by eating her. Similar 
 lusus have also been produced by the thrush, the linnet, the 
 robin, and the plover. Country-people think " Cock's eggs" 
 unlucky, and commonly destroy them when they find them; 
 
120 eggs: their preservation 
 
 the effectual way to have better luck with Eggs would be to 
 destroy the "Cock" that lays such unmarketable articles. 
 Diseased ovaries are the undoubted cause, followed frequently 
 by the assumption of the manners, and even of the plumage 
 of the male. Such a change gives plausibility to the popular 
 notion of Cocks laying Eggs, which is not yet exploded among 
 the rustics. Whether it was an old form of speech or grounded 
 on any vague belief of the sort, Mai'tin, before quoted, speaking 
 of the number of Eggs laid by the Fulmar, uses the masculine 
 gender throughout; thus, "he picks his Food out of the Back 
 of live Whales; they say he uses Sorrel with it, for both are 
 found in his Nest; he lays his Egg ordinarily the First, 
 Second, or Third day oi May ; which is larger than that of a 
 Solan Goose Egg, of a White Colour and very Thin, the shell 
 so very tender that it breaks in pieces if the Season proves 
 Rainy; when his Egg is once taken away, he lays no more 
 for that year, as other fowls do," &c., p. 55. 
 
 In the days of ignorance, people were now and then thrown 
 into consternation by the appearance of Eggs marked with 
 inscriptions or symbols, in relief, or intaglio. But the evi- 
 dence of their having been laid in that state is so utterly 
 wanting, and the chemical means of fiibricating them so simple, 
 that it is needless in these times to enter fui-ther into the 
 matter. Shell-less Eggs may be attributed, partly, to the 
 want of a sufficiency of phosphate of lime in the food of the 
 Hens, and sometimes to over-irritability in the Egg-organs, 
 analogous to that which, in the Mammalia, causes abortion. 
 
 Another strange, but unsupported belief, or dream, which 
 I must think originated in a joke, or cram, from which impu- 
 tation the weight of Aristotle's authority does not relieve it,* 
 
 * " Some domestic Hens, also, bring forth twice in tlie day ; and 
 some, after having been very prolific, have died in consequence ;" — • 
 History of Animals, Book vi., c. 1, — as they do now. "I am very 
 
FOR INCUBATION. 121 
 
 in the notion that there are Hens in existence that habitually 
 lay more than one egg a day. One author says, there are 
 Hens wild in Sumatra that lay three Eggs in a day; but he 
 omits to state who watched these wild Hens to and from their 
 nests. Another (Richardson) describing the Cochin China 
 fowl (2d Edition, p. 38) says, *Hhey are prolific Hens; Mr. 
 Nolan's frequently laying two, and, occasionally, three Eggs 
 on the same day, and within a few moments of each other.'' 
 The statement is confirmed by Irish Arithmetic. "One of 
 the Hens," he continues, "Bessy, exhibited by her Majesty, 
 laid ninety-four Eggs in one hundred and three days," — not 
 quite three Eggs a day, according to our " calcule." But if this 
 be a fact, there is no limit to the improvement of which these 
 double-barrelled Hens are capable, till, by the aid of forcing 
 and extra diet, they become, like Mr. Perkins's steam gun, 
 able to discharge Eggs at the rate of several dozens in a minute. 
 Seriously, it is quite true that the Hen, like other creatures 
 that usually produce but one at a birth, has an occasional 
 tendency to produce twins; but I believe it will be found that 
 such twins hitherto observed, have heen united in one shell, and 
 not produced separately . Double-yolked Eggs are well known 
 to cooks, and to farmers' wives. 8ome with triple yolks occur 
 now and then, but rarely. Twin chickens may have rarely 
 proceeded from one Egg. The classic fable of Castor and 
 Pollux looks like some such experience among the ancients; 
 but those Eggs, being oversized, are usually rejected for hatch- 
 ing, and I remember no really authenticated instance of the 
 kind, unless the reader be good-naturedly disposed to accept 
 
 averse to any means being used to force Hens to lay, (such as min- 
 gling cayenne-pepper, &c., with their food,) as it induces premature 
 decrepitude. 1 am continually finding Fowls suffering from dropsy, 
 which I attribute to this cause. I have taken from a Hen two bags 
 of clear water containing a quarter of a pint, and dissection proved 
 their connection with the ovarian system." — John Bailey. 
 
 11 
 
122 eggs: their preservation 
 
 a case from Aristotle as sucli. However, his idea of twinning 
 in Hens evidently coincides with ours, in spite of his having 
 asserted that some fowls lay twice a, day. "Double Eggs, 
 however, have two yolks, which sometimes, that they may not 
 be confounded, are separated by a thin interstice of the white; 
 and sometimes the two yolks are in contact with each other 
 without this interstice. There are, also, some Hens that bring 
 forth all their Eggs double, so that in these also, the above- 
 mentioned circumstance happens respecting the yolk. For a 
 certain Hen having brought forth eighteen double Eggs, dis- 
 closed a chicken from each, those Eggs excepted which were 
 tinprolific. Two chickens also were disclosed from each of the 
 double Eggs, but one of the chickens was larger than the 
 other. But the last chicken that was disclosed was a monster." 
 — History of Animals, bookvi., chap. iii. — Taylor's Translation. 
 The following is a plausible, but by no means a convincing 
 case. " At Monklaw, near Jedburgh, there was a Duck which 
 laid two Eggs in a day. The fact was proved by locking the 
 bird up, when one egg was found early in the morning and 
 another in the evening. This remarkable Duck was killed 
 by a servant ignorant of its virtues." — Note to White' s Natural 
 History of Selhourne, Captain Brown's Edition, p. 291. Now 
 Mowbray says, "the Duck generally lays by night, or early 
 in the morning, seldom after ten o'clock, with the exception 
 of chilling and comfortless weather, when she will occasionally 
 retain her Egg until mid-day or the afternoon." Suppose 
 then that the confined Duck, exercising her power of retaining 
 her Egg (a faculty often obstinately used by the Turkey-hen, 
 if it be desired to make her lay in other places than she 
 chooses) — suppose the Duck had laid one, say at two in the 
 morning, and another at ten in the evening of the same day, 
 that could scarcely be called ^'laying two Eggs a day," unless 
 the confinement had continued, and the same productiveness 
 been manifested for several days in succession. It is here 
 
FOR INCUBATION. 123 
 
 that proof of the Jiahit fails.* Now in regard to the other 
 mode of twinning, the same Editor quotes a correspondent in 
 Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, who says, "I have 
 lately seen a preternaturally large, but perfect G-oose's Egg, 
 containing a smaller one within it ) the inner one possessing 
 its prefer calcareous shell." This is certainly a very singular 
 production. "We have frequently known 'shells to have two 
 yolks, but this is the only instance we have met with of one 
 
 * The subjoined statement is from a friend on whose strict veracity 
 I can quite rely. "In the summer of 1849, I had a Cock and Hen 
 Malay. I kept them in a house with a little yard attached to it, 
 and am certain that no other Fowls could get to them, as the whole 
 was netted over. I have no other prodigy to tell of this Hen (which 
 was a had layer before the occurrence, and not a layer at all since 
 it) but that she layed four Eggs within forty-eight hours. Thus : 
 on Thursday evening at six o'clock there were no Eggs ; the next 
 morning there were two ; on Saturday morning there was one more ; 
 and on Saturday evening before six o'clock another Egg was layed. 
 Now this was laying four Eggs certainly within forty-eight hours, 
 but it may have been Mdthin a still shorter space of time. I could 
 not be mistaken respecting the Eggs, because I then had only two 
 mongrel Hens, which layed very taper Eggs, and some S. Hamburg 
 Hens, which layed purely white Eggs, whereas the Malay layed very 
 large and yellow ones ; her Eggs were likewise of a peculiar shape, 
 all of them having a small indenture or mark round them just about 
 the middle. If all the Hens had been kept together in one poultry- 
 yard, I should have had no more doubt as to which laid the Eggs in 
 question, than I have now. I have told perhaps half-a-dozen people 
 of the circumstance, but have reason to think that nobody believed 
 me ; and this, added to the opinions expressed in your book, would 
 certainly have prevented me from sending you the above account, 
 but that I am perfectly convinced of its correctness. I kept the Hen 
 for three months after this occurred, and fed her upon corn, green 
 food, with meal now and then, but she never laid another Egg whilst 
 I had her." — G. P. S. I can only suppose this to be a case of re- 
 tention of the Egg from disease, or other cause, and is quite the 
 contrary to being an instance of unusual fecundity. 
 
12i eggs: their preservation 
 
 Egg containing another entire one within it." Other in- 
 stanceS; however, are known. A gentleman in my neighbour- 
 hood possesses one, if not two Hen's Eggs, each of which 
 contains within itself another smaller Egg with a perfect and 
 complete shell; confirming the statement that twins, in the 
 case of Eggs, are enclosed in one common envelope, and not 
 produced one immediately after the other, as in mammalia. 
 
 Mr. Alfred Whitaker says, "I find no room for criticism 
 in your manuscript. Every fact asserted is borne out by my 
 own experience, with the exception that I never saw an in- 
 stance of one Egg containing another entire Egg within it. 
 Double Eggs I have frequently seen. Their size, and fre- 
 quently a sort of suture across and around the centre of the 
 Egg, sufficiently indicate their twin nature. Many years ago 
 (in my boyhood) I placed one of these double Eggs among a 
 sitting of Eggs under a Hen. Two live chickens were brought 
 up to the hatching point, but that labour appeared to be too 
 much for their somewhat divided strength, and they were not 
 actually born alive. The fact, however, shows that the Egg 
 in question was a perfect twin Egg.'' This is a very remarka- 
 ble case, and deserved preservation in a museum. 
 
 ^^The umbilical part of Eggs is within them from the top, 
 as it were a drop projecting inside the shell.'' — Pliny, lib. x., 
 c. 74. This evidently has reference to the air-bubble. But 
 I am in possession of an Egg of more than ordinary size, laid 
 by a Buenos Ayres Duck, which has one end enclosed, termi- 
 nating in a sort of membranous funnel, or a continuation of 
 the lining membrane of the shell, giving the appearance of a 
 divided umbilical cord.* An instance which is not unique. 
 " On the day after my return from London, I was looking 
 
 * "The stalks of Eggs, whereby they grow to the ovarium, are not 
 solid after the manner of the footstalks of fruits, but hollow and 
 fistulous. " — Willoughby. 
 
FOR INCUBATION. 125 
 
 round my farm-yard, and found a fresh nest, in a calves' stage, 
 with one egg in it. On taking it up, my servant said, ^ Here 
 is something curious,' and I observed that the Egg was evi- 
 dently double, and that a small portion of the large end of the 
 shell was soft, and that, from the centre of the soft part, a 
 membranous substance was protruding, looking like a dried- 
 up umbilical cord. I opened the egg carefully, and found 
 that this cord was attached to an oval sac within, of a dark 
 colour, filling half the Egg, and that below this there was a 
 perfect yolk. I took out this sac, with the cord attached to 
 it, entire, and put it at once into spirits of wine. My surgeon, 
 who is quite a naturalist and a very scientific man, was much 
 interested with it. His impression was, that the sac contained 
 a chick, and that incubation had been going on in the cloaca 
 of the mother.''—^. W. 
 
 As a tail-piece to this chapter, may be mentioned the popular 
 idea that Eggs are formed in clusters of three in the ovary of 
 the Hen ; I mentioned this, per letter, to David Taggart, Esq., 
 of Northumberland, Pa., who is remarkably observant of every 
 thing connected with this subject, and he very kindly and 
 promptly replied to my inquiry as follows : — 
 
 " It may be that Eggs are formed in the ovary in clusters 
 of three, but I am very certain they are not laid so. A Hen 
 is just as apt to lay 2, or 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, or 11, in as many days, 
 as 3, 6 or 9. I will prove it, by giving in figures the laying 
 of one of my favourites, this season, up to the time of sitting 
 and afterwards. She commenced in January, and this will 
 account for the slow laying at first — 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 
 6, 7, 4, 4, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 11,-102 ;— and then in this 
 fashion after giving up her chickens — 2, 3, 7, 5 — (to be con 
 tinned). And let me add, she has never missed two successive 
 days. You will wonder at the minuteness of my observations, 
 but they are nevertheless mathematically correct and reliable." 
 
126 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 VARIETIES OF THE SHANGHAE FOWL. 
 
 The pure, thorough-bred Shanghae Fowl, in its varieties, is, 
 perhaps, the best, all things considered, of any which we know. 
 The portraits opposite represent a Stag, two Pullets, and a 
 Chick, which I bred last summer, and shipped to Henry Law- 
 rence, Esq., of Mobile. The Chick and Stag were unfortu- 
 nately lost on the voyage : their places I subsequently supplied 
 by others. The age of the Stag and Pullets, at the time they 
 were sketched, was about five months; the Stag had, just com- 
 menced to crow, and weighed seven pounds and ten ounces ; the 
 Pullets had not begun to lay, and weighed each five pounds 
 and a half, good ; the age of the Chick was about six weeks. 
 The Stag and two Pullets are from a pair of Fowls, which I 
 designate the ^' Huntress" variety, as they were brought 
 over in a ship of that name, direct from Shanghae, in the spring 
 of 1847. The father of the Stag and Pullets is now in the 
 possession of H. L. Devereux, Esq., of Boston. The father 
 of the Chick was imported last spring in the ship ^^ Tartar" — 
 he is a noble fellow, and is now in the possession of E. R. Cope, 
 Esq., of this vicinity. Of those imported in 1847, per ship 
 " Huntress," the Hen was of a bay or light yellowish colour, 
 and the Cock a yellow or reddish dominique. About one-half 
 of the Stags from this pair are in plumage like the father, the 
 other half are yellow, or red, black tails, and occasionally black 
 
o W 
 
THE SIIANOnAE FOWL. 127 
 
 on the breast. The Pullets all take after the mother, present- 
 ing a very uniform appearance. 
 
 The following is a sufficiently minute and accurate descrip- 
 tion of this variety. The Cock, when full-grown, stands about 
 twenty-eight inches high, that is, if he be a good specimen — 
 the female about twenty-two or twenty-three inches. I have 
 never seen a large comb or heavy wattles on the Hen, at any 
 age ; whereas, the comb of the male is high, deeply indented, 
 and his wattles double and large. I regard, however, as the 
 chief characteristics of this variety, not the comb and wattles, 
 nor even the reddish-yellow feathered leg, but the abundant, 
 soft, and downy covering of the thighs, hips and region of the 
 vent, together with the remarkably short tail and large mound 
 of feathers piled over the upper part of its root, giving rise to 
 a considerable elevation on that part of the rump. It should 
 be remarked, also, that the wings are quite short and small in 
 proportion to the size of the Fowl, and carried very high up 
 the body, thus exposing the whole of the thigh, and a consi- 
 derable portion of the side. These characteristics are not found 
 in the same degree in any other Fowl of which I have any 
 knowledge. This peculiar arrangement of feathers gives the 
 Shanghue Fowl in appearence, what it has in reality, a greater 
 depth of quarter, in proportion to the depth of brisket, than any 
 other Fowl. As to the legs, they are not very peculiar. The 
 colour is usually reddish-white or flesh-colour, or reddish-yel- 
 low, mostly covered down the outside, even to the end of the 
 toes, with feathers. This last is not always the case. The 
 Stag, in the preceding illustration, has no feathers on his legs, 
 while the Pullets, his sisters, are rather heavily feathered. He 
 is, however, an exception to the rule, so far, at least, as his 
 particular family is concerned. But other families of Shang- 
 haes, equally pure, are but very lightly feathered. A gentle- 
 man of my acquaintance, Mr. A. Newbold, of Philadelphia, re- 
 ceived, in the spring of 1847, from Captain Lock wood, direct 
 
128 VARIETIES OF THE 
 
 from the city of Shangliae, a Cock and Hen, as pure as any 
 Shanghaes I have seen, differing from other importations only 
 in being nearly smooth-legged, and not attaining to the weight 
 of other specimens. In the second or third generation there 
 was scarcely a feather-legged Shanghae on his premises. 
 
 The plumage of the thorough-bred Shanghae is remarkably 
 soft and silky, or rather downy, and is, in my opinion, equally 
 as good for domestic purposes as those of the Goose. They are 
 certainly quite as fine and soft, if not as abundant. 
 
 The fertile qualities of this breed may be inferred from what 
 has been attested concerning it. The gentleman from whom 
 I procured the stock previously herein portrayed, wrote to me 
 concerning the imported pair, that, although they had been for 
 several months from the ground, and, when they arrived, poor 
 and verminous, yet, on turning them out about the latter end 
 of May, from that time to the first of the ensuing October, the 
 Hen laid forty-eight Eggs and hatched out two broods. The 
 last brood included twelve Chicks, ten of which he raised 
 through the winter, thus proving themselves able to endure 
 our ever-changing climate. I myself have found the pure 
 Shanghae to equal, if not to excel, any other Fowl in laying 
 qualities — perhaps, the Black Poland Fowl or the Creole may 
 lay a few more Eggs in a year, in consequence of not being so 
 frequently broody, but their Eggs are not so rich and nutri- 
 tious. Read the testimony of Mr. T. Ames, of Marshfieid, 
 Mass. He says, ^^ that one of his neighbours, Mr. Phillips, 
 has a Pullet of this breed, which laid one hundred and twenty 
 Eggs in one hundred and twenty-five days, then stopped six 
 days, then laid sixteen Eggs more, and stopped four days, and 
 is now laying ) and that he (Mr. Ames) has one that has done 
 equally well.'' The Eggs are generally of a pale yellow or nan- 
 keen colour, not remarkably large compared with the size of the 
 Fowl, and generally blunt at the ends. I have known but one 
 thorough-bred Hen that laid a long Egg, and have never yet 
 
SHANGHAE FOWL. 129 
 
 known one to lay what are called double Eggs. The comb is 
 generally single, though I have, in some specimens, seen a 
 slight tendency to rose. I have never seen one with a top- 
 knot. 
 
 The flesh of this Fowl is tender and juicy, unexceptionable 
 in every respect — ^in fact, a dish fit for an Emperor. In view, 
 then, of the goodly size of the Shanghae, weighing, as the 
 males do at maturity, from ten to twelve pounds, and the fe- 
 male from seven and a half to eight and a half pounds, and 
 Stags and Pullets of six months respectively eight and six: 
 pounds, — ^in view also of the economical uses to which its soft 
 downy feathers may be applied, also its productiveness, har- 
 diness, and, lastly, its quiet and docile temper, — in view of 
 these things, I am well pleased with pure Shanghaes. I know 
 not a better Fowl. In truth, I might say of it, as the pious 
 Isaac Walton was wont to say of the trout, his favorite fish — 
 " G-od might have made a better fish, but he did not ;" so of 
 the pure unadulterated Shanghae. 
 
130 VARIETIES OF THE 
 
 The cut on the opposite page accurately represents im- 
 ported adult Shaugliaes which their present owner, E. R. Cope, 
 Esq., procured from me last summer. They were imported 
 about the middle of last April, direct from the city of Shang- 
 hae, the head-quarters of this celebrated breed. The Cock I 
 suppose to be from eighteen to twenty months old — the pre- 
 cise age of the Hen is not known. One of the hens weighed, 
 while in my keeping last summer, nearly eight and a half 
 pounds, and I would here remark that juire Shanghae Hens 
 riirely exceed that. By crossing them with a Malay Cock, or, 
 indeed, any large Cock, not a Shanghae, they might be thus 
 made to produce mongrels that would di-aw nine, ten, or even 
 more pounds; but beyond a first cross, fertility, and every 
 other valuable quality, would doubtless be sacrificed to the 
 increase of bulk. 
 
 I have just received a letter from my friend, H. L. Devereux, 
 Esq., of Boston, to whom I sent a pair of Shanghaes of my 
 1847 importation, and he writes, concerning them and their 
 progeny, as follows : 
 
 " Friend K. : — Yours of the 9th November, came duly to 
 hand, and just in the midst of our great Poultry Exhibition. 
 It would have pleased me amazingly for you to have seen with 
 your own eyes the vast amount of Poultry upon the ground. 
 Our tent was one hundred and fifty-four feet long, by one 
 hundred and fifty wide, filled completely with cages, reserving 
 room enough only for the people to walk. It was indeed a 
 magnificent exhibition, a report of which I will send you as 
 
 soon as issued I have not done much for the last three 
 
 weeks but prepare, attend to, and settle up the affairs of that 
 
 exhibition Next week I will endeavour to send you 
 
 some matter for your forth-coming volume on Poultry 
 
SHANGHAE EOWL. 131 
 
 I had almost forgotten to say, that the offspring of the Cock 
 and Hen I had of you, %oere as good as any thing in the whole 
 exhibition. I had, of those raised by a friend of mine, who 
 took the Fowls last spring, previous to my moving into the 
 country, two young Stags, and six Pullets, that were fully up 
 to any thing.'^ 
 
 This importation, which, to distinguish it from others, I will 
 call (from the name of the ship) the Huntress Importa- 
 tion, is quite equal to any I have yet seen. E. R. Cope, Esq., 
 of this city, obtained from me some of my best Fowls of this 
 stock, and he himself will say what, on trial, he thinks of them, 
 as well as of some which we jointly imported from London. 
 
 Dr. J. J. Kerr, 
 
 My Dear Sir : — I take advantage of the first leisure mo- 
 ment to make good my promise " to let you know how I liked 
 my imported Chickens." 
 
 The coop contained, as you are aware, two Pullets and one 
 Stag of the Royal Cochin 'China breed, and one Pullet and 
 one Stag of thorough-bred Malay Fowls. 
 
 The shipment was made at London, on the 15th July, but, 
 in consequence of a misdirection, did not reach me until the 
 latter end of August, so that the Fowls were in coop more than 
 four weeks. 
 
 The Royal Cochin Chinas were in almost as fine order as 
 though they had been ranging over the lawns at *• Windsor," 
 and one of the Pullets commenced laying within one week 
 after their arrival, and the other followed a few days later, I 
 was inclined to think, from this specimen, their laying pro- 
 pensities had not been over-rated, and I take pleasure in say- 
 ing they have fully maintained their reputation in this regard 
 up to the present time. The two Pullets produced three dozen 
 of Eggs, and, the weather then becoming very hot and sultry, 
 they ceased laying. They commenced again in October, and 
 
182 VARIETIES OP THE 
 
 continued laying until the cold weather set in early the present 
 month. 
 
 As regards the appearance of these Fowls, I am not inclined 
 to say a great deal, being fully convinced that your Artist, Mr. 
 Croome, will do justice to their fine proportions in the engraving 
 he is about to make. 
 
 To casual observers, their general appearance is not widely 
 different from the Shanghae Fowl, but, when closely exa- 
 mined, the body of the Pullet is longer than any I have seen of 
 its more northern relative (for related, and closely too, they 
 certainly are). There is less offal, the legs being shorter, and 
 one of my Pullets, the older of the two, has a deeper and bet- 
 ter developed breast, and greater breadth of back than any of 
 my Shanghae Fowls. 
 
 The Grower is a very handsome Fowl, with beautiful bright 
 plumage, the feathers soft and fine as down. He has a fine, 
 erect carriage, bright eye, great breadth of back, full chest and 
 deep in the quarter. His comb is single and serrated, thin 
 wattles, and legs feathered. The colour of the legs of these 
 Fowls is uniform — a light flesh-colour, while those of the Dub- 
 lin stock are varied. I have a Pullet of the latter stock, with 
 legs almost black, and I am informed others are green, yellow, 
 &c. &c. Although Mr. Nolan's (the Dublin) stock, may 
 " have taken a premium at a late fair at the side of the Queen's 
 Fowls," it could not have been for pure breeding, or else the 
 theory " that uniformity in the colour of the legs is the very 
 best evidence of pure and careful breeding," is an exploded 
 idea j and this latter I do not believe. 
 
 These Fowls are very quiet and peaceable, but the Stag does 
 not lack courage. They are always ready to take their food, but 
 are satisfied with a much smaller quantity than the Shanghaes. 
 I was a little fearful our cold winters might affect them un- 
 favourably, but we have already had some pretty cold days, 
 and they have shown no symptoms of feeling the change. 
 
SHANGHAE FOWL. - 133 
 
 My Malay Fowls are evidently a primitive breed of Chick- 
 ens, unlike any thing I have seen, except the print of the 
 " Wild Indian Game/' in Dr. Bennett's recent book on Poul- 
 try. My Pullet resembles the engraving referred to very 
 closely ; but as she was sent to me as a pure Malay Fowl, I 
 prefer calling her by that name. She is a dark-brown colour, 
 with a short, lofty tail, long neck, without comb or wattles, and 
 very compactly built. Her legs are long and bony, and all 
 her proportions indicate great strength. Although young, 
 (under a year,) she is mistress of the yard, the older Hens 
 having long since acknowledged her supremacy. 
 
 The Stag is a noble Fowl, small head, with very small comb, 
 and nearly no wattles, bright eye, long neck, broad back, and 
 stands high on two as strong and bony legs as can be produced. 
 His plumage is dark-brown, and brilliant red. He is a perfect 
 model of strength, very courageous, but always acts on the de- 
 fensive. He will not commence a battle unless the provocation 
 is great, but then his foe must beware. To conclude, both he 
 and his mate are two of the quietest Fowls in my collection, 
 and will, at any time, eat from my hand, and allow me to han- 
 dle them at pleasure. 
 
 My Shanghae Fowls have fully met my expectations in 
 all regards. They are very prolific in Eggs, grow large, and 
 are remarkably exempt from disease. 
 
 My Imjported Coch, now under two years old, weighs 
 thirteen pounds. Notwithstanding his great weight, he is very 
 active, stands firm upon his legs, and has a very erect carriage. 
 His plumage is deep, brilliant yellow. He is very attentive 
 to his Hens, and exercises a most fatherly care over the Chicks 
 in his yard. This latter trait I consider invaluable in a rooster. 
 
 I was much amused, last fall, to observe the excellent care he 
 exercised over Chicks deserted by their mother. He fre- 
 quently would allow them to perch upon his back, and in this 
 manner carry them into the house, and then up the chicken- 
 
 12 
 
fSi VARIETIES OF THE 
 
 ladder. "When they would reach that part of the ladder they 
 
 ■were in the habit of roosting upon, the Chicks would leave 
 his back and perch one under each of the old gentleman's 
 wings. This trait of character may not be singular, but I have 
 never noticed it to the same extent in any other rooster that 
 has come under my observation. 
 
 I have several very tine Shanghae Hens, some of them im- 
 ported, but as my space and time are both limited, I must 
 content myself by referring to one only. I select this one on 
 account of her peculiar colour, viz., a rich, brownish-red. 
 I have never before seen a Shanghae Hen with dark-red 
 plumage ; and this singularity, added to her fine proportions, 
 makes her a most desirable Fowl to breed from. It will not 
 be information to you, but for the benefit of some of your 
 readers not so familiar with this breed of Fowls, I will state 
 that the prevailing colour of the Hens is light-yellow nankeen, 
 dark-yellow, and occasionally a light-bay colour. This red 
 Hen weighs nine j>otindSy and I am fully convinced this is the 
 maximum weight of pure Shanghae Hciis. 
 
 In conclusion, I will remark that I am well pleased with my 
 Fowls, and consider my Royal Cochin Chinas, Malays, 
 and Shanghaes, if not the best in the country, certainly the 
 best of these varieties I have met with. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 E. R. Cope. 
 
 Swedelandj December, 1850. 
 
 The following letter will show the estimation in which the 
 Eev. Mr. Bumstead holds the Shanghae Fowl : 
 
 Hoxborouffh, Fa., December 13, 1850. 
 
 Dr. J. J. Kerr, 
 
 Dear Sir, — I much regret my absence from home on the 
 
 day that Mr. called to examine my Poultry. Since our 
 
 interview at the ^' Fair," my Fowls have much improved in 
 
8 II A N G II A E FOWL. 135 
 
 appearance. My Htock has alHO greatly increased, having 
 rnhcA over fifty (JliickenHj both of tlie Wliite aud Hrowii 
 Shangha<iH. Several of these are two monthH old, the largest, 
 ,moHt beautiful and hardy OhickenH, for their age, I have ever 
 seen. They command genc^ral admiration. Though laUi in 
 the fteaHon when hatched, yet we have lost but two of the whole 
 number. They are heavily feathered, and have all the ap- 
 pearance of our common Pullets of three and four months 
 old. 
 
 I hazard nothing in saying, that, if the farmers of Penn- 
 Bylvania knew the worth of these Fowls, no eflort would bo 
 spared to obtain them. Of the various breeds, none can ex- 
 ceed (so far as my experience goes; the Shanghaes and the 
 Cochin China liens for laying. In the month of September, 
 I received from Frederick II. Whitney, Eii({., of Dedham, Mass. 
 (who had a large assortment of imported Fowls), three Cochin 
 China, and two White Shanghae Fowls, and since that time, 
 they have laid more Eggs than the whole of my common 
 Fowls together. These liens have laid almost daily, since 
 that time, and have hatched out five broods j and for three 
 weeks past, there is not a day but they give me an Egg. One 
 of the White Shanghae Hens, though smaller in size than 
 the others, lays a very large Egg— her Eggs are of a chocokte 
 colour, and very rich. She is emphatically the Hen that lays 
 the f/olden E(jy. And though I place no confidence in the 
 Statement of those who assert that the Cochin China lien fre- 
 quently lays two Eggs on the same day, yet I must say she 
 comes tka w-zxt tidwj to it. 
 
 I have in my possession a Cochin China Cockerel, of a yel- 
 lowish-brown colour, a most perfectly formed bird — his plu- 
 mage the most glossy and beautiful— and though, but six months 
 old, of great size and power. The double joint of the wing 
 peculiar to this class of Fowls, is quite perceptible. lie is 
 my pet bird, and consequently is treated with great kindness. 
 
136 VARIETIES OP THE 
 
 I am glad to hear you intend publishing a book on Poul- 
 try. No doubt but you will give us just the book we need for 
 this latitude. There is a deficiency in many of the works on 
 this subject, which you will be able to supply. 
 
 Tell our Pennsylvania farmers that one Rooster and two 
 Hens of the Shanghae breed, will give them more Eggs in 
 three months time, of a greater size and richer quality, than 
 five times that number of ordinary Hens will do in one year, 
 and will hatch out a finer brood, with less trouble and more 
 certainty, than any Fowls they have heretofore possessed. And 
 though it is said, we must never count the Chickens before they 
 are hatched, yet to this rule there is one exception, viz., the 
 Shanghae Fowls. 
 
 Respectfully Yours, 
 
 Samuel A. Bumstead. 
 
 P. S. — I have also a large black Hen, the Eggs of which 
 very much resemble those of the Cochin China, quite brown in 
 their colour, and very rich. I have crossed this breed with 
 the Brown Shanghae, of which I have now some very fine 
 Pullets, to which I give the name of the Black Shanghae. I 
 wish much for you to see them. Will you not favour us with 
 a visit soon ? 
 
 There is a neighbour of mine, Mr. Samuel Hagy, who owns 
 a variety of Fowls, of a very valuable breed. He has the 
 large Spanish Fowl, and some of the Indian breed. He thinks 
 there are no Hens in the country that lay larger Eggs — they 
 always command a high price, and are eagerly sought for. I 
 shall be pleased to introduce you to his famed stock of Poultry. 
 
 S. A. B. 
 
 My post-office address is Leverington, Philadelphia county, 
 Pa., or Manayunk. 
 
 That variety of Shanghaes called the red, is thus described 
 by the following correspondent, who says :— 
 
SHANGHAE FOWL. 137 
 
 " In the year 1849, there was brought out, on board of the 
 Ship Vancouver, from Shanghae, a breed of Fowls, which 
 differs from all others imported from Shanghae, in shape, size, 
 and form of the combs, and the shape and length of the wat- 
 tles. These Fowls have short legs, and their thighs are larger 
 in diameter than any others brought from that region. 
 
 " The body is very wide and deep, and the breast is broad and 
 full, giving the Fowls an uncommonly square appearance. 
 The comb is very large, compared with other Shanghae Fowls, 
 and is larger than that of the Black Spanish, pure specimens 
 of which I have in my yard — they are the original Spanish, 
 selected expressly for me in the interior of Fayal : the Eggs 
 from which have weighed from four to four and a half 
 ounces each, though the Hens seldom weigh over four pounds 
 each. 
 
 " The form of the comb of the Shanghae is circular, not an- 
 gular, as the comb of all others brought from Shanghae, and 
 is deeply serrated, and like the comb of the Black Spanish. 
 The wattles are larger than those of any other Fowls, not except- 
 ing the Black Spanish. The cheeks are red. The ear lobes, and is 
 also of that colour, and in keeping with the size of the wattles. 
 The legs and feet are fully feathered, more than in any other 
 breed. 
 
 "I still have the original, which have been carefully guarded, 
 and the progeny have improved in size upon the original stock. 
 
 John Fassell." 
 
 In a letter to the author, Mr. Geo. P. Burnham, of Boston, 
 Mass., who has bred several varieties of this stock, during the 
 past two years, speaks as follows : — 
 
 " For all the purposes of a really good Fowl, whether I 
 speak of beauty of model, good size, or laying qualities, I deem 
 the thorough-bred Shangliaes among the best, and generally 
 most profitable of domestic birds. For the last two years, I 
 
 12* 
 
138 VARIETIES OF THE 
 
 have bred the Marsh stock, the ForbeSj the Palmer, the Par- 
 sons, the Baylies, and my own importations ; and I have done 
 this practically and experimentally, with a view to obtaining 
 the most prolific, all circumstances considered. 
 
 '■^ The Marsh stock breeds rather uneven, latterly ; many of 
 the fourth and fifth generations coming deformed and im- 
 perfect; this stock is very good, however, and most of the 
 birds prove highly satisfactory. The Forbes and Palmer stocks, 
 for Shanghaes, are very superior. The Baylies and Parsons 
 importations are comparatively run out, from long and careless 
 breeding \ and the specimens this year, do not come up to the 
 original at all. The "Perley" Fowls, imported two or three 
 years since into Salem, are good, and the progeny come very 
 like the original ; but they are not so large, generally, as some 
 others. J. Fassell, Esq., of Roxbury, has an importation of 
 his own, which promise finely. 
 
 ^^ From my own importations last season, I have several very 
 fine specimens of pure Shanghaes, uniform in colour and cha- 
 racteristics, and remarkably heavy for their ages — the Stags, at 
 five to six months old, weighing eight and a half and nine 
 pounds, and Pullets, of the same age, five and a half and six 
 and a half pounds each, live weight. At maturity, these 
 samples will weigh eighteen and nineteen pounds a pair, alive, 
 I do not doubt. The Cock and best imported Hen, (say 
 eighteen months old,) now weigh, after the first moult, seven- 
 teen and three-quarter pounds the pair ; the Cock is a very fine 
 one, heavily feathered to the toes, (as are also the Hens,) and 
 his colour is a dark brown and black. The Hens (pullets) are 
 of a fawn or pale bufi". They are short-legged, comparatively, 
 but heavy bodied, handsomely plumed, and among the very 
 best layers I have ever yet seen. I send you a pair of the Pul- 
 lets, which you can judge of better upon examination. They 
 are a fine sample of the whole. I have a dozen more, precisely 
 
BE. EBEX WRIGHT'S WHITE SHANGIIAE FOWLS. 
 
SHANGHAE FOWL. 139 
 
 like them, (retained for breeding next spring,) and I deem 
 them very superior as Shanghaes. 
 
 " I have never seen their equals for laying early. In one 
 or two cases, the Cochin Chinas I imported, have commenced 
 to lay at four and a half to five months old. These Shanghaes 
 begin, invariably, at early six months old, and they are very 
 prolific, laying large Eggs, and a great many of them, before 
 showing a desire to sit. All things considered, they are cer- 
 tainly a valuable species of Domestic Fowl, and I am highly 
 pleased with them. 
 
 ^'I have now on the way, direct from Shanghae and Canton, 
 two fresh lots of the ^Cochin Chinas' and 'Shanghaes,' 
 from which, (with the stock I have now reserved,) I shall breed 
 another year. The Fowls above alluded to were ordered in 
 November and December, (a year ago,) and I hope to be in 
 receipt of a fine lot, now, in a few days." 
 
 WHITE SHANGHAE FOWL. 
 
 There is a variety of Shanghaes of the above name. They 
 are entirely white, legs usually feathered, and differ in no ma- 
 terial respect from the red, yellow, and dominique, except in 
 colour. It has been said that they rarely attain to the size of 
 the other varieties. Their legs are yellowish, or reddish-yel- 
 low, and sometimes of flesh-colour. I understand Mr. Giles, 
 of Providence, K. I., to prefer them to all others. Their Eggs 
 are of a nankeen or dull-yellow colour, blunt at both ends. The 
 following communication on White Shanghaes, together with ori- 
 ginal drawings, from which the opposite portraits were made, 
 were obligingly furnished by Dr. Eben Wight, of Boston. He 
 keeps his Fowls, of which he has several choice breeds, on his 
 farm, at Dedham, Mass. He says : 
 
140 VARIETIES OP THE 
 
 Among the many varieties of the Grallus race which have 
 been introduced into the New England States from China, 
 there is no variety which possesses so many good qualities as 
 the White Shanghaes. 
 
 The White Shanghaes are larger and more quiet than other 
 varieties. The flesh of these Fowls is much superior, not 
 sinewy or " stringy," as is the case with the flesh of most of the 
 other Shanghaes. The Eggs are larger, and these Hens are 
 more prolific than those of other colours. 
 
 In their habits they are more quiet, and less inclined to 
 ramble. These habits render the Hens invaluable for incuba- 
 tors and nurses, and the mildness of their disposition makes 
 them excellent foster-mothers, as they never injure the Chicks 
 belonging to other Hens. I am induced to speak more fully 
 of these characteristics, from the many vexatious losses I have 
 suffered in the. experiments I have tried. 
 
 I have imported different breeds of Fowls from Europe and 
 elsewhere, and have received from many friends specimens of 
 choice Fowls, and my endeavours to propagate them have been 
 frustrated by the rambling or quarrelsome disposition of the 
 Hens which I have been obliged to use for incubators and 
 nurses. I have lost, oftentimes, by quarrelsomeness of the 
 Hens, their entire broods; for instance, the Grame Hens are 
 constant sitters and careful nurses to their own Chickens, but 
 are exceedingly cruel to those of other Hens. The moment 
 one of their Chickens is injured, a fight is commenced, and the 
 Chickens, alarmed at the turmoil, crowding around their dams, 
 are many of them killed, and the victorious Hen, after her 
 opponent has retreated, will attack every Chick within her 
 reach, and oftentimes, in her desire for revenge, mistaking her 
 owns Chicks as belonging to her antagonist, destroys them. In 
 the mean time the vanquished will destroy every stranger's 
 Chick that comes within her reach. 
 
 A Hen of active and energetic disposition confined in a coop, 
 
SHANGHAE FOWL, 141 
 
 will soon reduce her brood by the blows given in scratching. 
 The Chicks are knocked right and left, and those few which 
 may survive the confinement are destroyed by dew and rain, 
 lost in the grass, or, becoming tired, are left by their dam, 
 who, in the exuberance of her delight at her escape from 
 confinement, forgetting that her Chicks are not as strong as she 
 is, goes on her way rejoicing, till, finding a fat worm or grub, 
 she seizes it, and while seeking for her little ones, her attention 
 is attracted by some fat grass-hopper, and away she darts in 
 pursuit. Becoming somewhat fatigued herself, she calls her 
 Chicks to be brooded, and finding herself alone, she is alarmed, 
 and rushes to find her Chickens, and by her loud cries drown- 
 ing the feeble chirpings of her little ones, she finally returns to 
 her coop alone. It would have been better to have eaten the 
 Eggs than to have trusted them to such a Hen. Would it 
 not ? I have many a time thought so. 
 
 Having, as I before stated, met with many vexatious losses, 
 I, as you must readily conceive, do most highly prize the 
 White Shanghae Fowls for their quiet dispositions. These 
 Fowls are not sluggish or stupid ; on the contrary, they are in- 
 telligent and confiding. To persons who have the " everlasting 
 layers,'' the Black Spanish, for instance, — a breed that never 
 shows the slightest desire to incubate, — the White Shanghaes 
 are invaluable for the purpose of rearing Chickens. 
 
 The Fowls of which the artist made the drawing from 
 which the portraits are engraved, were imported from Shang- 
 hae, and were there purchased as a pure race, and were war- 
 ranted as such. I received them directly from the ship, 
 and as evidence of the purity of blood, I mention that every 
 Egg that has been laid has incubated, and every Chick that 
 has been hatched, has been uniformly white, and there has not 
 been the slightest variation in form or plumage. 
 
 These Fowls will rank among the largest coming from China, 
 and, as a proof that they thrive well in this climate, I will in- 
 
142 VARIETIES OF SHANGHAE FOWL. 
 
 stance that one of the progeny, a Cock, not yet eight months 
 old, being one of the first brood hatched, weighs fully eight 
 pounds, and the Pullets are proportionably large. They are 
 broad on the back and breast, with a body well rounded up ; 
 the plumage white, with a downy softness — in this respect 
 much like the feathering of the Bremen Goose; the tail 
 feathers short and full; the head small, surmounted by a 
 small, single, serrated comb ; wattles long and wide, overlay- 
 ing the cheek-piece, which is also large and extending back on 
 the neck ; the legs are of a yellow hue, approaching a flesh- 
 colour, and feathered to the ends of the toes. 
 
 Eben Wight. 
 
 Dedhanif Mass., December 5th, 1850. 
 

143 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWIi. 
 
 As there occurs in this chapter of Mr. Dixon's book, several 
 lists giving the weight of different kinds of Fowls, and as Mr. 
 J. J. Nolan, of Dublin, seems to regard the weights thus given 
 as ridiculously small for i&rst-class birds, I beg to offer a few 
 remarks on the subject. When the weight of a Fowl is men- 
 tioned, I at once inquire the age, as much depends on that. I 
 had a Pullet once, a mixture of Malay, Cochin China, and 
 perhaps Shanghae, that, when she came to her first laying, 
 being then about seven or eight months old, weighed exactly 
 nine and a quarter pounds ; when She came to her laying the 
 next season, being then about one year older, she weighed a 
 fraction over eleven pounds ; and when she began to lay the 
 third season, she weighed thirteen and a quarter pounds. 
 She then passed out of my hands, but I heard during the sum- 
 mer, from the gentleman who now owns her, that, on coming 
 to her laying on the fourth season, being then between three 
 and four years old, she weighed thirteen and a half pounds. 
 Another remark I would offer in this connexion : it is important, 
 in estimating the value and size of a Fowl, on having the weight 
 stated, to know not only the condition of the Fowl, and the age, 
 but also the season of the year. I have found both Cocks and 
 Hens to be at their maximum weight in February : they are 
 then recruited after moulting ; the Hens are about beginning 
 
144 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 
 
 to lay, and the Cocks are not reduced, as they are at the close 
 of the breeding season. The thirteen and a half pounds Hen 
 just mentioned, was reduced in her third moult from thirteen 
 and a quarter pounds to eight pounds ten ounces I Others, of 
 course, are proportionately reduced by the same cause. 
 
 Very little is known of the origin of the Cochin China Fowl, 
 further than that some gentleman, three or four years ago, 
 presented a few to the Queen of England, who subsequently 
 had them bred at Windsor Park. In order to promote their 
 propagation, her Majesty made presents of them occasionally 
 to such persons as she supposed likely to appreciate them. 
 They differ very little in their qualities, habits, and general 
 appearance from our Shanghaes, to which they are undoubtedly 
 nearly related. The Egg is nearly the same size, shape, and 
 colour ; both have an equal development of comb and wattles, 
 the Cochins slightly differing from the Shanghaes, chiefly in 
 being somewhat deeper and fuller in the breast, not quite so 
 deep in the quarter, and being usually smooth-legged, while 
 the Shanghaes, generally, are more or less heavily feathered. 
 The plumage is much the same in both cases, nor have I dis- 
 covered any difference in the crow, it being in both equally 
 sonorous and prolonged, differing considerably from that of the 
 great Malay. Mr. Nolan says " that full-grown Cocks, from 
 one and a half to two years old, average a weight of from ten 
 to twelve pounds, the Hens from eight to nine pounds. The 
 male bird stands about two feet high ; the female about twenty- 
 two inches The Cock's comb is usually single, serrated, 
 
 and erect, of a brilliant scarlet, but not always single ; I have 
 had both single and double combs in the same clutch 3 the 
 wattles are large j they are quite free from top-knots ; the 
 hackles on the neck and hips, yellowish-brown ; the tail black, 
 with metallic lustre, and, when fully furnished, presents the 
 usual cock's plume ; the legs vary from a flesh-colour to an 
 orange-yellow, ajad are not so long as in the Malay ; the Eggs 
 
THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 145 
 
 are generally buff-coloured, of large size, and blunt at the ends ; 
 the Chickens progress rapidly in size, but feather slowly." 
 
 E. R. Cope, Esq., of this city, and myself imported a few 
 Fowls from London last summer; the three Cochin Chinaa 
 whose portraits precede this chapter, were of the number, and 
 were procured of the Messrs. Baker, of Chelsea, and are now 
 in the possession of Mr. Cope, who has had a good opportunity 
 for becoming acquainted with their habits and qualities. His 
 estimate of them is expressed in the preceding chapter, in 
 connection with the Shanghaes. 
 
 18 
 
146 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 
 
 COCHIN CHINA FOWL.— BXJRNHAM'S IMPORTATION. 
 
 In reply to a request of the Editor, Geo. P, Burnham, Esq., 
 of Boston, Mass., communicated the following, in reference to 
 his two importations of Cochin China Fowls, introduced into 
 this country in January and February, 1850. In a letter 
 dated December 1st, 1850, he writes : — 
 
 It affords me pleasure to give you a brief account of my 
 Cochin China birds, and, in accordance with your desire, I 
 would state that I have given them a thorough experimental 
 trial during the past year, and can ^' speak by the card," from 
 actual knowledge of the habits and qualities of those I have 
 imported and bred. 
 
 You are already aware that I obtained two lots of these 
 Fowls early in the present year — one batch, of six, from J. J. 
 Nolan, of Dublin, and the other six direct, by ship, from Can- 
 ton. All the imported male birds are now dead; three of 
 them were killed by fighting, and the fourth died suddenly, (in 
 my absence from home,) from some unknown cause. Of the 
 original Hens, I have but three remaining — one of Nolan's, and 
 two of the others. Of the young stock, however, I have re- 
 served twenty-five specimens — say, eighteen Pullets and six or 
 seven Cocks, (Stags,) which promise finely for another season. 
 
 For all the purposes of a really good Domestic Fowl — 
 whether I speak of productiveness, easy keeping, laying qua- 
 lities, size, disposition, beauty of form and plumage, or hardi- 
 ness, (in this climate,) after a careful comparative trial, I deem 
 the Cochin Chinas the best. This is saying much in their fa- 
 vour, I know ; but you ask my real opinion, and I give it ho- 
 nestly. To my fancy, they have no equals among the varieties 
 now known in America, 
 
 In the multiplying of all kinds of stock, it is admitted that 
 there are exceptions, or rather a choice, among the progeny 
 

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 147 
 
 produced. I have found this the case with my Cochin China 
 Fowls, and I have selected my birds for future breeding, ac- 
 cordingly. One of the Nolan Cocks showed a slight germ of 
 feathering upon the legs ; so with one of the Canton Hens. 
 A few of the Chicks were similarly marked, but this feature 
 does not appear to any extent. I hreed from the smooth- 
 legged Fowls exclusively.* 
 
 My object in importing these birds was to obtain, if possible, 
 the best to be had, all things considered; but I look upon 
 fine flesh, and close-grained, juicy meat, as being of greater 
 consequence than mere size, beauty, or prolific qualities. 
 The Cochin Chinas are not so large, usually, as the Chittagong, 
 for instance ; but my experience leads me to prefer the former; 
 and I have tried both varieties — side by side — to arrive at 
 this conclusion. 
 
 My two best Cochin China Hens have this year laid — from 
 the middle of February to about the first of September — 
 almost constantly. In the six and a half months, they laid 
 over one hundred and sixty Eggs, each. Since the middle 
 of October, they have again commenced laying, and have done 
 as well. The Pullets out of this stock have laid at four and a 
 half to five months old, invariably. I breed both importations 
 together, now, and they do equally well, I find. 
 
 The old Fowls have weighed, when in their best condition — 
 Hens, eight, eight and a quarter, and eight and a half pounds ; 
 the Cocks, from ten to eleven and a quarter pounds, each. 
 This is heavy enough to answer my wishes or expectations. 
 
 * If my friend B. rejects all that are more or less feathered on the 
 legs, he will, in time, reduce the size of his fowls, and vice versa. 
 See a pure Shanghae stag I raised last summer, portrayed on a pre- 
 ceding page — his legs are as smooth as an icicle. See also E. R. 
 Cope's Cochins, moderately feathered — also Mr. Giles's stock, all 
 equally pure feathered also. — Ed. 
 
148 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 
 
 Though at times they have all inclined to do so, I have never 
 set but one of the imported Hens ; she proved an excellent 
 mother, and reared eleven out of thirteen of her Chicks. I 
 think them too clumsy, however, as sitters, and should avoid 
 it, if practicable. 
 
 My Cochin China Fowls have been much admired, and this 
 stock (old and young) has taken the Jlrst premiums at all the 
 Fairs or Exhibitions in Massachusetts, where they have yet 
 been shown. This is some evidence of their excellence, in 
 view of the generally acknowledged fact, that there are some 
 very fine fowls here, out of other importations from Shang- 
 hae and Canton. I have found the young birds, latterly, very 
 hardy — though at first I lost a goodly number from breeding 
 too early. 
 
 The prevailing colour of my birds is yellow, or yellowish- 
 brown Pullets — and yellow and red, or yellow, red and brown 
 Cocks. They have never deviated from this range of colour, 
 except in two or three broods out of the dark Canton Cock — 
 all of which are now extinct. The Chicks come even in size 
 and plumage ; and down to the third generation, they have 
 bred exactly the same : this is a very satisfactory result, in 
 my estimation. I have never yet seen a black, a grey, a white, 
 or a speckled Chick, from this stock ! A very few specimens 
 have shown a dark leg; but, with the epicure, this is desirable, 
 and I do not discard these birds on that account — though my 
 own taste favours the yellow limb. 
 
 I am more and more confirmed in my opinion that the 
 ^' Cochin Chinas" and '' Shanghaes" originate from the same 
 primitive stock. The difference between the two varieties is 
 distinct, but the general characteristics, (so far as my experi- 
 ence goes,) are similar. The Cochins are longer legged, 
 longer necked, and longer bodied, generally ; they should be 
 emooth-legged, and are usually a heavier Fowl at the same 
 age. I think the pure Shanghae tribe are uniformly heavily 
 
MR. GEO. P. BURNHAM'S ROYAL COCHIN CHINA FOWLS. 
 
THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 149 
 
 feathered upon the leg ; and I would breed none others, for 
 Skanghaes. As to the comparative laying qualities of these 
 two, I have found but little difference among the best spe- 
 cimens ; either are excellent layers, and both breeds have now 
 their champions among our New England fanciers. For 
 one, /prefer the Cochin Chinas to any fowl I have ever yet 
 met with. 
 
 I have sent samples of my Cochin China stock to South 
 Carolina, Pennsylvania, Greorgia, Louisiana, Ohio, Michigan, 
 Maine, and New York ; and, in every instance, they have more 
 than fulfilled the anticipations of purchasers. Other fanciers 
 prefer other varieties : I have bred them all, more or less, but 
 I am content with these ; and if the young stock prove as 
 good as the old Fowls have, I think it will be difficult to find 
 any variety to excel them. 
 
 I send you portraits of two groups. The first is a pair of 
 the " Royals,'^ (so called to distinguish them from others,) 
 and were drawn from life, by S. E. Brown, of Boston. The 
 other group is a trio of this year's birds, drawn also from life, 
 by F. A. Durivage, from the stock I am now breeding. I 
 think they will compare favourably with the best specimens of 
 Domestic birds in our country, and I assure you the portraits 
 are very truthful. With my best wishes for the success of 
 your contemplated work on Poultry, and the suggestion that 
 you can use this hastily prepared account in such way as may 
 be agreeable to you, I am, 
 
 Very truly, yours, 
 
 GrEO. p. BURNHAM. 
 
 Melrose, Mass., 1850. 
 
 At the Exhibition of Poultry in Boston, in October, 1850, 
 the Committee awarded to Greorge P. Burnham the first pre 
 miums for Fowls and Chickens. The prize birds were the 
 " Eo^al Cochin Chinas'^ and their progeny, which have been 
 
 13* 
 
150 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 
 
 bred with care, from his imported stock; and which were 
 generally acknowledged at the head of the list of specimens. 
 At this show, Mr. Burnham declined an offer of $120 for his 
 twelve premium Cochin China Chickens, and, subsequently, 
 120 for the choice of Pullets. 
 
 The committee of this Exhibition, in their published Report, 
 state, that ^Hhe specimens displayed on this occasion, em- 
 braced almost every known variety of the best Domestic 
 Fowls ; and the number of samples of Aquatic, Ornamental, 
 and Cage birds was very generous. The improvement made 
 in breeding, during the past twelvemonth, was very apparent 
 in the character of a large proportion of the fine gallinaceous 
 Fowls exhibited — these being, for the most part, from late im- 
 ported stocks, in many cases very carefully bred.'' 
 
 "The magnificent samples of Cochin China Fowls, con- 
 tributed by Gr. P. Burnham, were the theme of much com- 
 ment and deserved praise. These birds include his imported 
 Fowls and their progeny — of which he exhibited nineteen 
 splendid specimens. To this stock, the Committee unani- 
 mously awarded the first premiums for Fowls and Chickens ; 
 and finer samples of Domestic birds will rarely be found in 
 this country. They are bred from the Queen's variety, obtained 
 by Mr. Burnham last winter, at heavy cost, and are unques- 
 tionably, at this time, the finest thorough-bred Cochin Chinas 
 in America.'' 
 
 I have said that the family of Shanghaes and that of the Co- 
 chin Chinas are very nearly allied. Under this impression, I 
 wrote a twelve month ago to the Rev. Mr. Dixon, giving him a 
 close description of two varieties of Shanghaes which I knew 
 to be pure — at least, I was certain they came from Shanghae ; 
 the varieties differing only in the one being about fifteen or 
 sixteen pounds per pair, and being comparatively smooth- 
 legged, and the other running from seventeen to twenty pounds 
 per pair, and being well feathered on the legs in general, though 
 
THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 151 
 
 not invariably. In answer to my letter, he says, " In reply to 
 yours of the 28th ult., you may take it for granted that the 
 stories respecting the Cochin China Fowls, that they have a 
 black horse-shoe mark across the breast, that the feathers of 
 the back of the neck are reversed, that the last joint of the 
 wing is contrived so as to be folded up, etc. etc., are apocryphal. 
 I have little doubt that your first named variety, (the variety 
 weighing from fifteen to sixteen pounds per pair,) ^almost 
 smooth-legged, (the Cock some shade of yellow or red, the Hen 
 some shade of bay,') are the same as the Queen's Cochin 
 Chinas, especially if the Cocks have a large, single, upright, 
 deeply indented comb, (which they have.) It is probable that 
 both your first varieties have been imported into this country, 
 and been crossed with each other, so causing a little difficulty 
 about their distinctiveness." — He says, in the same letter, 
 "it is impossible to learn the native place of the Queen's 
 Fowls." 
 
 Of the smaller of the two varieties, which Mr. Dixon thinks 
 are identical with the Queen's Fowl, Mr. C. S. Sampson, of 
 Boston, got a beautiful pair of me, last spring, for which, I under- 
 stood him to say, he was offered twenty -five dollars, a few days 
 after he received them. The Cock weighed about nine pounds, 
 perhaps a little more, and the Pullet nearly six pounds. 
 They were the most perfect in model of any bird of the kind 
 I had ever, seen. Of the larger variety, Mr. Devereux of Bos- 
 ton, has a pair : the Cock is a noble fellow, indeed. Mr. H. 
 Lawrence, of Mobile, also obtained some of me, with which he 
 expressed himself as well pleased. So also Mr. Taggart, of 
 Northumberland, Pa., ; Mr. Hugh Wilson, of South Carolina ; 
 Mr. Evans, of Baltimore ; Mr. Knorr, of West Philadelphia ; 
 Rev. Mr. Groddard, and Messrs. Remington, and E. R. Cope, of 
 Philadelphia ] besides many others whose names I cannot now 
 recall ; and all of whom, so far as I know, are perfectly batis- 
 fied with them. 
 
152 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 
 
 Of this SO much and deservedly lauded Fowl, Mr. Dixon 
 says : — 
 
 Whether the breed now under consideration did really 
 come from Cochin China or not, is probably known only to the 
 party who imported them, if to him. But they certainly have 
 been cultivated in this country previously to their recent intro- 
 duction to general notice as the most conspicuous ornaments of 
 the Eoyal poultry-yard. A gentleman (W. S.) living in Mon- 
 mouthshire, informs me that, nearly thirty years ago, a friend 
 sent him a Cock and Hen of the "true Java breed." The 
 Cock was so fine, large, and handsome, that he was immedi- 
 ately made " Cock of the walk." The present stock on that 
 farm, which I have seen, are entirely his descendants, and are 
 true Cochin China Fowls; so that, in this case, "Java" and 
 " Cochin China" are. synonymous. The first parents of this 
 lot came direct from India. But from whatever Oriental re- 
 gion derived, it is a most valuable variety, and the only fear 
 is that statements of its merits have been set forth so highly 
 exaggerated, that they must lead to disappointment, and cause 
 the breed to be as much undeservedly underrated, as it had 
 been before foolishly extolled. 
 
 The size and weight ascribed to them are enormous. To 
 give an idea of their height and magnitude, they have been 
 styled the Ostrich Fowl. It is an old, but very bad system of 
 giving names, to affix that of some other creature, indicating 
 certain supposed qualities ; for such titles are apt to induce no- 
 tions of relationship, or hybridity, which are not easily dis- 
 lodged from the minds of many people. The Cochin China 
 Fowls have been averred, in the Agi'icultural Gazette, (^Sept. 30, 
 1848 J to weigh, the male birds from twelve to fifteen pounds, 
 the Hens from nine to ten pounds. They certainly must be 
 very fine indeed : for the weights specified are those of respect- 
 able Turkeys, not of Fowls. My own Cochin China Fowls, 
 obtained from the Messrs. Baker, now about eighteen month3 
 
THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 153 
 
 old, weighed, the Cock six pounds five ounces, the Hen four 
 pounds six ounces. Some allowance must be made for the 
 circumstance that both were moulting, and that the Hen had 
 laid fairly during the season, and had not yet (Oct. 4) relin- 
 quished the charge of her second brood of Chickens. She 
 laid exactly three dozen Eggs in the spring, and then sat. Af- 
 ter rearing her Chicks admirably, she again laid a smaller num- 
 ber of Eggs, and sat. The best Cockerel and Pullet of the 
 brood hatched April 5th, and which had only ordinary care 
 and feeding bestowed upon them, weighed, on Oct. 4, five 
 pounds eight ounces, and three pounds and thirteen ounces, re- 
 spectively. 
 
 The reader will be better able to judge what weights Fowls 
 may be reasonably expected to attain, after the inspection of 
 the following lists of the live weights of various Poultry, with 
 which I have been obligingly favoured. But as the birds were 
 generally out of condition, in consequence of their being 
 mostly at that time on the moult, and also from the previous 
 wet season, the weights are less than they would be under more 
 favourable circumstances. 
 
 One list (H. II.) gives — 
 
 LBS. oz. 
 
 ** Black Polish Cock, three years old 6 3 
 
 Ditto Hen ditto 3 4 
 
 Ditto Pullet 2 6 
 
 Golden Polish Cock 5 
 
 Ditto Hen 3 8 
 
 *- ' , 3 10 
 
 2 8 
 
 3 12 
 
 gh) Hen 3 1 
 
 _,.wvx.. xxuiitrescript Hen 4 10 
 
 Globe-crested Polish Hen 3 9 
 
 Silver Polish Hen 3 4 
 
154 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 
 
 LBS. OZ. 
 
 Game Cock 4 10 
 
 Ditto Hen 3 
 
 Young Blue Dun Cock 3 6 
 
 Blue Dun Hen 3 
 
 Large Dun Hybrid Hen 3 8 
 
 " Among these, the Malay Hen was moulting, and not up 
 to her usual weight by nearly a pound. It will be observed 
 that there is a great relative difference between the Pullets and 
 the grown Hens of the Polish breed. All the Polish increase 
 much in size and beauty the second moult." 
 
 Another list kindly fui'nished by Mr. Alfred Whitaker, 
 gives — 
 
 LBS. OZ. 
 
 ♦* Pheasant-Malay Cocks, two years old, average each 7 
 
 Ditto Cockerel, five months old 7 
 
 Ditto Hen 5 1 
 
 Ditto Pullet, seventeen montJis old 5 3 
 
 Ditto (crossed with Dorking Hen), four years old 5 8 
 
 Speckled Surrey Hen, two years old 5 12 
 
 Spanish Hen 5 
 
 Two Dorking Cocks, each 7 
 
 Ditto Hens 6 8 
 
 Ditto ditto 6 12 
 
 Cock Turkey, twa years and a half old 17 12 
 
 Hen dittto, one year and a half old 10 
 
 Ditto ditto 9 9 
 
 Musk Drake (moulting) 9 12 
 
 '^ The Dorkings belong to a neighbour, and are ve^y Czc 
 ones. The Hens, it will be seen, approach nearer to the weight 
 of the Cocks than is the case with the Pheasant-Malays. The 
 Spanish Hen is about to moult, and is rather under weight." 
 
 Our own Poultry-yard furnishes these : — 
 
THE C c n r N c ir I N A F O V/ L. 155 
 
 LBS. OZ. 
 
 Turkey Cock, sixteen months old 10 
 
 Ditto Hen, three or four yearf* old 8 
 
 White China Gander, six years old 12 Vi 
 
 White China Goose 11 l'{ 
 
 Common China Goose, Cynoides, six years old 10 10 
 
 Cocliin China Cock, about sixteen months old, moulting 6 5 
 
 Ditto lien ditto ditto 4 G 
 
 Malay Cock ditto ditto 6 14 
 
 Ditto Hen ditto ditto 4 8 
 
 Pheasant Malay Cock 5 7 
 
 Ditto Malay Hen, moulting 8 8 
 
 Game Cockerel, about five months old 4 2 
 
 Golden Hamburgh Cockerel, just arrived from a long 
 
 journey, about five months old 3 8 
 
 Ditto Pullet ditto ditto 2 4 
 
 Cochin China Cockerel, six months old 4 14 
 
 Another ditto 4 13J 
 
 Silver Hamburgh Cockerel, after travelling, about 
 
 five months old 3 1 
 
 Ditto Pullet ditto ditto 2 8 
 
 Black Polish Hen moulting 3 
 
 Golden Hamburgh, ditto 2 8 
 
 Andalusian Cockerel, four months old 3 8 
 
 Ditto Pullet ditto 2 OJ 
 
 Black Spanish Cockerel ditto 2 11 
 
 Ditto Pullet ditto 2 11 
 
 Silver Polish Cockerel, four months and a half old 2 14 J 
 
 Golden Poland Pullet, about five months old 2 8 
 
 White-crested Golden Poland Pullet, ditto 2 3 
 
 It will appear from the foregoing, that for a Cock, of any 
 breed, to reach seven and a half poundg, even live weight, he 
 must be an unusually fine bird j but this has to be doubled 
 before we can rival the Cochin China specimens above men- 
 tioned. I have never yet seen Cocks and Hens weighing fif- 
 teen pounds and ten pounds, respectively : those most nearly 
 approaching these weights have been Malays, not Cochin Chi- 
 nas—ancient and venerable birds, looking old enough and tough 
 
156 THE COCHIN CHINA TOWL. 
 
 enough to have performed the migration from India on foot. 
 It has also been incorrectly asserted that " the disposition of 
 the feathers on the back of the Cock's neck is reversed, these 
 being turned up"\vards ; the wing is jointed, so that the poste- 
 rior half can, at pleasure, be doubled up, and brought forward 
 between the anterior half and the body :" the only foundation 
 for which absurdity is, that, in some of the half-grown Cocke- 
 rels, certain feathers, the wing-coverts, curl forwards ; but the 
 curling disappears with the complete growth of the plumage.* 
 But the long bow is stretched even yet a little further : '^ they 
 sometimes lay two, and even three Eggs a day, and that within 
 a few seconds of each other." No doubt of it ; however phy- 
 siologically improbable the performance of such a feat may be. 
 And an American newspaper kindly informs us how other 
 Hens may be taught to follow so good an example. " A cute 
 Yankee has invented a nest, in the bottom of which there is a 
 kind of trap-door, through which the Egg, when laid, imme- 
 diately drops 3 and the Hen, looking round, and perceiving 
 
 * Mr. Bissell further explains the mystery : "I had a Cockerel that 
 ■was unusually slow in getting his feathers, and, as maybe expected, 
 Avas very much pinched with the cold ; he would frequently squat 
 down upon the straw in a shed, to rest himself, and perhaps for 
 warmth also (which is a very usual thing for them to do) ; and in 
 that position I have frequently seen him, in the effort to keep him- 
 self warm with the few flight-feathers that he already had, turn them 
 under his wing and against his body, which I have no doubt has 
 given rise to misrepresentation. I have carefully examined him, and 
 can testify that the conformation of his wings is the same as in all 
 other Fowls, and now he is older and better feathered, he never 
 places tlie feathers of his wing in the position I have now described. 
 
 *< I find among my Cochins some feather-legged specimens ; and 
 others that I have seen, which came from Windsor direct, have some 
 of them the same appendages ; and I believe them to be quite pure 
 notwithstanding." 
 
THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 157 
 
 none, soon lays another I" Natural History has a hard strug- 
 gle to come at correct conclusions in this department of orni- 
 thology. 
 
 The Cochin China Cock has a large, upright, single, deeply- 
 indented comb, very much resembling that of the Black 
 Spanish, and, when in high condition, of quite as brilliant a 
 scarlet ; like him also, ho has a very large white ear-lobe on 
 each check.* The wattles are largo, wide, and pendent. The 
 legs are of a pale flesh-colour : some specimens have them 
 yellow, which is objectionable. The feathers on the breast 
 and sides are of a bright chcsnut-brown, large and well-defined, 
 giving a scaly or imbricated appearance to those parts. Tlie 
 hackle of the neck is of a light yellowish brown ; the lower 
 feathers being tipped with dark brown, so as to give a spotted 
 appearance to the neck. The tail feathers are black, and 
 darkly iridescent; back, scarlet-orange; back-hackle, yellow- 
 orange. It is, in short, altogether a flame-coloured bird. Both 
 sexes are lower in the leg than either the Black Spanish or 
 the Malay. 
 
 The Hen approaches in her build more nearly to the Dork- 
 ing than any other, except that the tail is very small and pro- 
 portionately depressed : it is smaller, and more horizontal, I 
 think, than in any other Fowl. Her comb is moderate-sized, 
 almost small; she has also a small white ear-lobe. Her 
 colouring is flat, being composed of various shades of very 
 light brown, with light yellow on the neck. Her appearance 
 is quiet, and only attracts attention by its extreme neatness, 
 cleanness, and compactness. My male bird has two claws on 
 
 * *< I have seen a great many Cochin Fowl, and have observed 
 that but few of them had white ear-lobes ; I therefore conclude that 
 it is not an indispensible, if even a required qualification." J". 
 Biaaell. — It is, however, to be preferred, for beauty at least, if not as 
 a mark of pure blood. 
 
 14 
 
158 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 
 
 the toe of one foot — a peculiarity which is inherited by some 
 of the chickens. 
 
 The Eggs average about 2 oz. each. They are smooth, of 
 an ovalj nearly equally rounded at each end, and of a rich 
 buff colour, nearly resembling those of the Silver Pheasant. 
 The new-hatched Chicks appear very large in proportion to the 
 size of the Eggs. They have light flesh-coloured bill, feet, and 
 legs, and are thickly covered with down, of the hue vulgarly 
 called " carrotty." They are not less thrifty than other chick- 
 ens, and feather somewhat more uniformly than either Black 
 Spanish or Malay. Nevertheless, it is most desirable to hatch 
 these, as well as other large-growing sorts, as early in the spring 
 as possible; even so soon as the end of February. And it 
 deserves consideration, whether those breeders are not the 
 wisest, who do not allow their Hens to hatch chickens after 
 midsummer. A peculiarity in the Cockerels is, that they do 
 not show even the rudiments of their tail feathers till they are 
 nearly full grown. They increase so rapidly in other direc- 
 tions, that there is no material to spare for the production of 
 these decorative appendages. A gentleman, to whom I sent a 
 pair, wrote word that one of the Fowls had had the misfortune 
 to lose his tail on the journey. An Egg hatched at a distance 
 was said to have produced something more like an Eaglet than 
 a Chicken. The Pullets are less backward in shooting their 
 tails ; and this distinction alone is sufficient to denote the re- 
 spective sexes at a very early age. The Cockerel is later than 
 others in commencing to crow. 
 
 The merits of this breed are such, that it may safely be 
 recommended to persons residing in the country. For the 
 inhabitants of towns it is less desirable, as the light tone of its 
 plumage would show every mark of dirt or defilement, and 
 also the readiness with which they sit would be an inconve- 
 nience, rather than not, in families with whom everlasting layers 
 are most in requisition. At present, they are too expensive to 
 
THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 159 
 
 have had their edible qualities much tested. Most persons 
 would prefer gratifying a friend with the living, rather than 
 their own palate with the dead birds. But they are equal or 
 superior to any other Fowl for the table : their flesh is deli- 
 cate, white, tender, and well-flavoured. 
 
 The Cochin China Fowl are said to have been presented to 
 her Majesty, Queen Victoria, from the East Indies, and, by 
 her liberality, imparted to such persons in the country as were 
 likely properly to appreciate them. It is delightful to see so 
 good an example in communicating a valuable stock, and also 
 in aiding Natural History by making no secret of the source 
 whence it was derived, although, as we have seen, they are 
 really no novelty. The shape and size of the Eggs of the 
 Cochin China Fowl, their qualifications as layers and mothers, 
 the frequency of the fifth toe among them, and their general 
 build and carriage, point out their very near relationship to 
 the Dorkings : they are, in truth, the Dorkings of India. In 
 the west of England there has lately been introduced an extra- 
 sized variety of Fowl called the American, (and really im- 
 ported from America,) but derived from what original source 
 we cannot yet trace. These, however, do not exhibit marks 
 of much distinctness of race or purity of blood, except their 
 vast bulk, but display traces of both the Malay and the Cochin 
 China type, inclining in the best specimens to the latter, with 
 a probable intermixture of Dorking or Spanish blood. Such 
 birds, except during their early youth, would suit the purposes 
 of Chinese cooks, with whom sinews and tendons form the 
 great delicacies of the table, rather than of English artists, 
 who prefer to exercise their skill on what will furnish a suffi- 
 ciency of tender meat. Still, they suggest the idea that it may 
 be found more profitable, in crossing for the larder, to cioss 
 constantly two large breeds, than to go on with one pure 
 breed ; exactly as, in raising a supply of sheep for the butcher, 
 the first cross between the Leicester and the Southdown 
 
100 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 
 
 answers so well. So, we will quote the soug of Ilocato, and 
 cbant over the poultiy yard, 
 
 ** Black spirits ami white, 
 Eed spirits and grt\v, 
 Slingle, mingle, luiugle, 
 You that iniugle may." 
 
 Another Chinese Cock, as the old naturalists would an- 
 nounce it. Dr Bevan, of Machynlleth, Montgomeryshire, has 
 favoured me with the following : — " I only commenced keep- 
 ing Fowls last year, (1847,) when a hen, purchased for the pot, 
 stole a nest in the field. Having heard of a particular breed, 
 brought from China as a present to the late Sir Robert 
 Yaughan, which were said to be capital layers, very much dis- 
 posed to become fat, with the flesh delicately white, approach- 
 iuii in flavour to that of ffame, I bessred the favour of a few 
 Eggs, and was able to rear two Cocks and two Hens. When 
 hatched, and for several weeks afterwards, they looked more 
 like young Ducklings than young Chickens, and tbeir feathers 
 were pushed forth so slowly that, even when a month old, 
 there was very little appearance of wings, and none of t^ils, 
 and it was another month before they were able to fly half a 
 yard high. The two brothers continued very amicable till 
 tiiey were six or seven months old ; at that age, the strongest 
 began to tyrannize, so I gave him to a friend. The Hens 
 began to lay when between five and six months old, and they 
 have continued to lay almost daily ever since. The Eggs, at 
 first, were very small, but have been slowly increasing, and 
 at this time they weigh about an ounce and a quarter ; one 
 Hen lays perfectly white Eggs, the others are cream-coloured, 
 and both are of a dumpy oval shape. 2' he Hens sdll retain 
 a sometchat pe^niliar appearmicej having stout I^gs and thighs, 
 and being almost as broad as long. The tails continue short, 
 not ?ud/ tJie usual length ; but the Cock, who is a very fine, 
 
THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 161 
 
 handsome fellow, has but little peculiarity about him, only 
 being, like the Hens, of smaller size than the Barn-door 
 Fowls. They are remarkably tame, indeed, rather troublesome, 
 depending, in part, perhaps, on the manner in which they 
 have been brought up. They all seek the shelter of a building 
 by night, and one of the Hens never roosts, but sits all night 
 upon her nes^ From what I have said, you will infer that, as 
 yet, I have not tasted the flesh of this variety, nor shall, of 
 course, till next autumn ; but, as the other character I had of 
 them is correct, I give credit for that also. There is another 
 Chinese variety in the neighbourhood, the bones of which are 
 said to be black. 
 
 " I will endeavour to describe my China Cock. He is of 
 not more than moderate size. His comb is single, erect, and 
 finely serrated, his shawl-feathers of a brilliant gold-colour, 
 reaching, when he stands up, nearly the length of his body, 
 and joining, at that time, a few rows of feathers of the same 
 colour, which extend to the tail, which is jet black, with the 
 feathers finely curled and in moderate quantity ; his body is 
 of a brilliant chestnut-colour, his thighs and breast black, but 
 spangled with pale chestnut patches. The thighs of both sexes 
 are remarkably full-feathered, which gives them a great ap- 
 parent breadth.'' 
 
 Another. " I lately saw a Chinese Cock, with a rose comb, 
 and the plumage of the golden-spangled Hamburgh; his 
 legs were yellow, or he might be taken for one of that breed." 
 S. W. 
 
 14* 
 
162 
 
 CHAPTER YllL 
 
 THE MALAY FOWL — SOMETIMES (THOUGH ERRONEOUSLY) 
 CALLED CHITTAGONG. ( See Portraits of each.) 
 
 This is a majestic bird, and is found on the Peninsula from 
 •wliich it derives its name. Its weight, in genenil, exceeds 
 that of the Cochin China, the male weighing, when full grown, 
 from eleven to twelve, or even thirteen pounds, and the female 
 from eight to ten pounds; — height, from twenty-six to twent}^- 
 eight inches. They present no striking uniformity of plumage, 
 being of all shades, from black to white ; the more common 
 colour of the female is a light reddish-yellow, and I have ob- 
 served a mere suspicion of dunnish-blue, especially in the tail. 
 The Cock is fr-equently of a yellowish-red colour, with black in- 
 termingled in the breast, thighs, and tail. He has a small, but 
 thick comb, as seen in the portrait, generally inclined to one 
 side : he should be snake-headed, and free from the slightest 
 trace of top-knot ; the wattles should be extremely small, even 
 in an old bird j the legs are not feathered, as in the case of the 
 Shanghaes, but, like them and the Cochin Chinas, his tail is 
 small compared with his size. In the female, there is scarcely 
 any show of comb or wattles. Their legs are long and stout ; 
 and their flesh is very well flavoured, when they have been pro- 
 perly fattened; and their Eggs are so large and rich, that two 
 of them are equal to three of those of our ordinary Fowls. 
 
BO >/; 
 
 1. ^ 'w "•■ 
 
 ^1 /1 7, 
 
 '1; 
 
THE MALAY FOWL. 163 
 
 The Malay Cock, in his perfection, is a remarkably courageous 
 and strong bird. His beak is remarkably thick, and he is a 
 formidable antagonist when offended. His crow is loud, harsh, 
 not prolonged, as in the case of the Cochin China, but broken 
 off abruptly at the termination : this is quite characteristic of 
 the bird. 
 
 E. R. Cope, Esq., of this place, has some beautiful specimens 
 of the Malay, which he imported direct from the Messrs. Baker, 
 of Chelsea, England, who warrant them perfectly pure, and 
 good specimens. Mr. Cope kindly furnished the account of 
 them in a preceding chapter. 
 
 Mr. Dixon, says this breed is in high repute with many 
 writers, as a supposed connecting link between the wild and 
 the tame races of Fowls. Indeed, something very like them 
 is still to be found in the East; and it would be useful to 
 know, as a certain test, whether the Kulm Cock be indocile, 
 like the Pheasant, or tameable, like the Fowl. The Penny 
 Cyclopaedia (article " Pheasant") gives the following description 
 of the native Indian bird : — 
 
 " The Gigantic Cocky the Kulm Goch of Europeans, (a wild 
 breed,) often stands considerably more than two feet from the 
 crown of the head to the ground. The comb extends back- 
 wards in a line with the eyes ; it is thick, a little elevated, 
 rounded upon the top, and has almost the appearance of having 
 been cut off. The wattles of the under mandibles are com- 
 paratively small, and the throat is bare. Pale golden-reddish 
 hackles ornament the head, neck, and upper part of the back, 
 and some of these spring before the bare part of the throat. 
 Middle of the back and lesser wing-coverts deep chestnut, the 
 webs of the feathers disunited; pale reddish-yellow, long 
 drooping hackles cover the rump and base of the tail, which 
 last is very ample, and entirely of a glossy green, of which 
 colour are the wing-coverts ; the secondaries and quills are pale 
 reddish-yellow on their outer webs. All the under parts deep 
 
164 THE MALAY FOWL. 
 
 glossjblaclvisli-greeu, with high reflcetions : the deep ohestnut 
 of the biise of the feathers appears oeoasioually, and gives a 
 mottled and interrupted appearanee to those parts." (JanUne 
 piineipally.) 
 
 Here is a description of some Malay Fowl supplied by 
 Messi's. Baker : 
 
 Malay ChcJc. — Height twenty-seven inches and a half. 
 Comb small, double, hanging over on one side in front, and ex- 
 tended in a line backwards. Bill yellowish, feet and legs de- 
 cided yellow J hackle greyish-yellow ; breast, belly, and thighs 
 black; back and shoulders rich brown; wing-coverts iridescent 
 black ; quill feathers the same, but having half of the outer 
 web on one side of the quill mottled with white ; wattles almost 
 absent ; tiul iridescent black ; stature lofty ; voice particularly 
 sonorous, and somewhat hoarse. 
 
 Milaj/ Hen. — Comb very small, but lace much covered with 
 red skin. Bill, legs, and feet j-ellow ; head, neck, back, tiiil, 
 and quills of a rich brown ; the lower parts and thighs of a 
 lighter hue ; neck long ; stature and carriage lofty ; head small 
 in proportion to the size of the bird. 
 
 It may be suspected that Malays are undernited in impor- 
 tance by Poultry-keepers, as much a^ they are overrated by na- 
 turalists. The common prejudice condemns their flesh as 
 coarse, stringy, oily, and ill-flavoured. But it is a question 
 whether many of those who pronounce this unfavourable judg- 
 ment have ever dined off so costly a dish as roast Malay Fowl. 
 First-nite Malays are exceedingly dear in London. I have 
 heard of as much as bl. being asked for a superior Cock; but, 
 then, he was to be "as big as a Donkey." It is odd, too, that 
 what is so faulty in an unmixed state, should be highly recom- 
 mended as a first cross. The yellowness of their skin may be 
 displeasing to the eye of a purchaser ; but many of the finest- 
 flavoured Game Fowls have this quality, and both Phciisants 
 
THE MALAY FOWL. 165 
 
 and Guinea Fowls, when plucked for the spit, are much moro 
 uninviting in their appearance. It will be a pity if the Ma- 
 lays go out of fashion altogether, and become lost to the 
 country, like the Shackbags, in consequence of the introduction 
 of the more bepraised, and, it must be confessed, much more 
 generally useful. Cochin Chinas. The Poultry Shows, how- 
 ever, in which their striking appearance is so valuable, promise 
 again to bring them perhaps into undue favour. They are 
 certainly a very distinct race of Fowls. 
 
 The Malay Hen lays Eggs of a good size, and of a rich buflF 
 or brown colour, which are much prized by the numerous epi- 
 cures who believe that this hue indicates richness of flavour — 
 a fact which has not yet been made sensible to my own palate. 
 The Chicks are at first very strong, with yellow legs, and are 
 thickly covered with light-brown down ; but, by the time they 
 are one-third grown, the increase of their bodies has so far out- 
 stripped that of their feathers, that they are half naked about 
 the back and shoulders, and extremely susceptible of cold and 
 wet. The grand secret of rearing them, is to have them 
 hatched very early indeed, so that they may have got through 
 this period of unclothed adolescence during the dry, sunny 
 part of May and June, and reached jiearly their full stature 
 before the midsummer rains descend. 
 
 The disposition of Malay Hens is very variously described : 
 doubtlessly with truth in the different cases. One set — ^^ long 
 in the leg, creamy brown with darker necks, were very ill- 
 tempered ; another individual, of a rich creamy brown and 
 grey neck, and very broad on the back, was an invaluable sit- 
 ter and mother. They are much used by some to hatch the 
 eggs of Turkeys, a task for which they are well adapted in 
 every respect but one, which is, that they will follow their na- 
 tural instinct in turning off their Chicks at the usual time, in- 
 stead of retaining charge of them as long as the mother Turkey 
 
16G THE MALAY FOWL. 
 
 would. Goslings would suffer less from such untimely de- 
 sertion." 
 
 I cannot refrain from mentioning a singular habit that has 
 been observed in some individuals of this breed: "A multi- 
 tude of tacts has convinced mo how wonderful is the hereditary 
 principle in the minds or instincts of animals ; but some facts 
 have made me suspect that we sometimes put down to heredi- 
 tariuess what is due to imitation. I will give an instance : a 
 good observer and breeder told me he had noticed that an Eastern 
 breed of Poultry, (Malay, I think,) imported by Lord Powis, 
 though then reared during several generations in this country, 
 always went to roost for a short time in mid-day," (_of course, 
 instinctively, to avoid the noontide heats at home.) "• Hence 
 (if the tact be true, and I rarely believe any thing without con- 
 tirmation,) I concluded that this habit was probably hereditary ; 
 but, mentioning this tact to a lady who had some Eastern breed, 
 she said she believed she had noticed the same peculiarity, but 
 with this addition, that some chickens reared under the East- 
 ern Hen followed (she knew not for how long) the same habit ; 
 if so, we clciu-ly see that it may be a merely handed-dowu prac- 
 tice, and not hereditary. To test it, the Eastern eggs ought to 
 have been hatched unt^r a common Hen; but my first in- 
 formant is now dead. This point, though trifling, is really 
 curious." — C. I). 
 
 I certainly have noticed Hens of various breeds occasionally 
 retiring to roost for a mid-day nap ; but never knew any make 
 a common practice of it. Domestic Fowls have this peculiar 
 whim : when they are compelled, by rain, snow, or severe 
 frost, to tiike shelter during the day, they do not retire to their 
 dormitory, the hen-house, where they sleep at night, but pre- 
 fer some other building to which they can have access and use 
 as a drawing-room, and from which they will adjourn to bed, 
 when the proper time comes. 
 
THE MALAY F O W L. 167 
 
 " I saw a lot of Black Malay IlenH in Ilungfjrford market, 
 and with them a red Cock with a hhu;k brea«t and tail ; the 
 quillH of hJH tail wore whit^j. I waH at firHt inclined U) think 
 'that ihuy Iia^l a croBH of the Spaninh; but when I refx^i- 
 lected to have »cen FowIb of exactly the same apj>earanc<i, 
 though Komowhat Hmaller, in JJevon, 1 changed my opinion/' — 
 J. >V. ^. 
 
168 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 THE PHEASANT- MALAY FOWL. 
 
 This variety, together with some of the Hanibiirghs, may 
 claim the sad pre-eminence of having given occasion to moi*e 
 disputes than any bird of it« tribe, always excepting the Game 
 Cock, It is highly valued by many farmers, not on account of 
 its intrinsic merits, which are considerable, but because they 
 believe it to be a cross between the Pheasant and the common 
 Fowl, than which nothing can be more erroneous. The Pul- 
 lets and Cockerels are excellent for the table, and, when brought 
 to market, meet with a ready sale, less because they are really 
 fine birds, than because the seller assures his customers, in 
 perfect sincerity, that they are half-bred Pheasants; and the 
 buyer readily pays his money down, thinking that he has got 
 a nice Fowl, and a taste of Pheasant into the bargain — some- 
 thing like the Fi^nchman, who was delighted at breakfast, on 
 finding that he was eating a little chicken, when he had only 
 paid for an egg. 
 
 So gross an error in Natural History ought to be cleai-ed 
 away, as a belief in it might cause disappointment to Poultry- 
 fanciers ; and particularly since the able author of " British 
 Husbandry" has given the weight of his authoi'ity to the no- 
 tion. He speaks of the '' hybrid between the Hen and the 
 Pheasant having succeeded ;" and adds : '^ Their flesh, how- 
 ever, hi^ so much of the game-flavour of the Pheasant, coupled 
 
THK JM/ K A HA NT-. MALA Y FOWL. 100 
 
 with the juicincHH of t\ni Kowl, an V> bo groatly prized by con- 
 noiHHcrirH in goo'i oaiing; and thorofon; atf/;nipt,H arc (A'tan 
 rrj?uJo t/> ])r<>]>'.ij/iiUi tiic breed by tfiOH'; who are careloHH of 
 trouble and expenw^j.'' — Farming ff/r Lady'.it. 
 
 To prevent thJH trouble and expenw? l>^iing thrown away, it 
 Bhould be elearly known that the J'heaHant breed* of J'oultry- 
 fancierH in no more a mule between the iJen and the J^heanant, 
 than the Cochin China or Ostrich Fowl Ih a half-bred OHtricb, 
 or than the 7>UHtard brer;rj of TurkeyH Hprang from a commix- 
 ture with the great JiuHtard. J>r. i^atlj^xm ban an Owl-pigeon 
 and a Turkey-pheaHant on the same principle of nomenclature. 
 The really half-bred I^heaKant, which in indeed obtainable by 
 trouble, experiHe, and, above all, by patience and perB^jverancc, 
 in not unfrcfpjcnt in muwiumH and coUeetionH. Any offHpnng 
 of thcHc mules is rare : ho that no brewl is originated ; only a 
 set of isolated monsters. Mr. Yarrell describes and figiircs 
 several other mules between the Pheanant and one or two galli- 
 nfi/;eous birds nearly allied to it. 'J'hose between the common 
 i^'owl and the I'heasant which I have seen, bore, in their out- 
 line, great resemblance to the genus Nycthemerus, the Golden 
 and Silver Jr'heasants : thus supporting the position ahsigned 
 t/j those birds by Mr. Swainson, namely, between the Fowls and 
 the Pheasants. And the great and varied talents of that gentle- 
 man must claim respect from every student of Nature, even 
 tliough they may not be complete converts U) his circular sys- 
 tfim and quinary arrangement. But, in confirmation of hi« 
 views, it may be urged that existence is not a clAain, a simple 
 series, as some have dencribed it, but an infinite; net^work, ex- 
 tending in all directions, developing its^Jf, not superficially, but 
 cubically, like the spherical undulations of light that flow from 
 every fixed star. Each animated being is a portion of this net- 
 work ; and from each, as from a centre, may be traced affinities 
 
 ♦ See infra, the «ynonym« of the Hamburgh FowIb. 
 
 15 
 
170 THE PHEASANT- MALAY FOWL. 
 
 and relationships to all surrounding beings that are endued 
 with life. 
 
 The Nycthemerus and the mule Pheasant have tails more or 
 less horizontal. The Hen of the Pheasant-Malay carries hers 
 in a particular upright and hen-like manner; the Cock has 
 the curved and flowiug feathers of the tail, and every other 
 mark of true Gallism. The Pheasant-Malay Hen has semi-oval 
 markings on the breast, and shining blue-black hackle on the 
 neck mixed with dark brown, which do bear some distant re- 
 semblance to the Plumage of a Cock Pheasant, and might give 
 rise to the false notion of her origin; but a glance at the Cock 
 bird shows how nearly he is related to the Game Fowl; a 
 closer inspection shows the affinity of both to the ordinary 
 Malays. 
 
 ^^ Pheasant Fowls,'' ^'The Pheasant Breed,'' are terms 
 which ought to be at once discarded, as being either erroneous 
 or unmeaning, or rather both. By these terms various people 
 intend to indicate Grolden Hamburghs, Silver Hamburghs, Po- 
 landers, and even Bantams,'*' besides the subject of the present 
 section. An eminent London dealer being asked what breed 
 of Poultry he would supply, if the '^ Pheasant Breed" were 
 ordered, replied, that he did not know; for some gentlemen 
 so called one sort, and some another. Indeed, the name is 
 vernacularly applied to any thing that bears the most distant 
 resemblance to a Pheasant. It has first to be shown that there 
 is a Pheasant breed of Fowls ; every specimen so called,, that I 
 have hitherto seen, being referable to some one of the varieties 
 mentioned in these pages. 
 
 To pass slightly over such a popular error would be wrong, 
 because it involves the great question of the immutability of 
 species. The result, then, of our inquiry is this; that hybrids 
 
 * In Moubray's work, 8tli edition, a coloured engraving of Sea- 
 bright's Spangled is entitled, "Bantam, or Pheasant Fowls." 
 
THE PIIEAS ANT-MALAY FOWL. 171 
 
 between the Pheasant and the Fowl are, for the most part, 
 absolutely sterile; that when they do breed, it is not with 
 each other, but with the stock of one of their progenitors; 
 and that the offspring of these cither fail, or assimilate to 
 one or other original type. No half-bred family is perpe- 
 tuated, no new breed created by human or volucrine agency. 
 
 Some believers in the improvement effected by Pheasants 
 in our Common Fowls put their trust entirely in the poHsihiiUy 
 of the fact, not in any evidence of what has actually occurred. 
 " One man, who had some of the birds near a wood, indeed 
 assured me that the breed was easily reared, and that they 
 grew more and more like Pheasants every clutch ; but I no- 
 ticed he had Hens of other breeds going with his Pheasant- 
 mules or hybrids, male and female, and he vxia not sujjlcientli/ 
 intcllujent to he fully dej)ended on. Besides, though his Cock 
 €hid some of the Hens were undoubtedly (?) true hybrids, yet, 
 as he lived close by the wood-side, it is most probable that, as 
 in the former instance, the Cock Pheasant of the wood usurped 
 the attentions of the whole sisterhood, thus accounting for the 
 broods growing more like Pheasants every generation. The 
 most successful breeder of them admitted that, after many 
 trials (of paired hybrids), he had ^^ never brought up but two 
 to be a'most Hens,'' and that then they took the (meghrims) 
 staggers and died." — (Correspondent of the Agricultural Ga- 
 zette, July \st, 1848.^ Such naturalists as these have clearly 
 got into a wood, and, are likely to ramble about therein so long a 
 time, that it is hopeless to endeavour to extricate them. 
 
 Others say, " Consult some intelligent gamekeeper, and you 
 will alter your opinions.'' Well, we are anxious only for the 
 truth, and are ready to be convinced by any proved facts that 
 a gamekeeper can produce. Accordingly, we hp-e consulted 
 M. Le Roi, gamekeeper to the King of France j not of the 
 French, before the first revolution, when game was indeed pre- 
 served, and country gentlemen, almost as much as kings, when 
 
172 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 
 
 they visited the country, really could keep poachers in awe. 
 He informs us of his experience, thus : — " Man has tried to 
 effect a violence with the Cock Pheasant, to make it breed 
 with a foreign species ; and the experiments have in some de- 
 gree succeeded, though they required great care and attention. 
 A young Cock Pheasant was shut in a close place, where but 
 a faint light glimmered through the roof : some young Pullets 
 were selected, whose plumage resembled the most that of the 
 Pheasant, and were put in a crib adjoining that of the Cock 
 Pheasant, and separated from it only by a grate, of which the 
 ribs were so close as to admit no more than the head and neck 
 of these birds. The Cock Pheasant was thus accustomed to 
 see these females, and even to live with them, because the food 
 was thrown into the crib only. "When they had grown fa- 
 miliar, both the Cock and Hens were fed on heating aliments ; 
 and after they discovered an inclination to couple, the gratP 
 which parts them was removed. It sometimes happened that 
 the Cock Pheasant, faithful to nature, and indignant at the in- 
 sult offered him, abused tJie Sens, and even hilled the first he 
 met with ; hut if his rage did not subside, he was on the one 
 hand mollified by touching his bill with a red-hot iron, and^ 
 on the other, stimulated by the application of proper fomentob- 
 tions." — Biiffon^s Natural History of Birds, vol. ii., p. 302. 
 His note attached is, — " The Wild Pheasants never couple 
 with the Hens which they meet ; not but they sometimes make 
 advances, only the Hens will never permit them to proceed. 
 I owe this, among many other observations, to M. Le Roi, 
 Lieutenant des Chasses at Versailles.' ' A promising com- 
 mencement of a new breed of Poultry ! 
 
 But it might be objected that all this happened sixty or 
 seventy year§ ago, and that the nature of Pheasants and Fowls 
 has since been modified. We have therefore consulted another 
 intelligent keeper, who knows as much about the subject as 
 the best shot that ever handled a gun. On stating my opinion 
 
THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 17^ 
 
 of the absurdity of the popular notions about the " Pheasant 
 Fowls" to Mr. James Hunt, the experienced servant of the 
 London Zoological Society, he replied, " You are quite right, 
 sir ; those who think differently have only to look at that," 
 pointing to a miserable, really half-bred Pheasant, that was 
 then walking before us. 
 
 Nor does the experience of Mr. Hunt differ much from that 
 recorded by his superiors. " Birds produced between the 
 Pheasant and Common Fowl are of frequent occurrence. The 
 Zoological Society have possessed several, which were for a 
 time kept together, but showed no signs of breeding ; they are 
 considered, like other hybrids, to be unproductive among them- 
 selves, all being half-bred; but when paired with the true 
 Pheasant or the Fowl, the case is different. The Zoological 
 Society has had exhibited at the evening meetings two in- 
 stances of success in this sort of second cross. The first was 
 in 1731 ; the second instance in 1836." — Yarrell, vol. ii., p. 
 317. Two cases only, and those in the second cross, ascertained 
 during all the time that the Society has had extraordinary means 
 at command, are exceptions so rare as to confirm the rule that 
 such mules are barren, and incapable of founding a family, and 
 becoming the ancestors of a distinct race. And yet an evi- 
 dently sincere writer declares, — " From what I have seen of 
 the plumage of birds casually produced at the wood-side, (from 
 crossing with Pheasants,) I believe a judicious and scientific 
 selection would lead to the production of very fine varieties ; 
 and that, among others, the dark Pheasant-plumaged breed, both 
 of Bantams, and common poultry, would reward the patient 
 inquirer." — Agricultural Gazette, June 10, 1848. Patience 
 may sometimes be its own reward ; but it is a sad thing to get 
 into a wood, if the German romancers are to be listened to. 
 
 Those who still believe in the permanent combination of 
 the Pheasant with the Fowl, rest their faith entirely on the 
 
 ^^pure half-bred" birds which they procure from the wood- 
 is* 
 
174 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 
 
 sides to begin with. But, we may ask, how do they know 
 that they are really such ? If they were only told by some 
 man who lived by the wood-side, and reared them from one 
 of his Hens kept there, that they were half-bred Pheasants, 
 we must refuse to admit any such uncertain, hearsay evidence, 
 as unworthy to have any weight in solving what is one of the 
 most important problems (in its consequences) in Natural His- 
 tory. The Hen from which birds that can be allowed to be 
 half-bred Pheasants are obtained, must have been confined 
 for some time previously with a Cock Pheasant, and utterly 
 debarred from the slightest possibility of association with the 
 Domestic Cock. In short, the evidence ought to be as clear 
 and unmistakeable as would be required in a trial for murder, 
 or in a claim before the House of Lords to a succession to a 
 dukedom. When we have truly and actually got what we 
 are sure is a half-bred Pheasant, specimens of which, though 
 unfrequent, are by no means rare, it then remains to be seen 
 what becomes of them. 
 
 Mr. John Bailey favours me with one instance of their 
 probable destiny. ^' Hybrids between Fowls and Pheasants 
 are not at all uncommon, when such birds, tame-bred, are 
 kept together in a pen. For instance, a tame-bred Cock 
 Pheasant will breed with a game Hen, but I do not believe 
 the stories of wild Pheasants visiting the ordinary inhabitants 
 of farm-yards. I have had numbers of such miscalled Hy- 
 brids brought to me, to prove by ocular demonstration their 
 claim to unnatural origin ; but the first sight proved the re- 
 verse ; they were simply Spangled Fowls. 
 
 "I have had many Hybrids. They are of all colours, 
 but, generally, the back and wings are chocolate -coloured ; 
 the breast, hackle, and tail, black, and the legs dark. In car- 
 riage they more resemble the Pheasant than the Fowl ; they 
 are tame, sheepish-looking birds, having neither comb nor gill, 
 and no distinctly-coloured circle round the eye. The tail- 
 
THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 17e5 
 
 feathers are longer than those of a Fowl, although not shaped 
 like a Pheasant's ; and the tail itself is carried more erect than 
 a Pheasant's. 
 
 " It has always been my impression, that the production of 
 such a creature, however much coveted as a curiosity, will 
 always be regretted, when its tame, stupid, listless air, and 
 positive uselessness, is considered in comparison with the mag- 
 nificence of the Pheasant, and the courage and beauty of the 
 Fowl. I had one of them running with common Hens for 
 two or three years. I had a basket nailed against the wall, 
 for the Hens to lay in. There was a tree close to it. The 
 unhappy Hybrid, as though aware of his anomalous position 
 in the scale of creation, and anxious to redeem it in some way, 
 patiently waited for the Hens to lay, and then began zealously 
 to sit on the Eggs. This lasted for months; and his (should 
 it not be ^ its' ?) grief was visible whenever the Egg was 
 removed." 
 
 The Pheasant-Malays are large, well-flavoured, good sitters, 
 good layers, good mothers, and in many points an ornamental 
 and desirable stock. Some hypercritical eyes might object to 
 them as being a little too long in their make ; but they have 
 a healthy look of not being over-bred, that would recommend 
 them to those who rear for profit, as well as pleasure. The 
 Eggs vary in size, some very large in summer, smooth but not 
 polished, sometimes tinged with light-buff, balloon-shaped, and 
 without the zone of irregularity. Six Eggs in December, 1847, 
 weighed very nearly twelve ounces. The Chickens, when first 
 hatched, are all very much alike ; yellow, with a black mark 
 all down the back. The Cock has a black tail, with black on 
 the neck and wings. 
 
 I have been favoured with a communication from Mr. A. 
 Whitaker, of Beckington, Somerset, whose observations on 
 domesticated birds I know to be so accurate as to render him 
 an authority. He says, " I do not feel quite certain as to the 
 
t!f$ THE PHEASANT- MA LAY FOWL. 
 
 particular sort of bii*cls indicated under the title of the 
 ' Pheasant Breed/ I have seen so many and such diverse 
 sorts called Pheasant Fowls, that I have long since ceased to 
 attach any definite idea to the designation. I fully concur 
 in all you say in contravention of the popular notion of the 
 existence of a prolific Hybrid between the Fowl and the 
 Pheasant. 
 
 "I have for seven years had a breed of Fowls, the pro- 
 genitors of which were sold to me in Hungerford market as 
 'Pheasant-Malays.' The Cocks are a large-sized bird, of a 
 dark-red colour, with a small comb ; but the beauty of the 
 breed is with the Hens, which are of a Pheasant colour in all 
 parts of the body, with a velvety black neck. The shape of 
 both male and female is good. The neck is long and (as we 
 should say of a horse) high-crested, giving them an appear- 
 ance quite superior to other Fowl in that particular. The 
 colour of the Hens varies from the warmth of the plumage 
 of the Cock Pheasant, to the colder hue of the Hen Pheasant, 
 but as I have always bred from the high-coloured birds, I now 
 have the better colour generally predominating. The legs 
 are white, and also the skin. They are excellent birds on the 
 table, both as to quality, shape, and size. They have no re- 
 semblance to the Malay, except that the Cocks are rather high 
 on the legs, the Hens being the reverse. The combs of the 
 Hens are very small. The Hens never have a foul feather, 
 but I have never seen a Cock which does not show some small 
 mark of white on one of his tail-feathers. You will observe 
 in the Hens of the Pheasant-Malay that the two longest tail- 
 feathers are somewhat curved, which, when the bird is full 
 grown, and in full feather, materially improves the appear- 
 ance. They do not arrive at their full size until the second 
 season. They lay well, but late. Their Eggs are very small 
 in proportion to the size of the birds. I should say that their 
 weight was, on the average, above that of the Black Spanish, 
 
THE PIIEAS ANT-MALAY FOWL. 177 
 
 while their Eggs are a third gmuller. Baker, of London and 
 Chelsea, (one of the best fancy dealers,) told me that they 
 were a breed from Calcutta. They are certainly tender, and 
 are apt to die in moulting ; but the Hens, in my opinion, are 
 unrivalled in beauty, while the Cock is a fine bird, though not 
 BO uncommon in appearance, except to an experienced eye, 
 which will detect peculiarity of growth. 
 
 " If you do not know the Pheasant-Malays, (which is merely 
 a market name,) I will send you with pleasure a Pullet and a 
 late Cockerel. I am sorry that I cannot send an earlier Cock 
 bird, as I apprehend that now sent will not attain average 
 size. The plumage of the Pullet promises well. The Hens 
 have scarcely any comb. The Cocks always have a comb ex- 
 tending but a very little way backward, but standing up so 
 high as always to fall a little over on one side. I have never 
 seen any variation as to the combs or the colour of the neck 
 and tail-feathers, either of males or females, which indicates 
 them to be a real variety. The only variation I have observed 
 is in the body-colour of the Hens, and this not in the mark- 
 ing, but merely in the ground colour, which is sometimes paler 
 and duller than is the case with the Pullet I send. I would 
 most cheerfully enclose some Eggs, but I have none, as they 
 very rarely lay in winter. The Eggs are quite small, but of 
 excellent flavour, neither very white nor brown; the shape 
 varies considerably. The Chicks are of a yellowish colour, 
 with sometimes two brown stripes down the back and a few 
 specks about the head, but more usually without either. They 
 have, however, invariably the hinder part of the back of an 
 intenser or browner yellow, almost amounting to a warm 
 fawn-colour. I think that the Chicks should not be hatched 
 before May." 
 
 The birds thus kindly offered were thankfully accepted; 
 and, after a railway journey of more than two hundred and 
 fifty miles, stepped out of their hamper uncramped, uninjured, 
 
178 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 
 
 and undismayed by curious inspectors, and with evidently an 
 appetite for breakfast. The Pullet was certainly a great 
 beauty ; and I was pleased to find them of the same type as 
 the " Pheasant Breed'' with which I had been previously 
 acquainted. Their richness of colour, and increase of size, 
 being the result of skilful selection and feeding for several 
 generations. The colour of the legs being quite white, did not 
 agree with the Norfolk specimens, but the several varieties of 
 Game Fowl exhibit much greater differences among each other. 
 However, I now quite believe that the Norfolk specimens I 
 had seen, had a dash of the blood of that variety of Ham- 
 burgh Fowls known as Copper Moss. This comparison of 
 individuals, bred more than three hundred miles apart, 
 establishes the existence of the Pheasant-Malays as a perma- 
 nent variety of Fowls. The only discrepancy, which is more 
 apparent than real, lies in the varying size of the Eggs; 
 but I have seen so many changes in that respect in the same 
 Hen, under altered circumstances, as to attach no importance 
 to variation of size, unless shape and colour were also found 
 to be different. 
 
 The Cocks display considerable courage; the Hens are 
 jealously affectionate towards their Chicks, bustling, and petu- 
 lant, thus exhibiting in disposition an affinity to the Game 
 breed. 
 
 Mr. Whitaker adds : " My male birds have a very peculiar 
 feathering on the neck — the neck feathers being very long 
 and full, dark-red, and black at the tips, but the under part 
 of a downy white. The consequence is an appearance of 
 mixed dark-red and white about the neck, which is the more 
 peculiar from its being so particularly at variance with the 
 glossy black neck-feathering of the female. The feathering 
 of the back and wings is rather scanty, and the tail is not very 
 full. The bird has a good, erect carriage. 
 
 " The Chickens hatched in June always succeed better than 
 
THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 179 
 
 those thai are hatched earlier. The Chickens of this breed 
 are very small at first, and but scantily supplied with down. 
 As they begin to grow, they have a very naked appearance, 
 from the slow development of their feathers, and this renders 
 them very susceptible of cold. At six weeks old they are not 
 above half the size of Dorkings of the same age, but after 
 two months they grow very fast, and the Pullets feather well 
 and show indications of their permanent colour. The Cocks 
 are ragged in appearance until five months old, after which 
 they get their permanent plumage, and grow fast. As a 
 sort of profitable growth, I cannot recommend them, but 
 the ornamental figure and colour of the Hens, I think, is 
 beyond question. The flesh, at table, is extremely good and 
 white; and they lay abundantly, though late. I have a 
 strong suspicion, from various peculiarities, that they are of 
 comparatively recent introduction into this country, from a 
 much warmer climate. 
 
 " I once attempted to describe to you an oval abortion : I 
 have since found a second, in which the similarity was com- 
 plete. The upper Egg, which was concealed within the other, 
 below the unclosed orifice left at the egg-stalk, was conjested 
 with blood in both cases, while the lower egg or yolk (there 
 being two in each case within the shell) was quite natural. 
 A fortnight after I found the latter abortion, I looked into 
 the same nest, and saw there one of my Pheasant-Malay Pul- 
 lets of last year. On looking closely at her, I saw she was 
 dead; and on opening her, another of these abortions was 
 seen, accompanied by general congestion of the ovarium and 
 a vast quantity of internal fat, which I find these birds very 
 much disposed to take on.^' 
 
 It is a common opinion among country-people, that mis- 
 shapen Eggs care caused by the Hens that lay them being too 
 fat. It certainly does often happen that an over-fat Hen lays 
 deformed Eggs, but I believe that the cause has been mis- 
 
ISO THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 
 
 taken for the effect ; and that the non-production of the usual 
 quantity of natural-sized Eggs, in consequence of some pecu- 
 liar state of the egg-organs, compels the superabundant nou- 
 rishment taken by the bird, to be deposited in the shape of 
 fat, instead of being secreted in the form of Eggs. 
 
:^r V4^J< 
 
181 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 THE GUELDERLAND FOWL. 
 
 This Fowl would seem to be quite an original one. There 
 is still less development of comb than in the true Malay; the 
 wattles, however, are more freely developed than in the latter. 
 
 A gentleman of Boston, who has some jfine specimens in his 
 possession, writes me, concerning them, as follows: ^'The 
 Gruelderlands, about which you inquire, are a breed of Fowls 
 introduced into this section by Captain John Devereux, a 
 brother of the Mr. D. who visited you a few days since. This 
 breed is of a jet-black plumage, without combs, the Cock some- 
 times showing two small red warts. The wattles are small, 
 particularly so in the Hen ; the body is short and plump ; the 
 legs are very long, compared with the body, and are thinly 
 covered, on the front and outside, with thick and stiff quill- 
 feathers, extending to the toes. The Eggs are large, white, 
 and oval in shape, and are very rich and palatable. The Hens 
 are not great layers nor sitters ; at least, they have not proved 
 so with me. The flesh I have not tried." 
 
 I have also been kindly furnished, by H. L. Devereux, Esq., 
 of Dedham, Mass., with the following account. He says, 
 " This splendid breed of pure black Fowls has never, to my 
 knowledge, been described in any of the poultry-books pub- 
 lished in England or this country. They were imported from 
 
 16 
 
182 THE G U E L P E R L A N P FOWL. 
 
 the nortli of Holland, in the mouth of May, 1S42, bj- Captain 
 John Devereiix, of Marblehead, Mass., in the ship Dronio, on 
 hisi voyage from Anistoixiam to Boston ; and, since that time, 
 haye been bred by him at his place in that town, entirely dis- 
 tinct from any otiier breed. They are supposed to have origin- 
 ated in the north part of Holland. The plumage is of a 
 beautiful black, tiuged with blue^ of very rich appearance, and 
 bearing a brilliant gloss. They have no comb, but a small 
 indented, haixi, bony substance instead, and large red wattles. 
 Their legs are of a shining black, smooth, and without feathers, 
 except in a yery few instances. Pr. B., in his work, is by some 
 means led into error; where the legs are ^^ htaii^i/ /eathend^'* 
 I am inclined to belieyethey haye been crossed with the Shang- 
 hae ; such crosses I haye seen. Out of a flock of some twenty 
 or thirty, you may perhaps see some two or three slightly 
 feathered upon the legs. Such is the fiict with regard to those 
 bred in our yard from the old imported Fowls. Their flesh is 
 white, tender, and juicy ; they ai'C of good size, great layers, 
 seldom inclining to sit, bright active birds, and are not sur- 
 passed, in point of beauty or utility, by an}" breed known in 
 this country. The imiform aspect which is observable in their 
 progeny is a proof of the purity of the breed." 
 
 The portraits were obligingly furnished by H. L. Pevereux, 
 Esq., and represent a pair of these beautiful Fowls now in his 
 possession. He says, "The proof-impression of the Guelder- 
 lands I send you, is as good as can be done in Boston, and is, 
 I think, quite correct, except the feathered legs, which ought, 
 to answer the true description, be smooth." 
 
ilill 
 
 i^iiii'i'Vi,ip'i'iJ'«fii!triii': " 
 
183 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE DORKING FOWL. 
 
 This has been called the Capon Fowl of England. It forms 
 the chief supply for the London market, and is distinguished 
 by a white or flesh-coloured smooth leg, armed with five, in- 
 stead of four toes, on each foot. Its flesh is extremely deli- 
 cate, especially after caponization ; and it has the advantage 
 over some other fowls of feeding rapidly, and growing to a 
 very respectable size when properly managed. The weight to 
 which they sometimes attain goes much beyond that recorded 
 by Mr. Dixon. Indeed, the weight given by him for first-class 
 birds seems ridiculously small in comparison with that given 
 by some others. Mr. Nolan, of Dublin, remarks, that " the 
 humblest cottager in Ireland would smile at the idea of a 
 learned English ornithologist, stating that his specimens of 
 fine Dorking Fowl weighed only 7 lbs. each, while our road- 
 side birds can be had from 7 to 9 lbs.'' Mr. Nolan, I think, 
 is disposed to be a little sanguine, as we do not often meet 
 with " road-side Fowls" whose weight is as he states. A 9 lbs. 
 bird, of any breed, is a sturdy fellow. But hear what he says 
 of the weight of his own Dorkings. He says that he has a 
 Cock in his possession, ^^ out of condition and in heavy moult ^ 
 which weighs 10 i lbs. ; if fed, and over moult, he would be 
 
184 THE DORKING FOWL. 
 
 at least 2 lbs. more." He saj^s, '^The Hens are from 7 to 9 
 lbs. ; they stand low on the legs ; the Cock about 22 inches, 
 and the Hens about 20 inches; with short, round, plump body, 
 wide on the breast and back, with abundance of white and 
 
 juicy flesh The plumage gray, or speckled, or striped, 
 
 and sometimes red ; the cocks-comb, in some birds, hirge, ser- 
 rated, and erect ; in others, large and rose-shaped ; wattles 
 large ; should be free from top-knot." Of the white Dorking, 
 so much valued by some of our New England fanciers, he does 
 not speak so flatteringly. He says : " A very handsome little 
 bird, purely white, but better calculated for ornamental than 
 useful purposes, being to the coloured Dorking as the Bantam 
 is to the ordinary Fowl, and sent to market as a substitute for 
 Chickens ; they are furnished as in the large variety, with the 
 supplementary toe, but can bear no comparison, as to value, 
 in any respect; the Cock's weight is about 4 lbs. and the 
 Hen's about 3 lbs. ; the Cock stands about 15 inches high and 
 the Hen about 13 inches." I have seen, and had white Dork- 
 ings answering the above description, said to be of Dr. E. 
 Wight's stock, of Dedham, Mass. ; and yet, I am assured, that 
 last fall the Doctor had a pair, about two years old, which jointly 
 weighed about 15 lbs. There is no doubt, however, that the 
 coloiu-ed Dorking is much the larger bird. 
 
 A correspondent, writing from Boston, says, " You ask me 
 what kind of Fowls I prefer ? I wish to be understood that, 
 when I speak of Fowls, I recommend or condemn from my 
 own experience — not from the representation of others. I 
 prefer the white Dorking before any other breed known in this 
 part of the country. They have all the good qualities in full, 
 which other breeds possess only in part; they are hardy, 
 handsome, prolific, easily raised, and, when they are brought 
 upon the table, ^ they are food for Emperors and Kings.' " 
 
 The chief and necessai-y chai-acteristics of a true Dorking 
 ure, white, smooth, short legs, short neck, long, broad, and 
 
THE DORKING FOWL. 185 
 
 plump body ; the comb may be single or double, the latter 
 generally preferred, and the fifth toe may be absent. We do 
 not look for a top-knot in this variety, though I have seen 
 it in specimens purporting to be genuine. The perfection of 
 the Fowl, in most fanciers' estimation, is the presence of all 
 the accidental as well as all the necessary characteristics. 
 
 Dr. E. Wight, of Dedham, Mass., who has given special 
 attention to this variety of Fowl, kindly furnished preceding 
 portraits of his Dorkings, and writes concerning them as 
 follows : — 
 
 As you have expressed a wish for me to report my expe- 
 rience in regard to the Dorking breed of Fowls, I readily com- 
 ply with your request. 
 
 In the portrait, the reader will recognise a true Dorking, 
 a Fowl which has received as jealous a care in its breeding, at 
 Surrey, England, as suits the pleasure of a fancier who goes 
 for purity of blood. So careful are the breeders of Dorkings 
 of retaining these Fowls in their own neighbourhood, that it 
 has been with extreme difficulty that they could be obtained 
 at any price. 
 
 When I secured my first lot of these Fowls, some ten or 
 twelve years since, through a friend who was making a peri- 
 odical visit at Dorking, he assured me that it was only after a 
 trial of some two years that he could obtain them, and then 
 only by allowing a resident to go down to the ship and see 
 them safely oflF for America ; the producers of the stock being 
 fearful that other sections of England might secure the breed. 
 
 As corroborative of others finding a like difficulty, I extract 
 from the " American Agriculturist" the following, written by 
 Mr. Allen : — " As Dorking Fowls are likely to be in vogue 
 DOW, we think it advisable to caution all those who wish to 
 possess good ones, to be very careful what they buy. Choice 
 
1S6 T 11 K n K KINO F W L. 
 
 binls aro oxhYiuolv ditViouU to bo hnd, as ^Y0 found to our cost 
 wluHi in F.uglaud. and it was only by spooial favour wo pro- 
 cured some at last. 
 
 ** Oapt. ^lorirau lias boi^u iipwanls of two yoars oudoavour- 
 ing to obtain this importation, and tiuaJly suoooedod only 
 tlmnigh a worthy olorg>nian, 3lr. Ooiirtnoy, of the town of 
 Porking, a pnsson^vv with him on a recent voyago home fi\)m 
 the ITuitod St .; > 
 
 *' lie aooompauiod thom by a note, apologiziug for the high 
 pri*.H> he had to pay, and further s;iying — * The Oliiekon- 
 breeders of Dorkiug have adopted a sort of priHctpfej that 
 tliey will send aw:\v no binls alir<\ except capons, as they 
 desire to n^tain them, as much as p^>ssible, among themselves, 
 in w^hich, by capouizing, they carry on quite a protitable trade ; 
 and they can only be had as a particular favour.' " 
 
 The pair of Fowls tignred, weiv about two yeju'S old when 
 dn\wn. and. as a consequence, show a more full dcvelopnunit 
 than would those of a less mature age. The weight of tlie 
 Cock was 8i lbs., tliat of the Hen fully tH lbs. When c&- 
 peniztHi, this bived has btvn known to weigh 9 to 12 lbs. 
 
 Of this bived, Picksou, on Toultry, (^1847,') SiU's: — '' These 
 Fowls, (^I>orkings,^ which form the principil supply for the 
 London market, :u*e distinguished by having live toes, instead 
 of four, on each foot. Their flesh is extremely white, suoeu- 
 lent, and delicate, and they have the advantage of feeding 
 nipidly, and growing to a very large sixe when projvrly 
 managed. Capons and Poulards, though by no means so 
 common in England as in Fi-auoe, nro soTuetimes made ot 
 these Fowls, which, when caponized. grow to an enormous 
 si«e; a well-fed Capon having been known to weigh 15 lbs. ! 
 
 "The feathers of the Porking Fowls are alnux^t alwj\v*s 
 white, and the legs are short, white, aud remtvrkably smooth." 
 
 They have large plump bodies, with a broad full chest, like 
 the Partridge, and in this jx'culiarity hold the rank amonor 
 
T H K D O R K r N a F O W L. 1 87 
 
 Vonliry which tho DiufjarriH do amon^ caitlo. When pro- 
 duced at the table, there in no other breed 1 have Bcen er^iial 
 to them. They arc ahio good layers, producing a f^ocA-mzad 
 (;h)ar-white J'^gg, and, an hitterH and njotherH, cannot be yur- 
 pawMcd by any );reed of* I^'owIh. 
 
 No sure criterion i» found in the appearance of five toes, an 
 LaH been Htat^jd. But where it in not found, I Hhould ap- 
 prehend a ^^;roH8/' To dcHcribe a true Dorking is difficult, 
 althougfj a breeder could at once recogniw} one. 
 
 Several writers state that they are long in the body. lUxt 
 that is only true while they are young. As they corue to ma- 
 turity, tlje otfier partH are filled up, and they appear more 
 like the form of a Ivinnet than any otljer bird. 
 
 The prominent points arc these : a fine head, with brilliant, 
 reddish-tinged eye.H — by some, t<irmed ferret-<;yed ; single or 
 doubl<;comb, in both sexes; a gra(;efal neck, rather short than 
 long; wide, deep, projecting breast; the body is not only 
 long, but is round, rather than flat or square; and the legs, 
 considering their size, short, and invariably of a silvery white. 
 
 I may add, that when croswjd with other breeds, they in- 
 variably improve the form ; and while the quality of the meat 
 is improved, the amount of offal is much reduced. 
 
 'J'hey are a hardy bird, and their young easily reared — a 
 fact of great impoH;inee in tliis climate;. 
 
 That the Chinese possess a race of Fowls which have the 
 fifth toe, aw fully developed as in the Dorking, is proved by 
 the fact, that J have in my possession a pair which were sent 
 from Nankin, (and arrived here in March, 1850,) as choice 
 specimens, having a snow-white plumage and other character- 
 istics of the true Dorking. The plumage, toes, the shape and 
 colour of the l^iggs, lead me to believe that the Dorkings 
 originated in that section. 
 
 Eben Wight. 
 
 Dodkam, Maim., JJnc. /3, 1850. 
 
188 THE DORKING FOWL. 
 
 Mr. Dixon remarks, on the subject of Dorkings: — For 
 those who wish to stock their poultry-yards with Fowls of 
 the most desirable shape and size, clothed in rich and varie- 
 gated plumage, and, not expecting perfection, are willing to 
 overlook one or two other points, the Speckled Dorkings* are 
 the breed to be at once selected. The Hens, in addition to 
 their gay colours, have a large vertically flat comb,f which, 
 when they are in high health, adds very much to their brilliant 
 appearance, particularly if seen in bright sunshine. The 
 Cocks are magnificent. The most gorgeous hues are frequently 
 lavished upon them, which their great size and peculiarly 
 square-built form display to the greatest advantage. The 
 breeder and the farmer's wife behold with delight their short 
 legs, their broad breast, the small proportion of ofiPal, and the 
 large quantity of good profitable flesh. When fatted and 
 served at table, the master and mistress of the feast are satis- 
 fied. The Cockerels may be brought to considerable weights, 
 and the flavour and appearance of their meat are inferior to 
 none. Those epicures who now and then like a Fowl killed 
 by dislocation of the neck without bleeding, (the more humane 
 way,) will find that this variety aff'ords a tender and high- 
 flavoured dish. The Eggs are produced in reasonable abund- 
 ance, and, though not equal in size to those of Spanish Hens, 
 
 * So called from the town of Surrey, wliich brought them into 
 modern repute. 
 
 f A question has been raised, at some Poultry shows, whether the 
 Dorkings should be imperatively required to have a single, or a rose 
 comb. Neither form ought to disqualify birds true in other respects ; 
 but we should decidedly prefer to make the acquisition of single- 
 combed specimens, both as marking their relationship to the Cochin 
 China, previously noticed, and as saving them from the suspicion 
 of a cross with either the Malays or the Hamburghs, which a rose 
 comb is apt to induce. The finest White Dorkings that have come 
 under our notice have always had single combs. 
 
THE DORKING FOWL. 189 
 
 may fairly be called large. They are not everlasting layers, 
 but at due or convenient intervals manifest the desire of sitting. 
 In this respect they are steady and good mothers, when the 
 little ones appear. They are better adapted than any other 
 Fowl, except the Malay, to hatch superabundant Turkey's 
 Eggs. Their size and bulk enable them to afford warmth and 
 shelter to the Turkey-poults for a long period. For the same 
 reason, spare Goose's Eggs may be intrusted to them ; though 
 in this respect I have known the Pheasant-Malays to be equally 
 successful. 
 
 With all these merits they are not found to be a profitable 
 stock if kept thorough-bred and unmixed. Their powers seem 
 to fail at an early age. They are also apt to pine away and 
 die just at the point of reaching maturity. When the Pullet 
 ought to begin to lay, and the Cockerel to crow and start his 
 tail-feathers, the comb, instead of enlarging and becoming 
 coral-red, shrinks and turns to a sickly pink, or even to a leaden 
 hue ; and the bird, however well-fed and warmly housed, dies, 
 a wasted mass of feathers, skin, and bone. It is vexing, after 
 having reared a creature just to the point when it would be 
 most valuable for the table or as stock, to find it "going light," 
 as the country people call it ; particularly as it is the finest 
 specimens, that is, the most thorough-bred, that are destroyed 
 by this malady. I do not believe that the most favourable 
 circumstances would prevent the complaint, though unfavour- 
 able ones would aggravate it, but that it is inherent in the 
 race and constitution of the birds. They appear at a certain 
 epoch to be seized with consumption, exactly as, in some un- 
 happy families, the sons and daughters are taken off all much 
 at the same age. In the Speckled Dorkings the lungs seem to 
 be the seat of disease, and it is to be regretted that no dissec- 
 tion was made in cases where I had the opportunity. 
 
 A gentleman who has kept this breed of Fowls for nearly 
 twenty years, suggests that the foregoing remark ought to be 
 
190 T II K P (> Tv K 1 N O F O W L. 
 
 taken ns the oxooption, ami not tho nilo ; of oonvso it mnst, 
 othonviso tho wliolo rnoo wonld liavo long sinoo boon extinot. 
 Moreover, a degree of robustness and fecundity, which wouhl 
 be pronounced considcrabh> in Ourassows or Pheasants, may 
 justly be called feeble in Oocks and Hens. The same word 
 will have a ditlerent measure of foive when applied to diiVorent 
 objects, lie says, that having been careful to introduce a 
 fi\>sh, well-selected Cock-bird or two into the walk, every second 
 or third year at farthest, he has found the race uniformly hanly, 
 healthy, and prolific. The renunly is one of the best that can 
 be devised ; but the neoossity for adopting it confirms, instead 
 of disproving our opinion, that the Oocks of this breed are 
 deficient in vigour. However, Mr. Baily, of Mount Street, 
 observes, as the i-esult of his long experience, "A general re- 
 mark I would make on Fowl-breeding is, that no one judges 
 fairly of a breed, or sutheiently tries his opinion, if he has for 
 two yeai-s been breeding in and in ; and it is not enough to 
 say in defence of the sweeping condemnation of a race, that ho 
 has only bred two years from the birds, and consequently not 
 long enough for the evil to show itself; he nuist first inquire 
 whether there was relationship in the stock he began with ; 
 perhaps ho had a Cock and Pullet brother and sister from a 
 friend or dealer, the progeny of similar relations, and from a 
 yani where a change of stock was absolutely necessary when 
 these were disposed of: ho would thus unwittingly be carrying 
 on the unfortunate process, and honestly, though mistakenly, 
 consider that a defect in the constitution of the Fowl, which 
 is, in truth, a mal-pnictice of the owner of it." There is cer- 
 tainly great force in the caution : the Poultry-shows, with 
 compulsory sales, now coming into fashion, oflfer one means 
 of remedying the evil. 
 
 We are inclined to think that, for persons who live in grassy 
 and thick-wooded situations, long-legged Fowls are preferable 
 to short-legged breeds like the Dorking, they being carried 
 
T II K I) O II K T N O FOWL. 191 
 
 liighfjr above tho (JarrjpH and dewH, bcHidcH having a longer 
 Icvorago of limb fif Huch an idea m not altogether fanciful) 
 to aHHJHt them in Heratx;liing for the womiH and inw.'etH with 
 which Huch loeaJitieH abound. For instance, tlie average huc- 
 C(JKH of many country-people in rearing young Turkeyn, iH 
 greaf/jf, all alorig, than that with ChickenH. 
 
 Such ])('j)i>](t Mi lira carelesH about weeing the full comple- 
 ment of live toes, are axlviHcd tf> try the Surrey FowIh, a nearly 
 allied bre(}d, or, as Home call it, an improvement of the Dork- 
 ing. 'I'hey are a wary fine variety, and may be ha^l genuine 
 from any of the rcHpectable London dealerH. The Old Sub- 
 Hcx, or Kent, arc cloHcly related to thcHC, if not absolutely 
 identical. 
 
 ]>ut the BcriouH and fjxtal maladicH of Fowls are difficult to 
 trace to their cauHC, and Htill more difficult to cure by the 
 application of any remedy. It in unnecesBary to more than 
 allude to the volumes of absurd, irrational, and impni/;ticable 
 dinjctions that have been printed on the subject. Many iil- 
 nesscfl which we suppoHC to be of natural and Bpontaneouu 
 origin are, there is no doubt, brought on by the neglect and 
 cruelty of boys and servants. Our domesticated animals are 
 dumb; they cannot tell their mast<^r what ill-treatment tbey 
 have received in his absence; and they often severely, cruelly, 
 HufTer the displeasure of some ill-natured underling, who dare 
 not show his temper in higher quarters. Many a fimcied or 
 real wrong has been expiated by the Horse, the i>>og, the (Jat, 
 or the Poultry. Nay, there is no concealing it, and mothers 
 should listen to it, and think of it, as a motive to keep their 
 lips guarded and their brow serene — many a harsh word spoken 
 in a moment of irritation has been revenged in shakes and 
 pinches upon the helpless infant. 
 
 In a communication with which I have been favoured by 
 Dr. Jievan, the able author of the ^' Honey Bee,^' he says, 
 ^' Just about roosting-time, one of the Cocks (of a very choice 
 
192 T 11 K P u K I X u r o \y t.. 
 
 breed) wns found apparently lifeless^ at the baok-doi\r, lying on 
 ite side, as though it had been knocked down» which I really 
 belitrve it had. I bi\night it to the tire, and placed it in a 
 b;isket ot* hv^Y, It sv.K>n began to mow, and became violently 
 convnlsed." The worthy IKx^tor made a cornjct diagnosis of 
 the malady, and so avoided the mortification of administt^ring 
 a long list of nostrums in \-;uu. Some yeai-^ agv> we had a 
 most beautiful Porking OtH?k, the admiration of oui*selves and 
 of all who Siiw him. Atter a time he lH?eame ill, weak, and 
 dejeeted; got woi*se, and died. Kvery oniinary cvmifort and 
 care were afforvied, but we did not try any of the extr;\ordinary 
 recipes that ait* current. 
 
 By-iind-by the discovery of cruel tivatment to my pony 
 elicited the fact that the stable-boy \v-:\s in the habit of making 
 the Oo^^k "drunk ;" a process which is efftvted by seiiing the 
 bird by the legs, and whirling him nmnd and round in the air, 
 till the centrifug:il force shall have sent the blood to the head, 
 and produced apoplexy. The amusement consists in seeing 
 Ae Cock stagger and reel when placed upon the ground, and 
 g^dually recover as it unsteadily widks off. " Tipy Hen" is 
 an agnwible ^-;\riation of the sport. The C(.x>k had seen, and 
 was indignant; but the lad's mother, when he entered my 
 service, had, like the enchantress of rvuuance, given her sou a 
 word of power. To the tuigry threat of the cook that she 
 would tell of the atrvxuty, it was replied, " If you do, / will 
 tell that every time it is your Sunday out, you go to see the 
 little boy you had two years ago." Cook was thunderstruck 
 at the mention of her " misfortune," and was tongue-tied. And 
 so the machinery of households givs on. 
 
 I have subsequently found that, in all cases of suspicious deatli, 
 the surest way of coming at the truth, and preventing further 
 mal-practices. is to hold a formal inquest, with a post-mortem ex- 
 amination, and, after a delilvrate iuvestigation. to punish firmly 
 by rebuke or dismissal^ any outrage on the laws of humanity. 
 
T UK T)0KK1N0 F O W L. 193 
 
 Well might Aldrovari'Ji caution hiH poultry -loving readers: 
 *^ Therefore, ho who wantw to erjjoy a profit from these birds 
 ought, in the firnt phice, to «clcct Honio faithful body. P'or 
 unicHH he who haw the cure of the J fens remaiuH lionoHt towards 
 his lord, the gain will not cover the expenses. An attendant 
 of this sort, namely, who climbs into the hen-house, and col- 
 lects the KggH, and turns by hand those which are incubated, 
 will rightly be called the Ilcn-kecpcr, or Guardian." 
 
 As to th(j casualties arising from the neglect or ill-temper 
 of servants, every farmer who has live stock U) be tended, has 
 had abundant proofs. There is a peculiar idiosyncracy in 
 some individuals, which fits them to take charge of certain 
 animals. 8ome female servants in the country have quite a 
 passion for bringing up poultry, and by their care and kind- 
 ness will rescue apparently moribund (Jhickens and Turkeys 
 from the threatening .jaws of death. A groom or stable-man 
 almost always despises poultry. A gardener thinks it beneath 
 him to look after them. Even in public Menageries the man 
 wlio has charge of a I^ion deems it a condescension to tend a 
 i'aw harmless birds. A clever little girl often makes an excel- 
 lent poultry-tender: boys arc as mischievous and untrustworthy 
 as monkeys. When there is any thing in hand requiring 
 peculiar watchfulness, it is not a bad plan, if possible, to at- 
 tend to it one's self. 
 
 Pure Dorking Hens are sometimcH barren. I had one, a 
 perfect model to the eye, short, square, compact, large, with 
 plumage, comb, and weight all that could be wished — the very 
 l^ullet that a fancier would have chosen to perpetuate the 
 breed. J>ut she never laid, nor showed any disposition to sit, 
 and, in consequence of her uselcssness, at about two years old 
 was brought to table. The carving-knife soon demonstrated a 
 inal-formation of the back and side bones, and showed that the 
 models of the breeder may sometimes be too highly finished. 
 This certainly might be a case of breeding in-and-in. Jjut the 
 
 17 
 
194 T H K O O R K I N O V O AV T.. 
 
 Cocks, with all tlioir outward trappings and sturdy build, I 
 must suspect to be detieleut in vigour. If many Hens are 
 allowed to run with them, eleiu- Eggs will disappoint those who 
 want largv^ broods of Ohiekens. Three, or at mos^t four, liens 
 to a Coek will give the most sueivssful results.* These and a 
 few other apparently trifling faets seem to show that with the 
 Speckled Workings (^a variety of great antiquity) the art of 
 breeding has arrived at its limits. That it has limits is well 
 known to persons of praetieal experience. Sir J. S. Sebright 
 says, "I have tried many experiments for breeding /«-(i«(^i*/< ' 
 (for the s:ike of developing particular properties) ''upon Pogs, 
 Fowls, and l^geons : the Pogs became, from strong Spaniels, 
 weak and diminutive lap-dogs ; the Fowls became long in the 
 legs, suiivll iu the body, and bad bi\)eders." 
 
 "There are a grtwt many sorts of fancy Pigeons; each 
 vjiriety has some particular property, which constitutes its sup- 
 posed value, and which the amateui*s increase as much as pos- 
 sible, botli by breeding in-and-in, and by selection, until the 
 particular property is made to piTdominate to such a degree, 
 in some of the more retined sorts, that they cannot exist with- 
 out the greatest care, and are incapable of ivaring their young 
 without the assisti^nce of other l^geonskept for that purpose." 
 — 2^hc Art of Imjwvhh/ the Bn tth of Domestic Afiimah, p. lo. 
 
 As mothers, an objection to the Pv-rkings is, that they are 
 
 * Chaucer's Cook Chauntoolovo, who Avas pvoIviMy a Colvlou II am- 
 Imrgh, had a larger alUnvauoe : — 
 
 •* This geiitU cok had in his governance 
 Seven heunes for to don all his plesance, 
 AVhioh were his susters and his paramonres, 
 And wonder like to him as of colouves. 
 Of which the fairest, hewed in the throte. 
 Was oleped taire Pamoselle Pei-telote." 
 
 Th£ Xonms PreesUs Tak. 
 
T If K I) R KlSa VOWL. ] 95 
 
 iA)(> heavy and (;liirnHy to roar tlio ('hicks of any Hrnallor and 
 more dclicat<j bird than thernHclvcH. I'hoaHantH, i^artridgoH, 
 JJaniainH, (iuinoa Fowl, arc trampled under foot and eriiHhed, if 
 in the leant weakly. The Hen, in her affectionate} industry in 
 scratching for grubs, kicks her lesser nurslings right and left, 
 and leaves them sprawling on their backs. JJefore thf;y are a 
 month old, half of them will be muddh;d U) death with this 
 rough kindness. In spite of these drawbacks, the iJorkings 
 are still in high favour; but a cross is found to be more profit- 
 able than the true breed. A showy, energetic (Jame-coek, with 
 Dorking Mens, produces Chickens in size and beauty little infe- 
 rior to their maternal parentage, and much more robust. 
 Everybody knows their peculiarity in having a supernumerary 
 toe on each foot. I'his eharacU^ristic almoKt always disappears 
 with the first cross, but it is a point which can very well be 
 spared without much disa^lvantage. In other respects, the ap- 
 pearance of the nfjwly-hat.ehed Chicks is scarcely altered. The 
 eggs of the J>orking Hens are large, pure white, vary much 
 rounded, and nearly equal in size at each end. The Chicka 
 arc brownish -yellow, with a broa^l brown stripe down the mid- 
 dle of the back, and a narrower one on eax;h side; feet and 
 legs yellow. 
 
 Of this breed Mr. Alfred Whitaker thus expresses his opin- 
 ion: — *'I agree with you fully as to the usefulness of this de- 
 scription of Poultry, but I do not view them exactly through 
 the same medium as to their beauty. Compared with the 
 Pheasant-Malays, they arc short-necked, and there is no arch 
 or crest to the neck. Their colours vary from a streaked grey 
 to a mottled or spotted brown and wh\Ui. A neighbour here 
 has some of the finest I ever saw; the Cocks with very full 
 double combs, and the Hens generally with reddish-brown spots 
 on a whiUi ground. To njy eye the Cocks look heavy and 
 stupid, neither the head nor the tail being usually carried in an 
 erect p>osition, or with any semblance of spirit. As regards 
 
196 THE DORKING FOWL. 
 
 size, they are magnificent. I saw one on mj friend's dinner- 
 table tliree days since, quite as large as an ordinary Hen 
 Turkey ; it was a cockerel about seven months old. My expe- 
 rience of their laying and breeding qualities agrees mainly with 
 your statement, except that I should lay still stronger empha- 
 sis on their fiital clumsiness as mothers, which I am inclined 
 to think is aggravated by their extra toe behind, and the great 
 length of their back-toes. They frequently trample to death 
 their Chickens during the process of hatching, and in a small 
 coop they demolish them at a fearful rate. I think they never 
 should be cooped with their chickens : but a still safer course 
 would be to hatch the Eggs under a mother of a less rough 
 physique, or perhaps by Cantelo's hydro-incubator." The only 
 question is, how the Hen is to be employed when the sitting 
 fit comes on, for they are most persevering sitters. I have 
 successfully hatched both Turkeys and Geese under Dorking 
 Hens. The latter will stand a great deal of trampling and 
 kicking about without taking much harm from it. Mr. Whit- 
 aker continues, " I have crossed the Dorkings with Pheasant 
 Malays. The first cross produces a fine bird, which is large, 
 though not prolific ; but if you were to cross the breed with 
 each other, they dwindle to nothing. The doctrine of breed- 
 ing is yet ill understood. I am disposed to think that, where 
 you have a real variety, breeding in is the natural and best 
 mode of procedure; but that, when you cross two thorough 
 breeds, you have no guarantee that the cross breed will be good 
 further than the first result." 
 
 It is a question how the Speckled Dorkings were first intro- 
 duced. Some maintain that the pure White Dorkings are the 
 original breed with five toes, and that the Speckled Dorkings 
 is a recent and improved cross, by which the size was much 
 increased, between the original White breed and the Malay, 
 or some other large stock of poultry. From this opinion I 
 must entirely dissent, on the ground of strong, though not ab« 
 
T UK J) O U K 1 N G F O W L . 197 
 
 Bolutcly concluKivc, cvidcucc to the contrary. It socmB to mo 
 that Columella's favourite sort of Hen couhl not differ much 
 from our .Speckled Dorkings. lie says, '' hat them be of a 
 
 reddish or dark plumage, and with black wings Let 
 
 the breeding Hens, therefore, be of a choice colour, a robust 
 body, square built, full breasted, with large heads, with upright 
 
 and bright red combs those are believed U) be the best 
 
 bred which have five toes," &c. Except that there is no men- 
 tion of speckles, (and he never describes minute markings,) the 
 whole description almost exactly tallies with our birds of the 
 present day. Pliny's account agrees with this: "Huperiority 
 of breed in Hens is denoted by an upright comb, sometimes 
 double, black wings, ruddy visage, and an odd number of toes/' 
 Lib. X. c. Ixxvii. It appears that Columella had tiie White sort, 
 but he rejected them ; for he advises, '^Let the White ones be 
 avoided, for they are generally both tender and less vivacious, 
 and also are not found to be prolific'' — faults which are still 
 attributed to them. I cannot, therefore, avoid believing that 
 from the robust, dark-coloured, five-toed Fowl, white indivi- 
 duals have been from time to time produced and propagated, 
 exactly as we see in other species of Gallinaceous birds that, 
 have long been in domestication — Pea Fowl, Turkeys, and 
 Guinea Fowl, for instance ; and as the white variety of these is 
 mostly smaller and more delicate than birds of the normal 
 plumage, so the White Dorkings are inferior in size, and per- 
 haps in hardihood. I think also that there is no instance of 
 any white species of Cocks and Hens having been found wild, 
 (except the Silky Fowls, and those are separat<id by Temminck 
 into a distinct species;) which is some argument that dark and 
 gaudy colours are the hues originally characteristic of the 
 genus. 
 
 17* 
 
198 COLO V U K l> n U K I N U S. 
 
 COLOURED DORKINGS, 
 
 An osteomod oonY*sp'nuiout wvitosi to tlio FAlitor ns follows, 
 conooniiiig the abovo-namod variety : — 
 
 You ask luy opinion. ^Yhothor or not the Coloured, Sj.H3ok- 
 led. or Gray Uorkiugs. are thorough breeds / I eousider them 
 mongrels. I have seen many Fowls in this vieinity, whieh 
 were imported fnrni England and Inland under these names. 
 I have never known an instanee in whieh the progi^uy has 
 been like the imported Fowls, I think the only eolour whieh 
 is thrown by the thorough-bivd Porking is white, with white 
 bill and legs, and a supernumerary hind-toe. The hind-toes 
 haA*e a peeiiliar form and shape in the thorough-bred AVhit<3 
 Dorking, whieh are not shown in the Coloured Porkings. 
 
 The white bived of Porking-s have, to my knowledge, been 
 bred "in-and-in" without any variation of these peeuliar 
 marks, and without the s^lightest ehange in eolonr. The Co- 
 hnuvd, Sptvkled, and Cray Porkiug have not produeed their 
 like in any instanee, but have reverted to the ditVerent biveds 
 from whieh they were derived. 
 
 The urt^at and well-deserved reputation whieh the breed of 
 Fowls known as Porking Fowls, has aequired in England, 
 arises moi\^ fi\>m the superiorit}- of its fleslx over that of other 
 Fowls, than fi*om its beauty of form, splendor of plumage, 
 the quality or size of its Eggs, or the weight of its body. 
 
 In the markets of London. Fowls with white legs and five 
 toes would always find purehasers. on aeeount of the well-known 
 richness and flavour of the tlesh, whatever might be its size, 
 whether eaponized or not. And as large Fowls commanded 
 much larger prices than small ones, the breeders have been in- 
 duced to increase the size of the Fowls, ivtainiug as much as 
 
THE DORKING FOWL. 109 
 
 poHHiblc thoHO peculiar charactcriHticH, viz., the vfh'iUi IcgB and 
 the five tooH, ovon at the rink of Kacrificirig tJic good qualiticH 
 of the flcHh. For tliat purpose the Chittagong Fowl han been 
 'u8ed to croHH with the WhiUj Dorking, on a<K;ount of the near 
 roBernblance of the colour of the legn and the great weight to 
 which the Chittagong J^'owl attairiH. 
 
 That the colour of the Dorking FowIk was white, abundant 
 proof iH funiinhed by Moubray, W. B. Dickson, and others. 
 Mr, James Main, who, early in this pres^int century, published 
 a book on J^jultry, says, '' I'he njost valued variety for the 
 table, at present, is the Dorkiruj brcM. This is pure white, and 
 highly est/'cnied for the whiteness and delicacy of their flesh, 
 when served at table. 'J'hey also fetch a higher price at 
 market. Among breeders, real J)orking Cocks sell for from 
 five to ten shillings each.'' 
 
 'J'hat the pure J>orking Fowl has become extinct, or nearly 
 so, in England, I will quote from a work on Poultry, written by 
 W. C. L. Martin, one of the scientific officers of the Zoological 
 Society of London, who, speaking of the Dorking Fowl, says, 
 <SSurrey is noted for its Fowls, especially that breed which 
 passes under the name of Dorking, and which is cultivatx^d in 
 the district surrounding that celebrated town. The Dorking 
 Fowl is a short-leggcfl, plump, round-bodied Fowl, remarkable 
 for having five toes, that is, a supernumerary hind-toe. The 
 Dorking Fowl is of good size, and of a white colour, but such 
 are seldom seen." Mr. Martin is of the highest authority, 
 being, not merely a member of the Zoological Society, but one 
 of the scientific officers of that institution. 
 
 That the White Dorking had become exceedingly scarce in 
 Dorking and its vicinity, I will give you an extract of a let- 
 ter written by Captain E. E. Morgan, of the London packet- 
 ship Victoria, dated at London, April 14th, 1845, and pub- 
 lished in the American Agriculturist, July, 1845. It is as 
 
200^ THE DORKING FOWL. 
 
 follows : — " I shall write to BIr. Courtney again, who lives near 
 Dorking. He told me, and I have also ascertained the same 
 fact myself from other quarters, that none is to be obtained 
 here, unless of a mongrel breed.^' Mr. Courtney, in a letter to 
 Captain Morgan, says, "The Old White sort is altogether bred 
 out, and the Sj>eckled and Gray varieties are now all the rage, 
 and altogether are, perhaps, the best ham-door Fowls in 
 existence/^ 
 
 The Reverend Edward Saul Dixon, the author of a work on 
 Ornamental and Domestic Poultry, published in London in 
 1850, says, '^ For those who wish to stock their Poultry-yards 
 with Fowls of most desirable shape and size, clothed in rich 
 and variegated plumage, and, not expecting perfection, are will- 
 ing to overlook one or two points, the Speckled Dorkings, so 
 called from the town in Surrey, which brought them into mo- 
 dern repute, are the breed to be at once selected.^^ 
 
 " It is a question how the Speckled Dorkings were first in- 
 troduced. Some maintain that the pure White Dorkings are 
 the original breed, and that the Speckled Dorkings are a recent 
 and improved cross.'' 
 
 After speaking of the good qualities of the Speckled Dorkings^ 
 Mr. Dixon says, " With all these merits they are not found to 
 be a profitable stock if kept thorough-bred and unmixed. Their 
 powers seem to fail at an early age. They are also apt to 
 pine away and die, just at the point of reaching maturity ; par- 
 ticularly the finest specimens, that is, the most thorough-bred, 
 are destroyed by this malady. These, and a few other appa- 
 rently trifling facts, seem to show that with the Speckled Dork- 
 ings, the art of breeding has arrived at its limits." 
 
 Mr. Dixon further says, '' In the Speckled Dorkings the 
 lungs seem to be the seat of the disease. They appear at a 
 certain epoch to be seized with consumption. I do not believe 
 that the most favourable circumstances would prevent the com- 
 
THE DORKING FOWL.- 201 
 
 plaint, though unfavourable ones would aggravate it ; but that 
 it is inherent in the race and constitution of the birds." 
 
 The White Dorkings are hardy and active birds, and are not 
 subject to consumption, or any other disease. 
 
 Mr. Alfred Whitaker, a correspondent of the G-ardeners' 
 Chronicle and Farmers' G-azette, an English publication, says, 
 in an article on the Speckled Dorkings, ^' I am disposed to 
 think that, when you have a real variety, breeding-in is the 
 natural and best mode of procedure, but that, when you cross 
 two thorough breeds, you have no guarantee that the cross 
 breed will be good further than the first result." 
 
 J. J. Nolan, of Dublin, Ireland, a dealer in fancy animals, 
 has, within the past year, put forth a work for the purpose of 
 advertising the articles in which he deals, in which he speaks 
 very highly of the Coloured Dorking, which he styles the 
 " True Dorking." He says, " Breeders will find it necessary 
 to introduce, occasionally, fresh blood into their stock of Dork- 
 ing; otherwise they become unhealthy, and degenerate into a 
 dwarfish size ; and, if you expect productive Eggs, do not give 
 more than four or five Hens to a Cock." Nolan, in speaking 
 of the Old Sussex or Kent Fowl, says, ^^ It is so nearly allied 
 to the Dorking, as to be almost impossible to separate them : 
 they may be called identical, as, in the same clutch, some of the 
 birds will have five toes, while others will have but four : those 
 with the five toes being denominated by the breeders, Dork- 
 ing ', and they designated those with only four toes, the Old 
 Sussex. Many fanciers prefer the old Sussex to the Dorking, 
 considering the additional toe as rather a deformity, and, when 
 perching, liable to accident. They are of all the various 
 colours of the Dorking : the description of that bird may in 
 every particular be applied to them. They require, as in the 
 Dorking, fresh blood introduced, or they become degenerate." 
 I have given these extracts for the purpose of showing that a 
 
202 THE DORKING FOWL. 
 
 white race of Dorkings did exist, and that the coloured, 
 speckled, and gray varieties cannot be depended upon to re- 
 produce their own characteristics. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 S. Bradford Morse, Jr. 
 
 East Boston, Mass., December 14iA, 1850. 
 
R. BLAKE'S SPANISH FOWLS. 
 
203 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE SPANISH FOWL. 
 
 With this variety of Fowls, I must confess myself not 
 much acquainted. I am familiar with their appearance and 
 general characteristics, but not so with their habits and quali- 
 ties. They are said to possess many and rare merits. Their 
 appearance is certainly very fine, being spirited and animated. 
 The name ^^ Spanish" is said to be a misnomer, as they were 
 originally brought by the Spaniards from the West Indies, 
 and, although subsequently propagated in Spain, it is now very 
 difficult to procure good specimens from that country. They 
 were taken in considerable numbers from Spain into Holland, 
 where they have, for many years, been bred with great care ; 
 and it is now from that quarter our best specimens come. 
 
 A thorough-bred Spanish Fowl should be entirely black, as 
 far as feathers are concerned, and, when in high condition, dis- 
 play a greenish metallic lustre. The combs of both male and 
 female are very large, of a brilliant scarlet, and that of the Hen 
 drooping over on one side. Their most singular feature is a 
 white mark on each cheek, of a fleshy substance, similar to the 
 wattles ) which is small in the Hens, but large and very con- 
 spicuous in the Cocks. '■'- This marked contrast of black, bright 
 red, and white, makes the head of the Spanish Cock as hand- 
 some as that of any other variety ; and, in the genuine breed, 
 
204 THE SPANISH FOWL. 
 
 the whole form is equally good ; but the scraggy, long-legged, 
 misshapen mongrels are often met with, enough to throw 
 discredit on the whole race/' 
 
 I have seen and know enough to regard the Black Spanish, 
 in its purity, to be a truly distinct variety. A full-grown Cock 
 may weigh nearly 7 lbs., and a Hen about 6 lbs. The comb is 
 deeply serrated, and the wattles are very long, and the bird quite 
 free from top-knot. They are not very pugnacious. The Hens 
 are not inclined to sit, but are very good layers : Eggs large 
 and white. 
 
 F. Blake, Esq., kindly furnished the portraits, and writes 
 as follows, concerning this ancient variety : — 
 
 Boston, December lOtJi, 1850. 
 J. J. Kerr, M. D. 
 
 Dear Sir: — The Black Spanish Fowls, of which the artist, 
 Mr. Durivage, has produced a most faithful representation, 
 were presented to me by James Yates, Esq., of Lancashire, 
 England, through Capt. Wm. Harrison, of the British steamer 
 Canada, in the autumn of 1847. In describing them, Mr. 
 Yates remarks : " I found great difficulty in getting the pure 
 breed at first, and I do not know of any one in this country 
 that has it except myself. In breeding them, it is better to 
 get the Dorking Hen for hatching the Eggs." 
 
 I have seen no breed of Fowls more peculiar, and strikingly 
 attractive in its appearance, than this; and as regards their 
 laying qualities, and character for the table, I decidedly prefer 
 them to any others with which I have had experience. 
 
 The comb of the Cock is exceedingly large, deeply serrated, 
 of a brilliant scarlet, and quite erect. The wattles are of pro- 
 portionate size, which, with the large and beautifully white 
 ear-lobe, or cheek-pieces, and brilliant jet-black plumage, pecu- 
 liar to this variety, affords a very striking and agreeable 
 contrast. 
 
THE SPANISH rOWL.~ 205 
 
 The comb of the Hen is also quite large, hut drooping, and 
 the white cheek-piece is less conspicuous. 
 
 The legs of both Cock and Hen are of a leaden hue ; the 
 under part of the feet, of a dingy yellow. 
 
 The Chickens, of which I have had between one and two 
 hundred during the past season, have been perfectly uniform 
 in all their characteristics, and this uniformity in the progeny, 
 I regard as one of the surest tests of thorough breeding. They 
 are literally everlasting layers. Their peculiar disinclination 
 to sit is very remarkable, and I regard it as their most valu- 
 able characteristic; for, in my experience, I have been exceed- 
 ingly annoyed by the constant propensity which some other 
 breeds have manifested in this respect. For the period of more 
 than three years, during which I have had them, the Hens 
 have not in a single instance manifested a desire to sit. Mou- 
 bray, Richardson, Dixon, and other writers, concur in express- 
 ing the most favourable opinions of their character. " As 
 table birds,'^ says Richardson, " they hold a place in the very 
 first rank, their flesh being particularly white, tender, and 
 juicy, and the skin possessing that beautifully clear white hue, 
 so essential a requisite for birds designed for the consumption 
 of the gourmand. They are, besides, prolific, extremely 
 easily fed ; and, in short, I know of no Fowl I would rather re- 
 commend to the notice of the breeder.^^ 
 
 Dixon, who, I think, may be regarded as one of the very 
 best authorities, remarks : ^^ It is a noble race of Fowls, possess- 
 ing many great merits; of spirited and animated appearance, 
 of considerable size, excellent for the table, both in whiteness 
 of flesh and skin, and also in flavour ; laying exceedingly large 
 Eggs in considerable numbers ; but the scraggy, long-legged, 
 misshapen mongrels one often sees in the poorer quarters of a 
 town, are enough to throw discredit on the whole race. Find- 
 ing it too troublesome to preserve a variety of breeds in perfect 
 purity, I have, after considerable experience, fixed upon the 
 
 18 
 
206 THE SPANISH FOWL. 
 
 Black Spanish as my preference, and shall keep but one other 
 breed for sitters. I am not inclined to disparage other breeds, 
 (and I assure you the organization of our society in New Eng- 
 landj with its exhibitions, has excited an interest which renders 
 us somewhat sensitive upon this subject,) but I am satisfied 
 that, if persons interested will confine their attention to some 
 one favourite breed, avoiding a too frequent propensity for cross 
 breeding, we shall soon establish the fact, that there is no de^ 
 scription of stock more susceptible of improvement than our 
 Domestic Poultry, and shall convince those who are somewhat 
 inclined to smile at our hobby, that the ordinary barn-yard 
 Fowl is of comparatively little value. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 Francis Blake. 
 
 Mr. Dixon says : — The Spanish breed is, in all probability, of 
 ancient and remote origin, and does really seem to have reached 
 us from the country after which it is named. In North Devon 
 they call the Spanish Fowls " Minorcasj^' others call them Por- 
 tugal Fowl. Neither term removes them far from their old-esta- 
 blished location, if not their original home. It is a noble race of 
 Fowls, possessing many great merits ; of spirited and animated 
 appearance, of considerable size, excellent for the table, both in 
 whiteness of flesh and skin, and also in flavour, laying exceed- 
 ingly large Eggs in considerable numbers. Among birds of its 
 own breed it is not deficient in courage ; though it yields with- 
 out showing much fight to those which have a dash of game 
 blood in their veins. It is a general favourite in all large 
 cities, for the additional advantage that no soil of smoke or 
 dirt is apparent on its plumage. The thorough-bred birds of 
 the fancy should be entirely black, as far as feathers are con- 
 cerned, and, when in high condition, display a greenish metallic 
 lustre. The combs of both Cock and Hen are exceedingly 
 large, of a vivid and most brilliant scarlet ; that of the Hen 
 
THE SPANISH FOWL.- 207 
 
 droops over on one side. Their most singular feature is a 
 large white patch, or ear-lobe, on the cheek, which in some 
 specimens extends over great part of the face, of a fleshy sub- 
 stance, similar to the wattle ; it is small in the Hens, but large 
 and very conspicuous in the Cocks. This marked contrast of 
 black, bright red, and white, makes the head of the Spanish 
 Cock as handsome as that of any variety we have ; and in the 
 genuine breed the whole form is equally good : but the scraggy, 
 long-legged, misshapen mongrels one often sees in the poorer quar- 
 ters of a town, are enough to throw discredit on the whole race. 
 Spanish Hens are celebrated as good layers, and produce very 
 large, quite white Eggs, of a peculiar shape, being very thick 
 at both ends, and yet tapering off a little at each. They are, 
 by no means, good mothers of families, even when they do sit, 
 which they will not often condescend to do, proving very care- 
 less, and frequently trampling half their brood under foot. 
 But the inconveniences of this habit are easily obviated by 
 causing the Eggs to be hatched by some more motherly Hen. 
 It has been noticed that this variety of Fowl frequently 
 loses nearly all the feathers on the body, besides the usual 
 quantity on the neck, wings, and tail ; and, if they moult late, 
 and the weather is severe, they feel it much. Nothing else 
 can reasonably be expected to take place with an " everlasting 
 layer." It often happens to the G-uinea Fowl; and the reason 
 of it is plain. If the system of a bird is exhausted by the un- 
 remitting production of Eggs, it cannot contain within itself 
 the wherewithal to supply the growth of feathers. The stream 
 that will fill but one channel, cannot be made to keep two at 
 high-water mark; and therefore Mr. Leonard Barber justly 
 observes, ^' With regard to an anxiety about their constant 
 laying, in my opinion, nature ought not to be forced, as it re- 
 quires a rest. But some people think it cannot be right if 
 their Hens do not lay every day ; and I would advise such to 
 have some early spring Chickens, which would begin laying in 
 
208 THE SPANISH FOWL. 
 
 the autumn and continue mostly through the winter; and their 
 old Hens would commence in the spring/' 
 
 " I have had Hens laying every day, but never wish them 
 to continue the practice, as, nine times out of ten, they suffer 
 afterwards/' — H. S. 
 
 It is doubtful whether they are even yet thoroughly ac- 
 climatized, for continued frost at any time much injures their 
 combs ; frequently causing mortification in the end, which has 
 terminated in death. A warm poultry-house, high feeding, 
 and care that the birds do not remain too long exposed to severe 
 weather, are the best means of preventing this disfigurement. 
 
 Some birds are occasionally produced, handsomely streaked 
 with red on the hackle and back. This is no proof of bad 
 breeding, if other points are right. On the contrary, ifc is, as 
 near as may be, the sort which Columella's relation might have 
 kept in Spain,* at the time when he was improving the native 
 sheep by the importation of rams from Morocco, eighteen hun- 
 dred years ago. 
 
 The Chicks are large, as would be expected from such Eggs, 
 entirely shining black, except a pinafore of white on the breast, f 
 and a slight sprinkling under the chin, with sometimes also a 
 little white round the beak and eyes; legs and feet black. 
 Many of them do not get perfectly feathered till they are three 
 parts grown ; and therefore, to have these birds come to per- 
 fection in this country, where the summers are so much shorter 
 than in their native climate, it is necessary to have them 
 hatched early in spring, so that they may get well covered 
 with plumage before the cold rains of autumn. But, as Mr. 
 Bissell observes, " there is any thing but an uniformity in the 
 time Spanish Chickens get their plumage; the Pullets are al- 
 
 * " M. Columella patruus meus, acris vir ingenii, atque illustria 
 agricola." — Lib. vii. c. 2. 
 
 f In this particular the Spanish Chicks are precisely like the 
 Black Polish Chicks.— Ed. 
 
THE SPANISH FOWL. - 209 
 
 ways earlier and better feathered than the Cockerels : the latter 
 are generally half naked for a considerable length of time after 
 hatching. But this is not universally the case, for some of 
 my best Cockerels were feathered tolerably well at an early age . 
 This is a fact worth some particular remark, as many superfi- 
 cial observers in this neighbourhood have invariably rejected, 
 for breeding purposes, the Cockerels which got their feathers 
 early, supposing from that fact that they were not purely bred. 
 But I have not only found them to possess all the qualities of 
 the Spanish, fully and truly developed, but that their early 
 feathers so screen them from the inclemencies of the weather, 
 that they are enabled soon to outstrip their brethren in size." 
 The black, however, is not the only valuable race of Spanish 
 Fowl, although certain metropolitan dealers, who have no 
 right to offer an opinion, if they do not choose to give infor- 
 mation on the subject, presume to affirm that there can be no 
 such breed as specMed Spanish, it being characteristic of that 
 breed to be perfectly black. But Mr. Swainson justly com- 
 plains of the deficiencies and the conduct of this class of people ; 
 and it is surprising that, since the establishment of the Zoolo- 
 gical Society, they have not seen both the impolicy and the 
 impracticability of withholding information on natural history 
 from the public ; for I cannot suppose the folly of any attempt 
 to mislead. " Our first idea was to have drawn up (in the 
 volume on birds) as complete a catalogue as possible of all such 
 foreign birds as were to be met with in our public or private 
 menageries, distinguishing such as were known to have bred 
 in confinement, and had consequently become domesticated, 
 from such as were merely acclimated, or accustomed to our 
 climate. This, without doubt, would have been the most de- 
 sirable plan of proceeding, and would have given that informa- 
 tion to the lovers of aviaries, which is now so much wanted ; 
 but further inquiry showed us the utter imposnhility of doing 
 thisj from the total absence of the necessary materials. It has 
 
 18* 
 
210 THE SPANISH FOWL. 
 
 wM been hereto/ore the custom of n\\^nh'n</ in prinfj m/orma- 
 tion of this nafiur. Those persons whose trade lies in the 
 buying and selling of living birds, iind of which there ivre seve- 
 ral in London, an not jpefsons capaNe of icriting ttpon sttch 
 mattcfs, tren had tJuy the inclination to frreal what thci/ no 
 doubt consider tJic secrets of tJuir era/}. The Zoological Society, 
 on the other hand, by embracing within its objects the whole 
 animal kingxlom, has hitherto found itself so oeenpied, and its 
 attention so distracted, by the multiplioity of its concerns and 
 the paucity of its working members, that nothing worth men- 
 tioning has been commimicated to the public on this interest- 
 ing subject. However desirable, therefore, such an exposition 
 as we at first contemplated would be, it never can be carried 
 into execution, unless I\i/ the }ioicer/ul and united assistance of 
 those who direct their time and attention almost exclusively to 
 the rearing and management of birds." — Animals in Menage- 
 riV.s, Piu-t 11. '• Birds," pp. 147, 14S. 
 
 A gentleman, who has served in the British army, in whose 
 opinion, as a naturalist and a man of education, we have as 
 great confidence as in that of any mere fowl-deiUer, states, '' In 
 England there are two varieties of Spanish Fowl, the Black, 
 and the Gray, or Speckled, the latter being of a slaty gray 
 with white legs. In Spain there must be many varieties of 
 everlasting layers, for I have seen a lot abroad that diflered 
 widely in appearance, single combs, double combs, and a great 
 variety of colour." 
 
 Mr. Barber says, '' Being of opinion that our breed of Fowls 
 required improvement, and having heari from a Spanish friend 
 that they had a verj- fine breed in the part of Spain he came 
 from, which were chiefly white or speckled, I last year (1S46) 
 got him to procm-e me some, and finding that they were such 
 excellent layers, and that they were so much admired by every 
 one who saw them, I got another importation about a month 
 since, (Nov. 6th, 1S47,) amongst which there are three 
 
T n E S P A N I S 11 F W L. 211 
 
 Bpeckled black and white, in ahape and carriage very much 
 like the spangled Polish, (except heing much longer in the leg,) 
 having top-knots, and a tuft of feathers hanging under the 
 throat, and white legs. The others are pure white, in shape 
 and carriage exactly like the black Spanish, only wanting the 
 white cheek-patch. They are much larger and broader than 
 any of the black I have ever seen, and they are very fine in 
 the neighbourhood of London. The Cock that came with the 
 first lot is entirely black, and long in the legs, but without the 
 white cheek-patch. In my opinion, they are the most useful 
 and ornamental breed of Fowls both for the breeder and ama- 
 teur. Their Eggs are equal in size and number to those of 
 the black Spanish. Some of mine last year weighed three, 
 and some four ounces each. They appear very healthy and 
 hardy. My Fowls came from the neighbourhood of Xeres de 
 la Frontera, in Andalusia, about twenty -five miles from Cadiz. 
 They have cost me about ten shillings each, including freight, 
 duty, and expense of clearing." 
 
 Another gentleman says, ^' I have a few Chickens out, from 
 Mr. Barber's Andalusian Hens, some of which seem to be the 
 true old black Spanish, and others of a grisly white, one of 
 which has evident signs of a large future mufi", but not the 
 slightest semblance of a top-knot at present. They are with- 
 out exception the very largest and finest Chicks I ever saw, 
 coming, as they do, out of Eggs, fine certainly, but which do not 
 exceed many of my own." — H. IT. 
 
 Some of these birds are of a blue, or gray, or slaty colour. 
 Their growth is so rapid, and their eventual size so large, that 
 they are remarkably slow in obtaining their feathers. Although 
 well covered with down whejj first hatched, they look almost 
 naked when half-grown, and should therefore be hatched as 
 early in the spring as possible. 
 
 The cross between the Pheasant-Malay and the Spanish pro- 
 
212 THE SPANISH FOWL. 
 
 duces a particularly handsome Fowl, and probably very mncli 
 resembling the old Hispanic type. 
 
 A Black Spanish Cock has been taught to visit the sill of 
 his master's bed-room window every morning, and continue 
 crowing till he was rewarded with a piece of bread. 
 
 Mr. Barber subsequently adds, ^' The tufted Fowls I had 
 from Spain have uot proved such good layers as the speckled 
 single-combed. I have kept a correct account this season 
 (1848) of the number of Eggs I have had from them, and it 
 amounts to above fourteen hundred, and they are still (Sept. 
 11th) laying. I began the season with twenty-three Hens. 
 One has reared a brood of Chickens. Two died early in the 
 season. This is a much larger number than I have ever had 
 from any of the Blacl- Spanish I have kept. There is one 
 great imperfection in these Fowls, which I think it right to 
 mention, and that is, I have lost nine from laying, or rather, 
 attempting to lay, soft Eggs, and they have all been Hens 
 which laid the largest Eggs. However, I am inclined to think 
 this is in a great measure ©wing to the confined space in which 
 they are kept." There is no doubt of it, and that the evil 
 would cease were the Hens indulged with a more extended 
 range, where they could help themselves to chalky earth, lime- 
 rubbish, and other natural medicines that are perhaps unsus- 
 pected by us. Nor have towns -people an idea of the intense 
 longing which their Fowls feel for any thing green, such as 
 cabbage-leaves, tiu-nip tops, and so on. The thousand-headed 
 cabbage is very serviceable for them ; and those who have only 
 a small garden can provide some supply of green food for their 
 poultry, by having the edgings of parsley, instead of box, or 
 thrift. The Fowls are very f^d of it, as a variation from 
 cabbage-leaves. 
 
 We cannot too much insist upon the value of early Pullets 
 for laying purposes in the autumn and winter after they are 
 hatched. No Fowls can surpass the Spanish in this respect. 
 
T II E S P A N I H 11 F O W L. 213 
 
 A corrcHpondent (J. S. W.) believes that they arc also more 
 precocious in their constitution, and that, in consequence, the 
 i'ullets lay at an earlier age than those of other breeds. lie 
 ha/1 two Jilack Spanish Pullets which were hatched on the 2d 
 of February, and commenced laying on the 18th and 19th of 
 the July following, and hcpt it up throv/jh, tJui vyinUr. The 
 constant use of a memorandum-book would fix many of these 
 interesting little fects. It would be useful to institute a com- 
 jKitition between different breeds. An experiment with a lot 
 of Chickens of distinct varieties, hatched on the same flay, and 
 reared in the same yard under the same treatment, would be 
 instructive, if the results were noted. 
 
 There is a large breed of Fowls brought from Constantinople 
 and the shores of the Ulack Sea. I have had no opportunity 
 of seeing specimens, but it would appear to be a branch of the 
 Spanish. The Hens are described as having a large flaccid 
 comb, flapping about like a piece of serrated red velvet, and as 
 being astonishing layers, seldom sitting. It is a speculation 
 whether the Spanish came to us from the East, southwards, 
 via the lilack Sea, while the Polish might reach us overland 
 through Russia. 
 
214 
 
 CHAPTER Xin. 
 
 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 Of all the varieties of Domestic Fowls^ except, perhaps, the 
 Smooth-legged Bantam, the G-ame Fowl is the most symmetri- 
 cal. It is more slender in the body, the neck, the bill, and the 
 legs, than other kinds, and the various hues of the plumage are 
 more brilliant and showy. Their flesh is white, compact, — like 
 that of the race-horse as compared with the scrub, — delicate, 
 and very nutritious ; but the extreme difficulty of rearing the 
 Chickens, owing to their natural pugnacity, which shows it- 
 self at a very early period, deters most breeders, excepting 
 those who breed for the cock-pit. " Whole broods, scarcely 
 feathered, are sometimes stone-blind from fighting, to the very 
 smallest individuals : the rival couples moping in corners, and 
 renewing their battles on obtaining the first ray of light.'' 
 The game Eggs are rather smaller than common, but finely- 
 shaped, and extremely rich and delicate. The weight of this 
 Fowl is from 3i to 5 J lbs., though I have heard of 8 lbs., and 
 my friend, Wm. Wistar, Esq., near Germantown, assures me 
 that he has a Game Cock, thorough-bred, that now weighs 
 9 J lbs. The practice of fighting Cocks is supposed to be of 
 Grecian origin. It was adopted by the Romans about 470 
 years before the Christian era. For the gratification of the 
 curious in this matter, I will extract, from a work recently 
 published in Ireland, the following account of Cocking : — 
 
 It is not particularly known when the pitched battle was 
 
'■#• 'l/il/ln!' 
 
 / / 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 215 
 
 first introduced into England. We have no notice of Cock- 
 figbting earlier than the reign of Henry II. William Fitz- 
 Stephen describes it, then, as the sport of school-boys, on 
 Shrove Tuesday ; the theatre was the school, and the school- 
 master, it seems, was the controller and director of the sport. 
 The practice was prohibited in the 39th of Edward III., but 
 became general under Henry VIII., who was personally 
 attached to it, and established the cock-pit at Whitehall, to 
 bring it more into credit. James the First was so remarkably 
 fond of it, that, according to Monsieur de la Bodenie, who was 
 ambassador for Henry IV. to the king, he constantly amused 
 himself with it twice a week. Under Elizabeth, it was not 
 less in vogue, and the learned Roger Ascham then favoured 
 the world with a treatise on the subject. There was then a 
 pit in Drury-lane, Ilorscferry-road, and Gray's-Inn-lanc, St. 
 James's Park, and another in Jewin-street ; but the practice 
 was a second time prohibited, by an act under the Protector- 
 ship, in 1554. Our Dublin pits are of a more recent date, the 
 principal of which were in Clarendon-street and Essex-street, 
 where the Meaths and Kildares often proved the powers of 
 their Cocks. The fights were managed by men, who made a 
 livelihood by it, and were called handlers : they alone were 
 admissible within the " magic circle." 
 
 A cock-pit, like a race-course, in a sporting point of view, 
 was for every person, and selection of company was entirely 
 out of the question. The noble lord, and the needy commoner, 
 were both at home, after they had paid their iij) for admis- 
 sion J and persons who enter the pit to sport a crown^ bet a 
 sovereign, or put down their pounds, are too much interested 
 upon the main, to consider who they may choose to " ruh 
 against" for the time being. 
 
 Cocking was kept up with great spirit at Newcastle. At one 
 of their last meetings, the cockers at the above place, in point 
 of extent, exceeded every thing of the kind known in Great 
 
216 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 Britain. Upwards of 200 Cocks were fought, and the fight- 
 ing generally good, particularly the Cocks of Baglin-hill and 
 Lockey, which all won great majorities. A remarkable cir- 
 cumstance occurred on the Saturday before fighting. A match 
 was made for 20 sovereigns, between Parker and Reed, feed- 
 ers, and won by the latter, after a hard contest. Parker's 
 Cock, however, came round so soon after, that his party made 
 a second match, to come off on the following Monday, for a 
 like sum, which was again won by E-eed, after a severe battle 
 — ^a circumstance, perhaps, altogether unknown in the annals 
 of cocking. It is also calculated that, at the termination of 
 the races, which finished with cocking, upwards of 1,000 Cocks 
 had met their deaths. Newcastle, therefore, challenged the 
 world for cocking. Cheltenham, Chester, Grloucester, Nor- 
 wich, Lancaster, Preston, Stamford, &c. &c., were celebrated 
 for their Cocks. The patrons were the Earl of Derby, Sir 
 "William Wynne, Ralph Benson, Esq., &c. &c. 
 
 The exterior qualifications of a Cock are, head thin and long, 
 or, if not, very taper -, a large, full eye j beak crooked and 
 stout; neck thick and long, (a Cock with a long neck has a 
 great advantage in his battle, particularly if his antagonist is 
 one of those Cocks that will fight at no other place but the 
 head;) his body short and compact, with a round breast, (as a 
 sharp-breasted Cock carries a great deal of useless weight about 
 him, and never has a fine forehand ;) his thighs fine and thick, 
 and placed well up to the shoulder, (for where a Cock's legs 
 hang dangling behind him, be assured he never can maintain 
 a long battle ;) his legs long and thick, and if they correspond 
 with the colour of his beak — blue, gra^^, or yellow — I think it 
 a perfection ; his feet should be broad and thin, with very long 
 claws. With regard to his carriage, he should be upright, but 
 not stiffly so ; his walk should be stately, with his wings in 
 some measure extended, and not plod along, as I have seen 
 some Cocks do, with their wings upon their backs, like geese ; 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 217 
 
 his colour rather gray, yellow, or rose, with black breast; his 
 spurs rough, long, and looking inward. As to the colour he 
 is of, it is immaterial ; there are good Cocks of all colours ; 
 but he should be thin of feathers, short, and very hard, which 
 is another proof of his being healthy. Remember that a 
 Cock, with all his stoutness, length, and thickness of leg, 
 rotundity of breast, " fine forehand,^^ firmness of neck, and ex- 
 tent of wing, ought not to weigh more than 4 lb. 8 or 10 oz. ; 
 if he happen to have an ounce or two more in his composition, 
 he is out of the pale of the pit, and is excluded by all match- 
 makers, from " fighting within the articles." A bird, to be a 
 bird, ^^ fit for the white bag, the trimmed wing, the mat, and 
 the silver spur," must be light upon the leg, light-fleshed, and 
 large-boned, but still no more than 4 lb. 8 or 10 oz. 
 
 A cock-pit was a large, lofty, circular building, with seats 
 rising, as in an amphitheatre ; in the middle of it was a round, 
 matted stage, of about 18 or 20 feet in diameter, and rimmed 
 with an edge, eight or ten inches in height, to keep the Cocks 
 from falling over in their combats ; there was a chalk ring in 
 the centre of the matted stage, of perhaps a yard diameter, 
 and another chalk-mark within it, much smaller, which was 
 intended for the setting-to, when the shattered birds were so 
 enfeebled as to have no power of making hostile advances to* 
 wards each other. This inner mark admitted of their being 
 placed beak to beak. A large and rude branched candlestick 
 was suspended low down, immediately over the mat, which 
 was used at the night-battles. The birds were weighed and 
 matched, and then marked and numbered; the descriptions 
 were carefully set down, in order that the Cock should not be 
 changed ; the lightest Cocks fought first in order. The key 
 of the pens, in which the Cocks were set and numbered, was 
 left on the weighing-table, or the opposite party might, if he 
 pleased, put a lock on the door. The utmost possible care, in 
 short, was taken, that the matched birds should fight, and no 
 
2IS THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 substitutes intruded. The follotoing sketch of a set-to j is from 
 the pen of a celebrated amateur : — 
 
 The only persons allowed on the platform are the setters-to. 
 The first I shall name Nash, the younger ; he was followed by 
 a stout, plump, old, ostler-looking man, named Nash, the elder. 
 This person carried a white bag, containing one of the brave 
 birds for the battle. The two men stepped upon the mat ; the 
 hubbub is instantaneous — " Two to one on Nash" — " A guinea 
 on Nash" — " Nash a crown f the bets are laid on the setter- 
 to. From the opposite side of the pit, a similar procession 
 entered ; the setter-to, Fleming, by name, did not appear so 
 great a favourite as young Nash. The chuckle of the Cock in 
 his bag was answered deeply and savagely from the other, 
 and the straw seemed spurned in the narrow cell. 
 
 Nash's bag was carefully untied, and Nash himself took out 
 one of the handsomest birds I think I ever beheld ; he was a 
 red and black bird ; slim, masculine, trimmed, yet with feath- 
 ers glossy, as though the sun shone only on his nervous wings ; 
 his neck arose out of the bag, snake-like — terrible — as if it 
 would stretch upwards to the ceiling ; his body followed — com- 
 pact, strong, and beautiful; and his long, dark-blue, sinewy 
 legs came forth — clean, handsome, shapely, determined, iron- 
 like I The silver spur was on each heel, of an inch and a half 
 in length, tied on in the most delicate and neat manner ; his 
 large, vigorous beak showed aquiline, eagle-like ; and his black, 
 dilating eyes took in all around him, and shone so intensely 
 brilliant, that they looked like jewels j their light was that of 
 thoughtful, sedate, and savage courage ; his comb was cut close; 
 his neck trimmed ; his wings clipped, pointed, and strong ; the 
 feathers on his back were of the very glossiest red, and ap- 
 peared to be the only ones which were left untouched ; the tail 
 was docked triangle-ways, like a hunter's. The gallant bird 
 clucked defiance, and looked as if he " had in him something 
 dangerous V Nash gave him to Fleming, who held him up 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 219 
 
 above his head, examined his beak, his wings, his legs, while 
 a person read to him the description of the bird from paper ; 
 and upon finding all correct, he delivered the rich, feathered 
 warrior back to Nash, and proceeded to produce his own bird 
 for a similar examination. 
 
 But I must speak of the senior Nash — the old man, the 
 feeder. When again may I have an opportunity of describing 
 him ? and what ought a paper upon cocking be accounted worth, 
 if it fail to contain some sketch, however slight, of old Nash ? 
 He wore a smock-frock, and was clumsily, though potently 
 built, his shoulders being ample, and of a rotundity resembling 
 a wool-pack ; his legs were not equal to his bulk ; he was un- 
 conversational, almost to a fault, and never made even the 
 slightest remark that did not appertain to Cocks or cocking ; 
 his narrow, damp, colourless eye, twinkled a cold satisfaction 
 when a bird of promise made good work on the mat, and some- 
 times, though seldom, he was elevated into the proffer of a 
 moderate bet; but generally he leaned over the rails of a small 
 gallery, running parallel with the coop, and, stooping attentively 
 towards the pit, watched the progress of the battle. I re- 
 marked he was extremely like a Cock — old Nash's beaked 
 nose, drawn close down, over his mouth ; his red forehead and 
 gills; his round body; and blue, thin legs; and his silver- 
 gray, scanty, feathery hair, lying like a plume over his head, 
 all proved him Cock-like. This man, thought I, has been 
 cooped up in pens, or penned up in coops, until he has become 
 shaped, coloured, mannered like the bird he has been feeding. 
 I should scarcely have been surprised, if told, that old Nash 
 crowed when the light first dawned of a summer's morning. 
 I warrant he pecked bread and milk to some tune, and, per- 
 haps, slept upon a perch ! But Fleming lifted his bird from 
 the bag, and my whole mind was directed his way : this was a 
 yellow-bodied, black-winged, handsome Cock, seemingly rather 
 slight, but elastic and muscular ; he was restless at the sight 
 
220 T H E G A M E F O W L. 
 
 of his antagonist, but quite silent ; and old Nash examined him 
 most carefully, by the paper, and delivered him up to Flem- 
 ing, upon finding him answer to his description. The setters- 
 to then smoothed their birds, and handled them, wetted their 
 fingers, and moistened their bandaged ankles, where the spurs 
 were fostened ; held them up opposite to each other, and then 
 pampered their courage and prepared them for combat. 
 
 THE FIGHT. 
 
 The mat was cleared of all persons except Fleming and 
 young Nash ; the betting went on vociferously ; the setters-to 
 taunted the birds with each other's presence — allowed them to 
 strike at each other at a distance — put them on the mat facing 
 each other — encouraged and fed their crowing and mantling, 
 until they were nearly dangerous to hold, and then loosened 
 them ascainst each other, for the fatal fij^ht. 
 
 The first terrific dart into attitude was, indeed, strikingly 
 grand and beautiful ; and the wary sparring, watching, dodg- 
 ing for the first cut, was extremely curious. They were beak- 
 point to beak-point, until they dashed up into one tremendous 
 flirt, mingling their powerful, rustling wings, and nervous 
 heels, in one furious, confused mass. The leap, the fire, the 
 passion of strength, certa minis (j/audia, were fierce and loud : 
 the parting was another kind of thing, every way. I can com- 
 pare the sound of the first flight to nothing less than that of a 
 wet umbrella forced suddenly open. The separation was death- 
 like : the yellow, or rather the ginger bird, staggered out of 
 the close, drooping, dismantled, bleeding : he was struck. 
 
 Fleming and Nash severally took their birds, examined them 
 for a moment, and then set them again opposite to each other. 
 The handling of the Cocks was as delicate as if they had been 
 made of foam, froth, or any perishable matter. Fleming's 
 bii'd staggered towards his opponent, but he was hit dreadfully, 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 221 
 
 and ran like a drunken man — tottering on his breast, sinking 
 back his tail — while Nash's, full of fire and irritated courage, 
 gave the finishing stroke, that clove every particle of life in 
 twain. The brave bird thus killed, dropped at once from the 
 "gallant bearing, and proud mien,'' to the relaxed, draggled, 
 motionless object that lay in bleeding ruin on the mat. I sighed 
 and looked thoughtful, when the tumult of the betters startled 
 me into a consciousness of the scene at which I was present. 
 
 The victor Cock was carried by me in all his pride, slightly 
 scarred, but evidently made doubly fierce and muscular, by 
 the short encounter he had been engaged in. He seemed to 
 have grown double the size : his eyes were larger. 
 
 The paying backward and forward of money, won and lost, 
 occupied the time until the two Nashes again descended with 
 another Cock. 
 
 Sometimes the first blow was fatal, at another time the con- 
 test was long and doubtful, and the Cocks showed all the ob- 
 stinate courage, weariness, distress, and breathlessness, which 
 mark the struggle of experienced pugilists. I saw the beak 
 open, the tongue palpitate, the wing drag on the mat : I no- 
 ticed the legs tremble, and the body topple over upon the 
 breast ; the eye grow dim, and even a perspiration break out 
 upon the feathers of the back. When the battle lasted long, 
 and the Cocks lay helpless near or upon each other, one of the 
 feeders counted ten and the birds were separated and set-to 
 at the chalk. If the beaten bird does not fight while forty is 
 counted, and the other pecks or shows signs of battle, the 
 former is declared conquered. 
 
 The Cocks were the next object of curiosity. A covering 
 was hung before each pen, so that I heard rather than saw the 
 Cocks ; but it was feeding time, and I beheld innumerable 
 rocky beaks, and sparkling eyes at work in the troughs ; and 
 the stroke of the beak, in taking up the barley, was like the 
 
 19* 
 
222 T H E G A M E r W L. 
 
 knock of a manly knuckle on the table. Old Nasli was mix- 
 ing bread and milk for his feathered family. 
 
 Now hear what Mr. Dixon says concerning the Game Cock : 
 — The G-ame Cock is by no means the aggressive, sanguinary 
 tyrant that he is commonly represented to be. He will sub- 
 mit to no insult or intrusion within his own domain; but 
 neither does he offer any unprovoked assault. If his antago- 
 nist flee, he is satisfied, and does not pursue him in order to 
 perpetrate any bloody revenge. Other poultry that are killed 
 by Game Cocks, generally draw down the punishment upon 
 themselves, by their own impudent and continued aggression. 
 The bird, too, is as enduring of pain as he is bold in combat. 
 We were compelled, to prevent mischief, by amputating the 
 spurs of a Game Cock : he bore the operation, and the subse- 
 quent application of hot iron to prevent bleeding, without a 
 sound or a murmur ; and when set down in the midst of his 
 Hens, was as lofty and imperious in his carriage as ever. 
 ''Avis pugnax,'' ''the pugnacious bird," is a term applied by 
 Aldrovandi, not to fighting Cocks, but to Ruffs and Reeves. 
 A false notion of their savage disposition is also derived from 
 the sight of the sparrings of the half-grown chickens : but the 
 Pullets will indulge in this game as well as the Cockerels. It 
 is very rarely that mischief is meant by such tiltings. We 
 might remember that the play of all young animals is a sham- 
 fight. Young Lambs run races to obtain possession of a hil- 
 lock, from which the strongest will rebut the weak. Puppies 
 snarl, and growl, and snap, and struggle, all in perfect good- 
 nature. Kittens will roll over each other, and grapple, and 
 show in sport the best method of disembowelling an enemy 
 with their hind claws, if one of the playmates were but a rat. 
 Even boys can play at French and English ; and a couple of 
 Cockerels will often stand beak to beak, making two or three 
 jumps with outstretched neck and ruffled hackle, but with no 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 223 
 
 more evil intention (for the present) than many a gentleman 
 when he sets to his partner in a quadrille. 
 
 Sir W. Hooker gives a very pleasing instance of animal 
 skirmishing, which he observed while making his tour in Ice- 
 land : — 
 
 <' Had I been the only person to witness the following cir- 
 cumstance concerning the Dogs in Iceland, I should scarcely 
 have ventured to relate the anecdote ; but my scruples are 
 removed, as, so far from this having been the case, I was not 
 even the first who saw it ; for Mr. Browning, an officer of the 
 Talbot, whose ill-health confined him to a room on shore, called 
 my attention to it, by more than once remarking to me that 
 he had, from his window, in the morning of several successive 
 days, observed, at a certain hour, a number of Dogs assemble 
 near his house, as if by a previously concerted arrangement, 
 and, after performing a sort of sham-fight for some time, dis- 
 perse and return to their homes. A desire to be an eye-wit- 
 ness of so singular a fact, led me to go to this gentleman's 
 room one morning, just as these animals were about to collect. 
 The spot they frequented was across the river, which there are 
 but two ways of passing from the town without swimming, 
 the one a bridge, the other some stepping-stones, each situated 
 at a small distance from the other. By both these approaches 
 to the field, the Dogs belonging to Reikevig were running with 
 the greatest speed, while their companions of the neighbouring 
 country were hastening to the place of rendezvous from other 
 quarters. We counted twenty-five of them, not all of the true 
 Icelandic stock, (the Fiaar-huundar,^ but some of different 
 kinds, which had probably been brought to the country by the 
 Danes ; and I presume it was one of these, much larger and 
 stronger than the rest, who placed himself upon an eminence 
 in the centre of the crowd. In a few seconds, three or four 
 of them left the main body, and ran to the distance of thirty 
 or forty yards, where they skirmished in a sort of sham-battle; 
 
224 THEGAMEFOWL. 
 
 after which one or two of these returned, and one, two, or 
 three others immediately took their places ; party succeeding 
 party, till most, if not all, had had their share in the sport. 
 The captain remained stationary. The engagement was in 
 this manner kept up by different detachments, the Dogs con- 
 tinuing their amusement in playfulness and good humour, 
 though not without much barking and noise, for about a 
 quarter of an hour, when the whole of them dispersed, and 
 took the way to their respective homes in a less hasty manner 
 than they had arrived." 
 
 Allowing for the inferior intelligence of Fowls, many of the 
 gambols of chickens are similar to this. The Cock of the 
 Walk never interferes with such harmless frolics, which he 
 would do if they threatened any thing serious. Were I to 
 compare the temperament of Game Fowls with that of the 
 human race, I should say they had not one atom of the lym- 
 phatic in their composition, but a happy combination of the 
 sanguine and the nervous. The Game breed, among Fowls, 
 has been likened to the Arabian, among Horses. Their frame 
 is compacted of solid flesh and gristle : even the feathers of 
 the Game Cock (excepting the standards and the hackle) fit 
 very tightly and closely to the body of the bird, giving it, 
 when in high condition, a sort of crustaceous or even ena- 
 melled appearance, as if it were a piece of living Japan-work. 
 
 But though we wish to clear the Game breeds from the 
 charge of blood-thirsty cruelty, we cannot hold them out as 
 patterns of gentleness and forbearance. Might, with them, 
 makes right. None but the brave, however well they may 
 deserve, or how much soever they may long for, are likely to 
 enjoy, any favour from the present class of rusty-fusty coloured 
 beauties. Quiet people, unless they have studied Phrenology, 
 or kept Game Fowls, have little idea how close a connexion • 
 there is said to be between love and murder. But the ladies 
 have long found it out ; there is no sweetheart like a soldier. 
 
tm: game fowl. - 225 
 
 A constantly pacific male is despicable in their eyes. " Eh ! 
 si je veux qu'il me batte !" " If I choose my husband to beat 
 me, what business is that of 7/ours ? A pretty state of things, 
 when a woman may not permit her own husband to beat her !'* 
 So wrote the great Moliere, in the high-heeled, periwigged 
 reign of Louis XIV. But civilized and uncivilized nature is 
 alike. The southern she-savage, when her brute lifts his 
 waddy to give her a tap on the head that would fell an Eng- 
 lish ox, bows thankfully to receive the caress on her indurated 
 noddle, and triumphs that the compliment was not bestowed 
 upon" either of the other squaws. Here are some like doings 
 in chivalrous Spain : — 
 
 " There was a burly, savage-looking fellow, of about forty, 
 whose conduct was atrocious ; he sat with his wife, or perhaps 
 concubine, at the door of a room which opened upon the court : 
 he was continually venting horrible and obscene oaths, both 
 in Spanish and Catalan. The woman was remarkably hand 
 some, but robust, and seemingly as savage as himself; her 
 conversation, likewise, was as frightful as his own. Both 
 seemed to be under the influence of an incomprehensible fury. 
 At last, upon some observation from the woman, he started 
 up, and drawing a long knife from his girdle, stabbed at her 
 naked bosom ; she, however, interposed the palm of her hand, 
 which was much cut. He stood for a moment viewing the 
 blood trickling upon the ground, whilst she held up her 
 wounded hand, then, with an astounding oath, he hurried up 
 the court to the Plaza. I went up to the woman and said, 
 ^What is the cause of this? I hope the ruffian has not 
 seriously injured you/ She turned her countenance upon me 
 with the glance of a demon, and, at last, with a sneer of con- 
 tempt, exclaimed, '■Carols, que es esoP' ^Cannot a Catalan 
 gentleman be conversing with his lady upon their own private 
 affairs, without being interrupted by you ?' She then bound 
 up her hand with a handkerchief, and, going into the room, 
 
22^ THE C. A ME F O^L. 
 
 brought a small table to tlio door, on whioli she placed several 
 things, as if for the eveuiug repast, and then sat down on a 
 stool; presently returned the Catalan, and, without a word, took 
 his seat on the threshold ; then, as if nothing had occurred, 
 the extraordinary couple commenced eating and drinking, 
 interlarding their meal with oaths and jests." — Borroics Bible 
 in S})ain, vol. ii. p. 53. The lady was as submissive, as affec- 
 tionate, and withal as petulant, as the Game Hen, on whom 
 her lord bestows three or four sharp pecks, in punishment for 
 ill-behaviour. We are conscious that we ai'e now decidedly 
 wandering ; but, as a relief from the descriptiivn of quill- 
 feathers and the weight of Egg's, must really give an addi- 
 tional instance of the compatibility of even friendship with 
 slaughter. 
 
 " In the course of the day, our men went down to a small 
 brook, which flowed between the opposing armies, for water ; 
 and French and English soldiers might be seen drinking out 
 of the same narrow stream, and even leaning over to shake 
 hands with each other. One private, of ni}- own regiment, 
 actually exchanged forage-caps with a soldier of the enemy, 
 as a token of regard and good-will. Such courtesies, if they 
 do not disguise, at least soften the horrid features of war ; and 
 it is thus we learn to reconcile our minds to scenes of blood 
 and carnage." — HecoUectiom of the Peninsula, p. 110. 
 
 '' It was a strange thing to see, in the crowded wards of the 
 hospital, English and French soldiei-s lying helplessly side by 
 side, or here and there performing little kind offices for each 
 other, with a willing and a cheerful air. Their wants and 
 thoughts, I observed, they communicated to each other in 
 phrases of Spanish, which language many of the French pri- 
 vates spoke lluently, and our men understood well enough for 
 all common purposes." — Id. p. 16S. 
 
 Game Cocks are led on to battle by blind instinct, and have 
 no higher directing principle. Shall we men ever retain the 
 
THE GAME F W L. 227 
 
 virtue of friendship, and abolifili the act of slaughter? Or 
 would the abolition of bloody warfare be succeeded by some 
 more villainous mode of gaining pre-eminence over each other? 
 
 As to Cock-fighting, I must believe it to have been made 
 the theme of much ignorant cant. Hawking is a noble and 
 honourable pastime ; Cock-fighting is low and disgraceful. I 
 have never seen a Cock-fight, and probably never shall. From 
 what one has heard and read, it must be most exciting sport ; 
 but people who are proud of Waterloo, who dine off hunted 
 hare, and breakfast on shrimps that have been boiled alive, 
 allude to it with horror, as an atrocity incredible and unmen- 
 tionable. Cocks, however, must die. Would a Cock that had 
 been fought, be worse eating than a hare that had been hunted ? 
 And as to the mode of death, — ask a Cock which he would 
 choose, — to be hung up by the heels, and have the cook run 
 a knife up his throat, taking care that he bleed long, and die 
 slowly, in order that his flesh may be so much the nicer and 
 whiter, — or, to be set face to face with his adversary, and fight 
 for his life ! — if he win, to be petted and praised ; if he fall, 
 to have his existence cut short by one sharp, merciful thrust, 
 instead of the lingering fuintnoss of a culinary departure? 
 The combat is a pleasure ; the survivorship, a fair chance. 
 
 But Cock-fights v/ere shamefully barbarous; they made 
 people so hard-hearted and unfeeling, and gave rise to so much 
 gambling : and as we have now no smooth-faced villains, nor 
 any lying, double-tongued, intri;j,uing robbers in the country; 
 as we never now get rid of rivals, or people that stand in our 
 way, by hunting them to death with persecution and calumny; 
 secret poisoning, also, and infanticide, being unsuspected 
 amongst us ; above all, as gambling and swindling, of what- 
 ever kind, is utterly abolished, particularly in London and 
 some neighbouring towns, such as Epsom, it will be a great 
 pity if ever another Game Fowl is hatched in England — the 
 poultry sent to market being so much more humanely put to 
 
228 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 death : although one does see a few thorough-bred birds now 
 and then, and hears faint rumours of an occasional amicable 
 trial of strength.* 
 
 There is a very graphic account of a main, conducted secun- 
 dum artem in by-gone days, to be found in Blaine's " Rural 
 Sports/' But Cock-fighting is of older date than modern 
 fashionable refinement, and may possibly survive it. ^' The 
 Alexandrians," says Statius, quoted by the Quarterly Review, 
 " were indiflferent soldiers, but the best of singers, and only 
 surpassed by their compatriots, the Alexandrian fighting Cocks, 
 as an appendage to Rouian supper-parties.'' "We have heard 
 of a nobleman of the old school having a few couple of Cocks 
 up into the drawing-room, as an agreeable interruption to the 
 tiresome rubbers of whist. But before noblemen and their 
 
 * I am informed that, iu certain places in Warwicksliire, and in 
 the adjoining county of Staffordshii'e, the effects of Cock-fighting 
 still continue to be impoverishing, demoralizing, and degrading to 
 its followers, clothing them and their families in rags. It is no un- 
 common thing, among the working people of that district, to stake 
 the whole of their week's hard earnings upon a single fight. What 
 must be the wretchedness and misery brought upon the families thus 
 depi'ived of their only means of subsistence? Cock-fighting, with 
 these results, is a terrible evil, for other reasons than mere senti- 
 mental talk about its cruelty. People can go and see a poor girl, or 
 a reckless man, whom they believe to be endoAved with immortal 
 souls, daily expose themselves to be destroyed in a moment by lions 
 and tigers, but they are too delicate to witness the shedding of a 
 Cock's blood. It is the gambling which is the great immorality ; of 
 coxirse, the assembling of so many low characters must be dangerous 
 to the well-being of society. But the local magistrates surely have 
 power, if they choose to exert it, of legally putting down such gam- 
 bling, and preventing such assemblies ; and the police would be 
 better employed in preventing such ruinous infringements of the law, 
 than in many of the cases on which they try their 'prentice hand, in 
 a desperate effort to obtain their maiden conviction. 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 229 
 
 drawing-rooms were invented hereabouts, these little turns-up 
 were unthinkingly made a source of amusement. Read what 
 an observant traveller, and really estimable man, who could 
 not himself have been deficient in courage, either physical or 
 moral, has recorded : 
 
 "The most ancient, but certainly not the most innocent 
 game among the Tahitians, was the faatito-raamoa, literally, 
 the causing fighting among Fowls, or Cock-fighting. The Ta- 
 hitians do not appear to have staked any property, or laid any 
 bets, on their favourite birds, but to have trained and fought 
 them for the sake of the gTatification they derived from be- 
 holding them destroy each other. Long before the first foreign 
 vessel was seen ofi" their shores, they were accustomed to train 
 and fight their birds. The Fowls designed for fighting were 
 fed with great care ; a finely-carved fatapua, or stand, was 
 made as a perch for the birds. This was planted in the house, 
 and the bird fastened to it by a piece of curious cinct, braided 
 flat, that it might not injure the leg. No other substance would 
 have been secure against the attacks of his beak. Their food 
 was chiefly poe, or bruised bread-fruit, rolled up in the hand, 
 like paste, and given in small pieces. The Fowl was taught 
 to open his mouth to receive his food and his water, which was 
 poured from his master's hand. It was customary to sprinkle 
 water over these birds to refresh them. The natives were 
 universally addicted to this sport. The inhabitants of one 
 district often matched their birds against those of another divi- 
 sion. They do not appear to have entertained any predi- 
 lection for particular colour in the Fowls, but seem to have 
 esteemed all alike. They never trimmed any of the feathers, 
 but were proud to see them with heavy wings, full-feathered 
 necks, and long tails. They also accustomed them to fight 
 without artificial spurs, or other means of injury. In order 
 that the birds might be as fresh as possible, they fought them 
 early in the morning, soon after day-break, while the air was 
 
 20 
 
230 THEGAMEFOWL. 
 
 cool, and before they became languid from the heat. More 
 than two were seldom engaged at once, and so soon as one bird 
 avoided the other, he was considered as vi, or beaten. Victory 
 was declared in favour of his opponent, and they were imme- 
 diately parted. This amusement was sometimes continued for 
 several days successively.^' — Ellis's Polynesian Researches^ 
 vol. i. p. 302. 
 
 It would appear from Mr. Ellis, that there are innate ideas 
 in the human understanding, one of which is Cock-fighting. 
 The Tahitians manifest their simplicity in fighting for love, not 
 for money. Other barbarians show themselves to be more 
 sophisticated. 
 
 '^Throughout every rank of the people of Sumatra there 
 prevails a strong spirit of gaming. Cock-fighting they are still 
 more passionately addicted to, and it is indulged to them under 
 certain regulations. Where they are perfectly independent, 
 their propensity to it is so great, than it resembles rather a se- 
 rious occupation than a sport. You seldom meet a man tra- 
 velling in the country, without a Cock under his arm, and some- 
 times fifty in a company, when there is a himha.ng in one of 
 the neighbouring villages. A countryman coming down, on 
 any occasion, to the qualloe, or mouth of the river, if he boast 
 the least degree of spirit, must not be unprovided with this 
 token of it. They often game high at their meetings ; par- 
 ticularly when a superstitious faith in the invincibility of their 
 bird has been strengthened by past success. An hundred 
 Spanish dollars is no very uncommon risk, and instances have 
 occurred of a father staking his children or wife, and a son his 
 mother or sisters, on the issue of a battle when a run of ill-luck 
 has stripped them of property, and rendered them desperate. 
 Quarrels, attended with dreadful consequences, have often arisen 
 on these occasions. 
 
 " By their customs, there are four umpires appointed to de- 
 termine on all disputed points in the course of the battles, and 
 
THE GAME FOWL. - 231 
 
 from their decision there lies no appeal, except the Gothic ap- 
 peal to the sword. A person losing, and who has not the ability 
 to pay, is immediately proscribed, departs with disgrace, and is 
 [never again suffered to appear at the galangang. This cannot 
 with propriety be translated, a Cock-pity as it is generally a 
 spot on the level ground, or a stage erected and covered in. It 
 is inclosed with railing which keeps oflF the spectators ] none 
 but the handlers and heelers being admitted withinside. A 
 man who has a high opinion of and regard for his Cock, will 
 not fight him under a certain number of dollars, which he 
 places in order on the floor; his poor adversary is perhaps 
 unable to deposit above one-half: the standers-by make up the 
 sum, and receive their dividends in proportion, if successful. 
 A father, at his death-bed, has been known to desire his son 
 to take the first opportunity of matching a certain Cock, for a 
 sum equal to his whole property, under a blind conviction that 
 he was hetooah, or invulnerable. 
 
 " Cocks of the same colour are never matched, but a grey 
 against a pile, a yellow against a red, or the like. This might 
 have been originally designed to prevent disputes, or knavish 
 impositions. The Malay breed of Cocks is much esteemed by 
 connoisseurs who have had an opportunity of trying them. 
 G-reat pains is taken in the rearing and feeding ; they are fre- 
 quently handled, and accustomed to spar in public, in order to 
 prevent any shyness. Contrary to our laws, the owner is 
 allowed to take up and handle his Cock during the battle ; to 
 clear his eye of a feather, or his mouth of blood. When a Cock 
 is killed, or runs, the other "must have sufficient spirit and 
 vigour left to peck at him three times, on his being held to 
 him for that purpose,- or it becomes a drawn battle ; and some- 
 times an experienced cocker will place the head of his van- 
 quished bird in such an uncouth posture, as to terrify the other, 
 and render him unable to give this proof of victory. The 
 Cocks are never trimmed, but matched in full feather. The 
 
232 THE GAME F O W L. 
 
 artificial spur used in Sumatra, resembles in shape the blade 
 of a scimetar, and proves a more destructive weapon than the 
 European spur. It has no socket, but is tied to the leg, and 
 in the position of it the nicetv of the match is regulated. As, 
 in horse-racing, weight is proportioned to inches, so, in cocking, 
 a bird of superior size and weight is brought to an equality 
 with his adversary, by fixing the steel spur so many scales of 
 the leg above the natural spur, and thus obliging him to fight 
 with a degree of disadvantage. It rarely happens that both 
 Cocks survive the combat. 
 
 *' In the northern parts of the island, where gold-dust is the 
 common medium of gambling, as well as of trade, so much is 
 accidently dropped in weighing and delivering, that at some 
 Cock-pits, where the resort of people is great, the sweepings 
 are said, probably with exaggeration, to be worth upwards of a 
 thousand dollai*s per annum to the owner of the ground ; be- 
 sides his profit o{ tvro fanams ^fivepence) for each battle. 
 
 " In some places they match quails, in the manner of Cocks. 
 These fight with great inveteracy, and endeavour to seize each 
 other by the tongue. The Achenese bring also into combat 
 the dial-bird (moon) which resembles a small magpie, but has 
 an agreeable, though imperfect note. They sometimes engage 
 one another on the wing, and di-op to the ground in the struggle." 
 — JfarsJen's Sistori/ of Sumatra j pp. 236-8. London, ITSo. 
 
 This exti-aordinary account is not without the confirmation 
 which it needs : — 
 
 " The Indians, (of 3IaniUa,) in common with aU Malays, are 
 passionately fond of Cock-fighting, but they are not permitted 
 to indulge at pleasure this inclination. An Indian rarely 
 walks out without a Cock, and as soon as he meets another In- 
 dian with one under his arm, the two birds are set down, and 
 immediately engage : but battles with steel spurs are only 
 permitted in a place formed for the purpose, which is farmed 
 fi-om the king, at a rent of twenty or twenty-five thousand 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 233 
 
 dollars : here the Indians assemble, and frequently bet on their 
 favourite Cocks the whole of what they are worth. The fate 
 of the gamesters is soon decided, for the Cocks being armed 
 with sharp spurs, one or the other is killed almost in an in- 
 stant.'' — De Guiyne's Observations on the Philippine Islands. 
 
 But abstinence from Cock-fighting sometimes meets with its 
 reward : 
 
 '^ The fort (at Achin) was but sorrily governed when I was 
 there ; nor was there that care taken to keep a fair corre- 
 spondence with the natives in the neighbourhood as I think 
 ought to be, in all trading places especially. When I came 
 thither there were two neighbouring Rajas in the stocks, for 
 no other reason but because they had not brought down to the 
 fort such a quantity of pepper as the governor had sent for. 
 Yet these Rajas rule in the country, and have a considerable 
 number of subjects, who were so exasperated at these inso- 
 lences, that, as I have since been informed, they came down 
 and assaulted the fort, under the conduct of one of these Rajas. 
 But the fort, as bad as it is, is guarded enough against such 
 indifferent soldiers as they are : who, though they have courage 
 enough, yet scarce any arms besides back-swords, cressets, and 
 lances, nor skill to use artillery, if they had it. At another 
 time they made an attempt to surprise the fort, under pretence 
 of a Cock-match ; to which they hoped the garrison would come 
 out, to share in the sport, and so the fort left with small de- 
 fence. For the Malayans here are great lovers of Cock-fight- 
 ing, and there were about one thousand of them got together 
 about this match, while their armed men lay in ambush. But 
 it so happened that none of the garrison went out to the Cock- 
 match, but one John Neclin, a Dame, who was a great gamester 
 himself; and he, discovering the ambush, gave notice of it to 
 the governor, who was in disorder enough upon their approach; 
 but a few of the great guns drove them away.'' — Mr. Dampier's 
 Voyagesj vol. ii. (Supplement.) London, mdcc. p. 184. 
 
 20* 
 
i:o4 THE GAME F O W L. 
 
 Not wisliiug, there tore, to stimulate our j-outh to Cock- 
 fighting, any more than we woukl lead them to over-sensitive 
 rotlnemeut or spurious huuiauity, we will give no further di- 
 rections about the rearing of Oame-chicks (^although it would 
 he very easy to do so) than to state that, instead of allotting 
 twenty-four Hens to one Cock, in a *' ward/' too, as has been 
 currently published and Ivlieved to be a good plan, one Cock, 
 with two, or at most three Hens, should be quietly located at 
 large, in some spot where they are secure from giving or re- 
 ceiving interruption. The Cockerels three-quarters gi\>wn (^au 
 example to our lads^ are not permitted to run as they choose 
 with any society that ma}' offer, but are withdrawn to quiet, 
 rural, jury, grassy walks, wheix' they are encouraged to scratch 
 the groimd as much as they like, to increase their means of 
 livelihood, and are removed from the temptation (^the possibility, 
 indeed,) of having any but the most discreet femiUe society. 
 Cix^ks so educated are valuable for better purposes than for 
 fiirhting and Knng betted upon. They become tii-st-i*ate fathers 
 of fttmilies- If a stock of Poultry is flagging and degenerate, 
 the owner hardly knows why, the admission of a good Game 
 Cock will soon set all to rights. His very look and air inspire 
 health and cheerfulness into the dispirited Hens. He fertilizes 
 the Eggs of every variety of Domestic Fowl, from the little 
 Black Bantam to the portly Dorking. The issue of such 
 crosses does not :ilways resemble either parent, but it is sure 
 to be something pretty, useful, and thrifty. " Bad the crow, 
 bad the egg,'* xaxou aeop««oj xeueov t^v. ITce rtv>\i, gv>od the 
 Cock, good the Chick ; there is certainly something in breeding. 
 The m:\les of almost every variety are lovely creatures, 
 though tastes difier as to the preference. They do not attain 
 their perfect plumage till their third year, aud perhaps increase 
 in beauty for a year or two afterwards. I think I have hej\rd 
 that, according to the modern rules of the Pit, birds are not 
 admissible after they have attained a certain age and weight. 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 235 
 
 But all thin is nothing to us. We are looking after ornamental, 
 and, incidentally, uweful qualities. The red bird«, so called, 
 are montly splendid and dashing in their appearance; the yel- 
 low-hogged tribe are very gaudy, hright, and strongly c^^n- 
 trasted, though apt to be a little under-sized; the duck-winged 
 grays, so called from their iridescent wing-coverts, which re- 
 mind one of the speculum in a Duck's wing, are most harmo- 
 niously coloured, softly, yet brilliantly tinted, and only not 
 sufficiently rare to be admired with enthusiasm. 
 
 As before observed, it is not our present task to ent^^r into 
 the minute and technical distinctions of Game Fowls. An in- 
 dustrious examination of them, with good opportunities, might 
 lead to very interesting conclusions. Meanwhile, we will 
 print one valuable and original record, as a commencement. 
 
 " There are evidently two varieties of the Game Fowl, if 
 not more. (Assuredly.) The first, occasionally seen in the 
 yard of the farmer, is a bird over the average size, and rather 
 heavily formed; rather t^jo much comb ; breast quite black; 
 neck, back, and wings of a very deep red; tail, glossy green. 
 The Hen plain brown, with a lighter-coloured neck, sometimes 
 a little streaked with ochre ; legs light-coloured or white. 
 
 " The other variety, which I much prefer, and now possess, 
 is a smaller Fowl, of a peculiarly light and elegant make ; head 
 very small and fine; neck, light orange-red; breast richly 
 spotted, as are, also, in a degree, the wings; back, very rich 
 red ; tail, glossy greenish black ; legs, dark. Hens, brown of 
 various shades, the feathers being streaked with pale ochre 
 down the middle, the same as Pheasants ; comb, in the Cocks 
 very small, and not large in the Hens. 
 
 "These are most high-spirited birds, and will soon gain the 
 ascendancy of any yard. The eggs are slightly tinged with 
 yellow-buff, rather small, and long in shape. Hens, good layers 
 and sitters. Chicks, when first hatched, exceedingly pretty, 
 beiixg marked with a deep brown streak on the hea^i and neck, 
 
*236 THE GAME FOWL, 
 
 that continues down the back. They are hardy little things, 
 and easy to rear. How many degrees removed from the 
 Pheasant this breed may he. is difficult to say, (they are as 
 ■widely removed as the Xorth from the South Pole, or Pogs 
 from Cats, as far as relationship is concerned,) but there is 
 evidently a strong ^\mily likeness. (True, if we regard natu- 
 ral affinity meivly.") The Pheasants here have no objection, 
 at any time, to an occasional admixture (^socially, we believe, 
 not amatively^ with the Domestic Poultry, I imagine : and the 
 parties will often meet in our shrubberies, to partake of the 
 berries of the Symphonia racemosa, or snowberry, of which 
 they are both exc-essively fond, and will often jump up to some 
 height to procure them. This breed of the Crame Fowl we 
 have found excellent and high-flavoured. 
 
 *' Some years since, I had a Game Hen sitting in a cow-crib, 
 with the usual quantity of Eggs. Long before any Chicks 
 could be making their appearance, I several times noticed some 
 living thing run from under the Hen on taking her up. This 
 I afterwards discovered to be a fine mouse, that repaired there 
 for warmth every day ; and it was a curious sight, on the day 
 the Chicks came out. to see it nestling among them, the Hen 
 looking on most complacently. She was, however, very savage 
 to human kind, and would peck your hand severely, if put into 
 the nest. 
 
 ''But Poultry, in general, enjoy mouse-catching, and will 
 often, when a rick is taking in, watch for and sieze them with 
 uncommon certainty, and then peek them to pieces and eat 
 them."— jS: H. 
 
 In confirmation of which, here is another case : — '' I think I 
 told you my Dorking and Spanish Hens are famous mousers. 
 "When a stack is got in, they prowl about, and wo to any un- 
 fortunate mouse that escapes the men's hands: while making 
 off, they pounce upon it and eat it up. A few days since, 
 a boy in my yard saw a weasel very busy in a pea-stack, diiving 
 
T n K r> A M E FOWL. 287 
 
 the mice ahout^thf. Jatt^.r, of courHo, in fn-oM conKf/.ma- 
 tion. After a littlo while, two rnieo bolted, jumped off the 
 Htack to oHcapo their implacable enemy, but fell inte a« bad 
 handH; for they were both seized by Hen8, pecked te death, 
 • and eaten up in no time. It wa« ntrange that a weag^-l should 
 act aH a jackall to fowln. YcHterday, I threw a large field- 
 mouHc to a lien, and watelif.d l.r.r pock it, and then eat it up '' 
 — iV. I). F. ^ ' 
 
 "A red and white Game Cock of any breed, ih called a 
 Pih; thuH 1 have heard a Maky Cock tliat was white, with a 
 red ba/;k, called a J^ile, but I am not quite Bure that the ex- 
 pre«Hion in applied te birdn that are not Game. So the Staf- 
 fordshire I^ile muHt be red and white-/'—./. H. W. 
 
 ThA Furw^HH Game /'W;/.— ^^ When, or from what place, 
 thiH truly beautiful Hi>ecimen of the Game tril>e was introducr^d, 
 i« quite a mystery, even with the fanciers and breeders of it! 
 The Cock is a bird of singular and handsome appearanc<3. 
 The neck, br>dy, and tail are of a beautiful shining black, vary 
 rich and lustrous, with a saddle of light buff. The Hen is fx^r- 
 fectly bla^;k, with occaHJonally a slight touch of gold in the 
 hjickle. In some specimens, both Cock and Hen had a golden 
 hackle, but I should say that «uch had been crossed with some 
 other variety/'—/'. S. B. ^^Jesides this, there is the bhi.;k- 
 breasted copper-winged Furness, which is entirely black all 
 over, except the wings, the feathers of which are copper-co- 
 loured. Then, very nearly allied te> these in colour, is the 
 Pole-cat Game Fowl, differing from the Furness only in hav- 
 ing more of light or straw-coloured feathers upon him, his 
 wings being of that colour, in arJdition to the markings of the 
 Furness; his breast and the rest of his bo<Jy being generally 
 black, but sometimes his breast is sha/ly or streaked. 
 
 ''TU Filfji are universally known as Cheshire Piles, Staf- 
 fordshire Piles, and streaky-breasted Red Piles. Cheshire 
 Piles have always a thoroughly red back, with all the rest of 
 
238 THE GAME F W L. 
 
 the feathers white, excepting oectisionally tliat the breast is 
 streaked with red also. Staftbrdshire Piles are similar in m:\rk- 
 ings to the Cheshire, but of a yellower east, (or what is called 
 by breeders 'carroty,") apjnxxichiug to an orange-yellow; the 
 breast is also sometimes streaked with the same colour as the 
 back. AVhite is the predominating colour both in the SUif- 
 Ibrdshire and the Cheshire Rles. Streaky-breasted Eed Hlea 
 are in all respects like the brown-breasted EedGame Fowls, 
 with this addition, that the wings are partly white, and the 
 tail also partly white. 
 
 ^^ White Game Foirl are well known in the ^lidlaud Coun- 
 ties, and, iu the opinion of some, are the most chaste and beau- 
 tiful variety of all, and are highly prized by those who keep 
 them. They difler iu nothing from the class of Fowls to which 
 they belong, except in colour, which is uniformly white. But 
 for years past the breeders have been so much in the habit of 
 crossing the diflerent coloured birds, which no doubt improves 
 them for lighting purposes, that it has caused gi-eat confusion 
 in the feather, and rendered it extivmely difficult to bived dis- 
 tinctly-marked binls with certainty.** — J. B. 
 
 The famous breed of Game Fowls belonging to the Earl of 
 Perby are black-breasted Hods, and do not dilTor from other 
 birds of the kind, except in being a select family, with occasional 
 judicious crosses, as with those of Lord Sefton, Mr. Germain, JMr. 
 Potter, Mr. Folkes, and Dr. Taylor. Mr. llichardson has puzzled 
 his readers by stating, '* that the breed htvs never yet been 
 known to turn tail, notwithstcuiding the pertinacious adherence of 
 a tchite /eath<:r to the pile — a blemish that no breeding has been 
 able to cKidicate, but which, notwithstanding the well-known 
 proverbial prejudice to the contrary, has, in this instance, been 
 the never-tailing concomitant of courage." Now a Pile is a 
 peculiar kind of Game Fowl, not any jrnrt of one to which a 
 tchiic featlia- can adhere. Poor Richardson, being induced to 
 write little books faster than he could clearly grasp their sub- 
 
T II K (] A M E FOWL. 239 
 
 jectH, porhaptt did not uriderHtand his own oxprcHsion ; but 
 through the kindncKH of the Karl of Derby, I am enabled to 
 give an account of the breed, furniHhed by the person who has 
 charge of the birds : it is still retained in its original purity, 
 for the sake of its ornithology, not its gladiatorial value. 
 
 Mr. Tliomas Roseoe states, '^ I have known the best of 
 Game (Jocks to turn ofl' when out of condition, but not on any 
 other occasion. The original blood has been in the hands of 
 John Ptosooe and family, as breeders to his lordship, for sixty 
 years, and I should suppose it carne to Knowsley in Lord 
 Strange' s days, the grandfather of the present Earl. 
 
 " The (jock is a line round-shaped bird, with white striped 
 bill; daw eyes and fiery; round and stropg neck; fine, round, 
 close-feathered hackle, feather points to shoulders; short, stiff, 
 broad back, close- feathered and hard ; tail long and sickled, 
 well tufted at root; wings round and well prolonged, so as to 
 protect the thighs ; breast broad and black ; belly small and 
 tight in the pinions ; thighs short and thick, well set to the 
 body; legs long and white; smooth insteps; claws strong; 
 nails long and white ; th(; comb of a Stag is rather large and 
 red, before being cut ; weight about .0 lbs. 
 
 "The Hen is of a fine round shape, in colour resembling a 
 partridge, with daw eyes, white legs, toes, and nails, and large 
 and fanned tail. The (Jhicks when first hatched incline to 
 yeUow, with a darkish stripe down their back, changing colour 
 as they advance in age. The Eggs vary in colour; 1 should 
 prefer those inclined to buff; they are generally well-propor- 
 tioned, inclining to length. The liens are capital sitters and 
 nurses. 
 
 "We generally cut the combs of the young (Jocks when 
 between six and nine months old ; the spurs are left on to 
 defend them on their walk, and are only cut off when they are 
 penned up previous to fighting, in which state they spend 
 about eleven days, and are trained by making them spar in 
 
240 T H E G A M E F O W L. 
 
 warm rooms, with boxing-gloves, made to fit the heel, and pre- 
 vent them from hurting each other. The feeding part, on 
 which so much depends, is a great secret." [Every feeder has 
 his own secret, and no two secrets are probably the same.] 
 
 " I have known them frequently attack men, dogs, calves, 
 pigs, turkeys, and geese; and a single bird has killed seven 
 of its opponents in one day, when fighting in our trial mains 
 at Knowsley." 
 
 Neither John Roscoe, nor his son Thomas Eoscoe, ever had 
 anything to do with the feeding of the late Lord Derby's game 
 birds, or the training them for the Pit on their own account, 
 but there were always regular persons, called '' feeders " or 
 " trainers,'' who made it their business, and were employed by 
 difi'erent gentlemen who had mains, and under whose special care 
 and direction the birds were always placed for a certain time 
 previous to their being brought out to tight. Roscoe, and his 
 son, now living, having for many years seen the course and the 
 methods pursued by these trainers, and under whose orders 
 they had to act, have no doubt picked up and remember some 
 of the secrets of the trade which used to exist among them, 
 and to be kept with very great jealousy; but they were never 
 employed themselves as feeders, except as any other servant 
 mio-ht have been who was supposed to have some little know- 
 ledge on the occasion of the trial mains, which always occur- 
 red previous to the regular public mains of the match, in order 
 to test the goodness of the different crosses from which the 
 selection of the combatants was to be made. A system was 
 universally adopted by all Cockers of distinguishing the seve- 
 ral breeds, by special artificial marks attached to each cross, 
 so that a Cock marked so and so, was put down with a certain 
 number of Hens marked, say " light e^'es," to breed at a par- 
 ticular spot or farm, the produce of which would be marked 
 by the mixture of the parents' marks. The Eggs from these 
 were all gathered up regularly, and set, and the Chickens put 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 241 
 
 out to be brought up at different farm-houses or cottages, and 
 regularly looked after by old Roscoe, as Cocker, who kept a 
 regular book, in which they were entered as correctly as any 
 tradesman or mercantile firm would keep their accounts ; so 
 that at any moment Koscoe could tell Lord Derby how many 
 Cocks he had of any particular sort, of what age, and where 
 they each were, in case any should be wanted, or for the pur- 
 pose of selecting the combatants for each main. It was neces- 
 sary to ascertain that no other Cock was kept by the farmer, 
 nor one too near a brood walk, nor any Turkeys, nor other 
 nuisances that might injure the Cocks by setting them fight- 
 ing ; neither were the people allowed to hoffle the Hens, so as 
 to prevent their scratching. These, and .various other such 
 matters, as the Dubbing, as the comb-cutting the young Cocks 
 was called, the marking of the Chickens, &c., were the ofl&ce 
 of Roscoe, for whom a horse was always kept, that he might 
 be able to go round to the distant farms, &c., and see that all 
 was right, or else remove the birds elsewhere. The Chickens, 
 as soon as hatched, were marked and then put out to nurse 
 among the cottagers of the neighbourhood, who were allowed 
 to keep as many Hens of any kind as they liked, and often 
 obtained thus a sort of cross breed, which obtained some 
 sort of notoriety. They were also paid a certain sum for each 
 Chicken taken away. When Lord Derby was about to fight 
 a main, he used to look over his Cock Book and select a cer- 
 tain number of each of the sorts he might choose for that par- 
 ticular main ; orders were then given to Roscoe to bring up 
 such Cocks from such and such a walk in his book, and those 
 selected as fit were placed under his care in a particular build- 
 ing at Knowsley, till the Trainer or Feeder could come and 
 see to them, which was always at a particular period before the 
 public main. These birds were then put up by the Feeder as 
 he would have done for the main itself, and Lord Derby, with 
 a few friends in his confidence, assembled to witness the trial, 
 
 21 
 
242 T H E O A M E F W L. 
 
 for which his Lonlship almost iihvays had down his own regu- 
 lar Setter, and ivport was regularly made as to the conduct of 
 each bird in these preliminary combats. The birds selected 
 for these, were of course not the very best, but generally 
 chosen because of some slight defect or accident which would 
 have been undesirable to have produced in the public l^t, but 
 which did not interfere with the powers or prowess of the bird, 
 and would thus afford a clue to judge of the qualities of his 
 brethren. Some sorts were thus of course at once condemned, 
 and othei*s removed for fui-ther trial, and some selected for 
 keeping as stock for breeding and iightiug. According to these 
 reports, a sufficient number of each approved sort were set 
 aside from the stud-book for the regular main, and collected 
 shortly before it, to be handed over to the regular Feeder, of 
 whom Lord Perb}' employed sevend. The last, who fed for his 
 lordship many years, was one Potter, who lia^ now been dead 
 some time, and his son has sometimes followed the s;ime line. 
 Thei*e used to be very great jealousy observed among the 
 Feedei-s, so much so, that young Potter and Roseoe always 
 slept in the Pen-room previous to, and during a main, and the 
 key was never out of their possession, or the Feeder's ; nor 
 sometimes could even Lord Derby's son have obtained ad- 
 mission, unless with one of them, or as a very great and spe- 
 cial tavour. After Lord Perby gave up his mains, Roseoe, 
 and, since his death, his son, has been employed in the care 
 of the decreased number of Game Fowls about Knowsley, for 
 the supply of the House with poultry and eggs, and with 
 Hens for incubation ; but a good many more were given to 
 Roseoe to do as he pleased with ; so that whenever the present 
 Earl wanted to send some to foreign countries, he could not 
 tell where to apply, and was obliged to have recourse to the 
 present Eoscoe to find out the small remaining stock. The 
 correctness of the bi*eed now in his lordship's possession, there- 
 fore^ depends entirely upon him. The terms used by Cockers 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 243 
 
 for cutting the combs of Cock Chickens, is "dubbing j'' and 
 birds of the first year are called Stags. The late Lord Derby 
 was so biased by his cocking tastes, as to consider the Fowl 
 in its natural state not fit to be looked at in comparison to one 
 that was properly dubbed, cut, and trimmed for fighting : nor 
 need this surprise us, if we remember how much depends upon 
 habit and fashion. Crop-eared dogs, nicked horses, perriwig- 
 ged beaux^ powdered and hooped belles, have all been admired 
 as the beau ideal of their class; and even in 1850, we should 
 rather like to see the face of a sheep-master on his sudden and 
 unexpected introduction to a flock of long-tailed, undocked 
 Leicesters. 
 
 That in some parts of the world Cock-fights are an attraction 
 even to ladies of high degree, appears from a clever letter, 
 dated June 15, 1840. 
 
 " The high-road leading from Mexico to San Augustin is 
 covered with vehicles of every description. Those who are 
 not fortunate enough to possess any wheeled conveyance, come 
 out on horse, ass, or mule, single, double, or treble if neces- 
 sary ; and many hundred trudge out on foot. The President 
 of the Republic himself, in his carriage and six, and attended 
 by his aides-de-camp, sanctions by his presence the amuse- 
 ments of the fete. The Mexican generals and other officers 
 follow in his wake, and the gratifying spectacle may not un- 
 frequently be seen, of the President leaning from his box in 
 the plaza de galloH, or Cock Theatre, and betting upon a Cock, 
 with a coatless, bootless, hatless, and probably worthless raga- 
 muffin in the pit ! 
 
 " We went to the gallos about three o'clock. The Plaza 
 was crowded, and the ladies, in their boxes, looked like a 
 parterre of different-coloured flowers. But whilst the Seiioras 
 in their boxes did honour to the fete by their brilliant toilet, 
 the gentlemen promenaded round the circle in jackets, high 
 and low being on the same curtailed footing, and certainly in 
 
244 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 a style of dress more befitting the exhibition. The President 
 and his suite were already there, also several of the foreign 
 ministers. 
 
 '* Meanwhile, the Cocks crowed valiantly, bets were adjusted, 
 and even the women entered int<) the spirit of the scene, 
 taking bets with the gentlemen, sotto cocCj in their boxes, upon 
 such and such favourite animal. As a small knife Is fastened 
 to the leg of each Cook, the battle seldom lasted long ; one 
 or other falling every few minutes in a pool of blood. Then 
 there was a clapping of hands, mingled with the loud crowing 
 of some unfortunate Cock, who was giving himself airs pre- 
 vious to a combat where he was probably destined to crow his 
 last. It has a curious eifect to European eyes, to see young 
 ladies of good family, looking peculiarly feminine and gentle, 
 sanctioning by their presence this savage diversion. It is no 
 doubt the effect of early habit, and you will s:\v that at least 
 it is no worse than a bull-fight ; which is certain — ^yet cruel 
 as the latter is, I find something more e/i i/rand, more noble 
 in the 
 
 ' Ungentle sport that oft invites 
 The Spanish maid, and cheers the Spanish swain;' 
 
 in the roaring of the * lord of lowing herds' ; the galloping 
 of the fine horses, the skill of the riders, the gay dresses, the 
 music and the agile matador; in short, in the whole pomp 
 and circumstances of the combat, than when one looks quietly 
 on to see two birds peck each other's eyes out, and cut each 
 other to pieces. Unlike Cock-pits in other countries, attended 
 by blacklegs and pick-pockets, and gentlemanly roud^j by far 
 the largest portion of the assembly in the pit was composed 
 of the fii'st young men in Mexico, and for that matter, of the 
 first old ones also. There was neither confusion, nor noise, 
 nor even loud talkincr, far less swearinji, amongst the lowest 
 of those assembled in the ring; and it is this quiet and orderly 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 245 
 
 behaviour which throws over all these incongruities a cloak of 
 decency and decorum, that hides their impropriety so com- 
 pletely, that even foreigners, who have lived here a few years, 
 and who were at first struck with astonishment by these things, 
 are now quite reconciled to them. 
 
 "As far as the company went, it might have been the 
 House of Kepresentatives in Washington ; the ladies in the 
 gallery listening to the debates, and the members in the body 
 
 of the house surrounding Messrs. and , or any other 
 
 two vehement orators ; applauding their biting remarks and 
 cutting sarcasms, and encouraging them to crow over each 
 other. The President might have been the speaker, and the 
 corps diplomatique represented itself. In the evening a ball 
 is given in the i^laza de <jallos.'' — Life in Mexico, hy Madame 
 Calderon de la Barca, p. 164. 
 
 Among the amusements at Lima, so late as 1849, "The 
 Cock -pit is a great attraction, and all classes frequent it. The 
 Cocks fight in spurs, so the fight is soon over. My stay there 
 was not long ; a very fierce-looking fellow, with a sword-stick, 
 said, ^Bet:' I did; a cock fell, and he pocketed the money 
 and walked off. Amusing ! Drinking coffee under the vines 
 pleased me better." — Walpole^s Four Years in the Pacific, 
 vol. ii. p. 33. 
 
 21* 
 
246 
 
 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 THE MEXICAX HEX-COCK GAME FOWL. 
 
 Through the politeness of Greo. P. Burnham, editor of the 
 '' American Union," Boston. I am able to present to my read- 
 ers, portraits and descriptions of the Mexican Game Breed. 
 It will be observed that the sickle feathers, proper to the 
 Cock's tail, are absent in this yarietv. This arises, doubtless, 
 from close breeding, or rather breeding in-and-in, as it is 
 called. The neck and rump hackles are but indifferently de- 
 veloped. For coniirmation of breeding in-and-in being the 
 canse of this, I refer the readers to what 3Ir. "Walker says 
 concerning Sir John Sebright's Bantams, in his treatise on 
 Intermarriage. I have occasionally witnessed the same thing 
 
THE GAME F O W L. 247 
 
 occurring among our own smooth-logged Bantams. Such are 
 reputed to he the hest fighters. In a letter 1 received yester- 
 day, from my friend, David Taggart, Esq., of Northumber- 
 land, Pa., he says : " I was at Milton a few weeks, and stopped 
 at the public-house of Mr. Frederick Sticker, who has been 
 for many years, a breeder of Game Fowls. In his Poultry- 
 yard, I discovered two Fowls, that, with all my Chicken ex- 
 perience, puzzled me, at first glance, to know their sex. They 
 were both Cocks, one eighteen, the other seven months old. 
 Both had their heads shaved in regular Game-chicken style, 
 and neither had a feather on him that indicated a male bird, 
 with the exception of one or two of the longest tail-feathers, 
 slightly curved and bent over. I brought the younger one 
 with me, for the sake of his portrait, which I hope to send 
 you in my next letter. He has, you will observe, (vide Por- 
 trait,) no bright-coloured plumage, no long pendent feathers 
 on neck or back, nothing, in fact, to mark his sex, but a proud 
 stately gait, and erect mien. He is full-blooded Game, and 
 old Sticker calls him a Pheasant Fowl. It is only occasionally 
 they appear among his stock, deriving their strange appear- 
 ance from remote ancestors;" and, my friend, you might have 
 added, from breeding in-and-in for many years past ; at least, 
 I will venture to say so, without knowing further particulars 
 in this instance. Of two things I am quite certain, viz. : that 
 Hen-tailed Cocks have a popular reputation of being great 
 fighters, and that they generally, if not always, result from 
 breeding in-and-in. I will here take the liberty of quoting 
 Dr. Bennett's communication to the " American Union" news- 
 paper, concerning the Mexican Game Fowl, whose portraits 
 are given above. He says : ^' These Fowls are in many 
 respects remarkable. The Spanish name, " Gallus Gallenos," 
 or ^^ Hen-cock," (Latin — Gallus Gallinaceus,) at once intro- 
 duces us to their principal peculiarity. The Cocks, to all 
 intents and purposes, resemble ordinary Hens — the only 
 
248 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 marked difference being in the size of the comb and wattles. 
 They are comparatively destitute of neck and rump hackles. 
 The colour is usually similar to that of a Partridge } the legs 
 are dark and smooth, the eyes lustrous, and the plume-feathers 
 are shorter and less brilliant than those of other Fowls. 
 
 In size, they compare favourably with other Game Fowls. 
 Their general aspect is ferocious, and their movements are 
 lively and graceful. They are what " cockers" call fast figJit- 
 ers. The particular Fowls here described, one of which is 
 represented in the picture, are those obtained by me from 
 John Giles, Esq., of Providence, and Dr. Eben Wight, of 
 Dedham, and are now owned by C. W. Mead, of Chicopee, 
 and Samuel Parker, of Worcester. 
 
 The Hen portrayed above, is an imported Cuban Game Fowl, 
 now owned by Mr. Mead. This breed are perfectly black, and 
 have all the points of the best sorts of Game Fowls. Their 
 prowess is wonderful, and it is rarely the case that one of them 
 survives a defeat. 
 
 The following letter from CoL Adam G. Summer, of Poma- 
 ria, S. C, to the author, gives so ample and beautiful a de- 
 scription of this Fowl, that further comment, here, is unne- 
 cessary : — 
 
 " This unique variety was introduced in 1844, by General 
 Waddy Thompson, of that State, on his return from Mexico. 
 It is a favourite variety with the Mexicans, and their Mexican 
 name is " Gallus Galleno^^ — Hen-Cock, from the fact that 
 the male birds have short broad tails, and, in colour and plu- 
 mage, the appearance of the Hens of the same variety differing 
 only in the combs — which is very large and erect in the Cocks, 
 and small in the Hens. 
 
 " In Mexico, they are fought without training, and the Com- 
 mon Game Cook will not attack these hen-looking Cocks until 
 it is too late. The Mexican Cock is generally Pheasant- 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 'M 
 
 coloured, with occasional changes in plumage from a light yellow 
 to a dark gray, and recently in the stock in Carolina there has 
 been a tendency to black tail-feathers and breast, as well as an 
 inclination to gray and light-yellow, and with a slight approxi- 
 mation to red hackles in some rare instances. 
 
 ^' The majority of the whole stock, however, preserves the 
 original Pheasant-colour. This variety has a strong frame, and 
 the largest and most muscular thighs of any Fowl I have as 
 yet seen. This gives quick power to his fierce action in fight, 
 and, if not killed immediately, he is sure to be victorious. I do 
 not know whether they will fight well in a cold climate like 
 yours. The Cocks are distinguished by large upright combs, 
 strong bills, and very large lustrous eyes. Their legs vary 
 from a dirty to a dark green-colour. The Hens difier so little 
 from the Cocks that a description is unnecessary. 
 
 " They are as good layers and sitters as any other game 
 breed, and are good nurses. The Cock, which was the pro- 
 genitor of all the stock now in the United States, was presented 
 to Gen. Thompson, by Gen. Santa Anna, just before he closed 
 his official career as Minister to Mexico, and was victorious in 
 a large main, fought by the famous Cock-fighting Mexicans. 
 Gen. Thompson sent to 'Queretaro for some Hens, and thence 
 sprang all the true Cock-Hens now in this country. Those 
 sent by my brother, Mr. Summer, to Mr. Giles, Dr. Wight, and 
 Mr. Burton, are from a pair presented to him by Gen. Thomp- 
 son, out of the original stock. 
 
 " Their crosses on other game breeds are highly esteemed 
 here as fighting Fowls, and their muscular forms adapt them 
 as well for the spit as for the pit. Wm. Summer, of Pomaria, 
 S. C, breeds them in their purest state, and regards them a 
 valuable Fowl for domestic purposes. 
 
 "A. G. Summer." 
 
 Mr. William Summer, in a letter to the author, dated " Po- 
 
250 T H E G A M E F O W L. 
 
 maria, S. C, July 23d, 1850/' in speaking of these Fowls, 
 
 '^ I had concluded to send you a Hen of mine to make out 
 the pair — one that General Thompson sent me as particularly 
 fine ; though I say, in all sincerity of heart, that the pair sent 
 by me to Mr. John Griles was the best pair I have ever bred. 
 You are fortunate in securing them from him, as they will give 
 the very best representation of the breed when in full feather. 
 Mr. Giles, in a recent letter, informed me that the Cock had im- 
 proved very much." 
 
 Colonel Summer, in a letter of July 8th, 1850, observes : — 
 
 ^ Santa Anna, or, properly, ^Hen-Cock,' (Gallus Gallevos — ■ 
 
 Spanish,) were brought from Queretaro, by Hon. Waddy 
 
 Thompson, and a pair presented to us by him has been bred 
 
 pure. I have their history from General Thompson." 
 
 Of a Fowl denominated the Yankee Game, Dr. Ben- 
 nett gives the following description : — He says, " This Fowl 
 was originally produced by a cross" — (I don't like crosses of 
 any kind, except, perhaps, a first cross, and that only for the 
 table, not for hreeding purposes,^ — " between the Plymouth 
 Rock and Indian Game Hen. But a few only have been 
 produced from this mixture. I have since bred, and shall 
 continue to breed, this race, from the Cock and Hen described 
 in the preceding articles; that is to say, from the Spanish 
 Cock of Mr. Stacy, and the wild Indian Hen of Mr. Estes. 
 
 " This variety combines the great strength and size of the 
 Wild Indian Game Hen, and the sprightliness and beauty of 
 the Spanish Game, and thus partakes of the general cha- 
 racteristics of the two best kinds of Game Fowl. For loftiness, 
 carriage, hauteur, compactness of form, healthiness, neatness, 
 sprightliness, and general beauty, this sort are unrivalled ; and, 
 so far as fine flesh and captivating appearance are concerned, 
 they are, undoubtedly, the best breed in America." So says 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 251 
 
 Dr. Bennett ; but I say, with due deference, that, being mon- 
 grels, they must, of necessity " cry back" to one of the original 
 progenitors ; and the first intimation of " crying back" will 
 prove but the beginning of the end ; so that, in the language 
 of Peisthetaerus, the breeders and fanciers of mongrels shall 
 still have to utter their complaint : — 
 
 "Plague on thee ! but this bird of mine croaks 'back again.' " 
 
 I cannot better illustrate this point, than by quoting a part 
 of a letter which I have just received from my friend, Mr. 
 Taggart, of Northumberland, Pa. He says, " In the spring 
 of 1839, my father purchased a pair of pure Creole Fowls in 
 Reading. Having charge of the Chicken department, I bred 
 them pure for two seasons. After that, I introduced one-eighth 
 or more of the blood of a large yellow breed of Fowls, to give 
 them additional size and strength ; always taking care to pre- 
 serve the white necks, spotted bodies, and blue legs oT the un- 
 adulterated Creoles. Notwithstanding this precaution for 
 several years, I had among my broods a number of brown or 
 yellow Chickens. At last, the strain ran entirely out, and now 
 my Creoles are as pure, and breed as certainly as your Shang- 
 haes ; but they have also gone hack to the size of their Reading 
 progenitors/' 
 
 An elderly friend of mine, residing some eighteen miles north 
 of Philadelphia, told me, last summer, that the Frizzled Fowl 
 was introduced among his Poultry, and, not being pleased with 
 the result, he made it a point to kill ofif all the young of that 
 variety, before they were old enough to breed from ; and that 
 he was seven years in thus restoring his flock to their original 
 condition ; fewer and fewer appearing each year, until about 
 the seventh year, when, and since, none appeared. 
 
 I take pleasure in presenting the following letters of my 
 friend, Mr. Taggart, in relation to a peculiar variety of G-ame 
 Fowl in his possession ; also, in relation to some Chittagongs 
 
252 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 he obtained of me during the last summer. They will be read 
 with interest, especially as they abound, also, in many import- 
 ant miscellaneous remarks and suggestions : — 
 Br. J. J. Kerr : 
 
 Dear Sir: — I certainly owe you a long letter, and if I am 
 not able to pay it to-night, you may very soon expect another, 
 and, this ^zme, without fail. 
 
 Our term of Court came on early in the month, and lasted 
 two weeks. This, of course, had to be attended. Since then, 
 I have been waiting on my friend. Dr. Robt, B. McCay, to 
 shetch a Chicken or two for me, which I have thought suffi- 
 ciently remarkable to deserve a place in the book. I have some 
 little talent in that line myself, but the Doctor has had more ex- 
 perience. I therefore leave that branch of the business to him. 
 
 As ignorance is in all cases preferable to error, it is certainly 
 a writer's highest duty to know well what he undertakes to 
 teach. Impressed with this idea, my dear sir, the aid I shall 
 be able to afford you in your very laudable enterprise, must, 
 of necessity, be trifling and unimportant. I may furnish a few 
 striking facts in support of certan doctrines you will be likely 
 to advance. And this I will do right gladly, for I consider a 
 man who writes a book on a useful and interesting subject, one 
 of the greatest of mankind's benefactors 
 
 Accidental qualities may be transmitted from parent to 
 child, as the following will show : — 
 
 A friend of mine, the late Robert Grant, owned a fine large 
 breed of Game Fowls — shawl necks, or Irish grays ; the Cocks 
 weighing seven pounds. One of his roosters, when a mere 
 chicken, stepped into the fire, and roasted off his toe-nails. 
 He hardly ever got an offspring that did not, more or less, show 
 his parentage, by defective toes. I procured a couple of his 
 progeny, and have the Hen yet. Her Chickens and grand- 
 chickens have the same signs. Is it not wonderful, that a 
 mere accident should thus mark at least four generations ? 
 
 Two years ago, I purchased, from a gentleman in Blooms- 
 
THE GAME FOWL. . 263 
 
 burg, a very odd-looking Chicken, a Pullet four or five months 
 old. Though very small, weighing now not more than two 
 pounds, (see Portrait,) she has the appearance and characteris- 
 tics of Dr. Bennnett's Wild Indian Game Hen, except the vast 
 difference in size. I was struck with the resemblance. She 
 is firm -fleshed, short- feathered, and almost combless ; and has 
 the most peculiar gait I ever saw. Her pertinacity in sitting 
 is most extraordinary. I will try to send you her portrait. 
 Her mother, no larger than herself, was imported from Calcutta. 
 And, though my Pullet is the result of crossing with an ordi- 
 nary G-ame Cock, the breed is so strong that she resembles her 
 mother in all respects, and her sire in nothing. You may form 
 some estimate of her fighting blood, when I tell you, that 
 Cocks out of her, by a Booby (the meanest of all gallinaceous 
 athletes) or other Dunghill Fowl, are a full match for our best 
 G-ame Chickens. 
 
 Is not your ^^ woolly" Hen, identical with the breed termed 
 frizzled, with feathers reversed, like the quills of an angry 
 hedge-hog ? If so, lean easily procure you a husband for her.* 
 
 You wish to be posted-up in Aquatic Birds. I know some- 
 what of these, but probably not so much as yourself In re- 
 gard to Ducks, they are much more prolific than they usually 
 have credit for ; and, even for Eggs, can be made a profitable 
 bird, if well fed and properly managed. Any common Duck, 
 so treated, if not old, will yield, in a season, one hundred or more 
 large, rich, and delicious Eggs. When they lay, it is daily or 
 nightly ; and, if kept from sitting, which is easily done by 
 changing their nests frequently, they will lay, with little inter- 
 ruption, from February or March until August. But the 
 trouble is, a Duck lays only when Eggs are most abundant, 
 while Hens' Eggs may be procured at all seasons. 
 
 The young of Ducks seldom die of disease ; and if cats and 
 
 * The two varieties are entirely distinct. — Ed. 
 
 22 
 
254 T H E G A M E F W L. 
 
 rats are exterminated, as in all cases they should be, there 
 will be no trouble in raising almost as many Ducks as you have 
 Eggs. One year, from 94 Eggs, I had 91 hatched, and raised 
 87. Twenty-four of these were Musk, or Muscovy Ducks, as 
 they are erroneously termed. In speaking of the prolificness of 
 Ducks, I don't think this variety should be included. They 
 lay comparatively few Eggs. Ducks come early to maturity, 
 being nearly full grown, and in fine eating order at three months 
 old, far excelling, in this respect, all other Poultry, except 
 G-eese. 
 
 Of the large white Aylesbury, and the still larger Rouen 
 Duck, I know nothing but what I have read. 
 
 But of all Poultry, G-eese can be raised with the greatest 
 ease, in the sJiortest time, and at the least expense, provided you 
 live in the country, or in a village where grass grows in the 
 streets and alleys. I have only reared them once, but I am 
 certain Goslings can be brought up on grass alone. Though, 
 of course, they grow much faster if better fed. I fed mine 
 well, on Indian meal and milk, and sometimes on corn — this 
 in addition to good pasture — and see the result. They are 
 of common blood, and not remarkable in size. At 33 days 
 old, one weighed 5 j lbs. ; at 47 days, 6 lbs. 15 oz. ; 54 days, 
 8 lbs. 3 oz. ; 64 days, 8 lbs. 14 oz. ; at 93 days, 11 i lbs., 
 when I killed them. For Eggs, Geese are no " great shakes '/' 
 but, to use a Crockettism, they're awful on a grow. 
 
 You have not asked my views on Turkeys ; but what little 
 I know, I may as well impart. I raised two broods, last sum- 
 mer, byway of experiment. The first lot, to the nmnber of fif- 
 teen, were hatched in June, under Hens. "With these I was very 
 successful, having lost but one. The Gobblers now weigh 11 or 
 12 lbs.; the Hens, 7 or 8. I was very careful of them, feeding 
 them on the curds of milk, and waste bread, soaked in milk, 
 until they were four or five weeks old. After that, I was not so 
 particular : I kept them in the garden, and by the time they 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 255 
 
 were eight weeks old, they had so stripped the onion-beds that 
 not a top was to be seen. It no doubt benefited them greatly. 
 With a later brood, I was not so fortunate : I raised but the 
 half of them, and they are stinted and puny. On the whole. 
 Turkeys may be set down as tender birds, and their rearing 
 attended with very uncertain results. 
 
 Great mistakes are sometimes committed by writers on 
 Poultry, in regard to the various periods of incubation of 
 Hens, Ducks, Turkeys, etc. I have taken some pains to as- 
 certain the true time of each, and I will give you the result : 
 
 A Hen, under ordinary circumstances, sits 20 days, 
 
 A Guinea Fowl 25J 
 
 A Duck 26 " 
 
 A Turkey 27 " 
 
 A Goose 29 
 
 A Musk Duck 32 or 33 days. 
 
 From these figures you will find but small and infrequent 
 variations. I never knew but one very decided exception. 
 Early in last March, I got a neighbour to set one of his Hens 
 for me. She was extremely poor, and her nest was in a bleak, 
 open, and empty hay-mow. March was a very cold month, 
 and the winds played all around her, above her, and under her. 
 She sat almost on the bare boards. About the 22d day, I be- 
 gan to think it was " no go," and broke one of the Eggs. I 
 found, to my surprise, a live Chicken, which still lacked four 
 or five days of perfection. On the 27th day, she brought out 
 eight rather puny Chicks. Some of them I was able to raise. 
 As the Hen began to keep her nest several days before the 
 Eggs were given to her, there can be no mistake as to the time. 
 I always note it down. 
 
 It has been asserted that Hens' Eggs have been hatched in 
 eighteen days. But this, you may depend, never happened 
 since the first Hen brought forth her first brood in Adam's 
 
256 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 chicken-house. It is contra naturam. Incubation may be 
 prolonged, but not hastened."* 
 
 Passages of the following letter from Mr. Taggart I have 
 incorporated in other parts of the book. I have concluded, 
 however, to submit it in full to the careful reader ; and also a 
 briefer epistle from the same hand, correcting one or two tri- 
 fling errors in former communications, and adding to some 
 views previously herein expressed. 
 
 Dr. J. J. Kerr : 
 
 Dear Sir : — Your very flattering letter of Wednesday, in- 
 duces me to resume my pleasant undertaking. I regret that 
 I have not more leisure to do justice to my friend, myself, and 
 the subject. 
 
 You express some little surprise at the minuteness of my 
 observations. But please, remember, that from my earliest 
 boyhood, I have been a devoted, constant, and intense admirer 
 of nature's live-stock. This disposition has grown with my 
 years, and will follow me, I trust, unaltered and undiminished, 
 to the grave. Menageries, Cattle Shows, and, most especially, 
 Poultry-yards, have always been my delight. When six or 
 eight years old, I knew almost every Cock and Hen in the vil- 
 lage. And, though my own stock sometimes numbers two or 
 three hundred, I can individualize, nay, give the age, history, 
 and genealogy of every Chicken. Thus much for your friend's 
 experience, and his reliableness as an observer. 
 
 In these hasty and ill-digested sketches, it must of neces- 
 sity happen, that many things are written which will neither 
 
 * I have had Chicks to hatch out on the evening of the 18th day ; 
 having been set early in the morning of the first day, of course, the 
 period of incubation was some ten or twelve hours over 18 days. My 
 friend, Mr. Cope, had one or two Chicks to hatch out on the 27th day; 
 none have come out with myself later than the 23d day. — Ed. 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 257 
 
 please the critic nor enlighten the poulterer. These it will 
 be your province to curtail, enlarge, alter, or expunge, accord- 
 ing to your older and better judgment. The clay is in the 
 hands of the potter : let him mould it as he will. 
 
 There is one very important item in Poultry-breeding, which 
 I have never seen sufficiently dwelt on in books, and that is, 
 the great advantage of having early spring-hatched Pullets, to 
 lay in October, November, and December, when Eggs are 
 scarcest, and command the highest price. I never kill a Pul- 
 let hatched earlier than May, until very cold weather, or some 
 other circumstance, has put an end to her winter laying. I 
 have seven young Hens, a cross between the Creole and 
 Booby, hatched in April, and all are now laying. One began 
 on the 18th October, and has laid 36 Eggs; and some of them, 
 if well managed, will lay all winter. On this account, early 
 maturity is very much to be desired in Chickens. And no 
 Fowl is longer in attaining maturity than a imre Booby, or 
 Bucks County Pullet, at least as far as Eggs are concerned. 
 Though hatched in March and April, they seldom lay in 
 autumn, v^hile some other breeds feel bound to produce when 
 6 or even 5^- months old. In estimating the value of breeds, 
 surely this is a consideration of great importance. At all 
 events, I will not recommend the Boobies, though, when 
 crossed with Creoles or other prolific birds, they do well 
 enough. In fact, they do very well themselves in spring and 
 summer ; but are not much worth in winter. 
 
 Last fall, I had a Game Pullet that began to lay on the 14th 
 of September, though she was hatched on the 29th of March. 
 I have never known greater precocity than this, unless you are 
 right in the age of my brown Chittagong. She began to lay 
 October 19th, and was, consequently, but five months old, if 
 you are not mistaken in her age, as I think you are. Be that 
 as it may, if znine are fair samples, the Chittagongs are highly 
 commendable, not only for their enormous size, but for the 
 22* 
 
258 T H E G A M E F O W L. 
 
 early and rapid production of Eggs. But, ^' notis verrons/' as 
 old Ritchie used to say. 
 
 If a goodly number of early Pullets of a prolific breed 
 were kept over, and well fed, instead of slaughtered to fill the 
 paunch of some impatient glutton, the great scarcity of Eggs 
 in late autumn and early winter, would, in a measure, cease. 
 
 It strikes me a Hybrid (the first cross) will come to matu- 
 rity sooner than did either of its progenitors ; and that a cross 
 between the Creole and the Polish or the Black Spanish would 
 produce the best laying Hens in the world. If I am able to 
 prociu-e either of the two last mentioned, I will try it. AH 
 these things are worthy of inquiry, and should be fully inves- 
 tigated. 
 
 If mongrelizing be, in no case, followed by permanent re- 
 sults, how is it that the Dorkings, which are said to be a 
 mixture, have been so celebrated for many years ? If, as you 
 assert, and as I am prone to believe, no permanent interme- 
 diate race can be established by crossing, it follows, ex necessi- 
 tate, that every well-defined breed has now, or has had a 
 separate and distinct original in the wilderness. All could not 
 have descended from the Gallus Giganteus and the Bankiva, for 
 all would in a few years revert back to the type of the one or the 
 other. But here, instead of furnishing you with my experi- 
 ence, I am presumptuously splurging out among theorems and 
 speculations — and that is not my task. Facts ! ' them's the 
 jockeys for me !' as you very eloquently remarked about the 
 Shanghaes. 
 
 When I was a little boy, I owned a very odd-looking sort 
 of Fowls, called " Creepies," or " Creepers,'' from their ex- 
 ceedingly b.V^^t legs; and another kind, called "Bunties," 
 which had no tails, an^^, i^ ^^ct, no place for a tail to grow — 
 they had no rumps. The CreepeT^ I liave seen of all sizes, 
 from two pounds to five, with legs much shorteT *^^^ Bantams^ 
 and entirely bare. Of these varieties, I have never seen piord 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 259 
 
 than a passing notice ; and surely they are sufficiently remark- 
 able to deserve greater attention. I do not mean that the Creep- 
 ers are very distinctive in any other feature than their short 
 legs ; for I have seen them of all colours ; with combs double 
 and single, legs yellow, black, blue, and white ; with crests, 
 and without them : and so of the other sort. Nay, I have 
 seen Fowls that were both "Creepers" and ''Bunties." In 
 crossing the first-named with long-legged Chickens, if I re- 
 member correctly, the Hybrid had either the short legs of the 
 one, or the long legs of the other — no half-and-half — a full 
 Creeper, or no Creeper at all. While, in mixing the Bunties, 
 you will sometimes get one sort, and sometimes the other — 
 but generally an ugly-looking monstrosity, with a piece of a 
 tail, pointing towards the ground. But these are small mat- 
 ters, and you can notice them or not, as you like. 
 
 I do not remember writing to you of a very careful dissec- 
 tion my friend. Dr. Robt. B. McCay, and myself made of a 
 young Turkey, suffering with gapes. It was very small and 
 stunted from its birth. It had great difficulty in breathing. 
 Its lungs and other viscera seemed sound, but the windpipe 
 was almost filled with a number of double, and sometimes 
 triple-headed worms, which adhered with the utmost pertina- 
 city to the sides, raising, at the point of contact, an excrescence 
 or rough swelling. The worms were an inch in length, and 
 of this fashion : '^-^fa**'**^ . The extra heads, or necks, are 
 much more slender than the main trunk, and colourless, while 
 the other is dark. I have very frequently found them in 
 Chickens, while in others that manifested the same external 
 symptoms, there icere none to he found. Whether this parasite 
 is the cause of the disease, or one of its effects, I am unable 
 to say without further experiments. 
 
 I have seen it stated somewhere, that a Hen, if allowed to 
 raise her own brood, will sit but once in a season. This is a 
 very gross error. I have known Hens to incubate three 
 
260 THEGAMEFOWL. 
 
 times in a year, with good success, and raise their own broods. 
 Nay, four times is possible, if you will be unwisely troubled 
 with a November brood. TTith a young Hen, the desire to 
 lay again soon returns, and she abandons her flock at five 
 weeks, and sometimes four, and even three weeks. Under 
 these circumstances, a Hen that brings out her early brood 
 on the first of April, deserts them about the fii-st of May, lays 
 two weeks in an loidisturhed nest, resumes the task of incu- 
 bation, and, on the 4th of June, brings out her second. At 
 the same rate, before the middle of August she hatches her 
 third litter. This is often the case with young Hens, that 
 have been well fed during their maturity, and not cooped up. 
 Old ones, whose ovaries are measurably exhausted, are not in 
 such a hurry to re-commence operations. I have seen such ones 
 running with their Chickens until they were nearly grown. 
 
 The turning of a sitting Hen's Eggs, is, I verily believe, a 
 humbug. In the first place, it seems unnecessary, as the em- 
 bryo is said to he ahcaj/s 7(j>pe)'}nost, let the Egg rest as it will ; 
 and, in the second place, the Hen herself never turns them, 
 except by accident. Sometimes, and especially when she re- 
 sumes her nest, the Eggs are not fixed to her liking — they do 
 not fit properly, and then she gives them a turn or two with 
 her beak, to adapt them to her fancy ; but certainly not to get 
 the other side up. as many people believe. 
 
 I can put your readers in a sure way of finding out how many 
 Chickens they are going to have, before the Hen is half done 
 sitting. I can tell very easily at the end of a week, but it is 
 safer for a green hand to wait two or three days longer. The 
 advantage is, that by taking out the unfertile Eggs, you give 
 the others a better chance ; and, if you have two or three Hens 
 contemporaneously sitting, two may be able to cover the good 
 Eggs of three, and the third be ready for a new batch. This is 
 sometimes desirable. And now "pro modo operandi." Take 
 the Eggs (very carefully, of course,) into a darkened apart- 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 261 
 
 ment, (the darker the better,) where, if possible, the sun shines 
 through a single crevice. Hold the Egg up to the ray of light, 
 and if it is bound to hatch, all below the vacuum in the '' butb'^ 
 will be dark-coloured opaque ; if not, it will be light-coloured 
 and yellowish, and not entirely impervious to the sunshine. It 
 sometimes happens a whole batch is worthless. In this case, 
 it is better that a Hen should cover them eight or ten days, 
 than twenty. 
 
 With double-yolked Eggs I have tried some experiments, 
 always putting them under Hens, if in season. And though 
 I have thus treated more than twenty, I have never got a live 
 Chicken. The first year I had my Creoles, one of the Eggs 
 was double, and I put it under with the rest. When the brood 
 was all hatched, I opened it 3 and, to speak pathetically, there, 
 in the repose of death, lay two perfect disunited Chickens. 
 They did not possess strength enough to get out. This is the 
 nearest I ever came to success. In the same season, an ordi- 
 nary-looking Egg, of the same Hen, when half hatched, was 
 accidentally broken. I took it from the nest, and discovered, 
 to my astonishment, an embryo, with two beaks, and almost 
 two entire heads. The heads branched at the eye, exhibiting 
 a perfect eye on the outside of each caput, and a deformed or 
 double one between them. In two or three other cases, the 
 vital principle of the one half seemed to germinate for a time, 
 but, probably on account of the barrenness of the other half, 
 never came to maturity. But in a large majority of the cases, 
 I might as well have set my Hens with bricks. 
 
 Talking of unnaturals, reminds me of a young Cock I once 
 had, whose legs were frozen off at the knees. He grew to be 
 a fine healthy Fowl ; and, the next summer, stumped it about 
 as gaily and as gallantly, as his more fortunate brothers. A 
 black man, who sometimes worked for us, was exceedingly 
 anxious to procure the breed; because, as he said, " dey 
 couldn't scrash de garden -/' but the devil of it was, he couldn't 
 
262 THE a A ME rowL. 
 
 tread the Hens ; and, never boiug able to gratify his hist, he 
 -was always lustful. At last we missed him, and I always 
 thoncht the nufffcr stole him for the sake of the breed. 
 
 The nests of sitting Hens should be made shallow — not more 
 than four or five inches deej) — ^so that, in steppiug in, they may 
 not break the Eggs by a big jump ; as they are very apt to 
 do, if the nests are deeper. Another improTement is, to turn 
 the Ktx, that the opening may fooe the wall. Let the boxes 
 be placed on a platform raised a few inches above the ground, 
 with only two nests between the ports of entrance, that the 
 Hens may not be induced to enter the wrong ones by having 
 to pass them. See diagmm : — 
 
 4 
 
 .r .r .1' — Gangway between nests and wall. 
 ABC11 — Ports of entry. 
 
 Hen Xo. 1 goes to port a, and tiu-us to the 
 right. Xo. 2 goes to same port, and turns left, 
 and so fot'th. The advantages of this plan are 
 -^-^ obvious, for it insures both secresy and repose. 
 
 c Yon ask my views on Ohittagongs and Shang- 
 
 g I haes. I have partly given them already. The 
 f ! Ohittagongs, though they may not breed all alike, 
 
 ^ are certainly huge and magnificent birds, and 
 
 — *~ withal precocious. My young Stag, unlike most 
 
 other large Fowls, is stately as a monarch, which he certainly 
 is in my Poultry-yard. One Pullet has already won for her- 
 self " imperishable laurels" as a layer, and the other has 
 already entered the lists. The Shanghaes are xery pure-Iook{n(/f 
 and very beautiful. The Pullet is the handsomest she-fowl 
 I ever saw. She looks like a Dui-ham heifer, if I may/o/re 
 the comparison. But the Stag, poor fellow ! I am iifraid is 
 going to die. If he does, look well to your chicken-roost 
 when I come down. He seems very much indisposed, — his 
 eyes are watery, and the parts about them swollen, — his feet 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 263 
 
 are cold, and he has a fashion of shaking his head, which, 
 certainly, does not betoken good health. Though he has at 
 times been quite lively, he has always remained extremely 
 thin. His frame-work is gigantic, but he weighs less than 6| lbs. 
 
 I hope you will give xMr. Allen's Appendix o. d'uj, as regards 
 the weight of large Fowls. He says, ''it takes an unusually 
 fine Cock of any breeds to weigh 7^ lbs." This fall, I lost a 
 Booby Cock, fifteen months old, that weighed 10 J lbs., and 
 when he took ill, he was rapidly on the increase. And I 
 doubt not, in another year he would have weighed 12 or 13 lbs., 
 but he was much the finest of his breed. They usually weigh 
 8 J or 9 lbs., when a year old. I have a lien of that sort, that 
 weighed last spring 8^ lbs., — the most of the Hens from Gi to 
 7 J. Then, if Boobies so greatly exceed Mr. Allen's ultimatum 
 of 7 J, what will Cochin Chinas, Shanghaes, and Chittagongs 
 do ? Poke it at him ! '^ FU hack yf/a J" 
 
 In my last letter, I said something in favour of Ducks and 
 Geese, but not enough. Among other things, I said they 
 were hardy. This is so true, that I have never seen an adult 
 Duck or Goose sick or drooping, and scarcely ever a young 
 one. If they are lost, it is by cats and ratSj but seldom by 
 disease. While Turkeys and Chickens may be seen moping in 
 corners, gasping and coughing, Ducks and Geese waddle about 
 in comfortable and greasy health, — always ready for their 
 rations, and, ualess barbarously starved, always fit for the 
 table. All that is said or written about fattening them is 
 vain and idle. Fed abundantly in any way, at liberty or 
 ** cabined, crib?jed, confined," a grown Goose or Duck is gene- 
 rally ioo fat for table use, unless large quantities of the "adi- 
 pose" are taken from it before cooking. I have seen whole 
 platefuls of "goose-grease" abstracted from a single bird, 
 though no extra pains had been taken with it. Then what 
 is the use of cruelly stufi&ng them, or more cruelly incarce- 
 rating them, as is often recommended ? 
 
264 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose that a pond of water or a running 
 brook is essential to the thrift of either Duck or Groose. It 
 may afford them facilities for washing their feathers ; but all 
 the water they need, is a panful, at all times by them, to drink. 
 No one has had better luch with them than myself, and my 
 web-footed bipeds never saw river, pond or brook, — nothing 
 more extensive nor permanent than a mud-puddle after a 
 shower. 
 
 While on the subject of web-feet, I will tell you the story 
 of Isaac O'Sanner's Game Chickens, lest you should never have 
 heard it. Of course, you will not put it in the hooh, for fear 
 there might be some mistake about it. Isaac had been to a 
 Cock-light, and was so pleased with the pluck of the com- 
 batants, that he determined to have some of the same. A 
 friend promised him some G-ame Cock's Eggs, and, in fulfilment, 
 sent him those of Ducks. Isaac set them under his Hen, and 
 though he thought they were very slow about coming out, he 
 waited patiently till they broke the shell. But therij there 
 was no limit to his admiration and delight. He took one up 
 in his hand. He looked at its bill, and exclaimed, in great 
 glee, " Jiminy, what a neb ! If he takes hould, he'll niver let 
 go !" He glanced at its feet, and that capped the climax of his 
 extacy, and says he, " What a fine wide fut he's got ! — all 
 — luould'nt thrirp Mm upT' But, alas for the vanity of 
 human hopes ! Isaac had to leave home, and the care of the 
 Chickens, for a season, devolved on his brother Amos. Now, 
 in feeding, it struck Amos that the Game Chickens shovelled 
 up a great deal more than their share, owing to their broad 
 "bakes." And being a great lover of justice, he picked them 
 up, and whittled their bills down to a point, that the others 
 might have an even chance with them. In consequence of 
 this treatment, Isaac O'Sanner's Game Chickens never won a 
 battle. 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 265 
 
 As food for Poultry, many things are recommended, and 
 many things are good. But of all grains, economy properly 
 considered, Indian corn is probably the best as a standard — 
 chopped for small ones, and whole or chopped for large and 
 half-grown Fowls. When made into meal, it can be mixed 
 with the surplus milk, or with the water that meat has been 
 cooked in, with great advantage. For young and growing 
 Poultry, — Turkeys, G-eese, Ducks, or Chickens, — milk in any 
 shape, is most particularly beneficial Fowls are very fond of 
 wheat, but it is too expensive. Oats are (or is, which say you ?) 
 light, and consequently not so cheap as they seem. One 
 bushel of corn is worth two of oats, for Poultry, and for almost 
 any thing else. As for rye. Chickens will scarcely eat it. In 
 winter, when Hens are of necessity prevented from getting 
 green food for themselves, they should be well supplied with 
 the leaves of cabbage, beets, and other vegetables, and with 
 the half-rotten apples. The very eagerness with which they 
 devour such things, after a long abstinence, is proof of their 
 utility. But of all extras for Fowls in winter, meat is the 
 most beneficial — from chopped beef-steak to cheese-maggots. 
 Furnish a Hen with animal food, and occasionally something 
 verdant, — put her in comfortable lodgings, where water and 
 pebble-stones and pounded hones can be had at all times, with 
 a dust-hole to wash herself in, — and, if she be young, she will 
 quite probably forget that it is winter, and proceed to lay. 
 Old Hens cannot be so easily deceived. They are too cunning. 
 It is as much as a bargain to get them to lay by the first of 
 April. These stubborn old matriarchs should be served like 
 traitors to liberty — have their tails cut off, just behind their 
 ears; for, according to Napoleon, they have passed the grand 
 climacteric of a females usefulness. You remember what he 
 told Madam De Stael. "But my pen wanders." Let us get 
 back to Chicken-feed. 
 
 Pounded oyster-shells and slacked lime are considered 
 
266 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 excellent ; and so they are, as containing calcareous matter for 
 the shells of eggs. But crushed bones are as good for this, and 
 better, for the Fowls will devour them ravenously — and much 
 better in another respect. Any one who has undertaken to pound 
 a fresh bone, must have noticed that in three or four slams 
 he almost hammered it into 7neat. In fact, it contains a large 
 amount of marrow, or greasy substance. Hence, the double ad- 
 vantage of feeding pounded bones to Hens in " wintry weather.'^ 
 
 As a general rule, April is the best month for Eggs, and 
 December the worst. They might be ranged in this order : 
 April, May, March, June, July, February, August, September, 
 January, October, November, December. Of course, this 
 arrangement would be much modified by circumstances. If 
 Hens are encouraged to sit as early and as often as possible, 
 the products of May, June, and July would be much reduced. 
 And if many early spring Pullets are kept, the yield of 
 October, November, and December will be vastly increased. 
 
 I enclose you not only a good likeness of the Fowl, which 
 I promised you, but a most excellent picture. It was done 
 by Dr. Robert B. McCay, and is the first Chicken that ever 
 sat for him. Is it not admirable ? You already have a full 
 description of the Fowl, in my last letter. The Doctor has given 
 him the spurs of eighteen months, instead of those of seven or 
 eight months; but this is the only noticeable error, and easily 
 corrected. I wish you could return me the portrait, when 
 you have done with it. 
 
 I fear from the looks of my other engagements, that this 
 must be the last of my contributions. I regret sincerely 
 that the agreeable task is done ; and if I had had more leisure, 
 my efforts should not only have been better finished, but more 
 numerous. As it is, you are entirely welcome to them. And 
 believe me, for the present, 
 
 Your very tired and sleepy friend, 
 
 David Taggart. 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 267 
 
 The name " Gray Eagle ^^ in the following letter of my friend 
 Taggart, is the local name of a mongrel or mixed Fowl, in this 
 vicinity, partaking freely of the blood of the Shanghae, Chitta- 
 gong, and Malay varieties. They grow quite large, but like 
 the Chittagong, which they nearly resemble, do not breed uni- 
 formly in point of colour : 
 
 Dr. Jno. J. Kerr : 
 
 Dear Sir : — As I intend starting for Harrisburg to-morrow, 
 to join in the work of senator-making, I find it necessary to 
 send you a few explanatory lines this evening. My worthy 
 friend. Dr. McCay, promises to finish ofi' the pictures, and 
 mail them to-morrow, so that you will receive them on 
 Tuesday. 
 
 The little half Jungle, or Grame Hen, has been already 
 described, but I made a small mistake in regard to her 
 weight. She looks so very little that I estimated her at two 
 pounds, whereas, she draws three. Her feathers are extremely 
 short and close, and her build compact and solid. Her off- 
 spring out of blooded Cocks are the best Game Chickens I ever 
 saw, I intend to cross her with the " Sammy Rusk'^ Stag, 
 who, though only eight months old, weighs six and a half 
 pounds. 
 
 In regard to the Chittagongs, whose portraits will be sent 
 you in a group, I have already written pretty fully. In the 
 biggest sense of the word, they are majestic and noble-looking 
 birds, and for Eggs, I will put the brown Pullet against the 
 world. She has recovered from her sickness, and has resumed 
 laying with as much, or more vigour than ever. The gray 
 Pullet is also laying remarkably well, and has been, since the 
 7th of December. This I take it, is good work for winter. The 
 Stag, seven and a half months old, weighs nine and a half 
 pounds, and, but for the hard service he has undergone since his 
 iirrival at puberty, he would have drawn considerably more. 
 
268 THE GAME FOWL. 
 
 He has been ninuiug with a dozen or more hiying Pullets. 
 The brown Pullet, seven and a half months old, weighs nearly 
 ei^ht pounds ; and the gnxy, less than seven months old, draws 
 seven pounds and three ounces 
 
 The Gray Eagle Stag I purchased from Miss Castor, will 
 make a rouser. From his mai-ks, I take him to be an August 
 Chicken, and he weighs already, (December 12th,) over seven 
 pounds. He has not yet manifested the first symptom of vi- 
 rility, if such a term can be applied to feathered bipeds. 
 
 Of some smooth-legged Bantams, he says, " The G-erman- 
 town Pigmies, after which we had so great a race, are doing 
 amazingly well, and are much admired." 
 
 ****** 
 
 ****** 
 I have just seen the portrait of my Chittagong : it is a beau- 
 tiful pictm-e and a correct likeness, — with a slight exception ; 
 but this can be remedied by the engraver. His head and head- 
 <-Tear are a trifle too large, hut not much. His comb and wat- 
 ties are really enormous, — as lai-ge as I ever saw them. My 
 friend has grouped the three together, and it will be necessary 
 to give them a whole page, lengthwise. As a work of art, and 
 as excellent likenesses, they are well worthy of a place. Will 
 the pictures, — the originals I mean, — be of any use to you after 
 the book is published ? If not, I would like exceedingly well to 
 have those we send, returned. I would like to hand them down to 
 posterity, that my grandchildren might know what fine Chick- 
 ens their gmndpappy raised. I think I fore-hear some one, a 
 little older than the rest, bragging that granddad once helped 
 a great wise Doctor write a book about Chickens and such-like, 
 and then what a power of family pride there will be I A Hon 
 couchant and a Rooster rampant will be the insignia of the 
 House of Taggart. All hail to the illustrious successors of 
 Columella and Aldrovandi I — the peers and compeers of 
 
THE GAME FOWL. 269 
 
 Ruih, Link, Leonard, and Palmer ! * But a truce to jesting, 
 and good-by. 
 
 Yery truly your friend, 
 
 David Taggart. 
 
 * Famous Cockers, in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. The 
 first is thought to keep the best game in the country. Mr. Taggart 
 purchased a very fine pair of him, this winter, which he intends to 
 breed pure with care.— Ep- 
 
270 
 
 CHAPTER XIY 
 
 THE CHITTAGONG FOWL. 
 
 In and around Philadelphia, we have a large Fowl, to which 
 the above name has been incorrectly given, as, on further ac- 
 quaintance, it has proved to be a mongi-el, and, like most 
 mongrels, comparatively worthless. Until within a short time, 
 it went under various names, as Ostrich Fowl, the Turkey 
 breed, the Big breed, the Booby, the Bucks County Fowl, and 
 even the Malay. It is difficult to trace its history. Some forty 
 years ago, several large Fowls were brought hither from differ- 
 ent parts of China, the East Indies, and the adjacent isles ; 
 subsequently, and within a few years, others were added. 
 These all, except in a few cases, have been mixed, and breed 
 indiscriminately ; and the result is the Fowl to which, accord- 
 ing to the caprice of the people, the above names have been 
 applied. It is of all colours, from black to white, frequently 
 speckled, sometimes red and black, and again dun. When 
 bred, it will generally produce its like in point of size, but 
 rarely in point of colour, showing it, unquestionably, to be a 
 mixture of several original breeds. They are not very good 
 layers, though their Eggs are very large and rich. Their legs 
 are sometimes lightly feathered, not always, and vary in colour 
 from yellow to a dark or bluish hue. I once had a Fullet of 
 this kind which weighed eleven and a quarter pounds ; the 
 
THE CHITTAGONG FOWL. 271 
 
 usual weight for full grown males, is from ten pounds and a 
 half to twelve pounds; females, from eight to ten pounds. 
 They are generally quite leggy, standing some twenty-six 
 inches high, and the Hens twenty-two inches. A first cross 
 with the Shanghae would make a very larye and valuable bird 
 for the table, not for breeding from. 
 
 Mr. Taggart, of Northumberland, Pa., is disposed to think 
 favourably of some Chittagongs he received from me, with a 
 pair of Shanghaes. They are all yet quite young. He says : 
 <^0f all large breeds, it strikes me the Chittagongs are most 
 prolific. My Brown Pullet began to lay on the 19th of Octo- 
 ber, when not much over five months old. In twenty-two 
 days she laid eighteen Eggs, (or, I may say nineteen, for one 
 was double,) and then began to sit. Her laying was after this 
 fashion : 3, 3, 4, 3, 5. No doubt I could have kept her at it, 
 by changing her nest from time to time. It is extraordinary 
 that a Pullet of her age should lay lay so fast at this time of 
 year. After incubating a week, she grew very sick, and I was 
 forced to break her Eggs and take her ofi*. When she began 
 to lay she weighed six and three-quarter pounds, now only five 
 pounds. But she is recovering. 
 
 "The Shanghae and the six-toed Chittagong Pullets are grow- 
 ing finely — the first draws five and three-quarters, the other 
 six pounds. But the Stags seem to have paused, the Chitta- 
 gong at eight and a quarter pounds, the Shanghae at six and 
 three-quarter pounds — he has always remained thin. I im- 
 pute their present slow progress to their hard service. Quite 
 a number of my Hens are laying, or preparing to lay, and these 
 two gentlemen have a monopoly of the business.^^ 
 
 Vide Mr. Taggart' s letters herein, for further remarks on 
 this variety. 
 
272 THE SHAKEBAG FOWL. 
 
 THE JAVA FOAVL. 
 
 I KNOW not of any person in this country who can boast of 
 having this Fowl in its purity. If the descriptions of it, as 
 given by some, (^Willoughby among the rest,) be true, I am 
 quite certain I have never seen it. He describes it as carrying 
 its tail like a Turkey. A lady, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, 
 who has had some choice foreign Poultry for the last thirty 
 years, has a variety which she calls Java, but I am unable to 
 discover any thing peculiar about them. They are of almost 
 all colours, some feather-legged and some smooth ; comb and 
 wattles as freely developed as in the Shanghae and Cochin 
 China. Long Island, the head quarters of this variety, abounds 
 in a stout black Fowl, single, serrated comb, and full wattles. 
 I presume that, until we find a bird answering Willoughby's 
 description, we must be content to call our large black Fowls, 
 Javas. Those on Long Island might weigh, per pair, from 14 
 to 16 lbs. The slightest trace of a top-knot is not to be tole- 
 rated ; their legs are black and smooth. They are quite broad 
 across the rump, and have, on that account, sometimes, been 
 called "" Saddlebacks.'' Their practical qualities are good. 
 
 THE SHAKEBAG FOWL, 
 
 Commonly called the Duke of Leed's breed, is said by 
 Mowbray to be extinct; if so, it will not be necessary to con- 
 sume much of the reader's time in describing a Fowl which he 
 may never see. As a mere matter of history, we may state 
 that the Duke, being an enthusiastic Cock-fighter, was in tlie 
 habit of bringing his Cocks into the Pit in a bag, against any 
 that could be produced, and, when shaken out, from their supe- 
 
THE JER8E1-BLUE FOWL. 273 
 
 rior strength and size, were found more than a match for anj 
 competitor, and were subsequently denominated Shakebags. 
 They were supposed to Ikj a cross of the Malay and English 
 Game : some think that they arose merely from improving the 
 size of the common Fowl, and not by any foreign cross. Mow- 
 bray says, ''The only one I ever possessed was a red one, in 
 1 784, weighing about 10 lbs., which was provided for me, at the 
 price of one guinea, by GofF, the dealer, who then lived upon 
 Holborn Hill, in London, and who, at the end of two years, re- 
 ceived him back at half a guinea; having allowed me, in the 
 interval, three shillings and six-pence each, for such thorough- 
 bred Cock-Chickens as I choose to send him. At that time 
 (1784) the real Duke of Leed's breed had become very scarce, 
 which induced the dealers to put Shakebag Cocks to Malay 
 Hens, by that means keeping up the original standard size, 
 but entirely ruining the colour and delicate flavour of the flesh. 
 
 JERSEY-BLUE FOWL. 
 
 The colour of this variety is light blue, sometimes approach- 
 ing to dun ; the tail and wings rather shorter than those of the 
 common Fowl ; its legs are of various colours, generally dark, 
 sometimes lightly feathered. Of superior specimens, the Cocks 
 weigh from 7 to 9 lbs., and the Hens from 6 to 8 lbs. They 
 are evidently mongrels ; and, though once a good deal thought 
 of, yet, since the purer breeds, as the Shanghaes and Cochin 
 Chinas, have been introduced, they begin to be neglected, as 
 indeed all mongrels should be, so far as breeding from them is 
 concerned. 
 
274 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE rOI^S-NP, OR POLISH FOWL. 
 
 This Fowl is said to be quite uuknown in Poland, and that 
 it takes its name from some resemblance having been fancied 
 between its tufted ci*est and the square, spreading crown of the 
 feathered caps worn by the Polish soldiers. The Hens I know 
 to be among the very best layers, though their Eggs are not 
 so rich and highly flavoured as some othei-s. They are gene- 
 rally bad sitters, or, mther, ai-e not tiisposed to sit until late 
 in the season. 
 
 The best specimens are now procured from Holland; the 
 country of the Bolton Grajs, Spangled Hamburghs, etc., etc. 
 The Cock weighs about 4 or 41 lbs., and the Hen about 3 or 
 3^ lbs. The crest of a well-bred Cock is parasol-shaped, 
 hanging down over his beak and eyes, sm-rounded with a few 
 black feathers, and fronted by a small spiked comb. The 
 fleshy protuberance, out of which the crest grows, is usually 
 called King David's Crown. The wattles are very largely 
 developed; the legs are usually blue; the neck, body, and 
 tail should be black, and the butt of the wing, bniss-marked. 
 The skin and flesh ai*e white. Their form is plump aud deep, 
 and the legs not very long. Mowbray says, "The Polanders 
 are kept as ornamental, but they are also one of the most 
 useful varieties, particularly on account of the abundance of 
 Eggs they lay, being least inclined to sit, of any other bi-eed, 
 whence they are sometimes called tverlastin<^ laj/trs; aud it is 
 
THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 275 
 
 usual to set their Eggs under other Hens. They fatten as 
 quickly as any other breed, and are in quality similar to the 
 Dorking; their flesh perhaps more juicy, and of a richer 
 flavour." There is an exception to almost every rule. I 
 once had a choice Poland Hen that gave me more trouble in 
 breaking up the sitting fever, and that, too, early in the 
 season, than any Hen I had. In general, however, pure 
 Polands are not inclined to sit until near or after midsummer ; 
 consequently, they lay more Eggs than those that become early 
 broody. 
 
 The Eggs of this variety are of good size, and white ; but, 
 as previously stated, they are not so rich as some others ; the 
 yolks are of a pale straw-colour, and I have known the albu- 
 minous part often to be quite watery. There is also a strong 
 tendency of the white of the crest to mingle with the black 
 of the body, and vice versa. I once saw some Fowls, said to 
 be pure, of the stock of Mr. Bement, of Albany, of a reddish 
 hue all over, from the yellow or brass marking on the butt of 
 the wing mingling with the general plumage. The result of 
 my experience is, that it is very difl&cult to keep the white, 
 red, and black in their appropriate places, in breeding pure, 
 well-marked Polish Fowls; but, when all are right, I know 
 no more beautiful sight of the kind on a gentleman's lawn — 
 they are living, walking Japonicas. 
 
 Mr. Dixon, and his correspondents, will tell the rest of the 
 story in relation to Polish Fowls. He says, " There is no evi- 
 dence that any breed of Fowls with top-knots was known to 
 the ancients ; but we first meet with them in the middle ages. 
 Aldrovandi, quoted by Willughby, ^ in his Ornithology gives 
 us many kinds, or rather rarities, of Hens. 1. A common 
 Hen, but white and co][y[jed' This is the Lark-crested Barn- 
 door Fowl. But Aldrovandi also gives two large spirited 
 figures, each occupying the whole of his folio page, which he 
 
276 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 
 
 calls Padua Fowls, but in which we recognise what would now 
 be called Polands." 
 
 This is his description : — 
 
 '' There exist Cocks for the most part larger than our own, 
 which the common people call Paduan, even as such Hens are 
 larger than our own Hens. We exhibit the likeness of the 
 male and female. The male was most beautiful to behold, 
 highly decorated with five colours, namely, black, white, green, 
 red, and ochre. For the whole body was black. The neck 
 was covered with very white feathers. But the wings and 
 the back consisted partly of black, and partly of green. The 
 tail likewise was of the same colour, but the roots of the 
 feathers were whitish.* Some of the quill feathers (?) 
 [f remigibus'J were white above. Its head was adorned with 
 a very handsome crest; but the roots of the crest were white. 
 A red spot encircled the eyes. The comb was very small ; 
 the bill and feet yellowish. But in the whole Hen there was 
 not the least white, except that white skin which is usual 
 about the openings of the ears ; but she was altogether black, 
 shining with green. The feet were light yellow ; the comb 
 very small, and scarcely of a red-colour.^^ 
 
 A difficulty about such varieties, recorded so long ago, is the 
 doubt whether the Cock and Hen were really of the same breed. 
 
 The Paduan Fowl has been continually mentioned as some- 
 thing distinct and primitive, by those who have quoted Aldro- 
 vandi at second hand; but we will, for the present, discard the 
 term, and sweep the birds into the class of Polands. Whether 
 the Polish Fowls were really first brought to us from Poland, I 
 cannot yet trace; but the fact is quite possible. Fowls brought 
 alive from India to Europe by overland journey, would suffer 
 
 * An abundance of white down at tlie root of the tail-feathers is a 
 great ornament in the Black Polish and Game Cocks, and a mark of 
 breeding. 
 
THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 277 
 
 less than such as were sent by sea round the Cape of Good 
 Hope. At the end of each day's journey they could be lei 
 loose immediately that the spot for the night-bivouac was fixed 
 upon ; they would soon learn to return at dusk to their travel- 
 ling Hen-house, and would be well refreshed against the next 
 day's fatigue. Nor, indeed, is there any reason why Fowls 
 should not permanently accompany wandering and unsettled 
 tribes of men, who usually have other live-stock constantly in 
 their train, as well as their wives and children. Mr. J. H. 
 Drummond Hay found that the tent-occupying Arabs of 
 "Western Barbary kept Fowls: — ^^ Every family," he says, 
 *'has its brood of chickens, and these have their roosting 
 quarters in a distant nook or compartment of the tent." In 
 Russia, the finest teas are received overland from the East; 
 nor is it improbable that a few Fowls may have been carried 
 as far as the neighbouring country of Poland, after having 
 accompanied some wealthy merchant, as live-stock to be eaten 
 by the way in case of sickness, or short commons. But 
 whether correct or not, it would be difficult now to alter their 
 nomenclature. One of the Polish Fowls is supposed, by some 
 writers, to be descended from the wild Cock of St. Jago. The 
 assumed existence of such a bird is founded on an error : but 
 if the Cocks of St. Jago are any thing akin to the goats which 
 Captain Cook found there, " of the antelope kind, so extra- 
 ordinarily lean that hardly any thing can equal them," the 
 cross would be no great improvement. But I take it, that no 
 existing wild Gallus has any more to do with the formation 
 of our present breeds, than we have shown that the Pheasant 
 has. Mowbray says, " Perhaps the genuine sort (of Polish) 
 has always five claws ;" and he proceeds to derive " our famous 
 Dorking breed" from them, with the reservation, however, 
 that such a speculation may be groundless, which it decidedly 
 is. For the fifth toe vanishes from the Dorkings at a very 
 early stage of crossing with any other breed. 
 
278 THE POLANDj OR POLISH FOWL. 
 
 The Black Polish Fowls are of a uniform black, both 
 Cock and Hen, glossed with metallic green. The head is or 
 namented with a handsome crest of white feathers, springing 
 from a fleshy protuberance, and fronted more or less deeply with 
 black. The comb is merely two or three spikes, and the wat- 
 tles are rather small. Both male and female are the same in 
 colour, except that the Cock has frequently narrow stripes of 
 white in the waving feathers of the tail ; a sign, it is said, of 
 true breeding. The Hens also have two or three feathers on 
 each side of the tail, tinged in the tip with white. The Hens 
 do not lay quite so early in the spring as some varieties, espe- 
 cially after a hard winter ; but they are exceedingly good lay- 
 ers, continuing a long time without wanting to sit, and laying 
 rather large, very white sub-ovate Eggs. They will, however, 
 sit at length, and prove of very diverse dispositions; some 
 being excellent sitters and nurses, others heedless and spiteful. 
 The Chicks, when first hatched, are dull black, with white 
 breasts, and white down on the front of the head. They do 
 not always grow and get out of harm's way so quickly as some 
 other sorts, but are not particularly tender. In rearing a brood 
 of these Fowls, one may observe some of the Hens with crests 
 round and symmetrical as a ball, and others in which the 
 feathers turn all ways, and fall loosely over the eyes : and in the 
 Cocks, also, some have the crest falling gracefully over the 
 back of the head, and others have the feathers turning about 
 and standing on end ; these are to be rejected, the chief beauty 
 of the sort depending on such little particulars. One Hen 
 laid just a hundred Eggs, many of them on consecutive days, 
 before wanting to incubate ; after rearing a brood successfully, 
 she laid twenty-five Eggs before moulting in autumn. 
 
 The Black-topped White Polish is now, it seems, lost 
 to this country, if, indeed, there is any evidence of its having 
 ever existed here. Buffon mentions them as if extant in 
 France in his time. These and the Shackbags are probably re 
 
THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 279 
 
 coverable only by importation from Asia. I am given to un- 
 derstand, that an attempt will be made to reproduce them here 
 by breeding. The experiment will be interesting either in its 
 success or failure. 
 
 The GtOLDEN Polands are sometimes called Gold-spangled, 
 their plumage approaching to that of the Gold-spangled Ham- 
 burghs } but many of the finest specimens have the feathers 
 merely fringed with a darker colour, and the Cocks, much more 
 frequently than the Hens, exhibit a spotted or spangled ap- 
 pearance. Many of them are disfigured by a muff or beard ; 
 but no such birds should be allowed the entree of the Poultry- 
 yard, but dispatched at once to the fatting-coop. 
 
 It is a question with the curious whether the muff at the 
 throat is, or is not, an original appendage to these birds. The 
 earliest figures with which I am acquainted (Aldrovandi's) in- 
 crease the difficulty, by displaying a pair of Fowls, one with, 
 and one without the muff. Albin (1736) figures a Cock ^' of 
 a peculiar breed, which is brought from Hamburgh by our 
 Merchants," with a short top-knot, a decided beard, and actual 
 whishers, " a tuft of black feathers, which covered his ear.'' 
 The Irish fanciers decide, that, in the same clutch of Chickens, 
 the produce of the same parents, those which have beards in 
 addition to their top-knots are to be called Hamburghs; those 
 with top-knots only, Polish. Others say, that the beard comes 
 from a cross with the Russian Fowl, which, as near as we can 
 ascertain, is a bearded Dorking. A distinct race, of which the 
 muff is one permanent characteristic, is not at present known. 
 It is a frightful appendage, and not easily got rid of, if once 
 introduced to a Poultry-yard : which makes me suspect either 
 that the original Polish were beardless, or that there were two 
 ancient races. 
 
 The Golden Polands, when well- bred, are exceedingly hand- 
 some ; the Cock having golden hackles, and gold and brown 
 feathers on the back ; breast and wings richly spotted with 
 
280 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 
 
 ochre and dark brown ; tail darker ; large golden and brown 
 crest, falling back over the neck ; but little comb and wattles. 
 The Hen is richly laced with dark brown or black on an ochre 
 ground; dark-spotted crest; legs light-blue, very cleanly 
 made, and displaying a small web between the toes, almost as 
 proportionally large as that in some of the waders. They are 
 good layers, and produce fair-sized Eggs. Many of them make 
 excellent mothers, although you cannot always get them to sit 
 early in the season. The Chicks are rather clumsy-looking 
 little animals, of a dingy brown, with some dashes of ochre 
 about the head, breast, and wings. They are sometimes a little 
 apt to die in the first week of their existence, but afterwards 
 get tolerably hardy, although liable to make a stand-still when 
 about half-grown. 
 
 It has been observed as a peculiarity in the temper of this 
 breed, that if you catch one of them, or if one is attacked by 
 any animal, the rest, whether Cocks or Hens, will instantly 
 attack the aggressor with fury, and endeavour to rescue their 
 unfortunate companion. 
 
 The Silver Polands are similar to the preceding in shape 
 and markings, except that white, black, and gray, are ex- 
 changed for ochre or yellow, and various shades of brown. 
 They are even more delicate in their constitution, more liable 
 to remain " fixed '^ at a certain point of their adolescence, and 
 still more requii'e and will repay extra care and accommodation. 
 Their top-knots are not perhaps in general so large ; but they 
 retain the same neat bluish legs and slightly-webbed feet. It 
 is curious that a bird which is quite incapable of swimming 
 should have webs on its feet, while the G-allinule, which swims 
 and dives well, has none. The Hens of the Silver Polands 
 are much more ornamental than the Cocks ; though even they 
 are sure to attract notice. They may certainly be ranked 
 among the choicest of Fowls, whether we consider their beauty 
 or their rarity. They lay moderate-sized, French-white Eggs, 
 
THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 281 
 
 much pointed at one end, in tolerable abundance, and, when 
 they sit, acquit themselves respectably. 
 
 The new-hatched Chicks are very pretty ; gray, with black 
 eyes, light lead-coloured legs, and a swelling of down on the 
 crown of the head, indicative of the future top-knot, which is 
 exactly the colour of a powdered wig, and indeed gives the 
 Chick the appearance of wearing one. They are easily enough 
 reared for the first six weeks or two months ; the critical time 
 with them being the interval between that age and their reach- 
 ing their fifth or six month. At a very early age they acquire 
 their peculiar distinctive features, and are then the most ele- 
 gant little miniature Fowls it is possible to imagine. The 
 distinction of sex is not very manifest till they are nearly full 
 grown ; the first observable indication being in the tail. That 
 of the Pullet is carried uprightly, as it ought to be, but in the 
 Cockerel it remains depressed, awaiting the growth of the 
 sickle feathers. The top-knot in the Cockerels is more pendent 
 backwards than in the Pullets. It is remarkable that the 
 Golden Polish Cock brings as true Silver Chicks, and those 
 stronger, with the Silver Polish Hen, as the Silver Polish 
 Cock would. 
 
 The Silver Polands have all the habits of their Grolden com- 
 panions ; the main diflPerence being the silvery ground, instead 
 of the golden. The Silver variety will sometimes even make 
 its appearance if you breed merely the Golden sort, exactly as 
 the Black Polish produce now and then some pure White 
 Chicks that make very elegant birds. An attempt has been 
 made to obtain the black top-knotted White Polish from these, 
 by acting on the imagination of the parents. The experiment 
 failed, though similar schemes have been said to succeed with 
 animals ; it proved, however, one thing — namely, that it will 
 not do to breed from the White Polish as a separate breed. 
 Being Albinos, the Chicks come very weakly, and few survive. 
 
282 THE POLAND/ OR POLISH FOWL. 
 
 On the other hand, trust to chance for an occasional white one 
 among the black, and you get a fine bird. 
 
 There is a singular variety of the Polish, which has the en- 
 tire plumage of a uniform slaty-dun colour. Other curious 
 combinations of colour are probably to be found here and there, 
 in the hands of careful breeders. One has been lately raised 
 in which the golden-plumage has been crowned by a large 
 globe-shaped white crest of dense features ; how long this will 
 continue permanent, remains to be tested. There was also a 
 breed, called after Lord Erdley, which obtained a prize at one 
 of the Poultry-shows in the Zoological G-ardens. 
 
 The Polish are chiefly suited for keeping in a small way, 
 and in a clean and grassy place. They are certainly not so 
 fit for the yard of the farmer, becoming blinded and miserable 
 with dirt. It is a main point to procure them genuine, as the 
 degenerate things one sees in towns are frequently palmed on 
 the buyer instead of the handsome, deep-bodied, short-legged 
 variety. I have seen a slight sub-variety, having the crest 
 entirely white, but inferior in shape and beauty. Indeed 
 there is no breed of Fowls more disfigured by mongrelism than 
 this. The Polish will, without any cross-breeding, occa- 
 sionally produce white stock that are very pretty, and equally 
 good for laying, &c. It is singular, however, that if you 
 attempt to make a separate breed of them, they become puny 
 and weak. It is better for those who wish for them to depend 
 upon chance : every brood almost of the black producing one 
 White Chick, strong and lively as the rest. 
 
 The Polish Fowls are excellent for the table, the flesh being 
 white, tender, and juicy ; but they are quite unsuitable for 
 being reared in any numbers, or for general purposes : they 
 are so capricious in their growth, frequently remaining ^^ stuck," 
 as the country people call it, for a whole month, without get- 
 ting bigger, and this when about a quarter or half grown, the 
 time of their life when they are most liable to disease. As 
 
THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 283 
 
 aviary birds, they are unrivalled among Fowls. Their plumage 
 often requires a close inspection to appreciate its elaborate 
 beauty ; and the confinement and petting seems less uncon- 
 genial to their health. We would recommend persons whose 
 accommodation for Poultry is very limited, to select some 
 pretty family of Polanders, and keep them on the aviary sys- 
 tem ', when it will be found that their plumage improves in 
 beauty with almost every moult. 
 
 But a great merit of all the Polish Fowls is this : that for 
 three or four years they go on growing and gaining in size, 
 hardiness, and beauty, especially the male birds. This fact, 
 which any amateur can verify for himself by observation, as- 
 suredly points out a very wide deviation in constitution from 
 those Fowls which attain their full stature and perfect plumage 
 in twelve or fifteen months. The similarity of colouring in 
 the two sexes, almost a specific distinction of Polish, and, per- 
 haps, Spanish Fowls, also separates them from those breeds, as 
 the Game, in which the Cocks and Hens are remarkably dis- 
 similar. An additional recommendation to the Polish is, that 
 their edible qualities are as super-excellent compared with 
 other Fowls, as their outward apparel is superior in elegance, 
 — a point which is recorded here not from mere hearsay ; al- 
 though, to confirm it, Temminck quotes Sonnini's information 
 that the Polish Fowls (les Coqs huppes) are highly esteemed 
 in Egypt for the goodness of their flesh ; and are so abundant 
 in Upper Egypt as to be sold for 2id. or Sd. each. At the 
 Cape of Grood Hope this breed is equally cultivated. 
 
 Polish Fowls are also currently reported as everlasting lay- 
 ers, which further fits them for keeping in small enclosures ; 
 but, as in the Hamburghs, individual exceptions are often met 
 with, however truly the habit may be ascribed to the race. 
 " I only know of the Grolden-spangled, Silver-spangled, and 
 Black Poland that are everlasting layers, though of the Black, 
 I believe there are two varieties, one smaller than the other. 
 
284 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 
 
 The small ones are of a purer black, with larger top-knots, and 
 I think I have heard they are truer everlasting layers than the 
 large variety. Some of the large ones have slight white tips 
 to a few of their feathers. I am altogether unable to point out 
 any difference between the Polanders that are everlasting 
 layers, and those that are not ; for I have seen several that 
 apparently were pure bred, that were as much inclined to sit 
 as any other Fowls." — J. S. W. 
 
 Both the Poland and the Lark-crested Fowls are, in Nor- 
 folk, trivially called " Copplecrowns/'* 
 
 Before taking leave of the full- sized Fowls, it may be ob- 
 served that the initiated can often distinguish the various 
 breeds unseen, by their crow. A friend remarks, " there is 
 an Italian proverb : ' as the old Cock crows, so crows the young ;' 
 and indeed the voice may be considered as a tolerably fair 
 guide for ascertaining whether the different breeds of Domestic 
 Fowl are genuine or not. Amongst individual Cocks of the 
 same variety, there will, indeed, be frequently slight variations 
 in the tone of crowing ; but yet, a person having any thing of 
 a correct ear, may easily trace the family croio throughout. 
 Thus, the Game breeds that I have kept, have always rather a 
 a shrill, but not inharmonious crow, with a very peculiar, 
 
 ^ In the "Tournament of Tottenham, or, the Wooing, Winning, 
 and Wedding of Tibbe, the Reeve's daughter there," an old bur- 
 lesque ballad, the Reeve says : — 
 
 " Whoso berys hym best in the turnament, 
 Hym schal be granted the gre be the comon assent, 
 For to Wynne my dozter wyth dughtynesse of dent, 
 And ' coppelV my hrode-lienne that was hrozt out of Kent : 
 And my dunnyd kovre 
 For no spens wyl I spare, 
 For no cattell wyl I care. 
 He schall have my gray mare. 
 And my spottyd sowe." 
 
THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 285 
 
 abrupt termination. The Blue Duns have somewhat the same 
 style of crowing, but with a more regular and gradual finale. 
 Cocks of the Silver Hamburg variety are generally even more 
 shrill than the two last mentioned, giving, however, a longer 
 finishing note. The Polish are not, I think, remarkable for 
 melody in crowing; they are harsh-toned, and frequently lack 
 that agreeably sounding turn in the crow, that you hear in the 
 Game and Hamburg, and others. The Spanish, also, though 
 professing to come from a rich land in musical ability, are not 
 highly gifted with vocal powers. Their crowing is loud, in- 
 deed, and not so very shrill, but squally and grating to the 
 ear. Some few individuals are better and richer in tone, but 
 those are the exceptions not the rule. The Malay's voice is 
 hoarse, and not so loud as, from the size of the bird, might be 
 expected ; while that of the noble Cochin China is deep-toned, 
 mellow, and prolonged, like the closing note of an accom- 
 plished singer. Bamtams are more varied in their crowing 
 powers than any of the breeds above mentioned ; but one I 
 possessed some years since, was so particularly musical, that 
 his crow sounded like two or three bars of an air whistled in 
 a mellow key. It has, I believe, been universally remarked, 
 that the Domestic Cock always claps the wings before, and the 
 Pheasant after crowing. The Cock, however, as I have often 
 noticed, will frequently give another clapping after the song 
 is ended. These birds must sleep very lightly and watchfully, 
 as, the instant an individual, roosting separately and at a dis- 
 tance, begins his clamour, the others answer, and the concert 
 spreads from farm to farm, throughout the village. To hear 
 this natural alarum-bell ringing far and wide, between ten and 
 twelve o'clock on a December's night, is singular enough. 
 The cause of these birds thus forestalling their morning 
 note of gratulation, has not yet, I think, been satisfactorily 
 explained. 
 
 " The growth of the spur in the gallinaceous order of birds 
 
286 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 
 
 is often irregular and unaccountable. Among Fowls, especially, 
 it is a very misleading guide to denote the age. You may see 
 an old Hen, eight or twelve years of age, without the slightest 
 semblance of a spur; and again, in a last year's Hen, you may 
 observe them of some length ; and even in a Pullet of the same 
 season, (as in the case of one of the Game Pullets you sent 
 me,) the spur is highly developed. The same remarks will 
 apply, though in a less degree, to Cocks also. Many are the 
 persons who have been thus wofully deceived when purchasing 
 Pheasants for the table; as they afterwards find to their 
 annoyance, when the bird is undergoing the process of masti- 
 cation."—^. H. 
 
287 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 
 
 THE SPANGLED HAMBURGH FOWL. 
 
 This beautiful variety is distinguished from other members 
 of the same family, by their large top-knots being coloured 
 instead of white, and the black and conspicuous muffle or 
 ruff on the throat and under the beak. There are two kinds, 
 the golden and silver spangled ; the ground of the feathers of 
 the golden spangled being a rich yellow, approaching to an 
 orange-red, with black spots or spangles. The silver spangled 
 differs from the preceding, by the ground of the feathers being 
 a silvery white. The comb, as in other highly-crested Fowls, 
 is quite small : the wattles are also diminutive; legs generally 
 blue } skin and flesh white ; Eggs a moderate size, but abun- 
 dant; Chickens easily reared. In and about New York, a 
 few years since, this Fowl abounded — both the golden and sil- 
 ver varieties. They may weigh, say, three and a half pounds, 
 for the female, and from four and a half to five and -a half 
 for the male. The Cock stands some twenty inches high, and 
 the Hen about eighteen inches.* 
 
288 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 
 
 THE BOLTON GRAY, OR CREOLE FOWL. 
 
 The Bolton G-ray or Creole Fowl is sometimes called 
 Dutch Every-day-layers, Pencilled Dutch Fowl, Chittaprats, &c. 
 They were originally imported from Holland to Bolton, a 
 town in Lancashire, England, whence they are named. The 
 ground colour is pure white, minutely shot or touched with 
 black, except on the neck, giving rise to the name Pencilled 
 Fowl, and from the frequency of their being brought over to 
 London, by Rotterdam steamers, they are called " Dutch Pen- 
 cilled .Fowl,'' or ^^ Dutch Every-day-layers." A good Cock of 
 this breed may weigh from four to four and a half pounds, 
 and a Hen from three to three and a half pounds. I have 
 found them good layers, but thought the Eggs to be watery 
 and innutritious. I wrote to a friend, who knows the Fowl 
 well, having kept the variety for several years, and his reply 
 is, — " Of the richness of Creole Eggs, compared with those of 
 less prolific breeds, I am scarcely able to speak. Though I 
 have owned Creoles for a dozen years, I have never made any 
 careful comparison. But, from analogy, I would infer that an 
 Egg would prove rich in proportion as it was small, compared 
 with the Hen that produced it, caeteris paribus. A Cow, 
 nearly dry, generally gives much richer milk than one that 
 yields abundantly. 
 
 ^'The superiority of a Creole Hen does not consist as much 
 in rapid as in co7itinued laying. She may not produce as 
 many Eggs in a month, as some other kinds, but she will lay 
 more months in the year than probably any other variety. 
 I have had Creoles seven or eight years old, that never became 
 broody, and which have laid, in that time, at least six hun- 
 dred Eggs, in this fashion : — First year, one hundred and 
 eighty or two hundred. Second, one hundred and fifty. 
 Third, one hundred to one hundred and twenty. Fourth, 
 
HAMBURGH FOWLS. 289 
 
 seventy or eighty. Fifth, forty or fifty. Sixth, eighteen or 
 twenty. Seventh, almost total barrenness. This statement 
 shows the extreme folly of keeping Hens, after the third, or 
 even the second year. For, besides the great falling off in 
 Eggs, these are apt to prove infertile when laid by super- 
 annuated Hens.'^ 
 
 Mr. Dixon, in writing on the whole family of Hamburgh 
 Fowls, to which the Bolton Grays and so-called Silver and 
 G-olden Pheasants belong, says : — First, of the Bolton Grays, 
 " The Hen has a rose comb, pure white neck and breast, and 
 the rest of the body most exquisitely pencilled with bluish slate- 
 colour and white, legs light blue. The Cock has the back and 
 neck greyish white; breast and wings slightly spotted, tail 
 nearly black, fine double comb. These Fowls are the most 
 perfect patterns of neatness in make, and are under the ave- 
 rage size. They are excellent layers, and pretty fair mothers; 
 Eggs rather small, French-white, and slightly tapering at one 
 end. The Chicks are white, except a dark streak on the head, 
 and down the nape of the neck — a curious fact, as, when adult, 
 this is the only part without dark markings. When their 
 little barred wings begin to appear, they are very pretty ; but 
 are certainly rather difficult to rear, many of those I have had 
 dying off when a quarter grown, from some cause, the only 
 symptom being the skin's turning black. 
 
 ^^ There is also a spurious breed of this variety sold in towns, 
 that are larger, but by no means so neatly made ; the necks 
 mixed with specks, and the slate and white markings confused 
 on the body. They are beautifully distinct in the true sort. 
 We have found the Creoles very good eating.'' — H. H. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Keighley, in Yorkshire, on the bor- 
 ders of Lancashire, the Bolton Grays are called " Chittiprats," 
 or " Cheteprats.'' Prizes are given for the best by the Keighley 
 Agricultural Society, and the opinion of them current there, 
 is, that they are very handsome, very hardy, and excellent 
 
 25 
 
290 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 
 
 layers. In other parts of the kingdom, they are known by the 
 trivial name of "Narrowers/^ 
 
 Prince Albert's breed, so named by Mr. Smith, formerly of 
 the Hippodrome, near London, are Bolton G-rays, that are 
 said to be crossed with a dash of Game blood, to improve their 
 form. They are not to be distinguished from the Silver 
 Spangled Hamburghs. 
 
 We take the liberty of extracting another account of them, 
 from the Agricultural Gazette, for Oct. 14, 1848: — 
 
 " The Silver (Hamburgh) Fowls are worthy of notice, both 
 on account of their beauty and productiveness; they are small- 
 bodied, have short blue legs, a very pretty head, with a full 
 comb, and a remarkably short bill, rounded, and shaped some- 
 what like a sparrow's; their colour white, with very regular 
 black dots or moons on their wings and tail. They lay well ; 
 mine commenced early in February, and are laying now, 
 (Oct. 3;) they do not show any inclination to sit; but in a 
 hatch, their Eggs are very productive. I have had fourteen 
 Chicks out of fifteen Eggs. It is necessary to keep, a G-ame 
 Hen or two, to perpetuate the breed, (by hatching the Eggs, 
 which they will not often do for themselves.) I find rice, at 
 12s. to 14s. per cwt., soaked all night in water, and then rolled 
 in Indian meal, a very economical and fattening food, occa- 
 sionally mixed with a little barley. My Hens would have 
 commenced laying earlier in the season, if their roosting-place 
 had been warmer." — W. X. 
 
 Aldrovandi's account of his Turkish Fowls, is as follows : — 
 " On the Turhish Coch, and tioo TurJdsh Hens. The Cock, 
 whose likeness we now give, is called the Turkish Cock. His 
 whole body was, in a manner, inclined to white. Still, the 
 wing feathers were partly black, the belly also was black ;* 
 
 * Had I been aware that your mind was not quite made up as to 
 the identity of the Bolton Grays with the Silver Hamburghs, I would 
 
HAMBURGH FOWLS. 291 
 
 the tail consisted of feathers that were partly green, partly 
 black, some also half-green, some half-black. His whole body 
 was exquisitely adorned with lines, that were sometimes golden, 
 and sometimes silver, and it is wonderful what a beautiful 
 effect this produced. His legs and feet were tinged with blue. 
 The Hen, which, in like manner, was called Turkish, was all 
 white, sprinkled over with black spots ; the feet tinged with 
 blue : the wattles were short, when compared with those of 
 the male. The next Hen would seem the same, except that 
 her neck was yellowish, and she had a sharp point on the top 
 of her head, her feet altogether blue, and an immaculate tail. 
 
 " I have observed another Hen of this kind, whose feet were 
 entirely blue, spotted in the same manner as the foregoing, 
 with black and white; but behind its fleshy crest, it had 
 another of white feathers, like a Lark, and that part of the 
 neck and shoulders, which in the other is black, in this changing 
 from ash-colour to dirty yellow.'^ 
 
 It is a pity the description is not more precise. It is not 
 clear whether the gold and silver lines are intended to be in 
 the same or different birds. The reader may question the cor- 
 rectness of my translation ; but Aldrovandi's large wood-cuts 
 remove all doubt as to the variety intended. The figures given 
 are evidently the Hamburghs, the Hens, one Golden and one 
 Silver. The very peculiar form of the comb, so recognisable 
 at the present time, is clearly marked in these old wood-cuts. 
 The fleshy rose comb of the Hamburghs terminating in a sharp 
 point behind, like the corner of a cocked hat turning upwards, 
 and which is seen in no other variety of Fowl, is well described 
 by " apicem in vcrtice geritJ' The smaller, and occasionally 
 more semicircular comb of the Silver Hamburgh Hens, is well 
 delineated in the Turkish Hen. 
 
 have written to Mr. M. to look out for a white-breasted Cock, but I 
 begged him to send you a black-breasted one, if possible. — J. S. W. 
 
292 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 
 
 Bolton Bay is another provincial term for tlie Golden Ham- 
 burgh, as Bolton Gray is for the Silver. In order clearly to fix 
 the momenclature, by the comparison of individual specimens 
 of difi*erent localities, I purchased in Hungerford market, some 
 birds that had been imported from Holland, another specimen 
 of Herring in the New Boad, and lately have been kindly sup- 
 plied with a pair of Bays, and also of Grays, from Bolton, in 
 Lancashire, and also with a Creole Hen from Wiltshire. The 
 result of the comparison, and of the unanimous opinion of the 
 London Poulterers, is, that the varieties of Hamburgh, two 
 Golden and two Silver, include all these synonyms. The Bol- 
 ton Bay from Lancashire, differed most in her markings from 
 the normal type, which we will suppose represented by Aldro- 
 vandi's Turkish Hen ; but all the main points were correct, 
 and for this difference I had been prepared. " When you re- 
 ceive your Boltons, be sure that you do not draw any conclu- 
 sions from their colour alone, for that is extremely varied. 
 Many are quite as handsomely marked as the Spangled Poland 
 or the Pheasant Malay." The Bay Hen I received, was marked 
 very like a Golden Poland, (the crest, of course, being quite 
 absent,) but that the ground of the plumage was of much richer 
 and browner hue. Those persons, therefore, who wish to pro- 
 cure Hamburgh Fowls from Lancashire, should be precise in 
 their instructions, according to the description shortly to be 
 given. The Bolton Fowls average in that town 3s. each, which 
 is cheap for those who wish to obtain a stock of any of these 
 very distinct varieties. All the birds that I received were 
 very good specimens. The male Golden Hamburgh is a par- 
 ticularly beautiful creature ; nothing but a full-sized coloured 
 drawing can give an adequate idea of the extremely rich colour- 
 ing and brilliant lustre of his plumage. It has been men- 
 tioned in the previous note, that the males of the Bolton Grays 
 differ somewhat in the quantity of black, or dark gray which 
 they wear, as also do those of the Silver Spangled. The Hens, 
 
1^ _^-^v 
 
 WAITTSc 
 
 HAMBURG FOWLS. 
 
HAMBURGH FOWLS. 293 
 
 too, vary slightly, but the difference is hardly more than would 
 be seen amongst a brood of Chickens reared from the same 
 pair of Fowls. The Creole from the south of England was a 
 very well-bred specimen, having the peculiar comb, pointed 
 behind, described and figured by Aldrovandi. 
 
 A Golden Spangled Hamburgh Cock, from Lancashire, of 
 the sub-variety, there called " Moss Fowl," has a large very 
 double comb, pointed behind upwards, flat on the top, but co- 
 vered with small upright points ; the wattles are large, and there 
 is a small white ear-patch. The bill is short and lead-coloured; 
 feet and legs also lead-coloured. Irides, orange-brown. The 
 hackle is composed of a mixture of brown, black, yellow, and 
 green ; back the same, only darker. Tail, black, glossed with 
 green, and having gray down at the base of the feathers. 
 Quills of the wings, chesnut; wing coverts, metallic black; 
 breast, and under part of the body, black. 
 
 The Hamburghs are commonly set down as everlasting lay- 
 ers. But no strictly universal rule, that will apply without 
 fail to every case, can be laid down for Fowls, any more than 
 for men. Here, however, is decided evidence : — " I have sufli- 
 cient experience of the Bolton Fowls myself, to enable me to 
 say that they are everlasting layers, when pure bred. My 
 father had some very handsome Fowls, a cross between them 
 and a large Poland Hen, that was slightly inclined to sit. I can 
 recommend this cross to the notice of those who wish a larger 
 breed than the Bolton. By retaining those with the largest 
 top-knots, a variety with large top-knots could soon be ob- 
 tained. (Yes, but could it be retained ?) Some of the Bol- 
 ton Grray Cocks have black tails and breasts, and others have 
 the breasts mottled black and white : when these also have 
 cream-coloured hackles, I think them very handsome. As to 
 the occasional variation in the comb, I incline to the opinion 
 that Hens more frequently come single-combed than Cocks, 
 in breeds like the Hamburgh and the Malay." — J. JS. W. 
 
 25» 
 
294 
 
 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 
 
 The Hamburgh Fowls are, beyond all other breeds, especial 
 favourites in the Midland and Northern Counties; they are 
 zealously cultivated there in all their sub- varieties ; and a visit 
 to the great Birmingham show, having afforded a good oppor- 
 tunity of comparing their markings and nomenclature, a sort 
 of family tree of the breed is given for the guidance of distant 
 Fanciers. We comprise the whole race under the denomina- 
 tion of 
 
 HAMBUEGHS. 
 
 Pencilled Fowls, 
 
 WITH light hackle, 
 
 Spangled Fowls, 
 with darker hackli^ 
 
 tha 
 
 tis, 
 
 that is, 
 
 Either pure 1 
 White hackle, f 
 
 _ J Clear unmixed 
 = 1 Ochrey Yellow. 
 
 1 Either White 1 f Yellow hackle, 
 hackle, striped in 1 >h ) striped in the 
 the centre with [ ■= 1 centrewith Black, 
 Black, J [ Brown, or Green. 
 
 Chittaprat. 
 
 Bolton Bays. 
 
 Silver Spangled. 
 
 Gold Spangled. 
 
 Bolton Grrays. 
 
 Golden Ham- 
 
 " Pheasant. 
 
 " Pheasant. 
 
 Pencilled Dutch. 
 
 burgh. 
 
 " Moonies. 
 
 " Moonies. 
 
 Silver Hamburgh. 
 
 
 " Moss. 
 
 Bed Caps. 
 
 Creole, or Coral. 
 
 
 N.B. The Adult 
 Cocks have in 
 some families pure 
 white hackle. 
 
 Copper Moss. 
 
 The terms "Silver and Gold Pheasant" are admitted into this 
 list, simply to point out what they are not: the sooner they 
 are discarded, the better. Mr. James Bissell, of Bradford 
 Street, Birmingham, an enthusiastic and able amateur, thus 
 gives his opinion : — 
 
 " I like very much your forming the Moonies, Moss Fowl, 
 Chittaprats, and Bolton Bays, into one family of Hamburghs, 
 and think you will, with a careful specification of the sub- 
 varieties, for ever set this point in dispute at rest. I can see 
 no objection (except old associations) why the term ^Pheasant' 
 should not at once be abandoned in both the Silver and 
 Golden varieties ; it has doubtless given rise to much that is 
 
HAMBURGH FOWLS. 295 
 
 equivocal and often false. [We have had Fowls sent ns from 
 long distances to convince us of the amalgamation of Phasianic 
 with Grallic blood, when, lo! the specimens, on jumping out 
 of their hamper, were very handsome " Moss Fowls/^] But the 
 Fowl known in this neighbourhood and in the Northern Coun- 
 ties under that term, of both colours, Silver and Golden, I be- 
 lieve to be as permanent as any variety we have, and their 
 qualifications equal, if not superior to any Fowl I have ever met 
 with; therefore I am anxious that they should be as accu- 
 rately described as the Bolton Bays and Bolton Grays, for I can 
 assure you that in the Midland Counties, and northwards, they 
 have been, and still are, more extensively kept and more highly 
 prized than all the other varieties of fancy Fowl put together; 
 and almost universally has there been the inquiry why they 
 have not found a place in the classification of Domestic Poultry 
 by the various writers upon the subject. 
 
 ^'You appear to have thought that the name of Moonies 
 was attached to the Silver »zo?i-Pheasants only, and that of 
 Moss to the Golden 7?o?^-Pheasants only, whereas both these 
 names are applied to either variety ; as, for example, the same 
 birds are called Silver Moss and Silver Moonies, and if the 
 colour be golden, they are called Copper Moss and Golden 
 Moonies — the terms Moss and Moonies being synonymous, and 
 as applicable to the Silver as the Golden-spangled variety. 
 There can be but one opinion as to dividing them into the two 
 distinct varieties of colour, viz., Golden Hamburghs and Silver 
 Hamburghs, and we shall find the characteristics of the Ham- 
 burgh breeds, whereby we distinguish them from all other 
 varieties, as uniform and true of the one colour as the 
 other, and will always be distinct and apparent in the sub- 
 varieties. 
 
 " All Hamburghs must possess a very neat, florid rose or 
 double comb, not too large and bulky, which terminates in a 
 fine upward-tending point at the back of the head, which 
 
296 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 
 
 gives an exquisite finish to their appearance, pure white deaf- 
 ears, or ear-lobes, and light slaty-coloured blue legs. With- 
 out the whole of the above characteristics, I should deem them 
 impure, and not worth breeding from ; and I consider these 
 three qualities indispensable in the genuine Humburgh Fowl. 
 I think we should avoid splitting them into too many sub- 
 varieties, and beg to submit this simple mode of doing so 
 under each variety of colour. Two sub-varieties of this Fowl 
 will be clearly identified under the definitions of Pencilled and 
 Spangled Hamburghs, and will embrace all the specimens I 
 have yet seen or heard of; thus, in the Chittaprats and Bolton 
 Bays we have the Pencilled Hamburghs, in the Moss and 
 Moonies we have the Spangled Hamburghs. The marking 
 2ind characteristics of each sort I will now describe. 
 
 ^'Silver Pencilled Hartihurghs are about the size of ordinary 
 Game Fowl, and, when quite pure, are (with the other varie- 
 ties of Hamburgh Fowl) the most prolific layers we have. 
 Their ground colour is pure white ; the Cock has very little 
 black upon him at all; the whole of the neck and saddle 
 hackles, breast, and back purely white, and not (as in some 
 specimens that have been shown as genuine birds) marked or 
 pencilled upon the breast. This defect will always produce 
 imperfect birds. The only parts that should have any black 
 upon them are the wings and tail; the former should be barred 
 across with black, and the latter should be black, with the 
 feathers edged with white, gradually blended into the black. 
 The Hen should have a pure white neck ; and spots of black 
 upon the hackles very much detract from the purity and 
 beauty of the Fowl, and should therefore be strictly guarded 
 against and rejected. The whole of the body, wings, and tail 
 should be delicately but distinctly pencilled with clear black 
 upon a clear white ground ; and there are in general about 
 five such distinct pencillings or bars across each feather upon 
 the body, the extremes being marked the most distinctly. The 
 
HAMBURGH FOWLS. 297 
 
 flight-feathers of the wings, and the tail-feathers should be 
 barred all the way up them. 
 
 " Golden Pencilled HamhurgJis are in all respects, except the 
 ground colour, the same as the Silver Pencilled Hamburgh. 
 It is a qualification that we should be very tenacious about, 
 that the Pencilled Hamburgh Cock, either Grolden or Silver, 
 should not have any marking of black upon him, except upon 
 his wings: for if he has, we shall be disappointed in his 
 progeny, as he will evidently produce spurious birds. 
 
 ^^ Silver Spangled HamhurgJis. — These, in their general form 
 and carriage, very closely resemble the Silver Pencilled, of 
 which they are a sub-variety, their size being in general a 
 little larger. The ground colour of the Cock is clear white, 
 beautifully spangled with one spot or spangle of clear black 
 upon each feather, which is more distinct and beautiful upon 
 the breast than on any other part of him. The hackles of 
 the neck and saddle are striped down the centre with black, 
 and clearly marginated with white, the tail-feathers mottled 
 with black and white, the black preponderating; the comb 
 double, and pointing upwards at the back of the head, but not 
 • too large and ponderous ', ear-lobes quite white, and the legs 
 of a quiet light-blue colour. 
 
 " The Hen of this beautiful variety is one of the most splendid 
 and attractive-looking birds of her species, being regularly 
 spotted or spangled with one spot or spangle only of clear black 
 upon each clear white feather, all over her body, from her 
 head to the end or tip of her tail ; and here I would observe, 
 that the distinctive marks of difference between the Silver 
 Pencilled Hamburgh Hens are these (they also apply to the 
 Golden variety) : the hackles of the Silver Pencilled Ham- 
 burghs are purely white, while the hackles of the Silver Span- 
 gled Hamburghs are regularly and distinctly marked with 
 black ] the other distinction is, that the Pencilled Hamburghs 
 have five or six bars or pencillings across each feather of the 
 
298 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 
 
 body, while tlie Spangled Hamburglis have only one distinct 
 spot or spangle upon each of their feathers. 
 
 ^' Some of the purest and best bred of the Spangled variety 
 produce Cocks which, when adult, have purely white hackles 
 on the neck and saddle, but which, while Chickens in their 
 first feather, have all the feathers of the neck and saddle 
 slightly spangled with black, but their adult hackles come 
 pure white. [We have known Chickens of this breed pass 
 through changes of colour much resembling those of young 
 Gruinea Fowl.] 
 
 ^^ The Golden Spangled Hamhurghs diifer in nothing except 
 the ground colour of the body from the Silver Spangled. 
 While it is expedient to abandon their provincial names, I 
 cannot too strongly urge the necessity of attaching a proper 
 importance to this variety of Domestic Poultry. They are 
 beautiful looking Fowls, excellent layers, and although not so 
 large, are as good a table Fowl, in quality and juiciness of 
 flesh, as the Dorking, and come quite as early to maturity.^' 
 
 The Red Caps in our list are a family of the breed, with 
 their combs somewhat more developed than would be con- 
 sidered as a model in Mr. Bissell's valuable communication. 
 The Silver Pencilled may fairly be called a tender breed ; but 
 they will well repay a little extra care and attention, which 
 indeed they may be said absolutely to require. Like the 
 Bantams, they will occasionally produce single-combed Chicks ; 
 such are considered as aberrant, ill-bred, and to be rejected. 
 Aldrovandi has figured a single-combed Hen as one of his 
 Turkish Fowls. 
 
299 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 . THE RUMPLESS FOWL, OR RUMKIN. 
 
 Blaine, in his EncyclopEedia of Rural Sports, (London, 
 1840,) says, ^^ Of the feathered tribes of Ceylon, the most re- 
 markable is the tailless Cocky (Gallus ecaudatus, Temm. fig. 
 25,) at present, we believe, only known in its wild state in the 
 forests,^^ &c. It may appear too skeptical in us to question 
 whether it be now to be found wild in the forests of Ceylon,* 
 
 * It is hardly possible to cavil at Temminck's evidence of its ex- 
 istence there. In reply to Buffon's fairy tale that Cocks, when trans- 
 ported to Virginia, lose that portion of their person on which the tail 
 grows — a romance that seems to have imposed on the sober Doctor 
 Latham — he says, "We can positively state that Buffon's opinion 
 has not been confirmed ; this Rumpless Cock was not originated in 
 the New World, since the primitive species inhabits the Island of 
 Ceylon ; the Hen makes her nest on the ground ; it is rudely con- 
 structed with fine grass, and resembles the nest of Partridges. The 
 disposition of this bird is wild ; the Cock frequently utters his crow, 
 which, though less sonorous than that of our Domestic Cocks, has 
 still the same cadence. The Cingalese designate this species by the 
 name of Wallikikili, which means. Cock of the Woods. The distinct- 
 ive characters of this species consist in the want of the last vertebra 
 of the back, on which grows the carnosity that we term * rump :' 
 the absence of this vertebra is the natural cause that Cocks and 
 Hens of this species are without the caudal feathers, as well as all 
 the coverts, which in other birds are planted on the rump : this species 
 
300 THE RUMPLESS FOWL. 
 
 but it certainly has been extant in Europe for the last two or 
 three hundred years. In the spring of 1848, a pair of very 
 good specimens, with brown and white plumage, were exhibited 
 at the Surrey Zoological G-ardens, and labelled as '^from 
 Persia." Twenty or thirty years ago, when weavers and other 
 artificers took more delight in tulip-beds, stages of auriculas, 
 and Fancy Fowls and Pigeons, than in the Physical v. Moral 
 Force Question, I have frequently seen gray-plumaged Kum- 
 kins, as well as Frizzled Fowls and other curiosities, walking 
 about the streets, and " plains," and churchyards of Norwich. 
 Those sources of amusement are now much neglected. But 
 if the Rumkin be really a remnant of the original Fauna of 
 Ceylon, it will be a pity if it be suffered to become extinct, 
 although it be one of Blumenbach's defective monsters, (moll- 
 
 is also distinguished from the other Cocks that we have described, by 
 having his comb round, and without indentations." [He then mi- 
 nutely describes the plumage.] " I am unacquainted with the colours 
 of the primitive female of this rare species, the Governor of Ceylon 
 to whom I am indebted for information respecting this wild Cock, 
 having sent me only a very old male, and a second individual, male 
 also, at the stage when the comb and wattles begin to show them^ 
 selves : an adult male is deposited in the cabinet of Mr. Raye de 
 Breukelerwaert, at Amsterdam. These three individuals have the 
 same distinctive characters, and the colour of their plumage abso- 
 lutely correspond. The different domestic races of this species are 
 distinguished by different coloured plumage ; most of the Cocks have 
 indented combs like those of our village Cocks ; others have also the 
 double comb. I have not yet met with one having a smooth comb, 
 and without indentations ; this last race, if it exist, would be that 
 which retains most of the source, or first type. It is scarcely pos- 
 sible to furnish particulars of the origin of the domesticity of the 
 Kumpless Cocks ; the date of it, nevertheless, ought to be more re- 
 cent than that of the other species which have produced the village 
 Cocks ; but inquiries on this subject cannot be established by proofs : 
 they lose themselves in the night of time." 
 
THE RUMPLESS FOWL. 801 
 
 stra per defectum.) It is curious that another island under 
 the British rule should furnish a quadruped similarly defective. 
 Manx Cats are well known for the peculiarity of having no 
 tail. They are still to be met with now and then ; hut the 
 native race, or species of Pigs, which were wild in the moun- 
 tains a hundred years ago, appear now to be quite extermi- 
 nated from the Isle of Man. Insular tribes of animals have 
 but little chance of suvivorship, as human population in- 
 creases. In New Zealand, the wingless bird — another de- 
 fective monster — appears to be now a fast-vanishing apparition 
 from the face of the earth. 
 
 I have found no mention of the Rumpless Fowl in classical 
 authors, but Aldrovandi was aware of its existence : — 
 
 " The Cock which they call the Persian, and which we have 
 here figured, differs from our own sorts mainly in having no 
 tail ; in other respects, it is very like them. The Cock, how- 
 ever, has a sort of tail. It was all black, sprinkled with yel- 
 low lines : the first quill-feathers were white, the rest black ] 
 the feet ashy : the Hen was like our own in respect to shape 
 and carriage ; of an extremely different colour to the male, 
 whence I attach little weight to diversity of colour, in these as 
 in them. She was all over of a ferrugineous colour, except the 
 three quill-feathers, which were black. Her comb, if you com- 
 pare it with the comb of the male, was much smaller/' 
 
 Aldrovandi's Rumpless Cock is represented with a large 
 double comb, that is produced backwards, " veluti caudam^^ 
 like a tail. I am without information as to their laying and 
 sitting qualities. They are not small, being at least of the 
 average size of Fowls. 
 
 " This species,^' says Temminck, " has given rise to many 
 exaggerated tales. Before the domestic (race of the Rumpless 
 Fowl) was well known, and dispersed through the different 
 countries of Europe, the vulgar conceived ridiculous ideas, 
 brought forth by superstition, on the subject of these birds. 
 
302 THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWL. 
 
 " The ' Philosophical Transactions of the year 1693/ inform 
 us that the Cocks of Virginia have no rumps ; the inhabitants 
 of this colony affirm that when Cocks are transported there 
 they soon lose their rump ; but this opinion is false, and has 
 not been confirmed by modern travellers. Bufi"onj who seems 
 to put faith in this improbable story, appears to conclude from 
 it, that this species originated in Virginia j ' the more so/ 
 says this naturalist, ^ as the ancients were unacquainted with 
 them, and naturalists did not begin to mention them till after 
 the discovery of America.' " 
 
 Such are the marvellous efi'ects of climate ! Such are the 
 foundations for doctrines which common sense cannot help be- 
 lieving dangerous in tendency, as well as false in principle ! 
 That such nonsense should influence the opinion of learned 
 philosophers ! — nonsense deserving only to be answered by 
 other nonsense. If this wasting away of the indescribable 
 part of the bodily frame be general in Virginia ; if the inhabit- 
 ants of that State really are subject to the loss — shall we dare 
 say it ? — of their rumps, — what a profitable speculation it 
 would be to send out to them a few ship-loads of bustles, to 
 try if they also will disappear by the influence of the climate ! 
 
 THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWLS. 
 
 Anomalies have been called ^^ finger-posts, that point the 
 way to unsuspected truths." This strange genus — for their 
 claims to that title deserve to be investigated — ought to excite 
 the curiosity of naturalists, though they have not much me- 
 rited the favour of Poultry-keepers. Even if it be found that 
 they produce prolific ofi"spring when cooped with our common 
 Poultry, that circumstance cannot be allowed to weigh for 
 much in our present most imperfect knowledge of the family. 
 
THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWL. 303 
 
 A great deal of confusion and uncertainty is current respecting 
 the Silky and the Negro Fowls ', and it cannot be expected 
 that a country clergyman^ who has but limited means of in- 
 vestigation at command, should be able, in a first endeavour, 
 to throw much light on a most intricate and difficult subject, 
 or to afford much final information on a class of creatures which 
 have a more appropriate place in the museum than in the 
 Poultry-yard. But they may safely be pronounced to be 
 worthless, as stock : they are kept in existence in this country 
 by importation from India, rather than by breeding. They 
 may be had in London for about 10s. each ;• for less, perhaps, 
 occasionally ; and a collection of them, and a comparison of 
 their differences, is desirable for scientific purposes. It may be 
 presumed that in India several kinds are to be found, with 
 which we are totally unacquainted. We have, however, quite 
 enough to stimulate inquiry. There are, first, a Silky Fowl, 
 with white plumage and skin, red comb, and bones coloured 
 the same as in other Fowls ; called, sometimes, the Nankin 
 Silky Fowl. Secondly, another Silky Fowl with white plum- 
 age, but with dark skin and comb, and dark bone, called 
 also the Black-boned Fowl. Such as these are doubtless those 
 in the possession of the Queen. ^^I saw a lot of ugly, under- 
 sized white Fowls, with black combs and indescribable plumage, 
 that had been sent to her Majesty from the East, which I sup- 
 pose are the breed to which you refer. See the article 
 * Pheasant,' in the ' Penny Cyclopaedia.' My brother tells me 
 that he saw some very small White Silky Fowls which had 
 been brought from Calcutta. If I remember aright, her Ma- 
 jesty's were as small as any Bantams." — J. S. W. Thirdly, 
 there is another kind of Silky Fowls, with plumage almost 
 black, with black comb and skin, and with bones that are black, 
 or of a dark colour : and, fourthly, I am led to believe that 
 there exists, what would be the true Negro Fowl, a bird with 
 
304 THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWL. 
 
 black comb, skin and bones, and with plumage wbich is black, 
 but not silky. 
 
 Instances of creatures having bones naturally/ discoloured, are, 
 I think, rare. The only other one I can call to mind, is that 
 of the G-ar-fish, which is not unfrequent in the London markets, 
 a most curious piece of organization, with a long beak like a 
 Snipe, a long body like an Eel, but flattened like a riband, 
 and grass-green bones. "The Wool-bearing Hen I take 
 to be altogether fabulous, and its figure in Aldrov. lib xiv. 
 cap. 14, taken out of a certain map, fictitious. Perchance 
 it was no other than the frizzled or Friesland Hen, which Odo- 
 ricus de Foro JuUi and Sir John Mandevil call the Wool- 
 bearing Hen. The birds which M. Paulus Venetus makes 
 mention of in these words, ^ In the city Quelinfu, in the king- 
 dom q/*Mangi, are found Hens, which, instead of feathers have 
 hairs like Cats, of a black colour, and lay very good Eggs,' 
 seem to be Cassowaries.'^ — Willughhy, p. 156. A daring 
 piece of skepticism for those times ! However, the Frizzled 
 and the Silky Fowls are quite distinct. Aldrovandi's own 
 words are — " The likeness of this Wool-bearing Hen is taken 
 out of a certain cosmographic map. There is a very great 
 city, towards the East, in which the largest Cocks are produced. 
 The Hens are white as snow, and, according to the Odoricus 
 of Forum Julii, (three different towns rejoice in that name,) 
 are covered, not with feathers, but with wool, like sheep. Also 
 Marco Polo, the Venetian, writes, that in the city Quelinfu, in 
 the kingdom Mangi by name. Hens are found that, in the 
 place of feathers have hairs like cats, are of a black colour, 
 and lay most excellent Eggs.'^ Aldrovandi's figure is black, 
 with large wattles, and elaborately jagged comb. The bird 
 is covered with curly locks. But an inspection of these old 
 wood-cuts, especially in botanical works, suggests the idea, that 
 many of them were merely symbolical, intended rather to give 
 
THE FRIZZLED^ OR FRIESLAND FOWL. 305 
 
 the hieroglyphic of the thing meant, than a.n actual verisimi- 
 lar representation of it. 
 
 Temminck states positively that the Negro Fowl exists in 
 a wild state in India; and that both it and the Silky Fowls 
 differ anatomically from the ordinary Domestic Fowls. Buffon 
 wonders what it can be which the Negro Fowls find to eat in 
 their native home, so to change the colour, not merely of their 
 comb and skin, but of their periosteum also. 
 
 Analogous to the Silky Fowl is the Lace Pigeon, so called 
 on account of the peculiarity of its feathers, the fibres or web 
 of which appear disunited from each other throughout their 
 whole plumage. 
 
 THE FRIZZLED, OR FRIESLAND FOWL. 
 
 It is difficult to say whether this be an aboriginal variety, 
 or merely a peculiar instance of the morphology of feathers ; 
 the circumstance that there are also Frizzled Bantams would 
 seem to indicate the latter case to be the fact. School-boys 
 used to account for the up-curled feathers of the Frizzled Fowl, 
 by supposing that they had come the wrong way out of the shell. 
 The}* are to be met with of various colours, but are disliked 
 and shunned, and crossly treated by other Poultry. Old- 
 fashioned people sometimes call them French Hens. The 
 reversion of the feathers, rendering them of little use||s clothing 
 to the birds, makes this variety to be peculiarly susceptible 
 of cold and wet. They have thus the demerit of being tender 
 as well as ugly. In good specimens, every feather looks as if 
 it had been curled the wrong way with a pair of hot curling- 
 irons. The stock is retained in existence in this country more 
 by importation than by rearing. The small Frizzled Bantams 
 at the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, are found to be 
 excellent sitters and nurses. Aldrovandi has an unmistakeable 
 
806 THE TRIZZLED, OR FRIESLAND FOWL; 
 
 figure of the Frizzled Cock, and gives the following account 
 ofit:— 
 
 "Pompilius Tagliaferrus, of Parma, not the lowest among 
 distinguished physicians, wrote to me respecting this Cock, in 
 these words: ^I send thee the effigy of a monstrous Cock, 
 although the painter has not satisfied me in its delineation. 
 But I wish you to know that two things particularly worthy 
 of admiration are to be found in this Cock, which are scarcely 
 ever seen in our own Cocks and Hens. The first and principal 
 is, that the feathers of the wings are situated in a contrary 
 manner to what they are in others, for the flat part of them, 
 which, by the prescript of nature, in others bends inwards, in 
 this is seen outwards, so that the whole wing appears entirely 
 reversed. I think another thing worthy of notice, namely, 
 that the small feathers of the neck are erected towards the 
 head, like curls, whither also the whole tail appears to be 
 bent.' So far he. But what he records of this Cock, neither 
 its portrait sent to me nor our figure sufficiently express; 
 which his words show to have happened through the unskil- 
 fulness of the painter." Aldrovandi seems to doubt the fact. 
 His bird is drawn with a large, deep-cleft comb. 
 
 Temminck makes a species of this bird. He says, it is a 
 native of Asia, and is found in a domestic state throughout 
 Java, Sumatra, and all the Philippine Islands, where it 
 succeeds well; but he is uncertain in what country it is still 
 found wil% 
 
 It is curious that there should be a Frizzled Pigeon, called 
 by Fanciers the Frill-back. 
 
THE CUCKOO FOWL. 807 
 
 THE CUCKOO FOWL. 
 
 We here give, by the name by which it is usually designated 
 in the Norfolk farm-yards, a variety which there is good reason 
 to believe to be something old and distinct, though they are 
 generally looked upon as mere Barn-door Fowls; i. e. the 
 mere accidental result of promiscuous crossing. But there 
 are several forms among the Barn-door Fowls, so called, that 
 are seen to be repeated generation after generation, the 
 counterparts of which are to be met with scattered here and 
 there over the country. So constant a repetition of corre- 
 sponding features would seem to declare, that there are several 
 unnoticed and undistinguished varieties of Fowl, which deserve 
 to be regarded and treated as we do other distinct sorts. The 
 objection to the adoption of this view and mode of practice is, 
 that it would inconveniently multiply the number of species, 
 and give additional trouble to naturalists and poultry fanciers. 
 But the multiplicity of Nature's works always has been infinite, 
 in reference to man's power of understanding them. The 
 only wonder, if we reflect, is, that he has had the courage to 
 grapple with them at all. At any rate, the investigation of a 
 few families of Cocks and Hens, is a less laborious work than 
 the arrangement of a ^^Systema Naturae," or the writing of a 
 '^ Kosmos." The subject is certainly deserving of considera- 
 tion, and may be the means of affording important service to 
 natural history. Dr. Bechstein seems to have been not far 
 from suspecting that several distinct varieties might be detected 
 among the ordinary Fowls of the farm-yard. It might answer 
 the purpose of the dealer to rear a pure stock of some of the 
 handsomest and most useful of these, and send them forth 
 with appropriate names, determined by competent persons, 
 fixing the appellation of the variety. 
 
308 THE CUCKOO FOWL. 
 
 The Cuckoo Fowl, it may be supposed, was so called from 
 its barred plumage, resembling tbe breast of the Cuckoo. The 
 prevailing colour is a slaty blue, undulated, and softly shaded 
 with white all over the body, forming bands of various width. 
 The comb is very small ; irides, bright orange ; feet and legs, 
 light flesh-colour. The Hens are of a good size; the Cocks 
 are large, approaching the heaviest breeds in weight. The 
 Chickens, at two or three months old, exhibit the barred 
 plumage even more perfectly than the full-grown birds. The 
 Eggs average about two ounces each, are white, and of porce- 
 lain smoothness. The newly-hatched Chicks are gray, much 
 resembling those of the Silver Polands, except in the colour 
 of the feet and legs. This breed supplies an unfailing troop 
 of good layers, good sitters, good mothers, and good feeders, 
 and is well worth promotion in the Poultry-yard. 
 
 In any closer grouping of the breeds of Poultry, the Cuckoo 
 Fowl might perhaps be safely referred to the Surrey Fowl, 
 and so to the Dorkings. Some of the gray-barred Dorkings 
 are scarcely to be distinguished from them, except by the fifth 
 toe. Still there is something very permanent and remarkable 
 in the peculiar style of plumage, that ought not to be lost sight 
 of. It is with difficulty got rid of by crossing. Half-bred 
 Spanish and Dorking Fowls have quite retained the barred and 
 shaded feathers of the one parent, displaying the comb, ear- 
 lobe, and stature of the other. And this curious and decided 
 plumage is quite confined to one or two breeds, never appear- 
 ing, that I am aware, in others, such as the Game, the Malays, 
 and Hamburghs ; a circumstance which makes us believe it 
 to indicate an ancient descent from some peculiar and original 
 parentage. 
 
THE BLUE DUN FOWL. 309 
 
 THE BLUE DUN FOWL. 
 
 For an acquaintance with^ and a description of this very 
 neat and pleasing variety, I am entirely indebted to the kind- 
 ness of a valued correspondent, as also for good living speci- 
 mens of the birds. ^^The Blue Dun Fowls were first procured 
 by us from Dorsetshire, but I know not from what part. They 
 are under the average size, and rather slenderly made, of a 
 soft and pleasing bluish dun-colour, the neck being darker, 
 with high single combs, deeply serrated. The Cock is of the 
 same colour as the Hen, but has in addition some handsome 
 dark stripes in the long feathers of the tail, and sometimes a 
 few golden, or even scarlet marks, on the wings, which, by 
 their contrast, give the bird a very exotic look. The Blue 
 Duns are exceedingly familiar, impudent, and pugnacious ; 
 indeed, I strongly suspect this sort to be a variety of, or nearly 
 related to the Grame Fowl, having exactly that shape, and 
 also disposition. 
 
 "I have fortunately hit upon a lovely little Hen for you, 
 but the Cock I must apologize for. His colour is unimpeach- 
 able, but you must imagine that little crest to be absent, and 
 the comb to be single, instead of double. His brother, who 
 fully intended waiting on you in Norfolk, and was exceedingly 
 perfect, was killed by a wire-guard being blown down on him. 
 I would send my grown Cock, but I believe it would cause a 
 mutiny among the labourers, who sometimes give him and his 
 wife the greater part of their dinner; he being impudent 
 enough to take it either from their hands or mouths ! They 
 have named him Fred. It is the greatest fun to see a Cock 
 of this sort keeping up a playful fight with another, rather his 
 superior, spinning and waltzing about him like a French 
 dancing-master. Without more convincing proof, I do not 
 
SIO THE BLUE DUN FOWL. 
 
 quite approve of their being called Blue Bantams, as, although 
 the breed is certainly small, it is still respectable in size, and 
 the Eggs are very fair in that respect. 
 
 " The Hens are good layers, wanting to sit after laying a 
 moderate number of Eggs, and proving attentive and careful 
 rearers of their own Chickens, but rather savage to those of 
 other Hens. The Eggs are small and short, tapering slightly 
 at one end, and perfectly white. The Chicks, on just coming 
 from the Egg, sometimes have a ridiculous resemblance to the 
 gray and yellow catkin of the willow, being of a soft bluish 
 gray, mixed with a little yellow here and there. 
 
 " There is one peculiarity in this breed, which is, that if 
 the variety is kept perfectly unmixed with any other sort, you 
 will seldom obtain more than half the number of the proper 
 Blue Duns, the rest being either black or white. (This would 
 •mate us strongly suspect that, if their history were known, 
 they are themselves but a cross between two distinct varieties 
 or species of Fowls, and that they must themselves eventually 
 disappear, by assimilation to the type of one or other progeni- 
 tor.) The white Chickens, however, are afterwards sprinkled 
 with dun feathers. Perhaps the original sort may have been 
 either black or white, as we know animals will, after many 
 cross-breedings, ' cry back,' as it is called in some counties, to 
 the origin whence they arose. 
 
 "The Blue Duns are nearly equal to game of any sort for 
 eating. The hackles of the Cock are always in great request 
 for making artificial flies for fishing.^' — IT. H. 
 
 A Cockerel of this breed had the comb large, single, deeply 
 serrated; bill, dark horn-colour, white at the points of both 
 mandibles; ear-lobe, whitish; wattles, large and pendent; 
 iris, orange-brown ; neck hackle, yellowish gray ; back hackle, 
 the same, intermixed with black ; legs, light lead-colour ; live 
 weight, 3 lb. 11 oz. ; general tint, bluish dun ; claws, grayish 
 white. 
 
"THE BLUE DUN FOWL. 311 
 
 'The theory that the colour of the Blue D Lin results from a 
 combination of white and black (i. e. very dark purple or 
 state-colour) in the progenitors, as betrayed by the habitual 
 "crying back" of the breed, is confirmed by the fact of the 
 speckled black and white or gray and white Spanish pro- 
 ducing whole-coloured slaty-gray birds, though of a darker 
 hue than the Blue Duns, in which the permanency of the 
 tint appears to be equally uncertain. It will be worth while 
 to keep some of the aberrant Chickens of the Blue Duns, and 
 record what is the result of their propagation inter se. 
 
 I am now much inclined to transfer these birds to the G-ame 
 FowlS) and altogether abolish the "Blue Duns'' as a distinct 
 race, but await the consent of able amateurs in Poultry, There 
 are Blue Dun families belonging to several breeds : we have 
 them in the Spanish, the Polish, the Game, and the Ham- 
 burghs, and it would be more correct to refer each Blue Dun 
 to its own proper ancestry. It is a nice question, which there 
 is not space to discuss here, how far colour is typical of certain 
 species or sub-species ; in some parts of a bird it never varies 
 at all, but in the general plumage it varies considerably, under 
 limitations ; thus, I never saw or heard of a brown or golden 
 Spanish Fowl. Meanwhile, descriptions of one or two other 
 Blue Duns will aid in attaining a clearer view. The first, a 
 decided G^ame Fowl, cannot difi"er much from ours. "You 
 say that your Blue Duns are perhaps the result of accidental 
 crossing, whereas they have been known, both in Yorkshire 
 and Lancanshire, for many years, as a pure, unmixed, and 
 distinct variety. They are also the most courageous and 
 impetuous of the Game Fowls, seldom having been known to 
 lose their first battle. Their plumage is, I think, the most 
 beautiful of any of their species. The breast is of a rich dark 
 slate-colour, the feathers having a broad margin of a darker 
 hue, the saddle of a deep blood-colour, and the hackles of the 
 neck and tail of a dark red, gradually shading to a beautiful 
 
312 THE LARK-CRESTED FpWL. 
 
 golden tint ; the tail black and flowing, with a brilliant green 
 shade. The Cock is thus a most gorgeous looking fellow, of 
 a strong muscular frame, without offal; his legs are blue. 
 The Hen is marked in the same manner, all over the back and 
 body, with the hackle of the same golden colour. The Chicks, 
 when first hatched, are of a reddish brown, but with no par- 
 ticular distinctive markings : this I have only from hearsay, 
 from the man who keeps them for us, and who has been a 
 breeder of the variety for many years." — F. S. B. 
 
 There is also a Blue Dun, which resembles the Hamburghs 
 in every particular except in colour, and a disposition to sit, 
 which makes them more useful to the farmer, who must, if he 
 keep but one variety, have Fowls which will rear their own 
 young, which none of the Hamburghs will do. Mr. Bissell 
 says — ^^ These are very fine noble-looking birds, and as useful 
 as they are beautiful ; and they have, to my knowledge, per- 
 manently bred without at all ' crying back' or running out, for 
 some years." 
 
 THE LARK-CRESTED FOWL. 
 
 Here, again, as with the Cuckoo Fowl, is a breed that has 
 been treated with undeserved disregard. Many London dealers 
 might call them Polanders, and indeed many ill-bred Polands 
 have crests inferior to some of these in size. But the shape 
 of the crest, as well as the proportions of the bird, are different. 
 Aldrovandi perceived the distinction. He calls the one " Our 
 farm-yard Hen, known to everybody, entirely white, and 
 crested like a Lark :" the other is his Paduan Fowl. The 
 first, of whatever colour, is of a peculiar taper-form, inclining 
 forwards, as Aldrovandi' s old-fashioned wood-cut well repre- 
 sents, with a moderate, depressed, backward-directed crest, and 
 
THii LARK-CRESTED T W L. 313 
 
 deficient in the neatness of the legs and feet so conspicuous in 
 the Polands ; the latter are of more upright carriage and more 
 squarely built frame. Set the two side bj side, and their dis- 
 crepancy will be apparent. I would distinguish the Lark- 
 crested from the Polish Fowls, by the former having an occipi- 
 tal crest, the latter more of a frontal one. Mr. Selby's volume 
 on Pigeons, in the Naturalist's Library, gives a figure and de- 
 scription of the Columha diloplia, or Double-crested Pigeon, 
 which has both these forms of top-knots united on its head. 
 
 Lark-crested Fowls are of various colours; pure snow-white, 
 brown with yellow hackle, and black. How far these sorts 
 required to be subdivided, has not yet been investigated. The 
 first of these are perhaps of a more brilliant white than is seen in 
 any other domesticated gallinaceous bird. The colour is much 
 more dazzling than that of the White Guinea Fowl, or the 
 White Pea Fowl. This white variety is in great esteem with 
 many farmers' wives, who will keep it, to the entire ex- 
 clusion of any sort. They certainly have a remarkably neat 
 and lively appearance when rambling about a homestead. 
 They look very clean and attractive when dressed for market : 
 an old bird, cleverly trussed, will be apparently as delicate and 
 transparant in the skin and flesh as an ordinary chicken. 
 The feathers are also more saleable than those from darker 
 coloured Fowls. My own experience leads to the suspicion 
 that if they are a little more tender than other kinds raised 
 near the barn-door, it is only a little ; and I must think them 
 to be in every way pi-eferable to the White Dorkings. In the 
 Cocks a single upright comb sometimes almost entirely takes 
 the place of the crest. The Hens, too, vary in their degree of 
 crestedness, some not having above half a dozen of feathers 
 in their head-dress. If they were not of average merit as to 
 their laying and sitting qualifications, they would not retain 
 the favour they do with the thrifty housewives by whom they 
 are chiefly cultivated. 
 
 27 
 
314 !fHE LARK-CRESTED FOWL. 
 
 These neglected varieties are well known to the itinerant 
 Fowl-dealers, who traverse the country in search of Chickens 
 to be fatted for market. From them they may easily be ob^ 
 tained at a reasonable price. The best way would be to order 
 a random lot of a score or two, select the best for stock, and 
 consume those which remain. These people value Fowls en- 
 tirely according to their age, size, and weight. Almost thei 
 only exception is, that they will now and then give a trifle 
 more for a handsome, showy, adult Cock Bird, particularly if 
 he exhibit marks of Game blood. But the most amusing 
 speculation is to purchase Eggs in country towns, from the 
 wives of those small farmers who bring their own produce to 
 market, and take the chance of whatever may be hatched from 
 them. By keeping ten or a dozen sitting Hens, and obtaining 
 Eggs from different localities, a sufficient number of various 
 Chickens may be obtained in one season to afford the breeder 
 a good opportunity of exercising his discriminating judgment. 
 A very little experience will soon point out which are mere 
 half-breds of well-known sorts, and which show symptoms of 
 belonging to a distinct race; and that long before they have 
 attained their full growth — sometimes as soon as they have 
 issued from the shell. In a harmless lottery like this, some 
 prizes are sure to turn up; the only blanks being addled Eggs. 
 
A^'Vv;.^'\ 
 
315 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 
 
 The small White, and also the Coloured Bantams, whose legg 
 are heavily feathered, are sufficiently well known to render a 
 particular description unnecessary. Bantam-fanciers generally, 
 with Sir John Sebright at their head, prefer those which have 
 clean bright legs, without any vestige of feathers. 
 
 The rule with fanciers is, that a thorough-bred Cock should 
 have a rose comb; a well-feathered tail, without the sickle 
 feathers, however; full hackles, a proud lively carriage, and 
 ought not to exceed a pound in weight. The nankeen- 
 coloured, and the black are the general favourites. 
 
 They are said to have been imported, by the late Sir John 
 Sebright, from India. For perfection of model, and beauty 
 of plumage, nothing can exceed them. The pair portrayed 
 on the opposite page are in the possession of Mr. Wistar, of 
 Germantown, and were procured for him by a friend in Eng- 
 land. They are, as may be seen in the portraits, beautifully 
 marked; the ground of the feathers being a rich orange-brown 
 or cream-colour, and each feather pencilled round the edge 
 with black, with the greatest uniformity. They are sometimes 
 called the " Sebright Jungle Fowl." They are bred in and about 
 London, also in various part of England and Ireland, with the 
 
316 THE SMOOTH- LEGGED BANTAM. 
 
 most scrupulous care. In London there are stated times for 
 the exhibition and sale of these birds ; and Mr. Nolan tells us, 
 that " the regulations of the Society of London Amateurs, re- 
 quire that each exhibitor shall offer his birds for sale, after the 
 exhibition, and may bid himself, and put on a prohibitory 
 amount of purchase-money. It is on record that Sir John 
 bid up one of his diminutive Hens to £29, and bought her in 
 at that price. And it is recorded in the Illustrated London 
 ,NewSj of 20th February, 1847, that so late as that date, two 
 Hens and a Cock, of these beautiful emblems of pride and 
 consequence, sold for £50 and Is., being a shilling more than 
 the amount put on them by their owner. At the sale of the 
 late lamented baronet, the golden grounded birds averaged 
 £5 a brace, and the silver spangled £8 a brace -, 'although 
 they are becoming comparatively abundant, they still keep up 
 a high price in the London market, if well marked. There 
 has been lately offered here, some fine specimens, from Sir 
 John's own stock, at a very low figure. I do not think any 
 thing could exceed their perfection of feather. A lady near 
 Shrewsbury has procured some fine specimens, of both gold 
 and silver spangled, from this neighbourhood ', if she still re- 
 tain them, I think she may challenge England ; as far as I 
 can judge, they are quite superior to those that took the 
 prize in London. Some ladies in the Queen's County, have 
 procured fine specimens from the late baronet's stock; I hove 
 no doubt, but under their fostering care, the breed will be 
 kept up with as much ardour as during the lifetime of the 
 great poultry-patron Sir John, and that we will be breeding 
 them, as in the baronet's lifetime, ' to a single feather,' and 
 retain their character of the ^ prettiest of domestic birds.' The 
 male birds should stand about twelve inches high ; the stand- 
 ard weight being twenty-two ounces ; the plumage as above 
 described, (the rose-comb is preferred) ; the wattles are mode- 
 rately long ; face and throat bare ; no top-knot or ruff on neck; 
 
THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 317 
 
 as free as possible from hackle ; tail without the plume, or 
 what is called hen-tailed ; perfectly clean-legged." 
 
 Our author, Mr. Dixon, says of Bantams: — We are now 
 timorously approaching the most treasured pets of the Fancy. 
 We have advanced with a tolerably steady footstep through the 
 flocks of well-sized creatures that crowded beside our path — 
 the Turkeys, the Peacocks, the G-eese, and the Swans, — and 
 should not have feared to encounter even an Emeu or a Cereop- 
 sis, had chance planted one in the way ; but a sudden fear and 
 trembling creeps over us as we draw near to these mysterious 
 elves and pigmies of the feathered world. Grulliver got on 
 very well in Brobdingnag, so long as he did not attempt 
 any leap beyond his strength ; but the minute Lilliputians 
 teased him sadly by their numbers, their activity, and the un- 
 seen and unsuspected places from whence they issued. But 
 twenty or thirty years back. Bantams would have supplied a 
 more formidable muster-roll than they now do. 
 
 Bantam is the name of a town and kingdom in the island 
 of Java, famous for its trade in pepper, of which the Dutch 
 despoiled us, and for its unrelenting punishment of thieves. 
 '^The Laws of this country'' (Achin, the north-western part 
 of Sumatra, famous for the juicy and refreshing fruit called 
 the Pumple-nose, and the seductive and intoxicating herb 
 Ganga or Bang,') " are very strict, and offenders are punished 
 with great severity. Neither are there any delays of justice 
 here ; for as soon as the Offender is taken, he is immediately 
 brought before the Magistrate, who presently hears the matter, 
 and according as he finds it, so he either acquits, or orders 
 punishment to be inflicted on the Party immediately. Small 
 Offenders are only whipt on the back, which sort of punishment 
 they call Chauhuck. A Thief, for his first offence, has his 
 right hand chopt off at the Wrist : for the second offence off 
 goes the other ; and sometimes, instead of one of their hands, 
 one or both of their feet are cut off; and sometimes (though 
 
 27* 
 
318 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 
 
 very rarely) both hands and feet. If, after the loss of one or 
 both hands and feet, they still prove incorrigible, (for they are 
 many of them such very Rogues and so arch that they will 
 steal with their Toes,) then they are banished to Pulo Way, 
 during their lives. 
 
 " On P%do Way there are none but this sort of Cattle : and 
 though they all of them want one or both hands, yet they so 
 order matters, that they can row very well, and do many 
 things to admiration, whereby they are able to get a liveli- 
 hood ; for if they have no hands, they will get somebody or 
 other to fasten Ropes or Withes about their oars, so as to 
 leave Loops wherein they may put the stumps of their Arms ; 
 and therewith they will pull an oar lustily. They that have 
 one hand can do well enough ; and of these yoiJ shall see a 
 a great many, even in the City. 
 
 " Neither is this sort of punishment peculiar to the AcMnese 
 Government, but, probably, used by the other Princes of this 
 Island, and on the Island of Java also, especially at Bantam. 
 They formerly, when the King of Bantam was in his pro- 
 sperity, deprived men of the right hand for a Theft, and may 
 still, for aught I know. I knew a Dttfc/i-man so served : he 
 was a Seaman, belonging to one of the King of Bantam's 
 Ships." — Bampier's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 138. 
 
 The same king (an. 1688) expected to receive from his sub- 
 jects a very unusual mark of respect. " The Queen of Achin, 
 as His said, is always an old Maid, chosen out of the Royal 
 Family. What ceremonies are used at the chusing her I 
 know not : Nor who are the Electors ] but I suppose they are 
 the Oronheys (Great Lords). After she is chosen, she is in a 
 manner confined to her Palace ; for by report, she seldom goes 
 abroad, neither is she seen by any People of inferiour rank 
 and quality ; but only by some of her Domesticks : except that 
 once a Year she is drest all in white, and placed on an Ele- 
 phant, and so rides to the river in state to wash herself : but 
 
THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 319 
 
 whether any of the meaner sort of People may see her in that 
 progress I know not ; for it is the custom of most Eastern 
 Princes to screen themselves from the sight of their Subjects : 
 Or if they sometimes go abroad for their pleasure, yet the 
 People are then ordered either to turn their backs towards 
 them while they pass by, as formerly at Bantam^ or to hold 
 their hands before their eyes, as at Siam/' — Idem. p. 142. 
 
 Our little friends the Bantams clearly show where they come 
 from. Their passionate temper arises from the superabundance 
 of pepper, their diminutive stature from the Javanese practice 
 of foreshortening, their turgid comb from the succulent 
 Pumple-noses, their overweening assumption and arrogance 
 from the excitement of the herb Bang, and their propensity 
 to make every rival turn tail, from the established court eti- 
 quette of the old Bantam regime. 
 
 The Yellow or Nankeen Bantams are about the most 
 useful of their tribe, and not the least ornamental. The Hens 
 are mainly tinted with a ginger-yellow, and have dull blue 
 legs and feet, and small comb. There is a sub-variety, in 
 which they are more brown, after the fashion of some G-ame 
 Hens. The Gocks are decked in red, orange, and scarlet, 
 mostly with the false speculum of iridescent wing-coverts, 
 altogether of a flashy appearance ; and, indeed, when good 
 specimens of their kind, are really beautiful little birds. Of 
 late years they have much gone out of fashion, but deserve to 
 be rescued from utter extermination. Their Eggs are large 
 in proportion to the size of the layer, very rounded and full at 
 both ends. They are excellent mothers, particularly for such 
 delicate things as Partridges, Pheasants, and Guinea Fowls. 
 One Hen, however, that we have, prevents this use being made 
 of her powers, by invariably stealing a nest, though at other 
 times she roosts in the fowl-house, with the rest of the Poul- 
 try. She is usually very successful in her efforts, only we now 
 9,nd then have Chickens at unseasonable times of the year. 
 
320 T HE SMOOTH-LE GGED BANTAM. 
 
 For instance, one October she brought home seven little viva- 
 cious balls of down, that certainly would not have had to en- 
 counter the dead months of autumn and winter, had any 
 other opinion than their mother's been consulted. 
 
 The browner variety of this bird is sometimes called the 
 Partridge Bantam : such are almost minatures of the Golden 
 Hamburgh Fowls, both Pencilled and Spangled. There is 
 the same double comb, pointed behind, the same blue legs and 
 characteristics of form and plumage. But it would be wrong 
 to conclude from these resemblances that it is a dwarfed 
 Hamburgh Fowl; all we can say is, that this bird represents 
 (as some naturalists express it) the Hamburghs among the 
 Bantams; just as many birds of one Continent are found re- 
 presented in another by corresponding, though quite distinct 
 species of the same genus. 
 
 The Sebright Bantam has very much thrown the pre- 
 ceding into the shade. Their beauty is of a different class, 
 but it is questionable whether their merits are greater. Here 
 we have delicate pencilling in the shape of brilliant colouring. 
 How and whence they first appeared in England is a mystery, 
 and likely to remain so. Sir J. S. Sebright has the credit of 
 having " originated" the breed, a reputation which we believe 
 to be as well deserved as that he "■ originated'^ the creation of 
 the feathered race in general. Those in his confidence were 
 accustomed to report that he would travel, " or send," as far 
 as two or three hundred miles to obtain a choice bird, which 
 was .doubtless true ; but had they added many thousands of 
 miles to the two or three hundred in the " sending'^ part of 
 the story, they would, we believe, have been still nearer to the 
 truth. That Sir John treated his birds, when procured, with 
 jealous care and skilful nurture, will be readily granted. But 
 while breeders continue to be so anxious, not merely to conceal 
 their system of management, (in the earliest stages at least,) but 
 even to mislead inquirers, those who cultivate natural history 
 
THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 321 
 
 for its own sake will not be justified in arriving at hasty con- 
 clusions from such information. 
 
 We are at once struck with surprise at the impudence of 
 the Sebright Bantams. Oh, the consequential little atom ! 
 That such a contemptible minikin as that should have the as- 
 surance to parade his insignificant person in the presence of 
 great ladies, the female members of families of weight and 
 substance, before the Misses, and still worse, the Mistresses 
 Dorking, Cochin-China, and Malay, to presume to show marked 
 
 attention, nay even, I declare ! to . Well, there is no 
 
 knowing to what lengths impudence will go, so long as Ban- 
 ■ tarns survive extermination. 
 
 Here is a little whipper-snapper! Pretty, certainly, and 
 smart, but shamefully forward in his ways. His coat is of a 
 rich brownish yellow ; almost every feather is edged with a 
 border of a darker hue, approaching to black. His neat slim 
 legs are of a light dull lead-colour ; his ample tail, from ivMch 
 ihe sickle feathers are absent, is carried well over his back. His 
 dependent wings nearly touch the ground. He is as upright 
 as the stiffest drill-serjeant, or more so, for he appears now and 
 then as if he would fall backwards, like a horse that over-rears 
 himself. His full rose comb and deep depending wattles are 
 plump and red : but their disproportionate size affords a most 
 unfortunate hold for the beak of his adversary : but he cares 
 not for that ; a little glory is worth a good deal of pecking and 
 pinching, and it is not a slight punishment, nor a merely oc- 
 casional infliction of it, that will make him give in. The great 
 Hens, too, that look down upon him, and over him, think pro- 
 per to do battle with him on a first introduction, though they 
 afterwards find out that they might as well have received him 
 in a more feminine style : 
 
 " For Hess, like Women, born to be controlled, 
 Stoop to the forward and the bold." 
 
322 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 
 
 The plumage of the Hens is similar to that of the Cocks. 
 They are very good layers, most excellent sitters, assiduous 
 and affectionate mothers, but most murderous step-mothers : 
 that is, if you attempt to change, or add to, the number of the 
 brood they have hatched themselves, they will welcome the 
 little strangers by making raw-head and bloody-bones of them 
 before you can return from fetching a pan of water to set before 
 the coop. Their own Chickens are dark-brown when first 
 hatched, with no particular marks about them whilst young. 
 This is the variety figured by Moubray as the " Bantam or 
 Pheasant Fowls." 
 
 The Sebrights are divided into two varieties, — the Gold- 
 laced, and the Silver-laced. The model Gold-laced Cock 
 should be of a brilliant brownish yellow, with every feather, 
 including his neck-feathers, narrowly laced or marginated with 
 black all round them : his flight and tail-feathers of the same 
 ground-colour as his body, but tipped, instead of laced, at the 
 ends with black ; rose comb nicely pointed behind ; his legs 
 dull light-blue ; his weight not to exceed twenty ounces. The 
 Gold-laced Hen should correspond in all particulars, except 
 weight, which must not exceed one pound. Silver-laced Ban- 
 tams are precisely the same as Gold-laced, in all respects except 
 the ground-colour, which should be as nearly white as possible, 
 although they are generally inclined to be of an exceedingly 
 light and delicate cream-colour. 
 
 The Black Bantam is a most beautiful example of a great 
 soul in a little body. It is the most pugnacious of its whole 
 tribe. It will drive to a respectful distance great dunghill 
 Cocks five times its weight. It is more jealous, irascible, and 
 domineering, in proportion to its size, than the thorough-bred 
 Game Cock himself. Its combativeness, too, is manifested 
 at a very early period. Other Chickens will fight in sport, by 
 the time they are half-grown, but these set to work in good 
 earnest. One summer we bought a small brood, as soon as 
 
THE SMOOTH -LEGGED BANTAM. 323 
 
 they could safely be removed from their mother : there were 
 two Cockerels among them. They were little things, beauti- 
 fully shaped, but ridiculously diminutive : fairy Chickens, some 
 of our friends called them. They had not been with us long, 
 before the liberal supply of barley began to excite them ; and 
 the two little imps spent the greater part of their time in 
 fighting, which only made us laugh, judging serious injury im- 
 possible. But shortly, observing one unusually triumphant, 
 (for it had always been a sort of drawn game between them,) 
 and the other walking about in an odd and uncertain manner, 
 though firm and fearless, I found that this latter had both its 
 eyes closed from wounds received the day before. I carried 
 it to my dressing-room, to relieve it by sponging, and set it on 
 the stain-cloth, while I went to fetch some warm water. Still 
 blind, it began crowing vivaciously. In a few minutes, its 
 eyes were unsealed, and it was returned to the yard. But 
 battle after battle was immediately fought, and we were 
 obliged to eat one of the combatants to prevent the mutilation 
 of both. We can consequently confirm the statements of those 
 who praise the excellence of their flesh, particularly if it be 
 accompanied by a little good bread-sauce. One, that I have 
 seen, was in the constant habit of fighting, or rather sparring, 
 with a little spaniel that belonged to the same owner. Though 
 apparently attacking each other with great fury, they never 
 seemed to be really in earnest. The arrival of strangers was 
 generally the signal for the commencement of this sham-fight, 
 which ended without bloodshed as soon as one or both of the 
 combatants were out of breath. The spaniel was mostly the 
 first to give in, when the victor evinced as much triumph as 
 if he had vanquished a feathered foe. 
 
 The Black Bantam, in his appearance, is a pleasing little 
 fellow. He should have a full rose comb, clean and sinewy 
 legs, glossy plumage with almost metallic lustre, of a different 
 tint to the glancing green of the Spanish Fowl, arched and 
 
324 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 
 
 flowing tail; waggish impudent eye, self-satisfied air and gait. 
 The Hen is of a duller jetty black, is less knowing in her man- 
 ner, and I think in every way of inferior capacity. They 
 have great credit for fulfilling their maternal duties well ; but 
 I have found them less affectionate and careful than other 
 Bantams. They are great stayers at home, prowling very little 
 about; and therefore are desirable in many situations, such as 
 suburban villas that are surrounded by captious neighbours. 
 They will remain contented with the range of a moderate stable- 
 yard, and the least bit of shrubbery ; and will do much good by 
 the consumption of numerous insects. They are reputed good 
 layers during winter ; but that will depend on the liberality 
 with which they are fed. Cooks say that their Eggs, though 
 small, are "very rich," which means, perhaps, that they con- 
 tain a greater proportion of yolk than those of larger Fowls. 
 Guinea Fowls' Eggs are prized for the same quality ; and any 
 one may, at breakfast, observe how much less a proportion of 
 white there is in them, than in those of the Turkey. Black 
 Bantams' Eggs are smooth, tinged with buff, decidedly long- 
 oval in most individuals, and with a zone of irregularity 
 towards the smaller end in some. 
 
 The new Chicks are covered with black down, which occa- 
 sionally has a grayish cast under the belly : bill, eyes, feet, 
 and legs, black. The female Chicks are not bigger than the 
 queen of the black and yellow humble-bees, and their slender 
 little legs appear fitter to belong to an insect than a Chicken. 
 A desire to obtain the largest possible brood, induced me to 
 hatch some under a great Dorking Hen, because she can cover 
 so many Eggs ; but I only overreached myself. The big Hen 
 was too heavy and clumsy to officiate as nurse to such fragile 
 atoms. 
 
 When brought up by their own mother, a spent cucumber- 
 frame, covered with a net, is a good place to keep them the first 
 month. The hottest and finest part of the season should be 
 
THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 325 
 
 selected for them to pass their chickenhood in. When full 
 grown and plumed, thej are not more tender than other Poul- 
 try, though they are better suited for confinement in wards. 
 
 Those who keep any other variety of Domestic Fowl, and 
 are desirous of having plenty of Chickens, as well as Eggs, 
 had better not permit a Black Bantam Cock to enter upon their 
 premises. 
 
 The White Bantam very much resembles the above, in 
 every respect, except colour: the rose comb may, perhaps, in 
 some specimens, be a little more exuberant. But they are not 
 much to be coveted. The white of their plumage is not bril- 
 liant, and is sure to be un-neat in the places where they are 
 usually kept. Were they really guilty of the savage, object- 
 less, and unnatural ferocity that is attributed to them, they 
 would all deserve to have their necks wrung; but the tale 
 wants confirmation. The ^'Illustrated News," for Feb. 20th 
 1847, gives some particulars. 
 
 The Feather-legged Bantams, are now as completely 
 out of vogue, as they were formerly in esteem. We ought, 
 perhaps, to have referred them to the anomalous Fowls. The 
 chief interest attached to them, lies in their hinting to the na- 
 turalist an affinity with the G-rouse tribe. There were several 
 sorts of them in repute, but they are now nearly extinct in this 
 country. See Albin, vol. III., p. 32. 
 
 Creepers, so called from the shortness of their legs, and 
 Jumpers, from their halting gait, are rather to be considered 
 as accidental deformities collected from unhealthy families of 
 Bantams, than as constituting any distinct variety. A suffi- 
 cient proof of which is, that many of them are scarcely able 
 to propagate their kind. "The Bantam I spoke of as living so 
 long (seventeen years) was of the Feather-legged sort, spotted 
 cream and white, laying merrily as ever to the last; but not 
 having warmth sufficient to hatch, I always made her a present 
 every year of a few little Chicks.''—^ K Some of these are. 
 
32& THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 
 
 the very smallest of their genus, being not larger than Pigeons, 
 and not so tall. They are now much out of fashion, and are 
 rarely seen. They are well known, however, to the middle-age 
 curiosity collectors. ^^But the Hens which Longolius calls 
 pigmy, and renders into Grerman by ' Kriel,' (no such word is 
 to be found in Bailey's Dictionary,) those, as I have just said, 
 exist here and there ; they creep along the ground by limping, 
 rather than walking ; we call them dwarfs." — Aldrovandi. 
 
 Again : "Although we declared that we would not give another 
 figure of common Hens, we have thought right, on account of 
 their rarity, to exhibit one of the pigmy or dwarf sort, which 
 we have said that many people unadvisedly consider as the 
 Hadrian Hen, (of classical authors,) although it belongs to the 
 same kind. But this Hen was all black, except' the larger 
 feathers of the wings, which were whitish at the tips; she had 
 likewise white spots all round about her neck, emulating the 
 full moon ; and lastly, a round spot, of an ochrey colour, encir- 
 cled her eyes. Her head was top-knotted. The wattles, and 
 comb, which was very small, were of a rather intense red; the 
 feet were bright yellow ; the claws small, exceedingly white.'' 
 
 Aldrovandi gives a rich collection of three-footed, four-foot- 
 ed, double-headed, and double-bodied Fowls, that occurred to 
 him in the course of his laborious researches. 
 
 The English edition of Buffon, informs us that Jumpers 
 are the same as Cambogia Hens ; which, however, does not 
 much add to our knowledge of the variety. 
 
 Bantams, in general, are great devourers of some of the 
 most destructive of our insects. The grub of the Cock-chafer 
 and the Crane-fly are especial favourites with them. Their 
 Chicks can hardly be reared so well, as by allowing them free 
 access to minute insect dainties ; hence, the suitableness of a 
 worn-out hotbed for them during the first month or six weeks. 
 They are thus positively serviceable creatures to the farmers, as 
 far as their limited range extends, and still more so to the 
 
THE SMOOTH -LEGGED BANTAM. 327 
 
 gardener and the nurseryman. Mr. James Cuthill, of Camber- 
 well, complains, in the Gardeners^ Chronicle, for December 1, 
 1849, of the plague of woodlice, from which he, and others 
 similarly engaged, had seriously suffered. ^^ It matters not," 
 he says, ^^ whether it is the blossom of a Cucumber, or that of 
 a Pine-apple that comes in their way, the fruit of a Melon or 
 that of a Cucumber, I have lost many an ounce of Straw- 
 berries through their depredations, and also, many an early 
 Cucumber that would have brought me 3s. GcZ. in the market. 
 The means I have employed for their destruction have been 
 toads, which are effectual; but they are expensive, being 4s. 
 a dozen. Many of them die, and except they are kept in 
 quantity, the woodlice cannot be kept down. My object now, 
 however, is to state that, from some trials I have made, I am 
 convinced that woodlice may be killed by the use of Bantam 
 Fowls. This plan may be put in operation by any one, even 
 at this time of the year. I first had a hundred woodlice caught 
 at a rubbish heap, and gave them to three Bantams ; they ate 
 them up in something less than two minutes. I had these 
 birds in attendance when turning over a rubbish heap, and not 
 a woodlouse was allowed to escape, nor any insect, the Ban- 
 tams devouring every thing. It will thus be seen that, if 
 Bantams were encouraged and brought up in gardens, they 
 would effect much good ; and I am of opinion that it will soon 
 be found as necessary to keep Bantams to kill vermin, as it is 
 to keep cats to keep down rats and mice. They will save 
 various garden crops from injuries to which they would be 
 otherwise exposed. They would scratch a little, to be sure, but 
 so do cats ; and if the smaller kinds of Bantams are kept (those 
 about the size of a Partridge) their scratching would do little 
 harm." We give this statement as being the experience of a 
 practical man. 
 
328 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE DUNGHILL FOWL. 
 
 This is sometimes called the Barn-door Fowl, and is cha- 
 racterized by a thin, serrated, upright comb, and wattles pend- 
 ing from each side of the lower mandible ', the tail rises in an 
 arch, above the level of the rump ; the feathers of the neck and 
 rump are long and line-like ; and the colour is finely variega- 
 ted. The female's comb and wattles are smaller than those 
 of the Cock ; is, herself, less in size, and her colours are more 
 dull and sombre. In the best specimens of this variety, the 
 legs should be white and smooth, like those of the Dorking, 
 and their bodies round and plump ; being mongrels, they breed 
 all colours, and are usually from 5 to 7 or 8 lbs. per pair. 
 
 THE DOMINIQUE FOWL. 
 
 This seems to be a tolerably distinct and permanent variety, 
 about the size of the common Dunghill Fowl. Their combs 
 are generally double, or rose, as it is sometimes called, and 
 the wattles small. Their plumage presents all over a sort of 
 greenish appearance, from a peculiar arrangement of white and 
 blue feathers, which is the chief characteristic of the variety. 
 They are hardy, excellent layers, and capital incubators. I 
 would use them in preference to any other for hatching out the 
 Eggs of the larger kinds. 
 
CHICKEN COOP. 829 
 
 Other varieties of the Domestic Fowl there are, which it is 
 not deemed necessary particularly to notice, as the Adrian 
 Fowl, of which Aristotle says, they lay "everyday, and some- 
 times two Eggs a day," the Sausevere Fowl, the Alexandria, 
 the Carux, the Lombardy, the Media, the Rhodes, the English 
 Dwarf and Raven, the Widow Hen, and the French large- 
 footed Fowl. Those which we deem the best have been, we 
 hope, accurately described, and their several qualities noticed; 
 and it now only remains to say, that should this trea- 
 tise ever reach a second edition, all Fowls with which we 
 meanwhile become acquainted, possessing qualities worthy of 
 notice, shall find a place in the work. 
 
 COLONEL JAQUES'S CHICKEN COOP. 
 
 The following extract of a letter, received from my friend, 
 H. L. Devereux, Esq., of Boston, will show the fancier the 
 success with which Chickens may be raised by an artificial 
 mother, and also give a capital idea of the right sort of coop for 
 young Chickens, whether to be raised with, or without their 
 natural mother. He says : — 
 
 I will now say a few words about Chichs and Chickens, 
 which, if you think worthy, you are at liberty to insert in your 
 forthcoming book. In all the Poultry books I have seen, there 
 are very poor specimens of " chicken coops,'^ some with a bar- 
 rel turned down, and the poor Hen tied by the leg ; others, 
 with a coop shaped like a Major's cocked-hat; not one of them 
 properly answering the purpose for which they are intended. 
 The following drawing, which I send you, is from the original, 
 first got up by that veteran breeder, Col. Samuel Jaques, of 
 Ten Hills Farm. It is light, easy to be removed from one 
 place to another every day, or as often as you please. It has 
 a tight, and an open part, answering the double purpose of 
 setting the Hen, and keeping her and the Chicks in, until they 
 
330 
 
 CHICKEN COOP. 
 
 are able to take care of themselves. The dimensions are for 
 the tight part, 18 inches high on the back, rising to 22 front, 
 and 18 inches each way on the bottom, with holes bored to 
 admit air. The top has a lid to open, and a slide in front, to 
 shut in the Hen. The front or open part may be 3 to 6 feet 
 long, slatted with laths, with a hole cut through the bottom, 
 for the Hen to scratch in. 
 
 f m m 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 rrmTn nT^T 
 
 Ul 
 
 
 aI 
 
 
 
 
 
 Again, I think Chickens can be raised as well without as 
 with a Hen, even though you take the Chicks away in an hour 
 or less after coming from the shell. Some of my handsomest 
 Pullets were raised this past season without a Hen. In order 
 to do this, you want a small coop, built in a '^ lean-to'' shape, 
 3 to 5 feet long, high and wide in proportion, with a small door 
 in front, and two squares of glass to admit light and sun, when 
 cold and rainy. A piece of sheepskin, with the wool on, nailed 
 to a board, would answer for them to run under and get warm. 
 A coop of this description was shown at the Norfolk County Fair, 
 in September last, by Mr. White, of Kandolph, invented and 
 made by Mr. Edwin Allyn, of Boston. 
 
 EARLY CHICKENS. 
 
 The importance of early Chickens, and the method of rear- 
 ing them, are plainly set forth in the following extract, which 
 I make from a letter received from my friend, E. R. Cope, Esq. 
 He says : — 
 
EARLY CHICKENS. _ 331 
 
 There can Ibe no debate about the importance of hatcbing 
 out Chickens early in the season, and it is equally important 
 to the farmer, who raises for profit, and the ^' Fancier/' who 
 desires to show some fine specimens each year. 
 
 It is well known that ^' spring Chickens" always command 
 a high price, and there is rarely a supply to be obtained. You 
 have doubtless seen, in the month of June, pairs of birds ex- 
 posed for sale, which, upon inquiry, you found to be ^ spring 
 Chickens,' and the price seventy-Jive cents or upwards per pair. 
 These Chicks were probably hatched out in the month of 
 March or April ; and, of course, the owner had very little time 
 to put flesh upon their bones, to say nothing of fat : still they 
 were worth in the market, seventy-Jive cents. Now, suppose for 
 a moment, the birth of these Chickens could be dated back to 
 January, or even earlier, and brought to market in May or 
 June, plump and fat as Reed Birds. Yf e would not have been 
 compelled to inquire of our friend the farmer, what description 
 of bird he had for sale, for their well-defined proportions 
 would have, at the first glance, informed you to what species 
 they belonged; and it is difficult to say what price you would 
 have been asked to pay for them. 
 
 But, asks our friend the farmer, how am I to raise Chickens 
 in the winter months ? I will tell you, my friend ; and when 
 you hear my answer, you will wonder you never thought of the 
 same plan before. Place a small stove in your chicken-house, 
 which can be heated with chips and wood, that otherwise might 
 rot around your wood-pile ; and, by this means, you can keep 
 up a temperature of 55 degrees, and raise Chickens just as 
 well (better, in my opinion, and with much less loss, than 
 when allowed to roam through the wet grass in spring and 
 summer,) as later in the season. Then again, those Fowls* you 
 
 * Good Shanghae or Cochin China fowls will begin to lay when 
 about five and a half or six months old. This with great certainty, 
 especially if the season be favourable. — Ed. 
 
332 EARLY CHICKENS. 
 
 raise to fatten for winter sales, if hatched thus early, will com- 
 mence laying about September, and produce you Eggs, at a 
 time when they command the best price. 
 
 A word to the Fancier : — If you adopt the system of early 
 hatching, you will see the advantage of it in the extra size 
 your Fowls attain the first season. You will not be subject to 
 the vexation of seeing your young Chicks die off, one by one, 
 when exposed to the hot sun of July, August, and September ; 
 for they will have attained size and strength to bear it. You 
 have probably had some Chickens out as early as April, and if so, 
 have you not observed how much better they thrived than those 
 clutches hatched out two or three months later ? And then, 
 when these April Fowls were nine months old, have you 
 weighed them ? and also, when your June Fowls reached the 
 same age, did you weigh them, and compare the weights ? Lest 
 you did not do so, I will tell you what would have been the 
 result : the early Fowls would have weighed twenty -five per 
 cent, heavier than the late ones ; and I am well satisfied, if the 
 experiment had been tried with January and June Fowls, the 
 result would have been thirty-three per cent, in favour of the 
 former. 
 
 Being fully satisfied of the importance of early hatching, I 
 this year temporarily arranged a small room for the purpose, 
 by placing in it an air-tight wood-stove, and a thermometer. 
 Around the stove, and fast to the floor, I nailed strips of 
 boards, four inches wide, and filled the enclosure thus formed 
 with clean sand, for the Chickens to dust themselves in. By 
 the time these arrangements were completed, (Nov. 2d, 1850,) 
 I had a clutch of eight Shanghae Chicks nearly ready to take 
 possession of the room. I would here remark, that I do not 
 set my Hens in this warm room, but suffer them to hatch out 
 their Eggs in the chicken-house, where I keep no fire. 
 
 On January 16th, 1851, I had another clutch of Chicks, 
 (Royal Cochin China's, eight in number,) ready to remove to 
 
EARLY CHICKENS. 333 
 
 the warm room ; and within a week, I expect to have two more 
 clutches hatched out. 
 
 In my stove-room, I am careful to have the temperature 
 kept regularly at fifty-five degrees ;* and, by means of my air- 
 tight stove this is easily accomplished. 
 
 My young stock thrives remarkably well, and, so far, I have 
 lost but one Chick, and this was from an accident, and not dis- 
 ease. Having access to the sand-bath before described, at all 
 times, they kept themselves entirely free from vermin, and, 
 in consequence, feather and generally improve faster than is 
 usually the case. 
 
 By giving this subject attention early in the season, say, 
 commence setting Hens the early part of October, I am well 
 persuaded any one may raise one to two hundred Chickens, 
 that can readily be sold in the market for seventy-five cents to 
 one dollar per pair, in the months of March, April, May, and 
 June. To a farmer, there will be no additional cost : as before 
 remarked, the waste pieces around his wood pile will be ample 
 fuel ; and he will experience no difficulty in finding one of his 
 men ready to undertake the superintendence of the room, (it is 
 a nice, warm job for cold weather,) and also to attend to the 
 little business he is expected to look after during the winter. 
 The only additional cost to the Fancier, will be six dollars for 
 one cord of hickory wood, which will be all he can consume in 
 an air-tight stove during the winter, or, at all events, the above- 
 named quantity of fuel will keep a room twelve feet square 
 at a temperature of fifty-five degrees through the winter months. 
 My only object in writing the above, is to endeavour to at- 
 tract the attention of those who raise Fowls for profit or fancy 
 to a branch of the subject heretofore much neglected, and if 
 I succeed, even to a small extent, I will feel abundantly com- 
 pensated. 
 
 * I should prefer a temperature of not less than 60° nor more 
 than 70°.— Ed. 
 
Bdi4 THE FORK- TAILED COCK. 
 
 THE GALLUS BANKIVA, OR THE BANKIVA COCK, 
 
 (^See Frontispiece.) 
 
 Is nearly twice as large as our common Bantams. There is 
 no down around his eyes or upon his throat; his comb is 
 ample, irregular, and deeply serrated ; and the wattles are well 
 let down from each side of the lower mandible. He has neck 
 and rump hackles, long and slender, of a brilliant golden-orange 
 colour ; the upper part of the back is bluish black ; the centre 
 and lesser wing-coverts are of a rich chestnut colour; the tail 
 is black, with rich green, and blue reflections ; and all the un- 
 der parts are of a black or darkish hue. The specimen por- 
 trayed, as well as the others forming the frontispiece, were 
 presented to the Academy of Natural Science, in Philadelphia, 
 by Thos. B. Wilson, Esq. Its habitat is the East Indies. 
 
 THE GALLUS FURCATUS, OR THE FORK-TAILED COCK, 
 ( Vide Frontispiece.) 
 
 Was first described by M. Temminck, in 1813. It is nearly 
 two feet in length from beak to the extremity of the tail. 
 The cheeks are bare, and the head differs from the Gallus 
 Bankiva, in being furnished with a simple entire comb, and 
 the under mandible and throat with a single large wattle, 
 springing from the centre — all of a brilliant red colour. It 
 differs from other species in the form of the neck-hackles par- 
 ticularly. They are remarkably short and round, and of the 
 hue given in the figure. The tail is usually carried more in a 
 line with the body than in the Bankiva Fowl, and has a 
 slightly forked form ; hence the name. The beak, legs, and 
 feet are yellow. It is said to be abundant in Java, and is 
 often seen upon the edges of woods and jungles, but, upon 
 the slightest alarm, runs for cover. 
 
SONNE rat's wild COCK. 33^ 
 
 GALLUS SONNERATII, OR SONNERAT'S WILD COCK, 
 
 (Vide Frontispiece.) 
 
 Has been dedicated by M. Temminck, to its discoverer. The 
 first notice we find of it wbich can be trusted, is in the voyage 
 to India, by that traveller. He was of the opinion that this 
 Wild Cock was the stock from which our Domestic Fowls are 
 derived. But this is scarcely possible ; for, not to speak of 
 the difi"erence in size, the plumage is quite difibrent; indeed, 
 none of the domestic races in India bear the least resemblance 
 to it. It has hitherto, so far as I know, proved un tameable. 
 A gentleman of my acquaintance, who was some ten years in 
 the British service in India, informs me that on the return 
 home, they had some two or three hundred " Wild Cocks," on 
 board, all of which refused to eat, and died in a few weeks 
 out. It is about two-thirds the size of our smallest Dunghill 
 Fowls; in model is much more slender and graceful; the 
 comb is single, large, slightly indented, and the wattles are 
 double, and well developed. But the most singular part of 
 this bird is its plumage. The stem, or shaft of the long 
 hackle feathers is of a bright golden-orange hue, and, in the 
 centre, and at the tip, dilate into a flat horny plate, similar to 
 what is seen in the wings and tail of the Bohemian Wax- 
 wing. Their appearance is both singular and beautiful. 
 The centre of the back, the throat, breast, belly, and thighs 
 are of a deep and rich gray, having the shafts and edges of a 
 paler tint. The tail is of a rich and deep green ; and the beak, 
 legs, and feet are yellow. About the females, there is nothing 
 peculiar that may not be seen on inspection of the portraits, 
 which are from nature, and singularly faithful. Indeed, mi- 
 nute descriptions throughout the work has been rendered unne- 
 cessary by the distinguished artist. 
 
 The peculiar structure of the neck-hackles of the Glallus 
 
sonnerat's wild cock. 
 
 Sonneratii will be seen by an inspection of the cuts on the 
 opposite page. I procured feathers from the neck of the Gal- 
 lus Bankiva, and also from that of the Gallus Furcatus, as 
 well as from the "Wild Cock of Sonnerat, so that the reader 
 may satisfy himself of two things : first, that the three birds 
 in question are quite distinct varieties ; and that it is scarcely 
 possible they are in any way the progenitors of our Domestic 
 Poultry, as some have asserted. That the Wild Fowls do not 
 mix or cross with each other, is obvious from the fact that 
 they are all remarkably uniform in size, plumage, and general 
 appearance. The gentleman above referred to, told me that 
 the two or three hundred on shipboard were all a» much alike 
 as any flock of wild birds he ever saw. 
 
 The female of Sonnerat's Cock is about one-third less than 
 he; she is rather a plain-looking bird, having scarcely any 
 comb or wattles. On the back, she is of a dirty brown-colour ; 
 and on the breast, the feathers are of a dull white, each laced 
 with black or brown. The plumage has no trace of the flat 
 horny structure which adorns the neck-hackles of the male ; nor 
 is any part of his plumage so, except the neck ; at least, the 
 rump-hackles* have it only, if at all, in a very slight degree. 
 I could not, on inspection, perceive that they had any. 
 
 The Bankiva Hen is scarcely so large as Sonnerat's, and is 
 a still plainer looking bird ; her prevailing colour is brown, 
 the breast is of a rather livelier hue than the back ; and she 
 also has little or no show of comb or wattles. 
 
 Doctor Latham says, that Sonnerat's Cock is by far the bold- 
 est and strongest, in proportion to his size, of any other 3 and 
 that the Cock-fighters of Hindostan anxiously seek him, as he 
 rarely fails to secure a victory over the largest Game Cocks. 
 
 The specimens from which the drawings were made, were 
 purchased by Thomas B. Wilson, Esq., of Pennsylvania, at the 
 sale of the Duke of Eivoli's collection, and by him presented 
 to the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia. 
 
 * On closer inspection I found the rump hackles so characterized also. 
 
SONNERAT^S WILD COCK. 
 
 337 
 
 The neck-hackle of the G-allus Bankiva is of usual length, 
 but is distinguished by having the tip nearly square, and edged 
 slightly with black, thus proving it, like the Grallus Sonneratii, 
 to be a distinct variety. There is nothing peculiar in the rump 
 hackle. The neck and rump-hackles of the Gallus Furcatus 
 are quite peculiar, being very broad and short, giving to the 
 plumage quite an imbricated appearance, unlike that of any 
 other species. 
 
 HfecJc-hacJcles of G. Neck-hackles of G. 
 Bankiva. Sonneratii. 
 
338 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CAPONIZING FOWLS. 
 
 The following history and method of caponizing, I extract 
 from Mr. Brown's Treatise on Domestic Poultry. He says : — 
 
 The art of making Capons has been practised from the ear- 
 liest antiquity, in Greece, India, and China, for the purpose 
 of improving the flesh of birds for the table, in tenderness, 
 juiciness, and flavour. But Capons, in point of fact, are 
 getting out of date, and are taking rank with oxen roasted 
 whole, and other barbarisms of the middle ages. They are 
 now rarely to be found in the London markets ; and when 
 procurable, are very expensive, but not unjustly so, when it is 
 to be remembered that two or three Chickens may have been 
 sacrificed, before ten Capons have been nursed into conva- 
 lescence. That they may be had in considerable abundance, 
 in China, the south of Europe, and, in a few instances, in our 
 own country, is not to be denied; but wherever they may be 
 found, they cannot be classed otherwise than in the list of un- 
 called-for luxuries, of unnecessarily unnatural viands, such as 
 diseased goose-liver pies, fish crimped alive, or even those 
 frightful and portentous dishes recalled by Dr. Kitchener, in 
 the "Cook's Oracle.'' One thing, however, may be harm- 
 lessly resuscitated. As 
 
 "the toad ugly and venomous, 
 
 Wears yet a precious jewel in his head," 
 
CAPONIZING FOWLS. 
 
 339 
 
 SO the Capon, which, though ugly, is not half venomous 
 enough, if we can be made to believe all we read, carries a 
 valuable gem in the part that is usually antithetically opposed 
 to the head. 
 
 Extracting a Crystal from a Capon's Liver. 
 From a very curious and ancient work on natural history, 
 in my possession, entitled '^ Ortus Sanitatis," (the Grarden of 
 Health,) printed and published at Ausburg, in 1485, by Joan. 
 Cuba, a Dutch botanist, who travelled through Grreece and the 
 East, I give above, a fac-simile of a wood engraving, repre- 
 senting the act of extracting a precious stone from the liver of 
 a Capon. "The Allectorius," says the author, "is a stone 
 like a crystal, or limpid water. It is found in the liver of a 
 Capon at the age of three years. It is never larger than a 
 
340 CAPONIZING FOWLS. 
 
 bean. After this stone is formed in the Capon, he never 
 drinks." The Ortus Sanitatis further informs us that ladies, 
 who wear the jewel AUectorius, are sure to be pleasing in the 
 ejes of their husbands. 
 
 Aldrovandi tells us that in Capons, which were more the 
 fashion in his day than they are now, the hackle, the tail- 
 feathers, and the spurs grew to a much greater length than 
 in Cocks. 
 
 In England, the art of making Capons, it seems, is no new 
 thing, as the business of which formerly devolved upon females; 
 for old Leonard Mascall, in his minute directions for the ope- 
 ration, uses the feminine gender throughout. 
 
 MODE OF MAKING CAPONS AND POULARDES. 
 
 If young Cocks are emasculated, so as to deprive them of 
 their natural reproductive feelings, it has a wonderful effect on 
 their condition, rendering them also more easy to fatten. 
 They are never afterwards subject to the natural process of 
 moulting,* and lose their previous strong shrill voice. They 
 become dull and melancholy, are detested by the Hens, buffeted 
 about by the other Cocks, and would soon fall victims to their 
 enmity, were they not removed to perform the remaining busi- 
 ness of their lives, " to eat, drink, sleep, and get fat," with all 
 possible expedition. In this state, they are called " Capons." 
 
 In a similar manner, young Pullets may be caponized, so 
 as to deprive them of their reproductive powers, and render 
 them more easy to fatten. When thus operated upon, they 
 are usually, though improperly, termed " Hen Capons," but 
 the French word, ^' j)oularde," is much to be preferred. 
 
 In performing the operation, the first thing to be considered 
 is the purchase or procurement of the requisite instruments. 
 
 * I am constrained to question this. — Bd. 
 
CAPONIZING FOWLS. 
 
 341 
 
 Those most approved of by skilful operators consist of two 
 five or seven-pound weights for confining the Fowls; a scalpel^ 
 
 Scalpel. 
 
 for cutting open the thin skin which envelopes the testicles; 
 a silver retractor j for stretching open the wound wide enough 
 
 ■^--..L^l^ 
 
 Retractor. 
 
 to operate within; a pair of spring forceps, denoted by the 
 letter a, in the following page, having a sharp, cutting edge, 
 resembling that of a chisel, with a bevel half an inch in its 
 greatest width, for making the incision, and securing the thin 
 
342 
 
 CAPONIZING FOWLS. 
 
 membrane covering tlie testicles ; 
 a spoon-shaped instrument^ hj with 
 a sharp hook at one end, for push- 
 ing and removing the testicles, 
 adjusting the loop, and to assist 
 in tearing open the tender cover- 
 ing of the testicles 5 and a clouhle 
 silver canula, c, for containing 
 the two ends of horse-hair or 
 fibre, constituting the loop. 
 
 The cost of these instruments in 
 New York, is nearly as follows : — 
 
 Scalpel, .... 
 Silver Retractor, . . 
 Spring Forceps, . . 
 Spoon, with hook . . 
 Double Silver Canula, 
 
 $0.62J 
 1.50 
 0.87i 
 0.75 
 1.75 
 
 $5.50 
 
 Those who are not particularly 
 nice about the matter, may use 
 a cheap penknife instead of the 
 scalpel, and may obtain the other 
 instruments of a cheaper con- 
 struction, so that the whole will 
 not cost more than half the sum 
 indicated above. 
 
 The Cockerels intended for Ca- 
 pons should be of the largest 
 breeds, as the Dorking, the Bucks 
 County, Cochin China, or the 
 great Malay. They may be ope- 
 rated upon at any time after they 
 are a month old, though at an age of from two to three 
 months is considered preferable. If possible, it should be 
 
CAPONIZING FOWLS. - 343 
 
 done before July, as it has been remarked that Capons made 
 later than this, never prove so fine. 
 
 Cockerel confined for Caponizing. 
 
 All things being in readiness, the first step to be taken is 
 to confine the Fowl to a table or board, by laying him with 
 the left side downward, the wings drawn behind the rump, 
 the legs extended backward, with the upper one furthest drawn 
 out, and the head and neck left perfectly free, as denoted in 
 the above cut. The feathers are next to be plucked from the 
 right side, near the hip joint, on a line with, and between, the 
 joint of the shoulder, as at a. The space uncovered, may be 
 from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, according to 
 the size of the bird. 
 
 After drawing the skin off the part, backward, so that, when 
 left to itself when the operation is completed, it will cover the 
 wound in the flesh, make an incision with the bevel-edged 
 knife, at the end of the forceps, between the last two ribs, 
 commencing about an inch from the back-bone, and extending 
 it obliquely downward, from an inch to an inch and a half, 
 just cutting deep enough to separate the ribs, taking due care 
 not to wound the intestines. 
 
344 CAPONIZING FOWL. 
 
 Then, adjust and apply the retractor by means of the small 
 thumb screw, and stretch apart the wound sufficiently wide to 
 afford room to examine the parts to be removed. 
 
 Then, with the scalpel or a sharp penknife, carefully cut 
 open the skin, or membrane, covering the intestines, which, if 
 not sufficiently drawn up, in consequence of the previous con- 
 finement, may be pushed forward towards the breast-bone, by 
 means of the bowl of the spoon-shaped instrument, or, what 
 would answer equally well, with the handle of a teaspoon. 
 
 As the testicles are exposed to view, they will be found to be 
 connected with the back and sides, by means of a thin mem- 
 brane, or skin, which passes over them. This tender covering 
 must then be seized with the forceps, and torn open with the 
 sharp-pointed hook at the small end of the spoon-shaped in- 
 strument, after which, with the left hand, introduce the bowl 
 of the spoon under the lower, or left testicle, which is generally 
 a little nearer to the rump than the right one. 
 
 Then take the double canula, adjust the hair loop, and, with 
 the right hand, pass the loop over the small hooked end of the 
 spoon, running it down under the bowl of the spoon containing 
 the testicle, so as to bring the loop to act upon the parts which 
 connects the testicle to the back. Then, by drawing the ends 
 of the hair-loop backward and forward, and at the same time 
 pushing the lower end of the tube, or canula, towards the rump 
 of the Fowl, the cord, or fastening of the testicle is severed. 
 
 A similar process is then to be repeated with the uppermost 
 or right testicle, after which, any remains of the testicles, to- 
 gether with the blood at, or around, the bottom of the wound, 
 must be scooped out with the bowl of the spoon. The reason 
 for cutting out the left testicle first, is to prevent the blood, 
 which may issue, from covering the one remaining, and render- 
 ing it more difficult to be seen. 
 
 After the preceding operation is performed, which, if skil- 
 fully done, occupies only a few minutes, the retractor is taken 
 
CAPONIZING FOWL. 345 
 
 out, the skin of the Fowl drawn over the wound, which may 
 Tbe covered with the feathers that were plucked off at the com- 
 mencement, and the Chicken may be released. As soon as it 
 is liberated, it will eagerly partake of grain or other food, and 
 in a few days be restored to health. 
 
 In some Fowls, the fore part of the thigh covers the two 
 hindmost ribs, in which case, care must be observed to draw 
 the fleshy part of the thigh well back, to prevent it from be- 
 ing cut ; as otherwise, the operation to be performed might 
 be liable to lame the Fowl, or even cause its death. 
 
 For loops, nothing answers better than the fibre of a cocoa- 
 nut husk, which is rough, and readily separates the testicles 
 by sawing. The next best substance for the purpose, is the 
 hair of a horse's mane or tail. 
 
 The usual method of making PoulardeSy in France, is, to ex- 
 tirpate the egg cluster, or ovaria^ in a similar manner as the 
 testicles are extracted from the young Cocks ) but it has been 
 shown by Mr. Yarrell, in the " Transactions of the Royal So- 
 ciety,'' that it is quite sufficient merely to cut across the Egg 
 tube, or oviduct, with a sharp knife. Poulardes may otherwise 
 be treated in the same manner as the Capons. 
 
 Capons are fattened precisely in the same manner as other 
 Fowls, by keeping them cooped up in a quiet, dark place, and 
 cramming, or otherwise feeding them abundantly. 
 
346 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 PEA FOWL. 
 
 In presenting this splendid Bird to the notice of the reader, 
 I have only to say, that Mr. Croome has faithfully and beau- 
 tifully portrayed it, and that Mr. Dixon admirably describes 
 it. After speaking of the perfection of its combination of 
 grace and beauty, he says : — 
 
 The causes which disincline many persons from indulging 
 themselves with the daily spectacle of this inapproachable 
 model of beauty, are, in the first place, the depredations that 
 it commits upon gardens. For this, there is no help. The 
 dislike which these birds have to enter a fowl-house, and their 
 decided determination to roost on trees or lofty buildings, pre- 
 vents our exercising a control which should restrain them from 
 mischief, till an eye can be kept upon their movements. At 
 the first dawn, or at the most unsuspected moments, they will 
 steal off to their work of plunder. With great conveniences 
 for keeping them in their proper places, I was compelled to 
 choose between the alternative of banishing a very perfect and 
 familiar pair, or of depriving my children of strawberries. A 
 friend, who has been well acquainted with their habits for 
 years, informs me, as the result of his experience, that their 
 cunning is such, that, if frequently driven away from the gar- 
 den at any particular hour of the day or evening, after a cer- 
 
JAVANESE PEA FOWL. 
 
PEAFOWL. 847 
 
 tain time they will never be found there at that special hour, 
 but will invariably make their inroads at daybreak. As a 
 last resource, I have tried ejecting them with every mark of 
 scorn and insult, such as harsh words, the cracking of whips, 
 and the throwing of harmless brooms. Most domestic animals, 
 and I believe many birds, are sensitive of disrespectful usage, 
 and would feel as a severe rebuke, the manner in which they 
 were thus turned out. But Pea Fowls are incorrigible ma- 
 rauders. 
 
 A mansion, therefore, whose fruit and vegetable garden is 
 at a distance, is almost the only place where they can be kept 
 without daily vexation. The injury they do to flowers is com- 
 paratively trifling ; though, like the Gruinea Fowl, they are 
 great eaters of buds, cutting them out from the axillas of leaves 
 as cleanly as a surgeon's dissecting-knife would. They must 
 also have a dusting-hole, which is large and unsightly; but 
 this can be provided for them in some out-of-the-way nook ; 
 and, by feeding and encouragement, they will soon be taught 
 to dispose themselves into a tableau vivant, at whatever point 
 of view the tasteful eye may deem desirable. No one with a 
 very limited range, should attempt to keep them at all, unless 
 confined in an aviary. But, where they can be kept at large, 
 they should be collected in considerable numbers, that their 
 dazzling effect may be as impressive as possible. Many gar- 
 denless castles and country-houses on the Continent would lose 
 their semi-barbarous and semi-ruinous appearance, by employ- 
 ing these birds as an embellishment. For they are not less 
 pleasing to the eye than the Stork, which is so much encour- 
 aged 'j and they would render in great measure the same ser- 
 vices, namely, the destruction of small reptiles, with the advan- 
 tage of remaining at home all the year round. Willughby 
 gives a ludicrous quotation from Johannes Faber, in reference 
 to the serpent-eating propensities of the Pea Fowl, which is too 
 coarse, both in idea and expression, for modern republication, 
 
348 PEAFOWL. 
 
 though not otherwise objectionable. Something of the kind is 
 popularly believed, perhaps not utterly without truth, respec- 
 ting Herons and Eels. But to these Continental residences it 
 should be understood that no vineyard be at hand. The green- 
 ness and sourness of the grapes, which caused the Fox to re- 
 frain, would be but a weak argument with them. A Peacock, 
 that was suffered to go at large in the dirty back lanes of a 
 town, struck me as being more out of its place than any I had 
 ever seen. 
 
 A charming instance of the ornamental use of Pea Fowl was 
 to be seen a dozen years ago, (and perhaps may still,) at the 
 Palace of Caserta, near Naples. There is an English garden,* 
 admirably laid out, on a slope commanding the most enchant- 
 ing views In one part is a small piece of water, in the midst 
 of which is an island planted with trees and shrubs, and in- 
 habited by numerous Pea Fowl.f Of course, they must be 
 pinioned, to prevent their escape. My own birds had no hesi- 
 tation in flying to and fro, in order to visit an island similarly 
 situated, and which is cultivated as a kitchen garden. , People 
 may talk about Humming-birds, Sun-birds, Birds of Paradise, 
 
 * The gravel for some of the walks was brought from Kensington. 
 
 f Therefore this genus of Fowls is most easily kept in the small 
 woody islands which lie before Italy. For since they can neither fly 
 very high nor for a long distance, and since there is no fear of loss by 
 theives or vermin, they can safely go at large without a keeper, and 
 find themselves the greater part of their food. The Peahens, indeed, 
 as if freed from slavery, will, of their own accord feed their young 
 with greater care ; nor should their keeper do more than call the 
 flock toward the farm at a certain time of the day by a known signal, 
 and throw them a little barley as they assemble, so that the birds 
 may not be famished, and their number may be told. But the op- 
 portunity of using this kind of landed property is rare." — Columella^ 
 lib. viii. cap. xi. This is very like our pheasantries in alder and 
 osier carrs. The whole chapter is curious and worth reading. 
 
PEA FOWL. 349 
 
 or any other feathered beauty, hut nothing can equal the mag- 
 nificence of a Peacock in full flight, sweeping across a sheet of 
 water, or glancing in the sunbeams among the topmost branches 
 of a fir-tree. 
 
 A second objection to them is their alleged wanton de- 
 struetiveness towards the young of other Poultry,* a propen- 
 sity respecting which I have heard and readf such contradic- 
 tory statements, that they can only be reconciled by the hy- 
 pothesis that the Peacock becomes more cruel as he advances 
 in life, and also that males of this species vary in disposition ; 
 that, as the human race has produced examples of such diverse 
 tempers, so the Peacock family includes individuals of different 
 degrees of blood-thirstiness. My own bird, three years old, 
 was perfectly inoffensive ; others have been mentioned to me 
 equally pacific. On the other hand, the list of murders un- 
 doubtedly committed is long and heavy. The friend before 
 mentioned says, ^^ I have known them kill from twelve to 
 twenty ducklings, say from a week to a fortnight old, during 
 one day ; but if they came across a brood of young Chicks or 
 Ducklings a few days old, they would destroy the whole of 
 them." And yet, in the face of all this condemnatory evidence, 
 
 * Columella gives a fanciful reason for keeping Hens that have fa- 
 milies of Chickens from coming near Peahens that have broods, which 
 relieves the latter at least from all blame. "Authors are sufficiently 
 agreed that other Hens, which are rearing young of their own kind, 
 ought not to feed in the same place. For after they have seen the 
 brood of the Pea Fowl, they cease to cherish their own, and desert 
 them while still immature, clearly hating them, because neither in 
 size nor beauty are they comparable to the Peacock." — Book vii., 
 chap. xi. 
 
 f See the " Penny Cyclopedia," article Pavonidae : "I have never 
 kept Pea Fowl, nor seen Chicks just hatched, but have witnessed the 
 abominable cruelty of the father of the family in knocking a whole 
 brood of them on the head, when nearly a quarter grown." — H. H, 
 
350 PEA FOWL. 
 
 we now and then see a favourite bird, witli neck of lapis lazuli, 
 back of emerald, wings of tortoise-shell, and tail outshining the 
 rainbow, in some old-fashioned farm-yard, the pet of his mis- 
 tress, who is perhaps the most successful Poultry-woman in the 
 neighbourhood, and whose stock shows no sign of any mur- 
 derous thinning. The Peahen, who, when she has Eggs or 
 young, seems really a more guilty party, is not in general even 
 suspected. So true is it that one man may steal a horse, while 
 another must not look over the hedge. 
 
 The Hen does not lay till her third summer; but she then 
 seems to have an instinctive fear of her mate, manifested by 
 the secresy with which she selects the place for her nest ; nor, 
 if the Eggs are disturbed, will she go there again. She lays 
 from four or five to seven. If these are taken, she will fre- 
 quently lay a second time during the summer, and the plan is 
 to be recommended to those who are anxious to increase their 
 stock. She sits from twenty-seven to twenty-nine days. A 
 common Hen will hatch and rear the young ; but the same 
 objection lies against her performing that office, except in 
 very fine long summers, for the Pea Fowl as for Turkeys } 
 namely, that the poults require to be brooded longer than the 
 Hen is able convenienty to do so. A Turkey will prove a 
 much better foster-mother in every respect. The Peahen 
 should of course be permitted to take charge of one set of 
 Eggs. Even without such assistance she will be tolerably suc- 
 cessful. Those students of Poultry who carefully read the 
 " Guinea Fowl" and the " Turkey," and industriously carry 
 the instructions there given into practice, will have no diffi- 
 culty in rearing Pea Chicks. The same wise provision of 
 nature to be noticed in the Guinea Fowl, is evinced in a still 
 greater degree in the little Pea Chicks. Their native jungle, 
 tall, dense, sometimes impervious, swarming with reptile, 
 quadruped, and even insect enemies, would be a most dan- 
 gerous habitation for a little tender thing that could run and 
 
PEA FOWL. 851 
 
 squat merely. Accordingly they escape from the Egg with 
 their quill-feathers very highly developed. In three days 
 they will fly up and perch upon any thing three feet high ; in 
 a fortnight they will roost on trees or the tops of sheds, and 
 at a month or six weeks you would see them on the ridge of a 
 barn, if there were any intermediate low stables or other 
 building that would help them to mount from one to the 
 other. It must be a clever snake that would get at the cun- 
 ning little rogues when they were once perched on the feathery 
 branch of a bamboo. . . . 
 
 There are two varieties of the common Pea Fowl, namely, 
 the Pied and the White. The first has irregular patches of 
 white about it, like the Pied Guinea Fowl, the remainder of the 
 plumage resembling the original sort. The White have the 
 ocellated spots on the tail faintly visible in certain lights. 
 These last are tender, and are much prized by those who 
 prefer rarity to real beauty. They are occasionally produced 
 by birds of the common kind, in cases where no intercourse 
 with other White birds can have taken place. In one in- 
 stance, in the same brood, whose parents were both of the 
 usual colours, there were two of the common sort, and one 
 White Cock and one White Hen. The old notion respecting 
 them, which has given rise to serious theoretical errors and to 
 many false inferences, is, that they originated in the north, in 
 Norway or Sweden ; the climate in which Ptarmigan, Snow 
 Buntings, Alpine Hares, &c., annually put on a white livery, 
 having made them permanently white. From some minds this 
 false idea has yet to be eradicated -, it was the foundation of 
 several of Buffon's boldest speculations respecting the influ- 
 ence of climate on the forms of animals, leading him to 
 hazard the assertion, among others, that the Silver Pheasant 
 is only the common Pheasant changed to a lighter hue by mi- 
 gration to a more northerly region, while he forgot that the 
 Silver and the Common Pheasant are both natives of the same 
 
352 PEA FOWL. 
 
 districts of China and India, and that Aldrovandi, from whom 
 he gleaned the error, instantly refutes it, by stating that 
 White Pea Fowl are frequently hatched in Madeira and the 
 neighbouring islands. Temminck has well discussed the Paon 
 Blanc, in his Hist. Nat des Gallinaces, torn. ii. 
 
THE RING- NECKED PHEASANT. 
 
363 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 
 
 The Phasianus Torquatus, or Ring-necked Pheasant, of 
 which the artist has given such a life-like portrait from nature, 
 is but a variety of the common Pheasant. It is, perhaps, a 
 trifle larger than the Brown Pheasant, with which it is asso- 
 ciated in almost every preserve in England. The Cock should 
 weigh about three pounds. 
 
 This genus may generally be characterized by a strong bill, 
 the upper part of which is convex, and naked at the base ; the 
 nostrils are lateral and covered with a cartilaginous scale. 
 '^ The head is clothed with feathers, but the region of the eyes, 
 for a considerable space, is covered with a naked verucose skin, 
 generally of a bright vermilion. The wings are short, but 
 firm and compact. The tail is remarkably long, and generally 
 wedge-shaped. The feet have the anterior toes united by a 
 membrane to the first joint. The hind-toe is articulated upon 
 the tarsus, which, in the male, is furnished with a strong 
 conical, sharp spur. The plumage of the male is generally of 
 the most brilliant tints." In the natural state, they live on 
 fruits and roots, and the larger seeds ; they are very active 
 on the ground, and though their short wings prevent them 
 from taking a long and sustained flight, their power is suffi- 
 cient to carry them away from ordinary dangers. 
 
 It is now generally admitted that the Pheasant was originally 
 
 30* 
 
354 THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 
 
 introduced in Europe from the banks of the Phasis, (near the 
 Rioni,) a river in Chalchis, in Asia Minor. Of the time of 
 its introduction we are not certain. As early as the year 
 1299, it is mentioned (Echard's History) as worth four pence ; 
 and two hundred of them made part of the great feast of the 
 Archbishop Neville, about the middle of the fifteenth century. 
 
 The markings and splendid hues of the plumage of the 
 male bird are generally known, and so well set forth by the 
 artist, that any detailed description will be unnecessary. 
 
 The ringed variety chiefly inhabits the forests of China, 
 where the common kind is also abundant ; but in this state 
 they never breed together. The Eggs of the former also 
 differ; they are of a pale bluish green, marked with small 
 blotches of a deeper tint, while those of the latter variety are 
 of an olive-white, and without any spots. 
 
 Of the habits- of these birds, in a state of nature, we know 
 but little, and yet have no reason to doubt their similarity to 
 those exhibited in their present half domestic state in Europe 
 and this country. 
 
 As they are now found in preserves, woods with a thick 
 under-growth of brush, brambles, long grass, &c., interspersed 
 with open glades, which some little stream refreshes and the 
 sun enlivens, are their delight during the day, and from which 
 they run, morning and evening, to the open skirts, where some 
 favourite food abounds. It is in their way to such feeding 
 grounds, that they are so easily secured by unscrupulous per- 
 sons; for, never taking flight, unless disturbed, they run and 
 thread their way through these tangled brakes, and leave pas- 
 sages which are easily distinguished by the practised eye of 
 the poacher. During the winter, the Pheasant goes regularly to 
 roost; but, in the summer, and when moulting, they do not 
 tree, but squat among the long grass, ofi'ering themselves, in 
 this way, an easy prey to another class of enemies, as Polecats, 
 Foxes, &c. The males, in general, associate among themselves 
 
THE RING-NECKED PHEAS.ANT. 355 
 
 during the winter, and separate from the females. They 
 come together again about the first of March, when the male 
 assumes an altered appearance ; the scarlet of his cheeks, and 
 around his eyes, acquires additional depth of colour, he walks 
 with a more measured step, with his wings let down, and 
 with his tail carried in a more erect position. Being poly- 
 gamous, he now takes possession of a certain heatj from which 
 he drives every male intruder, and commences his crowing, 
 attended with a peculiar clapping of the wings, which answers 
 as the note of invitation to the other sex, as well as of defiance 
 to his own. 
 
 As previously stated, the food of the Pheasant is tender 
 roots, insects with their larvae — as the autumn advances, 
 the ripening' grains of all kinds are abundant, and the wild 
 fruits and berries, which a kind Providence has everywhere 
 provided, render this their time of feasting. As winter ap- 
 proaches, they are reduced to less various fare, and resort to 
 the fallow and turnip-fields, in search of roots, &c. In well- 
 kept preserves, during this season, they are always regularly 
 fed, and know the feeding-hour and call of the keeper cor- 
 rectly, and by this means they are prevented from straying. 
 The most successful and favourite food, at these times, is peas 
 or grain. 
 
 Although it is rather difficult to effect a cross between the 
 Pheasant and our Domestic Fowl, it has nevertheless been 
 done ; but, beyond a first cross, the thing is generally regarded 
 as impracticable. Poultry have been kept on the borders of a 
 wood abounding with Pheasants, and occasionally a few half- 
 bred birds are procured. Sir William Jardine had a specimen 
 of the cross in his possession, exhibiting all the mixed cha- 
 racters in perfection. M. Temminck also records a solitary in- 
 stance of a mule between the female common Pheasant and the 
 male Golden-Pheasant, which presented a curious but splendid 
 mixture; all his endeavours, however, to procure a second 
 
356 THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 
 
 specimen were ineffectual. The common Pheasant breeds 
 also freely with the Ring-necked bird, and the offspring is pro- 
 ductive ; this by some is regarded as a proof that these two 
 birds are identical. 
 
 The following paragraph, which I quote from Mr. Nolan, of 
 Dublin, will be interesting to those who desire to try their 
 skill in breeding and rearing this beautiful bird. He says : — ■ 
 
 " The Pheasant is not only beautiful to the eye, but most de- 
 licate when served to the table. Its flesh is considered the 
 greatest dainty. When the old physicians spoke of the whole- 
 someness of any viands, they made their comparison with the 
 flesh of the Pheasant. No matter with what care they have 
 been bred or propagated, they disdain the protection of man, 
 and shelter in the thickest covers and remotest forests. All 
 others of the Domestic Fowl submit to the protection of man; 
 but the Pheasant never has, preferring the scanty produce of 
 acorns and berries to the abundant supply of a farm-yard. The 
 Hen Pheasant, in a wild state, hatches and brings up her brood 
 with patience, vigilance, and courage ; but when kepttame, she 
 never sits well. A substitute must be found in the clean- 
 legged Bantam, the larger Fowl being too heavy for the Chicks. 
 Her time of laying is about the middle of April, and, if in an 
 aviary, the Eggs should be immediately removed, and placed 
 in dry bran or chaff, until you wish to set them. They are 
 about twenty-four days coming out. After the young ones ap- 
 pear, they are not to be fed for twenty-four hours, after which 
 give them hard-boiled Egg, chopped fine, and mixed with oat- 
 meal, ant-mould, cheese, curd, lettuce cut fine, white flour 
 wetted with sweet milk, bread crumbs, bread and milk, with 
 very limited drink. Be particular to preserve them from cold 
 and moisture. You will have to confine the Hen, so as to pre- 
 vent her eating their food; and you will have to provide them 
 with maggots. In the neighbourhood of Paris, where they rear 
 quantities of young Fowl, for the market, they prepare what 
 
THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 357 
 
 they call a vermineerj by digging a hole in a dry, sandy spot, 
 in which they place a piece of flesh, which soon gets into mag- 
 gots, with which they feed the young birds. My own vermi- 
 neer is of much simpler and economic construction. I have an 
 earthen pan, about two feet deep, and one foot diameter, into 
 which I put some bran ; on this I place a piece of liver or 
 carrion. I cover it with a common glass cap, and place it in 
 the sun. The flesh soon gets fly-blown, and speedily creates 
 quantities of maggots, and, with a long-handled spoon, I have 
 them thrown to the young birds. They should not get more 
 than one feed of those in the day. The more varied their 
 food, and the more frequently renewed, the better. Fresh, 
 and a little at a time. The green leaves of barley are ex- 
 cellent. At three months old, feed them on barley, with 
 a little wheat, boiled carrots, or potatoes, mixed with bread- 
 crumbs. Grive a small portion of boiled rice during the moult. 
 If they should get the roup, give them fresh curd every day. 
 To make alum curd, take new milk, as much as your young 
 birds require, and boil it with a lump of alum, so as not to 
 make the curd hard and tough, but custard-like. A little of 
 this curd and ant's eggs, should be given to them twice a day, 
 in addition to their other food. Keep their vessels clean ; and, 
 if the disease still continue, give them, every second day, a 
 small dose of garlic in a little fresh butter. They are subject 
 to be vent-bound, which, if not attended to, will kill them. 
 The remedy is, with a sharp scissors cut close the down or 
 feathers about the vent, and anoint it with sweet-oil, and be 
 attentive that it be kept clean, otherwise you cannot rear them ; 
 but, in handling them, be particularly cautious that you do it 
 with the greatest delicacy, as the least rough handling will 
 kill them. If they have a scouring, the alum curd will 
 check it. 
 
 There is no difficulty in breeding the common Pheasant in 
 a wild state ; but to keep them in an aviary, you will have to 
 
S58 THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 
 
 get a wire-trellis in front, sufficiently close to prevent the 
 sparrows and other birds robbing them of their food. The 
 saving of the food will very soon compensate you for the 
 wire-work, and insure your Pheasants being fed. At the top, 
 I would prefer close net-work of moderate-sized cord, well 
 painted. The reason is, if the birds get fluttered, they fly 
 straight up, and, by a dash against a hard substance, they fre- 
 quently fall dead, but by coming in contact with the net, they 
 receive no injury. Part of the aviary should be shedded, to 
 protect them from the inclemency of the weather ; and I would 
 recommend a retiring-place for the Hens to lay in, and perches 
 of about one inch diameter. I would advise the retiring-place 
 to be laid down with clean straw, but would prefer fine sand 
 for their walking-place. Wheat and barley are their best food, 
 with occasionally vegetable matter, lettuce, turnip-tops, cab- 
 bages, &c. One Cock is sufficient for three or four Hens. 
 
359 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE TURKEY. 
 
 This is one of those Fowls, that, as yet, are found in the 
 wild, as well as in the domestic state. How long this may be, 
 is hard to say ; probably, not long ', for as civilization and im- 
 provements advance in North America, the country to which 
 they belong, they will, doubtless, share the fate of the Dodo 
 and Bustard, and be known only in history, or by the speci- 
 mens to be seen in the barn-yard. 
 
 As I know comparatively little of this Fowl from experience 
 in rearing it, I have sought information of those who " know 
 all about it" practically; and none more so than my friend, 
 D. Taggart, Esq., to whom I feel much indebted, for his valua- 
 ble correspondence on ^' Ornamental and Domestic Poultry.'' 
 
 In answer to some inquiries, in relation to Fowls generally, 
 he says, " You have not asked my views on Turkeys, but what 
 little I know, I may as well impart. I raised two broods, last 
 summer, (1850,) by way of experiment. The first lot, to the 
 number of fifteen, were hatched in June, under Hens. With 
 these, I was very successful, having lost but one. The Grobblers 
 now weigh, (November 29th, 1850,) eleven or twelve pounds, 
 the Hens seven or eight pounds : I was very careful of them, 
 feeding them on the curds of milk, and waste bread, soaked in 
 milk, until they were four or five weeks old. After that, I was 
 not so particular. I kept them in the garden, and by the time 
 
S60 THE TURKEY. 
 
 they were eight weeks old; they had so stripped the onion-beds, 
 that not a top was to be seen. It no doubt benefited them 
 greatly. With a later brood, I was not so fortunate, — I 
 raised but the half of them, and they are stunted and puny. 
 On the whole, Turkeys may be set down as tender birds, and 
 their raising attended with very uncertain results." 
 
 Having given the reader this "pound of practical experience/' 
 which is worth a hundred weight of theory, we will now attend 
 to what Mr. Dixon has to say on this subject. He says. 
 
 If we call to mind the many and valuable acquisitions, 
 from both the animal and vegetable kingdom, which have been 
 made subservient to the use of Man within comparatively a 
 very recent period, it is not too much to believe that 6thers, 
 of nearly, or quite equal value, still remain to reward the labour 
 and pains of a persevering search. There is the whole of cen- 
 tral Africa, central Australia, great part of China and northern 
 India (which have already afforded us so much,) and innu- 
 merable half-explored or unexplored islands, all waiting to be 
 ransacked for our benefit. And, without depending on those 
 distant regions, we know not yet what we may find at home ; 
 seeing that the delicious Seakale — an esculent whose merits 
 are yet unknown to many a family of competent means living 
 in retirement — has only within the last few years sprung up 
 under our very feet ; and the Capercali, by an easy importation, 
 has been rescued from extinction in Great Britain. 
 
 Among the living tributaries to the luxury of Man, the 
 Turkey is an example of the results yet to be expected from 
 the exploring spirit of our day. It is the most recent, and, 
 except the Hen and the doose, the most valuable of our do- 
 mesticated birds. We may, indeed, call it quite a new intro- 
 duction ; for what, after all, is a period of three hundred years 
 compared with the time during which Man has had dominion 
 over the earth and its brute inhabitants? The obscurity 
 which hangs over the transmission of the Turkey from Ame- 
 
THE TURKEY. 361 
 
 rica, and which there is little chance of clearing away, except 
 by industrious ferreting amongst old family records and me- 
 morandum-books, shows that those who brought it to the Old 
 World had no idea of the value of what they were importing ; 
 but probably regarded it like any other remarkable production 
 of nature — a Macaw or a Tortoise. The young would be dis- 
 tributed among friends with the same feeling that Grolden 
 iPheasants and such like are with us ; these again would thrive 
 and increase, and the nation would suddenly find itself in the 
 possession of a race, not of pleasing pets, but of a valuable, 
 prolific, and hardy stock of Poultry. Such I take to be the 
 history of the Turkey in England ',^ and the Zoological and 
 Ornithological Societies may hereafter find that some creature 
 that was disregarded, or undervalued, or even yet unobtained, 
 will prove unexpectedly domestic and profitable, (it may be the 
 Cereopsis, some of the Indian Polyplectrons, or the elegant 
 Honduras Turkey ;) to further which great object of their as- 
 sociation, they cannot do better than communicate spare speci- 
 mens, on the most liberal and encouraging terms, to such per- 
 sons as they believe competent fairly to test their value. 
 
 The varieties of the domesticated Turkey are not very dis- 
 tinct. The most so is the Norfolk ; others may nearly all be 
 swept into what is called the Cambridge breed, (thus including 
 
 ■^ The Norfolk Archaeology, Vol. I., gives a bill of fare of the Coro- 
 nation dinner of King Henry VI., a. d., 1429, communicated by the 
 Rey. Gr. H. Dash wood, and one dish in the third course is " Great 
 Birde;" of which he remarks, " perhaps the Bustard. The Turkey 
 was not introduced into England till about the year 1524. I recollect 
 being told some years since by one of the family, that an ancestor of 
 Sir George Strickland, Bart., brought the first to this country ; what 
 truth there is in the claim of the introduction of this delicacy, I 
 know not, but the Stricklands bear a ' Turkey Cock in his pride' for 
 their crest." 
 
 31 
 
362 THE TURKEY. 
 
 the Bustard breed and the Dutch copper-coloured,) which, 
 however, is as much cultivated in Norfolk as the old local 
 stock, and birds of which kind often pass for true Norfolks, 
 because they have been procured from that county. The real 
 Norfolk Turkey is more hardy, but less ornamental than the 
 others, and of smaller size. It is entirely black, except the 
 red skin about the head, and a brownish tip to the feathers of 
 the tail and some of those of the back. This gives the bird 
 a rusty appearance, like an old piece of well-worn cotton velvet. 
 The Cambridge sort, when black, have a beautifully shining 
 bluish tinge, like a well-polished boot. The Chicks of the 
 Norfolks are black, with occasionally white patches about the 
 head ; those of the Cambridge variety are mottled all over 
 with brownish gray, and are of taller and slenderer proportions. 
 The plumage of the Cambridge breed varies very much ; some- 
 times it is entirely made up of shades of reddish brown and 
 gray, when it is called the Bustard breed ; sometimes of gray, 
 black, and white, but frequently it approaches very nearly to 
 what we see figured as the wild bird. Owing to the early age 
 at which our birds are mostly killed, the tuft on the breast of 
 the Hen is seldom so conspicuous as is represented in the Hen 
 of the Wild Turkey, in the "Naturalist's Library,'' copied 
 from Audubon. 
 
 The pure White Turkeys are very elegant creatures, and 
 though the most tender of all to rear, are not so in any thing 
 like the same degree as the White Pea Fowl. It is well known 
 that most birds, wild as well as tame, occasionally produce 
 perfectly white individuals, of more delicate constitution than 
 their parents. We cannot doubt that the selection and pairing 
 of such, is the way in which the breed of White Turkeys has 
 been established and kept up. However, with all care they 
 will now and then produce speckled birds, and so show a 
 tendency to return to the normal plumage. It is remarkable, 
 that in specimens which are else snow-white, the tuft on the 
 
THE TURKEY. 863 
 
 breast remains coal-black, looking, in the Hens, like a tail of 
 ermine, and so showing as a great ornament. The head and 
 caruncles on the neck of the male are, when excited, of the 
 same blue and scarlet hues. Thus the creature, with small 
 portions of black, blue, and scarlet, relieving his snowy and 
 trembling flakes of plumage, is truly beautiful; and some few 
 farmers keep them, in spite of the disadvantages attending 
 them. A merit is, that they dress most temptingly white for 
 market. But they are unsuited for miry, smoky, or clayey 
 situations, and show and thrive best when they have a range 
 of clean, short pasture, on a light or chalky subsoil. 
 
 The American Turkeys are merely a recent importation 
 from the New World, of birds whose progenitors were not 
 many generations back in a state of nature ; they are, in short, 
 fresh blood from the primaeval forests. The most striking 
 point in which they difi'er from the best plumaged of the 
 Cambridge breed, is the extreme brilliancy of their changeable 
 metallic tints. In all the coloured Turkeys these glancing 
 tints depend much upon condition. An experienced eye will 
 at once see whether Poultry is in good or bad condition, from 
 the look of the plumage, just as a groom would pronounce 
 upon the smooth or staring coat of his horse. But the 
 American Turkeys are ever pre-eminent in this respect. They 
 are also more hardy, lively, game-like, and self-dependent, 
 searching for their food like Pheasants. Those who have kept 
 them, pronounce them to be the most profitable and best-tasted 
 breed, as well as the handsomest. The metallic hues of their 
 back feathers, when seen in the sunshine, are quite dazzling. 
 The Bev. W. J). F., to whom we are indebted for admirable 
 specimens, says, "I have always believed these birds to be 
 descendants of the true wild breed brought immediately from 
 America. The owners of them have constantly laid claim to 
 this; in proof whereof, I may mention an anecdote which 
 occurred some years since. At that time Earl Powys was 
 
364 THE TURKEY. 
 
 reputed to be the only possessor of these; and I believe he 
 imported them. On one occasion, the earl presented Greorge 
 TV. with a fine black charger, which was graciously received; 
 but the king is said to have remarked to those in his confi- 
 dence, that a horse was of no use to him, as he could not ride, 
 but that Earl Powys did possess something which he should 
 much value. This was reported to his lordship, and after 
 some difiiculty it was found out that a pair of American 
 Turkeys would be most acceptable, and they were sent. I 
 merely mention this to show that their wild descent was 
 believed in high quarters. The late Lord Leicester was also 
 said to possess the wild breed ; and I well remember his telling 
 my father they were so, and remarking that they got their 
 food so much more readily than the tame kinds. I originally 
 had my breed from Lord Leicester, and have since crossed 
 them with Earl Powj'^s's. The two breeds differ in the latter 
 having the wing-feathers, or rather quills, barred with white, 
 while Lord Leicester's are wholly dark. Both Cocks and 
 Hens are beautifully metallic, far more so than any breed 
 that I know. The shape of the Hens is also more elongated, 
 and there is a sprightliness about the head, which is also 
 better shaped. Audubon's plate of the Turkey strongly re- 
 minds me of my own. Much of this may be fancy ; yet I 
 have not a doubt upon the subject, but believe that they are 
 genuine wild American Turkeys. They also invariably lay 
 later than the common breeds.'^ 
 
 A great point in this account is, that the birds are de- 
 scended from recently wild ancestors, and have not merely 
 been lately brought from America. For this query suggests 
 itself to our mind: Are the majority of the American farm- 
 yard Turkeys the progeny of individuals domesticated from 
 the forest; or, is it not possible that some at least of the 
 colonists may have taken out with them tame Turkeys from 
 England as stock, and so founded a farm-yard race for parts 
 
THE TURKEY. 365 
 
 of America ? Such a plan would most likely be less trouble- 
 some than the task of taming fresh-caught birds or their 
 chicks. If this has ever been the case^ it will be a curious 
 return for us to have made, of an enslaved race, to the conti- 
 nent to which we owe the original existence of the species 
 among us. Some slight notice of the Crested Turkey may be 
 expected in these pages, as Temminck (Pigeons et Gallinacesj 
 vol. ii. p. 387,) says that it is ^^only a variety or sport of nature 
 in the species; it only differs in that it has a crest of feathers, 
 sometimes black, sometimes white ; and these Crested Turkeys 
 are sufficiently rare. Mademoiselle Backer formerly kept, in 
 her magnificent menagerie, near the Hague, a flock of Turkeys 
 of a beautiful Isabelle yellow, approaching to chestnut; they 
 all had an ample crest of pure white." Albin, publishing in 
 1738, gives (vol. ii. p. 30) a coloured print of the white- 
 crested Turkey, and says, ^^This bird I saw in the possession 
 of Henry Cornellyson, Esq., beyond Chelmsford, in Essex: it 
 was of the bigness of the common Turkies, having a beautiful 
 large white copple on its crown or top of the head." We 
 do not see such freaks of nature now ; nor does a Turkey's 
 head, with its movable and erectable skin, look a likely place 
 for a plume of feathers to start from. Such a lusus has never 
 occurred in the great Turkey-breeding counties of Norfolk, 
 Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, and the appearance of the. 
 monster would be sure to be observed there, if it took place. 
 We therefore may suspect the Crested Turkey to be, like the 
 Crested Guinea Fowl, a distinct species, and that it has failed 
 to propagate, and so is no longer to be seen among us. The 
 suspicion is confirmed by finding in '^ Wild Life in the Interior 
 of Central America, by G-eorge Byam, 43d Light Infantry," 
 at p. 154, and the following, an account of the discovery of 
 Crested Turkeys in a state of nature, which is too long to ex- 
 tract. But the subject is most perplexing, and interesting 
 from its very mystery. A solution may possibly be effected 
 
 31* 
 
366 THE TURKEY. 
 
 Tby the noble efforts which the Earl of Derby is unceasingly 
 making to further the advance of zoological knowledge. 
 
 One reason why the Turkeys, seen in our Poultry yards, do 
 not vie in splendour of plumage with their untamed brethren, 
 is that we do not let them live long enough. For the same 
 cause we seldom witness the thorough development of their 
 temper and disposition. A creature that does not attain its 
 full growth till its fifth or sixth year, we kill at latest in the 
 second, to the evident deterioration of our stock. But let 
 three or four well-selected Cambridge Turkeys, or the before- 
 mentioned Americans, be retained to their really adult state, 
 and well fed meanwhile, and they will quite recompense their 
 keeper by their beauty in full plumage, by their glancing hues 
 of gilded green and purple, their lovely shades of brown, 
 bronze, and black, and the pearly lustre that radiates from 
 their polished feathers. In default of wild specimens, birds 
 like these are sought to complete collections of stuffed birds. 
 
 The demand for such large birds among the Fowl-dealers, 
 and the temptation to fat them before they arrive at this 
 stage, are so great, that few farmers' wives can resist sending 
 their eighteen or twenty pound "stag"* to market, while a 
 young Cock of the year, they think, will answer every purpose 
 next spring as well. Some even deem it an extravagance to 
 keep a Turkey Cock at all, if they have not more than two 
 Hens, which they would send on a visit of a day or two to a 
 neighbour who has a male bird. A case is recorded in which 
 such a visit, made in the July or August of one year, was 
 available for the Eggs of the succeeding April. The time 
 
 * In Norfolk, Turkey Cocks are called Stags from their second 
 year upwards. A bird of the same year weighing, when dressed at 
 Christmas, 16 or 17 lbs,, is unusual and considered very good. The 
 extra weighty birds shown by the London poulterers are of a corre- 
 sponding age. 
 
THE TURKEY. 367 
 
 when the Hens require this change of air in spring, may be 
 known by their lying down on the ground, as if they were 
 unwell ; doing so immediately again, if taken up and made to 
 walk on, which apparent languor is accompanied by a lack-a- 
 daisical love-sick expression of countenance. One Christmas 
 we ate or gave away all our Turkeys, (including a magniiScent 
 Stag, whose image haunts us still,) except a single Hen. The 
 above-mentioned plan was necessarily adopted; and the result 
 was, from eleven Eggs, eight Chicks so strong as almost to 
 rear themselves. The same system has been occasionally tried 
 with Fowls, and has been found not to answer. 
 
 When the Hen has once selected a spot for her nest, she will 
 continue to lay there till the time of incubation, so that the 
 Eggs may be brought home from day to day, there being no 
 need of a nest Egg, as with the common Fowl. She will lay 
 from fifteen to twenty Eggs, more or less. If there are any 
 dead leaves or dry grass at hand, she will cover her Eggs with 
 these ; but if not, she will take no trouble to collect them from 
 a distance. Her determination to sit, will be known by her 
 constantly remaining on the nest, though empty ; and as it is 
 seldom in a position sufl&ciently secure against the weather or 
 pilferers, a nest should be prepared for her, by placing some 
 straw, with her Eggs, on the floor of a convenient out-house. 
 She should then be brought home, and gently and kindly 
 placed upon it. It is a most pleasing sight to witness the 
 satisfaction with which the bird takes to her long-lost Eggs, 
 turning them about, placing them with her bill in the most 
 suitable positions, packing the straw tightly around and under 
 them, and finally sinking upon them with the quiet joy of an- 
 ticipated maternity. 
 
 In the south of England, from fifteen to twenty Eggs may be 
 allowed ; but witb the Norfolk variety, which is the smallest, 
 and in a northern or eastern county, it is found that moderation 
 succeeds better than over-greediness of Chicks. In this case 
 
368 THE TURKEY. 
 
 thirteen Eggs are enough to give her; a large Hen might 
 cover more : but a few strong, well-hatched Chicks are better 
 than a large brood of weaklings that have been delayed in the 
 shell, perhaps twelve hours over the time, from insufficient 
 warmth. At the end of a week, it is usual to add two or three 
 Fowls' Eggs, ^^to teach the young Turkeys to peck/' The 
 plan is not a bad one ; the activity of the Chickens does stir 
 up some emulation in their larger brethren ; the Eggs take up 
 but little room in the nest ; and, at the end of the summer, you 
 have two or three very fine Fowls, all the plumper for the ex- 
 tra diet they have shared with the little Turkeys. 
 
 Some ladies believe it necessary to turn the Eggs once a 
 day ; but the Hen does that herself many times a day. If the 
 Eggs are marked, and you notice their position when she leaves 
 the nest, you will never find them arranged in the same order. 
 A person who obtained ninety-nine Chicks from an hundred 
 Eggs, took the great trouble to turn each Egg every day with 
 her own hand, during the whole time of incubation. The re- 
 sult appears favourable ; but, in fact, only amounts to this, 
 that such officiousness did no harm with a good, patient, quiet 
 creature like the sitting Turkey, but it would probably have 
 worried and annoyed any other bird into addling her whole 
 clutch. We will at once reject, as utterly absurd and un- 
 natural, all directions to immerse or " try'' the Eggs in a pail 
 of water, hot or cold. 
 
 In four weeks the little birds will be hatched; and then, 
 how are they to be reared ? Some books tell you to plunge 
 them in cold water, to strengthen them: those that survive 
 will certainly be hardy birds.* -Others say, "Make them 
 
 « Sir J. S. Sebright exposes the folly of endeavouring to make 
 young creatures robust by undue exposure to cold and hardship, an 
 experiment which some men and women are cruel enough to try upon 
 their own offspring. Air and exercise increase the strength of any 
 
THE TURKEY. 369 
 
 swallow a whole pepper-corn ;" which is as if we were to cram 
 a London pippin down the throat of a new-born babe. Others 
 again say, " Grive them a little ale, beer, or wine.^' We know, 
 unhappily, that some mothers are wicked enough to give their 
 infants gin, and we know the consequences. Not a few advise 
 that they be taken away^ and kept in a basket by the fire-side, 
 wrapped in flannel, for eight or ten hours. Why take them 
 away from her ? She has undergone no loss, nor pain, nor 
 labour: she wants no rest, having had too much of that 
 already. All she requires is the permission to indulge un- 
 disturbed the natural exercise of her own affectionate instinct. 
 Grive them nothing ; do nothing to them : let them be iu 
 the nest under the shelter of their mother's wings, at least 
 eight or ten hours ; if hatched in the afternoon, till the fol- 
 lowing morning. Then place her on the grass, in the sun, 
 under a roomy coop. If the weather be fine, she may be sta- 
 taioned where you choose, by a long piece of flannel-list tied 
 round one leg, and fastened to a stump or a stone. But the 
 boarded coop saves her ever-watchful anxiety from the dread 
 
 growing animal, but cold and hunger only dwarf and weaken. We 
 see robust children in extremely poor families, not because they are 
 poor, but because, if they were not robust, they would not be alive at 
 all. Sir John, in his " Treatise on Improving the Breeds of Do- 
 mestic Animals," pp. 15, 16, says, " In cold and barren countries, no 
 animals can live to the age of maturity but those that have strong 
 constitutions ; the weak and the unhealthy do not live to propagate 
 their infirmities, as is too often the case with our domestic animals. 
 To this I attribute the peculiar hardiness of the horses, cattle, and 
 sheep, bred in mountainous countries, more than to their having been 
 inured to the severity of the climate ; for our domestic^, animals do 
 not become more hardy by being exposed, when young, to cold and 
 hunger : animals so treated will not, when arrived at the age of ma- 
 turity, endure so much hardship as those who have been better kept 
 m their infant state." 
 
870 THE TURKEY. 
 
 of enemies above and behind — the carrion-crow, the hawk, the 
 rat, the weasel; and also protects herself — she will protect her 
 young — ^from the sudden showers of summer. Offer at first a 
 few crumbs of bread : the little ones, for some hours, will be 
 in no hurry to eat ; but when they do begin, supply them 
 constantly and abundantly with chopped egg, shreds of meat 
 and fat, curd, boiled rice mixed with cress, lettuce, and the 
 green of onions. Melted mutton-suet poured over barley-meal, 
 and cut up when cold ; also bullock's liver boiled and minced, 
 are excellent things. Barley-meal, mixed thick and stiff with 
 water or milk, nettle-tops, leeks, goose-grass, or cleavers, and 
 many other things, might be added to the list ; but it is pro- 
 bable that a few of these may now and then be refused by some 
 fanciful little rogues. I think I have observed that little 
 Turkeys do not like their food to be minced much smaller than 
 they can swallow it ; indolently preferring to make a meal at 
 three or four mouthfuls than to trouble themselves with the 
 incessant pecking and scratching in which Chickens so much 
 delight. But, at any rate, the quantity consumed costs nothing; 
 the attention to supply it is every thing. 
 
 Young Turkeys are sometimes attacked by fasciolse, or 
 worms in the trachea, but not so often as Chickens. Cramp 
 is the most fatal to them, particularly in bad weather. A few 
 pieces of board, laid under and about the coop, are useful : 
 sometimes rubbing the legs with spirit will bring the circu- 
 lation back again. 
 
 The time when the Turkey Hen may be allowed full liberty 
 with her brood, depends so much on season, situation, &c., 
 that it must be left to the exercise of the keeper's judgment. 
 Some, whose opinion is worthy of attention, think that if the 
 young are thriving, the sooner the old ones are out with them 
 the better, after the first ten days or so. A safer rule may be 
 fixed at the season called ^' shooting the red," a "disease,'' as 
 eome compilers are pleased to term it : being about as much 
 
THE TURKEY. 371 
 
 a disease as when the eldest son of the Turkey's master and 
 mistress shoots his beard. When young Turkeys approach the 
 size of a Partridge, or before, the granular fleshy excrescences 
 on the head and neck begin to appear ; soon after, the whole 
 plumage, particularly the tail-feathers start into rapid growth, 
 and the '•'■ disease' ' is only to be counteracted by liberal nou- 
 rishment. If let loose at this time they will obtain much by 
 foraging, and still be thankful for all you choose to give them. 
 Caraway-seeds, as a tonic, are a great secret with some pro- 
 fessional people. They will doubtless, be beneficial, if added 
 to plenty of barley, boiled potatoes, chopped vegetables, and 
 refuse meat. And now is the time that Turkeys begin to be 
 troublesome and voracious. What can you expect else from a 
 creature that is to grow from the size of a lark to twelve or 
 fourteen pounds, in eight or nine months ? " Corn-sacks, coffers 
 for oats, barn-swallowers, ill neighbours to peasen," are epi- 
 thets deservedly earned. They will jump into the potato- 
 ground, scratch the ridges on one side, eat every grub, wire- 
 worm, or beetle that they find, and every half-grown potato. 
 From thence they will proceed to the Swedes ; before the bulbs 
 are formed, they will strip the green from the leaves, thereby 
 checking the subsequent growth of the root. At a subsequent 
 period, they will do the same to the white turnips, and here 
 and there take a piece out of the turnip itself. They are seldom 
 large enough before harvest to make so much havoc among the 
 standing corn, as Cocks and Hens and G-uinea Fowl, or they 
 have not yet acquired the taste for it; but when the young 
 wheat comes up, in October and November, they will exhibit 
 their graminivorous propensities to the great disadvantage of 
 the farmer. The farmer's wife sees them not, says nothing, 
 but at Christmas boasts of the large amount of her Turkey- 
 money. One great merit in old birds (besides their orna- 
 mental value, which is our special recommendation) is, that in 
 situations where nuts, acorns, and mast are to be had, they will 
 
872 THE TURKEY. 
 
 lead off their brood to these, and comparatively (that is all) 
 abstain from ravaging other crops. It is, therefore, not fair 
 for a small occupier to be overstocked with Turkeys, (as is too 
 often the case ; and with other things also,) and then to let 
 them loose, like so many harpies, to devastate and plunder 
 their neighbours' fields. 
 
^ ' ''fit 
 
373 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THEGUINEAFOWL. 
 
 This Bird, in some measure, unites the characteristics of the 
 Pheasant and the Turkey, it has the delicate shape of the one, 
 and the bare head of the other. There are several varieties, 
 as the White, the Spotted, the Madagascar, and the Crested. 
 This latter is not so large as the common species ; the head 
 and neck are hare, of a dull blue, shaded with red, and, in- 
 stead of the casque, it has an ample crest of hairy-like disunited 
 feathers, of a bluish black, reaching as far forward as the nos- 
 trils, but in general turned backwards. '^The whole plumage, 
 except the quills, is of a bluish black, covered with small 
 grayish spots, sometimes four, sometimes six on each feather.^' 
 
 This Bird is frequently called "Pintado," but Mr. Dixon 
 says : — We have refrained from applying the term " Pintado" 
 to the Gruinea Fowl : that word signifying, in the Portuguese 
 language, " painted," and having been first appropriated to the 
 black and white-chequered Petrel (jProoellaria Capensis) by 
 the navigators who found them in the South Seas. The 
 Guinea Fowl is frequently called a Grallina, especially in Ire- 
 land. But under whatever denomination, it is no great 
 favourite with many keepers of Poultry, and is one of those 
 unfortunate beings, which, from having been occasionally 
 guilty of a few trifling faults, has gained a much worse repu- 
 
 32 
 
374 GUINEA FOWL. 
 
 tation than it really deserves, as if it were the most ill-behaved 
 bird in creation : — whereas, it is useful, ornamental, and inter- 
 esting during its life ; and, when dead, a desirable addition to 
 our dinners, at a time when all other Poultry is scarce. 
 
 The best way to hegin keeping Gruiaea Fowls is to procure 
 a sitting of Eggs from some friend or neighbour on whom you 
 can depend for their freshness, and also, if possible, from a 
 -place where only a single pair is kept. The reason of this will 
 be explained hereafter. A Bantam Hen is the best mother ; 
 she is lighter, and less likely to injure them by treading on 
 them than a full-sized Fowl. She will cover nine Eggs, and 
 incubation will last a month. The young are excessively 
 pretty. When first hatched, they are so strong and active as 
 to appear not to require the attention really necessary to rear 
 them. Almost as soon as they are dry from the moisture of 
 the Egg, they will peck each other's toes, as if supposing them 
 to be worms, will scramble with each other for a crumb of 
 bread, and will domineer over any little Bantam or Chicken 
 that may perhaps have been brought off in the same clutch 
 with themselves. No one, who did not know, would guess, 
 from their appearance, of what species of bird they were the 
 offspring. 
 
 The young of the Guinea Fowl are striped like those of the 
 Emu, as shown in the late Mr. Bennett's pleasing description 
 of the Zoological Gardens, as they were in his days. Their 
 orange-red bills and legs, and the dark, zebra-like stripes with 
 which they are regularly marked from head to tail, bear no 
 traces of the speckled plumage of their parents. 
 
 Ants' Eggs, (so called,) hard-boiled Egg chopped fine, small 
 worms, maggots, bread-crumbs, chopped meat or suet, what- 
 ever, in short, is most nutritious, is their most appropriate food. 
 This need not be offered to them in large quantities, as it 
 would only be devoured by the mother Bantam as soon as she 
 saw that her little ones had for the time satisfied their appe- 
 
GUINEA FOWLS. 375 
 
 tites, or would be stolen by sparrows, &c. ; but it should be 
 frequently administered to tbem in small supplies. Feeding 
 them three, four, or five times a day, is not nearly often 
 enough; every half-hour during daylight they should be 
 tempted to fill their little craws, which are soon emptied again 
 by an extraordindry power and quickness of digestion. The 
 newly-hatched Guinea Fowl is a tiny creature, a mere infini- 
 tesimal of the full-grown bird ; its growth is consequently very 
 rapid, and requires incessant supplies. A. check once received 
 can never be recovered. In such cases they do not mope and 
 pine for a day or two, like young Turkeys under similar cir- 
 cumstances, and then die ; but, in half an hour after being in 
 apparent health, they fall on their backs, give a convulsive 
 kick or two, and fall victims, in point of fact, to starvation. 
 The demands of nature for the growth of bone, muscle, and 
 particularly of feather, are so great, that no subsequent abund- 
 ant supply of food can make up for a fast of a couple of hours. 
 The feathers still go on, grow, grow, grow, in geometrical pro- 
 gression, and drain the sources of vitality still faster than they 
 can be supplied, till the bird faints and expires from inani- 
 tion. I have even fancied that I have seen a growth of quill 
 and feather after death in young Poultry which we have failed 
 in rearing. The possibility of such a circumstance is sup- 
 ported by the well-known fact of the growth of hair and nails 
 in many deceased persons. 
 
 This constant supply of suitable food is, I believe, the great 
 secret in rearing the more delicate birds, Turkeys, Guinea 
 Fowls, Pheasants, &c.; never to sufi*er the growth of the Chick 
 (which goes on, whether it has food in its stomach or not,) to 
 produce exhaustion of the vital powers, for want of the ne- 
 cessary aliment. Young Turkeys, as soon as they once feel 
 languid from this cause, refuse their food when it is at last 
 offered to them, (just like a man whose appetite is gone, in 
 consequence of having waited too long for his dinner,) and 
 
376; GUINEA FOWLS. 
 
 never would eat more, were food not forced down their throats, 
 by which operation they may frequently be recovered; but the 
 little Guinea Fowls give no notice of this faintness, till they 
 are past all cure ; and a struggle of a few minutes, shows that 
 they have indeed outgrown their strength, or, rather, that the 
 material for producing strength has not been supplied to them 
 in a degree commensurate with their growth. 
 
 A dry sunny corner in the garden will be the best place to 
 coop them with their Bantam Hen. As they increase in 
 strength, they will do no harm, but a great deal of good, by 
 devouring worms, grubs, caterpillars, maggots, and all sorts of 
 insects. By the time their bodies are little bigger than those 
 of sparrows, they will be able to fly with some degree of 
 strength 3 and it is very pleasing to see them essay the use of 
 their wings at the call of their foster-mother, or the approach 
 of their feeder. It is one out of millions of instances of the 
 provident wisdom of the Almighty Creator, that the wing and 
 tail feathers of young gallinaceous birds, with which they re- 
 quire to be furnished at the earliest possible time, as a means 
 of escape from their numerous enemies, exhibit the most rapid 
 growth of any part of their frame. Other additions to their 
 complete stature are successively and less immediately deve- 
 loped. The wings of a Chicken are soon fl.edged enough to be 
 of great assistance to it; the spurs, comb, and ornamental 
 plumage do not appear till quite a subsequent period. 
 
 When the young Guinea Fowls are about the size of 
 thrushes, or perhaps a little larger, (unless the summer be very 
 fine,) their mother Bantam (which we suppose to be a tame, 
 quiet, matronly creature) may be suffered to range loose in 
 the orchard and shrubbery, and no longer permitted to enter 
 the garden, lest her family should acquire a habit of visiting it 
 at a time when their presence would be less welcome than for- 
 merly. They must still, however, receive a bountiful and 
 frequent Supply of food ; they are not to be considered safe 
 
GUINEA rOWLS. 8^7 
 
 till the horn on their head is fairly grown. Oatmeal, (^. e. groats,) 
 is a great treat, cooked potatoes, boiled rice, any thing in short 
 that is eatable, may be thrown down to them. They will pick 
 the bones left after dinner, with great satisfaction, and no doubt 
 benefit to themselves. The tamer they can be made, the less 
 troublesome will those birds be which you retain for stock ; 
 the more kindly they are treated, the more they are petted and 
 pampered, the fatter and better conditioned will those others 
 become which you design for your own table, or as presents 
 to your friends, and the better price will you get if you send 
 them to market. 
 
 Of all known birds, this, perhaps, is the most prolific of 
 Eggs. Week after week, and month after month, sees no, or 
 very rare intermission of the daily deposit. Even the process 
 of moulting is sometimes insufficient to draw off the nutriment 
 the creature takes to make feathers instead of Eggs, and the 
 poor thing will sometimes go about half-naked in the chilly 
 autumnal months, like a Fowl that had escaped from the cook 
 to avoid a preparation for the spit ; unable to refrain from its 
 diurnal visit to the nest, and consequently unable to furnish 
 itself with a new great coat. As the body of a good cow is a 
 distillery for converting all sorts of herbage into milk, and no- 
 thing else, or as little else as possible, so the body of the Gui- 
 nea Hen is a most admirable machine for producing Eggs 
 out of insects, vegetables, grain, garbage, or whatever an om- 
 nivorous creature can lay hold of. 
 
 From this great aptitude for laying, which is a natural 
 property, and not an artificially encouraged habit, and also 
 from the very little disposition they show to sit, I am inclined 
 to suspect that, in their native country, the dry, burning 
 wastes of Central Africa, they do not sit at all on their Eggs, 
 but leave them to be hatched by the sun, like Ostriches, to 
 which they bear a close affinity. That they do in this country 
 occasionally sit and hatch, is no valid objection to this idea, 
 
 32* 
 
378 GUINEA FOWLS. 
 
 but only an instance of habits modified by a change of climate, 
 similar to the cessation of torpidity, and to the brown, instead 
 of white, winter dress in animals brought from the arctic re- 
 gions to temperate climates. Even in Grreat Britain, there 
 are not enough Guinea Fowls hatched by their actual parents, 
 to keep the breed from becoming extinct in a few years. It 
 is certain that the sands of tropical Africa are more than hot 
 enough to hatch them, and that the young birds are unusually 
 vivacious and independent, if they have but a supply of proper 
 food, which they would find in the myriads of insects engen- 
 dered there. They are also found wild on the Island of As- 
 cension, but it is doubtful whether any accurate account of 
 their habits or mode of increase there is yet extant. 
 
 The normal plumage of the Gruinea Fowl is singularly 
 beautiful, being spangled over with an infinity of white spots 
 on a black ground, shaded with gray and brown. The spots 
 vary from the size of a pea to extreme minuteness. Rarely 
 the black and white change places, causing the bird to appear 
 as if covered with a net-work of lace. 
 
 A white variety is not uncommon, and is asserted by a 
 Yorkshire correspondent of the "G-ardener's Chronicle," to be 
 equally hardy and profitable with the usual kind ; but the pe- 
 culiar beauty of the original plumage is, surely, ill exchanged 
 for a dress of not the purest white. It is doubtful for how 
 long either this or the former one would remain permanent; 
 probably but for few generations. Pied birds, blotched with 
 patches of white, are frequent, but are not comparable, in point 
 of beauty, with those of the original wild colour. 
 
379 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE MUTE SWAN. — {Cygnm Olor.) 
 
 The portrait of the Mute Swan is copied from one in No- 
 lan^s "Treatise on the Domestic Fowl," &c. Of this monarch 
 of the lake, Dixon says : — 
 
 The Swan is, beyond all question, the bird to place, as a 
 finishing stroke of art, on the smooth lake which expands be- 
 fore our mansions. It is perfectly needless, however delightful, 
 to quote Milton and others, lauding the arched neck, the white 
 wings, the oary feet, and so on. Its superb beauty is undeniable 
 and acknowledged ; and, to borrow an apt metaphor, we do not 
 wish, in the present volume, to thresh straw that has been 
 thrice threshed before, to repeat how lovely the Swan is on the 
 silver lake, "floating double, swan and shadow;" for we 
 might thus run, scissors in hand, through the whole Corpus 
 Poetarum. Our object, in short, is simply to point out the 
 best mode of managing them and keeping them. 
 
 Any one who lives on the banks of a moderately sized 
 stream, and has a Swan-right on that stream, will probably 
 also have the means of keeping a keeper, who will save him 
 every trouble. But there are a great many people, occupiers 
 of large farm-houses, villas, country mansions, or moated resi- 
 dences, persons, perhaps, of considerable wealth, who have no 
 manorial rights, no ancient Swan-mark belonging to their 
 
380 THE MUTE SWAN. 
 
 estate, but who would willingly pay for the maintenance of a 
 pair of Swans and their annual brood of Cygnets, on enclosed 
 or artificial waters, if they knew but how to order them 
 aright. 
 
 Imprimis, then, they are called " Tame Swans," " Domestic 
 Swans :'* never were epithets more inappropriate, unless we 
 agree to say, " tame Hyaena, tame Wolf, tame Eat, domestic 
 Pheasant, domestic Swallow." They will come to their 
 keeper's call, and take food from his hand ; they will keep at 
 home, when they are completely prevented from ranging out 
 of bounds abroad : so far they are tamed and domesticated, 
 but no further, and never will be. To compare the relations 
 which exist between them and man, with those by which we 
 retain the Groose and the common Fowl, is about as correct as 
 to believe that the same temper and disposition influence the 
 faithful Dog and the wildest Jackal of the wilderness. I put 
 the case thus strongly, in order that it may be understood 
 clearly. The comparisons may be a little exaggerated, but 
 they will serve to raise the real truth into bolder and higher 
 relief. Many systematic naturalists, of deserved reputation, 
 have not been aware of the fact. Professor Low, speaking of 
 the effects of domestication on birds, says — " The Swan, the 
 noblest of all water Fowls, becomes chained, as it were, to our 
 lakes and ponds, by the mere change of his natural form." — 
 Domesticated Animals of the British Islands. Introduction ^ 
 p. liv. Chained, indeed ! I should like the learned Professor 
 to see a pair of unmutilated Swans cleaving the air with ex- 
 tended pinions. He evidently takes the Swan to be a do- 
 mesticated bird, and that it will not fly away, instead of that 
 it cannot. Listen to this : — "I have never kept Swans myself; 
 but those of some relatives a few miles off, sometimes pay us 
 a visit, performing their flight in an incredibly short time." 
 — H. H. "Waterton, who speaks only so far as he has seen, in 
 his vivid essays gives a similar account of the proceedings of a 
 
THE MUTE SWAN. 381 
 
 Swan, whom he indulged in the free use of his wings, for the 
 gratification of observing his graceful evolutions in the air.* 
 But, at present, the discovery, and introduction, and disper- 
 sion of a species of Swan, that would be really tame, and stay 
 at home without being tied by the wing, as prolific, and 
 having a valuable plumage and flesh as the common sort, 
 would be one of the most valuable boons which the great 
 London societies could now offer to the proprietors of limited 
 portions of fluvial and lacustrine waters. 
 
 The following extract may give a valuable hint ; unfortu- 
 nately,, it does not state whether the pinioning knife had been 
 used. " At the residence of the governor of the province at 
 Calix, I saw three Swans, which, having been taken when 
 young, were as tame as Domestic Geese, to which these birds 
 are so much alike in every respect, that I can have no doubt 
 of their belonging to one genus. Their bill is flat and black 
 at the extremity, as well as on the margins, convex and some- 
 what angular in the middle, so far at least that the swelling 
 part terminates in an angle. The middle is fleshy where the 
 oblong nostrils are situated ; the base, flat or quadrangular, 
 with two sinuses pointing upwards, and pale-coloured. The 
 margin is toothed, just like the Concha Veneris (Cypraea.)" — 
 Linnaeus' s Tour in Lajpland, vol. ii. Mr. Yarrell, who, of all 
 naturalists, is perhaps best acquainted with the nice distinc- 
 tions that separate the various species of Swans, seems to refer 
 the above account to the Hooper or Whistling Swan. 
 
 A service might thus be rendered to economical ornithology, 
 
 * "Its powers of flight were truly astonishing. It visited all the 
 sheets of water for many miles around. On taking its excursions 
 into the world at large, I would often say to it, in a kindly tone of 
 voice, as it flew over my head, ' Qui amat periculum, peribit in illo ;' 
 as I too clearly foresaw that foes would lie in ambush for it."— 
 Essays^ 2d Series, p. 122. 
 
382 THE MUTE SWAN. 
 
 by fairly trying the Hooper, of whose tameability Linnaeus 
 speaks so highly ; it is less graceful, however, bearing more 
 resemblance in its attitudes and carriage to the Canada Goose. 
 There is also the Polish Swan, that produces white Cygnets ; 
 and Bewick's Swan, if to be procured alive, might originate 
 a stock of great value for limited pieces of water, since it 
 averages in size one-third less than the Cygnus Olor. None 
 of the species can be less domestic than the Mute Swan, if it 
 would really open its heart to us; but, being a "game'^ bird, 
 of great pluck, it carries off matters with a high hand, and 
 temporarily conceals its hatred of the trammels in which it is 
 compelled to live ; the very webs of its feet being sometimes 
 slit, to retard it in its unkind chase after other Water Fowl. 
 It does not shrink from the severest weather which we experi- 
 ence, but faces the pelting storm, as if anchored, in the most 
 exposed parts of the lake. For those to whom the amount of 
 purchase-money is of little importance, there is the Black 
 Swan, a creature of much gentler manners, less in size, less 
 tyrannical to other birds, and indeed altogether taking in its 
 ways. It is strange that their price should still continue so 
 high, as they breed in this country, frequently, though not 
 abundantly, under circumstances that must be considered un- 
 favourable. I suspect, from the localities in Australia where 
 they were originally found, that they would thrive all the 
 better for an occasional marine diet, and like the Sheldrake, 
 enjoy now and then a treat of cockles and shrimps, with per- 
 haps a barrowful of sea-weed as the joint on which to cut 
 and come again. 
 
 Those who wish to make themselves acquainted with the 
 habits and dispositions, as well as the mere figures and de- 
 scriptions of animals, should be informed that all living crea- 
 tures cannot be divided into two distinct ranks of Wild and 
 Tame, as, for example, the Horse and the Zebra among 
 quadrupeds, and the Blue Eock Pigeon and the Ringdove 
 
THE MUTE SWAN. 38S 
 
 among birds, just as they would separate the red and the 
 white men on a chess-board, but that there is a most perplex- 
 ing intermediate multitude, neither wild nor yet tameable, but 
 usually spoken of as "familiar" or "half domesticated,'^ a 
 term without meaning — dodging, like camp-followers, on the 
 offskirts of human society, but determined never to enlist in 
 the drilled and disciplined ranks, playing the game of " off and 
 on," but always ending with the " off." Such are, among 
 many others, the Partridge, Rats and Mice, the House Spar- 
 row, the Water Hen, and, at a still greater distance, I believe 
 and fear, the whole genus of Swans proper. 
 
 Is there nothing resembling this amongst the human race ? 
 The mention of the word " G-ipsy'^ will set thought-capable 
 persons a-thinking. "Oh ! but they have been neglected, 
 uneducated, ill-cared for ! Educate ! Educate !" say well-in- 
 tentioned persons, who seem to declare that the soul of man is 
 a ca7-te hlanchej and who would thereby, unthinkingly, deny 
 the doctrine of Original Sin, as asserted by the Church of 
 England. But I have seen enough, both of bird and mankind, 
 to know that the heart of neither is a carte hlanche — you 
 cannot write, on either, whatever may be your pleasure there 
 to inscribe. Your duty, in both cases, is to take them as you 
 find them, and make the best you can of them for their in- 
 terest, which will be found eventually to coincide with your 
 own. 
 
 Swans, then, are ferse naturse to all intents and purposes : 
 of that there is no doubt, whatever the law of the matter may 
 be : but, although capricious birds, wild in their very nature, 
 like most living creatures they have some attachment to place. 
 The first point, therefore, is to settle them agreeably in their 
 destined home. Old birds are less likely to be contented with 
 a new abode, unless very distant from their former one, and 
 are seldom to be obtained in the market. Cygnets may be 
 procured every autumn ; if they have been put up to fat for 
 
3§i THE MUTE SWAN 
 
 some time, so much the better, as they will the sooner becouxe 
 tame, and contented with a small range — which I am sup- 
 posing to be the thing required. The disadvantage of having 
 Cygnets to begin swan-keeping with, is, that they are less 
 ornamental till they have attained their perfect plumage, and 
 the proper orange-colour of the bill, and that they do not 
 breed till their third year. It is not, however generally 
 known that the male is capable of increasing his kind a year 
 earlier than the female ; so that a brood may be obtained 
 from an old Hen, and a Cock-bird in his second year. In se- 
 lecting a pair, the great thing is to make sure of having two 
 birds of opposite sexes. Two Cock-birds will not live together, 
 and their mutual aversion would soon show that all was not 
 right ; but two Hens will — which is the case also with Pigeons. 
 A friend of mine procured a couple of Swans; they were 
 affectionate and happy in each other's society : in due time 
 they made their nest and laid. Great were the expectations; 
 such a plenty of Eggs; both Swans assiduous in sitting-— rather 
 suspicious that — the produce, addle-eggs. The two ladies 
 could not raise up a family between them. 
 
 In selecting any Water-birds whose plumage is alike in both 
 sexes, and which cannot therefore be distinguished with cer- 
 tainty, the best rule is to see them in the water, and take that 
 which swims deepest for the female, and that which floats with 
 greatest buoyancy for the male, remembering that all creatures 
 of the masculine gender have the largest lungs in proportion 
 to their size. The neck of the Cock-bird is usually thicker. 
 An experienced eye will, besides, detect a certain feminine 
 gentleness and modesty in the one, and an alacrity and bold- 
 ness in the other, which is a tolerably safe guide, as well as an 
 appropriate and becoming attribute to the creatures themselves. 
 It is cheaper in the end to give a fair price for a pair of old, 
 well-seasoned birds to begin with, than to undergo the care, 
 the delay, and perhaps the disappointment of nursing Cygnets 
 
THE MUTE SWAN. 385 
 
 through their youth of three long years^ duration. Bright- 
 ness and clearness of the orange on the bill, and full develop- 
 ment of the knob or "berry," indicate the complete maturity 
 of the bird. Supposing, however, the reader to have obtained 
 two Cygnets that are not mere friends, but actually husband 
 and wife, he will recollect that those reserved for fatting are 
 never pinioned, lest it should check their progress ; and he will 
 request the operation to be performed before he has them 
 home, in order that they may have the fewest possible disa- 
 greeable reminiscences connected with the spot where they 
 are to spend their lives. There are two ways of pinioning 
 birds ; at the elbow joint, and at the wrist. The amputation 
 of the part of the wing which corresponds to our hand is quite 
 sufficient to prevent the flight of the short-winged species, as 
 far as migration is concerned, disfigures them less than the 
 closer pruning, and still leaves them the means of escape from 
 a dog or a poacher, allows them now and then in their gam- 
 bols to fancy they are free, and to enjoy a sort of half-run, 
 half-fly, from the lawn into the water. Kindness, comfort, 
 and good feeding must be employed to keep them at home aa 
 far as possible; but the loss of the last joint only of the wing 
 will not be enough to prevent Swans from joining any travel- 
 ling companions who are on the way to the Artie circle. I 
 should recommend the female to be pinioned at the wrist, the 
 male at the elbow, trusting to their mutual attachment to keep 
 the less-maimed bird from deserting her mate. But however 
 it be done, let it be set about in a workmanlike manner; no 
 chopping nor hacking, nor hewing, nor butchering. Many 
 Cygnets are annually killed by the clumsy way in which their 
 wing is lopped off. They suffer from the shock to their nerv- 
 ous system as much as from haemorrhage. 
 
 A skilful operator will feel for the joint, divide the skin, 
 and turn the bone neatly out of the socket. I will allow him 
 
 33 
 
886 THE MUTE SWAN, 
 
 to shed just one drop of blood — no more. I would be as bard 
 upon him as Portia was upon tbe flesb-cutting Jew : 
 
 " This bond doth give here no jot of blood ; 
 The words expressly are a limb of swan ; 
 Take then thy bond, take thou thy limb of swan ; 
 But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed 
 One drop of cygnine blood, thy clumsiness 
 Shall brand the name of « Bungler' on thy back. 
 Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the limb ; 
 Shed thou no blood ; nor cut thou less nor more, 
 But just the very limb ; if thou tak'st more 
 Or less than just the limb, thou shalt bewail 
 The consequence." 
 
 If any brook runs into and from tbe pond wbere tbey are 
 to remain, tbeir escape tbrougb that cbannel must be pre- 
 vented by sbeep-netting, hurdles, pales, or other fencing, 
 which should be continued some distance inland, lest they 
 should walk away, if they cannot swim away. This pre- 
 caution will be found particularly necessary if there is any 
 main stream in the immediate neighbourhood. A feeding- 
 trough may be fixed for them in the pond, in the part where 
 it is most desirable that they should be accustomed to display 
 themselves. Those who are fastidious about the sight of such 
 an object, or who wish to have it thought that the Swans keep 
 so much in view from purely disinterested motives, (from simple 
 affection to their masters, not from the greedy love of corn,) 
 may contrive to have it hid beneath a bank, or behind a tree 
 or shrub. The trough must be fixed in the pond, on two firm 
 posts, within arm's length of the shore, raised high enough 
 from the water to prevent Ducks from stealing the food con- 
 tained therein, having a cover which lifts up by hinges, and 
 so forms a lid, to keep out Kats and Sparrows, and open only 
 in front. Many persons, however, feed their Swans by simply 
 throwing the corn into shallow water. They will skim the 
 
THE MUTE SWAN. 887 
 
 surface for the light grains which float, and then submerge 
 their heads in search of that which has sunk. Should any 
 Carp (that fresh-water Fox) be occupants of the same lake, it 
 will be found that they soon learn the accustomed hours of 
 feeding, and will come to take their share along with their 
 feathered friends. But it is cruel to locate a pair of Swans, 
 for the sake of their beauty, in a new-made piece of water, 
 whose banks and bottom are as barren and bare as the inside 
 of a hand-basin. A load or two of water-weeds should have 
 been thrown in, the previous spring, to propagate themselves 
 and afford pasturage. Sometimes, after an old-established 
 sheet has been cleansed at a great expense, it is thought that 
 Swans would now look well there, and they are forthwith 
 turned in, to be starved ; whereas they would thankfully have 
 undertaken the cleansing task for nothing. Swan-food exists 
 in proportion to the shallowness and foulness, not to the extent 
 and clearness of the water. A yard of margin is worth a mile 
 of deep stream ; one muddy Norfolk broad, with its oozy banks, 
 labyrinthine creeks, and its forests of rushes, reeds, and sedges, 
 is better, in this respect, than all "the blue rushing of the 
 arrowy Rhone," or the whole azure expanse of the brilliant 
 Lake of Geneva. 
 
 In confined waters. Swans require a liberal supply of food 
 in the autumn, when the weeds run short. It should be re- 
 membered that at this season they have to supply themselves 
 with a new suit of clothes, as well as to maintain their daily 
 strength. If they have not been taught to eat corn, and have 
 not acquired a notion of grazing, they will perish from starva- 
 tion as undoubtedly as a canary-bird neglected in its cage. 
 Young birds are apt to be fanciful or stupid, and have not 
 sense enough to come on the bank and eat grass, or pick up 
 the threshed corn that may be thrown down to them. Some- 
 times they may be tempted with a lock of unthreshed barley 
 or oats, thrown, straw and all, into the water, which they will 
 
8^8 THE MUTE SWAN. 
 
 instinetivelj lay hold of and devour. Cygnets wliicli have 
 been previously put up to fatten, will give little or no trouble 
 in this respect, besides the advantage of being accustomed to 
 the near approach of a keeper. 
 
 In one week I lost two Swans, a Cygnet, and a year-old 
 bird, from the consequences, I fear, of a few days' short diet 
 at moulting time. Suspecting foul play from some ill-natured 
 person, I caused a post mortem examination to be made of 
 that which died last; but, in a literal sense, nothing could be 
 found. The poor thing was empty and emaciated, though it 
 had been fed with corn two or three days before, and though 
 it had only to ascend a bank a foot high to enjoy a plentiful 
 feast of good grass. It had been seen sailing about, in apparent 
 health and spirits, the previous evening, and my mind is not 
 yet quite satisfied about the subject. The following remarks 
 may perhaps afford some clue in similar cases. 
 
 "Swans wandering by night, in search of watercresses 
 chiefly, are always in danger from the different vermin which 
 prey upon poultry and game — ^weasels, stoats, polecats, &c. 
 And Swans thus destroyed exhibit no wounds or marks upon 
 the body; but upon the head and neck, where, on a minute 
 inspection, the wounds are discovered through which the 
 vermin have sucked the life-blood, leaving the bulk so little 
 affected that the feathers are unruffled. The wounds appear 
 scarcely the size of a pin's head, but are generally above half 
 an inch deep. Geese and Turkeys are also liable to be de- 
 stroyed by these nocturnal marauders, which, like all beasts 
 of prey, sleep throughout the day." — Mouhray on Poultry, 
 8th edition, p. 128. 
 
 One would doubt the fact of so large a bird as the Swan 
 falling a victim to a wretched little weasel. But a relation 
 of mine had a pair of Canada Geese, birds little inferior in 
 size to the Swan, which in the breeding season were suffered 
 to shift their quarters from the farm-yard, their usual abode, 
 
THE MUTE SWAN. 389 
 
 to a neighbouring broad, where he had rights. After a time 
 one bird returned home alone, and its missing mate was at 
 length discovered, half-decomposed, on a sedgy islet in the 
 broad, in such a position as to indicate that it had been sur- 
 prised and killed by one of the larger weasels, a stoat, or a 
 polecat. 
 
 Considerable difference of opinion has been entertained re- 
 specting the diet of the Swan; some supposing it to be ex- 
 clusively vegetable, others believing that fish enter largely 
 into it. My own observations tend to prove that a very con- 
 siderable part of their nutriment is obtained from minute 
 insects and molluscs. The sluggish, weedy waters, where 
 Swans thrive best, abound with such creatures; and the Whale 
 is a sufficient example that the size of the prey is no index to 
 the magnitude of the creatures that subsist on it. Swans fall 
 off in condition very rapidly in autumn, however liberally they 
 are supplied with corn, immediately that the temperature 
 drops to any extent, and the minor inhabitants of the pools 
 disappear into their winter retreats. A very small fish might 
 now and then not come amiss to them, and spawn would be 
 greedily devoured. A Swan must be considerably more de- 
 structive in this respect than the poor little Water Ouzel, 
 which is so bitterl}'- persecuted along the salmon-streams of 
 Scotland, for the alleged injury it does to the ova of the fish. 
 The seeds of grasses, and the soft starchy parts of aquatic 
 plants, are no doubt a considerable portion of the daily ration 
 of the Swan. It seems to prefer sloppy, half-decayed vegeta- 
 tion, to that which is fresh and crisp. Spare garden-stuff, 
 spinach, and such like, thrown out for them, is liked all the 
 better for having lain soaking at least twenty-four hours, that 
 is, in such time as it has become sodden and attacked by small 
 fresh-water shell-fish. If their mode of feeding is watched, it 
 will be found to countenance the popular belief that many 
 birds live " by suction ;'^ they appear to suck down the pappy 
 
890 THE MUTE SWAN. 
 
 food^ which pleases them best, rather than fairly to crop and 
 swallow it. 
 
 Consequently, there is no bird in the least comparable to 
 the Swan as an agent for clearing a pond of weeds. It does 
 not, however, eat all weeds indiscriminately ; it seems scarcely 
 to touch the water-lilies, white and yellow, except perhaps in 
 a very young state, though it no doubt checks their increase 
 by seed. These, when too numerous, may be uprooted by 
 means of a long pole armed with an iron claw, and used either 
 from the shore or from a boat; once detached from their 
 moorings, they may be floated away. Swans seem to prefer, 
 first, what we call the lower forms of vegetation, the Con- 
 fervas and the Characese, then the Callitricha aquatica, or 
 Water Starwort, and the long list of Potamogetons, or Pond- 
 weeds : the rhizomata of all sorts of reeds, rushes, arrow-heads, 
 &c., are greedily torn up and devoured. A lake of half an 
 acre in extent is. quite large enough (with the assistance of 
 corn, refuse vegetables, and grass-clippings, when the weeds 
 run short) not only to maintain a pair of Swans, but to supply 
 an acceptable lot of fat Cygnets every autumn. Swans have 
 been kept successfully in a much more limited space. But in 
 one instance within my own knowledge, where the extent of 
 water is not a quarter of an acre, the annual brood, as soon as 
 they entered the pond in company with their parents, were 
 devoured by some enormous pet Pike that equally shared their 
 owner's favour — a hint that one cannot breed Swans and fresh- 
 water sharks at the same time and place. 
 
 The Swan, consuming the submerged refuse of plants, is 
 thus the scavenger of the waters, as the Hyaena and the 
 Vulture are of the land. In such countries as Holland, and 
 still more about the deltas of large rivers in the south of Europe 
 and western Asia, their influence must be very beneficial. In- 
 deed, we are compelled to believe that they have been bounti- 
 fully created to fulfil this office of cleansing the half-stagnant 
 
THE MUTE SWAN. 391 
 
 water-courses. Unlike the old dragons that could exhale a 
 pestilence and infect a whole district with their breath, these 
 winged tenants of the marsh swallow many a plague and fever 
 up. Not a little miasma has travelled harmlessly down the 
 throats of Swans. They can fatten on poisons, although igno- 
 rant of King Mithridates or his antidote. 
 
 A curious instance of the animal diet of the Swan once 
 occurred to myself. The common brown shrimp, it is well 
 known, inhabits, and thrives in waters less strongly im- 
 pregnated with salt than the open sea, which is not the case 
 with several other species: and I was desirous of trying 
 whether it were possible to stock with them a piece of water 
 absolutely fresh. A quantity were procured and brought 
 home in a fish-kettle of tidal river-water ; but the heat of the 
 weather at the time was much against the success of the ex- 
 periment. On arriving at their journey's end, the great ma- 
 jority were dead. They were all, however, turned out together : 
 a few swam off apparently unaffected by the unwonted element, 
 and were never seen or heard of afterwards; the rest sank to 
 the bottom ; when one of my Swans, expecting her feed of 
 cord, sailed up, and began feasting on the dead shrimps, crush- 
 ing them in her bill before she swallowed them, and appearing 
 much to relish her meal. 
 
 The difficulty there sometimes is in getting Swans to eat 
 corn, or to graze like Geese, shows that either diet is with them 
 an acquired taste. 
 
 At the proper age and season they will show a disposition to 
 'breed, if well fed, although restricted within comparatively 
 narrow limits. As soon as they have decidedly fixed upon the 
 spot for their nest, it will be an assistance to take them two 
 or three barrowfuls of coarse litter. Sedges and rushes are the 
 best, with perhaps a few sticks, which they can arrange at their 
 own pleasure. The number of Eggs laid will vary from five 
 or six to ten, but the number of Cygnets hatched seems, like 
 
392 THE MUTE SWAN, 
 
 the fall of lambs, to depend much upon the season and the 
 weather of the few preceding months. One year the three 
 pairs of Swans nearest to me had each a brood of nine — 
 twenty-seven Cygnets in only three families. But this is 
 above the average. I have, however, seen seven reared on a 
 very small moat. It is better not to gratify any unnecessary 
 curiosity respecting the Eggs; indeed the parent birds will 
 hardly allow it. The Cock makes great show, and often more 
 than show of fight against interlopers. A blow from his 
 pinion on land is better avoided ; and in the water he would 
 bother the strongest smimmer to escape from his fury. I was 
 once attacked by a Swan, when walking too intrusively near 
 his lady's lying-in bed ; he was keeping guard, by sailing in 
 short tacks backwards and forwards before her, but he left the 
 water to give me a forcible hint to go about my own business. 
 The only thing was to meet the threatened danger ; so, seizing 
 his neck in one hand and his outstretched wing in the other, I 
 tossed him as far into the middle of the stream as I could. He 
 seemed a little astonished for a few moments, but, lashing the 
 waters into foam, he would have renewed the attack, had I not 
 speedily withdrawn from his dominions. Coming to close 
 quarters with them is the surest mode of defence. The blow 
 of a Swan's wing, to take effect, must hit from a certain dis- 
 tance. It is clear they are mischievously minded at such times ; 
 but I think that the real danger to be apprehended has, from 
 policy, been exaggerated, that it may act as a sort of guardian 
 dragon to the tempting fruit of the Hesperides. There are 
 possibly persons living who would not be unwilling to have it « 
 believed that Hares and Pheasants are most formidable 
 creatures to encounter, especially on moonlight nights. 
 
 The Cygnets, when first hatched, are of a slaty gray, in- 
 clining to mouse-colour. The time of incubation is six weeks, 
 or thereabouts. A common notion in Norfolk is, that the 
 Cygnets cannot be hatched till a thunder-storm comes to break 
 
THE MUTE SWAN. 393 
 
 the shells, and that the Hen will go on sitting till the birth of 
 her young ones is complimented with that portentous salute. 
 A Swan might boast, with Owen Grlendower — 
 
 '* At my nativity 
 The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes, 
 Of burning cressets ; know, that at my birth 
 The frame and the foundations of the earth 
 Shook like a coward." 
 
 Let us not reply in the contemptuous language of Hotspur, 
 nor altogether reject the popular idea ; the close sultry weather 
 which sometimes for two or three days precedes a tempest, 
 would hasten the development of Chicks that were nearly ar- 
 rived at the hatching point. What effect electrical oscillations 
 have on animal life we as yet know not, but our own feelings 
 tell us they have some. 
 
 The happy parents will charge themselves with the entire 
 maintenance of their tender young, if they have but the range 
 of a large extent of river banks and shallow water ; will lead 
 them up the quiet ditches, point out the juicy blade, the float- 
 ing seed, the struggling insect, the sinuous worm ; will then 
 steer to shoals left by some circling eddy, and, stirring up the 
 soft sediment with their broad feet, show that minute but nu- 
 tritious particles may thence be extracted. As hunger is 
 satisfied and weariness comes on, the mother will sink in the 
 stream till her back becomes an easy landing-place, and the 
 nurslings are thus transferred, in a secure and downy cradle, to 
 fresh feeding-places. 
 
 But in a restricted beat they must not be left altogether to 
 themselves. A glently sloping bank will enable them to repair 
 at pleasure to the grassy margin. The old ones must have 
 plenty of corn, which they will by-and-by teach their young 
 to eat; tender vegetables from the kitchen-garden, such as 
 endive, lettuce, or cress, will help to sustain them, besides 
 attracting those soft-bodied water-creatures that are of all food 
 
394 THE MUTE SWAN. 
 
 the most needful. Pollard frequently scattered on the surface 
 of the pond will be of material assistance ; and whatever it is 
 found that they will eat, let them have in the greatest 
 abundance. Their growth is rapid ; their weight should De 
 considerable, with but little time to acquire it in. The period 
 cannot be extended much longer than from June to the end 
 of November. By Christmas they must all either be eaten, 
 or have emigrated, when the parents will begin to direct their 
 thoughts forward to a succeeding family. Confined Swans 
 sometimes get a sort of quid of mud, fibres, and gravel, under 
 their chins, which it is as well now and then to examine and 
 clean out. 
 
 A fat Cygnet is a capital dish, and deserves a higher repute 
 than it generally obtains. Its stately appearance on the table 
 is alone worth something. Those who have only a good-sized 
 pond — say from a quarter to half an acre of water — may rear 
 and fat an annual brood. In so small a space, the old birds 
 must of course share with their young the extra supply of fat- 
 ting corn ; but they will get through the winter the better for 
 it, and be more prolific in the spring. Neither they nor their 
 Cygnets should at any time be allowed to become poor. 
 
 When Cygnets are removed from their parents, to be fatted 
 in a regular Swan-pond, it is usual to separate them at the end 
 of August or the beginning of September. At first, grass is 
 thrown into the water to them twice a day, with their other 
 food; but this is not continued for more than a fortnight. A 
 comb of barley is the established allowance to fat each Swan. 
 The corn is put into shallow tubs, set just under water. The 
 birds are considered worth from 10s. to 12s. each when they 
 are "hopped'' or "upped" from their native streams; but 
 when brought into prime condition, 2?., formerly 2?. 2s. They 
 may occasionally be had for less, in which case they make a 
 cheap as well as a handsome dish to set before a large dinner 
 party. Their weight in the feathers varies from 25 lbs. to 
 28 lbs. and sometimes, though rarely, 30 lbs. They are never 
 
THE MUTE SWAN. 395 
 
 better than in the month of November, when the gastro- 
 nomical enquirer, who is yet unacquainted with their merits, 
 is recommended to give them a fair and impartial trial. They 
 may be had till Christmas, after which they are good for 
 nothing. A bird weighing 28 lbs. before Christmas, has been 
 known to shrink to 17 or 18 lbs. by the end of January, in 
 spite of high feeding. Therefore, make hay while the sun 
 shines, Mr. Epicure. As, in the spring, the snow-drop gives 
 way to the primrose and the violet, so, in autumn, the Swan 
 yields its place on the board to the Turkey and the Guinea 
 Fowl. If to-day is lost, to-morrow the opportunity will have 
 flown, in higher concerns than mere eating and drinking. Now 
 — or, perhaps, never. 
 
 The Swan-feasts that seem to have left the most pleasing 
 impressions on the palates of the partakers have been solem- 
 nized as early as the month of September. As to the mode 
 of dressing, those artists who are skilled in the treatment of 
 venison will easily cook Swan, viz., with a meal crust over it, 
 to keep the gravy in. Instead of stuffing it with sage and 
 onions, like a G-oose, (vulgar condiments to vulgar birds,) use 
 rump-steak chopped fine, and seasoned with cayenne and salt. 
 When browned, and served to an admiring circle, let it have 
 rich gravy and currant-jelly, the latter hot as well as cold, in 
 respectful attendance. — And is that all? No, the best re- 
 mains behind. The hash next day is worth riding twenty 
 miles to eat. Nay, more ; the giblets make soup before which 
 ox-tail sinks into insignificance. The mere writing about it 
 has made me hungry. Mr. Yarrell gives some information on 
 the subject, which I will not wrong him by pirating. See 
 '^ British Birds,'' vol. iii. p. 127. He has also collected a 
 curious list of swan-marks.* 
 
 *One of my correspondents in South Carolina, Hugh Wilson, Esq., 
 informs me that, in the winter season, Swans are quite numerous in 
 that region, and are frequently taken alive. — Ed. 
 
396 
 
 CHAPTER XXVL 
 
 THEWILDGOOSE. 
 
 This Bird is called by European writers, tlie Canada G-oose. 
 It is capable of domestication, and, as a Wild Bird, breeds in 
 the Arctic regions, going south on the approach of winter ; its 
 migrations north, are the sure sign of returning spring. Over 
 all the Atlantic States, at least, the inhabitants are quite fa- 
 miliar with its passing and repassing. 
 
 It is said, with what truth I know not, that, though the 
 Wild Groose will breed with the Domestic, yet the half-breds 
 will not breed with each other, 
 
 Mr. Dixon is under the impression, that what he calls the 
 Canada, (the same as our Wild Goose,) the Bernicle, and the 
 Brent Goose, are all occasionally mistaken for each other. 
 This he attributes to what he calls, and justly too, the compil- 
 ing system of Zoological literature; for he says, that the 
 history of the Anser Canadensis, in a state of nature, and in 
 captivity, has been so well and so fully written by the ablest 
 ornithologists, both of England and America, that for me to 
 attempt giving complete details, would be either to restate the 
 same facts in less appropriate language, or to commit a whole- 
 sale plunder of compilation upon the stores of preceding au- 
 thors. But, although unwilling to be guilty of this kind of 
 pillage, I must necessarily make some reference to the labours 
 
CANADA OH WILD GOOSE. 
 
THE WILD GOOSE. 397 
 
 of others. The bird is far too important, in every respect, to 
 be entirely omitted in the present series ; and there are a few 
 points respecting it, which ought to be brought into more pro- 
 minent notice. Our Poultry books mostly call it a variety of 
 the Common Goose. But it is no more a variety of Groose 
 than the Swan is a variety of Groose. Cuvier seems to doubt 
 whether it is a Gi;.oose at all, and says that it cannot be properly 
 separated from the true Swans. Audubon kept some three 
 years, and, though the old birds refused to breed in confine- 
 ment, their young, which he had captured together with them, 
 did. He states their period of incubation to be twenty-eight 
 days, which is a shorter time than one would have imagined. 
 That circumstance alone, if correct, marks a wide distinction ; 
 and every statement of his, which I have had the opportunity 
 of testing, has proved accurate. I suspect that at a future 
 time, our scientific naturalists will deem it advisable to insti- 
 tute several new genera, for the reception of various water- 
 fowl that are now huddled into one or two; particularly if 
 they allow the diet and habits of the birds, as well as their ex- 
 ternal form, to influence the rules of classification. 
 
 Canada Geese eat worms and soft insects, as well as grass 
 and aquatic plants, which the typical Geese never do ; with us 
 they do not breed till they are at least two years old, and so 
 far approach the Swan. Like the Swan, also, the male appears 
 to be fit for reproduction earlier than the female. But Audu- 
 bon says, ^' That this tardiness is not the case in the wild state, 
 I feel pretty confident, for I have observed having broods of 
 their own, many individuals, which, by their size, the dullness 
 of their plumage, and such other marks as are known to the 
 practised ornithologist, I judged to be not more than fifteen 
 or sixteen months old. I have therefore thought, that in this, 
 as in many other species, a long series of years is necessary for 
 counteracting the original wild and free nature which has been 
 given them ; and, indeed, it seems probable that our attempts 
 
398 THE WILD aoosE. 
 
 to domesticate many species of wild fowls, which would prove 
 useful to mankind, have often been abandoned in despair, when 
 a few years more of constant care might have produced the 
 desired effect/' The Canada Goose, in spite of its original 
 migratory habits, which it appears in almost every case to 
 forget in England, shows much more disposition for true do- 
 mestication than the Swan, and may be maintained in perfect 
 health with very limited opportunities of bathing. 
 
 The manner in which these birds are usually kept here, is 
 neither consistent with their natural habits, nor calculated to 
 develop their usefulness and merit. They are mostly retained 
 as ornaments to large parks, where there is an extensive range 
 of grass and water : so far, all is as it should be. But they 
 are there generally associated with other species of Geese and 
 water fowl, all being of a sociable disposition, and forming 
 one heterogeneous flock. In the breeding season, they neither 
 can agree among themselves to differ seriously, nor yet to live 
 together in peace ', the consequence is, that they interrupt each 
 other's love-making, keep up a constant bickering, without 
 coming to the decisive quarrels and battles that would set all 
 right; and in the end we have birds without mates, Eggs unferti- 
 lized, and now and then a few monstrous hybrids, which, how- 
 ever some curious persons may prize them, are as ugly as they 
 are unnatural, and by no means recompense by their rarity for 
 the absence of two or three broods of healthy legitimate gos- 
 lings. Many writers, Audubon among others, from whom 
 one would have expected a more healthy taste, speaks highly 
 of the half-bred Canada Goose. They are very large, it is 
 true, and may merit approbation on the table ; but with what- 
 ever other species the cross is made, they are hideously dis- 
 pleasing. An old-fashioned plan of sweeping chimneys was 
 to tie the legs of a Goose, pull her up and down by a string, 
 and let her dislodge the soot by the flapping of her wings. 
 This sounds cruel, and is not humane. But is it more barba- 
 
THE WILD GOOSE. 399 
 
 rous to send a Goose down a chimney, than a child up it ? 
 This by the way : but all half-bred Canada Greese, that I have 
 seen, look as if they had kindly undertaken to act as substi- 
 tute for the poor little climbing boy or girl. 
 
 Not only are they suffered thus to herd with other varie- 
 ties, but the broods of successive years are allowed to remain, 
 and annoy, and encroach upon the privileges of their parents, 
 (which would be made all square by their natural migrations,) 
 till the park gets evidently overstocked to the most unprac- 
 tised eye — it has really been so long before — and then a 
 few surplus individuals are disposed of, mostly at an age and 
 season when they are good for little except their feathers, if 
 for them. This mode of mismanagement accounts for the low 
 esteem in which the flesh of the Canada Groose is held in Eng- 
 land. I never met with any one who had tasted it here, that 
 did not pronounce it detestable ; though a gentleman who had 
 lived on it for weeks in Canada, still remembered it with 
 relish. In one instance within my own knowledge, the extra 
 stock were given to the poor, who could not or would not eat 
 them. But it is impossible that the thousands of people who 
 eagerly destroy the bird in its passage to and fro, can be mis- 
 taken in the opinion they have for years held of its value as 
 an article of diet. Audubon gives the clue to our error ; he 
 says, " the goslings bred in the inland districts, and procured 
 in September, in my opinion far surpass the renowned Can- 
 vas-back Duck" — the most famous tit-bit that America pro- 
 duces. He adds, " every portion of it is useful to Man ; for be- 
 sides the value of the flesh as an article of food, the feathers, 
 the quills, and the fat are held in request. The Eggs also 
 afford very good eating." 
 
 Instead of this slovenly mode of breeding and feeding, 
 which no one would think of adopting with the most ordinary 
 Goose that ever grazed upon a common, I would, not unad- 
 visedly, recommend every flock of Canada Geese to be in No- 
 
400 THE WILD GOOSE. 
 
 vember immediately reduced to two, (in order to guard against 
 accident to one,) or, at the most, three pairs, in the very 
 largest park, and greatest extent of water, possessed by our no- 
 bility. Such pairs should be retained, as differ as much in age, 
 as may be consistent with their breeding powers ; and also, if 
 possible, those should be selected which have been observed to 
 entertain a mutual dislike, in order that they may fix their 
 nests at a distance from each other. They should previously 
 have become attached to their keeper, though not to their co- 
 mates, that they may suffer him to approach and feed them 
 and their Goslings liberally, and so bring them into thoroughly 
 good condition by killing-time. 
 
 The stock-birds ought to be well supplied with corn during 
 winter when the grass grows little or not at all, to promote 
 early laying; but they usually have just half a dozen kernels 
 of barley thrown down to them now and then. No one can 
 blame them, if they occasionally stray out of bounds in search 
 of food ; but they are then accused of restlessness, shyness, 
 and so on. They have been literally starved out. It is no 
 migratory impulse that sets them on the move, but over- 
 crowding and under-feeding; in proof of which, they will 
 generally return of their own accord. I am speaking of birds 
 that have been bred in captivity for several generations. 
 Give them room and food enough, and they will stay con- 
 tentedly at home. Curtail their supplies, and they become 
 like "darkness" in Spofforth's well-known glee; "flies away'' 
 is ever and again the burden of their song. The Canada 
 Goose is a very large bird, and cannot be expected to live and 
 get fat upon air. If a farmer's wife were to treat her Turkeys 
 as the Canada Goslings are usually served, they would at 
 Christmas be just as tough and stringy, and uneatable, if in- 
 deed they survived the pinching regimen so long. Many 
 people in the country make the same difference in their treat- 
 men*^ of their ornamental Fowls and their ordinary stock, that 
 
THE WILD GOOSE. 401 
 
 they do between their garden and their farm. The garden 
 goes without a spadeful of manure from one end of a seven 
 years' lease to another ; the turnip-field is glutted with guano 
 and all sorts of good things. And so, exotic birds, procured 
 at considerable expense, or received as highly valued presents 
 from friends, are turned out in a grassy wilderness, to shift 
 for themselves as best they may, while the Turkeys and Gos- 
 lings are taken as much care of as their master's children. To 
 a late inquiry after the fate of a pair sent to a distance, I got 
 for answer, " One flew away, and the other the Swan killed." 
 The growing Canada Geese must sensibly miss the abundance 
 of their native breeding-places, when confined to these short 
 commons; and it is not just in us, after such neglect and 
 peouriousness on our part, to complain that they neither fat 
 well nor reproduce at an early age. 
 
 From each pair of Geese, properly looked after, between six 
 and nine Goslings may fairly be calculated upon; which, 
 killed in the autumn, when really plump, would be very ac- 
 ceptable at home, or, as presents to unprejudiced persons. 
 Managed thus, they would be little, or, according to Audubon, 
 not at all inferior to a fatted Cygnet. And their picturesque 
 effect, as accessaries in landscape gardening, would surely be 
 greater in distinct uniformly tinted groups, moving here and 
 there across the scene with a decided object, namely, the con- 
 ducting of their young, than as a motley crowd of diversely- 
 coloured, variously-shaped creatures, huddled together in 
 unmeaning confusion. The woodland-park should be stocked 
 on different principles to the aviary and the menagerie. Thus 
 it is as a spot of pure white that the Swan gives such a spark- 
 ling brilliancy to the picture ; and the point of deepest shade 
 (an adjunct of no less importance to the painter) may be made 
 more intense and effective by the judicious employment of the 
 Canada Goose. 
 
 When a pair are received from a distance, the best way of 
 
 34* 
 
402 THE WILD GOOSE. 
 
 settling them in their new abode is to confine them with hur- 
 dles and netting, as near as possible to the spot where it 
 is wished they should eventually make their nest. Those 
 from the hands of dealers will generally be cowed or timidly 
 tame; but young birds, fresh taken from their parents, or 
 adult ones that have been removed from their old home to a 
 new one, will sulk and be shy. For the first few hours they 
 need have nothing to eat, only plenty of water to drink. 
 Their keeper should show himself to them, and speak to them 
 kindly, as often as his leisure will permit; when he guesses 
 that they begin to fell the cravings of hunger, a small handful 
 of corn may be thrown down to them, a cabbage or two, and 
 half a dozen earth-worms. It is, of course, supposed that they 
 have been located on the grass. It is likely that at first they 
 will not eat in the presence of a stranger : they may be left 
 for an hour or so, when, if they have availed themselves of 
 his absence, he may give them a little more from time to time. 
 Proceeding thus by kindness, familiarity, and very frequent 
 visits, he will soon secure their confidence, and be able to form 
 his own judgment when they may be sufi'ered to range at 
 large. 
 
 The young are active, self-helping little things. Their 
 down is of a dirty gray, a colour very difficult to describe, with 
 darker patches here and there, like the young of the China 
 Goose. Their bill, eyes, and legs are black. They give no 
 trouble in rearing. The old ones lead them to the places 
 where suitable food is to be obtained. The keeper, by a 
 liberal supply of corn, can bring them forward for the table 
 better than by shutting them up to fat ; and before Christmas 
 the parents should be alone again in their domain. They will 
 continue to increase in size and beauty for some years, and should 
 have been pinioned at the first or second joint of the wing, 
 (reckoning from the tip,) according to the scope they are to 
 be allowed, in the manner described for the Swan : the young 
 
THE WILD GOOSE. 403 
 
 that are to be eaten had better remain unmutilated. I be- 
 lieve that old birds, killed in the autumn, after they have 
 recovered from moulting, and before they have begun to think 
 about the breeding-time, would make excellent meat, if cut 
 into small portions, stewed slowly five or six hours with 
 savoury condiments, and made into pies the next day. " ^Tis 
 the soup that makes the soldier,^^ say the French. By roast- 
 ing or broiling similar "joints," we lose the large quantity of 
 nutriment contained in the bones and cartilages, besides 
 having to swallow tough what we might easily make tender. 
 The young (as well as the old) are, in America, salted and 
 boiled; they would probably please most English palates 
 better if cooked and served Swan-fashion. A Committee of 
 Taste having assembled on January 22, 1850, to investigate 
 the edible merits of a well-conditioned Canada Goose, pro- 
 nounced them to be of a high order, rivalling those of Swan, 
 which must be taken as the standard of excellence, if we at all 
 defer to the opinion of the Churchman entertained by Chau- 
 cer's Franklin : 
 
 "Now certainly he was a fayre prelat : 
 He was not pale as a forpined gost ; 
 A fat Swan loved lie best of any rost." 
 
 Audubon's description of their manners is- most vivid, and, 
 as far as I have observed, quite accurate, and not at all ex- 
 aggerated. The young male has a frequent disposition to 
 neglect his own mate, and give himself up to unlicensed com- 
 panionship. We had one that deserted his partner, to her 
 evident grief, and made most furious love to one of a flock of 
 Tame Greese, separating her from the rest, not permitting any 
 other water-bird to swim near her, stretching out his neck 
 stiffly on a level with the water, opening his red-lined throat 
 to its utmost extent, hissing, grunting, sighing, trumpeting, 
 winking his bright black eyes, tossing his head madly, and 
 all kinds of folly. We did not choose to permit such conduct ; 
 
404 THE WILD GOOSE. 
 
 but as often as we killed and roasted the object of his affec- 
 tions, he immediately selected another leman, invariably the 
 "Ugliest of the surviving females. One short, squat, rough- 
 feathered, ill-marked Groose, with a thick bill and a great 
 gray top-knot, was his especial favourite. When the Michael- 
 mas murders had extirpated the whole race he so admired, he 
 returned reluctantly and coldly to his former love. The best 
 remedy in such a case is to divorce them at once, and ex- 
 change one out of the pair for another bird. 
 
405 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 
 
 'Tis the opinion of some that our Common Coose is a mon- 
 grel, as the Dunghill Fowl, made up of several varieties as the 
 G-ray-leg, White-fronted, Bean, and Pink-footed Groose, to 
 each of which it occasionally shows more or less affinity. As 
 to the practical qualities of this Fowl, we may say, on the best 
 testimony, they are very considerable. Mr. Taggart, in a re- 
 cent letter to me, says, " Of all Poultry, Geese can be raised 
 with the greatest ease, in the shortest time, and' at the least 
 expense, provided you live in the country, or in a-village where 
 grass grows in the streets and alleys. I have onlyreared them 
 once, but I am certain Groslings can be brought up on grass 
 alone ; though, of course, they grow much faster, if better fed. 
 I fed mine well, on Indian-meal and milk, and sometimes on 
 corn — this, in addition to good pasture — and see the result — 
 they are of common blood, and not remarkable for size. At 
 33 days old, one weighed 5 J lbs. ; at 47 days, 6 lbs. 15 oz. ; 
 54 days, 8 lbs. 3 oz. ; 64 days, 8 lbs. 14 oz. ; at 93 days, Hi 
 lbs., when I killed him. For Eggs, Greese are no ^ great 
 shakes,^ but, to use a Crockettism, ' they're hell on a grow.' " 
 On this subject Mr. Dixon says : — 
 
 We apply the term, " Domestic'' to the Groose, using only 
 " Tame" for the Duck, to signify a much closer intimacy with 
 and submission to the control of Man ; and, as a further contrast, 
 the domestication of the common Goose, like that of the Fowl, 
 
406 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 
 
 hides itself, as we pursue it; in the remotest depths and 
 obscurest mists of ancient history. We have already hinted, 
 that by the Hebrews, as by many modern naturalists, it would 
 probably be classed generically with the Swan, and so be in- 
 cluded in their list of unclean birds. Among the Greeks and 
 Romans, it seems to have been the only really domesticated 
 Water Fowl ', and appears to have held exactly the same place 
 in their esteem, that it still retains, after the lapse of two or 
 three thousand years, in our farm-yards, and on our commons. 
 Indeed, a modern writer may escape a great part of the trouble 
 of composing the natural history of the Domestic Goose, if he 
 will only collect the materials that are scattered among 
 ancient authors. A very early notice of them occurs in Ho- 
 mer. Penelope, relating her dream, says, 
 
 *' A team of twenty geese (a snow-white train !) 
 Fed near the limpid lake with golden grain, 
 Amuse my pensive hours." 
 
 Pope^s version is both flat and inaccurate. The ^^snow- 
 white train," (I would bet Mr. Pope a dish of tey — as he 
 rhymes it — that Penelope's Geese were not snow-white, what- 
 ever the Ganders might be,) the " limpid lake,'' the " pensive 
 hours," are not Homeric, but Popeian. The literal translation 
 of the Greek is, "I have twenty Geese at home, that eat wheat 
 out of water, and I am delighted to look at them." We omit 
 the rest of her vision, as little to our purpose; but her mode 
 of fatting them, and her complacent chuckle at seeing them 
 thrive, could not be surpassed by the most enthusiastic mem- 
 bers of the Royal Agricultural Society. If she entertained 
 her numerous suitors with fat roast Goose, it may partly ex- 
 plain why they stuck to her in so troublesome and pertinacious 
 a manner. 
 
 The alarm given at the approach of the army of the Gauls, 
 by the Geese kept in the capitol of Rome, occurred so long 
 
THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 407 
 
 hack as A. u. c. 365, or 388 years before Christ. The passage 
 is worth extracting : 
 
 " Thus they were employed at Yeii, whilst, in the mean 
 time, the citadel and capitol at Rome were in the utmost 
 danger. The Gauls either perceived the track of a human 
 foot, where the messenger from Yeii had passed, or, from 
 their own observation, had remarked the easy ascent at the 
 rock of Carmentis : on a moonlight night, therefore, having 
 first sent forward a person unarmed, to make trial of the way, 
 handing their arms to those before them, when any difficulty 
 occurred, supporting and supported in turns, and drawing each 
 other up, according as the ground required, they climbed to the 
 summit in such silence, that they not only escaped the notice 
 of the guards, but did not even alarm the dogs, animals par- 
 ticularly watchful with regard to any noise at night. They 
 were not unperceived, however, by some Greese, which, being 
 sacred to Juno, the people had spared, even in the present 
 great scarcity of food ; a circumstance to which they owed 
 their preservation ; for by the cackling of these creatures, and 
 the clapping of their wings, Marcus Manlius was roused from 
 sleep, — a man of distinguished character in war, who had been 
 consul the third year before ; and snatching up his arms, and 
 at the same time calling to the rest to do the same, he hastened 
 to the spot, where, while some ran about in confusion, he, by 
 a stroke with the boss of his shield, tumbled down a Graul who 
 had already got footing on the summit ; and this man's weight, 
 as he fell, throwing down those who were next, he slew several 
 others, who, in their consternation, threw away their arms and 
 caught hold of the rocks, to which they clung. By this time 
 many of the garrison had assembled at the place, who, by 
 throwing javelins and stones, beat down the enemy, so that the 
 whole band, unable to keep either their hold or footing, were 
 hurled down the precipice in promiscuous ruin." — Jytv^f lib. 
 V. cap. 47 — Baker's Translation. 
 
408 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 
 
 Lucretius, referring to this event (lib. iv. 686) attributes the 
 vigilance of the Geese to their fine sense of smell : — " The 
 White GroosC; the preserver of the citadel of the descendants 
 of Romulus, perceives at a great distance the odour of the hu- 
 man race.'' 
 
 Virgil, alluding to the same occurrence, (^n. viii. 655,) 
 ascribes the preservation of the capitol to an ^^ Argenteus 
 Anser" (a Silver Groose). Both these poets, therefore, inform 
 us that the Domestic Goose of their day differed as much from 
 the Gray-leg or the White-fronted, as it does at present, a cir- 
 cumstance which the reader is requested to bear in mind. 
 
 Pliny, about four hundred years later, remarks, (lib. x. 26,) 
 *' The Goose is carefully watchful ; witness the defence of the 
 capitol, when the silence of the dogs would have betrayed 
 
 every thing It is possible, also, that they may have some 
 
 discernment of wisdom. Thus, one is said to have stuck per- 
 petually to the Philosopher Lacydis, never leaving him, either 
 in public, in the baths, by night, or by day.'' And again, at 
 xxvii. — " Our folks are wiser, who are aware of the goodness 
 of their liver. In those that are crammed it increases to a 
 great size ; when taken out, it is laid to swell in milk mixed 
 with honey. And it is not without cause that it is a matter 
 of debate who was the first to discover such a dainty, whether 
 Scipio Metellus, of consular dignity, or M. Seius, a Eoman 
 knight at the same epoch. But (what is certain) Messalinus 
 Cotta, the son of Messala, the orator, discovered the method 
 of cooking the web of their feet, and fricasseeing them in small 
 dishes along with Cocks' combs. I am ready heartily to 
 attribute the merit to the kitchen of either. It is wonderful 
 that this bird should travel on foot from the Morini (in the 
 north of France) to Rome. Those which are tired are carried 
 to the front; so that the rest push them on by a natural 
 erowding In some places they are plucked twice a year." 
 
THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 409 
 
 A great deal of this is the same as has happened with us, with 
 a slight change of names and places. 
 
 It is very natural to inquire whence so remarkable and 
 valuable a bird was originally obtained ; but the conclusion 
 generally arrived at, appears to me, to be inconsistent, not 
 merely with truth, but even with probability — namely, that it 
 results from the crossing and intermixture of several wild spe- 
 cies. None of these ancient accounts indicate any such fact ; 
 but, on the contrary, declare that the Domestic Groose was in 
 the earliest ages (dating with respect to Man) exactly what it 
 is now. The very same arguments that are used to show that 
 the Domesticated Goose is a combination of the Gray-legged, 
 White-fronted, and Bean Geese, would equally prove that the 
 Anglo-Saxon race of Men is derived from a mixture of the 
 Red Indian, the Yellow Chinese, and the Tawny Moor. I 
 cannot, therefore, help suspecting very strongly that we shall 
 err in referring the parentage of the Common Goose to any 
 existing species. Mr. Yarrell hesitatingly says, that " the 
 Gray-legged Goose is considered to be the origin from which 
 our valuable domesticated race is derived ;'^ and instances the 
 union of a pinioned wild Gray-legged Gander with a Domestic 
 Goose that had been assigned as his mate.* But those who 
 have kept many different species together, well know what un- 
 accountable attachments they are frequently forming, and that 
 they are quite as likely to pair, and rear young, with individuals 
 of a race apparently the most alien to themselves as with their 
 own stock. Indeed, among Geese, it will be difficult to de- 
 
 * These birds have produced young, which, by breeding in-and-in, 
 have again produced young resembling themselves ; thus giving sup- 
 port to Mr. Yarrell's conjecture. I record the fact. Many readers 
 may think it opposed to the views here expressed : it is the only one 
 I have ever met with at all tending to contradict them, 
 ^■b S5 
 
410 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 
 
 fine the limits of species, at least if the fertility or infertility 
 of hybrids be the test. 
 
 But the supposition that all our domesticated creatures must 
 necessarily have an existing wild original, is a mere assumption ; 
 and it has misled, and is likely to mislead, investigators as far 
 from the truth as did the old notion about fossil organic re- 
 mains, that they were Lithoschemata, as Aldrovandus has it, 
 sketches in stone, abortive efforts of Nature, imperfect em- 
 bryos, instead of fragmentary ruins of a former state of things. 
 Some naturalists seem already to have had misgivings that 
 such a theory respecting domestic animals is not tenable. Ac- 
 cording to the Rev. L. Jenyns, — 
 
 ^' The Domestic Groose is usually considered as having been 
 derived from the G-ray-legged Groose, but such a circumstance 
 is rendered highly improbable from the well-known fact that 
 the Common Gander, after attaining a certain age, is inva- 
 riably (?) white. Montague, also, observes that a specimen of 
 the Anser ferus, which was shot in the wing by a farmer in 
 Wiltshire, and kept alive many years, would never associate 
 with the tame G-eese. In fact the origin of this last is un- 
 known.^^ — Jenyns' s 3Ianual of Vertebrate Animals, p. 222, 
 
 The origin of the Domestic Goose is indeed unknown, if we look 
 to Man, or his influence, to have originated so valuable and 
 peculiar a species ; but not unknown, if we believe it to have 
 been created by the same Almighty Power who animated 
 the Mammoth, the Plesiosaurus, the Dinornis, and the Dodo. 
 For let us grant that the Gray-legged Goose is the most pro- 
 bable existing parent of the domestic sort. Now, even that is 
 becoming a rare bird ; and the more scarce a creature is in a 
 wild state, the scarcer it is likely still to become. Suppose the 
 Gray-legged Goose extinct; by no means an impossibility. 
 Then those who must have a wild original from which to de- 
 rive all our domestic animals would be compelled to fall back 
 on some other species still less probable. It is surely a simpler 
 
THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 411 
 
 theory to suppose tliat creatures that were cotemporary with 
 the Mammoth, have, like it, disappeared from the earth in 
 their wild state, but have survived as dependents on Man, than 
 to engage in attempts at reconciling incongruities and dis- 
 crepancies, which, after all, cannot satisfy the mind, but leave 
 it in as doubtful a state as ever. 
 
 Still less is the White-fronted the ancestor of the Domestic 
 Goose. Entirely white specimens of the Alhifrons are indeed 
 occasionally hatched in confinement, and the Common Groose 
 may now and then exhibit traces of an admixture or dash of 
 blood with it, as it certainly does, occasionally, of a cross with 
 the China Goose (CycnoUes)} but these are mere impurities, 
 which wear out, and the race returns to the well-known do- 
 mestic type. And it will be allowed by most persons who 
 have possessed a variety of these birds, and who have watched 
 and tended them day by day, that the Domestic Goose is suffi- 
 ciently separated from the Gray-legged by the colour of its 
 feet and legs ; from the White-fronted by the extreme dif- 
 ference of its voice, manner, time of incubation, colour of the 
 eyes, greater thickness of neck, convexity of profile, and many 
 other little particulars that are more easily perceived than 
 described. 
 
 It might be urged, as a further essential difference, that the 
 Domestic Goose is polygamous, whereas all Wild Geese that 
 we are acquainted with are monogamous. It is true that Wild 
 Geese, in captivity, will couple with the females of other species ; 
 but that takes place by their utterly neglecting their own mate 
 for the time, not by entertaining two or more mistresses at 
 once. It will be replied, that habits of polygamy are the 
 effects of domestication -, but what proof have we of such an 
 assertion? Domestication has not yet induced the Pigeon 
 and the Guinea Fowl to consort with more than one partner; 
 and the Swan, called Domestic by some writers, remains obsti- 
 nately and even fiercely faithful in its attachments. 
 
412 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 
 
 The Domestic Grander is polygamous, but he is not an in- 
 discriminate libertine : he will rarely couple with females of 
 any other species. Hybrid common Gi-eese are almost always 
 produced by the union of a Wild Grander with a Domestic 
 Goose, not vice versa. 
 
 Of the Domestic Goose there really is but one variety, indi- 
 viduals of which are found varying from entirely white plumage, 
 through different degrees of patchedness with gray, to entirely 
 gray colouring, except on the abdomen. The Ganders are 
 generally, not invariably, white. Such are sometimes called 
 Embden Geese, from a town of Hanover, famous also for 
 groats. Fine white Geese may doubtless be hatched at 
 Embden, as well as in Middlesex, and, if actually imported, 
 may claim the name of their native place, but cannot on that 
 account be allowed to form themselves into a separate clan. 
 High feeding, care, and moderate warmth, will induce a habit 
 of prolificacy, which becomes in some measure hereditary. 
 The season of the year at which the young are hatched (and 
 in England they may be reared at any season) influences their 
 future size and development. After allowing for these causes 
 of diversity, it will be found that the Domestic Goose consti- 
 tutes only one species or permanent variety. 
 
 Mr. Bagshaw, of Norwich, annually fats several thousand 
 Geese for the London market. He has sometimes as many 
 as two thousand Geese at once on his extensive premises. 
 The birds are collected from all parts, wherever, in short, they 
 can be most advantageously obtained. Some are English, more 
 are from Holland, but the greater part are procured from 
 Prussia. Having been obligingly permitted to inspect this 
 vast assemblage, I could find nothing that had the least claim 
 to be called a variety, though they came from so many dif- 
 ferent quarters. The nearest approach to it was that some 
 had bills of a dull black, others had the nail of the bill black, 
 others again had it white, but there was nothing either in 
 
THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 413 
 
 form, voice, gait, or attitude, to afford the least suspicion that 
 there exists any sub-species of the Domestic Groose. One bird 
 was pointed out by the proprietor as differing from the rest. 
 He was a half-bred with the China Groose. 
 
 The Toulouse Goose, which has been so much extolled and 
 sold at such high prices, is only the common domestic, en- 
 larged by early hatching, very liberal feeding during youth, 
 fine climate, and perhaps hy age, I am in possession of 
 Geese, hatched at a season when it was difficult to supply 
 them with an abundance of nourishing green food, that are as 
 much under-sized as the Toulouse Goose is over-sized; they 
 are all Domestic Geese, nevertheless. It is for the sake of 
 enlarging the growth of the Goslings, not for the mere purpose 
 of supporting their strength, that the breeders cram them night 
 and morning with flour-and-egg pellets. Grass alone would 
 suffice for their sustenance, but extra nourishment makes 
 extra-sized birds. Toulouse Geese are fine, six foot high, 
 grenadier individuals of the Domestic Goose — that is all. 
 Some were to be seen not far from the Horse Guards, in 
 proximity to their human representatives, in the autumn 
 of 1848. 
 
 The importance of feeding all growing creatures abundantly 
 and well, cannot be too often forced upon the attention of the 
 breeder, whether of fowls or quadrupeds. A pertinent illus- 
 tration of its effects, even upon Man, is given by the Rev. John 
 Williams, in his "Missionary Enterprises," p. 512. "The 
 men are strong and tall, being frequently upwards of six feet 
 high, with limbs firm and muscular, but not heavy and clumsy. 
 This is especially the case with the chiefs, and more remark- 
 ably so with those of Tongatabu and the Friendly Islands, whose 
 form and bearing are as stately as their movements are natural 
 and free. The women are inferior to the men ; but yet they 
 often present the most elegant models of the human figure. 
 
 " Captain Cook attempted to account for the superior size 
 
 36* 
 
414 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 
 
 of the chiefs, by supposing that they were a distinct race ; but 
 in this we think he was incorrect. It may, perhaps, be at- 
 tributed in part to their progenitors, who were probably raised 
 to the chieftainship on account of their physical superiority, 
 or of some achievements which resulted from it; partly to 
 their mothers, who were generally selected by the chiefs for 
 their form and stature ; and partly to their treatment during 
 the years of childhood and youth. As soon as the son of a 
 chief was born, two or three of the finest and most healthy 
 women were selected to nurse it; and while performing this 
 office, which they frequently did for three years, they were 
 provided with abundance of the best food. A child of Tino- 
 mana, of Rarotonga, had four nurses, and he was a little 
 monster. With this commencement, their subsequent train- 
 ing corresponded. I think these causes sufficient to account 
 for the superiority of the chiefs, many of whom are certainly 
 splendid specimens of human nature.'^ We think similar 
 causes sufficient to account for the superior size of the Toulouse 
 Geese, which really do look like common Geese as they would 
 appear if seen through the long-focused magnifying glass of a 
 raree-show. 
 
 The following will be pronounced a mere case of malforma- 
 tion, not the springing up of a new variety 
 
 " I have noticed that in a flock of Geese here, from which 
 many Goslings are reared every season, there is always one 
 bird, and sometimes two, with the two farthest joints of one 
 wing growing as if they had been twisted round, out of their 
 proper position. None of the old Geese have this peculiarity, 
 nor, as far as I can ascertain, does it arise either from ill-treat- 
 ment or the forcing themselves through narrow places. It 
 seems rather to be a natural lusus of the wing joint, and one 
 would think must effectually prevent their flying.^^ — R. IT. 
 
 The value and usefulness of Geese is scarcely calculable. 
 We omit what is owing to them, as having furnished the most 
 
THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 415 
 
 powerful instrument wielded by tlie hand of Man. But in a 
 mere material point of view, and reckoning on the very smallest 
 scale, we will suppose that a village green supports only fifty 
 brood Geese. The owners of these would be dissatisfied if 
 they got but ten young ones from each in the year, besides 
 Eggs; this gives five hundred Geese per annum, without 
 taking the chance of a second brood. Multiply five hundred 
 by the number of village greens in the kingdom, and we still 
 form a very inadequate estimate of the importance of the bird. 
 And all this with scarcely any outlay. The little trouble they 
 demand, of being secured at night and let out in the morning, 
 of setting the Geese, and " pegging" the Goslings, is a source 
 of amusement and interest to thousands of aged and infirm 
 persons, in whose afiections their Geese stand second only to 
 their children and relations. What a pity it is that such 
 cheerful commons should be ever converted into barren 
 thickets and damp Pheasant covers, to afi"ord a school for 
 young sportsmen and rural policemen to practise their several 
 arts in. 
 
 The only damage they do, lies in the quantity of food they 
 consume; the only care they require, is to be saved from 
 thieves and starvation. All the fears and anxieties requisite 
 to educate the Turkey and prepare it for making a proper ap- 
 pearance at table, are with them unnecessary; grass by day, a 
 dry bed at night, and a tolerably attentive mother, being all 
 that is required. Roast Goose, fatted, of course, to the point 
 of repletion, is almost the only luxury that is not thought an 
 extravagance in an economical farm-house; for there are the 
 feathers, to swell the mistress's accumulating stock of beds; 
 there is the dripping, to enrich the dumpling, pudding, or 
 whatever other farinaceous food may be the fashion of the 
 country for the servants to eat; there are the giblets, to go to 
 market or make a pie for a special occasion, and there is the 
 
416 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 
 
 wholesome, solid, savoury flesli for all parties in their due 
 proportion. 
 
 They are accused, by some, of rendering the spots where 
 they feed offensive to other stock ; but the secret of this is 
 very simple. A Horse bites closer than an Ox, a Sheep goes 
 nearer to the ground than a Horse, but, after the sharpest 
 shaving by Sheep, the Groose will polish up the turf, and grow 
 fat upon the remnants of others. Consequently, where Geese 
 are kept in great numbers on a small area, little will be left 
 to maintain any other grass-eating creature. But if the com- 
 mons are not short, it will not be found that other grazing 
 animals object to feed either together with, or immediately 
 after a flock of Geese. 
 
 Many instances of the longevity of the Goose are on record, 
 and it is needless to repeat them. I have myself seen one 
 upwards of thirty years of age, followed by a thriving family; 
 but they are capable of reaching double and treble that extent 
 of life. Indeed, the duration of the existence of the Goose 
 seems to be indefinitely prolonged, and not terminable by the 
 usual causes of decay and old age, (like Pliny's Eagle, which 
 would live for ever, did not the upper mandible become so 
 excessively curved as to prevent eating, and cause death from 
 starvation ;) and reminding us of the accounts, apparently not 
 fabulous, which we hear in these modern times, respecting the 
 Pelican and the cartilaginous fishes. One thing is certain, 
 that housewives do not consider Geese to be worth much for 
 breeding purposes, till they are four or five years old. They 
 will lay and produce some few young ones in the course of 
 their second summer; but older birds fetch much higher 
 prices as stock. Three or four Geese may be allotted to one 
 Gander ; the male bird is known by being, generally, white, and 
 also by his bold and patronizing carriage. He is an attentive 
 sentinel while his dames are incubating, but renders them no 
 personal assistance by taking his turn upon the nest — an error 
 
THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 417 
 
 which seems to have originated with Goldsmith. When the 
 young at length go forth to graze, he accompanies them with 
 the greatest parental pride and assiduity. 
 
 The Goose has the additional merit of being the very ear- 
 liest of our Poultry : — 
 
 " On Candlemas day 
 Good housewife's Geese lay; 
 On Saint Valentine 
 Your Geese lay, and mine." 
 
 In three . months, or at most four, from leaving the Egg, 
 the birds ought to be fit for the feather-bed, the spit, and the 
 pie. It is better, either to eat them at this early stage as 
 green Geese, or, to keep them another six months, till after 
 they have moulted and renewed their feathers, when they can 
 be fatted till they grow into the ponderous, satisfactory succu- 
 lent joint which suits a healthy Michaelmas or Christmas 
 appetite. It will be found unprofitable to kill them between 
 these two epochs of their life. They will be fatted by being 
 shut up in society, in a clean, quiet out-house, with plenty of 
 dry straw, gravel, and fresh water, and are there to be supplied 
 for a certain length of time, continued according to the weight 
 desired to be laid on, with all the barley or oats they can eat. 
 The kind of grain used depends upon custom or convenience, 
 some advocating barley, others oats; a mixture might perhaps 
 be the most effectual. Barley-meal and water is recommended 
 by some feeders; but full-grown Geese that have not been 
 habituated to the mixture when young, will occasionally refuse 
 to eat it. Cooked potatoes, in small quantities, do no harm. 
 A first-rate delicacy, though rather expensive, would be pro- 
 duced by following Penelope's system of feeding, and giving 
 the birds steeped wheat. 
 
 The Goose is not only very early in its laying, but also very 
 late. It often anticipates the spring in November, and after- 
 
418 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 
 
 wards, when spring really comes in March, it cannot resist its 
 genial influence. The autumnal Eggs afford useful employ- 
 ment to Turkeys or Hens that choose to sit at unseasonable 
 times : and the period of incubation, thirty days, is less tedious 
 than that required for the Eggs of China Geese or Musk 
 Ducks. A dry, airy lean-to or shed, and the gleanings of a 
 kitchen-garden, are all that are needful to rear the young. 
 Their great enemy will be the cramp, which may be kept off 
 by making them sleep on dry straw, and turning them out 
 with their mother for an hour or two every mild and open day. 
 When winter Groslings are expected, a Michaelmas planting 
 (not sowing) of lettuce and endive should be made ; the latter 
 will be found particularly serviceable, as also the tender parts 
 of turnip tops. A living turf laid down in the out-house and 
 changed occasionally, will be relished. A little boiled rice, 
 daily, assists their growth, with corn, of course, as soon as they 
 can eat it. A rushlight burnt in a Goose-house during the 
 fifteen or sixteen hours of darkness in winter, has been suc- 
 cessfully employed to induce the Goslings to eat. And when 
 it is remembered that the candle costs the fraction of a penny, 
 while an early green Goose is worth from seven shillings to 
 half a guinea, it will be seen that the expense is not thrown 
 away. Almost all breeders of Goslings administer, by cram- 
 ming, long half-dried pellets, composed of raw Egg and wheat 
 flour ; it is an old practice, but is unnecessary, except during 
 midwinter. 
 
 We give Columella's directions for rearing : — 
 ^' And the Gosling, while he is very little, is shut up in a 
 pen for the first ten days, and fed along with his mother : 
 afterwards, when the fine weather permits, he is led forth into 
 the meadows, and to the fish-ponds, And care must be taken 
 that he is neither stung by nettles, nor sent fasting to the 
 pasture, but has his appetite satisfied beforehand with chopped 
 endive or lettuce leaves. For if he goes to pasture still weak 
 
THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 419 
 
 and hungry, lie tugs at the shrubs and more solid herbs so 
 pertinaceously as to break his neck." — Columella, lib. viii. 
 chap. xiv. The Roman school of poulterers were in great fear 
 of nettles for their Goslings, and as a counter-irrative remedy, 
 it was proposed to place nettle-roots under the sitting Geese; 
 but one would say that the nettles, not the Goslings, had the 
 greatest reason for alarm. 
 
 Geese are slaughtered by being bled from the internal parts 
 of the throat, — a slow and cruel method. They, as well as 
 Ducks, should be let out to the pond a few hours before exe- 
 cution, where they will purify and arrange their feathers as 
 neatly as if they were going to their wedding instead of to 
 their death. Adult birds are almost exempt from disease. 
 When three-quarters grown, they occasionally, though not 
 often, " go light," as the country people call it, and waste and 
 die like a person in a consumption. This usually happens 
 only with birds that are shut up too closely to fat. The 
 remedy is liberty and grass. 
 
 I have seen the shell of a Goose's Egg that had contained 
 three yolks. 
 
 The flight of the Domestic Goose is quite powerful enough, 
 especially in young birds, to allow them to escape that way, 
 were they so inclined. In the autumn, whole broods may be 
 seen by early risers, taking their morning flight, and circling 
 in the air for matutinal exercise, just like Pigeons when first 
 let out of their locker. 
 
420 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 Op this twrK^TV, three beautiful specimens were exhibited at 
 the late Agricultural Show, held in the county of Philadelphia. 
 They were owned by a gentleman, whose name I forget, living 
 in the vicinity of Tacony, near this city. In introducing this 
 variety to the reader, Mr. Dixon says : — 
 
 There is a venerable joke about a Spanish Don, who knocked 
 at a cottage door to ask a night's lodging. " Who's there ? 
 What do you want ?" said the inmates. ^^ Don Juan Jose 
 Pedro Antonio Alonzo Carlos G-eronimo, &c., &c., &c., wants to 
 sleep here to-night." ^'G-et along with you," was the reply: 
 '' how should we find room here for so many fellows ?" The 
 China Groose is in the same position as the Spanish Don. It 
 has names enough to fill a menagerie. China G-oose, Knob 
 Goose, Hong-Kong-Goose, Asiatic Goose, Swan Goose, Chinese 
 Swan, (Cygnu^ Sinensis, CuviER,) Guinea Goose, Spanish 
 Goose, Polish Goose, Anas and Anser cygnoides, Muscovy 
 Goose, and probably more besides. 
 
 Confusion, therefore, and perplexity, are the certain lot 
 of whosoever attempts to trace this bird in our books of na- 
 tural history. Its place of birth has excluded it from all mo- 
 nographs or limited ornithologies. In very few systematic 
 works is it mentioned at all, which is remarkable of a bird so 
 striking in its appearance, which there is every reason to be- 
 

 oo 
 
 O 
 
 ^ ' 1 illll 
 
THE CHINA GOOSE. 421 
 
 lieve must have been domesticated for a long period. The un- 
 certainty that has existed as to its correct name, and really na- 
 tive country, may be one cause of this. Like the Jews or the 
 Gripsies, it has not been allowed to claim a place among the 
 natives of any one region ; and, like many others furnished 
 with a variety of aliases, it ends by being altogether excluded 
 from society. 
 
 The old writers call it the Guinea Groose, for the excellent 
 reason, as Willughby hints, that in his time it was the fashion 
 to apply the epithet ^' Gruinea'' to every thing of foreign and 
 uncertain origin.* Thus, what we at this day erroneously call 
 the Muscovy Duck, was then called the Guinea Duck. Not 
 long back it was common with us to refer every strange or new 
 object to a French source. Spanish Goose is another title, 
 probably as appropriate as Guinea Goose. Bewick has given 
 an admirable wood-cut of this bird, but he has evidently se- 
 lected the Gander, which is taller and more erect than the fe- 
 male, though to both may be applied Willughby's description, 
 '^a stately bird, walking with its head and neck, decently 
 erected."" Bewick calls it the Swan Goose. The tubercle at 
 the base of the bill, the unusual length of neck, and its grace- 
 ful carriage in the water, give it some claim to relationship 
 with the aristocracy of lake and river. Cuvier (Grifl&ths' edi- 
 tion) goes further, calls it at once Cygnus Sinensis, Chinese 
 Swan, and says that this and the Canada Goose cannot be 
 separated from the true Swans. A Goose, however, it de- 
 cidedly is, as is clear from its terrestrial habits, its powerful 
 
 ■5^ The epithet "Indian" has also answered the same accommo- 
 dating purpose. " The lesser kind I conjecture to be the right 
 Mambrine or Syrian Goat, although some of the late "writers call it an 
 Indian Goat ; the reason is, because (as hath beene said) they cal al 
 strange beasts by the names of Indians, if they find them not in their 
 owne countrey." — Toj)sell''s History of Foure-footed Beasts, p. 236. 
 
422 THE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 bill, its thorny tongue, and its diet of grass. And therefore 
 we have determined to call it the China Groose, concluding 
 that Cuvier is right about its home,* and other authors about 
 its goosehood. 
 
 There is something in the aspect of this creature, the dark- 
 brown stripe down its neck, its small bright eye, its harsh 
 voice, its ceremonious strut, and its affectation of seldom being 
 in a hurry, which seems to say that it came from China. It 
 would perfectly harmonize in a picture of Chinese still life ; or 
 in a Chinese garden, with artificially arranged rocks, dwarf 
 trees, crooked trellises, and zigzag pathways; or, in a more 
 extended landscape, it would group well on a broad river, 
 beside a boat filled with shaven fishermen, with their trained 
 cormorants and pig-tailed children. If it does come from 
 China, it has no doubt been domesticated for many hundred 
 years, perhaps as long as the Peacock or common Fowl. They 
 may be made to lay a large number of Eggs by an increased 
 supply of nourishing food. This is very different from the 
 disposition to " lay everlastingly," as seen in the Gruinea 
 Fowl, and some varieties of the domestic Hen — the Black 
 Spanish for instance; because the China Groose does in the 
 end feel a strong desire to incubate as soon as her protracted 
 laying is done, whereas entire exemption from the hatching 
 fever is the great merit of the " everlasting layers." If 
 liberally furnished with oats, boiled rice, &c., the China Goose 
 will in the spring lay from twenty to thirty Eggs before she 
 begins to sit, and again in the autumn, after her moult, from 
 ten to fifteen more. I have never observed any disposition to 
 sit after the autumnal laying It is not, as in the Guinea 
 Fowl, a spontaneous flow of Eggs, for which the ordinary diet 
 
 *In journeying overland, (in books of Travels,) we meet witli the 
 Swan Goose more frequently as we approach Tartary and China. 
 
THE CHINA GOOSE. 423 
 
 of the creature is sufficient, but is as mucli dependent on feed- 
 ing as the fatness to which a bullock is brought. A Groose 
 that I supplied with as much oats as she could eat, besides 
 grass, potatoes, and cabbages, laid Eggs larger than ordinary ; 
 one of them (with a double yolk) weighed seven and a half 
 ounces, nearly half a pound. I need hardly say that double- 
 yolked Eggs are very rare, except among birds that are highly 
 fed. 
 
 Another peculiarity is their deficient power of flight, com- 
 pared with the rest of their congeners, owing to the larger 
 proportionate size of their bodies.* The common Domestic 
 Goose flies much more strongly than its brother from China. 
 Indeed, of all Geese this is the worst flyer. There is no oc- 
 casion to pinion them. While the Canada Goose thinks little 
 of a journey from the North Pole or thereabouts to Great 
 Britain, while the Egyptian Goose pays us joccasional visits 
 from Africa, while the merry little Laughing Goose, if tamed, 
 
 * "In opposition to this statement, permit me to say, that the 
 China Geese, if true bred, fly very well, at a considerable height and 
 long distances. As a proof that they fly, many years since, a la- 
 bourer coming to his work at Capesthorne, near Macclesfield — Mr. 
 Davenport's — found an Egg on the grass in the park evidently drop- 
 ped by some bird that had flown over, as no such Geese were known 
 there. The Egg was set, and produced a Chinese Goose, which lived 
 more than twenty years, having died about three years since, ap- 
 parently of old age. I have often seen the Goose, and sent a China 
 Gander to solace her declining years, but she would not allow him to 
 come near her. Last year, I used often to admire the fine sweeping 
 flights of five of this breed near my house. I am quite sure as to 
 many of this breed flying quite well and strong." — W. D. F. I can 
 only account for this by the fact that there are more varieties of the 
 China Goose than is commonly suspected, as nothing like the power 
 of flight here described, the truth of which cannot be doubted, has 
 ever fallen under my own observation, at home or elsewhere. 
 
424 THE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 and allowed the use of its wings, is almost as much at ease in 
 the air as a Pigeon, the Chinese Goose can hardly manage to 
 flutter across a lawn, to get out of the way of a frisky spaniel. 
 
 "Said the Tame Goose to the Wild one, ^On such a day I 
 shall fly away.'' Said the Wild Goose to the Tame one, ^ I 
 shall fly away on such a day, if it be the will of Allah.' At 
 the appointed time the Wild Goose performed her yearly mi- 
 gration ; the Tame Goose cannot fly to this day." If China, 
 instead of Egypt, had produced the above fable, we should be- 
 lieve that the Anas cygnbides was the vain, boastful bird. 
 
 The large number of Eggs laid by these birds has led some 
 persons to imagine that, like Guinea Fowls, they were inex- 
 haustible, so that when at last the Goose did make her nest in 
 earnest (which may be known by her mixing her own down 
 with the straw) no Eggs had been reserved for the poor thing 
 to sit upon. The best plan is to date the Eggs with a pencil, 
 as they are laid, and to consume only those which are more 
 than three weeks old. They are usually very late with their 
 broods, but will rear them well enough if they are allowed to 
 take their own time, and do it after their own manner. My 
 China Goose has now (June, 1848) laid thirty Eggs, without 
 intimating any intention of sitting, but she has annually 
 brought off a family for the last five years, and I doubt not she 
 will again this season. When the fit comes, she will take pos- 
 session of her milk -pan, which stands in a large boarded coop, 
 like a dog-kennel. Once duly enthroned there, she will main- 
 tain her seat with proper perseverance and tenacity. A neigh- 
 bour discarded his China Goose because she was always found 
 standing over her Eggs, instead of sitting upon them. But 
 those were only the preliminaries, the overture to the per- 
 formance. Hurry no man's cattle ; and you may as well try 
 to hurry the Emperor, as the Goose of China. Their time of 
 incubation is five weeks. I have always found them steady 
 sitters when they once begin in earnest, and exemplary parents. 
 
THE CHINA GOOSE. 425 
 
 The Groose, on leaving her nest to feed, covers her Eggs care- 
 fully. Any difficulty in rearing them results from want of 
 proper management. If, for instance, when the bird does at 
 length sit, she is insufficiently supplied with Eggs, or with those 
 which have been kept too long ; or if she be permitted to be 
 disturbed by dogs, &c. ; if she be suffered to steal a nest, and 
 sit on more than she can cover — things will go wrong. The 
 great number of Eggs laid may perhaps cause an uncertainty 
 that each one is properly fecundated. A China Goose, after 
 sitting a fortnight, was driven from her nest by a sow that had 
 been permitted to get loose : the Eggs were eaten, shells and 
 all, and the poor bird expressed her agony of mind, both by 
 her cries and actions. After she became a little calm, her 
 nest was re-made and supplied with fresh Eggs. She continued 
 to sit for three weeks longer, as well as could be. At the end 
 of the usual period of five weeks, she gave up her task as use- 
 less, believing the Eggs to be addled, which they were not ; 
 and we unfortunately knew no language by which we could 
 persuade her that if she would only persevere for another fort- 
 night, the reproach of barrenness would be taken away from her. 
 
 These are annoying cases to practical ornithotrophists. But 
 even here the difficulty need not have been insurmountable; 
 and where there's a will there's a way. A worthy old couple 
 had the misfortune to have their sitting Groose killed in one 
 of her daily promenades, a few days before the Groslings were 
 ready to leave the shell. What was to be done? The Eggs 
 were cooling fast; no time was to be lost. Difficult emer- 
 gencies excite brilliant efforts of genius. In an instant the 
 old man was undressed and in bed. To him the orphan Eggs 
 were transferred. When he grew tired of his lying-in, the 
 old lady took her turn, till the Goslings were safely hatched. 
 
 The prevailing colour of the plumage of the China Goose is 
 a brown, which has aptly been compared to the colour of 
 wheat. The different shades are very harmoniously blended, 
 
426 THE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 and are well relieved by the black tuberculated bill, and the 
 pure white of the abdomen. Their movements on the water 
 are graceful and swan-like. It is delightful to see them, on a 
 fine day in spring, lashing the water, diving, rolling over 
 through mere fun, and playing all sorts of antics. Slight 
 variations occur in the colour of the feet and legs, some having 
 them of a dull orange, others black : a delicate fringe of minute 
 white feathers is occasionally seen at the base of the bill. 
 These peculiarities are hereditarily transmitted. But the 
 White China Groose, if it be not specifically distinct, is a 
 variety so decidedly marked as to demand a separate notice. 
 
 The male is almost as much disproportionately larger than the 
 female as the Musk Drake is in comparison with his mate. 
 He is much inclined to libertine wanderings, without, how- 
 ever, neglecting to pay proper attention at home. If there is 
 any other Grander on the same premises, they are sure to dis- 
 agree : one of the two had better be got rid of. Both male 
 and female are, perhaps, the most noisy of all Greese : at night, 
 the least footfall or motion in their neighbourhood is sufficient 
 to call forth their clanging and resonant trumpetings. This, 
 to a lone country-house, is an advantage and a protection. 
 Any fowl-stealer would be stunned with their din before he 
 captured them alive, and the family must be deaf indeed that 
 could sleep on through the alarm thus given. But by day it 
 becomes a nuisance to the majority of hearers, and has caused 
 them to be relinquished by many amateurs. One is inclined 
 to address them as O'Connell did the uproarious fellow who 
 was interrupting his speech, ^' I wish you had a hot potato in 
 your mouth." Or they might take a lesson from ^^Elian's 
 Greese ; — " The Gleese, when shifting about Mount Taurus, are 
 afraid of the Eagles, and each one of them, taking a stone in 
 its mouth, that they may not cry out, as if putting a gag upon 
 themselves, fly through their course in silence, and in this 
 manner generally quite escape the notice of the Eagles." — 
 
THE CHINA GOOSE.^ 427 
 
 Book V. chap. 29. We, however, prefer that our Geese 
 should silence themselves with grass and corn. 
 
 The Eggs of the China Groose are somewhat less than those 
 of the domestic kind, of a short oval, with a smooth thick 
 shell, white, but slightly tinged with yellow at the smaller end. 
 The Goslings, when first hatched, are usually very strong. 
 They are of a dirty green, like the colour produced by mixing 
 Indian ink and yellow ochre, with darker patches here and 
 there. The legs and feet are lead-colour, but afterwards 
 change to a dull red. If there is any thing like good pas- 
 turage for them, they require no further attention than what 
 their parents will afford them. After a time a little grain will 
 strengthen and forward them. If well fed, they come to ma- 
 turity very rapidly. In between three and four months from 
 the time of their leaving the shell, they will be full-grown 
 and ready for the spit. They do not bear being shut up to 
 fatten so well as common Geese, and therefore those destined 
 for the table are the better for profuse hand-feeding. Their 
 flesh is well-flavoured, short, and tender; their Eggs are ex- 
 cellent for cooking purposes. I have heard complaints of their 
 being a short-lived species, from good authority, and that the 
 Ganders at least do not last more than ten or a dozen years. 
 The instance above-mentioned does not show them to be long- 
 lived. I cannot verify the facts, as my own experience with 
 these birds extends only to about eight years; but it is quite 
 in opposition to the longevity ascribed to other Geese. Hy- 
 brids between them and the common Goose are prolific with 
 the common Goose ; the second and third cross is much prized 
 by some farmers, particularly for their Ganders :* and in many 
 
 *"I can warmly recommend the cross of the China Gander with 
 the common Goose, as producing finer birds and of much finer flavour; 
 I have kept them for years. Indeed, I like the cross better every 
 season, and have given Ganders to several friends to adopt the same 
 
428 THE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 flocks the blood of the China Groose may often be traced by 
 the more erect gait of the birds^ accompanied by a faint stripe 
 down the back of the neck. With the White-fronted Goose 
 they also breed freely. 
 
 In the very clear and useful ^^ Manual of British Vertebrate 
 Animals," by the Kev. Leonard Jenyns, this bird is recorded 
 as Cygnus Guineensis, or Guinea Swan, another synonyme; 
 though it is hesitatingly added, ^'Native country somewhat 
 doubtful." 
 
 plan." — W. D. F. "They frequently couple "with our tame Geese, 
 and produce a bastard kind between both ; they are excellent meat 
 •when young and fat, being of a different and pleasant taste from 
 that of the common Goose.'' — Albin, vol. i. p. 87. 
 
 ** I cannot say that I admire the edible qualities of the Canada 
 Swan, for such it properly is. We tried one here a few years back, 
 and only voted it, I believe unanimously, extremely good for nothing. 
 The knob-fronted, or Swan Goose, is really a good bird, and I have 
 known some families which regularly kept them for the table in pre- 
 ference to the common bird." — E. of D. 
 
 "In the government of Penda, all kinds of Poultry are of a large 
 size ; the Geese are mostly of a spurious breed from the Chinese, or 
 those with a swan-neck ; and in every village Pigeons fly about in 
 abundance." — Pallas, South Russia, vol. ii. p. 18. 
 
429 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE BREMEN GOOSE. 
 
 The following communication was kindly furnished me by 
 Samuel J^ues, Jr., Esq., accompanied with portraits of his 
 beautiful Bremen Geese. This, and the Chinese or Hong 
 Kong variety, may be regarded as standing at the head of 
 their class. 
 
 Ten Hills Farm, neon" Boston, Mass., Dec. 12th, 1850. 
 J. J. Kerr, M. D. : 
 
 Dear Sir, — My father — Col. Samuel Jaques — has had in- 
 timation from his friend, Dr. Eben Wight, of Boston, that you 
 were about to publish a work on the subject of Domestic 
 Fowls, Birds, &c., and that you would be pleased to receive 
 from my father some information relative to his Bremen 
 Geese — a name they have received in consequence of their 
 having come from that place originally. I have my father^s 
 notes to guide me in making the following statements, as well 
 as his approbation that you should be furnished with them. 
 
 In the winter of 1820, a gentleman, a stranger, made a 
 brief call at my father's house ; and, in course of conversation, 
 casually mentioned, that, during his travels in the interior of 
 Germany, he had noticed a pure white breed of Geese, of un- 
 usual size, whose weight, he supposed, would not fall much 
 short of twenty-five pounds each, providing they were well fed 
 and managed. At that period, a friend of my father's — the 
 
430 THE BREMEN GOOSE. 
 
 late Eben Rollins, Esq., of Boston — kept a correspondence 
 with the house of Dallias & Co., in Bremen, and at his re- 
 quest, Mr. Rollins ordered, through that firm, and on my 
 father's account, two Granders and four Geese, of the breed 
 mentioned by the stranger gentleman. The G-eese arrived to 
 order in Boston, in the month of October, 1821; and I append 
 a copy of " Directions relative to the Geese from Bremen,'' 
 given to the captain of the ship in which they arrived. I 
 hold the original in my possession ; and transcribe it verh. 
 et lit. : — 
 
 "Emden, 17th August, 1821. 
 
 "The captain who is to take over these six Geese will find 
 the cages a little large; however, it is necessary that their 
 lodgings be sufficient wide, if they shall arrive sound in 
 America. Two Geese which were sent to Bremen last year 
 in a small box, died on their arrival there; being water-birds, 
 they want a much more careful management than Fowls; they 
 ought to have constantly fresh water in abundance ; a quantity 
 of good sand and muscle scells, (shells,) serving for their di- 
 gestion, must be put into their feed-box ; there ought to be 
 always sand and straw below in their cage for litter; also above 
 the cage, as the birds perish otherwise by insects. The Geese 
 must be feeded ; they used to pick the straw from above down 
 to the feet. The Geese must be feeded with good clean oats, 
 and sometimes with cabbage leaves.'' 
 
 Ever since my father imported the Bremen Geese, he has 
 kept them pure, and bred them so to a feather — no single in- 
 stance having occurred in which the slightest deterioration of 
 character could be observed. Invariably the produce has been 
 of the purest white — the bill, legs, and feet, of a beautiful 
 yellow. No solitary mark or spot has crept out on the plum- 
 age of any one specimen, to shame the true distinction they 
 deserve of being a pure breed : like, with them, always has 
 produced like. 
 
THE BREMEN GOOSE. 431 
 
 The original stock has never been out of my father's pos- 
 session ; nor has he ever crossed it with any other kind, since 
 it was imported in 1821. 
 
 I find, by reference to my father's notes, that, in 1826, and 
 in order to mark his property indelibly, he took one of his 
 favourite imported Greese, and, with the instrument used for 
 cutting gun-waddings, made a hole through the web of the 
 left foot. This was done on the 26th June : and now, in 
 1850, the same Groose, with the perforation in her foot, is 
 running about his poultry-yard, in as fine health and vigour as 
 any of her progeny. She has never failed to lay from twelve 
 to sixteen Eggs every year, for the last twenty-seven years, 
 and has always been an excellent breeder and nurse, as has 
 all of the stock and off'spring connected with her. I had the 
 curiosity to weigh one of her brood of 1849, when nine months 
 old exactly, and his weight, in feather, sent up 22 lbs. in the 
 opposite scale. This hugeous Anser has been preferred to 
 breed from, the coming season. 
 
 In 1832, a bull-dog killed several of my father's Greese, and, 
 among them, the two Granders originally imported. For the 
 last eighteen years he has bred by his young Gi-anders — putting 
 them indiscriminately to parents and sisters — and reserving 
 the best of the produce, male and female, for breeding. In 
 so doing, he has never experienced any deterioration in weight, 
 feather, or stamina, as has been exemplified in the above-men- 
 tioned instance of the nine-months old Grander, so produced, 
 and whose food was almost exclusively grass. 
 
 As quality of flesh, combined with weight, is a main con- 
 sideration, I wish to mention, regarding the former, that the 
 flesh of the Bremen Groose is very dilFerent from that of any 
 of our best domestic varieties. It does not partake of that 
 dry character which belongs to other and more common kinds, 
 but is as tender and juicy as the flesh of a wild Fowl; besides, 
 it shrinks less in the process of cooking, than that of any other 
 
432 THE BREMEN GOOSE. 
 
 Fowl. Some of tlie keenest epicures have declared that the flesh 
 of the Bremen Groose is equal, if not superior, to that of the 
 celebrated Canvas-back Duck. There is assuredly some comfort, 
 not uncombined with ease, in carving a bird that weighs seven- 
 teen pounds, and taking a slice from the breast, so long as to 
 be obliged to cut it into two, that one-half may cover no more 
 than the width of a common dinner-plate. 
 
 The Bremen Groose inclines to commence laying at an earlier 
 period than this northern latitude favours, which is in the latter 
 part of February. To give the young fair play, it is not ad- 
 visable that hatching should be finished before the first of June. 
 The mode of prevention used by my father is as follows : — 
 
 The whole of the breeding stock, male and female, are put 
 into a dark room — say about the twentieth of February — and 
 kept there until about the tenth day of April. When in 
 durance they are well fed once a day with corn, and allowed 
 suf&cient water all along to drink. Once a week they are 
 allowed to get out for one hour, to wash and plume themselves, 
 and are then shut up again. While thus confined, they lose 
 the inclination to breed, and do not assume it while they 
 are kept shut up ; but, in eight or ten days after they are set 
 at liberty, the disposition returns, and they commence laying. 
 
 The mode adopted by my father to bring the broods of Gros- 
 lings forth in one day, is as under, and has been followed by 
 him for many years, with unvarying results. In 1840, he had 
 four Granders and ten Geese for breeding purposes. At that 
 time, he had as many as thirty milk Cows in one stable, the 
 large door of which opened upon the farm-lane. Directly in 
 front of this door, he had his boxes, or nests, in which the 
 Geese laid their Eggs. These boxes I will describe in course. 
 The man who had charge of the Cows, had also the care of the 
 Geese, and he worked by the following instructions. First : 
 the Geese were to be carefully and properly fed. Secondly : 
 the Kggs were to be removed in the most gentle manner, every 
 
THE BREMEN GOOSE. 433 
 
 day, from the nests, and placed in a basket of cotton, whicli 
 was kept in a moderate temperature and free from damp. 
 When all the Geese had begun to sit steadily, each was fur- 
 nished with a nest composed of chopped straw, and care was 
 taken that the nest was sufficiently capacious. The Eggs were 
 then set, and the Geese allowed to sit upon them. 
 
 Strict attention was enjoined upon the attendant, not to 
 allow more than one of the Geese to leave her Eggs at a time. 
 As soon as one leaves the nest, she makes a cackling noise, 
 which was tb be the signal for the man in attendance to go 
 and shut up the boxes in which the remainder were sitting ; 
 consequently, when the Goose returned, she found only her 
 own box open. So soon as she had entered, the whole of the 
 doors were again opened, and the same rule observed through- 
 out the period of hatching. In following this style of manage- 
 ment, every Goose was kept to its own nest. There were one 
 hundred and twenty Eggs set altogether, twelve to each of the 
 ten breeding Geese before alluded; and at the end of four 
 weeks, which is the usual period of incubation, there were 
 eighty-eight Goslings produced, ail in one day, and they formed 
 a beautiful sight. 
 
 When first hatched, the Goslings are of a very delicate and 
 tender constitution. My father's general practice, is to let 
 them remain in the box in which they were hatched for twenty- 
 four hours after they leave the shell ; but he regulates this 
 by the weather, which, if fair and warm, may tolerate the let- 
 ting the Goslings out an hour or two in the middle of the day, 
 when they may wet their little bills, and nibble at the grass. 
 They ought not to be out in the rain at any time during the 
 first month. A very shallow pool, dug in the yard, with a 
 bucket or two of water thrown into it, to suit the temporary 
 purpose of bathing, is sufficient during the period named. 
 
 The practice of feeding my father follows, is not to give the 
 Goslings any grain whatever, after they are four days old, until 
 
 37 
 
434 THE BREMEN GOOSE. 
 
 snow falls, when they require to be fed on corn for a time. 
 He thinks, however, that if well fed on grain from the time 
 they were hatched, they might weigh from 4 lbs. to 7 lbs. more 
 than by leaving them to grass-feeding alone. 
 
 By feeding his Geese until they are four days old, and then 
 literally "sending them to grass,^' the weight of my father's 
 Geese, at seven to eight months old, has averaged from 17 to 
 18 lbs. each, after the feathers had been cleanly picked off. 
 He has no doubt that 25 lbs. could be easily attained by a lit- 
 tle attention to feeding with grain. 
 
 The breeding-boxes mentioned above are made in the fashion 
 something like a dog-kennel, with a roof pitched both ways. 
 They are 30 inches long, by 24 inches wide, and are 24 inches 
 in height. The door is in the end, and is covered by a sliding 
 panel, which moves upwards, when egress or ingress is sought, 
 and may be shut down at pleasure. For the first month, the 
 Geese and Goslings are all shut up in the boxes at night, in 
 order to protect them against rain and vermin. 
 
 Having had the breed of Geese in question sent him from 
 Bremen, my father named them after that place; but English 
 writers call this variety the ''Embden Geese.^' It will be 
 seen from what I have stated above, that my father was the 
 original importer of this description, and therefore is entitled 
 to the credit of first introducing it to the United States. 
 It is certain that he had the Bremen Geese in his possession, 
 at least five years prior to the time when Mr. James Sisson, 
 of Rhode Island, imported his; and since 1821, my father has 
 furnished this breed to many parties residing in almost every 
 State in this Union, as also in Canada and Nova Scotia. His 
 charge has universally been five dollars for each, dead or alive. 
 
 I may have omitted details including some interest, but am 
 not at present aware of there being any such forgotten. 
 I am, dear Sir, respectfully yours, 
 
 Samuel Jaques, Jr. 
 
435 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE WHITE-FRONTED, OR LAUGHING GOOSE. 
 
 Mr. Dixon observes that Ornamental Poultry may be di- 
 vided into three classes, not with reference to their beauty or 
 their natural arrangement, but in respect of their capabilities 
 for domestication. The first class comprises those that are 
 really domestic, (if we derive the word from domus, a house,) 
 that unhesitatingly confide themselves to the protection of Man, 
 and may be trusted with their complete liberty, in the certainty 
 that they will prefer the shelter of his roof, at proper times 
 and seasons, to a state of nature. This would include Cocks 
 and Hens, some Pigeons, Turkeys, the Common Domestic, 
 and the China G-eese, the Musk Duck, and a few others. 
 
 The second class includes those birds which are restrained 
 from resuming their original wild habits, more by the influence 
 of local and personal attachment, than from any love they seem 
 to have for the comforts of domestication; which may be 
 trusted with their entire liberty, or nearly so, but require an 
 eye to be kept on them from time to time, lest they stray away 
 and assume an independent condition. In this class we have 
 the Pea-Fowl, the White-fronted Goose, the Wigeon, the Ca- 
 nada Goose, the Egyptian Goose, and others, including per- 
 haps the Common Duck. 
 
 The third class embraces all those birds which, however fa- 
 
436 THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 
 
 miliar they may become, so as even to eat from tlie hand of 
 their keeper, are yet in their hearts as un tameable as a fly ; and 
 must, therefore, be kept in complete, though to many eyes in- 
 visible restraint, lest they withdraw themselves completely 
 from all human control; and whose taste for domestication 
 does not seem to increase, though many successive generations 
 of them have been bred in captivity. In this class we have 
 the Swan, the Teal, the common Gallinule, the Pheasant, the 
 Nycthemerus, and indeed all the inmates of ttur cages, avia- 
 ries, and menageries, that are not included in the first and 
 second classes. 
 
 It is clear that from the second class alone can we hope to 
 obtain any useful and profitable addition to our stock of Poul- 
 try. A bird must be found to belong undoubtedly to that, 
 before it can be promoted into the first class. The great diffi- 
 culty in looking over this unlimited third class, is to discover 
 which species may be advanced into the second. Some are 
 decidedly hopeless cases. The Swan, for instance, and the 
 Pheasant, are no more likely at this moment to become domes- 
 tic than they were when first discovered amidst the streams 
 and copses of Western Asia. Ages before the discovery of 
 America, while the Turkey remained yet unsuspicious of the 
 settler's rifle, they were as domestic as they now are, and as 
 they are ever likely to be. It is true Temminck speaks of 
 the Cygne Domestique, and says that it "lives in domesticity 
 in most countries, very abundant in Holland" — but the term 
 domesticity appears only likely to lead into error, when applied 
 to a creature that hates the confinement of a house, pining and 
 wasting if compelled to remain long in one, the use of whose 
 wings is obliged to be curtailed by amputation, which is kept 
 within bounds on a stream only by mutual jealousy and the 
 difficulty it has in travelling far by land, to say nothing of 
 park-palings and mill-dams. 
 
 The White-fronted Goose is an excellent example of our 
 
THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 437 
 
 second class, and well deserves the patronage of those who 
 have even a small piece of grass. Its natural history in a wild 
 state is fully detailed in Mr. Yarrell's valuable^ ^British Birds;" 
 the figure also is very good, though it is a pity that a pair of Geese 
 were not given ; but as the works of that gentleman, like every 
 other original book on the subject, have been largely drawn 
 upon, I refrain from borrowing what he has written, particu- 
 larly as the object of this volume is, not to encroach upon the 
 department of the systematic naturalist, but merely to state 
 what has been observed of birds that have been reclaimed. 
 
 The first impression of every one who saw the White-fronted 
 Goose in confinement, would be that it could not be trusted 
 with liberty ; and the sight of it, exercising its wings at its 
 first escape, would make its owner despair of recovering it. A 
 pair of young ones that were bred in this country were kindly 
 supplied to me, and though they were evidently not wild, their 
 friskiness and vivacity were such, that it appeared best to 
 shorten the quill-feathers of one wing, and so deprive them of 
 the power of flight till their next moult. Long before that 
 time, however, their confidence and attachment removed all 
 hesitation as to the future. Now, at the most distant sound 
 of my voice, they will come flying, like Pigeons, to alight at 
 my feet j and occasionally, particularly in winter and spring, 
 perform graceful evolutions in the air, that show great power 
 of wing and enjoyment in its exercise. They are perfectly 
 unrestrained, except that the kitchen-garden is forbidden to 
 them. During the severe weather in the winter of 1846-7, 
 while the herbage was buried deep under the snow, we feared 
 they might be tempted to join some of their travelling re- 
 lations that now and then passed overhead ; but we swept a 
 spot bare in the orchard, to amuse them with the idea of grass, 
 threw down a few Savoy cabbages, gave them a little extra 
 corn, and, though they would fly over the house, to get at a 
 spring where the water was still unfrozen, they showed no wish 
 
 S7* 
 
438 THE WHITE -FRONTED GOOSE. 
 
 to seek their fortunes elsewhere, or desert their old companion, 
 a China Goose, who could only proceed on foot to take her 
 draught at the brook. 
 
 We have now had them more than three years. In the 
 spring of 1846, the Goose laid some Eggs in an exposed spot, 
 and dropped one or two others here and there, which were 
 added to them, and she then sat as well as Goose could sit. 
 But owing to the persecutions of an ill-natured Canada Gan- 
 der, whose delight it was to drive her from her nest, and way- 
 lay and beat her as she was returning to it from grazing, the 
 Eggs were all addled, and the poor bird, for some time after- 
 wards, showed her dejection and disappointment. Her mate 
 did what he could to protect her from the assaults of her enemy, 
 but his inferior size and strength rendered him powerless. 
 She did not produce a second laying, as is the case with many 
 birds under similar circumstances. In the mean while, the 
 truculent Canadian had been banished ; and in the spring of 
 1847, she selected a better place for her nest. She scratched 
 a hollow in the ground, at the edge of a grass walk, under a 
 white-thorn, about eighteen inches above the surface of the 
 water. The Eggs were removed as laid, and, when she began 
 sitting, restored to her, with a bunch of straw, which she ar- 
 ranged according to her own pleasure, and with which she 
 could cover her Eggs whenever she had occasion to leave them. 
 She began sitting on the 7th of April ; on the 7th of May two 
 very pretty Goslings came forth, one of which promised to be 
 white ; the next day they were missing, and the rat-catcher 
 explained the cause of their sudden disappearance, by extract- 
 ing an enormous rat from a hole immediately under the nest. 
 The remaining Eggs proved unfertile; doubtless, from the 
 Gander being permitted to enjoy the society of the above-men- 
 tioned China Goose. After the loss of her young, and the 
 abstraction of her worthless Eggs, she still persevered in sit- 
 ting, with vain expectation, on the empty nest. To prevent 
 
THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 439 
 
 this, we filled the hollow with thorns. She then betook her- 
 self to watch the success of her rival, the China Goose, who 
 was still sitting. When the little ones came forth from their 
 shelly prison, she assisted in affording them a mother's care, 
 leading them to the tenderest herbage, brooding them under 
 her wings, and accompanying all their movements with their 
 real parent. 
 
 The Eggs are smaller than those of the Common Goose, 
 pure white, and of a very long oval ; whether this is a specific, 
 or only an individual peculiarity, I am unable to say. The 
 shell is also thinner than most other Gooses' Eggs. The flesh, 
 both of the wild and of the tame bird excellent. In hard 
 weather, they are frequently to be had at the poulterers* shops, 
 and generally at low prices, in the provinces at least, owing to 
 an unfounded supposition that their flesh would be fishy, as in 
 the sometimes scarcely eatable Brent Goose. But those who 
 are fond of game, will find it, if hung up long enough, a dish 
 for an epicure. 
 
 If my own birds are to be taken as specimens, the White- 
 fronted Goose is a pattern of all that is valuable in anserine 
 nature, gentle, aff'ectionate, cheerful, hardy, useful, self-de- 
 pendent. The Gander is an attentive parent, but not a faithful 
 spouse. Indeed, it is time to contradict what has been pub- 
 lished on this latter point, and to caution amateur breeders 
 that Ganders have not the virtues of Scipio. Two treatises, 
 now before me, have the following passage, dififering slightly 
 from each other in the wording : 
 
 "It has been ascertained, by M. St. Genis, that Geese will 
 pair like Pigeons and Partridges; in the course of his experi- 
 ments, he remarked, that, if the number of the Ganders exceed 
 that of the Geese by two, and even by three, including the 
 common father, no disturbance nor disputes occur, the pairing 
 taking place without any noise, and no doubt by mutual 
 choice. Besides the common father, he left two of the young 
 
440 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 Ganders unprovided with female companions 3 but the couples 
 which had paired kept constantly together, and the three sin- 
 gle Ganders did not, during temporary separations of the males 
 and females, offer to approach the latter.'^ 
 
 Acting on this advice, I permitted pairs of four different 
 species of Geese to associate together during the season of 
 1846. Three Ganders of the four appeared to think that each 
 Goose, except his own, was at liberty to be unfaithful; and 
 that every Gander, except himself, was wrong in committing 
 an infidelity. What with their jealousies before laying-time, 
 and their quarrels after it, with plenty of Eggs, we did not 
 get a single Gosling of any sort throughout the whole summer. 
 
 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 Of this variety, Mr. Dixon says : — " Every like is not the 
 same,^^ is a principle that is beginning more and more to in- 
 fluence the reasonings of zoologists, and to affect their conclu- 
 sions with respect to Wild Animsih, The important deductions 
 derived from minute differences, in creatures that are almost 
 in juxtaposition together, both systematically and locally, may 
 be seen in the late " Voyage of the Beagle round the World," 
 and in the '' Quarterly Review," on "Broderip's Zoological 
 Recreations" (March, 1848). But with Domesticated Ani- 
 mals, a diametrically opposite axiom would seem to hold; they 
 are described and catalogued apparently on the rule that 
 "things maybe unlike, and yet the same." The many dif- 
 ferent kinds of Fowl are supposed to be varieties — by which, I 
 presume, is meant transmutable, or at least transmuted forms — 
 of one, or at most, two or three wild originals; and the history 
 of the Domestic Goose is quietly settled, by considering it as 
 the result of a fusion of three or four different species melted 
 
THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 441 
 
 and mixed into one. Believe it ! — those who think that the 
 Bernicle Groose originates from a worm engendered in the sea 
 from rotten wood — not I. Perhaps these essays may cause 
 the real truth to be more closely investigated. 
 
 If, within the last half-dozen years, three different sorts (I 
 abstain from using a stricter word) of China Geese, identical 
 with those with which we are acquainted, had been discovered 
 in three adjacent islands of the Indian Archipelago, they would 
 probably have been formed into a separate genus, say Cygnb- 
 ides, or better, CEderamphus, of which the species might be, 
 first, alhus, ox galeatissimuSy as typical; the next rufipes, and 
 the third, perhaps, haetwus, retaining, though in a different 
 sense, one of its trivial names. We should have, as a generic 
 character, ^^ forehead surmounted with a large knob, partly 
 fleshy and partly osseous, increasing with age ; beak powerful, 
 highly ridged, adapted to the digging up and division of roots 
 and tubers, to which purpose it is often applied ; " — they make 
 short work with a potato — '^habits, more terrestial than 
 aquatic ; attitudes, in the water graceful and swanlike, on 
 land, constrained and usually erect; voice, harsh and loud; 
 powers of flight very limited and weak," and so on; then 
 would follow the specific distinctions. 
 
 Now, we will further suppose that a stock of each of these 
 species was either brought to England, or retained in domesti- 
 cation on the neighbouring Asiatic continent, or both ; that the 
 islands became thickly peopled, or repeatedly visited by mari- 
 ners armed with fowling-pieces, and anxious for fresh meat, 
 and also for sport. The birds cannot escape by flight, nor by 
 running away ; they can neither swim so swiftly, nor dive so 
 far as to baffle a boat and a crew of stout rowers ; they make 
 no attempt to conceal themselves, as a common Hen will if she 
 be hunted in a shrubbery; their loud cries betray them when 
 unseen; and, consequently, in their native Jiome, they un- 
 dergo the fate of the Dodo: they are exterminated. But their 
 
442 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 aptitude for domestication has preserved the race: they sur- 
 vive in our poultry-yards, artificial lakes, and Zoological Glar- 
 dens,"^ and, after a while, they are styled varieties of, nobody 
 indeed knows what. If they had refused to propogate in cap- 
 tivity, they would have become extinct, like the Uri of the 
 Hercynian forest.f 
 
 Is this an impossible or even an unlikely case ? Where are 
 we now to find a wild Cereopsis ? Where will our great-grand- 
 children be able to find a Wild Turkey a hundred years 
 hence ? 
 
 But before finally determining to fix the appellation of 
 species, or variety, to any particular race of animals, it will be 
 necessary first to settle the question of what is meant by the 
 terms Grenus, Species, and Variety. They are all understood 
 to denote certain degrees of difference, that are made use of 
 to assist in classification ; but the precise lines of demarcation 
 of each are extremely difficult to define. It is generally as- 
 sumed that individuals of different genera will refuse to breed 
 together ; that the mules between different species are sterile ; 
 and that varieties are merely accidental and recent examples 
 of a slight alteration in the external character of species, 
 which do not affect their continuance as a race, and, perhaps, 
 disappear altogether after a time. But in opposition to this, 
 hybrids have been produced between the Egyptian Groose and 
 the Penguin Duck ; also between the Common Fowl and the 
 
 * " The foretliought and industry of Man assists in the preserva- 
 tion and safety of not a few animals, and those things which the 
 earth produces. For there are many, both of beasts and plants, that 
 could not continue in existence, if depi-ived of the protection of 
 Man." — Cicero, De Natura Deorum II. 
 
 f* But not even when taken very small, can the Uri be reconciled 
 to the presence of man, and become tame." — C^sar de Bello Gallice, 
 lib. ii. cap. 28. 
 
THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 443 
 
 Guinea Fowl ; prolific mules are constantly occurring between 
 all sorts of species of Geese ; and it is well and practically 
 known, that thougli varieties breed freely with each other, 
 nothing is so difficult as to establish a cross that shall be a 
 perfect amalgamation of two distinct varieties. Even indi- 
 vidual peculiarities are reproduced in the course of generations. 
 In truth, species and varieties differ only in degree. If we 
 admit that the latter are merely recent changes of organization, 
 we cannot refuse to allow that the former are so likewise ; and 
 thence proceeding backwards, we must apply the same view 
 to genera and classes, till we arrive at last at the theory of 
 the development of all animated beings from Monads, as ad- 
 vocated by Lamarck, and more recently by the author of the 
 ^' Vestiges of Creation." This is one mode of explaining the 
 diversity of Nature ; the other is by supposing that animals 
 were originally created as we now see them, and that any ap- 
 parent gaps in the chain or network are caused by the ex- 
 tinction of certain races, not by the uprising of new forms into 
 existence, since the creation of Man, at least. Now, we have 
 indisputable proof of the extinction of very many genera and 
 species of innumerable Pre-Adamite animals, (and the reader 
 is particularly requested to observe that we have now existing 
 among us many Pre-Adamite animals* — the Common Badger, 
 
 * Remains of the Aurochs (a species wMcli still survives by virtue 
 of strict protective laws, in extensive forests, which form part of the 
 Russian empire,) are found in the superficial deposits of various 
 parts of Europe, some of which carry the antiquity of the Aurochs 
 as far back as the extinct Pachyderms of the newer pliocene deposits. 
 
 *' That the present European Beaver is not the degenerate de- 
 scendant of the great Trogontherium, is proved, not only by the dif- 
 ferences in the dental structure, pointed out in the preceding section, 
 but likewise by the fact that Beavers, in no respect differing in size 
 or anatomical character from the Castor Europceus of the present day, 
 co-existed with the Trogontherium. Remains of the Beaver have been 
 
444 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 for instance, of older pedigree than all the Howards multiplied 
 a thousand-fold — and I feel convinced many equally ancient 
 birds also ;) and we have, besides, records of modern extermi- 
 nations successively going on, from the Christian era to the 
 present day. No undisputed record, however, is to be found 
 of the sudden emergence into life of a new tribe of creatures. 
 Foreign introductions there have been, but nothing more, that 
 there is any affirmative evidence to prove. I am conscious 
 that I may be contradicted by such examples as the New 
 Leicester Sheep, and the very remarkable Eabbits that are now 
 kept in a state of domestication ; but Mr. Bakewell is as- 
 serted to have studiously concealed and destroyed every trace 
 of the means by which he established his breed, and the secrets 
 of the Rabbit Fancy are as likely to be made available to the 
 elucidation of natural history as are the Eleusinian Mysteries. 
 But so long as our commercial relations continue as widely ex- 
 tended as they are at present, the sudden and unexplained 
 appearance of any living novelty in England, is by no means 
 of necessity its first appearance on any stage. It may be as 
 
 thus discovered by Mr. Green in the same fossilized condition, and 
 under circumstances indicative of equal antiquity v?ith the extinct 
 Mammoth, in the lacustrine formation at Bacton. 
 
 " A fossil skull of a Badger, in the Museum of the Philosophical 
 Institution at York, would seem to carry the antiquity of the 3Mes 
 iaxus to a higher point than the Cave epoch, and as far back as any 
 species of the Ursine genus has been traced. Should this specimen 
 prove authentic, the Meles taxus is the oldest known species of Mam- 
 mal now living on the face of the earth. 
 
 " My friend, Mr. Bell, has pleaded the cause of the poor persecuted 
 Badger, on the ground of its harmless nature and innocuous habits ; 
 the genuine sportsman will, doubtless, receive favourably the addi- 
 tional claim to his forbearance and protection, which the Badger de- 
 rives from his ancient descent." — Owen's British Fossil Mammals^ 
 passim. 
 
THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 445 
 
 old as the hills — some of them ; older than the English Chan- 
 nel, and have neither made a sudden drop from the clouds in 
 these latter days, nor have been recently compounded, like 
 Frankenstein's monster, from the members of defunct creatures, 
 nor yet electrified into life in a pickle jar, like Mr. Cross's 
 mites. Milton's noble lines are no longer applicable : — 
 
 ** Meanwhile, the tepid caves, and fens, and shores. 
 Bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed 
 Their callow young ; but feathered soon and fledge. 
 They summed their pens ; and, soaring the air sublime. 
 With clang despised the ground. * * And straight the earth, 
 Opening her fertile womb, teemed at a birth 
 Numerous living creatures, perfect forms 
 Limbed and full-grown ; out of the ground uprose, 
 As from his lair, the wild beast where he wons 
 In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den." 
 
 If such views be correct, it will follow that those who are 
 searching for the wild originals of many of our domestic ani- 
 mals, are altogether pursuing a wrong scent. They might just 
 as well search for the wild original of the Mammoth or the 
 Dodo. It is an assumption, unsupported by any proof, to fix 
 upon the wild creature that nearest resembles any given tame 
 one, and to say, " Here is the wild original ; the difierences 
 which we see have been produced by time and domestication ;'' 
 or, if there is nothing wild coming within a moderate approach to 
 it, to say, as of the Common Goose, " It is a combination of three 
 or four other species." This is surely not philosophical reason- 
 ing ; it is a begging of the question, which would not be ad- 
 mitted in the exact sciences. What a daring leap at a con- 
 clusion it is, to get from the Asiatic Argali, the American 
 Argali, or the Corsican Mouflon, any or all of them, to the 
 Sheep, at a single vault ! Such ratiocination is like the knight's 
 move on the chess-board, hither and thither, but never straight 
 forward. Nor has the wide gulf between Cocks and Hens and 
 
 38 
 
446 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 the Jungle Fowl been as yet bridged over by any istbmus to 
 me visible. But what may be said on this latter subject is, 
 for the present, reserved. The principle here sought to be in- 
 dicated as a guide for future research, is, that existing varieties 
 and species which cannot be exactly identified in a wild state, 
 are, in all probability, the remains of extinct races, the frag- 
 ments of a ruin, not newly-raised " seedlings," modern sports 
 and freaks of Nature. Man, as he extends his dominion over 
 earth and ocean, is generally a Destroyer, occasionally an En- 
 slaver, and so far a Protector, hence sometimes even a Selecter 
 and Improver, but never a Creator. 
 
 And now to the White China Greese, about whose lineage 
 the reader, we hope, is by this time interested. 
 
 My attention was first directed to these singular birds by 
 Mr. Alfred Whitaker, of Beckington, Somerset. " I wish you 
 could have seen the white variety or species, as it is so far su- 
 perior in every respect to the brown. The period of incubation 
 of the White China Goose was not more than thirty days, ^. e. 
 not longer than that of the Common Duck. The White China 
 Goose is of a spotless pure white" — a very few gray feathers 
 have since appeared — ^^ more swan-like than the brown variety, 
 with a bright orange-coloured bill, and a large orange-coloured 
 knob at its base. It is a particularly beautiful bird, either in 
 or out of the water, its neck being long, slender, and gracefully 
 arched when swimming. It breeds three or four times in the 
 season ; but I was not successful with them, owing, as I fancied, 
 to my having no water for them, except a rapid running stream. 
 A quiet lake I believe to be more to their taste, and more con- 
 ducive to the fecundity of the Eggs. I believe my birds are 
 still in the neighbourhood, as I lent them to a farmer to try 
 his luck with them. The Egg is quite small for the size of 
 the bird, being not more than half the size of that of the Com- 
 mon Goose. This bird deserves to rank in the first class of 
 ornamental Poultry, and would be very prolific under favourable 
 
THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 447 
 
 circumstances. You will see both varieties of Brown and 
 White China Geese on the water in St. James's Park. My 
 Geese were from imported parents, and were hatched on board 
 ship from China.'' 
 
 On visiting town, in May, 1848, my efforts to get a sight of 
 any White China Geese were unavailing. There were none 
 left in St. James's Park ; there were not any in the Surrey 
 Gardens, choice as that collection is; nor were any visible at 
 the principal places where Poultry is offered for sale. The 
 Zoological Society had parted from their specimens, in con- 
 sequence of being overstocked with other things. Their head 
 keeper seemed only to consider them in the light of a variety 
 of the Cygnoides, but he spoke most decidedly of his experience 
 of the permanence, not only of this variety, but also of that of 
 the dark-legged, and the red-legged sorts of the brown kind, 
 thus indicating three races, which, I repeat, would be con- 
 sidered as species were they now discovered for the first time, 
 on three islands even of the same group. 
 
 From this difficulty I was most kindly relieved by receiving 
 a pair of White China Geese, through Mr. Whitaker's means. 
 They are larger than the Brown China Geese, apparently more 
 terrestial in their habits ; the knob on the head is not only of 
 greater proportions, but of a different shape. If they were 
 only what is commonly meant by a variety of the dark sort, it 
 is a question whether the bill would not retain its original 
 jetty black, whatever change occurred to the feet and legs, in- 
 stead of assuming a brilliant orange hue. If the bird were an 
 Albino, the bill would be flesh-coloured, and the eyes would 
 be pink, not blue. 
 
 Mr. Knight, of Frome, in whose possession they had been 
 for three years, states that he has been unable to obtain any 
 young from the Eggs of the Goose ; but if he supplies her with 
 Eggs of the Common Goose, she invariably hatches and rears 
 the Goslings. Separate trials of each of the pair with the 
 
448 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 
 
 Common Goose and Grander have been made by him unsuc- 
 cessfully, although the White China Groose lays four times in 
 the year. Another gentleman (N. B.) who also had a pair of 
 the same lot, from China, says, " I had one good brood from 
 the young pair which I kept, but since that they have bred so 
 badly that I have parted with the females and kept a male 
 bird, and now get very good broods. My friends, to whom I 
 have given young birds from my pair, also complain. The 
 Geese sit remarkably well, never showing themselves out of 
 the nest by day, but whether they may leave the nests too 
 long in the cold of the night, I cannot tell. The time of in- 
 cubation I consider to be about four weeks and three days. 
 The young birds of the crossed breed in appearance follow the 
 mother, the Common English Goose, but they do remarkably 
 well ; and we have now (July 4) killed two really good and 
 sufficiently fat birds, which were hatched only on the 29 th of 
 March last." 
 
449 
 
 .CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE BERNICLE GOOSE. 
 
 Several ornithological writers have lamented, with ex- 
 pressions of surprise, that so few of the larger water-birds have 
 been domesticated, and made to afford us a ready supply of 
 food, in return for their board and lodging. But it should be 
 remembered that there are two parties to the proposed arrange- 
 ment — the master and the slave. If the captive resolutely 
 persists in saying, " You may bestow every care upon me, and 
 lavish every comfort, but I will not be the parent of a race of 
 slaves, although I may show a little personal thankfulness to 
 yourself," the next move for us to make is to procure young 
 that are ignorant of the fascinations of a wild life, and to en- 
 deavour to subdue, by kindness, tlieir stubborn nature. If 
 they remain indomitably independent, and refuse to yield, we 
 are check-mated, and cannot proceed a step further. It is not 
 in our power to increase the number of domesticable birds. 
 ^' The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every 
 beast of the earth, and upon every Fowl of the air, upon all 
 that moveth upon the earth,'^ is a promise which will be un- 
 doubtedly fulfilled ; and thus, as the dominion of Man over the 
 earth daily and hourly extends itself, those creatures that 
 refuse to enter into his train, will be crushed, and perish 
 beneath his advancing footsteps; for, ''into your hand are they 
 
450 THE EERNICLE GOOSE. 
 
 delivered. Every moving thing that livetli shall be meat for 
 you; even as the green herb have I given you all things/^ 
 
 The Bernicle G-oose is one of those species in which the 
 impulse of reproduction has at length overcome the sullenness 
 of captivity; and it is a curious fact, that instances of their 
 breeding have of late increased in frequency, and we may 
 therefore hope will go on increasing. The young so reared 
 should be pinioned at the wrist, as a precaution. The proba- 
 bility is, that they would stay at home contentedly, unpinioned, 
 till hard weather came, when they would be tempted to leave 
 their usual haunts in search of marshes, unfrozen springs, mud 
 banks left by the tide, and the open sea, where they would be 
 liable to be shot by sporting naturalists — a fate which has 
 done more than any thing else to check the propagation of 
 interesting birds in England — or might be induced to join a 
 flock of wild birds, instead of returning to their former quarters. 
 
 Here is a warning example. The pinioning of a brood of 
 Egyptian Gi-eese had been delayed too long ; they could fly, 
 and though they came to be fed as usual, would not sufi'er 
 themselves to be caught. In the winter, during a hard frost, 
 they flew down to the marshes a few miles distant. Their 
 keeper happened to be on the road thither, and seeing them 
 in the air overhead, called to them as usual. They knew his 
 voice, wheeled about, hovered for a moment, and then pursued 
 their course. Shortly afterwards, they were shot by mistake 
 for wild birds, by a person who must have been aware that 
 there was a collection of water-fowl in the neighbourhood ; in 
 which, however, there are now only male Egyptian Geese, the 
 mother of the brood having suffered the same fate. Similar 
 unfortunate mistakes are frequent. Does the paragraph in the 
 local newspaper about the "rare bird'' shot by so and so, 
 esquire, and the stuffed specimen in the smart glass case, com- 
 pensate for the slaughter ? 
 
 Broods of five, six, and seven Bernicle Geese have been 
 
THE BERNICLE GOOSE^ 451 
 
 reared ; not an inconsiderable increase, if we only kept them 
 to eat : but they have hitherto been chiefly valued as em- 
 bellishments to our ponds. Their small size renders them 
 suitable even for a very limited pleasure-ground, and they are 
 perhaps the very prettiest Greese that have yet appeared in 
 our menageries. The lively combination of black, white, gray, 
 and lavender, gives them the appearance of a party of ladies 
 robed in those becoming half-mourning dresses, that are worn 
 from etiquette rather than sorrow. The female differs little 
 from the male, being distinguished by voice and deportment 
 more than by plumage. Their short bill, moderate sized webs 
 of their feet, and rounded proportions, indicate an affinity to 
 the Cereopsis. The number of Eggs laid is six or seven; the 
 time of incubation about a month, but it is difficult to name 
 the exact period, from the uncertainty of knowing the precise 
 hour when the process commences. The Geese are steady 
 sitters. Their young had better be crammed with very small 
 pegs for the first week or so, after which they may be entirely 
 confided to their parents. They are lively and active little 
 creatures, running hither and thither, and tugging at the 
 blades of grass. Their ground-colour is of a dirty white. 
 Their legs, feet, eyes, and short stump of a bill, are black. 
 They have a gray spot on the crown of the head, gray patches 
 on the back and wings, and a yellowish tinge about the fore- 
 part of the head. The old birds are very gentle in their dis- 
 position and habits, and are less noisy than most other Geese. 
 Waterton mentions an instance where the Gander paired with 
 a Canada Goose, a most disproportionately large mate for him 
 to select. The same thing has occurred in Norfolk, but in this 
 case the ludicrous union was altogether unproductive. 
 
 The service they may render as weed-eaters should not be 
 forgotten, though their size alone precludes any comparison 
 of them with the Swan in this respect. Sir W. Jardine says 
 that he has observed their feeding-grounds to be extensive 
 
452 THE BERNICLE GOOSE. 
 
 merses or flats partially inundated by the higlier tides, a cir- 
 cumstance that may furnish a hint that their breeding may 
 perhaps be promoted by their being furnished with a little 
 sea-weed during winter and early spring. They are also suflS.- 
 ciently removed from the typical G-eese to make it possible 
 that a few cockles, limpets, shrimps, or small mussels would 
 not be unwelcome. A single pair would be more likely to 
 breed than if they were congregated in larger numbers : and 
 the price demanded by the London dealers is not extravagant 
 for healthy living specimens. 
 
 The young of the Bernicle Goose, like those of the Canada 
 and White-fronted G-eese, when left entirely to the guidance 
 of their parents in this country, are apt to be attacked by a 
 sort of erysipelatous inflammation of the head, similar to that 
 from which the Domestic Fowl suff"ers so much, and which 
 proves equally fatal. The eyelids swell till the bird is blinded; 
 its suficrings must be extreme, even if it recover. The parts 
 afi'ected discharge copiously a watery fluid. Frequent washing 
 with warm water and vinegar is the best remedy, and cram- 
 ming the bird to keep it alive, must be resorted to. Pills of 
 rue-leaves, or a strong decoction of rue, as a tonic, have been 
 administered with apparent benefit. The disease seems epi- 
 demic rather than contagious, though I would not quite deny 
 that it is so ; but of all remedies, warmth and dryness, par- 
 ticularly at night, are the most indispensable. Goslings 
 hatched about midsummer in the Arctic regions know not 
 what it is to feel the absence of the sun. A Scandinavian 
 summer's night, even in those latitudes where the sun does 
 sink for an hour beneath the horizon, difiers from the day in 
 little else than stillness. There are no frosts succeeding a 
 broiling day, no chilling dews which require hours of sunshine 
 to remove, but all is, for the time, perpetually bright and 
 warm and genial. The difi"erence between such a climate and 
 an English May must be seriously felt by our tender little 
 
THE BRENT GOOSE. 453 
 
 pets, whatever care we may take to protect them. This clear, 
 uninterrupted day, two or three months long, of settled, de- 
 licious weather, gives a complete explanation of the apparent 
 paradox that birds should retire to the regions, reputed abso- 
 lutely icy, of the North, for breeding purposes. But those 
 who have made the precincts of the Mediterranean their 
 Elysium on earth, can have no conception of the health, the 
 vigour, the manly tone of mind and body, to be inspired from 
 Hyperborean breezes. 
 
 Oh that I had the wings of a Dove ! then would I flee 
 away with my little ones to the rich pine-forests, the rushing 
 streams, the deep-cut inlets of the far North, and be at rest, 
 till the snow-drifts of October made us again retreat, with the 
 wild-fowl, to the temperate and hopitable shores of Britain ! 
 
 THE BEENT GOOSE. 
 
 This, and the interesting little Sandwich Island Goose, are 
 the smallest of their tribe yet introduced to our aquatic avia- 
 ries ; both being inferior in size to some Ducks. The captive 
 Brent Groose has not, that I am aware, bred in any British 
 collection. According to Audubon, it has been known to 
 produce young in captivity, but when, or where, or on what 
 authority, is not stated. To attain this result here, the most 
 likely method is, probably, to make an approach to their na- 
 tural habits, by supplying them with occasional marine diet. 
 Fragments of shells, that had apparently been swallowed whole, 
 have often been found in their gizzards. It might also be ex- 
 pedient to assemble them in a flock, instead of keeping just a 
 single pair, so that they could consult their own individual 
 tastes in the choice of partners. Their picturesque effect, too, 
 will be greater in this way. Their almost uniform colour of 
 
454 THE BRENT GOOSE. 
 
 leaden black, and their compactness of form, make them a 
 striking feature in the scene, though they cannot be compared 
 in beauty with many other water-fowl. They may always be 
 obtained from the London dealers. There is so little difference 
 in the sexes, that it is not easy to distinguish them. Their 
 chief merit, however, rests in their fondness for water-weeds, 
 in which respect they appear to be second only to the Swan. 
 On this account. Ware Goose is one of their trivial names. 
 
 "Brent Geese have the cunning, in general, to leave the 
 mud as soon as the tide flows high enough to bear an enemy, 
 and then go off to sea, and feed on the drifting weeds. '^ — ■ 
 Colonel Hawker. 
 
 "On the north-eastern shores of England, where we have 
 had opportunities of seeing them, they might be considered as 
 entirely maritime, not being known to leave the water-mark, 
 or ever to feed on the pastures or young grain. During ebb- 
 tide, they fed on the banks of Zostera Marina, then uncovered; 
 and Mr. Selby mentions the ulva latissima as very frequently 
 found in their stomachs ] at other times they rest on the sand- 
 banks, which are quite open, and afford no shelter for ap- 
 proach; or they ride, as it were, just off the land, buoyant 
 upon the wave, and occasionally pluck the sea-grass or weeds 
 which are yet borne up within their reach." — Sir W. Jardine. 
 
 Brent Geese are quiet, gentle, and harmless in captivity. 
 Having eaten only Norfolk-killed specimens, I cannot agree 
 with those who praise them on the table. They were fishy, 
 strong, and oily; but whoever is not fond of such savours, 
 may convert the birds into tolerable meat, by having them 
 skinned, and baked in a pie. 
 
 "Immense numbers of Brent Geese/' says Mr. St. John, 
 " float with every tide into the bays formed by the bar. As 
 the tide recedes, they land on the grass, and feed in closely- 
 packed flocks. On the land, they are light, active birds, 
 walking quickly, and with a graceful carriage. On any alarm, 
 
THE BRENT GOOSE. 455 
 
 before rising, they run together as close as they can ; thus 
 affording a good chance to the shooter, who may be concealed 
 near enough, of making his shot tell among their heads and 
 necks. All Geese and Swans have this habit of crowding to- 
 gether when first alarmed. 
 
 •^ A wounded Brent Groose, which I brought home, very soon 
 became tame, and fed fearlessly close to us; indeed, I have 
 frequently observed the same inclination to tameness in this 
 beautiful kind of Groose.^' 
 
456 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 My friend, Mr. D. Taggart, of Northumberland, writes con- 
 cerning the Common Duck and its varieties, as follows : — 
 
 " You wish to be posted up in aquatic birds : I know some- 
 what of these, but probably not so much as yourself. In re- 
 gard to Ducks, they are much more prolific than they usually 
 have credit for, and even for Eggs, can be made a profitable 
 bird, if well fed and properly managed. Any Common Duck, 
 so treated, if not old, will yield, in a season, one hundred or 
 more, large, rich, and delicious Eggs. When they lay, it is 
 daily or nightly, and if kept from sitting, which is easily done 
 by changing their nests frequently, they will lay, with little 
 interruption, from February or March until August. But the 
 trouble is, a Duck lays only when Eggs are most abundant, 
 while Hens' Eggs may be procured at all seasons. 
 
 " The young of Ducks seldom die of disease, and if cats and 
 rats are exterminated, as in all cases they should be, there will be 
 no trouble in raising almost as many Ducks as you have Eggs. 
 One year, from 94 Eggs, I had 91 hatched, and raised 87. 
 Twenty-four of these were Musk, or Muscovy Ducks as they 
 are erroneously termed. In speaking of the prolificness of 
 Ducks, I do not think this variety should be included. They 
 lay comparatively few Eggs. Ducks come early to maturity, 
 
O k! 
 
 ■ c 
 o 
 
 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 457 
 
 being nearly full grown and in fine eating order at three 
 months old ; far excelling, in this respect, all other Poultry, 
 except G-eese." 
 
 Of the Tame Duck, Mr Dixon says : — 
 
 One leading opinion seems to run throughout them all, that 
 our farm-yard Ducks are nothing more than the tamed de- 
 scendants of old English Mallards. It is a pity to disturb so 
 plausible and general a belief; but an attempt to approximate 
 to the solution of Audubon's problem, " when this species was 
 first domesticated,'' has raised some doubts upon the subject, 
 which it is of no use to suppress. 
 
 One thing, I think, may be demonstrated, ^. e. that the date 
 of its first appearance in domestication on the European con- 
 tinent is not very remote, however high may be its antiquity 
 in India and China. In pursuing these sort of inquiries, 
 which are daily becoming more interesting and more import- 
 ant in their conclusions, one regrets that untranslated works on 
 natural history or farming (if such there be) in the Oriental 
 languages, are sealed records to almost every one who has the 
 leisure to make use of their contents. It is extremely pro- 
 bable that great light might be thrown on the origin and history 
 of our domesticated animals by a careful inspection of such 
 works. As it is, we are left to obtain our evidence from im- 
 perfect and (with the exception of geology) more recent traces. 
 If the Swan and the Pelican were forbidden to the Israelites, 
 and their carcases to be held in abomination, (see Leviticus 
 xi. 18,) the Duck would probably be included in the list of 
 unclean birds ; or, rather, we may without violence suppose 
 that the Hebrew words translated "Swan'^ and '^Pelican," 
 are used generically for all web-footed Fowl. But, as Scott 
 says, " here the critics find abundance of work.^^ 
 
 I think it may be shown from negative evidence that the 
 Komans at the time of our Saviour, and subsequently, were 
 not acquainted with the domesticated Duck. I can find no 
 
458 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 passage plainly declaring that they were, but many implying 
 that they were not. 
 
 Columella, after having given directions for the rearing of 
 Geese, which, with one or two laughable exceptions, are more 
 sensible and practical than are to be found in modern works, 
 proceeds to offer instructions for making the NessotropMon, or 
 Duckery. He speaks of it as a matter of curiosity rather than 
 profit ; " for Ducks, Teal, Mallard, Phalerids, and such like 
 birds are fed in confinement.'^ Then it is to be surrounded 
 with a wall fifteen feet high, and roofed with netting, ^Hhat 
 the domestic birds may have no 'power of flying out, nor Eagles 
 and Hawks of flying in." His mode of increasing his stock 
 shows that Ducks had not at that time become naturalized and 
 prolific inmates of the Roman Poultry-yards. ^^When any 
 one is desirous of establishing a Duckery, it is a very old mode 
 to collect the Eggs of the above-mentioned birds, (such as Teal, 
 Mallard, &c.,) and to place them under common Hens. For 
 the young thus hatched and reared, cast off their wild tempers, 
 and undoubtedly breed when confined in menageries. For if 
 it is your plan to place fresh-caught birds, that are accustomed 
 to a free mode of life, in captivity, they will be but slow 
 breeders in a state of bondage." — Lib. viii. cap. 15. 
 
 Cicero also speaks of hatching Ducks' Eggs under Hens, 
 (De Natura Deorum ]) but there is nothing in the passage 
 from which to infer that those Ducks were domesticated, but 
 rather the contrary; as he remarks how soon they abandon 
 their foster-mother and shift for themselves. 
 
 Pliny describes the flight of Ducks, as rising immediately 
 from the water into the higher regions of the atmosphere, (lib. 
 X. 54,) exactly as we see a Wild Duck rise now ; a performance 
 that would make our duck-keepers uneasy. The very little 
 mention that he makes of Ducks at all, shows that he did not 
 habitually see them in domestication. 
 
 From what JElian says about Ducks, we may conclude that 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 459 
 
 he also was acquainted with them in the wild state only. His 
 positive evidence would not be worth much, if the translator 
 of Rabelais was justified in characterizing the " Yaria Historia'' 
 as the production of " ^lian, that long-bow man, who lies as 
 fast as a dog can trot;" but his negative testimony may prove 
 something. In Book v. 33, he describes how the Ducklings, 
 unable to fly, and to escape by land, avoid the attacks of 
 Eagles by diving. Tame Ducks would hardly be in much 
 danger from Eagles, whatever mishaps wild ones might be 
 liable to ; although, from the frequent mention of these 
 plunderers in classic authors, there certainly is reason to be- 
 lieve that they were much more abundant while the great 
 part of Europe remained uncivilized, than they are now. And 
 in Book vii. 7, after having given the signs of the weather de- 
 noted by loild birds, in which he includes Ducks and Divers, 
 he proceeds to mention those afforded by Cocks and Hens and 
 other domestic birds. 
 
 Supposing it, however, to be proved that the Tame Duck is 
 a comparative novelty in the West, it by no means follows 
 that it is so on the Asiatic Continent and Islands, nor, as a 
 corollary, that it is a tamed descendant of our Mallard. If 
 the skeletons of one and the other were placed side by side, it 
 would require, not a skilful comparative anatomist, but only 
 an observant sportsman, or even an ordinary cook, to point out 
 which was which.* Nor has sufficient weight been attached 
 to the circumstance of one bird being polygamous, and the 
 other monogamous. When we come to speak of the Domestic 
 Goose, it will be seen how little such a difference is likely to 
 be the result of domestication. Let us not forget, too, that the 
 domestication of wild races is an art that demands quiet, peace, 
 patience, and superabundance, not merely for its successful 
 
 ^ " You need not be at a loss to know a wild Duck. The claws in 
 the wild species are black.'''' — Col. Hawker. 
 
460 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 issue, but for its being exercised at all, and was little likely to 
 be much practised by any European nation, in the interval be- 
 tween the fall of the Roman Empire and the present day, with 
 a creature that required a course of generations to reclaim it. 
 I am inclined, therefore, to consider our race of farm-yard 
 Ducks as an importation, through whatever channel, from the 
 East, and to point out the discovery of the passage of the Cape 
 of Good Hope (1493) as the approximate date. The early 
 voyagers speak of finding them in the East Indies exactly 
 similar to ours ; and the transmission of a few pairs would be 
 a much easier task than to subdue the shyness and wildness of 
 the Mallard, and induce an alteration in its hony structure. The 
 admirable reasoning of Professor Owen respecting our present 
 domestic Oxen, is, to my mind, perfectly applicable to the 
 Tame Duck. 
 
 " My esteemed friend, Professor Bell, who has written the 
 ' History of Existing British Quadrupeds,' is disposed to believe 
 with Cuvier and most other naturalists, that our domestic 
 cattle are the degenerate descendants of the great Uru&. But 
 it seems to me more probable that the herds of the newly- 
 conquered regions would be derived from the already domes- 
 ticated cattle of the Roman colonists, of those ^ boves nostri,' 
 for example, by comparison with which Caesar endeavoured to 
 convey to his countrymen an idea of the stupendous and 
 formidable TJri of the Hercynian forests. 
 
 " The taming of such a species would be a much more diffi- 
 cult and less certain mode of supplying the exigencies of the 
 agricultursit, than the importation of the breeds of oxen 
 already domesticated and in use by the founders of the new 
 colonies. And, that the latter was the chief, if not. sole 
 source of the herds of England, when its soil began to be cul- 
 tivated under the Roman sway, is strongly indicated by the 
 analogy of modern colonies. The domestic cattle, for example, 
 of the Anglo-Americans, have not been derived from tamed 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 461 
 
 descendants of the original wild cattle of North America : 
 there, on the contrary, the Bison is fast disappearing before the 
 advance of ^he agricultural settlers, just as the Aurochs, and 
 its contemporary, the Urus, have given way before a similar 
 progress in Europe. With regard to the great Urus, I believe 
 that this progress has caused its utter extirpation, and that our 
 knowledge of it is now limited to deductions from its fossil or 
 semi-fossil remains." — Owen's British Fossil Mammals, p. 500. 
 
 In like manner, the Mallard, though not gone, is fast diminish- 
 ing as a permanent inhabitant of England : the tame Duck, so 
 much larger and heavier, if its descendant, can hardly be 
 called a degenerate one. The Mallard is very widely diffused 
 over the continental part both of the Old and the New World, 
 and therefore its supposed adaption to domestic life isvas 
 likely to have occurred in Asia as in Europe. Its dislike to 
 salt water has made it less cosmopolitan among the islands. 
 Dampier, in his Voyages, repeatedly mentions that in the East 
 Indies " the tame Fowls are Ducks and Dunghill Fowls, both 
 in great plenty ;" he does not describe the Ducks, except as 
 ^' the same with ours." He was doubtless correct in believing 
 them to be the same ; although we know that the old travellers, 
 and many of the modern emigrants, are not very precise in 
 their zoology, and indeed might sometimes be excusably puz- 
 zled. For instance, when Captain Wallis, soon after he dis- 
 covered Otaheite, saw animals lying on the shore with their 
 fore- feet growing behind their heads, rising every now and 
 then, and running a little way in an erect posture, he might 
 naturally be moved with curiosity to inspect them more closely : 
 he afterwards found that they were dogs, with their fore-legs 
 tied behind them, brought down by the natives as a peace- 
 offering and a festival dish. 
 
 I know of no instance in which any one has finally succeeded 
 in founding a permanent tame farm-yard race of Ducks, by 
 breeding from the Mallard, though the attempts have been 
 
 39* 
 
462 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 numBerless, and a few parties have been on the very hrink of 
 success. Crosses between the Wild and Tame breeds have 
 answered better; but the progeny have retaine(? their full 
 share of independent temper and movements. 
 
 One of the most valid arguments in favour of the derivation 
 of the Tame Duck from the Mallard^ is to be found in the 
 readiness with which the former returns to a wild or a half- 
 wild state. In Norfolk there is a breed called " Marsh Ducks/' 
 more from their habits and place of birth than from any pe- 
 culiarity of race. They are mostly of plumage similar to the 
 Mallard, though an ornithologist would immediately dis- 
 tinguish them ; their size and the fineness of their bones are 
 intermediate between the wild bird and the common farm-yard 
 Duck. They are turned out on the marshes to forage for 
 themselves : indeed, it would be next to impossible to keep 
 them at home ; and of the number which are annually lost to 
 their masters, it would seem likely, at first sight, that quite 
 as many assume an independent condition, as are killed by 
 birds, beasts, or men of prey; but I doubt the fact, and they 
 do not appear to be ever found actually and entirely wild. 
 They are frequently sent to market towards the close of sum- 
 mer, without being shut up at all to fatten, and aff"ord a cheap 
 and relishing addition to the table. 
 
 Similar instances on a smaller scale are frequent. " A 
 farmer in our neighbourhood (Wiltshire) has a Duck, of the 
 common black and white sort, that every year takes it into 
 her head to abscond to the river, where she lays her Eggs. 
 She does not, however, I believe, pair with any Wild Drake, 
 but remains the whole summer in a wild state with her young 
 ones, and then quietly returns to the yard in autumn. When 
 I have been taking a walk sometimes about four in the morning, 
 I have frequently seen her on the Down, about a hundred 
 yards from the water. On being alarmed, they would all run 
 and dart into the water with great rapidity : and this plan the 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 463 
 
 old lady has acted on for several years, escaping unscathed by 
 guns and dogs.'^ — H. H. 
 
 There are several varieties of Tame Ducks, but their merits 
 are more diverse in an ornamental than in a profitable point 
 of view, and will be estimated very much according to the 
 taste of individual fanciers. Those who merely want a good 
 supply for the table, cannot do better than just to adopt the 
 sort most common in their own vicinity. No country place 
 should be without some, especially in low situations. A Drake 
 and two or three Ducks will cost little to maintain, and will 
 do incalculable and unknown service by the destruction of 
 slugs, snails, worms, and the larvae of gnats, and other annoy- 
 ing insects. The only trouble they will give, is, that if there 
 be much extent of water or shrubbery about their home, they 
 will lay and sit abroad, unless the poultry-maid or the boy 
 gets them up every night, which should be done. Otherwise, 
 they will drop their Eggs carelessly here and there, or incu- 
 bate in places where their Eggs will be sucked by carrion- 
 crows, and half their progeny destroyed by rats. In the 
 neighbourhood of large pieces of water, or wide-spreading 
 marshes, this will be either impossible, or attended with more 
 waste of time than the Ducks are worth. In which case, and 
 indeed in all cases with Ducks, I believe the slave-owner's 
 maxim to be correct, that it is cheaper to buy than to breed. 
 The smaller they are bought in, the more good service they 
 will perform in ridding a place of minute crawling and creeping 
 nuisances; and the most profitable management of them is to 
 let them gorge all they can swallow, as fast as they can digest 
 it, and to make them fit for table, and for the supply of ma- 
 terials for feather-beds, at the earliest possible moment. The 
 quickest return will be the most remunerative. 
 
 As to cooking them, there is only one traditional old English 
 mode. We would gladly transfer, as an illustration to these 
 pages, Leech's admirable "Romance of Roast Ducks," from 
 
464 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 "Punch/' June 24, 1848, although he ought to have made 
 the accompanying green peas more distinctly visible. 
 
 ^^ Lingo. — Ah, Cowslip, if you was a goddess! Jove loved an 
 eagle ; Mars, a lion ; Phoebus, a cock ; Venus, a pigeon ; Minerva 
 loved an owl. 
 
 " Cowslip. — I should not have thought of your cock-lions, your 
 owls, and your pigeons ; if I was a goddess, give me a Roast Duck.^^ 
 
 The Agreeable Surprise, Act 1. 
 
 In the Principality, they have a delicate way of serving 
 them boiled, with onion sauce. On attempting to reproduce 
 the dish after a tour in North Wales, the result was utter 
 failure, till the secret was discovered that the Ducks must be 
 salted a couple of days before being boiled. Still more hetero- 
 dox fashions have been practised in former days. 
 
 "The Pottage of Ducks toitJi Turni/pSy is made of Ducks 
 larded, and half fried in Lard, or which have took three or 
 four Turns on the Spit; then they are put in a Pot. The 
 Turnips, after they have been cut in Pieces, and floured, are 
 also fried in Lard, till they are very brown; then they are 
 put in the same Pot with the Ducks, and left to boil slowly 
 in Water, till the Ducks are done. Before the Pottage is 
 carried to Table, it may be seasoned with a few drops of 
 Yer juice." 
 
 "To make a ^Ragout of Ducks ^ they must be larded, fried, 
 very well seasoned with Salt, Pepper, Spices, young Onions, 
 and Parsley, and put in a Pot to stew, with a little of our 
 best Broth." 
 
 " Ducks are roasted with four Roses of Lardons, one on 
 each Wing, and one on each Leg : Some put another on the 
 Stomach." 
 
 "To make a Duck Pye, the Ducks must be larded, well 
 seasoned, and the Pye baked for the Space of three Hours." — 
 Dennis de Coetlogon^s Universal History, p. 827 et seq. 
 
 The reader will take his choice ; we only wish him a good 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 465 
 
 appetite and pleasant company ; the living birds belong more 
 properly to our department. 
 
 Of White Ducks, the best is the Aylesbury, with its un- 
 spotted snowy plumage and yellow legs and feet. It is large 
 and excellent for the table, but not larger or better than seve- 
 ral others. They are assiduous mothers and nurses, especially 
 after the experience of two or three seasons. A much smaller 
 race of White Ducks is imported from Holland ; their chief merit, 
 indicated by the title of Call Duck, consists in their incessant 
 loquacity.* They are useful only to the proprietors of ex- 
 tensive or secluded waters, as enticers of passing wild birds to 
 alight and join their society. But in Norfolk, where the 
 management of Decoys is as well understood as anywhere, the 
 trained Decoy Ducks are selected to resemble the Mallard, 
 male and female, as nearly as possible. Both systems are 
 found to answer; the wild-coloured traitors arouse no sus- 
 picion, while the conspicuous Dutchmen excite fatal attention 
 and curiosity. When the newly-arrived immigrants, although 
 bent on a pleasure excursion from the north, are listless, or 
 suspicious of their company, and will not enter the Decoy, 
 they may often be made to do so by the sudden display of a 
 red handkerchief, or the rapid appearance and disappearance 
 
 * "The cMef point to be attended to in England, is to get, if pos- 
 sible, some young wild Ducks bred up and pinioned. Or, by way 
 of a make-shift, to select tame birds which are the most clamorous, 
 even if their colour should not be like the wild ones. But in France 
 you have seldom any trouble to do this, as the Ducks used in that 
 country are partly of the wild breed ; and three French Ducks, like 
 three Frenchmen, will make about as much noise as a dozen English. 
 The Italians, in order to make their call-birds noisy, for a 'roccalo,' 
 burn out their eyes with a hot needle, a practice at which I am sure 
 my English readers would shudder ; though tjj^e translation of what 
 they say in Italy is, that ' these are the happiest birds in the world , 
 always singing.'" — Colonel Hawker'' s Instructions, p. 367. 
 
466 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 of a Spaniel. The White Call Duck has a yellow-orange bill, 
 that of the Aylesbury should be flesh-coloured. 
 
 There is also the White Hook-billed Duck, with a bill 
 monstrously curved downwards, not upwards, as some writers 
 have it, but Koman-nosed Ducks in short, with features like 
 Cruikshank's Jews, of a most grotesque and ludicrous appear- 
 ance. It may be superfluous to remind the reader, that White 
 Ducks make but a sorry figure in towns or dirty suburbs, or 
 anywhere that the means of washing themselves are scanty. 
 But Hook-billed Ducks are nothing new. Albin, in 1738, 
 published coloured figures of both sexes, which look much as 
 if they had a right to claim the rank of a species. The lines 
 of small white specks on the head, as he describes them, are 
 remarkable. The bill has some resemblance in its curvature 
 to that of the Flamingo. He says, " These Ducks are better 
 layers than any of the other, either wild or tame." 
 
 The cottagers living on the northern coast of Norfolk, have 
 one or two varieties that are very pretty, and are not usual, — 
 one of a slate-gray or bluish dun, another of a sandy yellow ; 
 there are some also with top-knots* which rival the Hook- 
 billed Duck in oddity. 
 
 Of mottled and pied sorts there exist a great variety ; black 
 and white, brown and white, lightly speckled, and many other 
 mixtures. The Rouen Duck of Poultry-books can hardly be 
 separated from this miscellaneous rabble, and ought to be per- 
 mitted to return to its original obscurity in the multitude. It 
 is wrong to lead people to pay high prices for them as stock ; 
 and we are quite at a loss to discover in them any unusual 
 merit or other describable peculiarity. They appear to be 
 
 * '' Some of the tufted tame Ducks, near Salisbury, are very hand- 
 some, having crests j|s compact and spherical as any Polish Fowl ; 
 but whether this is, or was, any distinct variety, I will not under- 
 take to say." — II. II. 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 467 
 
 identical witli the commonest Ducks which we have every- 
 where. The '"^ Rouen," likewise ^^Rhone'^ Duck, is also 
 written '^ Rohan/' I believe neither term to be correct, in 
 point of fact : that is, not exclusively : i. e. Rouen Ducks are 
 to be found wherever there are Tame Ducks. The words are 
 similar in sound, but the two first are taken from localities, 
 the last from the name of a distinguished family, one member 
 of which, the Cardinal de Rohan, was strangely implicated in 
 the diamond-necklace affair that caused such distress to Marie 
 Antoinette. But we might just as well call them ^^ London" 
 or ^^ Thames" Ducks, or "Mr. Smith's" Ducks. It would 
 puzzle most " people to point out in what they differ from the 
 every-day brown, or brown and white, farm-yard Duck. We 
 should be told they were finer j a better sort, &c. An inquiry 
 of some of, not all* the Dealers, for the authority on which the 
 name was given, would probably be met by silence, or by anger 
 at the public being told that birds, for which they charge six, 
 eight, or ten shillings, may be had of any country higgler for 
 Is. 6t?. I am even uncharitable enough to suspect that in- 
 correct names are purposely given to unusual varieties, by a 
 few poultry-merchants, in order to conceal the source from 
 whence they were originally derived. My notion that the title 
 Rouen and its aliases is only a trade name, intended to elevate 
 the common sort into a choice and more marketable variety, 
 is confirmed by the omission of such a designation by Aldro- 
 vandi, and later by Buffon; both writers who swept every 
 thing into their net. Penguin Ducks are nearly as strange as 
 
 * I beg to acknowledge the gentlemanly and ready manner in 
 whicli Mr. John Baily, of Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, has ex- 
 pressed his willingness to impart information on a subject on which 
 he is so well conversant. He is able and trustworthy to execute 
 orders for choice specimens of Poultry, and I should certainly apply 
 to him, did I want any select Fowls to be procured. 
 
468 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 tlie Hook-billed. Their peculiarity consists in walking up- 
 rightly, in feeble imitation of a Penguin. But it is not 
 strikingly apparent when they are in an ordinary frame of 
 mind. A sudden fright makes them raise their heads, as it 
 will many other birds. 
 
 A variety not usually met with, but which deserves to be 
 better known, is that advertised by the Messrs. Baker as the 
 Labrador Duck ; the Zoological Society have had it under the 
 name of Buenos Ayres Duck, and received it from that place ; 
 in the south of England it is known as the Black East Indian 
 Duck. It would be difficult to fix upon three more dissimilar 
 and widely-separated spots on the face of the globe. We may 
 at once discard the claim of Labrador, however rich in wild 
 specimens, to the honour of sending any new tame variety of 
 bird. Believing that our Tame Ducks are all importations 
 from the East, I should give the preference to the Indian title. 
 Nothing is more probable than that the Zoological Society had 
 their birds from the East, via Buenos Ayres. Whether the 
 stock had been introduced there a month, or twenty years pre- 
 viously, does not alter the main fact ; while ships direct from 
 India would be very likely to land a few pairs at the first 
 Channel port they touched at. 
 
 By some country dealers they are styled Beaver Ducks, in 
 allusion, perhaps, to a black beaver hat. These persons es- 
 teem them highly, and usually send them to London alive, 
 where, if good specimens, they are eventually disposed of to 
 amateurs at the rate of eight or ten shillings each. 
 
 But from whatever quarter obtained, they are handsome 
 creatures. A little girl, at her first sight of them, could not 
 help exclaiming — "Oh! what beautiful golden-green Ducks!'' 
 The feet, legs, and entire plumage, should be black; a few 
 white feathers will occasionally appear ; but I had some birds 
 that were immaculate, and such should be the model of the 
 breeder. The bill also is black, with a slight under-tinge of 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 469 
 
 green. Not only the neck and back, but the larger feathers 
 of the tail and wings are gilt with metallic green ; the female 
 also exhibits slight traces of the same decoration. On a sun- 
 shiny day of spring, the effect of these glittering Black Ducks 
 sporting on the blue water is very pleasing, especially if in 
 company with a party of the Decoy breed in strictly Mallard 
 plumage. 
 
 A peculiarity of these Black East Indian Ducks is, that they 
 occasionally — that is, at the commencement of the season — lay 
 black Eggs; the colour of those subsequently laid, gradually 
 fades to that of the common kinds. This strange appearance 
 is not caused by any internal stain penetrating the whole 
 thickness of the shell, but by an oily pigment, which may be 
 scraped off with the nail. They lay, perhaps, a little later 
 than other ducks, but are not more difficult to rear. Their 
 voice is said to differ slightly — ^a fact I have not observed : but 
 they are far superior to others in having a high wild-duck 
 flavour, and, if well kept, are in just repute as being excellent 
 food when killed immediately from the pond, without any 
 fatting. My attention was first called to them by a friend and 
 neighbour, to whom I am indebted, not only for the informa- 
 tion, but for handsome specimens. 
 
 The time of incubation of the Tame Duck is thirty days."^ 
 
 * Does tlie Mallai*d differ in tliis respect from the Tame Duck ? I 
 think not. But, according to Audubon, " at length, in about three 
 weeks, the young (of the former) begin *o cheep in the shell." Did 
 we not know his usual great acciu'acy, we should suspect some error, 
 and also be startled at the subjoined statement. " The squatters of 
 the Mississippi raise a considerable nvimber of Mallards, which they 
 catch when quite young, and which, after the first year, are as tame 
 as they can wish. These birds raise broods which are supo'ioi' even to 
 those of the old ones, for a year or two, after which they become similar to 
 the ordinary Ducks of the poultry-yard. The hybrids produced be- 
 tween the Mallard and the Muscovy Duck are of great size, and af- 
 
 40 
 
470 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 The best mode of rearing them depends very much upon the 
 situation in which they are hatched.* For the first month, 
 the confinement of their mother under a coop is better than 
 too much liberty. All kinds of sopped food, barley meal, and 
 water mixed thin, worms, &c., suit them. No people are more 
 successful than cottagers, who keep them, for the first period 
 of their existence, in pens two or three yards square, cramming 
 them night and morning with long dried pellets of flour and 
 water, or egg and flour, till they are judged old enough to be 
 turned out with their mother to forage on the common and the 
 village pond. Persons with extensive occupations, over which 
 the Ducks would stray and be lost, will find it better answer 
 their purpose to buy in their main supply of Ducks half-grown, 
 than to rear them, besides having the satisfaction of putting a 
 few shillings into the pockets of their poorer neighbours. A 
 few choice old favourites may still be retained for their services 
 as grub-destroyers, for the beauty of their plumage, and for 
 the pleasure of seeing them swim their minuets in the pond, 
 bowing politely to each other — the bows to be returned — be- 
 fore they take their afternoon's doze on the grass, with their 
 sleepy eyelids winking from helow, and their bills stuck under 
 the feathers of their back, by way of a respirator. The healthy 
 heartiness of their appetite is amusing rather than disgusting. 
 A cunning old Duck, to whom I tossed a trap-killed mouse, 
 tried hard to get it down in the rough state, but finding that 
 impossible, she toddled off with it to the pond, where, after a 
 
 ford excellent eating. Some of these half-breeds now and then wander 
 off, become quite wild, and have by some persons been considered as forming 
 a distinct species. They also breed, when tame, with the Black Duck 
 [Anas Fusca) and the Gadwal the latter connection giving rise to a. 
 very handsome hybrid, retaining the yellow feet and barred plumage 
 of the one, and the green head of the other parent." 
 
 ■^According to Pallas, in the Crimea, the tame Duck is reared with 
 difficulty. 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 471 
 
 due soaking, tlie monstrous mouthful easily slipped down. 
 They are cheerful, harmless, good-natured, cleanly creatures. 
 As Audubon says, ^' They wash themselves, and arrange their 
 dress, before commencing their meal ; and in this, other tra- 
 vellers (in America particularly) would do well to imitate 
 them." 
 
 In rearing Ducklings, it is usual, in the first place, to dip 
 their feet in water as soon as hatched, and then to clip the 
 down on their tails close with a pair of scissors, to prevent 
 their becoming drabbled and water-logged; and before their 
 introduction to the pond, it is thought advisable, by many 
 good housewives, to let them have a private swim or two in 
 a small pan of water, to try their strength and practise their 
 webbed feet before venturing upon a larger space. 
 
 A few original notes on the Mallard will not be out of place 
 here, though the facts they record show that the Teal and such- 
 like water cage-birds have a truer claim upon them, if disposi- 
 tion and habits are to guide our arrangement. 
 
 ^'I have seen enough of the Mallard of England, and his 
 untrustworthy progeny, to make me doubt of his being the 
 origin of our Farm Duck. That the Mallard is becoming less 
 frequent every year in our vicinit}'- is true, but we have at- 
 tributed it chiefly to the exertions of unbidden would-be 
 sportsmen on our river. We still, however, have them in cer- 
 tain places in tolerable abundance. They are fond of frequent- 
 ing the furze and heath on our downs in spring, and sometimes 
 breed there, but oftener in willow-beds and the thick grass in 
 our meadows, whence I have often had Eggs brought me, and 
 set under Hens. These generally hatch well, if the Hen's 
 breast be dipped in water a few times during incubation. 
 There is a decided gain as to docility in Ducks hatched in 
 this way, over those caught on the river, even if only a single 
 day old. Young Wild Ducks are certainly some of the most 
 cunning and slippery little creatures extant, and the best 
 
472 THE TAME DUCK. 
 
 way is to commence handling them as soon as hatched, by 
 which means, and by confining them for some time within an 
 enclosed place, they soon become more reasonable. In every 
 case, I have not been able to trust them until the feathers be- 
 gan to appear; but in several seasons that I have reared them, 
 they have been so distrustful, that it was not safe to allow them 
 liberty, and as soon as ever their wings were grown, they were 
 off. On one occasion, I had two of these birds, about a quar- 
 ter grown, that grew exceedingly slowly : they were very wild, 
 and one night made their escape to the river, where they re- 
 mained until the evening of the following day, when they 
 were retaken. If I had not previously marked them, nobody 
 should ever have persuaded me that they were the same. I 
 could not have conceived that less than twenty-four hours' im- 
 mersion in the river could have caused the growth it did : but 
 so it was. Another time, I succeeded in making a couple so 
 gentle and sociable, that when half-grown, they would follow 
 me, and eat out of my hand. Soaked bread they are very fond of 
 when young; afterwards corn, &c.: the seed-tufts of the sedge 
 are a great treat, when soaked in their water. The two birds 
 above mentioned were both ladies, and, while I was trying to 
 procure a drake, (no easy matter,) they vanished, about the end 
 of November, being probably whipped up when out in an ad- 
 joining road. One year I lost a fine brood by turning them 
 into an exquisite little pond (as we thought) that had been 
 lined with lime, whereby they became immovably stuck at 
 the sides, and perished. Another time, in our great kindness, 
 we procured some river weeds, water-crowfoot, &c., and 
 placed them in their pond, forgetting it was not a running 
 water. The poor little things became apparently tipsy, 
 rolling and turning about in all directions and speedily com- 
 ing to an end. One set of docile creatures I succeeded in 
 rearing, turned out to be four Drakes; and so, for one reason 
 or another, none have remained over the winter — the more to 
 
THE TAME DUCK. 473 
 
 be regretted, as I wished to verify Waterton's account of the 
 wonderful changes in dress the Drake undergoes in June and 
 July, the oddest part of which is, that immediately on the 
 completion of the bird's sober change of raiment, he begins 
 to shed those feathers again, to make room for his gala dress. 
 ^^One cause of the diminution of numbers in the Mallard 
 here, is a Fox-preserver about half a dozen miles off. These 
 vermin seem to be fonder of Ducks than any thing else, and 
 the Ducks are preserved for them ! How they catch them has 
 always been rather a mystery to me, but it must be by lying 
 perdu in the sedge for them. This, however, would seem to 
 be but a poor chance. 
 
 "Wild Ducks, rendered tame and corn-fed, are certainly 
 superior to any, having the fine wild flavour, without its fishi- 
 ness. Beech mast are a good occasional diet for Wild Ducks 
 if thrown into their piece of water. 
 
 "This season (1849) I have been particularly successful 
 in rearing the Mallard in a state of domestication. Three 
 different sets of Eggs, from five to nine in number, were 
 brought in by our mowers, and the greater part hatched under 
 Hens. ^ The Ducklings were shy at coming out, but as soon 
 as their first feathers began to appear, they would eat from 
 my hand, and follow me eagerly about the garden, if they 
 saw me with a spade ; seeming to understand that they were 
 about to enjoy their grand treat of worms. Small frogs also 
 did not come amiss, which they gulped down, regardless of 
 the cries of the poor creatures. I noticed that, after they at- 
 tained their quill-feathers, though not previously, they began 
 to eat grass with avidity. Odd scraps at first, and soaked 
 corn and dry rice afterwards, formed their chief food; and 
 this diet, I think, made them mild and agreeable ultimately 
 for the table. Out of many I reared, there were only two 
 females— one of which had a singular habit of attacking me 
 with great spirit and much quacking, if I attempted the cap- 
 
474 THETAMEDUCK. 
 
 ture of either of her gentlemen friends. In domestic Fowls 
 this trait is often observed, but I was not prepared to find an in- 
 stance of it in an unreclaimed bird a great deal too young to 
 possess any maternal impulse. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 AYLESBURY DUCK— The best kind of. Pa^e 465 
 
 The Whit^ Call Duck 465 
 
 The White Hook-billed Duck.— The Eouen Duck 466 
 
 BERNICLE GOOSE — Becoming more and more productive in 
 
 captivity 450 
 
 Where to be pinioned — May be delayed too long 450 
 
 Description of the Bernicle Goose — Number of Eggs laid 451 
 
 Young liable to a certain disease 452 
 
 BLACK SPANISH FOWL— A distinct variety 204 
 
 Weight-of, atmaturity — Mr. Blake's Black Spanish 204 
 
 Laying qualities, etc 205 
 
 Mr. Dixon's account of them 206 
 
 Neither good sitters nor mothers 207 
 
 Young Chick's appearance, etc 208 
 
 Varieties of Spanish Fowls 209 
 
 Cross with Pheasant-Malay 211 
 
 Precociousness of 212 
 
 BREMEN GOOSE— Origin of the name 429 
 
 Colour of plumage, bill, feet, and legs < 430 
 
 Laying, and weight of — Quality of flesh of. 431 
 
 Season of laying — Method of preventing unseasonable laying. 432 
 
 Period of incubation 433 
 
 Method of hatching and feeding the Young 433 
 
 Average weight at seven or eight months old. 434 
 
 Breeding boxes — Name of this variety in England 434 
 
 DRENT GOOSE— The smallest of the tribe 453 
 
 Has not bred in captivity in any British collection 453 
 
 Where they may be obtained — Not easy to distinguish the sex. 454 
 
 Not good for the table 454 
 
 475 
 
476 INDEX. 
 
 CHICKENS, or CHICKS— How Mr. Devereux rears them with- 
 out a mother P. 329 
 
 Proper Coop for — Importance of Early Chickens 330 
 
 Mr. Cope's mode of rearing them 331 
 
 Col. Jaques Chicken Coop 329 
 
 CfflTTAGONG FOWL , 267 
 
 Various names of — Found generally crossed.... 270 
 
 General characteristics of. 270 
 
 Mr. Taggart's appreciation of. 271 
 
 COCHIN CHINA FOWL 143 
 
 Little known of the origin of the Queen's Cochins 144 
 
 Character of the Egg 144 
 
 Mr Nolan's description of the Cochin China Fowl 144 
 
 The Editor's importation of Cochins 145 
 
 Mr. Burnham's importation — His description of 14G 
 
 The Shanghaes from the same stock 148 
 
 What Mr. Burnham was offered for choice specimens 149 
 
 Notices of his stock 150 
 
 Mr. Dixon regards the Shanghaes and Cochins as identical 150 
 
 See Mr. D.'sletter on page 151 
 
 Mr. Dixon's estimate and description of Cochins 152 
 
 List of the weight of various Fowls, Cochins included 153 
 
 Cochin China Fowls frequently feathered down the legs 156 
 
 White ear-lobes not necessary to purity 157 
 
 Weight and characteristics of the Eggs of Cochins 158 
 
 DISEASES AND REMEDIES OF FOWLS 84 
 
 The Roup, and its treatment-^Surgical cases 85 
 
 The Gapes — its treatment 87 
 
 How to remove the fascioloi 89 
 
 Vermin, how to remove 91 
 
 Startling facts concerning parasitic insects 93 
 
 Two important letters from D. Taggart, Esq, on the manage- 
 ment, etc., of Poultry 96 
 
 Lice, how to remove and destroy — Arrangements for laying... 97 
 Best destroyer of vermin 99 
 
 DOMESTIC FOWL— Antiquity of the keeping of. 25 
 
 Aristotle familiar with 27 
 
 The reputed wild originals of the Domestic Fowl, doubtful 28 
 
 Head quarters of the 38 
 
 Unknown to the Icelanders 41 
 
INDEX. 477 
 
 DOT^IESTIC FOWL— Found in the Islands of the Pacific P. 41 
 
 List of the physical uses of a Hen and its parts 44 
 
 Courage and demeanour of the Domestic Cock 47 
 
 The Hen a pattern of maternal love 49 
 
 Permanent character of the different varieties 50 
 
 Experiments in crossing 51 
 
 The Dominique variety 328 
 
 Various kinds not particularly described 329 
 
 DOMESTIC GOOSE— Longevity of 416 
 
 Proper breeding age of — How many Geese to one Gander 416 
 
 How the male bird may be known 416 
 
 At what age they may be killed..., 417 
 
 The season of laying— Period of incubation 417 
 
 How the young should be fed 418 
 
 Columella's directions for rearing 418 
 
 How to be slaughtered 419 
 
 DUNGHILL FOWL— How characterized 327 
 
 Marks of the best variety 328 
 
 GAME FOWL— Portrait of Mr. Wistar's.. 214 
 
 Qualities of — An account of Cocking 214 
 
 Exterior Qualifications of a Cock 216 
 
 The Cock Pit 217 
 
 The Fight 220 
 
 Mr. Dixon's description of the Game Cock 222 
 
 Temperament of the Game Cock 224 
 
 Effects of Cock Fighting, (note) 228 
 
 Cocks of the same colour not matched 231 
 
 Malays fond of Cock-Fighting 232 
 
 Two Varieties of Game Fowl — Their Eggs and Chicks 235 
 
 Which are called Piles — The Furness Variety 237 
 
 White do. do 238 
 
 The Earl of Derby's 238 
 
 Management of. 240 
 
 Mexican Cock-Fighting 248 
 
 The Mexican Hen-Cock Game Fowl 246 
 
 Account of Mr. Taggart's Hen-Cock Game Fowl 247 
 
 Dr. Bennett's account of the Yankee Game Fowl 250 
 
 Isaac O'Sanner's Game Chickens 2G4 
 
 S. Rusk's Game Fowl 267 
 
 GOOSE— The Bernicle 449 
 
478 INDEX. 
 
 GUINEA FOWL— Period of incubation— Appropriate food of... P. 374 
 
 The way to feed the young 375 
 
 Prolificness of — Native country of 377 
 
 Varieties of 378 
 
 HONG KONG, or CHINA GOOSE— Multitude of names for 420 
 
 Description of. 421 
 
 The habitat of— NvLmbev of Eggs laid by 422 
 
 Worst flyer of all Geese 423 
 
 Period of incubation 424 
 
 Habit on leaving her nest 425 
 
 Eggs hatched out by a husband and wife 425 
 
 Colour of China Goose 425 
 
 Most noisy of all Geese 42G 
 
 Age of maturity — Advantage of a cross with common Goose... 427 
 
 JAVA FOWL — Not known to exist here in its purity 272 
 
 Fowls on Long Island of this name 272 
 
 Description of 272 
 
 JERSEY-BLUE FOWL— A mongrel 273 
 
 Characteristics and weightof. 271 
 
 MALAY FOWL— Mr. E. R. Cope's opinion of. 133 
 
 Description of 133 
 
 The habitat of the Malay Fowl 160 
 
 Height, weight, and general characters of 160 
 
 Mr Cope's importation of Malays..... 163 
 
 Description of the Malay Fowl extracted from the Penny Cy- 
 clopedia 163 
 
 Mr. Baker's description of one — Malay Hen 164 
 
 Singular habit of this breed 166 
 
 Black Malays 169 
 
 PEA FOWL— Description of— Destructiveness of. 345 
 
 Her age when she begins to lay 348 
 
 Pied variety — White variety 349 
 
 PHEASANT— The Ring-necked 851 
 
 Proper food for 353 
 
 Difficulty of crossing with Domestic Fowls 353 
 
 The Common will breed with the Ring-necked variety 354 
 
 Period of incubation 354 
 
 REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS— Its profita- 
 bleness 59 
 
 Two classes of Fowl-breeders 60 
 
INDEX. 479 
 
 REARING OF FOWLS— The greatest gainers, the dealers P. 61 
 
 Amount of Eggs in the United States , 61 
 
 How amateurs of Fowls should begin to keep them < 61 
 
 Proper kind of house 61 
 
 Proper kind of nests 63 
 
 How the Fowl-house should be kept 64 
 
 How to treat a Hen when she wants to sit 66 
 
 Period of Incubation 67 
 
 What to be done at the end of incubation 69 
 
 What to be done when the Chicks are hatched out 72 
 
 Chicks may be reared without a mother 74 
 
 Dutch mode of fattening Fowls 75 
 
 Various modes of cooking Poultry 77 
 
 How to procure the greatest number of Eggs 79 
 
 Jalap as a medicine for Fowls — Dose of — Relation of salt to 81 
 
 Importance of lime for 82 
 
 How Fowl-houses should be situated , 83 
 
 How to obtain male or female Chicks 83 
 
 SHAKEBAG FOWL— History of 272 
 
 Supposed to be now extinct 273 
 
 SHANGHAE FOWL 132 
 
 Mr. E. R. Cope's opinion of 133 
 
 Rev. Mr. Bumstead's Shanghaes 134 
 
 Their laying qualities 135 
 
 The Red Shanghae 136 
 
 Dr. Eben Wight's White Shanghaes — Descriptions of 139 
 
 Habits and dispositions of. - 140 
 
 Thriftinessin this climate 141 
 
 SWAN, BLACK— Its habits— Where originally found 382 
 
 How to distinguish the sex of... 384 
 
 How to pinion the < 385 
 
 Way to feed the 386 
 
 Period of incubation 392 
 
 The way to fatten— Weight of. 394 
 
 Mode of cooking < 395 
 
 SWAN, MUTE 379 
 
 Habits of. , 385 
 
 The Hooper, the Polish, and Berwick 382 
 
 TAME DUCK — Mr. Taggart's opinion of the common Duck 456 
 
 Number of Eggs laid in a season 456 
 
480 INDEX. 
 
 TAME DUCK — Young very healthy and easily reared P. 456 
 
 The Musk Duck is not so prolific 456 
 
 Mr. Dixon's account of the Tame Duck 457 
 
 Various modes of cooking Ducks 463 
 
 Native country of. 468 
 
 Black Indian Ducks — Their peculiarity 469 
 
 Period of incubation of the Tame Duck 469 
 
 The Mallard does not differ in this respect 469 
 
 Best mode of rearing 470 
 
 Some account of the Mallard Duck 471 
 
 How a Hen must be treated while sitting on Ducks' Eggs 471 
 
 TURKEY— When introduced into England— Varieties of... 361 
 
 The best kind 363, 
 
 Crested 365 
 
 When full grown 366 
 
 Period of incubation ■. 368 
 
 Proper food for the young — Diseases of the young 370 
 
 "Shooting the red." 370 
 
 WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE— First impression on seeing 437 
 
 Eggs of — Qualities of this variety 439 
 
 They pair like Pigeons 440 
 
 WHITE CHINA GOOSE 440 
 
 Meaning of genus, species, and variety, etc 442 
 
 Existing varieties and species, the remains of extinct races.... 446 
 
 Period of incubation of White China Goose 446 
 
 Characteristics of this variety — Eggs of. 446 
 
 WILD GOOSE— Will breed with the Domestic 396 
 
 Period of incubation 397 
 
 WILD FOWLS.— Gallus Bankiva— Its size 334 
 
 Characteristics — Habitat 334 
 
 Gallus Furcatus — By whom first described 334 
 
 Characteristics — Habitat 334 
 
 Gallus Sonneratii 335 
 
 Erroneously supposed to be the progenitor of our Domestic 
 
 Fowl 335 
 
 Peculiarity of its hackle-feathers 335 
 
 Description of BankivaHen 336 
 
 Peculiarity of the neck-hackle of the Bankiva Cock 33T 
 
 i^iuV ^ 
 
 3i^4d 
 
 STEREOTYPED BT L. JOHNSON AND CO. 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 

 
 •c,'^ ^ 
 
 L^^ ^ 
 
 
 
 G^ 
 
 o^\- 
 
 ^^ d< -T 
 
 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 cS ^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 a^^ 
 
 
 .^^ 
 
* / A> \y S -1^ ^Y> * -^ ^Y S f ^> 
 
 ^^ v^^ 
 
 
 
 .di 
 
 H<. 
 
 o"\ 
 
 
 
 
 =^^0^ r 
 
 * ^-<»» /- ■«- <3 C> <" ^t^ ^ •!- <P ca * y^ 
 
 '".\ 
 
 fc%.*^ 
 
 
 
 %>/ 
 
 '. -% 
 
 ' %,# 
 
 
 ^c^<^ 
 
 ^-^ .s^ ^^ 
 
 
 
 ^. 
 
 Qi. ^^/ 
 
 
 fU' ^ 
 
 ^ ^ „^^