138 



THE AGRICULTUUAL NEWS. 



Ai-oi'sT IG, 1902.. 



POULTRY. 



[Continued from jmge 12,i.) 



BEEEDS OF FOWLS. 



It will thus be seen that the raising of |)oultry is an 

 iudustiy of very great iniportaiice in agrieultiiral cfmntries. 

 Although the We.st Indies may have no export of eggs and 

 fowls, an industry jjroducing an annual value of over 

 £.500,000 in one island is one that deserves some study, 

 and while we are seeking for knowledge and aj'iilying it in 

 the breeding of cattle and horses and in the improvement 

 of our cultivated (ilants, we ought not to overlook the utility 

 of poultry. Btsi les, poultry -rearing i.s especially suitable 

 a.s a cottage industry and can be engaged in by almost 

 everybody in the country. If we put the average number of 

 eggs laid by each hen in the West Indies, under i>resent 

 condition.s, at fifty jier year as I have done in my figures, — 

 I am .sure that number is a fair estimate,— and if, by 

 better knowledge of dilferent bieeds of fowls, a more intimate 

 knowledge concerning their breeding feeding, and housing, 

 we can make the average number of egj.s laid by individual 

 hens to be a hundred, which is no great figure in comparison 

 with the average of many flocks of hens in the United States 

 and Great Britian, this alone would mean an increase of 

 value of over £300,000 to Jamacia, and a proportifinate 

 increa.se to other i.slands. 



Whatever we do should be done creditably. Good fowls 

 take no more food than bad ones : the latter we find generally 

 the greatest eaters, indeed, but they i)ut their food in an ill 

 skin. Therefore I shall write about the breeds found most 

 suitable in Jamaica, which island is a composite one, .so far 

 as climate and weather are concerned, and the conditions 

 found therein will include everything to be found elsewhere 

 in the West Indies. 



First, let me explain, that here, as in other lands, 

 there are two distinct clas.ses of jionltry keejiers : the 

 fancy, and the utility men-"the first, keeping fancy breeds 

 only as a hobby to please their eye and to take i>ri7.es at 

 shows perhaps ; the second, keeping fowls for usefulness 

 alone, not caring so much about their fine feathers, if they 

 };et plenty of eggs. V,o\\\ have pleasure and profit ; if we 

 keep them for profit and get it, we have pleasure: if wf keep 

 them for jilcasure and get it, we have profit. I'.ut 1 am 

 <lealing stri<-tly on the utility and profit side of poultry as 

 reiiiv.sented by cash saved or cash gained. 



(■L.\SSES OF HENS. 



Hens ai-e roughly divided into three cla.s.ses : the lay- 

 in" l>reeds, the table breeds, and the all round breeds. The 

 last are principally latter-day liroductions made by crossing 

 the originally distinct laying and table breeds and making 

 new breeds. The table birds are large and Heshy and, with 

 the exception of the Dorking, au old English breed, they 



hailed originally from Asia (i)rincipally China) and are^ 

 therefore .sometimes called Asiatic breeds. They are all 

 feathered on the leg exceiit the Game classes, and the princi- 

 pal are the Hrahma, the Cochin and the Langshan. The 

 first two are now bred very heavily feathered on the legs and 

 are thickly feathered and fluffy on the body. They are tllu^>. 

 excellently adapted to stand cold and are just as ill adajited 

 to stand "heat, and hence they have never thrived well in 

 Jamaica, having the worst record of deaths on the voyage- 

 here and shortly after arrival of any breeds. The Langshan, 

 on the other hand, is more lightly feathered, and is the only 

 breed of the large Asiatic class that is in any way suited 

 for the West Indies. Yet it is more of a cold-country type ;. 

 but it is excellent for crossing, as will be afterwards explained. 

 The Cochin is usually a poor layer of small, brown eggs, and 

 is kept mostly for crossing for size, and for its beautiful 

 buff colour. It is an entirely u.seless breed for the West 

 Indies. The Brahma is a fair layer of good-sized, brown eggs. 

 All three take long to mature and are not ready to lay 

 until they are nine months old. They are hot sitters, getting 

 broo<ly readily, yet they do not make good mothers owing to- 

 their clumsine.ss. 



(lAME FOWLS. 



None of these three breeds can be selected as utility fowls- 

 for Jamaica, but the cocks are sometimes usefid for crossing 

 for size when that is desired. The Game breed, most in 

 vogue for usefulness, is what is called the Indian-Game,. 

 Corni.sh Indian-Game, (a latter-day production of the 

 County of Cornwall, England,) and is not in any way to be 

 confounded with the Pit Game or Fighting Game. This 

 Cornish Indian-Game is a favourite fowl among ]>enkeeiiers. 

 in Jamaica, and is nuich more suitable for the climate 

 than the feathered-legged breeds. It is large and very 

 solidly built, very close feathered, and thus never looks as. 

 heavy as it' really Ls. It is purely a table fowl, and as such 

 is surpassed only by the Uorking. The hens, exceedingly 

 jioor layer.s, are strong sitters and make good mothers. The 

 Okl English Game is also a .■^jilendid table fowl, not so- 

 large as the Cornish : but the hens are better layers. They 

 arenot of great use when kept I'Ure, owing to their pugnacity 

 and the small size of the hens, but for cro.ssing with good, 

 large, fair-laying hens of any tyiie, they give activity, hardi- 

 ness (either "against heat, cold, or damp) and food-.seeking 

 projiensities to the cro.sses, .so that this is altogether an 

 excellent fowl to breed from, where many enemies to chickens 

 are connnon, for the hens make wary, careful, tender, mothers, 

 and the cocks arc thorough gentlemen in looking well after 



tlicir mates. 



IIOKKISC.S. 



The Dorkings as table fowls are unsurpasseil. They 

 lia\e short, white, or pink leg.s, tleep bodiu.s. full breasts, small 

 bones, white flesh, and would be suitable for dry localities in 

 the West Indies where there is plenty of shade. The hens arc 

 rather jioin- layers of white eggs, of fine size, and are strong 

 sitters. The 'table fowl that generally takes the prizes at 

 the great stock shows in I'^igland, is a cross between the 

 Dorking and Indian or Old luiglish Game. The Dorking i.s 

 the modern tyi)e of the old barn door fowl. It is an old 

 I'.nglish breed which ' came over' indeed before the Normans, 

 for it is sup]>o.sod to have been first introduced by the 

 Komans, and was always a well-known type, through its 

 having five toes on each foot. It has not been very success- 

 fully kepliu Jamaica. (John Barclay.} 



(To he conlinmtl.) 



