JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



413 



■which laid nearly three hundred eggs in one twelvemonth, 

 though valueless as a fancy bird, and the quality descended to 

 several of her progeny; and I have since found other instances 

 which prove conclusively that a vast improvement might easily 

 he effected in nearly all our hreeds were that careful selection 

 of brood stock made for this purpose which the fancier bestows 

 on other objects. It is to be regretted more is not done in this 

 way, and having more room than I had, I hope myself to make 

 some experiment in this direction shortly. I will only say now 

 that I am perfectly certain the number of two hundi-ed eggs 

 per annum might be attained in a few years with perfect ease 

 were the object systematically sought ; and I trust these few 

 remarks may arouse a general attention to it amongst those 

 who keep poultry for eggs only, and who can easily do all that 

 is necessai-y "without any knowledge whatever of fancy points, 

 or any attempt to breed exhibition birds. 



The consideration of the breeds suitable for special circum- 

 stances I will endeavoiu' to enter upon in my next paper. — 

 L. Wright. 



CHICKENS SUmTV^ING IN CHILLED EGGS. 



I SHOULD like to mention the following facts for the encourage- 

 ment, under similar circumstances, of my fellow fanciers. I 

 have a number of hens sitting on Brahma eggs, and by an over- 

 sight, two days ago, they were not seen safely back to their 

 respective nests after being taken off to feed. The consequence 

 was that tvro hens went into one nest; this was not discovered 

 for about five hours, and by this time the eggs, twelve in num- 

 ber, and neaiiy all chipped, were perfectly cold, and not a sound 

 of a chick to be'heard in them. I at once put them in a bowl of 

 warm water, and in a short time heard the chu-ping of the 

 chicks. "S\'hen the eggs were thoroughly warm I replaced them 

 under the hen ; the following morning 1 had the satisfaction of 

 finding eleven very fine chicks hatched, and they now appear as 

 strong as any I have. — Vf. 1. 1. 



HOME PEODUCTION OF EGGS AND POULTRY. 



{Continued from page 354.) 



I WTLL now direct my remarks more particularly to the several 

 newly introduced breeds of foreign fowls, and endeavoiU' to 

 point out the particular advantages these several breeds of fowls 

 possess in a pecuniary or commercial point of view. I will com- 

 mence with the Brahma, as being probably the most generally 

 useful and important of the comparatively new introductions. 

 This large Asiatic fowl surpasses all others in size and strength 

 of constitution : and from its suitability to our variable climate, 

 and from its many good quahties, it appears to have made 

 greater way and increased in favour more rapidly than any other 

 breed. The advantages this breed possesses pre-eminently over 

 all other birds are its extreme kindness, dociUty, great size, and 

 being a good layer, especially through the winter months, when 

 eggs are most dear and valuable. In character the Brahma is 

 somewhat similar to the Cochin, only more hvely in its carriage 

 and more incUned to roam in search of food. It also carries 

 more breast meat, is less coarse in the bone, and has a better- 

 coloiired skin. As a table bird it will not compare with the 

 Dorking, but the Brahma will thrive and do well where the 

 Dorking will pine and die. The Brahma will cross freely with al- 

 most any breed, and it is, perhaps, for the purpose of crossingthat 

 the Brahma v\'ill be found more valuable. The celebrated Surrey 

 chicken is highly esteemed in the London market, and is pro- 

 duced from a cross with the Dorking cock and Brahma hen. 

 The more common cross adopted, however, throughout the 

 country is the Brahma cock with Dorking or barndoor hens. The 

 importance or advantage gained by this cross is impai'ting the 

 great size and strength of constitution of the Brahma into the 

 Dorking, without much deteriorating the value the Dorking pre- 

 eminently possesses as a table bii'd. The Brahma is, as I said 

 before, a good winter layer, and equal to the Cochin as a sitter 

 and good mother to rear strong and hardy chickens, and when 

 crossed with the Dorking, produces admirable egg-layers. It is 

 not uncommon for Brahma cOcks to attain the weight of 12 lbs. 

 and 14 lbs., and hens 10 lbs. to 12 lbs. each bird. This is about 

 the weight of two couples of common barndoor fowl. 



The Houdan is the celebrated French fowl — the Dorking of 

 France — more highly prized in that country than any otlier 

 breed, perhaps not excepting the Creve-Coem-, and since its in- 

 troduction here it is equally highly thought of, and promises to 

 supersede most other breeds. The advantages this breed pos- 

 sesses are its early maturity and great readiness to fatten, being 

 particularly light in the bone and delicate in flesh ; it is also a 

 precocious layer of large white eggs throughout the year, never 

 desiring to sit. It is no exaggeration to say that the Houdan 

 will fatten upon the same food that will scarcely keep other fowls 

 in ordinary condition. There is another valued French fowl 

 fully equal to it in this respect — that is the Creve-Cceur, a 

 magnificent jet black bird of very considerable size, and possibly 

 the most precocious fowl known to fatten. These birds are now 



well established in this countiy — so much so, indeed, that it is 

 easier to purchase thoroughly pure and good specimens for stock 

 purposes here than it is in France. 



Among the most celebrated of the ETigUsh breeds come first 

 the Dorking, followed by the Game and Hamburgh. The Dork- 

 king may, in every sense, be considered a purely English fowl. 

 Its antiquity clearly dates back to the Eoman period. For table 

 purposes the Dorking appeai-s to hold its own against all comers, 

 and certainly fi-om its size, amplitude of breast meat, dehcacy of 

 flesh, and early maturity, it is not easily surpassed. But as a. 

 layer, the Dorking is found very variable ; some strains are said, 

 to be fair layers, but, as a rule, this breed cannot be depended 

 upon for the production of eggs in any quantit}', and only through 

 the fine summer months. The disadvantages the Dorking 

 possesses are the delicacy and difficulty in rearing the chickens, 

 and the liability of the breed to disease, save in exceptionally 

 warru and dry localities. To increase the strength and stamina 

 of this breed, and make it more generally useful and suited to 

 our climate, it is found necessary to cross it with some of the 

 larger and stronger breeds, and the cross invariably produces a 

 valuable and profitable bird. 



We next come to the Game, the bird that is sure to be the 

 cock of the walk wherever he may be thrown. The Game is to 

 the other breeds what the racehorse is to the more commoQ 

 breed of horses. The value of the Game lies rather in its great- 

 courage, bold spirit, and great beauty, than possessing any 

 super-excellent qualities in a commercial sense. The flesh of 

 the Game is, however, superb ; but there is comparatively Utile 

 of it, the bird being anything but large or meaty. The hens 

 are good layers of peculiarly finely-flavoured eggs, and I th nk 

 there is no bird that is better able to cater for itself or will 

 wander a greater distance in search of food. 



We now come to that most beautiful and highly -prized breed, 

 the Hamburghs — the Gold and Silver-spangled, and Gold and 

 Silver-penciEed varieties. These beautiful birds have beea 

 established for centuries amongst us, and may be looked upoii 

 as an EngUsh fowl, although the first stock was probably brought 

 here by a Dutch merchant trading with this country. Such 

 precocious and determined egg-layers are these birds, that they 

 have earned the well-merited name of evei-y-day layers or ever- 

 lasting layers. The eggs, although somewhat small in size, are 

 rich in quaUty, and the shell white. Indeed, the size of egg" 

 laid by the Spangled variety is not veiy much smaller than the 

 egg of the Cochin or Dorking, both of which lay a small egg in. 

 proportion to the size of the body, whereas the Hamburgh's egg 

 is large in proportion to the size of the bird. It is not at all un- 

 common for Hamburghs to lay fi'om 250 to 280 eggs in the year, and 

 occasionally 300 are obtained from a single bird. Two hundred 

 and forty would, I think, be a fair average yield from this breed. 

 For table purposes they cannot be much considered, o"wing to 

 their small size. They are, however, plump and well-flavoured, 

 and make excellent roast chickens. They are small eaters and 

 very busy caterers for themselves, and obtain a larger propor- 

 tion of their necessary food by searching about for it. In this 

 respect they, with the Game, are essentially a farmer's fowl. 



The Black Spanish or the White-faced Spanish cannot now be 

 considered other than a fancy fowl ; the contin\ied breeding in- 

 and-in to obtain this peculiar face has deteriorated its value as 

 a profitable bird. In=itead of the hardy, useful, old-fashioned, 

 red-faced bird that formerly existed, we have now a delicate 

 fancy fowl, less Lcrdyand smaller in size. The Spanish have 

 ever been noted as good srmmer layers of a large white G^g, 

 and were it not for its black legs, would be highly esteemed fox~ 

 table pui-pose, from the whiteness and delicacy of its flesh. 



I have touched upon the generaUy acknowledged advantages 

 that the best and most approved breeds of home and foreign 

 fowls possess, and I shall now dii"ect youi" attention to the gene- 

 ral treatment of fowls and the return that may be realised by 

 them "with proper management, showing the importance in a 

 commercial sense that would result from an increased quantity 

 being kept and the quaUty of our breed being improved. The 

 first thing to be considered by those who keep fowls should be 

 to obtain that breed most suited to the climate of the locality as 

 well as the accommodation and convenience of the individual 

 poulti-y-keeper. To the farmer who possesses an unlimited gi-ass 

 rmi^ with farmstead well sheltered and soil dry, the Houdan or 

 Brahma Dorking would be found the most generally useful and 

 profitable breed to keep. As layers, considering the size of their 

 eggs, they are not to be surpassed, and as table birds, heavy, 

 large, and meaty, with readiness to fatten and quick growth to 

 maturity, they will aH'ays command a ready market and the 

 highest price. To the cottager who is obhged to confine his 

 fowls within a nan'ow space the Brahma or Crcve-Cccur will 

 probably be found the most profitable and satisfactor)-, combin- 

 ing egg-producing power and flesh-forming propensity in the 

 same bird, and less likely to suffer by confinement than any 

 other bird, as they are bound to thrive in a space where Houdans, 

 Dorkings, or Hamburghs would pine or die. For the produc- 

 tion of eggs in winter these birds are not to be surpassed, and 

 this is a necessary qualification for the profitable keeping of 



