466 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



and Silver Poland produces fowl almost indis- 

 tinguishable from a Creve, except for the presence 

 of the fifth toe on some of them. 



" Why Craves are not more popular than 

 they are is most surprising to me. They are 

 amongst the very finest and handsomest and 

 best of fowls. I believe, for a large fowl, they 

 are the quickest of all in growth, and so prolific 

 are they that I had pullets this summer laying 

 rather under five months old. They breed very 

 true, and there is no variety in which a breeder 

 can get so quickly to the front if he so minds. 

 I have kept them about fifteen or si.xteen 

 years. Shortly after I started keeping them I 

 had the great good fortune to secure the whole 

 of Mr. R. B. Wood's stock, the choicest strain 

 in the country, when he gave up the variety. 

 I never found them delicate, but they are an 

 excitable fowl, and when overfed very subject 

 to apoplexy. They are even quicker in growth 

 than the Houdan, and though there is not the 

 difference in the average size of the two varieties 

 that there was at one time, the very finest 

 Creves even now attain greater size than the 

 largest Houdans. 



" Combs and crests are better than they used 

 to be. We have large, full, evenly shaped 

 crests, and good even combs, for the most part 

 of the correct V shape ; and in colour we have 

 distinctly improved. We have more of the rich 

 green black, and less of the rusty purple black 

 than formerly. There is one disadvantage, how- 

 ever, in the green black. Birds of this colour 

 have a strong tendency to white in crest, much 

 more so, I find, than the duller black ; and 

 the cocks and cockerels frequently get coloured 

 feathers in both hackle and saddle. 



" In body type Creves should be similar to 

 Houdans, viz. square, thick-set bodies, long in 

 the keel and broad in the breast, legs black 

 or blue, crests full and smooth in front, and 

 a two-horned comb, with no side sprigs, shaped 

 something like the lecter V. In breeding for 

 exhibition, if good constitutioned young birds 

 of good green black colour, with the necessary 

 quality in head-points, be selected to breed from, 

 the produce will be so uniformly good as to sur- 

 prise the breeder not acquainted with this variety. 



" To revert again to their supposed delicacy, 

 I would remark that my runs are very exposed, 

 on heavy, damp clay soil. Yet my Creves do 

 well, and, if not overfed, will lay with the best 

 — and such eggs! — the largest, I should say, 

 laid by any variety of poultry. I have had 

 pullets laying in frost and snow, when not even 

 my Brahmas gave me an egg. Like Houdans, 

 they are magnificent table fowls. But they are 

 great eaters, and fatten very quickly. 



" Neither Houdans nor Creves look well or 

 do well in dirty, muddy runs, but if given dry 

 and clean houses to sleep in, and good, clean 

 grass runs in which to get about, nothing can 

 beat them for table and laying purposes com- 

 bined. As regards feeding, I feed my Creves 

 and Houdans in the same way : Spratt, oatmeal, 

 and sharps for morning feed ; green food mid- 

 day ; heavy white oats or best wheat in the 

 evening ; and occasionally a little small, round 

 maize in the winter. 



" Houdans and Creves make capital crosses 

 with either Brahmas or Plymouth Rocks. 

 Either cross is extremely hardy, very large, 

 wonderful layers, and very meaty fowls for the 

 table. I can strongly recommend either cross." 



We only add to the above remarks, that it is 

 advisable for stock birds to have the crest either 

 tied up, or cut off in the same manner as Polish, 

 when not required for exhibition purposes, and 

 for similar reasons. Such procedure will do 

 much to prevent the excitability mentioned 

 above, which used also to be a well-known 

 difficulty amongst Polish breeders. 



The La Fleche fowl has never been so 

 popular in England as either of the preceding, 

 chiefly owing to first importations being some- 

 what delicate, a defect since reme- 

 La Fleche. died ; partly also, perhaps, because 

 there was not sufficient of distinct- 

 ness in its characteristics. The Polish blood 

 in its veins is shown by the two-horned comb, 

 the small crest in many specimens, and the 

 nostrils ; but the carriage, and white ear-lobes, 

 and green-black plumage, evidently show a 

 cross with the Spanish fowl, as another pro- 

 genitor. This breed formerly supplied many 

 of the best fowls for the Paris markets ; but 

 both it and the Houdan and Creve have lately 

 been greatly displaced by more recent creations 

 of the Erench breeders. 



In general appearance the La Fleche is a 

 tall, Spanish-looking fowl, though not now bred 

 quite so tall and upright as formerly. The size 

 is larger than Spanish, fatted specimens often 

 reaching 1 1 lbs., and usual weights being 8 lbs. 

 for cocks and 6 lbs. for hens when shown alive. 

 The bird has little apparent Polish "character" 

 about it, being high on leg, with rather long 

 back and flowing tail. The head is smooth- 

 faced and rather long, the comb consisting of 

 two rather small horns of the V character, but 

 standing nearly upright, behind which is often a 

 very small crest of a few short feathers slanting 

 backward ; but specimens are preferred without 

 any, and much crest is penalised. The wattles 

 are long and pendulous, the ear-lobes round, of 



