March 14, 1867. ] 



JOUBNAIi OP HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEK. 



201 



comparisons. I admit to the fullest the right of every one to 

 his own opiDion, and desire simply to point out and lay stress 

 upon the fact, that whatever be the colour preferred, it will be 

 much injured if indiscriminately crossed with a strain from 

 which it greatly varies. 



In commencing the breeding of Brahmas, therefore, it is 

 necessary first to determine the kind and colour of pencilling 

 which shall be adopted, and then to see that all cocks pur- 

 chased are of strains which come pretty near it. For instance, 

 if a cock be seen and admired, the hens shown from the same 

 yard should also be examined, and unless they also approach 

 tolerably near to those already in the yard the male bird 

 should be rejected. I am supposing all along that exhibition 

 excellence, and, consequently, uniformity in marking, are 

 desired. Those who keep fowls for only their flesh aud eggs 

 need no such directions ; but that they will not be useless to 

 exhibitors is proved by the numerous unsightly pens I see at 

 every show, containing birds of all kinds of irregular and 

 mottled colour, caused by this ignorant aud indiscriminate 

 crossing of different strains. 



Whatever be the colour preferred, it is of very great import- 

 ance that the breast be well and darkly covered with pencilling. 

 No pullets not thus marked can be called really good. To 

 obtain such the breeding cock should be chosen with breast, 

 thighs, and under parts as nearly as possible jet black, taking 

 especial care that the fluff about his thighs do not show much 

 white. The latter is very apt to breed what I consider most 

 unsightly pullets, with a white streak down the centre of each 

 feather, as in the back of a Silver-Grey Dorking. A spangled- 

 breasted cock is by no means bad for breeding, however, and 

 for exhibition far preferable ; but it is certainly essential to 

 good pullets that the thighs and legs be as dark as possible. 



With respect to the character of the pencilling, my own 

 preference is for the well-defined Hamburgh-like marking, and 

 to obtain it in perfection the cock must be selected with the 

 greatest care. The signs of the needful quality in him are in 

 the sharp edges of the black stripes on his hackle aud saddle- 

 feathers, especially the latter. In many birds the saddle- 

 feathers nearest the tail are very " cloudy,'' and such will never 

 breed well and sharply-pencilled pullets, for which it is highly 

 necessary to select a cock in whose saddle-feathers right up to 

 the tail the central black stripe is clear and dense with a well- 

 defined edge. The neck-hackle should have plenty of black in 

 it about the shoulders, or the pullets will be too light in the 

 plumage. For the more minute and heavier pencilling less 

 care in the selection of the cock will be necessary, provided, as 

 before remarked, the yard which bred him correspond in ■ 

 character with the colour desired, and his general plumage, 

 form, and size be satisfactory. 



I should myself prefer mating a two or even three-year-old 

 cock with three pullets. Many prefer a cockerel with two-year- 

 old hens, aud the chickens are ceitainly larger at first ; but I 

 believe that those hatched from pullets have usually most con- 

 stitution, and eventually make the largest birds. This point, 

 however, is comparatively immaterial, but the number of hens 

 or pullets to one cock should never exceed three in any of the 

 very large breeds. 



In these remarks I have endeavoured to serve all and offend 

 none, leaving to each the free choice of that "school" of 

 colour to which his fancy inclines. On a future occasion I will 

 briefly mention the crosses usually found in Brahma fowls, 

 and the means of their detection. — Nemo. 



BREEDING GAME FOWLS. 

 {Continued from page 1S6.) 



In crossing colours when the hens are of a stronger and 

 harder colour than the cock, most of the cock chickens will be 

 of the hen's colour, aud most of the pullets of the cock's 

 colour ; for instance, in crossing Brown Bed hens with a willow- 

 legged Black-breasted Bed cock, most of the cocks will be 

 Brown Beds, and most of the pullets of the Partridge colour. 

 This, however, is not a good cross. 



The different colours of eyes should never be crossed or bred 

 together, as this produces mongrel or mixed colours as soon as 

 anything, even if the fowls are of the same colour in plumage, 

 but with different-coloured eyes. Bed eyes should be bred with 

 red eyes, black eyes with black eyes, and yellow eyes with 

 yellow eyes. Bay eyes and light brown eyes are the mixtures, 

 and sometimes by bad crossing some birds have one eye red 

 and the other eye yellow. 



Game fowls are in their prime at two years old, cocks as a 

 rule declining after four years old, aud hens declining after five 

 years. The cocks wear out faster than the hens, the fecundity 

 of the latter notwithstanding. Many birds are, however, quite 

 healthy and vigorous at much greater ages. I have known a 

 Game hen breed good chickens at ten years old, and many 

 valuable brood cocks have been bred from at eight and nine 

 years old. Such old hens only lay about one clutch of eggs in 

 May or June, and after laying about a dozen eggs cease laying 

 altogether for the year, bringing up their own chickens well if 

 put on their own eggs. 



In choosing eggs for sitting, they should be examined or 

 looked through by means of a bright candlelight, and such as 

 are clear to look through, with the air-bladder plainly dis- 

 tinguishable at the large end of the egg, are fresh and good, 

 while such as appear spotted and clouded are too stale. 



Good stags and pullets will, of course, produce better chickens 

 than any bad fuU-grown birds, but as a rule full-grown birds 

 breed the best. lu crossing and mixing colours in breeding, 

 all the colours incline to breed back to the darker original 

 colours (the Black-breasted Beds and Brown Beds), Duck- 

 wings always breeding back to the Black-breasted Beds, Dark 

 Greys and Dark Birchens to the Brown Beds, and the lighter 

 colours, such as Piles, to the Ginger Beds. The Brown Bed 

 colour prevails the most in crossing, and the Black-breasted Bed 

 is the next iu general. 



Eggs laid in March will, as a rule, produce the most cock 

 chickens, especially if first strings or clutches of eggs after 

 moulting. Eggs laid in the warmer and softer months produce 

 most pullets. Dark Greys aud Brown Beds will throw most 

 cock chickens and the fewest pullets, and the willow-legged 

 Black-breasted Beds, and the yellow or daw-eyed sorts throw 

 most pullets aud fewest cocks iu proportion. The other sorts 

 are intermediate between these in this respect. Black-eyed 

 and red-eyed breeds produce most cock chickens. I have now 

 been sufliciently prolix, I believe, on the subject of breeding. — 

 Newsiaeket. 



SUMMER POULTRY SHOWS. 

 Would it not be well if committees would take into con- 

 sideration the extreme heat of the weather in the months of 

 June, July, and August, aud reduce the pens of large birds — 

 such as Dorkings, Cochins, and Brahmas — to a cock and one 

 hen instead of two hens ? I think this would contribute greatly 

 to the health and comfort of the birds, as I have seen them 

 much distressed at that season of the year. — An Exhibitor. 



POULTRY PRODUCE. 



I AGAIN submit my poultry account of the past year for your 

 inspection. My poultry yard for the first six months was 

 made up of four Dorkiug and two Brahma hens, and during 

 the remainder of the year of four Dorkings only ; the produce 

 has been as follows ; — 



January 65 



February ti8 



jU.ich 77 



Aiuil 62 



May 73 



June 58 



July 64 



Aut^st 63 



September 28 



October 2 



November IS 



December 41 



Total 619 



£ s. d. 



Receipts 5 13 S 



Expenses 4 5 1 



Profit 1 8 7 



Twenty five chickens were hatched, and twenty-one reared. 

 In this account I have only charged Id. on each egg con- 

 sumed by ourselves, that being I think about its real value. 



I find feeding fowls when at roost during the cold winter 

 months conducive to early egg-production. Dming December 

 and January fowls, of course, go to roost very early, and how- 

 ever well fed during the day, by 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening 

 their crops will be found quite empty. While the past severe 

 weather lasted I adopted the following plan : — About 9 o'clock 

 I mixed up about as much barleymeal as six hens and a cock 

 would be likely to consume, together with a small quantity of 



