268 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ April 11, 1867. 



would be certainly attended by a poorly feathered shank. 

 " Nemo " in his paper on crosses refers the poorly- feathered 

 leg to Dorking blood. I can hardly agree with him ; the feather- 

 ing can be made and easily made as heavy as ever, but the 

 fifth toe is persistent in a wonderful manner, and is far 

 oftener seen than even the cruel expression which I certainly 

 have myself noticed as often an attendant on Dorking blood. 

 Another symptom of Dorking taint is the length of the tail ; 

 this would always arouse my suspicions. 



Whilst at combs and hocks let me bestow a word on 

 " Falcon," and his suggestion that the stiff hock feathers 

 should be removed in the same way as the Game cocks are 

 dubbed. I may be, perhaps, considered as eccentric as 

 " Falcon " if I say that I think there is much force in his 

 remarks. For what purpose is dubbing the Game cock still 

 permitted? Clearly only for the sake of appearances. It is 

 ridiculous to reply that Game cocks must be shown as if ready 

 to fight. Were this correct various other dubbings ought also 

 to take place, and these certainly would extinguish any prize- 

 taking in the exhibition pen. Recollect that in dubbing the 

 Game cock a most faulty comb may be actually got rid of, a 

 comb that would disqualify for prize-taking. Now if merely 

 for the sake of improving the appearance of the " Coq d'Angle- 

 terre " we still permit dubbing, why should we, for the sake of 

 appearances, refuse far less painful performances in other 

 breeds ? 



These thoughts had already been running through my mind 

 when early in this year I was amused by the virtuous indig- 

 nation of your reporter at one of the northern shows, where 

 some threads were discovered in the comb of an otherwise 

 first-rate Hamburgh cock, and the bird was disqualified. Your 

 reporter in defence of his remarks enlarged on the excessive 

 cruelty, &c., holding up the owner to scorn. Surely there were 

 Game fowls at that show, and on the score of cruelty their 

 owners were much more to blame. I cannot say positively, 

 but it strikes me that to achieve the perfect dubbing I have 

 seen in some of our Game strains, more than one operation 

 must be necessary. If correct in this supposition, Game 

 owners have more sins to answer for on the score of cruelty 

 than the owner of that Hamburgh cock. 



Again, the trimming that takes place over the eye at the base 

 of the comb in both Game and Spanish, for the "latter in this 

 respect are most extensively trimmed ; what is it done for? 

 to improve the appearance. Why should it be legal, for the 

 winking of judges at this practice renders it legal, to pull out 

 objectionable feathers at one part but not at another ? Why 

 should the Game and Spanish be improved by art, whilst the 

 Brahma and Cochin must be shown as Nature formed them ? 

 Can it be that these latter breeds have more beauties naturally, 

 and, therefore, require no assistance from art ? 



In conclusion, let me congratulate my Brahma brethren on 

 the position our favourites hold at Bury St. Edmunds. It 

 appears to have excited the splenetic feelings of "Dorking 

 Cock" at "Dorking Castle," but we need care little for that, 

 evidently the poor old fellow has bumble-foot, and, I fancy, too, 

 a touch of the gout in it ; perhaps, when he did thrash Brahma 

 in fighting, the latter trod on it — any way a little magnanimity 

 is required to " adorn a throne," and that quality either from 

 the gout or something else " Dokkino Cock " appears to be de- 

 ficient in. He is evidently getting blind also, or he would 

 have noticed that Dorldngs are offered Chicken prizes at the 

 Royal Agricultural Show, a compliment paid to no other breed ; 

 this renders his remarks quite out of place. " Coq d'Angle- 

 TEKBE " is also irate enough, he would knock the Brahma down 

 not for the sake of putting " Dokeing Cock " in his place, but 

 evidently he would put himself, the Game, on the throne. — 

 Y. B. A. Z. 



A YEAR'S POULTRY-KEEPING. 

 LooKiMG over my poultry book for last year, I find the profit 

 to have been 6s., allowing 5s. per pair for Ducks and fowls, 

 and Is. Sd. a score for eggs, which, considering the high price 

 of both, I take to be somewhat under the mark, particularly as I 

 consider that for actual weight of flesh two of my fowls are 

 equal to three that I should purchase at the poulterers'. My 

 birds have the run.of a good yard, but are entirely dependent 

 upon me for their food, which is given to them twice a-day, 

 and in the morning consists of meal andmiddlings mixed into a 

 paste with scraps from the house, and in the afternoon of whole 

 barley or wheat, or sometimes oats, whichever I can meet with 

 most conveniently. I have a Cochin cock and fourteen hens, 



four of them Cochins, two Hambnrghs, two Spanish, two Dork- 

 ings, and four cross-bred. 



Subjoined is my account : — 



Eggs. 



Jiinuary 40 



February 13S 



March 109 



April 105 



May -15 



June 44 



Eooa. 



July 78 



Augnst 96 



September 9 



October 



November 30 



December 19 



£ «. d. 



Total 703 a 19 



Seven i)air Duclcs 1 15 



Twenty pair fowls 5 



9 14 



Grits, com, meal, and other food 8 



Leaving Gs. for my trouble, which I look upon in the light of a 

 pleasure, and so I think would every active healthy lady vrho 

 once took up the pursuit. — Bedfoiidshibe. 



CROSSING GAME FOWLS TO PRODUCE 

 DIFFERENT COLOURS. 



To produce Brown Reds. — Put a Black-breasted Red or 

 Ginger Red cock to Dark Grey or Dark Birchen hens. Pile 

 cocks and Red Dun cocks will also produce them with ths 

 above-named heus ; this cross also throws Duckwings. 



To produce Black-breasted Reds. — Put Brown Bed, or Ginger 

 Bed, Pile, or Red Dun cocks to Duckwing hens. Brown Reda 

 put to Duckwings also make Dark Birchens and Greys. 



To produce Duckwings. — Put Dark Grey, Dark Birchen, 

 Mealy Grey, or Yellow Birchen cocks to the Partridge hens. 

 The first-named two will also throw Brown Reds as well. 



To produce Piles. — Put White cocks to Bed Dun, or Ginger 

 Red, or Partridge and Cinnamon hens. 



To produce Dark Greys and Dark Birchens. — Put a Duck- 

 wing cock, or Mealy Grey or Yellow Birchen cock to the Brown 

 Red hens, which will produce them best. 



To produce Red Duns. — Put a Blue Dun or Dun cock to the 

 Wheaten-coloured or Cinnamon hens of the Black-breasted 

 Reds of that colour. Blue Dun cocks with Duckwing heus 

 make the Birchen Duns. 



To produce Brassy-winged Blacks. — Put the Dark Birchen, 

 Yellow Duckwing, or Yellow Birchen cocks to the pure-bred 

 Black hens, or the reverse of this. 



To produce Y'ellow Birchens. — The Yellow Duckwing cock 

 put to Ginger Red hens or Cinnamons does this. 



To produce Ginger Reds. — Put Pile cocks to the lightest- 

 coloured Partridge hens of Black-breasted Reds. 



To produce Mealy Greys. — Put the White cocks to Dark Grey 

 hens. The lightest Dark Grey hens are the best. 



To produce Red Furnaces or Red MuUingars. — Put White 

 cocks to the reddest Red Dun or reddest of the Cinnamon 

 hens. These make Spangled Piles. 



To produce Spangles, use Whites, Blacks, and Cinnamons. 

 A White or Cinnamon cock is best. 



To produce Polecats. — Use Partridge hens put to White and 

 Black cocks. All three colours are required. 



By this it will be seen that the three original wild colours 

 are easily producible by crossing, while Whites, Blue Duns or 

 Duns, CuciJoos, and Blacks can only be produced by occasional, 

 or accidental throws, as the result of domestication. 



" Whites, Duns, and Duckwing Greys " mixed, will some- 

 times throw Cuckoos. Crossing will not make Whites, Duns, 

 or Blacks ; but this does not at all prove these colours to he 

 original. All these crosses are, however, certain to produce 

 much inferior birds to the true made or original breeds for a 

 length of time, and are, therefore, undesirable and even foolish, 

 except for the sake of experiments. 



Piles are called the most mixed blood of all by some breeders, 

 but this is not always the case, and not so much so as is gene- 

 rally thought. 



In breeding and crossing, it must be observed that though 

 the Grey breeds are almost always harder and stronger than 

 their respective Red originals. Dark Greys harder than Brown 

 Beds, and Duckwing Greys than Black-breasted Reds, yet in 

 breeding crosses the red colour is much more powerful than 

 the grey colour, though Red birds are less strong and hard 

 than Greys, and all the Greys incline wonderfully to breed 

 back to the Beds they sprung from, especially in the cocks. I 

 have known Pile cocks (red eyes and white legs), when put to 

 Dark Grey hens, throw good Silver Duckwing Grey cocks 



