March 25, HCEI. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTIOULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



817 



visible. And wby should not poultry be reared for the market 

 with tlie same care as sboep, pigs, or oxen '.' it would pay as well 

 as any. Formorly, a nobleman or pentloman would not liave 

 sold tho game off liis estate; now it is common, and no one 

 would shrink from admitting that it is so. It would seem, then, 

 that a certain time is required before these plain things can be 

 received and admitted by the public. Let us hope this time is 

 arrived for poultry, and that the increasing attention given to it 

 will not be canfined entirely to exhibitions, but extend to the 

 less glorious but equally useful task of providing a delicious 

 article of food, and a luxury which may be indulged in at all 

 times without imputation of extravagance. Fowls left to them- 

 selves are fit for table in July or .\ugust ; but with proper and 

 oaretul managomont they may bo ready for market in April, 

 May, and June, when they command great prices ; so let us, 

 therefore, give it a fair shire of our attention, for while we have 

 been slumbering, or little better, France, Spain, Holland, 

 Belgium, &e., have been gathering a rich harvest, for there are 

 annually imported into Great Britain no less than :!80, 100,000 

 eggs, which, if taken upou a most favourable average, will give 

 something like 21,210 tons, the value of which is more than a 

 million of money. Then Ictus take the consumption of poultry 

 in London alone at five million head per annum, whi;h is quite 

 within the bounds, it shows there is a great demand. Then 

 surely thereis ample room for greater enterprise in this particular 

 branch of live stock, and sufficient stimulus to induce farmers 

 or their families to give their mind to it, as it may be made a 

 profitable undertaking. 



If you look to the production of eggs alone, one cock of a 

 strong robust breed may have twenty-four hens, but if you want 

 eggs that will produce ctrong healthy chickens six hens will be 

 sufficient for one cock. The farmer who has not the will to 

 expend money on fancy varieties, will do well to keep to one 

 breed of poultry, the choice of which to depend upon his require- 

 ments ; keep pure breeds and as good as can be procured, if for 

 exhibition, for if anything is worth doing at all, do the best you 

 can by it. I have this season known chickens six months old 

 sell at ten and fifteen guineas each ; but as my object to-night 

 is chiefly to expatiate on the production for the million, I may 

 tell you the greatest weight of meat is produced by judicious 

 crossing, and for the heaviest chickens at the smallest cost none 

 equal the produce from Dorking hens and a two-year-old Light 

 Brahma cock ; but for quality of the meat, there is no fowl in 

 my opinion equal to a cross between Dorking hens and a Game 

 cock. 



Many people imagine success in exhibiting poultry can only 

 be accomplished at great expense, but this is wrong; the 

 essentials after possession of the birds are knowledge and pains- 

 taking. If the exhibitor is determined to possess a prize pen, 

 and breed from it, the chances are he must buy it, and possibly 

 pay a good price. Further, he must be prepared to find that 

 even first-class birds do not breed £.11 first-prize chickens, and, 

 however good the blood, neglect will neutralise it all. There 

 is no royal road to success, the exhibitor must be content to 

 learn by degrees. Nothing but practice, close observation, and, 

 if I may use the word, " study," will lead to success. But as 

 profitable poultry is required, I tell those who wish to make it 

 so by means of exhibiting or for market, that all the pains they 

 take are not too much for success. But one thing is wanting, 

 the false pride that is above selling eggs or poultry must be 

 conquered before the balance sheet of poultry kept for marketable 

 purposes will show the desired results. The business must be 

 looked after as carefully as any other pursuit which is expected 

 to be remunerative. In support of the fact of its paying for a 

 little extra care, let me ask any present the weight of the last 

 pair of chickens they had killed, and if you do not know, have 

 the next pair weighed and compare with the following, which I 

 have met with during the last year at poultry exhibitions where 

 I have acted as judge — viz., chickens twenty-two weeks old, 

 IClbs. 14ozs. the pair; twenty weeks old, 16 lbs. 9ozs. ; and 

 many others of similar weight. These chickens were fed upon 

 Dear's poultry food, which I have proved a powerful fattening 

 agent, increasing the number of eggs laid, and hastening the 

 period of laying. As a preventive of gapes and roup, which 

 fowls are subject to on cold wet runs, it is unrivalled. If gen- 

 tlemen who are in the habit of rearing Partridges and Phea- 

 sants try this meal, they will not like to be without it. I 

 have given it several years' trial, and therefore speak from 

 experience. 



There may be some present anxious to make a trial of profitable 

 poultry, and would Hke to determine upon a variety that they 

 eonld occisionally obtain a few prizes with, and market the 



inferior produce ; to snob I should recommend the Dorking ," 

 which should embrace the following characteristics, viz. : — Com- 

 pactness, great depth and length of body, low on the legs, which 

 should be white, with a slight pink hue between the scales, the 

 comb, whether rose or single, to be perfect of its kind, and the 

 (ifth toe well developed, apart from the others. Weight must 

 always be a great consideration in this breed, which are easily 

 reared, have a full breast, quick at fattening, good layers, 

 excellent sitters, attentive mothers, and last, but not least, the 

 perfect birds fetch good prices at exhibitions. When once yon 

 have settled upon your stock, turn it to account ; sit all the 

 early eggs to get forward chickens ; at twelve to twenty weeks 

 old, select all those with the least visible objection as exhibition 

 birds, and fatten them for market. This reminds me of a hint 

 I would give as to killing and packing. The necks of poultry 

 should be broken, tho birds picked while warm, and the body 

 placed in a proper position to stiffen. They should be packed in 

 wicker baskets in rows on stiff wheaten straw, and well covered 

 with the same, so that it forms a layer between each row. There 

 is often very much difference in the value of birds arriving at 

 market simply on account of insufficient care in packing ; every 

 precaution should be taken that the skin is not broken or 

 bruised. 



I fear I shall be extending this subject to too great a length, 

 so I will in as few words as possible now explain the manage- 

 ment of chickens, which usually come out of the shell at the 

 end of twenty-one days. Bemove the addled eggs and empty 

 shells, but leave the chickens in the nest for one whole day, 

 feeding the hen liberally, and supplying her with water in a 

 safety vessel. I have found the following simple plan answer 

 admirably — any labourer can prepare it at a trifling cost: — 

 Take a flower pot 7 inches high, commonly known as a .32 size, 

 cut a wedge-shaped piece from the rim about 1 inch wide and 

 li inch deep, which can easily be done with an old saw, then 

 fix tightly a cork in the bole of the pot and fill it with water, 

 place thereon a common flower pan or saucer of about 11 inch 

 larger diameter than the rim of the pot, and reverse them 

 quickly, which will give a clear water-course of IJ inch round 

 the saucer, thereby preventing the drowning of chicks, and 

 the supply will be equal until the flower pot is empty. Give 

 nothing to the chicks, they only require warmth during the first 

 twenty-four hours of their lives. I have heard of giving young 

 chickens a peppercorn or other stimulant, but it is a practice 

 to be condemned. When they are twenty-four to thirty hours 

 old, place the hen and chicks under a coop in a dry shed open 

 to the south, upon a surface of dry sand or ashes, putting a 

 safety vessel of water within reach through its bars. For the 

 first fortnight feed alternately upon whole grits, rice boiled 

 dry, bread crumbs, and meal sufficiently moistened to remain 

 crumbly ; after the first fortnight they may begin to have a little 

 wheat or barley, and above all things let them have daily a 

 fresh supplj' of green food, mowings of grass, cabbage, or 

 lettuce leaves. The golden rule for chicken-rearing is. Feed little 

 and often — every two hours. Eemember, no warmth is so bene- 

 ficial as that endengered by generous but proper feeding, there- 

 fore feed the hen as you do the chickens, giving her scraps 

 and crumbs of bread from your table, and in cold wet weather 

 soak them in ale. Every day when the weather is favourable, 

 after the chickens are ten days old, place the coop upon a lawn 

 or piece of grass closely mown, if possible sloping to the sonth, 

 removing to the shed every night and during rough weather. 

 All nests should be on the ground. 



The subject of profitable poultry has such a wide range that 

 it appears difficult to end it without craving your indulgence for 

 a few minutes to introduce the Ducks, Geese, Turkeys, and 

 Guinea fowls, which latter pair up similar to Pigeons, there- 

 fore an equal number of each sex must be kept. To obtain a 

 stock of them some eggs should be hatched in the yard where 

 they are wished to remain. To buy full-grown birds is almosj 

 hopeless, for being so strongly attached to the place of their 

 birth, if sold, they will soon find their way back to it. The 

 Guinea hen is a good layer, the eggs are rich, but unfortunately 

 it is fond of roving about and hiding its nest in long grass, 

 hedgerows, or corn fields. They are most select in the choice 

 of their society, rarely associating with other fowls. May is 

 the best month for hatching Guinea fowls' eggs. Incubation 

 requires twenty-eight to thirty days, they must be fed like other 

 fowls, and should be used to stated times, as they return to the 

 yard at those times almost as punctually as the bands of the 

 clock go round, and if one of the feedings is towards evening 

 they then roost at home. We sometimes hear of robberies 

 being committed in poultry yards and pheasantries. Experience 



