October 10, 1865.J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



305 



Bclves what wo should do if poultry were attacked, we saw the 

 Tiinrs, aud were after diuiier dosing over the foreign corre- 

 spoudonce, when wo were suddenly aroused hy rending thut 

 much alarm had been caused by the appearance of a jjoultry 

 plague in sonio parts of France, which had already caused 

 heavy losses among the farmers. Then wo road of the same 

 thing in Ireland. Our first impression was " They manage 

 these thiug.s better in France." Fancy English farmers in a 

 state of consternation because there was a murrain among the 

 fowls. Eggs might be missed at the breakfast table ; Ducks 

 aud chickens might bo ih'sidfrata at times ; but in an English 

 farm, so far as profit and business are concerned, poultry is 

 ■\-iewcd more iu the light of a tolerated nuisance than as an 

 income. In the teeth of this, professional men, with but 

 Bcant leisure, aud having eveiythiug to buy, keep poultry (and 

 many tliauks to them) — good accounts, whereby they prove they 

 make a jirotit of their hobby. Why does the idea of a poultry 

 plague cause consternation iu France ? Because millions of 

 eggs come to this counti7 every woelc ; because the Pigeons, 

 the Geese and Turkeys are with them what they should be — 

 " farming stock." Ajid here wo would observe, let it not be 

 thought that all poultry-breeders abroad are small men. AVe 

 have visited places where poultry was " to the fore," and the 

 acreage of the farm considerably over five hundred. The eggs, 

 the birds, all enter into the w-eekly computation, and all go 

 to market. It is not necessary that the mistress or her daughter 

 should take them. 



We are not partisans of the opinion that because a man is 

 an agriculturist, farming five hundred acres, and employing a 

 capital of five thousand pounds, his wife ought at daylight 

 to be milking, his daughters cramming poultry, or that the 

 fanner himself should address every young lady as " Miss," 

 and pull a fore-lock. Things are changed from the day when 

 the farmer's wife rode on a pillion behind her husband to 

 market, and took her seat in the market to vend her butter, 

 eggs, and poultry. It is no longer the fashion of the times. 

 Trade is trade. We are not going into the question of classes, 

 which has split up society. We hold that every man who 

 works for his livelihood, and honestly fulfils his vocation, is 

 entitled to respect, and to those indulgences for himself and 

 his family which he can p.ay for. 



Wo make these remarks because we want a larger breed of 

 poultry, greater production of eggs, and altogether more active 

 production of food. The question is on the eve of becoming a 

 serious one. Men are asking themselves what they can fall 

 back upon if the cattle murrain become a more serious question 

 than it is now. Already, beef at many tables causes every one, 

 like Nelly Cook, to " look askew." Alarmists run about the 

 country, and tell those who are " gaping " for something fresh 

 that the " clever men " have discovered there are certain para- 

 sites in pork that are not IdUed by heat, and are taken into the 

 system with pork. WTiat a pity ! A noblemen said to his 

 cook one day, " Give me something new for an entrije." The 

 " artiste " put himself through his vocabulary. " Supreme de 

 Volaille," " Cotelettes aux pois," " Poulet a la Marengo " " Eis 

 de veaux sauce tomato," " Cotelettes aux concombres," " Grena- 

 dins de veau aux olives," " Filets de Chevreuil sau<;e piqitante." 

 Nothing would do. The " chef " scratched his head, and vowed 



his vows to . Who was the god or goddess of cookery 



under the " ancien regime ?" We cannot recollect, or we do 

 not know. But his prayers were heard. " I have it, my Lord." 

 " What is it?" " Two necks of very young pork cut carefully 

 into cutlets, coiTectly braised, di'ossed on a mould of stiff .apple 

 sauce, a border of mashed potatoes round the dish, and a 

 " Soubise," with a smart dash of sage for sauce." " Capital !" 

 L'entrte fit fureur. Pork, sage and onion, and apple satice ! 

 We would at any time face the parasites for such a dish. 



Our anecdote would be out of place were we not treating of 

 the present probable scarcity of food, aud the strp.its to which 

 we may be reduced. It quadi-upeds fail in supplj'ing the wants 

 of our increasing population, we must see what our resources 

 are. We believe poultry, and above all eggs, will be found 

 valuable adjuncts. Our capabilities iu the way of meat seem 

 to be at the end of the tether. We are obliged to draw largely on 

 Holland aud Spain, and get both meat and murrain. We can- 

 not go into the question of fish ; but poultry and cookery w^ill 

 stop many a gap, and wiU induce habits that will last. We 

 wish to increase the supply of both. Eggs are Protean ; they 

 Lave a hundred different forms, and never lose their nutritive 

 projierties. They are things that every one likes, and there is 

 many a worse diimer than three new-laid eggs and bread and 

 butter to match. 



But if disease gets among the fowls wo shall be short of eggs. 

 Forewarned is forearmed. Do not keep unnecessary birds ; by 

 such wo mean cripples, and worn-out fowls. Let their id.aceS 

 bo scrupulously clean. As the weather becomes colder feed tho 

 fowls better, but without overfeeding. Watch narrowly, aud 

 remove sickly birds at onco. 



LABELS FOR POULTllY TO BE EXHIBITED. 



The time is approaching for holding tho great Birmingham 

 Poultry Show, and I woidd suggest to the Committee that im- 

 proved hamper-labels to those hitherto used by them would be 

 desirable. Tho exhibitors who have sent poultry there know 

 well the trouble and time required to fasten on a number of 

 hampers tho Birmingham old-fashioned labels with four holes, 

 and there is now iu use by many other Committees an improved 

 one, with a single hole at each end. These labels also require 

 no cutting of strings, but can be easily turned over when the 

 hampers have to be repacked and sent to their destination. 



I append a sketch of one. 



-SELrai. 



DUCK-FOOTED GAME FO^^^.S. 



In some of your recent impressions a correspondence has 

 been carried on between Mr. Hewitt and a correspondent 

 writing under the signature of " J. H.. on the question of how 

 far a fowl's being duck-footed should disqualify it for recemng 

 a prize. If I may be permitted to offer a suggestion, I should 

 submit that the real point at issue lies between the two 

 extremes. It is quite possible that there may be a tendency 

 in a bird towards being duck-footed without his absolutely 

 being so ; or it may have the defect in one foot and not m the 

 other; besides which, if I correctly understand Mr. Hewitt, 

 where a bird has in all other respects the advantage over its 

 competitors, he would not disqualify it from the circumstance 

 of its being somewhat inclined to be duck-footed. 



One fact relative to Mr. Hewitt, which should- not be for- 

 gotten, is, that every exhibitor of poultry feels a degree of 

 Satisfaction on learning that he is to be tho sole judge, from 

 the feeling that he will mako an honest award of the prizes, 

 although, like all other fallible beings, ho may occasionally err 

 in his judgment. 



I fear the same cannot be said of all ; certainly the same 

 degree of confidence is not felt in some, to which may be at- 

 tributed the circumstance of so many having discontinued to 

 exhibit ; and it will be patent to every one who reflects— that 

 a breeder and exhibitor of any length of standing, must pos- 

 sess as correct a knowledge of the points of merit in a bird as 

 a professional judge ; and when he sees his fowls unfairly dealt 

 with, natm-allv retires from the contest iu disgust. In proof 

 of this, I need only mention the last two Birmingham Shows, 

 aud the great dissatisfaction manifested— a circumstance which 

 cannot have escaped the memory of many of your readers ; 

 and the fact of the principal prizes finding the same destina- 

 tion where a certain party is connected with the judging, to 

 say the least, wears an air of suspicion. . Understanding that 

 the Birmingham Committee do not contemplate making any 

 change in their Judges of Game Fowl, and as Mr. Jennison, of 

 Manchester, has brought out a very Liberal prize list— the ex- 

 hibitors ha-sang, moreover, had general confidence in the Judges 

 he has appointed— I think, imless the Birmingham Committee 

 pursue a new and improved course, exhibitors could not better 

 mark their sense of such conduct than by passing the Birming- 

 ham Exhibition by and patronising Mr. Jennison.— Exhibitoe. 



SICKNESS AMONG POULTRY. 



I AM sorry to say the disease among poultry is no fancy ; 

 there is a good deal in this neighbourhood. My yard is con- 

 sidered by my farmer friends to bo absurdly well taken care of. 

 There are a good house, kept scrupulously clean, aU the ad- 

 juncts of dust bath, water pans, dry runs, aud three fields ol 



