376 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 13, 1860. 



Pheasants. Only last evening I brought in a Silver-spangled 

 lien lying on my hand, I spread out both her wings, she is very 

 tame (I tame all fowls and Pigeons with hempseed). Every 

 one admired her — on each feather a dot of black jet, then the 

 green hue on her back. Consider, too, the perfect contrast of 

 the purest white and cleanest black, then the dark eye, and 

 neat double comb. Then there is this advantage in Hamburghs, 

 the hens are as handsome as the cocks, and hens are always 

 more numerous, every one, of course, keeping six or seven 

 hens to one cock. Let no one judge of Hamburghs by what 

 he sees in towns. They are birds especially for the country. 

 Then I hoped to speak presently from experience of their 

 laying, but, alas ! misfortune has come upon the fine brood I 

 reared last spring, in which I took so much delight, and of 

 which I wrote. I tended them myself, counted the long and 

 lovely row every night ; I. locked them up early, for foxes abound ; 

 when, lo ! one evening only three were at roost, the three less 

 excellent, two cockerels and but one pullet. Where were the 

 rest ? The truth came out, that while we were dining three 

 setters which had escaped from long confinement in the town 

 nearby, had entered the yard, chased, killed, and, as if in cruel 

 mockery, partly buried my poor Hamburghs. There was sorrow 

 upon this sad discovery throughout Hilltop Rectory — even tears 

 were shed, and my poultry heart was for a time nearly broken ; 

 but I mean to breed more next year from the pair I have left, 

 for I am in no way tired of Hamburghs. 



To return to " Newmarket," he must at the next show he 

 attends stand one half-hour before the pens of Hamburghs, 

 and study their beauties with attention and without prejudice. 

 This is the penance the Chaplain enjoins for his sin in placing 

 Hamburghs among non-ornamental poultry; besides, it will 

 cure him. — Wiltshire Rectok. 



THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF GAME FOWLS. 



(Continued from page 357.) 



5. — Blacks. 



These are of two or three colours in the cocks — 1st, The 



entirely Black cocks ; 2nd, The Brassy-winged cocks ; and 3rd, 



The Furness Black cocks with the yellow backs and wings. 



The latter are now quite rare. The hens are generally entirely 



black in all three sorts. 



Blacks have bluish-black, bronzy-black, and dark olive-green, 

 or dark willow legs. They have generally black eyes, but some 

 of the inferior Blacks have the yellow or daw eyes. 



The entirely black birds are the pure breed of Blacks, the 

 Brassy-winged and Furness breeds being the result of cross- 

 ing. The bluish-black legged are the purest breed, but the 

 bronzy-black-legged, Brassy-winged, and Furness breeds are 

 the " gamest." These are probably crossed with the Dark 

 Birchins mostly. Blacks have taken three or four silver cups, 

 and are as prolific as the generality of the Game fowls. 

 6. — Dark Birchens. 

 The Dark Birchens are nearest allied to the Dark Greys in 

 appearance, and the best of them are bred from Dark Grey 

 cocks with the yellow-necked Brown Red hens. They are also 

 bred from Duckwing and Yellow Birchen cocks with Brown 

 Red hens. They are always inferior to Dark Greys. 



Dark Birchen cocks have the straw-coloured yellow hackle, 

 as their name denotes, and are dark underneath the feather, or 

 " cut out " dark ; the hackle of the hens is also yellower than 

 that of the Dark Grey hens. Eyes and legs should be blackish, 

 though some of the worst have dark willow or olive-green legs. 

 7. — Dark Greys. 

 Dark Greys are bred from the hardest and best Brown 

 Reds, which always incline to throw the Dark Grey hens, but 

 not the cocks, which are produced by breeding in-and-in with 

 the Dark Grey hens. Eyes and legs always blackish, hackle 

 always dark grey. These always "cut out" very dark, the 

 darkest of all the sorts. The dark grey -breasted birds are the 

 beBt and hardest birds. They are sometimes called Dark 

 Silvers, and are good birds though bad layers in comparison 

 with the other sorts of Game. Hackle always grey and thickly 

 Striped with dark stripes. Chickens when young blackish, with 

 lightish bellies ; while the Brown Red young chickens are 

 yellower in breast and belly, as are the Dark Birchen young 

 chickens when quite young. 



8. — Red-breasted Ginoer Reds. 

 These are not a common bird. There are red-eyed and 

 yellow or daw-eyed, the red-eyed being either white or yellow- 



legged, and the daw-eyed always yellow-legged. The hens are 

 of a light ginger partridge colour with ginger breasts of a 

 yellowish colour, and not fawn breasts. They are quite distinct 

 from the Cinnamon breeds of the Black-breasted Reds, as their 

 hens have a different coloured breast, and throw Red Ginger- 

 breasted cocks always. The hens are grained and pencilled 

 with darker markings, as the darker fawn-breasted common 

 Partridge hens always are. 



9. — Yellow Birchexs. 



Yellow Birchens are also now a rare colour, and always 

 yellow-legged and yellow or daw-eyed, and yellow is the prevail 

 ing colour throughout. Breasts and part of the plumage always 

 inclining to a yellowish-creamy colour with darker markings. 

 The hens lay a yellowish egg. 



10. — Mealy Greys. 



Mealy Greys arc not common, and have the silver or mealy- 

 grey breasts in both cocks and hens, without any yellow. They 

 were bred from the Whites, bred into Mealy Whites, and 

 then crossed again with the Blacks, the produce most inclining 

 to the Dark Mealy White being selected to form the breed. The 

 grey colour prevails more in the hen than in the cock, as in 

 most Grey breeds, they are sometimes from Dark Greys when 

 very good. 



11. — Whites. 



The true Whites are always white-legged with red eyes. 

 Yellow and willow-legged Whites always incline to a yellow 

 tinge. Willow-legged have red eyes, yellow-legged yellow eyes 

 in general, though sometimes the bright red eye if good birds. 

 There are, probably, blue-legged Whites also, as in Piles, 

 though I have never seen them. 



Whites were originally thrown by the Black-breasted Reds, 

 though only occasionally ; and some say that these, breeding 

 back to the red colour, produced the Pile breed ; but the Black- 

 breasted Reds will throw Piles as well as Whites. 



1-2.— Red Dun-?. 



Red Duns are of three colours — 1st, The white-legged with 

 dark red eyes. 2nd, The blue-legged, also with dark red eyes. 

 3rd, The yellow-legged, with yellow or daw eyes, the worst sort. 

 Both of the first two sorts are good birds. The white-legged 

 are very game. The yellow-legged are rather poor things, and 

 are the most common, except in the northern districts, where 

 the other two sorts prevail. 



Red Dun hens are cinnamon-coloured with blue dun-breasts 

 and tails. Cocks red, with breasts and tails the same in colour 

 as in the hens. The yellow-legged sorts are not so red, but 

 are a yellower bird, and are, therefore, called the Ginger Blues. 

 Red Duns all lay well, but are not much bred or exhibited. 



13. — Blue Doxs. 



These are not common, and were bred from the yellow-legged 

 Red Duns or Ginger Blues, throwing first the Blue hens, and 

 by breeding in-and-in, at last produced the Blue cocks, which 

 are much less common than Blue hens. These lay well, but 

 are the weakest of all the Game fowls, and will hardly stand 

 steel at all. 



Some breeders consider Greys to be original. I decidedly 

 do not do so. Red Furnesses, Cuckoos, Spangles, and Polecats 

 are mixtures. — Newmarket. 



A NEW TOULTRY SHOW IN THE SOUTH. 



I am anxious to call the attention of my brother poultry fanciers 

 to an effort now being made to increase the number of southern 

 poultry shows by starting one at Guildford. The town boasts 

 many advantages for this purpose. It is distant from the me- 

 tropolis only thirty miles, or under an hour in point of time. 

 Six lines of rail converge at Guildford station, giving the town 

 direct communication with London, Reigate, Brighton, Ports- 

 mouth, Southampton, and Reading. There is no poultry show 

 of any note nearer than Shoreham or Basingstoke. The neigh- 

 bourhood is populous, and the " classic ground " (to poultry 

 fauciers) of Dorking is near at hand. 



The Committee of the Guildford Agricultural Association 

 resolved this year to add poultry to their other attractions, and 

 published a prize list, giving to Surrey and Sussex fowls 

 (Dorkings ?) six prizes, to Game three, to Ducks three, to Ham- 

 burghs and Turkeys two each, and two extra jorizes to cottagers ; 

 all these prizes to be limited to Surrey exhibitors who sub- 

 scribe 5s. each to the Show. The schedule is certainly defective, 

 arising, I believe, from the fact that no gentleman on the 

 | Committee (however willing that body was to get up a good 



