October 7, 1675. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOULTUHE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



S27 



80 aud 31 Ribaton, Pippin ; 33, Margil; 83, Nunpareil. [Jno. Gai;c).— Haw- 

 tlioroden. 



Names of PLANTg(J.i?(i?(0.— Magnolia grandiflora. IM. IT. ilf.).— Habran- 

 thu9 8p. (ir. Clarice).—!, Lastrea dilatata var. ; '2, Poljsticbum aogularo; 

 3, Pellrea bastata; 4,rolypodium viilgaro; 5, Adiantum bif-piduluru ; (5, Pteria 

 cietica variegara. lA. B.). — I, Adiautum cuueatum; 2. A, couciobura. [G. 

 Mull in).— Volyatichnm angalaie var. (S. Kiislnkei.—Your specimens are too 

 bad to name. Tbe supposed Hjoscjamus is apparently tbe Tomato. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON OHEONIOLE. 



LES BASSES-CODES DE L'ANGLETEREE. 



Chaptkb 4 — MICHELDEVER. 



The Dorking breed Is of great antiquity, for some have even 

 supposed that it was introduced by the Romans. Aristotle cer- 

 tainly tells us of a five-toed breed of fowls that existed in Greece, 

 and Pliny and others mention that a breed was to be found in 

 Italy possessing the requisite number of toes of our Dorking 

 friends, but whether these birds were the Dorkings of our day 

 we can never know. We may rest assured, however, even sup- 

 posing they were, that nothing in the times of tither Aristotle, 

 Pliny, or Columella existed similar to the Dorking establishment 

 which we had the honovir of seeing last week at Micheldever. 



We have had opportunities of noticing the crack Dorkings of 

 each year^t the various shows for many seasons, and we have 

 had the privilege of seeing many of them afterwards in their 

 own homes, but until we saw Mr. Burnell's we never had seen 

 an establishment containing all the recognised breeds of Dork- 

 ings and nothing else. Dorkings of every colour and in every 

 stage of growth there were, and a more perfect sight of its kind 

 we never looked at. Many fanciers who have fine yards of 

 Hamburghs, or Brahmas, or Cochins, as the case may be, so 

 often spoil the actual spectacle by raising less valuable speci- 

 mens with the best birds, or by the introduction of cross-bred 

 matrons in the various yards for incubating purposes, which to 

 a great extent detract from the beauty of aperfect group. Here, 

 however, there was nothing of this kind, for there was not a 

 bird on the premises that was not a Dorking ; aud the pens only 

 contained the picked chickens of the season, for Mr. Buruell 

 kills right and left at a very early age, and only leaves the 

 choicer birds to mature in his large grass runs ; consequently 

 here the groups were very beautiful to look at. One pen, con- 

 taining Silver- Grey Dorkings looking bright and fresh from the 

 moult, was one of the most pleasing poultry sights we have seen 

 for a long time. 



We will begin at the beginning and go more minutely over 

 this Dorking establishment. We must first say that the soil is 

 chalky, and consequently well drained, which we think must 

 help materially to Mr. Barnell's great success, for on soil which 

 is inclined to be damp we have always heard Dorkings will not 

 thrive. When we first enter the gates we find a large warm 

 corner surrounded by a sunny bank and good shade. This is 

 the chicken nursery. Here in March and April may be found 

 all the coops with the baby broods, which as they are old 

 enough are drafted-off to other runs, and by May or June this 

 spot is cleared again, and nothing more cooped here, or any 

 birds allowed access to it until another spring. Through the 

 intervening months the grass grows and the whole place be- 

 comes fresh and free from the taint of its last visitors. This 

 we believe to be another great point, for places where chickens 

 continually live iu all through the year cannot be as healthy 

 and fresh as they should be for newly-hatched chickens. 



Passing from this place we come into the stable-yard. Here 

 we are met by a pair of capital fox terriers of the best blood pro- 

 curable, the dog's head especially being very beautifully marked, 

 and "nailers" they seemed at vermin. One of them had just 

 distinguished herself by slaying a stoat which had been found 

 in a run of Dorking pullets. She deserved a silver collar on the 

 spot, for we can imagine nothing more formidable to a poultry 

 fancier than a stoat careering about in his yards. In the 6table- 

 yard we found a large room, which was the poultry-room. It 

 was decorated with trophies of bygone shows and birds, in the 

 shape of cups and prize-cards and the sickle feathers that had 

 moulted from winning heroes. Round this room on two sides 

 were large wooden pens with wire fronts, where the birds are 

 penned to judge of their merits before despatching them to the 

 arena of the poultry shows. There were here, too, large gal- 

 vanised corn-bins, aud all descriptions of what the Messrs. 

 Crook call "poultry appliances." We were greatly struck with 

 the great cleanliness and order of everything. 



Going on from this room a handful of peas and a whistle 

 called the Pigeons together, and a neat little lot they were. We 

 saw White Fautails, really excellent in tails ; and Black and 

 Red Magpies of more than average merit ; but the gems of the 

 lot were the Dragoons, not a large lot, only half a dozen as yet, 

 for this is Mr. Burnell's last fancy. A young Blue and a Silver 

 with capital bars we think will, when older, be found near the 

 front somewhere ; and then from here we came to the home of 



the Dorkings, and we feel we must try and explain a little what 

 Mr. Burnell had to work upon here, aud what he has done with 

 his materials. 



To begin with, it was a 2!-acre field sloping to the south, the 

 subsoil of which was chalk, with only a thin covering of mould. 

 Round this field there was a thorn hedge, aud this is where the 

 Dorking establishment of the present time was made when Mr. 

 Buruell first came to Micheldever. We shall go more minutely 

 into this yard than we have done or shall do with regard to other& 

 which we may write of, because we think this must have been 

 the sort of place so many have, and which they are anxious to 

 torn into a poultry establishment, but do not quite know how to 

 set to work. We think Mr. Burnell's mode of proceeding was 

 admirable, and the whole thing done, we should say, at a fairly 

 moderate outlay. To begin with, he gradually allowed the 

 hedges to grow high, which keeps cold winds oil and helps to- 

 keep intruders out. Then high and strong wire-netting was 

 fastened all round to the hedges to keep out the foxes, which 

 are very plentiful iu the neighbourhood. Next a fence was put 

 up right through the middle of the field dividing it into two runs 

 of about one acre aud a quarter iu each. This fence was made 

 of close wooden rattles, and much resembles the hurdles so 

 frequently used in Wiltshire and Hampshire for penning the 

 sheep. It requires to be renewed once in three or four years, 

 but makes a most admirable and economical fence. Then along 

 the top of the field Mr. Burnell had fixed a strong fence of this 

 same work, only of double thickness, and a narrow strip right 

 across had been taken off the field close to this double-rattled 

 fence. The whole strip is about half an acre, and runs right 

 along the top of the field. This was again subdivided by 

 double-rattled fences into ten or twelve enclosures, and then the 

 actual division of the field was done, and the yards of this large 

 Dorking establishment were made. They comprised in fact 

 two large grass runs of a little more than an acre in each, and 

 ten or twelve smaller grass runs in a row, the whole of this line 

 only containing about half an acre. A moveable wooden house 

 was placed in each pen, strong doors put to each division, and 

 the whole thing was done, and we never want to see a better or 

 more useful set of yards. There were large elm trees dotted, 

 about in many of the runs, which afford good shade. One yard 

 had a trio of guarled-truuked old beech trees, whose foliage waa 

 just changing, red and golden leaves being discernible in places. 

 These trees made this pen look beautiful. There were two 

 other old elm trees also that we must tell of, for they containei 

 feathered friends. They stand close together and are quite 

 hollow from old age. At the foot of one of them inside the 

 trunk a White Dorking pullet was sitting, and just over her 

 head on a large knot of the tree was a Wood Pigeon's nest with 

 either eggs or young birds ; while in the next tree not a yard 

 off lived a family of Owls, also in the old trunk, and though we 

 could not see them, we saw the remains of various banquets at 

 the foot of their castle inside the walls. It struck us as being 

 quite a happy-family homestead here. 



But we must return to the Dorkings. In the first of the large 

 runs we found a dozen or so of splendid Coloured pullets. There 

 was not one badly-co'.oured bird among them, aud any two would 

 have made a good matching pair, so even in colour was every 

 one. In the next run we found cockerels, great-bodied birds 

 with good toes and straight combs, promising to make when 

 matured perfect monsters. Then we saw a run full of white 

 pullets, and a nice lot they were, but more backward than the 

 Coloured, still quite a striking group. Then we siw some 

 Silver-Grey cockerels, among them the bird which was so well 

 to the front at Birmingham and Bath, but he had a brother or 

 two in with him which will soon equal him. Then some Cuckoo 

 cockerels, one of them a splendid colour, with a tail far above 

 the average of Cuckoos. Then we came to White cockerels ; we 

 fancied one or two were rather creamy, but this very likely can 

 be attributed to the sap in the feathers, which will be iu time 

 outgrown. After them we saw a pen containing all the crack- 

 coloured hens, and a noble-looking lot they were ; some quite 

 moulted- out, others in the process of moultiug. We were shown 

 the heroines of many an exhibition, and we should say they will 

 be such again if all goes well. From this run we visited others, 

 all containing beautiful young birds, three or four cockerels in a 

 pen, till we came to the last, where we saw the Silver-Grey 

 hens, and a more beautiful trio of hens we never saw together. 

 They were in the most brilliant condition, and we could not help 

 exclaiming, " Oh ! why are they not at Nottingham, instead of 

 being at home idle ? " 



When we had thoroughly " done " all this department we 

 walked to a large farmyard which Mr. Burnell rents, aud here 

 are found Dorkings of all colours, sizes, and ages enjoying the 

 fullest freedom ; there they will live till they are selected-out 

 and drafted into the establishment which we have just described. 

 We must not forget to mention a beautiful pen of Rouen Ducks 

 which we saw here, the drake especially a good bird. We shall 

 soon hope to see the fox terriers aud the Dragoons and the 

 Rouens coming to the front in the prize-lists, following tha 

 example of their Dorking companions. 



