80 The Poultry of France. 



farmers, and four salesmen or poulterers. La Bresse kept the 

 lead, gaining, after a struggle with La Fleche, the gold medal 

 for the best fowls of any class, and receiving ten prizes and as 

 many medals for capons and poulardes (exhibited in separate 

 classes),^against six or seven prizes awarded to several of the 

 competing breeds for mixed classes. 



The proceedings did not terminate with the award of the 

 prizes ; for at the Agriculturists' monthly dinner held during 

 the show, the poultry became the leading feature, and the 

 foremost agriculturists in Fiance were called upon to decide 

 ■practically on the comparative merits of two breeds — those of 

 La Bresse and of Normandy. Fowls were discussed in every 

 sense both during and after dinner. Their feeding, cost, age, 

 market price were enlarged upon by keen advocates with a view 

 to giving prominence to the peculiar merits of their respective 

 favourites ; the loss of weight occasioned by various modes of 

 cookery came at last under discussion, and the cjuestions mooted 

 became too subtle and various to be decided without an 

 adjourned meeting and more elaborate tests. At this dinner, 

 speaking of the " poularde," M. Reynal, the naturalist, denied 

 that the pullet's ovary can be removed, and maintained that a 

 " poularde " is just what we call a pullet, a view which as we 

 shall see further on is endoi^sed by high practical authority. 

 M. de Kergolay, when speaking of his IN' orman fowls, explained 

 that they were fed on a paste made of buckwheat, oats and 

 barley in equal proportions, and had daily two drinks of water 

 mixed with flour or sweet milk. He asserted that the chickens 

 served up were only three months old, the capons six months, 

 and the latter were sold at four to five francs a-piece. His 

 remarks as to age led to some discussion. 



At the dinner on the 26th of January, 1865, the grand tourna- 

 ment was renewed, and some Houdan breeders claimed to enter 

 the lists against M. de Kergolay's Normans, and M. Le Hon's 

 Bressians, the former competitors — to say nothing of Southdown 

 mutton, a leporide, &c,, presented by others among the guests. 



M. de Lavergne, who was for the second time in the chair, gave 

 the toast of the evening, " A la poule au pot," recalling an 

 aspiration of Henri Quatre, and glancing in the following lines 

 at the obstacles which have hitherto beset its attainment — 



Enfin la poule au pot sera done bientot uiise, 



On doit au moins le presumer ; 

 Car depnis deux cents ans qu'on nous I'avait promise 



On n'a cesse de la plumer. 



The dishes were too numerous, and the dicasts too much 

 dispersed and excited to come to a formal verdict, and for the 

 sake of harmony the chairman was glad to postpone giving 



