92 The Poultry of France. 



they are very good mothers, cover their eggs well, boldly protect 

 their chicks, and are tame and tractable — not like some hens, 

 which the attendant cannot approach without creating a violent 

 commotion. In 1863 two pullets, which had each 15 eggs put 

 under them, reared 28 chickens. Since the Houdan hen could 

 not be relied upon for sitting, some Cochin China hens were 

 procured, the yellow colour of whose eggs obviated all risk of 

 mistakes, and these are undeniable sitters. 



1 have thus endeavoured to collect the substance of various 

 articles, printed in the ' Journal d'Agriculture Pratique,' on a 

 subject Avhich seems of late to have received more attention in 

 France than in England. Indeed it is but too probable that with 

 us the care of poultry has retrograded ; for as the smaller hold- 

 ings have been absorbed by large farms, many an active, frugal 

 housewife has been withdrawn from rural life who had the will 

 and the means for rearing poultry for the market. Neither the 

 cottager with his allotment (instead of a share in the village 

 green or common) nor the artisan has range enough for bleeding 

 chickens to advantage, though M. de Chavanne points out that 

 with due attention they may be profitably reared for home con- 

 sumption under any circumstances. 



It is quite needless for me to enlarge upon the importance, at 

 the present moment, of maintaining and developing our supplies 

 of animal food, particularly that of a superior equality. With 

 an abundance of inferior and cheap grain, our supplies of 

 pork may be rapidly extended. This meat is, however, but 

 a poor substitute for beef and mutton (except for our hardy 

 rural population), more particularly at a moment when Drs. 

 Cobbold, Crisp, &c., are sounding a " tocsin " of alarm respecting 

 the German " Trichinen." This same grain may be speedily 

 converted into the most delicate of food, if we forbear — not to 

 kill the fowl that lays the e^^ — but to eat some of the eggs that 

 may become chickens. 



If, further, we pav attention to raising special food for poultry, 

 and trust Mdlle. Millet Robinet's experience, buckwheat may 

 be speedily grown ; one consideration, however, suggests both 

 an encouragement and a difficulty — all birds, large and small, 

 are particularly fond of this grain ; and neither the axe nor the 

 gun of the " chasseur aux petits oiseaux " has effected such a 

 clearance in our fields as in the wide plains of France. Can 

 buckwheat be imported to any considerable extent at a cheap 

 rate ? 



