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THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



THE PEA FOWL. 



EASTERN&quot; ASIA seems to be the original home of this beautiful bird, from which 

 region it has been widely disseminated throughout a large portion of the globe, and 

 so well known that it scarcely requires a description. The plumage of the head, 

 neck, and breast of the male is a beautiful purple, with blue reflections; that of the back 

 green, with copper-colored lacing; the wings a mincing of white, black, blue, bronze, and gold 

 tints. The tail coverts are a glossy green, with bronzy golden reflections, ocellated at the 

 tips. The neck is long and slender, and the head small in proportion to the size of the body; 

 it is surmounted with a small crest of twenty-fotfr feathers, which are webbed only at the 

 tips, and have green and blue reflections. The Pea hen is less gaudy in her attire, the pre 

 vailing color being chestnut brown, which is shaded and mottled in different parts of the 



VVorU 



PEACOCK. 



body. Her crest is much smaller than that of the male. The Japanese peacock is more 

 gorgeous in plumage even than the former variety, the reflections being exceedingly rich, 

 and consisting of a strange blending of glossy green, purple, blue, and coppery or bronzy 

 gold. White peacocks are sometimes seen, but are not as desirable as the colored, since they 

 are greatly inferior in beauty, and are also less hardy. 



Management of the Pea Fowl. Mr. Wright gives the following general directions 

 for managing these birds: &quot; Little can be said about their management ; they must be left to a 

 great extent to themselves. One cock should not be allowed more than four or five hens, and 

 they should be regularly fed. The hens lay their eggs in the most secluded place they can 

 find, somewhere deep in a copse or shrubbery in general, though some will take to the long 

 grass in an open field, and must on no account be disturbed. They are so impatient of their 

 privacy being invaded that such an event is nearly always followed by soft eggs, or if 

 sitting at the time, with failure; but if left to themselves they will almost always bring off 



