58 Farm 



excellently and have a great abundance of fluffy 

 feathers, which enable them to do their brood- 

 ing well. They are probably somewhat better 

 sitters and brooders than the extremely heavy 

 fowls. Fewer eggs are likely to be broken by 

 these careful birds than by the larger and more 

 clumsy kinds. 



Good for agers. These fowls are good fora- 

 gers, considering their size. While they are not 

 inclined to roam as far as some of the lighter 

 and more active breeds, yet they are well calcu- 

 lated to seek their own living when an oppor- 

 tunity is afforded them. The young fowls will 

 roam a considerable distance for insects and green 

 food, and in this respect they occupy a medium 

 position between the active, nervous breeds and 

 the heavy Asiatics, approaching more nearly the 

 former than the latter. 



Endure cold weather well. The compact body 

 and medium- sized combs and wattles enable 

 the general -purpose fowls to withstand the 

 severe weather of the winters. While a frosted 

 comb may occasionally result, yet they are not 

 nearly so liable to injury by freezing as are the 

 more noted egg breeds. They have a somewhat 

 thicker coat of feathers and more fluff than the 

 Mediterraneans. The thick coat of feathers gives 

 them a much better protection than a thin one, 

 for the reason that the air space inclosed by 



