20 DOMESTIC FOWL. 



of fowl, of three birds each, partly shown in one hundred and 

 twenty pens, got up at the expense of the society, to which I 

 added fifty pens of my own ; but so extensive was the exhibition, 

 there was not near sufficient accommodation for the different 

 lots of fowl. 



I take the Spanish to be a truly distinct variety, and every- 

 thing experience can acquire of it, adds to its character of origi- 

 nality. ' A full-grown cock weighs about 7 Ibs., the hen about 

 6 Ibs. ; he cock stands about 22 inches high, and the hen about 

 19 inches ; the plumage a beautiful, glossy black. I have seen 

 some birds showing the appearance of the highest breeding, per- 

 fectly white, some of which have lately come from Spain ; the 

 comb is serrated, and so large as to usually fall at one side ; the 

 hens are combed equal to ordinary cocks, drooping to one side, of 

 vivid scarlet; wattles long; ear-lobes white; cheek white, but 

 added to by age ; quite free from top-knot ; hackles black ; tail 

 splendidly plumed ; legs blue ; flesh and skin beautifully white 

 and juicy ; is a first-rate table fowl ; eggs white, large, and abun- 

 dant ; chickens grow rapidly, but feather slowly. They are not 

 very pugnacious, if kept together, but if separated, even for a 

 day, they cease to associate quietly with their companions. The 

 hens are not inclined to sit, which is, perhaps, an Irish cause of 

 their becoming so abundant ; they are everlasting layers, and 

 their eggs are usually hatched out by the common poultry. They 

 are now to be had in every quarter; indeed, they are so splendid 

 a bird, that I consider it a crime against domestic economy, to 

 have a Spanish hen's time taken up with hatching and rearing 

 chickens, when she might be adding to the stock of her own 

 genus, by her egg every day. 



I am not an advocate for cross-breeding of any sort, and shall, 

 therefore, beg to remark, that there are many spurious crosses 

 attempted to be made on the Spanish fowl, which should not be 

 encouraged. 



THE COLOMBIAN FOWL 



Is the nearest proximate to the Spanish ; they are a larger bird , 

 stand higher on the legs ; of upright deportment ; the cock weighs 

 8 Ibs., the hen 6j Ibs. ; the male bird stands twenty-two inches, 

 and the female twenty inches ; the plumage black, with metallic 

 lustre, the comb large, serrated, and erect, sometimes double ; 

 wattles long ; ears, cheeks, and throat tufted with feathers, free 



