THE GAME FOWL. 257 



please the critic nor enlighten the poulterer. These it will 

 he your province to curtail, enlarge, alter, or expunge, accord- 

 ing to your older and hetter judgment. The clay is in the 

 hands of the potter : let him mould it as he will. 



There is one very important item in Poultry-breeding, which 

 I have never seen sufficiently dwelt on in books, and that is, 

 the great advantage of having early spring-hatched Pullets, to 

 lay in October, November, and December, when Eggs are 

 scarcest, and command the highest price. I never kill a Pul- 

 let hatched earlier than May, until very cold weather, or some 

 other circumstance, 'has put an end to her winter laying. I 

 have seven young Hens, a cross between the Creole and 

 Booby, hatched in April, and all are now laying. One began 

 on the 18th October, and has laid 36 Eggs; and some of them, 

 if well managed, will lay all winter. On this account, early 

 maturity is very much to be desired in Chickens. And no 

 Fowl is longer in attaining maturity than a pure Booby, or 

 Bucks County Pullet, at least as far as Eggs are concerned. 

 Though hatched in March and April, they seldom lay in 

 autumn, while some other breeds feel bound to produce when 

 6 or even 5J months old. In estimating the value of breeds, 

 surely this is a consideration of great importance. At all 

 events, I will not recommend the Boobies, though, when 

 crossed with Creoles or other prolific birds, they do well 

 enough. In fact, they do very well themselves in spring and 

 summer ; but are not much worth in winter. 



Last fall, I had a Game Pullet that began to lay on the 14th 

 of September, though she was hatched on the 29th of March. 

 I have never known greater precocity than this, unless you are 

 right in the age of my brown Chittagong. She began to lay 

 October 19th, and was, consequently, but five months old, if 

 you are not mistaken in her age, as I think you are. Be that 

 as it may, if mine are fair samples, the Chittagongs are highly 

 commendable, not only for their enormous size, but for the 



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