288 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 



THE BOLTON GRAY, OR CREOLE FOWL. 



THE Bolton Gray or Creole Fowl is sometimes called 

 Dutch Every-day-layers, Pencilled Dutch Fowl, Chittaprats, &c. 

 They were originally imported from Holland to Bolton, a 

 town in Lancashire, England, whence they are named. The 

 ground colour is pure white, minutely shot or touched with 

 black, except on the neck, giving rise to the name Pencilled 

 Fowl, and from the frequency of their being brought over to 

 London, by Rotterdam steamers, they are called " Dutch Pen- 

 cilled Fowl," or " Dutch Every-day-layers." A good Cock of 

 this breed may weigh from four to four and a half pounds, 

 and a Hen from three to three and a half pounds. I have 

 found them good layers, but thought the Eggs to be watery 

 and innutritious. I wrote to a friend, who knows the Fowl 

 well, having kept the -variety for several years, and his reply 

 is, " Of the richness of Creole Eggs, compared with those of 

 less prolific breeds, I am scarcely able to speak. Though I 

 have owned Creoles for a dozen years, I have never made any 

 careful comparison. But, from analogy, I would infer that an 

 Egg would prove rich in proportion as it was small, compared 

 with the Hen that produced it, cseteris paribus. A Cow, 

 nearly dry, generally gives much richer milk than one that 

 yields abundantly. 



" The superiority of a Creole Hen does not consist as much 

 in rapid as in continued laying. She may not produce as 

 many Eggs in a month, as some other kinds, but she will lay 

 more months in the year than probably any other variety. 

 I have had Creoles seven or eight years old, that never became 

 broody, and which have laid, in that time, at least six hun- 

 dred Eggs, in this fashion: First year, one hundred and 

 eighty or two hundred. Second, one hundred and fifty. 

 Third, one hundred to one hundred and twenty. Fourth, 



