CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 41 



following. During the period — which lasts 

 from one to two, and even three months — they 

 are unfit for the table, nor do the hens lay 

 eggs, for they are then sickly, and out of con- 

 dition ; but, when they recover, their plumage 

 looks fresh and beautiful, though sometimes so 

 changed in colour that it is difficult to recog- 

 nise them. In some instances, indeed, the 

 feathers have changed colours in every suc- 

 ceeding moulting. Reaumur mentions a hen 

 of his, of the ruddy colour, mixed with brown, 

 which during four years altered her feathers 

 at every succeeding moult, until she at length 

 became uniformly of a pure white ; while a 

 cock of the same original colour, which had 

 become in successive moults uniformly black 

 and then white, turned again to red and brown 

 when in its sixth year : so that it could not, 

 in this case, have been occasioned by old age, 

 which whitens the human hair. 



During the moulting season the fowls should 

 be well fed and kept very warm. It should also 

 be observed that, if in a sickly condition, they 

 sometimes suffer a loss of the feathers, though 

 not occasioned by moult : in which case, as 

 in most others caused by any unhealthy state 



