74 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi. 



fess, however, that we have not had any ex- 

 perience of the fact, nor can we hear of any 

 one who has actually witnessed it ; and if it 

 be true, as stated in a late essay on the sub- 

 ject, " that the bodily warmth of the capon is 

 only 65 °, while that of a hen, while hatching, 

 is nearly 80°," we do not think it likely that 

 such an experiment would be successful. 



The Malay, or Chittagong, are natives 

 of the Isles of Java and Sumatra, from which 

 they have been introduced into this country, 

 where they are now common, and the largest 

 known breed of fowls ; standing so high upon 

 their legs as to be frequently able to peck at 

 anything from off a dining-table, and some- 

 what resembling the Cochin-China breed lately 

 presented to Her Majesty. They arrive, also, 

 to so great a weight that an acquaintance 

 of ours had one presented to him by a friend, 

 who brought it from the former island, which 

 weighed, when killed and stripped of its fea- 

 thers, no less than 9 lbs. ; and a pair of 

 pullets, bred from a cross between the cock 

 and a Dorking hen, weighed together, when 

 trussed for the table, exactly 11 lbs. ! But 

 although good layers of fine eggs, they are 



