180 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. viii. 



has each been at an average 220 eggs an- 

 nually for three years; and the hens of a 

 farmer to whom the mode of crossing was 

 communicated, have each, when young, pro- 

 duced 312 eggs annually ! " 



Other instances might be mentioned — 

 though certainly not equalling the latter ; 

 but, in our own experience, we have seldom 

 known more than twelve dozen of eggs to 

 be got within twelve months from any hen 

 that had hatched a brood of chicks. 



We shall, however, here quote one more 

 instance from a statement recorded in 

 Baxter's " Library of Agricultural Know- 

 ledge," as derived from a most respectable 

 source, the correctness of which may be de- 

 pended on, and which clearly shows what may 

 be obtained from the keep of a small number 

 of fowls by judicious feeding and proper ma- 

 nagement. " The individual from whom the 

 information was got keeps only five fowls, of 

 which one is a cock, and are a variety of the 

 so-called ' Everlasting Breed.' They are fed 

 twice a day ; having barley in the morning, 

 and wet food at night — such as sharps, bran, 

 and pollard, mixed up with barley-water and 



