THE CHIEF KINDS OF POULTRY 19 



ground, a great part of its food in the form of seeds 

 and worms. It may be found fault with for its wan- 

 dering proclivities, favored by a strong wing which 

 it avails itself of to fly over hedges and fences, to 

 go and devastate the neighboring gardens. 



" Among the other medium-sized species which, 

 associated with the common fowl, are found in poul- 

 try-yards as ornaments rather than as sources of 

 profit, I will name the following: 



1 ' First, the Paduan fowl, recognizable by its rich 

 plumage and particularly by the thick tuft of feath- 

 ers that adorns its head. This beautiful headdress 

 of fine plumage, so proudly spread out in fine 

 weather, is, when' once wet by rain, nothing but an 

 ungraceful rag, heavy and tangled, which tires the 

 bird and makes the rustic life of the poultry-yard im- 

 possible as far as it is concerned. 



"The Houdan fowl wears a thickly tufted top-knot 

 which is thrown back over the nape of the neck. 

 Sometimes this headdress covers the eyes so com- 

 pletely that the bird cannot see in front nor sidewise, 

 but only on the ground, which makes it uneasy at the 

 slightest noise. The plumage is speckled black and 

 white, with glints of purple and green. The cheeks 

 and the base of the beak are draped with little up- 

 turned feathers. Each foot has five toes instead of 

 four, the usual number not counting the cock's 

 spur, which is simply a horn, a fighting weapon, and 

 not a toe. Three of the toes point forward and two 

 backward. 



"The fowl of la Fleche, so renowned for the deli- 



