THE POULARD 55 



ner, pillaging here and pilfering there this, too, is 

 all comprised in the educational curriculum prepared 

 by the careful mother. After a couple of weeks of 

 such practice the pupils are past masters ; they lose 

 the name of chickens and take that of pullets and 

 roosters. Then the family disbands, the hen return- 

 ing to her laying of eggs, and the chickens, thence- 

 forth expert in the difficult science of earning their 

 living, being left to themselves. 



" Very diverse fates await them. Some, fortune's 

 favorites, will grow peacefully to increase the poul- 

 try-yard ; others, more numerous, as soon as they are 

 large enough will be given over to the kitchen knife ; 

 some, chosen from those easiest to fatten, will un- 

 dergo a diet that will make them peculiarly suitable 

 for the table. Let me tell you to-day through what 

 grievous trials the poor bird passes to become, by ar- 

 tificial aid, the plump, fat, succulent fowl that we call 

 a poulard/' 



"Then a poulard is not a separate species of hen?" 

 asked Jules. 



"No, my friend. The poulard is only an ordinary 

 hen artificially subjected to a kind of life that fattens 

 it. All species do not lend themselves with equal 

 success to this artificial fattening; the best known 

 in this respect is that of la Fleche, which furnishes 

 the celebrated poulard of Mans. 



"I have already told you a few words about this 

 species, which is distinguished from the others by 

 its dashing appearance and long legs. The plumage 

 is entirely black, touched with glints of violet and 



