66 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 



here and there in the hands of careful breeders. One 

 has been lately raised in England, in which the golden 

 plumage has been crowned by a large globe-shaped white 

 crest of dense feathers ; how long this will continue 

 permanent, remains to be tested. There was also a 

 breed called after Lord Erdley, which obtained a prize 

 at one of the poultry shows in the Surry Zoological 

 Gardens. 



The Polish fowls are chiefly suited for keeping in a 

 small way, and in a clean and grassy place. They are 

 certainly not so fit for the yard of the farmer, becoming 

 blinded and miserable with dirt. It is a main point to 

 procure them genuine ; for there is no breed of fowls 

 more disfigured by rnongrelism than this. The Polish 

 will, without any cross-breeding, occasionally produce 

 white stock that are very pretty, and equally good for 

 laying, &c. It is singular, however, that if you attempt 

 to make a separate breed of them, they become puny 

 and weak. It is better for those who wish for them to 

 depend upon chance, as every brood almost of the 

 black produces one white chick strong and lively as the 

 rest. 



The Polish fowls are excellent for the table, the flesh 

 being white, tender, and juicy ; but they are quite un- 

 suitable for being reared in any numbers, or for general 

 purposes ; they are capricious in their growth, frequent- 

 ly remaining " stuck," for a whole month, without get- 

 ting bigger, and this, too, when about a quarter or half 

 grown, the time^of their life when they are most liable 

 to disease. As aviary birds, they are unrivalled among 

 fowls. Their plumage often requires a close inspection 

 to appreciate its elaborate beauty ; and the confinement 

 and petting seem not uncongenial to their health. It is 

 recommended that persons whose accommodations for 

 poultry is very limited, select some pretty family of 

 Polanders, and keep them on the aviary system ; when 

 it will be found that their plumage improves in beauty 

 with almost every moult. 



Polish fowls are also currently reported as " everlast- 

 ing layers," which further fits them for keeping in small 



