

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 127 



people who eat them will grow so stout, as to burst. 

 John Jacob Wecker records that he learnt the following 

 secret of fatting hens from a certain Hollander : ' In the 

 kitchen,' he says, 'make to yourself a box, divided into 

 many little boxes, each one with its own opening, through 

 which the hens can thrust their heads out of doors, and 

 take their food. Therefore, in these little boxes, let 

 youthful hens, or pullets, be incarcerated, one in each ; 

 let food be offered every hour, drink being interdicted 

 for the time. But let the food be wheat moderately 

 boiled. The little boxes ought to be pervious below, 

 that the excrements may pass through, and be diligently 

 removed every day. But the hens ought not to be sh'ut 

 up beyond two weeks ; lest they should die from too 

 much fatness. I am told, also, that among some people, 

 they get gloriously fat, and quickly, if beer is offered 

 them for drink, instead of water; also, that if they are 

 fed on brewer's grains, they lay more, as well as larger 

 eggs." 



A correspondent of the London Agricultural Gazette 

 thus describes the method which he successfully prac- 

 tised for many years in India : " The fowl house, or 

 rather feeding house, for only fattening fowls were per- 

 mitted to be in it, was kept as cool as possible, (in Ben- 

 gal, remember,) and almost dark. Each fowl had a 

 separate pen ; they were fed once, and only once a day, 

 with rice, boiled as rice ought to be for Christmas; not 

 to a mash ; but so that grain from grain shouM separate. 

 The quantity to each fowl was about two ounces (before 

 boiling). For the first three days, to each was given 

 about a tea-spoonful of 'ghoor,' a coarse sugar about 

 half as much again of treacle would be an equivalent. 

 This commencing with sugar was held to be very im- 

 portant ; it cleansed the birds and disposed them to fat- 

 ten ; no water was given ; neither was any chalk nor 

 gravel, both being unknown in the country. In about 

 three weeks, the fowls were generally fat. I never, in 

 England, have seen finer than those I have killed within 

 that time, not even at Mr. Davis's, of Leadenhall Mar- 

 ket. . If they did not fatten in three weeks, we supposed 



