296 APPENDIX. 



possible, entirely distinct ; for, in no other way, will the 

 test be a fair one. 



But, in respect to the comparative merits of the exist- 

 ing varieties of fowls in this country, I have but little to 

 say. The Cochin-China, Shanghae, great Malay, jago, 

 and other monstrous breeds produced by crossing with 

 one another, in my humble opinion, are not the most de- 

 sirable kinds for general use ; as their legs are very long 

 and large, which are bad points in a fowl ; their flesh 

 coarse ; and they are great eaters ; besides, they lay 

 comparatively but few eggs, which are very liable to be 

 trodden upon and broken at the time of sitting. I have 

 bred most of them in their so-called purity, as well as 

 many of their crosses, and I am free to say, there is no 

 way to make them profitable except, perhaps, by capon- 

 ising, and afterwards fattening them for market. 



The Dorking is a fowl, all things considered, much to 

 be preferred to all others for profit; but as their good 

 qualities have been so minutely described in the able 

 treatise before me, as well as in the back volumes of the 

 American Agriculturist, it is needless to recapitulate 

 them here. Their scarcity, as well as the high prices at 

 which they are held by those who breed them in their 

 purity, will, for some years, prevent them from coming 

 into general use. 



That there is a difference in the number and quality 

 of eggs laid by different hens, I believe is conceded by 

 all. Of these, the Polands stand first in public estima- 

 tion ; but to say or believe, that even these are " ever- 

 lasting layers," is a great mistake. They are less in- 

 clined to sit, to be sure, and it is on this account that 

 they have obtained the reputation of great layers ; and 

 for this reason, if I wanted eggs, only, and not chickens, 

 1 would keep this variety. 



With most people, an egg is an egg, in the market, as 

 in the old adage, " a pint is a pound, feathers or shot ;" 

 and the buyer seldom stops to think of the weight, al- 

 though there may be three times the difference in the 

 bulk of those in the same basket or cask. 'Tis not the 

 largest eggs, however, that are the most profitable to the 

 buyer, as the flavor differs not only in the different 



