COLOR Of KOWl.S. 175 



COLOR OF FOWLS. 



" Beaufort, S. C. 24th June, 1846. 



" A NEiGHHOR iiifonris ine thai he had nine youuj; fiuinea low-Is of that color (ash) and 

 throe of the dark gray, hatched by the same hen and treated ahke, the resuh of which was, 

 that he raised the three common ones, but not one of the ash-colored. The white could not 

 well raise less, but must, if possible, be still more delicate. 1 had a pair of white for two or 

 three years, but never saw a young one from them. I had also, for two years, a pair of 

 white ducks, with large white top-knots, or crests, like Poland fowls, but never raised one 

 with the U>p-knot. They also, are found to be very hard to raise. 



" By-the-by, I quite agree in opinion with Gen. Harmon about the kinds of sheep for 

 pe^rsons situated far from a market, and have acted up to my belief; for I have refused Bidte- 

 well's, offered in exchange, and even for nothing, {jrefeiring to keep to the Merino, which 

 unquestionably gives the sweetest Iamb and mutton, more especnally when fed, as mine are, 

 upon salt marsh pastures. The Parisian taste quite agrees with mine on the subject of sheep 

 pastxire, as I well remember that in the Magazin dc Comestibles there, the " Gigots de 

 Pri Sale," are much more remarkable for the size of their price, than for their own size." 



We have heard it remarked by a gentleman of science and very various knowl- 

 k'd<^e, the Editor of the Southern Cultivator, published at Augusta, that a fowl so 

 remarkable as a white Guinea fov/1 is originally produced, like the " white black- 

 bird," (which is seen occasionally,) by some disorder in the secretions or coloring 

 matter, indicating unhcalthiness in the individual. The inference is, that such pe- 

 culiarities cannot be so continued as to establish a new varietj\ Sometimes we 

 meet with persons who are born with a tvft of white in the midst of a suit of dark 

 hair: the celebrated Alex. Hamilton was so marked at his birth and the mark was 

 inherited by his son of the same name. Doubtless white fowls of almost every 

 kind are more tender than others ; so it certainly is with the white turkey and 

 the white Guinea fowl ; still, that these are established varieties of their fami- 

 lies respectively, is proved by the fact that we continue to have them. The eg^ 

 of the Guinea fowl is far richer and yet more delicate than the hen's egg, and 

 the turkey egg stands next on the list for flavor and excellence, to be eaten from 

 the shell ; yet we were surprised to hear Judge Mitchell say that in New- York 

 his market man had to give "two for one," to make sale of his Guinea fowls' 

 eggs. As for the white top-knot duck, we suppose it to be an original natural 

 variety, as we have often seen them, and lately more especially, quite a large, 

 healthy looking young brood at Plandome, on Long Island, and though not yet 

 feathered, their top-knots were well developed. So, too, at Roswell House, New- 

 Jersey, there are the white turkies, the while Guinea fowls, the white puddle 

 duck, with and without top-knots, and Avhite Muscovy ducks. 



No better sign, in our judgment, than to see a farmer take pleasure in all these 

 apparently small affairs. It shows that he has a mind attuned to nature — one that 

 qualifies him to enjoy what may be called the music and the poetry of his pro- 

 fession, and in lack of which he will be apt to seek relief from its inevitable 

 t;ares and labors in things less useful, as well as less innocent. 



Apropos of the coloring of birds, we find the following in a newspaper : 



A Remarkaist.e Discovkry. — Professor Auckland, at a meeting of the Royal Society in 

 Lontlon, (tlie Duke of Cambridge in th'i chair) rtiad a paper upon a discovei-y he has re- 

 cently made, which promises not to be of any great utibty, but. ut the same time, will b« 

 (3C7) 13 



