120 ON POL'LtRr. 



II. The /Spanish Fowl. 



This foTvl IS frequently, but erroneously, called the Italian Fowl. 



Mr. Richardson says — " I regard these birds as the result of the 

 highest possible artificial culture, and adduce in support of my opin- 

 ion, their unusually large comb and Avattles, characteristics not com' 

 monly to be met with among primitive varieties. The color of the 

 Spanish Fowl is black, and the feathers of the legs, thighs and belly, 

 are particularly decided in their hue, and of a velvety aspect. One 

 of the most striking characteristics of this fowl is a white cheeky and 

 the comb and wattles are singularly large, simple, and of a very high 

 color ; the feet and legs are of a leaden color, except the soles of the 

 feet, which are of a dirty flesh hue. This is a fowl well deserving 

 the attention of the breeder as table birds. They hold a place in the 

 very first rank, their flesh being particularly white, tender and juicy. 

 The hens are likewise layers of the first order." 



III. The DorUng Fowl. 



In his article on this Fowl, Mr. Richardson says — 

 " The Dorking would appear to owe its name to its having been 

 cheifly bred in a town of Surrey of the same appellation. That the 

 yeculiarity of five toes, or in other words, two hind toes instead of 

 one, is to be regarded as a distinctive character, is bp some writers 

 questioned, and by others wholly denied. For my part, I should say 

 whenever this characteristic is absent a cross has been at work. 

 The color of the Dorking is generally pure white, spotted or span- 

 gled with black ; these colors will sometimes merge into a gray or 

 grizzle. These birds have been long prized, and it is now many 

 years since their superiority over our ordinary domestic varieties 

 was originally discovered and appreciated." 



The author of an article (which appeared in April, 1849, in that 

 excellent periodical, the Albany Cultivator,) on '• the Dorking 

 Fowl," says of the fifth toe : " The writer has in several instances 

 seen it in the Polish and the Bantam breeds. There is no doubt 

 that it is a mere freak of nature, similar to the production of an 

 extra finger or toe in some families of the human race." 



Our own opinion is, that the fifth toe may be considered a distinc- 

 tive mark of the Dorking. This fowl is well known in our vicinity, 

 and several gentlemen (among others, Charles G. Loring, of Bev- 



