THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



233 



their own chickens, provided they give them 

 the same food and turf that they have in the 

 country. It is not necessary that the poultry 

 yards should be so large. The space, however, 

 must have sun, and must be covered first with 

 ashes and then with straw and grain to force 



VIII. Prinxip.al Breeds 

 The Wyaiuiottcs, which to-day are the most 

 in vogue, and which were bred originally in 

 America, have spread rapidly over the whole 

 of Europe. They are of various colors, the 

 most desirable being white ; then come the 



A DiviiJEi) Hen V.akd 



the birds to take exercise. When city fowls 

 do not get exercise enough they often take to 

 pecking their eggs or plucking out their own 

 feathers. It is needless to say that these 

 poultry houses and yards must be kept espe- 

 cially clean to ward off diseases, which are 

 more to be feared in the city than in the 

 country. 



silvery, the golden, the speckled, the black, 

 and the partridge colored. It is an excellent 

 breed, as good for its eggs as for its flesh, 

 and a particularly good layer in winter. The 

 pullets raised in the spring will lay all winter. 

 The eggs are a brownish yellow, sometimes 

 pink, and are small but numerous. The hens 

 are the best of layers ; those which lay annually 



