CnOOSINO STOCK.] 



roui/riiv 



[cnOOSINO STOCK. 



we hftve nlroady said of the cock of that species, 

 and get a bii<l as luar to the description as 

 you can ; adil a couple of bhxck hens, of a 

 cheaper sort, to lay ei^Ljs for family uso ; and 

 the chances are, you will make a bi-ttcr start 

 in Spanish tluui you would do if you bought a 

 dozen hens and tliree or four cocks, hap-hazard, 

 at high prices, and turned all in together to 

 fight it out. The price of tidy Spanish fowls 

 varies from £1 upwards. Dorkings are nice, 

 motherly, good-looking fowls; and first-rate 

 specimens fetch high prices : they are only 

 tolerable layers, but the eggs are largo and 

 delicately llavoured. As fowls for the table 

 they rank A 1 ; and, iu this particular, are 

 popular with poulterers, almost to the exclu- 

 sion of all other kinds. The chickens are deli- 

 cate, and so dillleult to rear, as to prove dis- 

 heartening to the most experienced amateurs. 

 You may get good Dorking fowls at 5*. each ; 

 but, if anything superlative is desired, prices 

 run up much as in the Spanish. 



The accusations brought against Cochins is, 

 that they eat more than any other kind of 

 fowl, and have a continual propensity to incu- 

 bate. On the other hand, they are tame, 

 tractable creatures, and very good fowls to 

 have where a high fence would be unsightly, 

 as an altitude of four feet is sufficient to 

 keep them in. They are capital layers — a 

 quality often more important than any other 

 to amateurs, who are anxious to begin to keep 

 just a few fowls, chiefly with an eye to the 

 luxury of new-laid eggs. Malays are well 

 worth attention ; they are very good fowls, 

 besides having the advantage of being some- 

 what handsome. 



Brahmas have all the merits of Cochins, 

 without their faults, and are as handsome as 

 Malays. Cochin-China fowls may bo bought 

 for from almost nothing up to £5 each ; very 

 good birds from 10s. to £1 each. Pretty 

 good Malays may be bought for 10s. or 15s. 

 each ; and Brahmas at prices varying from 10s. 

 to £2. In trying to give those who purchase 

 fowls for the first time, some idea of their 

 prices, we take those of the usual run of good 

 birds. There is but one first-prize pen of a 

 sort in every show, be it remembered : if, 

 therefore, you want first-prize birds, you must 

 be prepared to give the price which the owner 

 sets on them ; for the same reason that makes 



it necessary to givo more for pearls than for 

 pebbles — because they are less plentiful. 



Three varieties of fowls coino next, varied 

 and etjual in beauty, and all very ornamental 

 and very good layers — llamburgH, Polauda, 

 and Game. If you try the first, you may 

 chance to see your fowl perched on the top of 

 your nei'^hbour's chimney, with an cvitient 

 intention of extending his travels — a position 

 of your vested property at which you will feel 

 rather annoyed. If you try Polands, all the 

 young chicks may die in rearing ; and if you 

 devote your attention to Game fowls, they mav 

 take a sudden freak of animosity, and peck out 

 each other's eyes before you are up some 

 morning. "With these little drawbacks, they 

 are all really good and beautiful I'owls: only, 

 if you try Hamburgs, take care that your 

 fences are high enough ; if Polands, bestow 

 especial care on the young chickens while they 

 are fledging, and for some little time after- 

 wards ; and if Game, do not let them get to 

 fighting — ifi/ou can help it. 



Tolerable Hamburg and Game fowls will 

 cost from five to fifteen shillings each, and 

 Polands from ten to twenty. 



Where there is scarcely room for common- 

 sized fowls, or for the large varieties, a few 

 Bantams may be kept. They will always look 

 active and pretty ; and the eggs, though small, 

 are deliciously delicate. Pretty Bantams may 

 often be bought for a very iew shillings. 



The next thing to the price of the fowls, 

 is where to buy them. We have a prejudice 

 against buying at auctions ; because we do 

 not think owners would allow birds, likely to 

 do good service to the purchasers, to go for so 

 much less than they can get for them either at 

 home, or by selling them through the medium 

 of a respectable dealer. The best plan is, 

 either to go to a reputable tradesman, or to 

 an amateur, and see and choose the birds at 

 home. Another good way of making purchases 

 is by going to the poultry-shows. There the 

 beginner can look well at the prize birds, and 

 choose the cheaper ones which are most like 

 them. We do not recommend a great outlay 

 to hegin ivith. Buy fowls at a moderate price; 

 see what good you can do with their chickens; 

 gain experience ; and then spend a large sum, 

 and get first-rate fowls if you feel disposed to 

 do so. 



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