INTERliUEKDIXG.] 



ruLLTJvi', 



[euq-bellinq. 



vnriety, not above three j'cnrs old, should be 

 seli'ctod, and mated with six lirst-rato Dorkinii: 

 hens of a year old. The pulhti of tliat eross 

 should bo mated the next season witii (^iine, 

 and their produce used. It ia not recommended 

 to breed from them again on any consideration, 

 as it cannot be done to gain any point of ex- 

 cellence. By the above crosses all the essentials 

 of a good fowl are obtained. In the first 

 place, size is obtained from tho Cochin, and one 

 good cross of quality from tho Dorking. By 

 the Game cross very little in size is sacrificed, 

 whilst another first-rate cross, in point of 

 quality, is added. AVe have seen birds of this 

 cross attain first-rate and rapid weight, and, 

 when killed, retain nothing of their Eastern 

 origin, except that peculiar juiciness for wliich 

 they are remarkable — the flesh being as white 

 as snow, and as savoury as any aldermanic 

 gourmand could desire. "We believe that this 

 cross cannot be improved upon for table pur- 

 poses. We have seen the above first cross, 

 crossed with Malay instead of Game ; but it 

 may easily be conceived it was a mistake, as 

 the IMalay cross was going too mucli back to 

 the Eastern type, without giving any counter- 

 balancing advantage. 



It is great folly to breed further than one 

 cross ; or, in other words, to mate cross-bred 

 birds together, as it has been found that the 

 further we get from the first cross the more we 

 are disappointed. 



In crossing, it is much easier to produce 

 increased value for the table than increased 

 egg-layers. Indeed, we do not think that any 

 amount of crossing can produce birds which 

 would, in laying, beat some of our present 

 known favourite varieties ; therefore, on this 

 head, it is unnecessary for us to enlarge. 



If, by cross-breeding, additional size and 

 superior quality can be obtained, it is, to a 

 certain extent, worthy of carrying out — not 

 that we would, on any account, advocate it in 

 the fancy, but it might be the means of sup- 

 plying our markets with an improved variety 

 of domestic fowl, with a profitable return to 

 both breeder and feeder. 



An anonymous writer, who has evidently had 

 great experience in animal-breeding, remarks 

 — "I have bred in'and-in from almost all 

 varieties of pigeons, rabbits, pigs, canaries, 

 and numerous varieties of flowers and vege- 



tables: in t;u!i and every easel found that, 

 for tho iirst few generations, they improvi-d, 

 and finally degenerated : in aniinaln, invariably, 

 diseases of tho head aro prominent; in fiowera 

 and vegetables it produced general delicacy. 

 This is forcibly exhibited in some of our 

 favourite flowers ; many of tho pet roses are 

 useless on their own roots, and wo bud them 

 on the healthy briar, which man has not tam- 

 pered with, I am often, almost daily, in com- 

 pany with short-horn breeders. A common 

 complaint is, of tho barren heifers and bulla. 

 I make no exception in their case; I would 

 cross them with tlie "West Highland cattle, 

 and so fulfil our trust and duty to posterity by 

 saving to them a breed which the present 

 system of shows is encouraging all breeders to 

 render degenerate. 



"So long as man confines himself to the 

 species, and does not breed too near akin, he 

 will be successful in producing useful animals, 

 especially in the first cross ; but it is against 

 nature to decrease the natural size of any 

 animal's head. It is against nature, also, to see 

 a four-year-old heifer standing on four legs that 

 would well become a full-bred yearling colt. 

 In a recent instance I measured a prize four- 

 year-old heifer, 95 stone weight, and a year- 

 ling Elatcatcher : the former I could span, the 

 latter not. As responsibility rests upon all 

 show committees, it would be well for them to 

 consider it. A few years ago, cottagers, about 

 me especially, cried out for something with a 

 little more ^' blood" wlien buying their pig: 

 now the complaint is the reverse." 



EGG-SELLING, AND BUYING. 



"We have frequently heard great complaints 

 made about bought eggs ; and we have often 

 thought that two reasons may account for the 

 disappointment complained of. Those who 

 sell the eggs are careless as to what they sell; 

 and those who buy them expect better luck 

 than it is in the power of eggs to command. 



In selecting eggs for sitting, it should bo 

 borne in mind what are the number of hens 

 the cock should associate with. Tliose of the 

 average size, laid by that particular hen, are 

 most likely to prove productive. The oft- 

 repeated notion that round eggs contain female 

 chicks, whilst long ones produce cockerels, has 

 been refuted over and over again. 



851 



