FATTENIKO.] 



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80011 as appetitt' bc^ina to iliig. Tlioy should 

 not bo allowed to leave a grain. The juiiiorn, 

 the prisoners, ami the invalids must havo sepa- 

 rate attention, which wo shall not bo expected 

 to particularise here. For poultry that is put 

 up to fatten loose in a small shed — really a 

 good and more healthy way than tattening- 

 coops with separate compartments (for we 

 never see a return of the number of birds 

 which die, instead of fattening, from this incar- 

 ceration") — for poultry so confined, no feeding- 

 trough is better than that iigured as for 

 turkeys in Dixon's Ornamental FouUry ; but 

 even the degree and kind of fatness expected 

 in poultry, is a matter of local taste and fashion. 

 Most country-people like a fowl, or a duck, 

 that has been kept at large in high condition, 

 either at the barn-door or in the pond, with- 

 out any confinement at all — thus making an 

 approach to the edible qualities of game. 

 Londoners prefer birds that have never stirred, 

 except in a dark cellar, nor used their wings, 

 unless to help them to a perch three feet from 

 the ground at most. This inaction of the 

 muscles gives a peculiar tenderness to the 

 flesh, and unctuousness to the fat, •which is 

 much valued by metropolitan purveyors. As 

 far as the digestion of the eaters is concerned, 

 it would be well if the parties could change 

 their taste. The capon-like and luscious pecu- 

 liarity of the fowls supplied by the best London 

 poulterers, requires a little fresh air and exer- 

 cise to settle comfortably ; while the lightness 

 of the barn-door flesh, if not eaten too soon 

 after slaughter, is more suitable to a sedentary 

 stomach. How hard, then, is it to dictate 

 which is 'the best mode of feeding and fatten- 

 ing,' when connoisseurs difter so widel}'' as to 

 the result most worthy to be aimed at!" 



FATTENING. 



Poultry intended for the table, like every 

 other living thing raised to be eaten in an 

 artificial state of society, must pass through a 

 certain change previous to its being sub- 

 jected to the masticating process of the mouth 

 of man. In order to have a chicken fat, the 

 best thing to do is never to allow it to get 

 thin. To "fetch them up," however, for the 

 table, they should either be absolutely cooped 

 up, or, at all events, inclosed in a very small 

 space. If they are put into coops, these should 

 5 s 



bo worm, rather dark, and placed under cover. 

 They should also havo HuiRcient height, and 

 ho large enough for each fuwl to be CKm- 

 fDrtable, without being forced to move about; 

 and each should havo a portion of the coop 

 partitioned olf to itself, so that it may see its 

 neighbour, without touching it. At the front 

 of the coop, there should be a large trough to 

 hold tlio food, with a compartment for water, 

 raised fully an inch from the ground. "What 

 this convenience is to bo made of is a matter of 

 taste; but, instead of wood, cither pottery or 

 glass is recommended as even more suitable, 

 on account of their being more easily kept clean ; 

 whilst they look equally well, and are by no 

 means expensive. Tlie back part of the floor 

 ought to bo grated, so that the droppings of 

 the fowls may readily pass through. Tho 

 birds should be starved for a few hours after 

 cooping, and then supplied regularly, three 

 times a-day, with as much food as they will cat, 

 and no more. The trough should be cleaned 

 out each time after they have been fed. Very 

 little water should bo given them. In this 

 manner, steamed potatoes alone have fattened 

 chickens in eight or ten days. Boiled dry 

 rice, moistened with milk or water, is also a 

 very fattening diet ; and if accompanied with 

 a portion of treacle, the process is greatly 

 quickened. By great attention, and giving a 

 constant variety of food, in order to excite tho 

 appetite of the fowls, they ought to be ready 

 for the table in a fortnight. Vegetables of 

 every description, and grease of every kind, they 

 will eagerly devour and fatten on ; and tho 

 most economical plan is to boil everything 

 given to them. Upon this subject Mr. Bailey 

 has written a practical little pamphlet, called 

 The Dorking Fowl : Hints for its Management 

 and Feeding for the Table ; from which wo 

 extract the following passage: — 



" I advise, from the first, to feed tho hcu 

 and her chickens well, in the following manner. 

 Instead of throwing down handfuls of whole 

 corn, let it be ground, and slaked with luke- 

 warm milk, to such consistence, that when a 

 ball of it is thrown on the ground it will break, 

 and scatter about in particles. If there be 

 green-meat, such as onion-tops, chopped fine, 

 and mixed with it, so much the better. The 

 chickens should be fed in this manner three 

 or four times per dav, and the little extra 



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