80 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



WB-ITE DORKING FOWLS. 



None of the live stock of our country is so gen- 

 erally cultivated and appreciated as our domes- 

 tic poultry — and no other affords so handsome a 

 profit on the capital invested. Without the pres- 

 ence of cocks and hens and chickens, the farm 

 would be incomplete. Whoever knew a sturdy 

 man, a loving woman or an affectionate child, that 

 did not find pleasure in visiting the poultry-yard, 

 and in feeding, tending and cherishing its occu- 

 pants ? It is sometimes said that fowls are stupid, 

 but that expression is not from those who observe 

 them closely. Were thin" ever found off' guard 

 when searching for food in the fields? What 

 means that warning note from the cock, and that 

 rush to the protecting cover of some friendly 

 tree, or hedge, or fence? Their motions were so 

 sudden that they seemed more like a flash than 

 ;mything else. But what was it for? No dog or 

 prowling cat is near — all is as still as the cham- 

 ber of death, — and yet some impending danger 

 has struck terror into all ! Not a chick is seen 

 vhere numbers quietly chirped to the mother's 



cluck a moment before ! What means the invert- 

 ed heads of those standing under the tree — there 

 must be danger in the skies ! Ah ! I see it. 

 Away in the clear empyrean, floating like gossa- 

 mer on the air; or gracefully sweeping across the 

 heavens, may be seen the cause of all this alarm ! 



Do fowls ever fail to find your choicest spot of 

 ground where your crocuses and pinks and pan- 

 sies bloom and shed their fragrance ? If they 

 care not for what blooms above, they well under- 

 stand what crawls beneath, and how they can 

 procure it ! But we must not go farther. Are 

 they stupid now ? 



After a trial of various breeds of domestic 

 foM-ls, we have come to the conclusion that the 

 Dorkings, beautifully represented in the cut above, 

 are as good as any, if not the best fowls among 

 us. They are of good size, good layers, good 

 mothers, of remarkably good habits and manners 

 while living, and when dressed for the table will 

 suit master and mistress too. Their "meat is fine, 

 their bodies are large, and better proportioned 



