1!2 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



COCHIN CHINA FOWLS, 



For the Ncxo Enijland Farmer. 



l"he portraits of these fowls were delineated and 

 enj:;ravcd by Mr. S. E. Brown, from a pair now in 

 the possession of, and recently imported by, George 

 P. Burnham, Esq., of Roxhury, Mass. These fowls 

 pre descoiidants of the pair exhiV)ited by her majesty 

 at Dublin Cattle show, in KSiG— 7, and aftervvarcls 

 presented to Lord Hcytsbury, then tlie lord lieuten- 

 ant of Ireland. 



The fowls iniported by Mr. Burnham are quite 

 voting, and have suffered greatly from neglect while 

 on the voyage from England, having been nearly 

 starved; so much did they suffer for want of atten- 

 tion and food, that they lost in weight nearly two 

 ])Ounds apiece, and when landed wci-c filthy beyond 

 conception. 



Notwithstanding these disadvantage^, Mr. Burn- 

 ham consented that the drawing should be made ; 

 and the engraving shows the fowls as they appeared 

 on the 20'Lh day of February, I.S.jO — angular from 

 leanness, not fully feathered, and their form im- 

 perfectly develaped for want of maturity. The 

 writer had preconceived opinions as regarded this 

 breed of fowls, and was fully confident, that in this 

 case, the truth of the adage, " the king's chaff is 

 hotter than other jjcople's corn," wotdd be fully ver- 

 iti?d. In this he was disappointed. The fowls show 

 many good points, and exhibit mucli beauty of form 

 and outline, and will, withovit doubt, provo' a very 

 valuable breed. 71iat they are hardy, and capable of 

 bearing privations, they have given incontestable 

 proofs. They were landed Jannar)' 20, lS-50, and the 

 l<ullct began to lay on the 11th day of February. 

 The eggs are not nankeen-colored, as are the eggs of 

 the Shanghae, but are ftesh-colored, and are quite 

 large^ 



The comb and wattles of both cock and pullet are 

 imperfectly developed ; the hackles on the neck of 

 the cock arc not fully grown, and the feathers of the 

 tail have not yet appeared ; a few plumes only are 

 seen. The feathers on the body and breast indicate 

 that the prevailing color will be a brilliant black, 

 intermixed with dark buff or orange. The color of 

 the hen is a bright orange, each feather being marked 

 with a single bar of black. The legs of both sexes- 

 are smooth, and of a yellow color. When these- 

 fowls shall have arrived at maturity, they will exhibit 

 a beauty of form and a splendor of plumage not 

 equalled by any other breed ; and in weight of body 

 will not be surpassed by the Chittagong or Shanghae 

 breeds. 



Subjoined is a letter received from Mr. Burnham: 



Dear Sih : In accordance Avith your request for a 

 description of my Royal Cochin China fowls, I Avould 

 say, that they were imported in January, 1850, from 

 the establishment of J. Joseph Nolan, Esq., of Dub- 

 lin ; and were hatched in July and August, 1849. 

 On the 20th of March, I find the cocks to Aveigh, one 

 nine pounds, the other eight and a half, light. The 

 pullets weigh, on the average, eight pounds, and are 

 now laying, all of them. 



The importation consists of six fowls — two cocks 

 and four pullets. The color of the male birds is red 

 and brown, or black and brown ; that of the hens is a 

 yellowish broAvn, generally, the feathers being barred 

 and tipped Avith black. The form of these fowls 

 resembles that of our best bred Shanghacs, and my 

 opinion strengthens Avith a further acquaintance Avith 

 both, that the two varieties sprung from the same 

 original stock. My Cochin Chinas are clean- logged^ 

 the Shanghaes are, as you are aware, feathered upon 

 the legs. 



I have found th.esc birds very prolific as lr.ycrs,, an.d 



