NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



193 



For the New Englatid Farmer. 

 A GROUP OF CHOICE FOWLS. 



Mr. Cole : Your readers arc herewith presented 

 with an engraving of three distinct breeds of fowls, 

 of the Galliis tribe, belonging to Geo. P. Burnham, 

 Esq., of Melrose, Maiden. The equals of thcni can- 

 not, in my opinion, be found in New England. 



The engraving is tlie work of Mr. Samuel E. 

 Erown, No. 50 Cornhill, Boston. Mr. Brown delin- 

 eated the fowls from life, and, in the completion of 

 the whole work, has shown abilities rarely possessed 

 by one individual. 



The engraving was printed " in tint," personally, 

 by Mr. C. II. Freeman, of the firm Devereux & Co., 

 printers, at No. 162 Washington St., who, deservedly, 

 have the reputation of being unsurpassed in all that 

 relates to the art of printing. 



The small figures in the nriddle foreground are the 

 portraits of the Sir John Seabright Bantams, belong- 

 ing to Mr. Burnham. The plumage of this breed of 

 Bantams is variegated, being black feathers alter- 

 nated with those of a bright orange color. The tail 

 and wings arc black, sometimes shaded or flecked 

 with white. The colors of the hens are not so bril- 

 liant as those of the cocks. The Seabright Bantams 

 are much smaller than Bantams of other breeds ; the 

 pair belonging to Mr. Burnham weighing, at sixteen 

 months old, but twenty-four ounces the pair. 



For a description of the other fowls shown in the 

 engra^'ing, the reader is referred to the letter from 

 Mr. Burnham, which is here inserted. 



S. B. Mouse, Jr., Esq. Dear Sir : The group 

 of my Cochin China and Seabright Bantam fowls, so 

 admirably portrayed in the picture by Mr. Brown — 

 a copy of which you kindly sent me on the 25th 

 inst. — is life-like, and very satisfactory ; and I send 

 you herewith a description of them, which you can 

 use at jjleasure. 



The two chief figures in the foreground represent 

 a cock and hen of the Cochin China tribe, and as 

 they are somewhat peculiar in their characteristics, I 

 ■v\ill devote a paragrajih to them especially. 



The cock is one of six fowls of ray own importa- 

 tion, direct fi-om Canton, early in the present season. 

 His color is quite dark, the prevailing shade of 

 plumage bomg a rich, glossj', greenish black, on the 

 breast, sides, and legs ; the hackles, wings, back, 

 and rump feathers are of a bright red ; his legs are 

 dark; wattles, heavy; eye, very large; prominent 

 comb, and very short tail. He is a splendid bird, 

 not yet ten months old ; his weight this day is ten 

 and one quarter j)Ounds. 



The hen is a perfect match for the cock, in color 

 and general appearance — dark plumage, (black, sav- 

 i".g her neck-hackles,) of very fine form, and one of 

 the rarest birds I have ever yet seen. She is also 

 imported directly from Canton, and was sent me by a 

 gentleman-fancier who chanced to sec my rooster, 

 and who considered him a fitting mate for such a 

 fowl. I weighed this hen on the 27th of May — she 

 drcio ten pound.i, strong, though she had but just come 

 from the sitting-coop, and was not so heavy by half 

 to three quarters of a pound, probably, as she will be 

 in fair laying condition. A few of her chicken.s, 

 hatched this spring, have proved rare specimens, for 

 domestic birds. 



The other pair of large fowls, in the background of 

 the picture, arc also correct portraits of the Koyal 

 Cochin Chinas imported by nic, last winter, from 

 Dublin, and which have ah'eady been fully described 

 in the books lately published, as well as in the " New 

 England Farmer." The pullet therein portrayed I 

 have already spoken of. She commenced laying 

 about the middle of February last; up to the 27th 

 of May, one hundred and four days, she laid ninety- 



two eggs, and she is now laying daily. Her weight 

 is now eight and one quarter pounds. One of the 

 others which accompanied her from Dublin wei^rhs 

 Hght nine pounds ; the average is about eight and 

 one half pounds. 



The Canton pullets which I received with the dark 

 cock will weigh from eight to eight and one half 

 pounds each ; they are very superior birds, and are 

 uniform in color and general characteristics. The 

 hens are a Hght brown, with the feathers tipped on 

 barred with black. The legs arc yellow, and tho 

 forms very handsome. The chickens from this stock 

 are quite uniform, and, thus far, very hardy. 



The "Seabright Bantams" are true to the life; 

 and I need only say that the pair shown by the 

 artist are as beautiful samples of this breed as I hav2 

 ever seen. The joint weight of the cock and hen is 

 but a trifle over a pound and a half ; and the latter 

 is now laying vigorously ! 



I shall be happy to show-this stock to yourself and 

 friends, at my new residence in Melrose, at any time 

 hereafter, where I tnaij have a few choice specimens 

 to dispose of during the coming season. With the 

 assurance that your artist has done himself credit in 

 this beautiful and accui'ate jiicture, I am 



Yours truly, GEO. P. BURNIL\M. 



RoxBURY, Mujj 29, 1850. 



Mr. Burnham, in the foregoing letter, speaks of 

 the dark-colored cock and hen as being Cochin 

 China, although differing in size and color of plu- 

 mage. The Royal Cochin Chinas are parti-colored, 

 with light-colored bills and legs. The color of the 

 others is very dark, nearly black, with black legs 

 and bills. There is also a great difference in the ear 

 lobes and wattles, both in size and form. In ray 

 opinion, the dark-colored fowls are much superior to 

 the Royal Cochin Chinas, yet the Cochin Chinas have 

 no competitors in any other breed of fowls ui tliis 

 country. 



There is at the present time a great inclination, on 

 the part of many persons, to give to mongrel fj-.vls 

 the names of well-known and truly valual)le fowls. 



In the Poultry-Book by Dr. John C. Bennett, on 

 pages 54, 55, and 5G, an account of the Shakebag 

 fowl is given, and portraits of fowls imported by the 

 " Tremont House," and kept at the " Samoset 

 House," are shown. Dr. Bennett says, " they are 

 magnificent birds," " they are exceedingly rare in 

 this country, this being the only importation of 

 which I have knowledge." 



Richardson says of the Shakebag, " A good many 

 years ago, there used to be a varictj- of fowl much in 

 request in England, called the ' Shakebag,' or the 

 ' Duke of Leeds ' fowl, his grace of that name, about 

 sixtj- or seventy years ago, having been a great ama- 

 teur breeder of them." 



Mowbray, in 1816, says of the Shakebag, "For- 

 merly the largest variety. * * It has been entirely 

 worn out for sorac years. It was called the Duke 

 of Leeds breed, but it does not appear whether his 

 grace first raised the variety, or whether it arose 

 merely from improving the size of the common 

 dunghill kind, or from any foreign cross. The only 

 one 1 ever possessed was a red one, in 1784. * * * 

 The breed of Shakebags has been for many years 

 extinct." 



Martin saj's of the Duke of I/Ccds fowl, or Shako- 

 bag, " A breed of game fowls, of enormous size. 

 * * The breed is now extinct." 



W. B. Dickson does not mention the Shakebag or 

 Duke of Leeds fowl in the last edition of liLs work, 

 on poultry. 



Thus it seems, by the authority of all English 



writers on poultry, that the Shackbag, Shakebag, or 



Duke of Leeds fowl has been lost for many years. 



What apology can Dr. Bennett otter for this mistake? 



Yours, &c., S. BRADFORD MORSE, Ju. 



