THE GENESEE FARMER. 



13 



•days after. At five months a fowl of this race has 

 reached its full perfection hoth as to weight and 

 quality. A poularde — that is, a pullet deprived of 

 the power of reproduction — of five or six months 

 attains the weight of 6£ lbs; a pullet of six months, 

 fattened, weighs from 7 to Si lbs. It is this race 

 that prodnces the fine poulardes and pullets sold in 

 the markets of Paris. Those of the Houdan race, 

 although of a superior quality, only come after 

 them. The Crevecoeur is the first race in France 

 for delicacy of flesh, ease of fattening, and preco- 

 city, and I believe that it is the first in the world 

 in these respects. It is one of the best also for 

 crossing ; all experiments go to prove that when 

 crossed with the pure Cochin China, or with the 

 progeny of a pure Crevecoeur and a pure Cochin 

 China, they produce a hardy race, of large size 

 and very delicate taste. 



The hen produces large eggs, and is an excellent 

 layer : in the comparative trials lately made in the 

 Zoological Gardens, she was second in this respect. 

 But she scarcely ever sits, and the eggs must there- 

 fore be hatched by other fowls. In many parts of 

 France, turkey hens are made use of for this pur- 

 pose, as they can be taught to sit almost at any 

 time." . 



The only other French breed to which we have 

 space to allude, and that very briefly, is that of La 

 Fleche. In an erect position, the cock is much the 

 tallest of all the French races, the body appearing 

 smaller than it really is, owing to the feathers lying 

 close to the skin. The plumage is entirely black, 

 with the occasional exception of some of the short 

 feathers ot the head and neck being white, and the 

 long feathers of the wings and tail being tinged 

 with green and violet reflections. The head and 

 wattles somewhat resemble the Spanish. They 

 fatten very readily, and the flesh is of the best 

 quality. Eggs good and of remarkable size. As a 

 layer, La Fleche stood fourth in the experimental 

 trial, the Dorking coming next. The Nankin and 

 and Brahma Pootras, it will be recollected, stood 

 first in -this trial as the most prolific layers. 



How Much Wheat do we Eat? — We do not 

 recollect seeing any satisfactory answer to this 

 question. In England it is estimated that each 

 person, on an average, requires six bushels of 

 wheat per annum. In this country, especially in 

 some sections, Indian corn enters so largely into 

 the consumption that it is more than probable that 

 a much less quantity of wheat per head is con- 

 sumed here. Again, as a rule, more meat is con- 

 sumed here than in England. Taking these things 

 into consideration, it is probable that five bushels 

 would be a liberal estimate. 



ARE HONEY EEES DOMESTIC ANIMALS? 



• This question has recently been tried in Ger- 

 many. An action of trespass was brought, and 

 the question at issue proved to be whether honey 

 bees are to be ranged in the class of what the law 

 calls " domestic animals," or are to be considered 

 as " wild and ferocious." A labor named Sauven- 

 et, of Chenerailles, proceeded on the 8th of Octo- 

 ber, 1859, to extract the honey from a bee hive in 

 the garden of his employer, a tax-gatherer, named 

 Beeaud. This irritated the bees, and they flew 

 wildly about. At that moment a farmer named 

 Legeand, of Periopolles, accompanied by his son, 

 a boy of thirteen, came up the road in a gig, and 

 the bees stung them and the horse severely. The 

 animal in terror began prancing furiously, and the 

 farmer and his son jumped out of the vehicle; the 

 boy then ran along the road trying to avoid the 

 bees, but the horse, having started off, knocked 

 him down, and so injured him that he died in a few 

 hours. Legeand afterward brought an action 

 before the Civil Tribunal of Aubusson against Be- 

 eaud and Sauvexet, to obtain from them 3,000 

 francs as indemnity for the death of his son, which 

 he said must be considered as caused by the bees. 

 But the Tribunal held that bees are "ferocious ani- 

 mals" which no one can be expected to control, ! 

 and that therefore the action could not be main- 1 

 tained. An appeal was presented to the Imperial j 

 Court at Limoges, and after long arguments a con- 1 

 trary decision was come to, the Court laying down i 

 that bees are "domestic animals," and that the 

 owner of them is responsible for any injury they 

 commit; it therefore ordered that 200 francs should 

 he paid to the plaintiff. 



Why Cattle Chew Bones. — This question is 

 again raised by some of our contemporaries. The 

 general impression seems to be that it is because 

 jthe soil lacks phosphates, and the plants which 

 grow on it are deficient in this bone-producing 

 material. We do not believe that a plant of clo- 

 ver grown on a soil deficient in phosphates would 

 contain any less of this substance than those grown 

 on richer land. If the soil contained no phos- 

 phates the plants would not grow at all. If it 

 was deficient in phosphates the growth of the 

 plants would be small. If a farmer has plenty of 

 good hay he may be sure it contains all the requi- 

 site elements. This, however, may be true : A soil 

 deficient in (not destitute of) phosphates would pro- 

 duce an inferior kind of grass, not containing suffi- 

 cient phosphates, and animals fed on it may have a 

 desire to eat bones to supply the natural craving 

 for this ingredient of all nutritious food. 



