THE TURKEY. 125 



It is more from curiosity than profit that Guinea fowls are 

 kept, though they are excellent for the table ; and their eggs, 

 though small, are much esteemed ; but they are not easy to rear 

 in our cold climate. The hens, says Mascall, sit thirty days, 

 and the young must be managed like young turkeys, as they 

 are equally, if not more tender. In fact, the whole management 

 of both the young and the old may be precisely the same as 

 that of turkeys, in feeding, hatching and fattening." Dickson. 



" As a source of profit," says Richardson, " I cannot recom- 

 mend these fowl ; the eggs are very small, three of them being 

 scarcely equal to an ordinary hen's egg, and the flesh not being 

 likely to please every palate, though, indeed, it is in tolerable 

 request in the London markets, when the game season closes, 

 its flavor resembling pheasant ; still, however, as the Guinea 

 fowl require but little trouble or attention, and their eggs, 

 though of small size, are well-flavored and numerous, they are 

 generally kept wherever there is accommodation for them. The 

 chief objection to them is their cry, or scream ; and even this, 

 again, has its advantages, invariably predicting a change of 

 weather ; they can hardly, however, be kept with other poul- 

 try, on account of their pugnacity. They have been let out on 

 the heaths and mountains in England, with a view to their nat- 

 uralization ; during summer they did very well, but wore unable 

 to stand the winter. 



The Guinea fowl dislikes confinement, and will not thrive 

 unless it has free liberty ; where such, therefore, cannot be 

 afforded, it is useless to attempt keeping it. 



These fowl are prolific ; the hen commences to lay in May, 

 and lays throughout the entire summer ; for the table they are 

 in season from February to June. The period of incubation is 

 twenty-eight days ; but it is more advisable to keep the Guinea 

 hen entirely for laying, and if you desire to hatch any of the 

 eggs, to do so under the hen of the common gallinaceous fowl. 

 11* 



