224 THE PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPER. 



Houdan ; but a reaction speedily set in against this, and 

 what seems now desired is a true Houdan comb, and some- 

 where about an equal amount of black and white in the 

 plumage. English judges unfortunately lay most stress 

 upon crest ; and the result has been a marked deterioration 

 in prolificacy, as in the Creve. 



Some Houdans are very large we once weighed a hen 

 10 lb., but this is rare. The wattles are pendent and well 

 developed, although the breed is well whiskered. The 

 comb is most peculiar and characteristic, resembling the two 

 leaves of a book opened, with a sort of strawbeny-looking 

 lump in the centre ; in the hen it is small. Creve combs 

 are now usually disqualified. 



Many of the first imported Houdans lacked the fifth 

 toe, and this feature might easily have been bred out. 

 Unfortunately English breeders went the other way, and 

 rather insisted on it, far more than the French did ; with 

 the result that bumble-foot is now often seen, as in 

 Dorkings. The legs are in colour a sort of mottle of white, 

 pink, and blue. 



As to the merits of Houdans, the unspoilt stock is one of 

 the most valuable breeds ever introduced into this country, 

 and in general usefulness surpasses all the French varieties. 

 Better table-fowls are none, the laying powers are great, the 

 chickens fledge and grow faster than almost any breed, and 

 the eggs are invariably prolific indeed, the ardent Houdan 

 cock requires more hens than almost any other. There is 

 also no hardier variety known. Such a strain is emphatically 

 a farmer's fowl, wherever the eggs can be hatched by other 

 breeds or an incubator. In breeding for crest, colour, and 

 toes it is to be regretted much has been lost, and many ex- 

 hibition strains are rather poor layers ; so that for economic 

 purposes it is generally better to procure stock, if possible, 

 direct from France. 



