1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



93 



THE DORKING FOWL. 



If 





We have received several letters similar to the fol- 

 lowing, of late, asking for a description and engra- 

 vings of the Dorking fowl : 



" Messrs. Editors : — You will oblige me, and many of 

 your subscribers in ihis place, by giving a description of the 

 Dorking fowl. Some of us who are not engaged in farming, 

 prize your paper very raucli for the information it contains 

 about fowls." H. C. J. — Cazmovia, N. Y., 1851." 



WHITE DORKING COCK. 



We are constantly receiving requests from new 

 subscribers for information on subjects of which we 

 have fully treated in previous volumes of the Farmer. 

 We have before published a description of these 

 fowls ; but for the benefit of new subscribers, we 

 take pleasure in again bringing the Dorldngs to the 

 notice of our readers. Mr. Eben Wight, of Ded- 

 ham, Mass., has very kindly and opportunely sent us 

 portraits of two of his white Dorkings, which grace 

 this page. We have no need to speak of their beau- 

 ty, as they speak for themselves. 



We regret that the price of the finer sort of fowls 

 is so extravagantly high ; but these prices can not 

 long be maintained, and the time is not far distant, 

 we think, when every farmer, and every farmer's 

 wife and children, can have a poultry-yard well 

 stocked with the Dorkings, Shanghaes, and Cochin 

 Chinas, It is foolish to go crazy on the chicken 

 question, and applaud everything new, or with a new 

 name ; and it is equally foolish to suppose there can 

 be no improvement in fowls — no superiority in one 

 breed over another — and that the fowls which we 

 see running around our streets and yards, are "good 

 enough." 



It is generally supposed that the Dorking fowls 

 originated in Dorking, Surry, England, from which 

 place they take their name. The Dorkings were 

 originally white, but latterly, even in Dorking, have 

 become of all shades of color, by crossing, so that the 

 pure white Dorking is scarce. Since so much at- 

 tention has been attracted to the subject, pains have 

 been taken to increase the pure breed, and for this 



purpose they have been imported. The cock and 

 hen of which we give the portraits, are from fowls 

 imported by Mr. Wight. We have seen fowls of 

 every shade of color, and of every form, bought and 

 sold for Dorkings, and it is well to learn the true 

 characteristics of the breed. Martin, an English 

 author, who visited Dorking in Surry, and examined 

 the fowls there, says : 



" The Dorking fowl is a short-legged, plump, 

 round-bodied fowl, remarkable for having 

 five toes, — that is, a supernumerary hind 

 toe. We have indeed seen some with one 

 or two more supplemental toes, in a rudi- 

 mentary condition, and which appeared 

 anything but ornamental. The pure Dork- 

 ing fowl is of good size, and of a white 

 color ; but such are now seldom seen. 

 During a recent visit of some weeks to 

 Dorking, though vi^e visited the market 

 regularly, and explored the country round, 

 on one or two occasions only did we meet 

 with pure white birds. In all, however, 

 more or less white prevailed ; but the 

 cloudings and markings of the plumage 

 were unlimited. Many were, as we ob- 

 served, marked with bands or bars of ashy 

 gra}?, running into each other at their paler 

 margins. Sume had the hackles of the 

 neck white with a tinge of yellow, and the 

 body of a darker or brownish red color, in- 

 termixed irregularly with white ; yet in 

 ^ all were the five claws present. Neither 

 in form nor coloring is the Dorking breed 

 attractive ; it is too rounded on the body, 

 and too low on the limbs to be graceful ; 

 but its flesh is in high repute, and vast 

 numbers of these fowls are sent to the 

 London market. 

 "This breed has recently been introduced into 

 other parts of England, and also into Ireland, and in 

 the latter instance without any deterioration. It is 

 chiefly for its flesh that the Dorking fowl is valued, 

 yet the hen is an excellent layer and sitter, as in 

 fact all short-legged fowls are ; in incubation, indeed, 

 the advantage of short legs is evident ; the eggs are 

 in less danger, and less liable to disturbance." 



WHITE DORKING HEN. 



Some English breeders think the Dorking fowl 

 desrenerates if removed from its native climate. 



