1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



117 



f 



POULTRY. 



We liave received from the publishers, E. II. But- 

 ler k. Co., of Philadelphia, a new work on Poultry, 

 by Dr. Kerr, of Philadelphia, or rather a re-print of 

 Dixon's English work, with additions by the Ameri- 

 can editor, and his numerous correspondents, who 

 are among the most extensive and best informed 

 poultry breeders of the country. Mr. Eben Wight, 

 of Dedham, Mass., has also presented us with speci- 

 mens of his }Fhite Shanghae fowls. Mr. W. fur- 

 nished a description and portraits of these fowls for 

 Kerr's new work, which we copy for the benefit of 

 our readers : 



DR. EBEN WIGHT S WHITE SHA.NGIIAE FOWLS. 



"Among tlie many varieties of the GalUis race 

 which have been introduced into the New England 

 States from China, there is no variety which possesses 

 so many good qualities as the White Shanghaes. 



" The White Shanghaes are larger and more quiet 

 than other varieties. The flesh of these fowls is 

 much superior, not sinewy or " stringy," as is the 

 case with the flesh of most of the other Shanghaes. 

 The eggs are larger, and these hens are more prolific 

 than those of other colors. 



" In their habits they are more quiet, and less in- 

 clined to ramble. These habits render the hens 

 invaluable for incubators and nurses, and the mild- 

 ness of their disposition makes them excellent foster- 

 mothers, as they never injure the chicks belonging to 

 other hens. I am induced to speak more fully of 

 these characteristics, from the many vexatious losses 

 I have suffered in the experiments I have tried. 



"I have imported different breeds of fowls from 

 Europe and elsewhere, and have received from many 

 friends specimens of choice fowls, and my endeavors 

 to propagate them have been frustrated by the ram- 

 bling or quarrelsome disposition of the hens which I 

 have been obliged to use for incubators and nurses. 

 I have lost, oftentimes, by quarrelsomeness of the 

 hens, their entire broods ; foi- instance, the Game 



hens are constant sitters and careful nurses to their 

 own chickens, but are exceedingly cruel to those of 

 other hens. The moment one of their chickens is 

 injured, a fight is commenced, and the chickens, 

 alarmed at the turmoil, crowding around their dams, 

 are many of them killed, and the victorious hen, after 

 her opponent has retreated, will attack every chick 

 withixi her reach, and oftentimes, in her desire for 

 revenge, mistaking her own chicks as belonging to 

 her antagonist, destroys them. In the mean time 

 the vanquished will destroy every stranger's chick 

 that comes within her reach. 



"Having, as I before stated, met with many vexa- 

 tious losses, I, as you must readily conceive, do most 

 highly prize the White Shanghae fowls for their 

 quiet dispositions. These fowls are not sluo-o-ish 

 or stupid ; on the contrary, they "are intelligent'and 

 confiding. To persons who have the "everlasting 

 layers," the Black Spanish, for instance, — a breed 

 that never shows the slightest des're to imrubate, — 

 the White ShangJiaes are invaluable for the purpose 

 of rearing chickens. 



"The fowls of which the artist made the drawing 

 from wJiich the portraits are e:ij;iav!:'.l, were imported 

 from Shangliae, and were th-ro purchased as a pure 

 race, and were warranted as f^uch. I received ihcm 

 directly from the ship, an I as evidence of the purity 

 of blood, I mention that every egg that has been laid 

 has incubated, and every chick t!iat has been hatched 

 has been uniformly white, and there has not been 

 the slightest variation in form or plumage. 



"These fowls will rank among the largest coming 

 from China, and, as a proof that they thrive well in 

 this climate, I will instance that one of the progeny, 

 a cock, not yet eight months old, being one of the 

 first brood hatched, weighs fully eight pounds, and 

 the pullets are proportionably large." 



We have to ihauk Capt. Dakin, of Geneva, the 

 gentlemanly navigator of 

 Seneca Lake, for a Poultry 

 Fountain, just come safe to 

 han>l, and of which we have 

 had an engraving made, for 

 the benefit of those who keep 

 poultry. It is simply a com- 

 mon earthen jar, with a little 

 basin in front, and a small 

 hole in the jar, through which 

 the water passes to the basin. 

 This hole must be closed 

 while filling the jar, which is 

 then corked tight and the ___=__ 



ping at the bottom removed. '*t^«di£K-r- 

 The basin is thus filled from the jar and kept full. 



This is the most convenient 



arrangement for watering 

 fowls that we ever noticed. 

 For those who are unable 

 to procure the above, wo 

 present a drawing of anoth- 

 er on the same principle, 

 which we have used — sim- 

 ple, and easily constructed. 

 An ordinary junk bottle 

 forms a reservoir ; the 

 trough below contains very 

 little water, and is never 

 overflowed. Pointed lath, 

 nailed to the sides and stuck into the ground, keep 

 the whole upright. 



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