FLORIDA POULTRY. 277 



But alas ! for human auticipatious ! Just as the cheerful 

 little " peet, peet," began to be heard beneath the pure 

 white shells, a neighbor's dog raided the hatching-house, 

 and of the 'Mast of their race" not one remained to tell 

 the sad tale. 



But, for all that, we have since had ample opportunities 

 to prove that Houdans are admirably adapted to Florida, 

 and we rejoice to know this too, for among all the various 

 breeds of poultry there is not one superior to the Houdan ; 

 and in this judgment, based upon our own experience, we 

 are fully corroborated by the National Poultry Company, 

 a great English institution, who claim that the Houdan 

 surpasses all the other varieties with which they have ex- 

 perimented. 



It is of French origin, and sprung from a cross between 

 the Dorking and White Poland strains. It is from the 

 Dorking side of the family that it gains the fifth toe, and, 

 characteristic with it, it also gains the deep, compact body, 

 short legs, and small bones of the latter, with the improve- 

 ment of much less waste or offal in proportion to its weight. 

 This latter is greater than that of any other French breed, 

 the hens sometimes weighing ten pounds, though this is not 

 very common ; from seven to eight pounds is the average. 

 Its plumage is black and white, its head is surmounted 

 by a fine Polish crest of feathers, and the w^attles are pend- 

 ent and well formed ; as to the comb, possessed by both 

 cock and hen, but in a far greater degree by the former, it 

 is the oddest of all varieties, resembling more than any 

 thing else the two leaves of a book opened, with a long, 

 slender straAvberry in the center ; this comb in the hen is 

 distinct but small. 



Some of the good points of the Houdan have already 

 been referred to — the deep, compact body, short legs, and 

 small wastage when prepared for the table ; these qualities 



