FLORIDA POULTRY. 281 



woman's outburst of righteous indignation against "them 

 dratted critters," comes often to mind. 



As simple producers of eggs the Bramahs have several 

 superiors ; the eggs are large and fine, seven to the pound 

 is the average, but they only lay from eighty to one hun- 

 dred per annum, the number varying according to the shel- 

 ter and food given ; this of the Light Bramahs, the Dark 

 rarely lays over seventy eggs each year. 



It is in hardiness, size, and quality of flesh, that the 

 Bramahs take such high rank. They mature early, and at 

 two months old are frequently large enough to figure upon 

 the table as that delicious morsel, a "spread eagle," weigh- 

 ing at that period of their young lives from one and a 

 half to two pounds. The full-grown cock should weigh 

 from twelve to thirteen pounds, and the hen eight to nine 

 pounds ; at six months old the cockerels should not weigh 

 less than eight, nor the pullets less than six pounds. 



The Dark Bramahs are even heavier than the Light ; 

 they are in fact, so Lewis Wright tells us, the heaviest 

 of any known breed; for the full-grown cock, fourteen 

 to fifteen pounds is not uncommon, and there is one cock 

 on record, shown at an English poultry show, that ^^eighed 

 no less than eighteen pounds ! 



This is true of the perfectly pure strain only, and the 

 hens are as excellent as the cocks ; as winter layers no 

 breed equals them, and they usually lay thirty eggs before 

 desiring to set, and then what splendid mothers they make. 

 The Light Bramah is very good, but the Dark is better 

 still, in this respect. Did you ever see a proud, strutting 

 hen marching along with her dear little fluflTy family twit- 

 tering and chattering all around her, but, mayhap, some 

 stopping or straying aside when they ' ' had n't orter ? " 



Did you ever see the proud mother, in that case, stop 

 and turn back to collect the little runaways ? 



