00 HONG KONG FOWLS. 



Kong, has been bestowed on them as a convenient appellation to dis- 

 cfnguish them from other Chinese fowls. They are the Mandarin Fowl 

 of China. 



" The importer thus describes the pair now referred to : 



* ' The cock is one of six fowls of my own importation, direct from " 

 Canton, early in the present season. His color is quite dark, the pre- 

 vailing shade of plumage being a rich, glossy, greenish black, on the 

 breast, sides, and legs ; the hackles, wings, back, and rump feathers 

 are a bright red ; his legs are dark ; wattles, heavy ; eye, very large ; 

 prominent comb, and very short tail. He is a splendid bird, not ten 

 months old. His weight this day is ten and a quarter pounds. 



" ' The hen is a perfect match for the cock in color and general ap- 

 pearance dark plumage, (black, saving her neck-hackles,) of a very 

 fine form, and one of the rarest birds I have ever yet seen. She is 

 also imported directly from Canton, and was sent me by a gentleman 

 fancier, who chanced to see ray crower, and who considered him a 

 fitting mate for such a fowl. I weighed this hen on the 27th of May 

 she drew ten pounds, strong, though she had just come from the sitting- 

 coop, and was not so heavy by half to three-quarters of a pound, 

 probably, as she will be in fair laying condition. A few of her 

 chickens, hatched this spring, have proved rare specimens, for domestic 

 birds.' 



"In size and weight, these fowls are well ranked among the best 

 specimens of their race. Their laying qualities are also equal to the 

 best. 



"The hen here described, laid almost daily for six months, when 

 owned by Dr. Wight, and she has, since she came into my possession, 

 laid well. Her eggs are very peculiar. 



"There are very few of these fowls in this country, owing to the 

 fact that the original co-ck was slain in battle, soon after his arrival in 

 America. A coop containing Royal Cochins happened to be in such 

 proximity, that the fowls in each, beholding each other, became 

 excited, and burst forth from their prisons and came in conflict. 



" The encounter was a severe one, and resulted in the death of both. 

 One was killed on the spot, and the other died shortly after." 



J. C. B. 



The Hong Kong fowl, in my opinion, surpasses any other known 

 breed in New England. For beauty and laying qualities, I am certain 

 they will stand in the foremost ranks. I have tried the different 

 breeds that are now attracting so much attention in this section. 

 Some I have found very good, but concluded on the whole, that many 

 overrated their fowls. A friend, (Dr. J. C. Bennett, Great Falls, N. 

 11.,) sent me a pair of Hong Kongs. I have bred them for two years, 

 and they have far exceeded my expectations. Of twenty-five chickens 



1 have bred this season, not one was imperfect. They bred to the 

 feather, and resemble the old fowl perfectly. I do not hesitate in 

 saying, the Hong Kongs are THE FOWLS. 



H. H. HUNTRESS, 



Biddeford, Me. 



