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BLACK CHINA FOWLS. 



BLACK CHINA FOWLS. 



The above cut represents a somewhat rare, but very excellent des- 

 cription of fowls, which have been bred in Norfolk county, Massachu- 

 setts. 



The fowls from which the Black China breed had its origin, were 

 imported into this country in the spring of 1848, in the ship Vancou- 

 ver, from China, and came into the possession of Dr. Eben Wight, of 

 Dedham, Mass. At the time he received them, the hen weighed nine 

 pounds. She ultimately proved to be a good layer, and, as her form 

 oecame maturely developed, showed points which denoted the best 

 requirements of the class to which she belonged. She was short in 

 the legs very much so; round and full in the body and breast; the 

 plumage of the body dark green, with yellow hackles on a black 

 ground. The chicks of the first brood were all males the number 

 being six. At six months old, the heaviest of this brood weighed ten 

 and a half pounds, and the lightest one ten and a quarter pounds. 

 The color of the males is black, with reddish, or gold-colored neck 

 and back feathers. They stand erect, and are majestic in their 

 demeanor. The comb and wattles of the stock from those originally 

 imported, are very small, a feature that is not found in any other 

 variety of Black China fowls. The combs, on both cocks and 

 hens, are single in all pure specimens, and, on no account, can they 

 be considered large ; if otherwise, the purity of the fowl may be 



