POULTRY 



are smooth-legged. Tlioy are very- 

 domestic, often making their nest in 

 the ivitchen and cupboards of the 

 dwclHiig, wiien permitted. They are 

 excellent layers and good nurses, 

 but re(}uire a dry location, on account 

 of their short, feathered legs. The 

 males are wonderful crowers, exceed- 

 ingly pugnacious, and make three 

 times the fuss about the poultry-yard 

 that anything, but a bantam, should 

 do. They arrive at maturity early, 

 and are well worthy of i)ropagation. 

 "The Bucks Conniij breed has re- 

 ceived some celebrity in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Philadelphia as a valua- 

 ble variety of fowl, principally on ac- 

 count of its enormous size. I have 

 seen many specimens of this fowl, 

 paid some attention to its habits, and 

 learned from those who have tried 

 them their principal merits. It is a 

 large bird, weighing, at maturity, 

 eight, and even ten pounds, rather 

 tlunjy feathered, of various colours 

 from gray to black, and frequently 

 speckled black and white. They are 

 coarse in their legs, tall and bony, 

 and have evidently a cross of the Ma- 

 lay in their composition. They are 

 hut moderate layers ; their eggs very 

 large and good. They are bad sit- 

 t(;rs, frequently breakmg their eggs, 

 on account of their great weight and 

 size, by crushing them ; are not hardy, 

 and, on the whole, will not compare 

 with the common dunghill fowl for 

 ordmary uses. They do not breed 

 equally in size and appearance, show- 

 ing them, evidently, to be a cross from 

 other breeds ; but from what they are 

 derived, other than the Malay, it is 

 difficult to say. A gentleman of my 

 acquaintance, who is very curious as 

 well as nice in the selection of his 

 fowls, tried them efTectually for his 

 poultry-yard, and they disappointed 

 lum. He then crossed them wiih the 

 game breed, and has succeeded line- 

 ly, the cross being reduced in size, 

 fuller feathered, hardier, and better 

 layers, with an excellent carcass, and 

 liner flesh. As a fancy fowl, or to 

 make up a variety, they are very 

 well, but they can never become of 

 great utility, except to cross with the 



common or the game fowl, to ttie 

 farmer. 



" The Java or Indian fowl is a 

 large, coarse bird, covered with a 

 coarse, long down or hair, of a dirty 

 white or yellow colour, and running 

 from that into all the shades of brown, 

 even to a smoky black. It appears 

 to differ little from the Malay fowl, 

 save in its crowing, and perhaps lay- 

 ing deeper-coloured eggs. Its gener- 

 al characteristics are the same. In the 

 IVoithern States it is hardly worth 

 projiagation : as a fancy bird, it pos- 

 sesses neither beauty nor utility." 



" Those who intend to rear fowls 

 or any kind of poultry on a large scale 

 should have a distinct yard, perfectly 

 sheltered, and with a warm aspect, 

 well fenced, secure from thieves and 

 vermin, and sufficiently inclined to be 

 always dry. and supplied with sand 

 or ashes for the cocks and hens to 

 roll in, an operation necessary to dis- 

 engage their feathers from vermin : 

 running water should be especially 

 provided ; for the want of water, of 

 which all poultry are fond, produces 

 constipation of the bowels and in- 

 flammatory diseases ; and for geese 

 and ducks bathing is an indispensa- 

 ble luxury. A contiguous field is also 

 necessary for free exercise, as well 

 as for the supply of grubs and grass 

 to the geese. The fowl-house should 

 be dry, well roofed, and fronting the 

 east or south, and, if practicable, at 

 the back of a stove or stables, warmth 

 being conducive to health and laying, 

 though extreme heat has the contra- 

 ry efTect. It should be furnished with 

 two small lattice windows, that can 

 be opened or shut at pleasure, at op- 

 posite ends, for ventilation, which is 

 frequently necessary ; and the perch- 

 es should be so arranged that one row 

 of roosting fowls should not be di- 

 rectly above another. 



" M. Parmentier has shown by 

 what arrangement a house twenty 

 feet long and twelve feet wide may 

 be made to accommodate 150 hens 

 at roost. The plan is simply this : 

 the first roosting-pcrch (rounded a 

 little at the upper angles only, for gal- 

 linaceous fowls cannot keep a firm 



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