POULTRY. 



which are sent to the market about 

 Christmas, frequently weighing from 

 twenty to twenty-five pounds, are 

 usually cocks from the preceding 

 year. 



•' Guinea Fowl. — This bird, which is 

 not much larger than the common 

 barn-door fowl, is of beautiful form 

 and plumage, and, though not a 

 source of profit to those who rear 

 poultry for immediate sale, is usually 

 kept where there is proper accommo- 

 dation, as much on account of the ex- 

 cellence and abundance of the eggs 

 (which, though small, are well-fla- 

 voured) as for the sake of the flesh, 

 which is prized. The number of hens 

 allowed to the male is about the same 

 as among the gallinaceous family. 

 The cock, little distinguished in ap- 

 pearance from the female, is an at- 

 tentive and affectionate mate, and 

 even obtrusively so to his favourites, 

 whom he will attend to the nest, and 

 remain with until they have laid their 

 eggs. 



" Retaining some of their original 

 wildness, Guinea fowl dislike the con- 

 finement of a house. For the pur- 

 pose of laying, they prefer shrubber- 

 ies, clover meadows, or corn-fields, 

 in which they will deposite their 

 eggs, unless closely watched. The 

 Guinea hen is fruitful during the en- 

 tire summer, but not earlier than May. 

 On this account, and the difficulty of 

 rearing a late brood, it is more bene- 

 ficial to keep her entirely for laying, 

 and to put the earlier eggs under a 

 common hen, or capon, which will 

 cover from twenty to twenty-five, 

 than to encourage the incubation of 

 the natural parent, which is, more- 

 over, indisposed to it, especially if un- 

 der cover. If left to her instinct, this 

 bird would, at a late season, in the 

 open air, sit for the natural period, 

 which is twenty-eight or twenty-nine 

 days. 



"The cock, having the same dis- 

 like to incubation which character- 

 izes the male of pea fowl, will de- 

 stroy the eggs if he can discover 

 them. Though the shell is remarka- 

 bly hard, the chicks break through it 

 at the proper moment, and are soon 



1 after as vigorous and ready to eat 

 as the young of any other tribe of 

 poultry. 



" The loud cry of these birds is not 

 agreeable, but. like the scream of the 

 pea fowl, it announces with certainty 

 an approaching change of weather. 

 The hen utters a cry when she de- 

 sires to roost, to call in her compan- 

 ions, to summon assistance, or to give 

 notice of any of those alarms which 

 her sensibilities cause her to express 

 with such energy of voice, and in all 

 which cases she is sure of receiving 

 a ready sympathy. 



" The same food which is suited to 

 the young of gallinaceous fowls and 

 turkeys is good for the chicks of this 

 kind ; but as they are not often des- 

 tined to the coops for fattening, a 

 good deal of garden or field green 

 food may be combined with their 

 grits, &c., after the first month. They 

 have a great relish for insects of ev- 

 eiy kind, and thrive upon them as 

 well as upon hemp seed. \Mien de- 

 signed for the table, they ought to be 

 killed at an early age, at which time 

 the flesh is more juicy than that of 

 other poultry of the same age, and 

 very like that of the pheasant, though 

 when old it becomes exceedingly 

 tough. 



" Ducks. — The white duck, being 

 ' the largest of the common domesti- 

 cated kmds, is perhaps the best for 

 the poulterer, though it is not deem- 

 ed so delicate in flavour as the dark- 

 coloured, such as that bred from in- 

 termixture with the Rhone duck, 

 which is also large. The .Muscovy 

 variety is said to be a good breeder. 

 One drake is sufficient for five fe- 

 males. It is generally believed that 

 the duck lays no more eggs than she 

 can cover (from twelve to fifteen), 

 but Mr. Moubray states that, if well 

 fed, some ducks will lay a great num- 

 ber, and he gives an instance of one 

 laying an egg every day for eighty- 

 five days. 



" For a fortnight after their birth, 

 ducklings should be kept from rush- 

 ing into the water, to which their in- 

 stinct soon leads them ; and with 

 this view the mother is frequently 



631 



