Book VII. 



AQUATIC FOWLS. 



109i 



he never made any higher than fifteen pounds ready for the spit. The living and dead weight of a turkey 

 are as 21 to 14. 



7492. Feathers. Turkeys are sometimes plucked alive, a barbarous practice which ought to be laid 

 aside. Parmentier proposed to multiply the breed of white turkeys in France, and to employ the feathers 

 found on the lateral part of the thighs instead of the plumes of the ostrich. 



7493. The Guinea hen (Numidiail/eleagris i., 

 Jig. 937.) is found in a wild state only in Africa, 

 from whence it has been diffused over every part 

 of Europe, the West Indies, and America. In a 

 state of nature these birds associate in flocks of 

 two or three hundred. They delight in marshy 

 places, but always perch during the night in trees, 

 or high situations. It is bigger than a large cock, 

 and is active, restless, and courageous ; and will 

 even attack the turkey, though so much above its 

 size. 



7494. The properties qf the pheasant and the turkey have 

 been said to be united in this bird ; its flesh is more like that 

 of the pheasant than that of the common cock and hen both 

 in colour and taste, and is reckoned a very good substitute 

 fbr the former bird. It is also very prolific, and its eggs are nourishing and good. It assimilates per- 

 fectly with common fowls in its artificial habits and kinds of food ; but it has this peculiarity that tjie 

 cocks and hens are so nearly alike, that it is difficult to distinguish them, and it has a peculiar gait, and 

 cry, and chuckle. 



7495. The peacock (Pavo cristatus X.) is a native of India, and found in a wild state 

 in Java and Ceylon, where they perch on trees like the turkey in America. The age of 

 the peacock extends to twenty years, and at three the tail of the cock is full and com- 

 plete. The cock requires from three to four hens ; and where the country agrees with 

 them, they are very prolific, a great ornament to the poultry yard and lawns, and useful 

 for the destruction of all kinds of reptiles. Unfortunately, they are not easily kept 

 ;<^y ^ within moderate bounds, and are very destructive in gardens. 



"^ They live on the same food as other domestic fowls, and 



prefer barley. They are in season from February till June ; 

 but though a peacock forms a very showy dish, the flesh is 

 ill-coloured and coarse, and they are therefore kept more as 

 birds of ornament than of use. 



7496. The crested curassow (Crax Alector L. Jig. 938.) is a 

 beautiful and majestic bird, nearly the size of a turkey ; it 

 is common in some parts of tropical America, and is men- 

 tioned as being abundant in Paraguay. In those coun- 

 tries it is tamed, and readily associates with the other do- 

 mestic poultry. Like most gallinaceous birds, it lives in 

 flocks of about a dozen, feeds upon Indian corn, rice, and 

 other grain during the day, and roosts on high trees at night. 

 Its size, disposition, and the delicacy of its flesh, all recommend our attempting to do- 

 mesticate it in this country. 



Sect. III. Anserine or Aquatic Fowls. 



7497. The order anseres comprehends the duck, goose, swan, and buzzard. Under a 

 regular system, Mowbray observes, it would be preferable to separate entirely the aquatic 

 from the other poultry ; the former to have their houses ranged along the banks of a piece 

 of water, with a fence, and suflficiently capacious walks in front ; access to the water by 

 doors, to be closed at will. Should the water be of considerable extent, a small boat 

 would be necessary, and might be also conducive to the pleasure of angling. 



7498. The duck (^^nas i?6schas L.,fig- 939.) is a na- 

 tive of Britain, and found frequenting the edges and 

 banks of lakes in most parts of Europe. The flesh of 

 this and various other species of the duck is savory and 

 stim.ulant, and said to afford preferable nourishment to 

 that of the goose, being less gross, and more easily 

 digested The flesh of the v/ild duck, though more 

 savoury than that of the tame, is reckoned still more 

 easy of digestion. The ancients went even beyond our 

 greatest modern epicures in their high esteem for the 

 flesh of the duck : and Plutarch asserts, that Cato pre- 

 served his whole household in health by dietmg them 

 on duck's flesh. .. m. 



7499 Varieties and species. There are the Rhone^ 

 the Aylesbury, the canvass-backed, and the Mus- 

 covy. 



ducks have been so constantly imported for a great number of 

 ears that they are very generaUy mixed with our native breed. 



7500. The Rhone duck is originally from France, and ge; 



nerally of a dark-coloured pluriiage, large size, and supposed years, that tbey are very^"^^ theThite varie V especiaUy 

 toim^rove ourbreed... Th'ey. ar^ of daTker Aesh, anLj^ore l^J^^t^^'J^J^^^l^^^^^'^^^^^^T^^Til, 



savoury, tlian the English duck ; but somewhat coarse. 



4 A 2 



