THE PEACOCK. 



65 



with it for beauty ; yet the horrid scream of 

 its voice serves to abate the pleasure we find 

 from viewing it ; and still more its insatiable 

 gluttony, and spirit of depredation, make it 

 one of the most noxious domestics that man 

 has taken under his protection. 



Our first peacocks were brought from the 

 East Indies; and we are assured, that they 

 are still found in vast flocks, in a wild state, 

 in the islands of Java and Ceylon. So beau- 

 tiful a bird, and one esteemed such a delicacy 

 at the tables of the luxurious, could not be 

 permitted to continue long at liberty in its 

 distant retreats. So early as the days of Solo- 

 mon, we find in his navies, among the articles 

 imported from the east, apes and peacocks. 

 ./Elian relates, that they were brought into 

 Greece from some barbarous country, and were 

 held in such high esteem among them, that a 

 male and female were valued at above thirty 

 pounds of our money. We are told also, that 

 when Alexander was in India, he found them 

 flying wild in vast numbers, on the banks of 

 the river Hyarotis, and was so struck with their 

 beauty, that he laid a severe fine and punish- 

 ment on all who should kill or disturb them. 

 Nor are we to be surprised at this, as the 

 Greeks were so much struck with the beauty 

 of this bird, when first brought among them, 

 that every person paid a fixed price for seeing 

 it ; and several people came to Athens, from 

 Lacedaemon and Thessaly, purely to satisfy 

 their curiosity. 



in their second year. Pullets in their first year, if early 

 birds, will, indeed, probably lay as many eggs as ever 

 after; but the eggs are small, and such young hens are 

 unsteady sitters. Hens are in their prime at three years 

 of age, and decline after five, whence, generally, it is 

 not advantageous to keep them beyond that period, with 

 the exception of those of capital qualifications. Hens 

 with a large comb, OP which crow like the cock, are ge- 

 nerally deemed inferior. Yellow-legged fowls are often 

 of a tender constitution, and always inferior in the qua- 

 lity of their flesh, which is of a loose flabby texture, and 

 ordinary flavour. 



The health of fowls is observable in the fresh and 

 florid colour of the comb, and the brightness and dry- 

 ness of the eyes; the nostrils being freed from any dis- 

 charge, and the healthy gloss of the plumage. The most 

 useful cock is generally a bold, active, and savage bird, 

 iometimes cruel, and destructive in his fits of passion, if 

 not well watched, to his hens, and even to his offspring. 

 Hens above the common size of their respective varie- 

 ties are by no means preferable either as layers or set- 

 ters. The indications of old age are paleness of the 

 comb and gills, dullness of colour, and a sort of downy 

 stiffness in the feathers, and length and size of talons, 

 the scales upon the legs becoming large and prominent. 



The number of hens to one cock should be from four 

 to six, the latter being the extreme number, with a view 

 of making the utmost advantage. Ten and even twelve 

 hens have been formerly allowed to one cock, but the 

 produce of eggs and chickens under such an arrange- 

 ment will seldom equal that to be obtained from the 

 smaller number of hens. Every one is aware that the 

 spring is the best season to commence breeding with 



VOL. m 



It was probably first introduced into the 

 West merely on account of its beauty; but 

 mankind, from contemplating its figure, soon 

 came to think of serving it up for a dif- 

 ferent entertainment. Aufidius Hurco stands 

 charged by Pliny with being the first who 

 fatted up the peacock for the feast of the lux- 

 urious. Whatever there may be of delicacy 

 in the flesh of a young peacock, it is certain 

 an old one is very indifferent eating ; never- 

 theless, there is no mention mde-of choosing 

 the youngest; it is probable they were killed 

 indiscriminately, the beauty of the feathe'rs in 

 some measure stimulating the appetite. Hor- 

 tensius the orator, was the first who served 

 them up at an entertainment at Rome ; and 

 from that time they were considered as one of 

 the greatest ornaments of every feast. Whe- 

 ther the Roman method of cookery, which 

 was much higher than ours, might not have 

 rendered them more palatable than we find 

 them at present, I cannot tell ; but certain it 

 is, they talk of the peacock as being the first 

 of viands. 



Its fame for delicacy, however, did not con- 

 tinue very long : for we find in the times of 

 Francis the First, that it was a custom to 

 serve up peacocks at the tables of the great, 

 with an intention not to be eaten, but only to 

 be seen. Their manner was to strip off the 

 skin ; and then preparing the body with the 

 warmest spices, they covered it up again in its 

 former skin;'v/ith all its plumage in full dis- 



poultry, and in truth it scarcely matters how early, pre- 

 supposing the best food, accommodation, and attendance, 

 under which hens may be suffered to sit in January. 



The conduct of the cock towards his hens is generally 

 of the kindest description, and sometimes, as in the 

 Polish breed, so remarkably so, as to be quite incredible 

 to those who have not witnessed it. It is not an un- 

 common occurrence, however, for the cock to take an 

 antipathy to some individual hen ; when it continues for 

 any length of time it is best to remove her, and supply 

 her place by another, taking care that the stranger be 

 not worried by the hens. Spare coops or houses will be 

 found useful on such occasions. 



The change of a cock, from death or accident, is al- 

 ways attended with interruption and delay, as it may be 

 some considerable time before the hens will associate 

 kindly with their new partner; and further, a new cock 

 may prove dull and inactive from the change, however 

 good in nature. This frequently happens with cocks of 

 the superior breeds, purchased from the London dealers, 

 in whose coops they have been kept in such a high state 

 of temperature, that they are unable to endure the open 

 air of the country, unless in the summer season. Such 

 being removed in autumn, winter, or early in spring, if 

 immediately turned abroad with hens, are liable to be- 

 come aguish, torpid, and totally useless ; perhaps, in the 

 end, turning roupy or glandered. The only metho'd of 

 safety in this case is to keep such a cock in the house, 

 upon the best and most nourishing food, turning the 

 hens to him several times in the day, and permitting 

 him to be abroad an hour or so, the weather being fine, 

 until, in a few weeks, he shall be accustomed to the 

 air. 



