GALLUS DOMESTICUS. 



mandible arched, convex, bent towards the point. Head sur- 

 mounted by a crest or plume. Ears naked. Three toes be- 

 fore, united to the first joint. The hind toe raised from the 

 ground. Tarsus with a long and bent spur. Middle feathers 

 of the tail arched. Wings short. 



THE SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



GALLUS DOMESTICUS. Comb dentated. Throat wattled. 

 Feathers of the neck linear and elongated. Body variegated 

 with beautiful colors. Tail compressed and ascending. Comb 

 and wattles of the female less than those of the male. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



The Cock and Hen, fowls or poultry, were originally natives 

 of Persia and India. They are most valuable to the farmer, 

 as yielding profit in eggs, broods, and feathers. The varieties 

 of the common fowl are very numerous, and are distinguished 

 from one another by their size, color, and fecundity. Fowls 

 should be kept very clean and dry, and particular care must 

 be taken to furnish them with clean, sweet water ; foul water 

 produces that fatal disorder among chickens called roup, or 

 gapes, which is known by the chicken gasping for breath, and 

 dying in a few hours. No remedy has yet been discovered 

 for this disorder; and, consequently, care and cleanliness 

 should prevent it. Foul water and a scarcity of water are 

 also causes of the pip in hens, and originate all their diseases. 

 Poultry of all sorts should have clean, sweet houses to retire 

 into during the night, and in seasons of wet. Warmth is 

 necessary to the comfort and well-doing of poultry. If hens 

 are kept with care, and have clean, quiet places to deposit 

 themselves in, they will lay regularly and repay all trouble. 

 One cock is sufficient for ten hens. He should be chosen 

 with care. A good cock should be well-sized, carrying his 

 head high ; he should have a quick, animated look, a strong, 

 shrill voice, the comb of a fine red, broad breast, strong wings, 

 legs thick, and his bill thick and short. The vigor of the cock 

 lasts three years ; he must then be superseded, and a fine, spir- 

 ited youthful successor installed in his room. A cock is at 

 full age at three months old. Three sorts of hens are use- 

 ful. The common hen^ whose proper signs should *be a large 

 head, bluish feet, sharp eyes, and pendant comb. The tufted 

 hen, for eating, as she does not lay much, and therefore fat- 



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