POULTRY. 71 



times, there have been paid to Fancy Fowl breeders, as high as 

 $25, $35, and even $50 the pair, for birds of foreign stock. At 

 a sale in England in April last, six Sbanghae Chickens, three months 

 old, brought $55; a lemon-colored Hen brought $77! a lemon- 

 colored Cock brought $135 ! and a buff Cock, called " Nelson," 

 weighing 13 pounds, brought $215 ! and after the sale a nobleman 

 offered $250 for him ! A Spanish Hen brought $55, and a Cock 

 brought $60. At this sale, 182 lots of birds were sold, and the 

 sales amounted to $3872,50 ! ! Should any incredulous Sadducees 

 think that your Committee are " drawing the longbow " in these 

 statements, and taxing the credulity of those who may read them, a 

 little too heavily, they are referred to the " Cottage Gardener," for 

 April, 1854, whence the above prices were copied. One would 

 half suppose, that some of the hen-excited fanciers, would, as "honest 

 lago" said 



" Drown themselves for love of a Guinea-Hen !" — Shakspeare. 

 Certainly, before they attended the sale, they had greatly needed 

 to have taken the same worthy gentleman's advice to Rodrigo, 

 wherein he often counselled, 



" Put money in thy purse, I say- — put money enough in thy purse !" — Shakspeare. 



But such prices are an unnatural inflation, and must collapse. 

 Who can possibly imagine that a Shanghae Cock, or any other biddy 

 in all cockdom, is intrinsically worth $250 ! " Thou torturest me, 

 good Tubal," said Shylock, " It was my turquoise ! I would not 

 have given it for a whole wilderness of monkeys !" But fancy and 

 fashion both run into wild extremes, and as long as purchasers will 

 pay such prices, there will never be wanting sellers who will be 

 willing and even glad, to accommodate them. 



For ourselves, we do not believe that the Fancy Poultry intro- 

 duced within the last ten years is so vastly superior to the native 

 stock, when well cared for. The truth is, that when a man has, at 

 a great expense, bought a flock of these high-priced birds, he can- 

 not afford to neglect them, as he may and almost always does, neg- 

 lect, the common fowls of the dunghill. He bestows extra pains 

 upon them. He gives them better shelter and better food, and 

 better results are the natural and obvious consequence, and then, 

 " behold ! he boasteth great things " of his fancy stock. Yet we 

 venture the assertion, that were the better food and shelter given to 

 the native birds, they might be improved to the extent of giving as 



