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The labor required in poultry husbandry is not necessarily ex- 

 pensive, for inferior farm hands, such as boys or women, as in 

 Great Britain, can be employed. Farmers, in the harvesting of 

 strawberries, peas and other products, requiring light labor, do 

 not hesitate to employ every available hand, and often at quite 

 remunerative pay. Why cannot constant employment be given 

 in the poultry yard to some of these lighter hands on the farm, at 

 times when they are not needed in the field, where, if a judicious 

 system is adopted, their labor may be very remunerative ? 



Poultry husbandry is undoubtedly profitable under almost all 

 circumstances ; the object of the farmer is, therefore, to make it 

 remunerative in the highest degree. . He must obtain a flock of 

 the best fowls, whether for breeding or laying, or both, and adopt 

 a system involving the least expense, both of labor and money. 



At the time when the " Hen Fever" raged so terribly in this 

 country, a few years since, a great variety • of breeds was intro- 

 duced, some of which were undoubtedly valuable, but the most of 

 them nearly worthless for general use. Undoubtedly, the mixtures 

 of these breeds have been of great benefit to the common stock of 

 the country ; but we are in the days of Jerseys, Ayrshires and 

 Devons, and nothing but pure foreign breeds will do ; for in cattle 

 husbandry, the result of careful breeding and culture is that the 

 Ayrshire and Jersey are best for the dairy, and the Devon and 

 Durham for beef; so, in poultry husbandry, the most careful and 

 accurate observation and experiment prove that the Black Span- 

 ish and Plamburg fowls are the best breeds for laying, and the 

 Dorking, and, perhaps, the game fowls for breeding and the market. 

 Of course, there are many other good breeds ; for instance, the 

 Polish Top-knots, Spangled Polish, Bolton Gray, Leghorn, 

 Creeper and Dominique ; but there are objections to all these 

 breeds, in some cases, serious ones, far surpassing any peculiar to 

 the others I have named. The different varieties of the Malay 

 fowl — such as the Shanghai, Cochin China, Chittagong and Brahma 

 Pootra, are almost worthless, except as a cross with the common 

 barn-yard fowl ; for they are generally poor layers, clumsy, al- 

 though persistent and indomitable sittei's, and their flesh is coarse 

 and ill-flavored. 



The farmer, has, therefore, but four breeds to select from, if he 

 wishes to arrive at the maximum degree of profit. These breeds 

 have well-marked and infaUible characteristics, all different from 

 each other to a certain extent, but uniting in the most desirable 

 qualities. 



The Black Spanish fowl is certainly the most desirable breed 

 we have, Avhere a good layer and table fowl is desired. The full- 

 blooded bird is of a jet black plumage, with reflections of greenish 

 blue, and both sexes have very large, high-colored wattles and 



