16 DORKING FOWLS. 



him ; and in a storm of raging and vindictive deli- 

 rium, and uttering the most horrid imprecations, 

 he dropped down dead. I had hoped to find this 

 one among the thousand fanatical lies which have 

 been coined, on the insane expectation that truth 

 can be advanced by the propagation of falsehood ; 

 but, to my sorrowful disappointment, on a late in- 

 quiry among the friends of the deceased miscreant, 

 I found the truth of the horrible story but too 

 urobable. 



VARIETIES. 



The Dorking. 



This FOWL, so called from a town in Surrey, 

 where probably the variety was first bred, and 

 where, and in its vicinity, they are to be found in 

 great plenty and perfection, is, in the third degree, 

 the largest of our fowls, well-shaped, having a long 

 capacious body and short legs, and is a plentiful layer. 

 The genuine colour entire white: chief distinctive 

 mark five claws upon each foot. The white is proba- 

 bly not so pure as that of certain of the dung-hill 

 fowls, nor is the colour of the flesh, that inclining to 

 a yellow, or ivory shade. The Dorking are the spe- 

 cies generally made into capons. 



In a late agricultural survey of the county of 

 Sussex, an attempt is made to deprive Dorking 

 of the honour of originating this famous variety of 

 fowls, with what degree of success it would be a 

 waste of time to inquire ; it is sufficient that we 



