CRESTED FOWLS. 



165 



THE EUtiSIAN FOWL, 



THE RUSSIAN FOWL. 



A few of this very singular and unique va- 

 riety of fowls were imported, in 1842, from Mos- 

 cow, by Dr. E. Wight, of Boston, from which our 

 portraits were taken. In a letter accompanying 

 the portraits, the Doctor says, " I herewith send 

 you a rough sketch of a cock and hen of the 

 Russian or Siberian fowls. They came to hand 

 u few weeks since, and are perfectly described 

 by ' Dickson on Poultry.' These were procured 

 for me from Moscow, and answer the description 

 well, except that the feathers on the legs are 

 quilled, which they will probably lose in the 

 next generation, our climate being so much 

 milder than at Moscow." 



In the fall of 1845 the Doctor sent us a coop 

 containing the original imported fowls, together 

 with several of their produce. They arrived 

 in the latter part of NovemBer, while we were 

 in possession of the American Hotel in Albany. 

 On turning them out in the yard they appeared 

 drooping and sickly, and on examination we 

 found them covered and literally alive with 

 vermin, one having died a few days after their 

 arrival. We applied the usual remedy of rub- 



bing lard under their wings, on the back of their 

 necks and heads, and sent them into the coun- 

 try in charge of a faithful person, where they 

 could have more room and fresher air, but it 

 was to no purpose, as they all dropped off one 

 after the other and thus ended the importa- 

 tion of the Russian fowls. This we much re- 

 gretted, as they were rather pretty though very 

 odd-looking birds. 



They were rather under size that is. they 

 were smaller than the common fowl, but larger 

 than the White Bantam. They stood quite 

 erect, on very short legs, which were thickly cov- 

 ered with fine ordinary feathers. Their plum- 

 age was a maroon, spotted with black. The 

 cock had a very small comb and wattles ; the 

 hen a comb only. This breed differs from all 

 others that we have seen, in having large tufts 

 of fine black feathers springing from each jaw, 

 and some longer and fuller, not unlike a Jew's 

 beard, from the lower mandible. There was also 

 a tuft of upright feathers of the same silky tex- 

 ture, springing from the top of the head, indi- 

 cating Polish blood. The long body and singu- 

 lar position in which they stand, particularly the 

 hen, gives them quite a grotesque appearance. 



