CHOICE OF COCKS. '33 



Which of these breeds is best adapted to 

 the poultry-yards of the Middle States ? To 

 this I would reply, that no one breed will 

 thrive or be found profitable if kept exclu- 

 sively. The natural tendency of all peculiar 

 varieties effected by domestication is to de- 

 teriorate, and such require great and extra 

 attention to keep pure, and whenever this is 

 attained, they are found to be delicate, and 

 very liable to disease. A particular breed 

 may, indeed, be highly valuable for some 

 especial purpose, but, at the same time, with 

 qualities w r hich render them a nuisance in 

 other respects. The most recent and best 

 work on this subject in France, Manuel du 

 Zoophyte, lays down the following rule for 

 selecting fowls for laying : " The best layer 

 is black and of a middling size, the head 

 rather large, the comb red and pendulous 

 on one side, the feet bluish, the eye bright, 

 the neck thick ; she should be noisy and 

 lively ; she is old at the fourth year." As 

 a general rule, however, it would be better 

 to obtain, if possible, the first stock of the 

 poultry-yard. from a colder climate; those 



