196 ANIMAL ARTISANS 



" grit," which he pounded up himself. The grit 

 idea " caught on," as they say. Very many people 

 thought grit was the thing. They almost fed their 

 chickens on grit. They had it in sizes, and put 

 saucers of small grit about as large as gunpowder 

 before callow chickens, and of large grit as big as 

 maize for grown-up cocks and hens. All the fowls 

 acquired a taste for grit, even if they had it not 

 already. Then an opposition arose who hardly let 

 their chickens look at grit. One leader and breeder 

 of prize-winners wrote to say that his lived on bare 

 boards, where there was no possibility of picking up 

 grit, and so forth, and insinuated the darkest motives 

 as against the advocates of the grit, who sold no 

 end of it at a very handsome rate, considering the 

 abundance of the article in nature. It was about 

 twice as dear as the best oilcake. 



Of the terrible division which recently arose in 

 poultry circles brief mention only can be made. A 

 fancier discovered a new breed of chickens of the 

 useful kind. Now, it is well known that any one 

 who discovers a new chicken expects by its means to 

 benefit mankind and solve the cottage problem and 

 the rural emigration question. Conceive, then, the 

 feelings of a fancier who sees a chicken which might 

 and ought to do this being turned into a "show" 

 variety, and the judges lending themselves to this 

 course. Making a chicken or pigeon into a " show " 

 bird means that if it has long legs you make them 

 longer, while if it has short legs you make them 

 almost disappear, or some such treatment, without 



