^r;i-,. 



•] '-^ 



308 



Tiin: iLLiisrois f^i:i:mei^. 



awakening tlie drowsy liusbanduian from his 

 quiet rest to brush with dewy steps the wav- 

 ing rield ? Who can stand unuioved and sec 

 tliese active, lively creatures, as at the early 

 dawn their doors unclose, rushing headlong 

 forth and gladly clapping their wings and 

 heralding the approaching day to heaven's 

 great concave; then sipping the pearly drops 

 of early dew, look up to heaven, and seem 

 to say : "0 man, remember thy Crea- 

 tor I" 



Barn-door fowls arc generally considered 

 the best, and they usually arc so, for they 

 not only live on the best lood, but they have 

 tlie advantage of free Iresh air and exercise; 

 and in harvest and threshing time the grciat 

 abundance makes them extremely fat. The 

 nearest approach to this manner of fattening 

 will be the best. The plan of cooping them 

 up for a week or two for the purpose of giv- 

 ing them extra food, does not improve them. 

 Five or six weeks is necessary to make them 

 fat. The first week or two they pine and 

 lose flesh from the confinenumt. 



Varieties. — The common barn-yard 

 fowl is a native of the east and warm cli- 

 mates. They are domesticated everywhere, 

 and may be found in great variety of color, 

 shape and size; being a mixture oi many 

 varieties, and generally raised without care 

 or selection, there will consequently be many 

 without value, either for eggs or flesh, and 

 no dependence can be placed on their pro- 

 duce, even if good individuals are selected, 

 as it will require a number of generations to 

 insure full blood as to quality, size, color, etc. 

 To obviate many of tliese disadvantages, the 

 economist will select and carefully continue 

 one or more of the following breeds; still con- 

 tinuing to select even from these the best 

 individuals for breeding stock. 



Poland Fowl. — These, like the brave 

 people from which they derive their name, 

 are every way commendable; and we recom- 

 mend them and place them first in the 

 "chicken fancy." Good layers, very cli- 

 gant inform, beautiful in plumage, pour .nd 

 rare sitters, chickens rather delicate — re- 

 quire warm housing — good for the tabic. — 

 They are admirable layers. By many they 

 are mostly called "everlasting layers." — 

 Many will lay every day for eight month.s, 

 and sometimes every other day during the 

 year, except in moulting time, seldom show- 

 ing any inclination to sit. Their eggs arc 

 large, of a rich flavor, and with thin shells. 

 They are a very domestic, quiet fowl, neitlior 

 quarrelsome or mischievous, and will fat 

 well, coming to a good size and weight — 

 Their flesh is high colored, but peculinrly 

 rich flavored and juicy. They are IiarJy, 

 enduring well the extremes of cold and heat, 

 although they are not bo thickly covered 

 with feathers and down as some other kinds 

 are. 



Spanish Fowls. — The true Spanish 

 fowls are a valuable variety. Their plumage 

 is black, with bluish tints; very large combs, 

 with white flesh or skin round the eyes; dark 

 legs, rather long, and long bodies. They 

 lay the largest of hen's eggs, and are very 

 prolific; no sitters; chickens tolerably hardy, 

 slow at feathering; good for the table, as their 

 flesh is white and delicate. Should be well 

 kept. 



Dorking Fowls. — This is a valuable and 



favorite variety, but the true breed is rather 

 scarce. It takes its name from a town in 

 Surry, (England,) where the bird is suppos- 

 ed to have originated, and where they still 

 are reared in great perfection and plenty. 

 This is the sort usually made into capons. 

 They are of good, rather large size, long 

 bodied, full breasted; the flesh is good flavor- 

 ed, juicy, and of a yellow or ivory shade; 

 somewhat delicate in constitution, and seems 

 to thrive best on warm soils; eggs large and 

 well flavored, but not abundant; fair mothers; 

 chickens not so easv to rear as some other 

 breed; splendid table fowl, large and plump 

 in body, wants liberal keep and warm hous- 

 ing. They fat well, are handsome alive, 

 and show delicate, white and advantageous 

 when plucked and dressed for market. 



Ga:mk Fowl. — Tlie game breed is rather 

 small, of delicate and genteel shape, elegant 

 and compact in appearance, hardy in consti- 

 tution, excellent caterers for themselves, 

 good layers of delicious eggs, excellent 

 mothers and rearers of chickens. The flesh 

 white, and superior in richness and flavor to 

 all others. Their eggs are small, fine shap- 

 ed, and delicate, with dark or yellowish 

 shells. But these are not fowls for the 

 farm. They are extremely quarrelsome — 

 even the chickens will fight till thry arc 

 stone blind, before thc}-^ are fairly feathered. 

 They lay very early in the season and thus 

 become useful as a cross with other varie- 

 ties. 



Bolton Guky, or Silver Penciled 

 IIaimblro Fowl, is a nice, plump, hardy 

 bird, rather small in size, excellent layers, 

 and of fine plumage. They are generally 

 esteemed first rate egg producers, poor sit- 

 ters, of course poor mothers, but can hardly 

 fail to be a satisfactory and desirable every 

 day fowl. 



Cochin China Fowl. — Hardy, abund- 

 ant and early layers of excellent eggs, of a 

 dark cinnamon or a dark buff color, rather 

 small in proportion to the size of the fowl, 

 large and plump in body, require liberal 

 keep and warm housing. 'Jhis will apply to 

 the Chittagongs, Brahmas, etc. Valuable 

 to cross on the common fowls in the country, 

 giving them more size, and improving their 

 laying qualities. 



SiiANGiiAE Fowl. — There is a great deal 

 of difference in the stock of this breed. — 

 Some are coarse, loose jointed, crane-like 

 concerns, with legs long enough to step over 

 a pretty high fence. These are a di.sgrace 

 to the race. Some persons who have had 

 fowls of this description, have, alter a short 

 trial, discarded them, and think justly there 

 is a great deal of "humbug" in the "hue and 

 cry" about laney poultry. Those who are 

 procuring Shanghac fowls to breed upon, 

 should be sure to choose those that are short- 

 h'ggcd, free from feathers, if possible, and 

 plump in form, from stock that breeds uui- 

 ibrm in size, shape and plumage. 



The Asiatic fowls, in character, are quiet, 

 peaceable, good layers, careful steady sitters, 

 good mothers, and what is very important, 

 the chicks are hardy, easy to raise, and less 

 liable to be affected by disease than those of 

 many other breeds, particularly the Spani.-^h, 

 Pcjlaiid;^, and Ilamburgs. 



II.VNTAM Fowl. — The bantam is a splen- 

 uiiily beautiful variety. They aie oi' every 



color, some mottled with many col*-s, but 

 the most common are white. They are ele- 

 gantly formed; flesh delicate and a good sub- 

 stitute lor young chickens when the latter 

 cannot be obtained. The common arc feath- 

 er-legged; but the best and most approved 

 sort are clean-legged, very small, weighing 

 from twelve to sixteen ounces, yetproducing 

 an egg very near the size of a common hen, 

 very rich and fine flavored. They are good 

 sitters, good nurses, very tame and domestic 

 and will outlay all other varieties, the Ham- 

 burg perhaps alone excepted. They eat but 

 little, and will lay and thrive cooped up in 

 any small yard where there is a little sun and 

 dry ashes. These are the fowls for city and 

 village yards and gardens. 



Their appearance is very grotc'^que, the 

 cock struttinjii; with a veryupright and proud 

 gait, and will attack not only the largest of 

 his species, but even a turkey cock. We 

 have known these little things prosper and 

 lay all through the winter in a village cellar; 

 light of course being indispensable. They 

 are least of all destructive to a garden, and as 

 we have before observed, will produce, for a 

 given quanti'ti/ of food, by FAR the greatest 

 number of eggs. 



Uatciiinc}. — When the determination of 

 the hen to sit becomes fixed, there is no need 

 to indulge the first faint indications imme- 

 diately. Let her have the nest she has se- 

 lected well cleaned and filled with fresh 

 straw. The number of eggs to be given to 

 her will depend upon the season, and upon 

 their and her own size. The best plan is 

 not to be too greedy. The number of chick- 

 ens hatched is often in an inverse proportion 

 to the number of eggs set. We have known 

 only five chicks to be obtained from fifteen 

 eggs. Hens will in general cover from 

 eleven to thirteen eggs of their own produc- 

 tion. 



Three weeks is the period of incubation 

 of the common hen. Sometimes when she 

 does not sit close for the fir.«t day or two, or 

 in earl}' spring, it will be some hours longer; 

 more rarely in this climate, where the hen 

 is assiduous and the weather is hot, the time 

 will be a trifle shorter. But what are we to 

 do with the hatched chicks, is a natural 

 question. Let them remain quiet with their 

 mother from twelve to twenty-four hours, to 

 gain strength from the warmth of the body 

 of their mother. Then place them with 

 their mother in a roomy, boarded coop in a 

 sheltered position on a dry sunny spot, is the 

 best position for them during the first month. 

 Keep them from cold and storms, which are 

 death to them. As to food, let them liaA'c 

 dry crumbs of bread and a hard boiled (iy:^^, 

 chopped tine, for the first few days; then 

 fvarse ground corn, which we have found 

 to agree well with them. Fine Indian meal 

 made into a paste and fed raw is not good for 

 them. Many chicks and young turkeys have 

 suffered from the effects of that kind of food; 

 but when boiled will not injure them. Slop- 

 py matters are better avoided till the little 

 things are old enough to eat a few grains of 

 barley or wheat, which they are enabled to 

 do before it is usually suspected; afterwards 

 they do no harm. Meat and insect dirt are 

 aluiust necessary. Law vegetables chopped 

 fine are giatelul to them. But whatever be 

 the bill of fare, the meals must be given at 



