44 The Illustrated B@ok oe Poultry . 



months. Another very good plan is to put them in lime-water, one peck of lime to thirty gallons 

 of water ; or, still better, to bed them closely in layers in lime and water, mixed into a soft paste. 

 By this plan eggs are not much amiss, even for the breakfast-table, after six months' time. Still, 

 the whites are "set" too much to be pleasant, and the best plan of all is the following: — To 

 four gallons of boiling water add half a peck of new lime, stirring it some little time. When 

 cold, remo\'e any hard kunps by a coarse sieve, add ten ounces of salt and three ounces of cream 

 of tartar, and mix the whole thoroughly. The mixture is then to be let stand to temper for 

 a fortnight before use. The eggs are to be packed as closely as possible, and to be kept closely 

 covered up. Thus treated, if put in when new laid, at nine months after they will eat quite 

 as good as though laid only six days, though of course not quite like «rrc'-laid. These, indeed, 

 are unapproachable, and an egg laid even twenty-four hours loses that indescribable delicacy of 

 flavour so valued by all who keep their own poultry. Eggs presci-ved, by whatever method, 

 should be treated the same day they are taken from the nest, as their quality much depends 

 upon this being attended to. 



The fertility of eggs must obviously depend much u])on the number of hens allowed to each 

 cock, which will vary according to the breed and other circumstances. In a wide run a cock may 

 be allowed more hens than if penned in a small space. As a rule, the number of Dorkings, 

 Cochins, or other large hens allowed a cock should on no account in confinement exceed four ; 

 v.'hile, if at large, the number may be often doubled : but an old bird must have less than a 

 vigorous cockerel. Indeed, much must depend, in all cases, on the individual bird himself; and if 

 his hens appear nearly stripped of feathers on the back, the obvious remedy is to allow him more. 

 Spanish also should seldom have more than three or four hens; but Iloudans and Hamburghs, 

 Gam^ and in general all fowls of very lively habit, may be allowed from eight to twelve, if needful; 

 further than that we would not go. Houdan cocks are generally the most vigorous of any. 



It has often been said that the sex of the future chick could be foretold from the egg. The 



opinion is as old at least as Horace, who affirms (Lib. ii., Sat. 4) that the long eggs " would 



produce cocks," and are sweeter than the round ! Columella, another old author, says the same. 



Others affirm that if the air-bubble at the large end of the egg be exactly in the centre, cocks 



will be produced, whereas those in which it is decidedly on one side will produce pullets. We 



can only say that we have altogether failed to succeed with any such test ; and we should not 



have noticed a theory so long exploded had not a popular work lately published again revived 



it as if a known and tested fact. The truth is, that each hen lays eggs almost exactly alike; 



and by this theory they should, therefore, produce all cockerels or all pullets, which is never the 



case. Any sound knowIcd:{e of the formation of the egg, as already described, would prevent 



^-gUC-b absurdities from being believed without absolute proof, which has never yet been obtained. 



We have known, 't is true, singular coincidences. We have known of thirty eggs selected on this 



system to produce cocks, and they did SO ; in consequence of .vlu'ch the experimenter and many 



others were quite con\inced of the truth of the theory. But it unfortunately turned out that next 



year a nest selected on the same plan to produce pullets, produced nearly all cocks. Yet it 



would be reasonable to suppose that a theory which has survived two thousand years had 



something at the bottom of it ; and careful experiment and inquiry (forced upon us by many 



who had read the pamphlet in question) have satisfied us of the following facts: — i. As a rule, 



the eggs of a pullet are longer in proportion and more pointed at the end than those of the 



same bird next year, or even later in the same season. 2. On an average, her early eggs produce 



cocks in about the proportion of six to four. (There will be numerous and startling exceptions 



both to this and the other rules : we are speaking of averages.) 3. The eggs laid by hens early 



