yS The Ii.i.rsTRATr.D Book of Poultry. 



without lca\ing, and water being supplied at the same time. When the fecdini^- is done tlic canvas 

 covering should be drawn down, and the birds left in darkness till an hour before the next meal. 

 The times of feeding must be observed with the greatest punctuality, or the fowls will fret and lose 

 condition. The best food will be a mixture of barley-meal and oatmeil, or buckwheat meal with 

 the husk sifted out, and mi.\ed with milk. A little suet or lard added is recommended by 

 some good authorities, and increases the fattening, but only to the advantage of the basting- 

 ladle. The process will be completed in from fifteen to twent)' da)-s, and sliould be carefully 

 watched, as when the proper point is once reachctl, the chickens if not immediately killed rapidly 

 decline again. 



In Surrey and Sussex, as well as some other parts of England, fowls are regularl)- crammed ; 

 but it is to I'rance that we must go for the best information on this method of fattening, cramming 

 being there carried on upon a system and to an extent which almost elevates it into a fine art. 

 In the better French markets, in fact, an unfatted fowl is almost unsaleable ; and the keen 

 competition has probably brought the two processes chiefly employed as near to perfection as 

 possible. From the best French authorities we shall extract a full description of both, \iz., the 

 artificial administration of solid food, and of nutriment in a semi-fluid state. 



Of the former method the best description is given by Mdlle. Millet-Robinet, in her treatise 

 called " Oiseaux de Basse-Cour," published at Paris under the authority of tlie Ministrj' of 

 Agriculture. We adopt a translation made for the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society 

 by Mr. Frcre, only adding that the poultry fatted by Mdlle. Robinet in this manner are of the 

 La Fleche variet)-. 



" In this method of cramming it is necessary to provide sparred coops, in which each fowl 

 has its own compartment. The coop is a long narro.v box in white wood, set on legs one foot and 

 a half high ; the outer walls and partitions are close boarded, and the bottom onlj' is made with 

 rounded spars one inch and a half in diameter, running lengthwa)'s of the coop, on which the fow Is 

 perch, their dung falling through the bars. The top consists of a sliding door, nearly as wide as 

 the compartment, by which the chickens are taken in or out. The partitions are eight inches 

 apart, so that the fowl cannot turn itself rouncf. The length, of each bo.x maybe regulated by 

 circumstances, care being taken that the attendant has room to pass along and to sit down ; 

 and furthermore, that cocks, capons, and pullets, or the lean and the fat lots, be not mi.xed up 

 indiscriminately. If fowls of different sc.xes are in close proximity, though nothing beyond vocal 

 relations be established between them, the fattening process will be delayed ; or again, fowls of 

 different degrees of fatness should not inhabit the same box, because their rations will difl'er, and 

 the new-comers will disturb the old settlers by their noise. 



" Young cocks will fatten, though not so readily as capons ; their flesh is somewhat inferior in 

 delicacy to that of capons, and yet more so to that of pullets. 



" The floor below the bo.xes is covered with ashes or dry earth to catch the droppings, which 

 are removed every two da}-s with a scraper. The dung is equal in value to guano, and should be 

 preserved from waste and moisture in old casks. 



" The best food for fatting fowls is buckwheat meal, ' bolted ' quite fine. This is kneaded up 

 with sweet milk till it gets the consistency of bakers' dough ; it is then cut up into rations about 

 tlie size of two eggs, which are made up into 'rolls' about the thickness of a woman's finger, but 

 varying with the sizes of the fowls ; these are subdivided by a sloping cut into ' patons' (pellets) 

 two and a half inches long. 



"A board is used for mixing the flour v.'ith the millc, wb.ich in winter should be lukewarm. It 



