74 



FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



ber to a thousand before opening. It is most earnestly de- 

 sired that $ 150,000 at least will be subscribed, as with that to 

 devote to improving the whole tract of ground and collect- 

 ing animals, a collection and garden that would compare 

 favorably with any in Europe can bo obtained by the time of 

 the Centennial. 



The Society has had many animals donated, and has pur- 

 chased a number very cheaply through means of its friends 

 and agents in the West. Its superintendent is now in the 

 Cape of Good Hope, from whence he will return by way of 

 Australia and India, with a cargo of rare and curious beasts 

 and birds. The Society has given him all the money it can 

 possibly spare, and ten times the sum in this country would 

 not purchase what it will there in the hands of a capable 

 man. 



It is proposed to open the garden about the first of May 

 or June of this year, and the Society has no doubt that it 

 will be in a condition to entertain and instruct visitors to its 

 garden. 



It may not be uninteresting to readers of this paper to 

 know just what go to make up the Society's collection, as it 

 indicates how much can be done with a very little money, and 

 much interest is shown by citizens of this and other States 

 in such a garden. In view of the Centennial, it must be 

 again observed, a collection of American animals would be 

 viewed with great pleasure by all foreigners, and it would 

 be thoroughly new, and without a rival anywhere. 



The animals marked thus * have been donated. 



item if properly managed. Pigeons, chickens, dogs, sheep, 

 birds of various kinds, &c, &c, could be raised in great 

 variety and purity. 



In fact such a garden opens a thousand avenues of benefit 

 and pleasure, and it is to be earnestly hoped that such a 

 project shall at once receive the necessary financial encour- 

 agement to make it a great American success. 



1 pair ravens, very fine.* 



4 Alligators.* 

 3 Turtles* 



3 North Carolina horned 

 owls, very fine.* 



5 English rabbits. 

 30 Prairie dogs.* 



1 Bittern.* 

 3 Buffaloes. 



1 pair Nicaragua green 



parrots, very fine.* 

 3 Monkeys,2 ringtail, 1 Afri- 

 can.* 



2 Cayotes. 



2 White wolves. 



3 Wolverines. 



6 Guinea pigs.* 

 Canaries, Goldfinch, Java 



sparrow.* 

 Cardinal. 

 5 Otter. 

 3 Bed foxes and 1 gray 



fox.* 

 2 Silver foxes. 



1 very large raccoon, from 



Nebraska.* 



2 Baccoons.* 

 1 Java cat.* 



1 Santo Domingo dog.* 

 1 Porcupine.* 



1 Virginia deer.* 



2 Blacktail deer. 



1 Blacktail deer doe, six 



months old. 

 1 pair silver pheasants.* 

 5 English pheasants.* 

 1 Peccary. 



1 Macaw. 

 5 Mink. 



3 Bocky Mountain eagles. 



2 Golden eagles. 



2 Bald eagles.* 



1 pair German squirrels. 

 1 black squirrel, very fine.* 



3 Marmoset monkeys. 

 1 pair wood ducks. 



12 Bats, black and white. 



1 Grizzly bear, 17 months 



old, weight 800 pounds. 



2 Grizzly bear cubs, six 



months old. 



1 Black bear. 



2 Cinnamon bears. 

 7 Antelopes.* 



2 Elk, very fine. 

 1 Cross fox. 



10 Beavers. 

 1 Pink cockatoo.* 



3 Wolverines. 

 1 Badger. 



1 Lynx. 



1 Wild cat. 



1 pair English magpies. 



1 English hedgehog. 



Mr. Theodore Harrison, of this city, whose collection of 

 live birds is unrivalled in this country, has presented them 

 to the Society, and as soon as a suitable aviary is prepared 

 they will be removed to the garden. The aquarial depart- 

 ment will be made a special feature, and lovers of that branch 

 of natural history will have an opportunity for investigation 

 and study never before presented in this country. A source 

 of income to the Society will also be the sale of surplus or 

 duplicate animals and birds. This could be made a large 



(For the Fanciers' Journal.) 



ON SELECTING FOWLS. 



So much has been written in regard to the different and 

 best plans for the successful rearing of poultry, and so many 

 different ideas have been advanced by those whose long ex- 

 perience gives them a precedent over the more recent school 

 of fanciers, that an amateur hardly knows whose advice to 

 take, or what breed of fowls to commence with. For instance, 

 a young man whose natural tendencies from early boy- 

 hood have leaned toward the feathered tribe generally, goes 

 to an exhibition of poultry, pigeons, &c. When he enters 

 the room, and finds himself surrounded by fowls and pigeons 

 of every known variety, and hears the crowing of the 

 knights of the barnyard portrayed in the deep bass of the 

 gigantic Brahma, down to the squeaking alto of the dimin- 

 utive Bantam, accompanied by the musical cackle of their 

 fair mates (for to my ear there is no sweeter music than the 

 cackle of a hen, especially about sunrise in the early spring 

 mornings), he is at an utter loss as to what breed he shall 

 select from. The first variety most likely to attract his 

 notice will be the huge Brahma ; and as he views their im- 

 mense forms, and hears the laudations of their numerous 

 admirers (for he will find many of them around the Brahma 

 cages), his mind is almost made up to give them a trial. 

 Well, they really do have their merits ; they are without 

 doubt the poor man's fowl ; notwithstanding their ravenous 

 appetites, they will subsist on the refuse of the table, and be 

 satisfied with a cheaper and coarser article of diet than their 

 smaller and more delicate relations. . They are not of a rov- 

 ing disposition ; they can be reared successfully in a small 

 yard, provided they are kept clean. They are not as subject 

 to disease as some of the smaller varieties. Lice being their 

 greatest enemy where they are kept in a city ; and for the 

 benefit of those that nave been troubled by the pesky var- 

 mints, I will add a cheap and sure remedy. Go to your 

 grocer, and procure a mackerel keg filled with brine, which 

 he will be glad to get out of the way ; stand it in one corner 

 of your coop, and with a sponge saturate the perches, nest, 

 boxes, &c, every other day with the brine. It will also de- 

 stroy pigeon lice effectually. From the Brahma department 

 we will go to their cousins, the Cochins, and as our young 

 friend gazes with admiration on the different varieties of 

 that magnificent breed, his mind undergoes a complete 

 change. What color shall he select ? Before him are the 

 buff, partridge, black, white, cinnamon, all handsome birds, 

 and well worthy of all the praise that can be bestowed upon 

 them. Like the Brahmas, they are content with a small 

 range, and are also good winter layers when properly cared 

 for. My experience with Brahmas and Cochins has not been 

 very extensive, but I would suggest that where fowls are 

 kept in cities, or large towns, no matter what breed, that 

 the coops be cleaned every day; it can be easily done by 

 covering the floor of the coop with straw or hay j I prefer 

 the latter, as it destroys any bad smell. Shake it up every 



