146 



FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



would_hp,ve,to be fed liberally, and upon the cost of feed 

 would depend the-profit and loss of the undertaking. Feed 

 is (oo high on the Eastern seaboard to make it profitable, 

 but in the West, where eprn sells for fifteen tents a bushel, it 

 might be made to pay.; however, it must be taken into con- 

 sideration, that it requires a pair of old birds at least seven 

 weeks to produce a pair of young fit for the pot, during the 

 whole of which time they must be supported. 



Five hundred pairs, under the most favorable circum- 

 stances, might produce three thousand pairs of young, which , 

 at twenty cents a pair, would amount to $600. Now, how 

 much of that amount would have to go for feed ? We have 

 kept fifty birds upon one bushel of corn per month by way 

 of experiment — at that rate (which might pass for an aver- 

 age) one thousand old birds would require twenty bushels 

 per month, or two hundred and forty a year; and the six 

 thousand j'oung, sold at six weeks old, would require one 

 hundred and eighty bushels, a total of four hundred and 

 twenty bushels of corn, which might he procured for $250 

 here. Subtracting this from the six hundred, leaves a bal- 

 ance of $350, which, added to the sum the manure will 

 bring, might pay for the trouble of feeding, shipping, &c. 

 The birds in a half wild state ought to pick up enough to 

 do away with the necessity of feeding them more than above 

 stated; and if the neighbors have good wheat crops, it is 

 probable much of the corn would be saved during the sum- 

 mer months. 



Any one who wishes to try the experiment of shipping 

 commoners to market, can form a tolerable close average as 

 to profit and loss by the foregoing account. There should 

 be plenty of room, plenty of water, food, and warmth. The 

 birds should be but little disturbed in their home, and odd 

 birds and capricious ones (of which there are many) taken 

 out of the loft; none being allowed as boarders but good 

 breeders and sober nurses. 



If a man should turn his whole attention to pigeon breed- 

 ing, more money could be made out of extensive raising of 

 the toys and fancy birds, the imperfect young of which could 

 be sent to market, and the perfect held for high prices. One 

 hundred pairs of swallows or turbits could thus be made to 

 pay better than a thousand pairs of commons. In the south 

 of Europe many persons add materially to their incomes by 

 breeding fifty to a hundred runts during a season, some of 

 which will weigh two to three pounds each, in addition to 

 the chickens, which every cottager produces. This is a 

 custom we should like to see naturalized here, for a young 

 runt is a delicious morsel to waste a few moments over. We 

 have not considered the capital invested in buildings, stock, 

 &c, as that would take up too much of your space, and we 

 wished merely to suggest the feasibility of breeding large 

 numbers of pigeons. Dr. W. P. M. 



(For Fanciers' Journal.) 



REMINISCENCES OF THE "HEN FEVER." 



BY G. P. BTJRNHAM. 



The "Pea Comb " is an American institution. 



The first indication I ever saw of this feature upon poultry 

 occurred in the Light Brahmas I bred some twenty odd 

 years ago, and my attention was called to this development 

 by Dr. Bennett. He gave the name to this comb, so far as I 

 am informed (and it was a good one) from its similarity in 

 shape to a half-blown pea blossom. 



The natural comb of the Malay Fowl is a species of pea 

 comb, but it is more clumpy and indistinct in form than the 



modern triple comb required by the standard now-a-days, 

 upon the Brahmas. 



The original Brahmas, both light and dark, were single 

 combed; and they were thus bred for two or three years. 

 When the pea comb showed itself, it was deemed a decided 

 improvement, on account of the lesser danger of its freezing 

 in winter, in our cold northern climate. And now the single 

 upright comb, upon however otherwise good a fowl, dis- 

 qualifies him in the English and American show-room, for 

 competition with the later improvement. 



English writers spoke of this novelty as a "stubbed " comb 

 for a time, but they very readily accepted the Yankee title, 

 and orders came from across the water for "pea comb Brah- 

 mas " universally, after the Doctor and myself gave currency 

 to this name to the discovery. For a long period it was 

 common, and even down to the present time the single comb 

 is seen occasionally. But all such specimens are discarded 

 among fanciers to day, whatever may be their other good 

 points. 



And now we have the "Pea Comb Partridge Fowls," 

 Mr. C. H. Edmonds having exhibited in February, 1874, at 

 the third show of the Massachusetts Society, three or four 

 cages of superb Partridge fowls, with the pea comb finely 

 developed in both sexes. This is certainly a novelty in this 

 variety ; but I notice that this peculiar indication shows 

 itself only on the Chinese birds. Edmonds' fowls were 

 greatly admired, and he had numerous tempting offers for 

 his stock, which he declined. It is his intention to test 

 his experiments during the present season, and if he has got 

 this thing established thoroughly, he certainly has a very 

 valuable strain of stock in his possession, the pea comb being 

 an admitted advantage. These are the first I ever saw of 

 this variety. 



And speaking of this poultry show, reminds me of an in- 

 cident that occurred there, which brought back the days of 

 "auld-lang-syne" very pointedly. An enterprising breeder 

 from Norfolk County, where the original Marsh stock was 

 bred for years, successfully contributed a few fine samples of 

 this long ago popular variety, the parent stock of which was 

 imported direct from China about thirty years since by the 

 Rev. Mr. Marsh, of Dedham. 



I was surprised to note the points and character of these 

 birds, as compared with the originals, which I know so well, 

 and scores of which I had on exhibition at the three or four 

 first annual shows of the N. E. Poultry Society, in '50 and 

 '53. I have raised and exported hundreds of this superior 

 strain, and I know of no stock that ever gave such universal 

 satisfaction, for their kind, as this did. 



Now, in 1874, a quarter of a century from the time when 

 this famous Marsh stock was first in rife demand, and when 

 almost everybody had forgotten this strain, at the third ex- 

 hibition of the new Massachusetts society, a young fancier 

 comes in among the favorite Brahmas and Cochins with a 

 few coops of the old genuine Chinese stock, very nicely bred, 

 and as like their parents as "peas in the same pod." 



But nobody notices them I They are probably the nearest 

 relations to absolute China blooded poultry we have in 

 America. You can't mistake them for any other fowl. 

 They are real Celestials. 



But I see no mention made of this fine stock in the reports 

 of this Exhibition. We shall breed poultry a great many 

 years yet in Massachusetts before we shall produce a strain 

 of stock that will excel this, in all the characteristics of the 

 best Chinese stock. It is "out of the fashion" now, however. 



