2*22 TUB HISTOKT OP 



But the parties who had raised these birds "to Order" 

 insisted upon the falfilment of the contractoir's promise to 

 take them, at four, six and eight months old. 



But the confident gentleman, who, in the spring of 1B54, 

 had made up his mind that the " hen feter had but just 

 then made its appearance, in fact," now discovered that the 

 bottom had been shaky for a twelVemonth, at the least, iand 

 ha 1 at length fallen out altogether ! 



The folly of this enterprise was apparent to every fowl- 

 raiser in New England, from the outset. But this man 

 knew what he was about, — so he declared, — and he scouted 

 the advice of those who, from long experience, were able to 

 instruct and advise him better. It was but a single 

 instance of its kind, however, and it served, for the time 

 being, to aid in keeping up the excitement of the humbug 

 which had cost so many men before him large sums of 

 money, and months of labor and care, without the slightest 

 subsequent compensation. 



By the fall of 1854, the price of this "faiicy stock" 

 began to approximate towards its intrinsic level, somewhat, 

 in consequence of its being thus overdone; and very fair 

 birds were offered for five to scTen dollars the pair, with but 

 few purchasers. 



In England, the fever had subsided. During the 

 spring and summer, my own sales for that market had been 

 continuously and without any abatement, extremely liberal ; 



