144 BREEDS. 



His conununication is of much value ; I there- 

 fore give it verbatim : — 



" I have often been asked what aged birds are 

 the best to breed from. My experience would 

 lead me to say, health is of more consequence 

 than age ; but I by no means despise birds of the 

 previous year. The chickens from pullets' eggs 

 are generally smaller than those from the eggs of 

 old hens, when first out of the shell; but after 

 the second month, they grow much faster, and 

 generally show more constitution. Avoid bii'ds 

 with glaring defects, as they are more surely re- 

 produced than good points. Moderate-sized birds, 

 however, of good shape, often produce as fine 

 chickens as the larger-sized birds. 



" This breed has a great disposition to accumu- 

 late abdominal fat, and consequently their food 

 should not be of too nourishing a quality. Those 

 who give Indian meal or corn (which contain 

 about 8 per cent, of oily matter), have frequent 

 cases of apoplexy amongst their poultry. Boiled 

 potatoes, mixed with a little barley meal or mid- 

 dlings, should form at least a portion of their 

 daily food. There is another reason why Cochins 



