150 BREEDS. 



These are very pretty, interesting little crea- 

 tures, but altogether fancy fowls, utterly useless 

 for table or market. 



Their bones and flesh are coal-black, while, 

 strange to say, their plumage is snowy- white, soft 

 and sUky, resembling spun glass. Their eggs, 

 though small, are said to be excellent, pinkish- 

 white in colour, something like those of the Ban- 

 tam, but I confess to a prejudice against the egg 

 of a Darkie, not even overcome by its silvery locks. 



The cock is a pattern of fidelity and gentle- 

 ness; he assists his partner in the care of her 

 family, and even acts as nursa 



The hen is the best of foster-mothers for Ham- 

 burghs and Polish, their soft warm feathering 

 tempting these delicate little fastidious beings to 

 cotton kindly to them for protection. 



The points of a SUkie Cock are : — Plumage, 

 white; crest, small, low, and set far back on the 



