DOMESTIC POULTBT. 



donble spxir occurs ; in the females, also, the spur often ib 

 considerably developed. Of toes, they possess four, one of 

 which is seated high up on tlie tarsus, and little used in pro-' 

 gression ; the other three are united, at their base by a short 

 membrane, and covered above with scales, the under part beinf ■ 

 protected by hard gfranulations. The claws are extremei_ 

 hard, and particularly suited to the bird's mode of Uvinif— 

 enabling it to dig and scratch up the earth in search ol its 

 food, which consists principally of seeds, roots, and insects. 

 It may be imagined, from seeing a fowl at r.jost, that these 

 claws have considerable grasping powers ; but in fact they 

 do not hold very tenaciously. The real secret of the fowl 

 resting so securely consists in the nicely -balauoed body, 

 which of course greatly facilitates the bird's equilibrium. In 

 many of the rasores we find the head furnished with naked 

 membranes, taking the form of a comb ; also with wattles on 

 the cheeks or over the eyes. The beak is strong and stout, the 

 base of which, in some species, is surrounded by a naked mem- 

 brane ; in others, the top of the head is provided with a crest 

 of feathers, and sometimes with an helmet. The digestive 

 organs of the gaEinaceous birds are very curious, and worthy 

 of particular observation, as success in rearing poultry de- 

 pends greatly upon proper feeding; and this cannot be cor- 

 rectly understood, unless we are acquainted with the character 

 of the organs which receive the food. Many a fowl is lost 

 through the crop becoming over-gorged with grain, through a 

 lamentable ignorance either of its ailment or the cause. 



When the fowl receives its food, it passes from the (Esophagus 

 or gullet into a more extended cavity, which is called the crop, 

 or inghwies ; this is situated near the breast-bone. It is fur- 

 nished with several glands, which exude the mucous and salivary 

 matter used in softening the food. Sometimes this crop will 

 be over-distended with grain, and in such a case a very simple 

 and speedy remedy may be applied. This is merely to cut it 

 open with a sharp penknife, and thus relieve the poor bird, and 

 perform a kind action for Nature, who wiU speedily heal the 

 wound which you inflict, as the crop is by no means of a sen- 

 sitive character. From the crop the food passes into a narrower 

 portion, scientifically termed ventriauMis succenUimatiis, the 

 lining membrane of which is covered with glandular orifices; 

 these are said to pour out a copious secretion of gastric juice 

 into the food in the gizzard, which immediately succeeds the 

 ventriiMlus suocentwriatus. This is the most remarkable of the 



