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I will now make some further remarks on the various breeds 

 generally found at present, and will begin with the black breasted 

 light reds with white legs, as they seem the most popular at the 

 present time with fanciers and at the poultry shows. 



BLACK-BEEASTBD BEDS WITH WHITE LEGS. 



These birds, sometimes called Lord Derby's, form one of the 

 best strains .of game fowls. Lord Derby's breed, however, had 

 daw (grey) eyes, and partridge was the most usual colour for the 

 hens ; and although some of the red-eyed birds have some of Lord 

 Derby's blood they cannot be considered pure Derbys. Eed eyes 

 are necessary under judges at shows at present, but that does not 

 alter the fact that the grey eye was a peculiarity of the Derby 

 strain. Another consists in their' having some white or grizzled 

 feathers in wings, or tail, or both ; in ordinary black-breasted reds 

 any white is a fault, but this breed always shows some. No breed of 

 fowls were better in the pit ; many a one winning two or three battles, 

 and one was noted as the victor of no less than nine encounters. 

 No breed of fowls excels them for the table ; the flesh is beautifully 

 white, short in fibre, and extremely delicate, while there is a great 

 qucxnfcity of it in proportion to the small amount of bone ; the breast 

 is full and large, and the thighs short and meaty. A celebrated 

 Liverpool physician used to say there was more nutriment in a 

 Knowsley fowl than the largest capon in the London market. 

 Knowsley was the seat of the late Earl of Derby, where this 

 strain was kept for upwards of a century. Thomas Eoscoe had 

 sole charge of breeding and walking out the Knowsley birds. They 

 are generally good layers, but as they often want to sit they should 

 be checked if not wanted for that purpose, when they will soon 

 commence laying again. 



The weights run about 5| lbs. for cocks and 5 lbs. for hens. I 

 have seen them much smaller and also very much larger. These 

 are the average weights. 



As sitters and mothers, like all game fowls, they are excellent ; 

 while the chickens are hardy and soon feather, and are wonderfully 

 quick and active in scratching and searching for insects, &c. The 

 colours should be as bright and the markings as distinct as possible 

 in the cocks, and the hackle bright red above and white beneath, 

 showing a white hackle when cut out in the pit. 



When Mr. Harrison Weir visited Knowsley, shortly after the 



