POIiAND FOWL. 21 



of perfection, but from which they fall away with corresponding 

 rapidity. 



The Polands are extremely tender, and so difficulj; to rear, that 

 the e^s should not be set before the middle of May, as dampness 

 is fatal to them while very young; but, if they live to be adults, 

 no fowls are more hardy, or profitable as layers, or more delicious 

 for the table. 



Their demerits are few, and of no serious importance. They 

 are not at all suited to dirty farmy'ards, becoming blind and 

 miserable with dirt. They do not lay quite so early in the year 

 as other tribes, and are not suited for the office of mothers and 

 nurses, from their great disposition to lay; and when they do sit, 

 they are rather unsteady and perverse. Now these objections 

 may be dismissed, because there is nothing to prevent the sub- 

 stitution of hens of other ti'ibes for hatching, and if the Polish 

 hens and pullets themselves in the tnean time lay eggs, there is 

 no loss in an economical point of view. 



We hai^e good practical authority for stating that the critical 

 period of their lives is &om the second to the sixth month. 



DESCRIPTION AND VARIETIES. 



The crest of the cock is composed of straight feathers,^ some- 

 thing like those of a hackle or saddle; they grow from the centre 

 of the crown and fall over outside, forming a circular ^rest. That 

 of the hen is made up of feathers growing out and turning in at 

 the extremities, till they form a large t(q)-knot, which should'in 

 shape xesemble a cauliflower. The comb of the cock is peculiar, 

 inasmuch as it is very small, scarcely any on the top of the head, 

 and having in front two small spirals or fleshy horns. The car- 

 riage is upright, and the breast more protuberant than in any 

 other fowl, save the Sebright bantam. The body is very round 

 and full, slightly tapering to the tail, which is carried erect, and 



