CHAPTER XIII. 



The Polish Breeds. 



Our readers have learned, by this time, that the name of a breed of fowls 

 is not to be regarded as a sure indication of the place of its origin, and this is 

 especially the case with the breeds called Polish. In the sixteenth century a 

 Bolognese scholar, Ulysses Aldrovandi, better known as simply Aldrorandus, 

 wrote a voluminous work on natural history, in which he described and figured 

 a number of varieties of fowls, among which was a crested fowl, which he called 

 the Padnan, or Patavinian. From his description of this fowl it was evidently 

 the progenitor of the modern breeds called Polish. How this name became at- 

 tached to these fowls cannot now be determined ; certainly not on account of 

 either their origin or subsequent naturalization, as they are said by Mr. Teget- 

 meier to be unknown in Poland. It is surmised by the latter authority that the 

 name may be derived from the peculiarity, of the head, or poll, and that jjoSitA 

 OT polled has become Polish. Taking this peculiarity as their chief characteristic 

 it would seem appropriate to include all the crested breeds — the Houdans, Creve- 

 cceurs, etc. — among the Polish, and this is done by some authorities. 



Of the characteristics common to all Polish fowls the most peculiar, as above 

 stated, is the crest, which in the cocks is composed of long and pointed feathers, 

 closely resembling those of the hackle, and in the hens of feathers of the ordi- 

 nary character — ^rounded at the extremity. Thi? crest In both sexes rises from a 

 globular protuberance, situated on the fore-part of the skuU, and formed by an 

 enlargement of the skuU itself; the size of the crest is proportionate to the pjze 

 of this protuberance. Asthis enlargement commences before birth it is possible 

 to select birds which shall be well crested, as soon as they are hatched, bynotiiig 

 the comparative Sizes of their protuberances. The comb of crested birds is gen- 

 erally very small, sometimes almost entirely extinct, but when present it is always 

 double, its two homs giving it the appearance of an inverted crescent. Owing 

 to a deficiency in the bones of the upper mandible, the nostrils of crested fowls 

 are generally somewhat flattened. 



White Crested Black Polish.— These are the oldest and best known of the 

 Polish fowls. On dry soUs, and where not unduly exposed to rain or wind, 

 they are almost unexcelled as layers, being non-sitters ; but m exposed, wet sit- 

 uations they are extremely liable to roup and other disease, and when once dis- 

 eased are extremely difficult to restore to health. In size they are medium, the 

 hens weighing four to five pouifds, the cocks five to six. Their distinguishing 

 eharaoteristiQS are a large, white crest; no comb; large, rpd wattles; white ew 



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