CO 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
Of the specialised breeds, we have to distin- 
guish between the laying breeds, which are light- 
built birds as a rule, and do not sit; all of these 
lay white eggs; the general-purpose breeds, which 
are large and heavy, sit freely, and lay brown 
eggs; and the table breeds, which are heavy as a 
rule, and sit freely, but do not lay very well. Only 
the first two sections are of much interest from 
the point of view of the home poultry-keeper who 
keeps fowls chiefly for his own uset, and the 
layers more than any, since eggs are almost a 
necessity, while poultry still rank as a luxury on 
the tables of the great majority of our people. 
The layers and table fowls are mostly old 
breeds whose origin is unknown, except, of 
course, their common descent from the wild 
through the barn door birds; the general-purpose 
fowls are usually modern, having been built up 
by crossing various old breeds during the last 
half century, and it will be noticed that they are 
very much alike, much more so than the laying 
and table breeds. In fact, it has been said that 
passable specimens and as many as three of these 
breeds have been raised from one sitting of eggs 
of the same parentage. 
Such general-purpose breeds are the Orping- 
ton, Yyandotte, Plymouth Rock, and Rhode 
Island Red, all of which have a general resem- 
blance to the early Cochins which were intro- 
duced here ralf a century ago, and were at that 
day excellent general-purpose fowls, but Cochins 
have long ago been spoilt by breeding for leg- 
feathers and general fluff. 
The great layers at the present day are Leg- 
horns, and one hears very little about other 
breeds in this special capacity now-a-days, 
though there are other good laying breeds still, 
and some of the general-purpose birds are first- 
rate layers; laying being a matter which runs in 
"strains," that is to say, families which have been 
specially bred for it, and sguch strains occur in 
many breeds; whereas even a laying breed, if 
bred for show points only, will lose its laving 
powers, as has happened with Spanish and Ham- 
burghs. 
Play Hy-Spy with the Baby Kangaroo. 
By Felix J. Koch, Cincinnati, U.S.A. 
Now you see him, and now you don't! 
You'll call to your friends, just across the 
shaded avenue, to hurry over and catch a snap- 
shot of the cunning baby kangaroo and, almost 
so soon as your back was turned, he's vanished; 
ad when they come up and see neither hair nor 
hide ol him, they tell you you were dreaming and 
laugh vou to scorn. 
Of course, you know you saw a kangaroo 
baby; but, stay around with the scoffers as long 
as you please, Friend Baby will not put in appear- 
ance until you've all of you gone. 
What has become of him ? 
Well, that is one of the secrets you must 
worm from Supt. Sol. Stephen, of the big Cin- 
cinnati Zoological Gardens, where the kangaroo 
baby in the picture was born. 
You see, down in Australia, which is the 
kangaroo's native habitat, the kangaroos must 
often flee their foes mighty quick; quicker, far, 
than the little baby could run, at this age. So 
Nature, who does seem to look after the remotest 
detail, has fitted Mother Kongaroo with a snug 
little pouch, — the opening to which you'll remark 
as she confronts you, — and, into this, baby hops, 
on first suspicion of a danger, and there he re- 
mains until, in some mysterious manner, Mother 
tells the baby that all danger is gone. In fact, 
even when he's become quite a boy and is too 
big to return to the pouch, he will run to her and 
do his best to get in — as he no longer can. 
Little wonder, then, that the baby kangaroo 
and his mother always attract the attention of 
visitors to the Cincinnati grounds. But, even 
aside from the presence of the baby, which is al- 
ways a drawing-card with the animal-lovers, the 
kangaroo is one of the most interesting animals 
on the grounds. 
The kangaroos rank among the largest and 
most remarkable of the indigenous animals of 
Australia. The species are numerous, ranging 
from the size of a sheep to that of a rabbit, and 
are all distinguished by the curious structure of 
their hind feet. These are exceedingly long and 
powerful, and the feet, which are much elongated, 
rest with the whole sole upon the ground. The 
fore-legs are very short and are of little use to the 
animal in progression; its movements consisting 
of powerful leaps affected by the extension of the 
hind-legs. 
In its natural position, the kangaroo sits up- 
right upon its haunches, with the assistance of 
its powerful tail, which, with the two hind-legs, 
of feet forms a kind of tripod. 
In feeding, the kangaroos rest upon the fore- 
feet, and when thus engaged, the voung, which 
frequently retreat to the abdominal pouches, as 
already said, long after they are able to graze 
like their parents, may often be seen protruding 
their heads and cropping the herbage, at the 
same time with the mother. 
Baby Kangaroo, when first born, are little 
over an inch long and appear most like some semi- 
transparent mouse. They are lifted by the mouth 
of the mother into the pouch, where they feed 
from her for the time, remaining, in fact, in this 
natural hiding-place until able to go forth and 
graze for themselves. 
