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ii AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
December, 1912 
Poultry, Pet 
and Line Stork 
Hirerinry 
ONE OF THE SIGHTS IN OUR PARK 
We carry the largest stock in America of 
ornamental birds and animals. Nearly 60 
acres of land entirely devoted to our busi- 
ness. 
Beautiful Swans, Fancy Pheasants, Pea- 
fowl, Cranes, Storks, Flamingoes, Ostriches, 
Ornamental Ducks and Geese, etc., for pri- 
vate parks and fanciers. Also Hungarian 
Partridges, Pheasants, Quail, Wild Ducks 
and Geese, Deer, Rabbits, etc., for stocking 
preserves. Good healthy stock at right 
prices. 
Write us what you want. 
WENZ& MACKENSEN 
Proprietors of Pennsylvania 
Pheasantry and Game Park 
Department C. Bucks County, Yardly, Pa. 
C. D. TILLEY 
Naturalist 
Beautiful Swans, Fancy 
Pheasants, Peafowl, Cranes, 
Storks, Ornamental Ducks and 
Geese, Flamingoes, Game and 
Cage Birds. 
**Everything in the bird line froma 
Canary to an Ostrich’’ 
I am the oldest established and largest exclusive 
dealer in land and water birds in America and have 
on hand the most extensive Stock in the United States. 
G. D. TILLEY Box A, Darien, Conn. 
English Spaniels 
Owner going abroad. Sale of 
registered Kennel of imported 
Spaniels Show, sporting and 
house pets from $15. Illustrated 
circular. Address 
Secretary, Country Club 
Box 3 Flat Rock, N.C. 
Hong == 
THE-REAL ESTATE:-MART 
COUNTRY HOMES 
The Best City and Suburban Property 
Timber and Coal Lands 
Free Illustrated Registers 
H. W. HILLEARY & COMPANY 
419 Southern Building Washington, D. C. 
which often obscures the peculiar V- 
shaped comb. Contrary to general belief, 
these birds did not get their name because 
of any connection with the country of 
Poland, but rather because of the poll on 
the top of the head. The hens lay white 
eggs and a considerable number of them, 
and although the skin is white and the 
legs dark, the flesh of a Polish chicken 
is particularly fine in grain and flavor. 
The breed is somewhat delicate and is 
easily affected by dampness, but endures 
confinement well and is worth the atten- 
tion of amateurs who lean toward the. 
unconventional. 
Blue fowls are rare, and for that reason 
the Blue Andalusians are certain to at- 
tract attention wherever seen. They 
came originally from Spain and are hardy, 
of fair size, prolific egg producers and 
easy to keep. They are not unsatis- 
factory as practical egg fowls, and by 
some people might not be classed as 
“fancy at all, “Still, they “are sseldom 
seen on utility plants, although a blue 
bird is occasionally found in farmers’ 
flocks. They are better adapted to 
European conditions, for they have white 
skin and dark shanks. They lay white 
eggs of satisfactory size and are termed 
non-sitters, althoush it is not unusual for 
a hen to manifest a broody tendency. 
The blue of the Andalusian is not of so 
deep a tint as one might be led to ex- 
pect. The plumage is really a bluish gray 
or dove color, but the shade varies on 
different birds. The fowls of both sexes 
are very neat and trim in appearance and 
it would be difficult to find a more attrac- 
tive looking bird—provided one has a 
liking for the exceptional color. The face 
is red and the ear lobes white, giving the 
interesting combination of red, white and 
blue. I like to linger over this breed, be- 
cause it is quaint and interesting and at 
the same time hardy, friendly and able to 
pay for its keep in eggs. 
The games in several varieties are 
popular with fanciers and at the last 
Boston show Black Breasted Red Games, 
3rown Red Games, Golden Duckwing 
Games, Silver Duckwing Games, several 
kinds of Pit Games and both Indian and 
White Cornish fowls were seen. Many 
breeders of Cornish varieties do not like 
to have the term game attached to the 
breed, as it contains no more fighting 
blood that other mofé common breeds, 
and people are misled by the name. The 
four varieties named first belong to the 
exhibition class of games and have many 
admirers. They are taller and less com- 
pact in build than the sturdy, short- 
legged Pit Games. 
The Cornish fowls are larger than the 
other kinds of games and may be kept for 
practical purposes, as they often lay re- 
markably well, are not heavy feeders and 
bear confinement well. They mature 
early and are not difficult to raise. 
The Cornish fowls have another point 
to recommend them—they dress for the 
table to exceptional advantage, being 
very full in the breast and carrying a sur- 
prising amount of meat. Cornish fowls 
are sometimes used with success in mak- 
ing crosses and if they were better known 
and more widely-bred, they might well 
be transferred to the utility class. 
Among the most unique fowls bred are 
the Japanese Silkies, the Frizzles and the 
Rumpless. It is only now and then that 
specimens of these breeds are seen, 
although some years ago the curious 
Rumpless fowl was not uncommon on 
farms in New York and Pennsylvania, 
being kept for business purposes and 
yielding a satisfactory number of eggs. - 
The peculiarity of these birds lies in the 
fact they are tailless. The place where 
most fowls have a tail attached is en- 
tirely smooth, with the result, of course, 
that the bird has a very curious and un- 
usual appearance. 
The Silkies are very small, dainty and 
pretty. Their fluffy white feathers stand 
out from the body in all directions, so 
that the little birds look as though coy- 
ered with down. Their combs and faces 
have a purplish tint, another point 
wherein they differ from most poultry. 
More unique than the birds of either 
of these peculiar breeds are the Frizzles, 
which may well be described as freaks. 
Their feathers are what give them their 
odd appearance, for instead of lying close 
to the body like those of other chickens, 
they turn upwards and toward the head. 
The birds are found in different colors 
and it is needless to say always attract 
attention. They lay fairly well, but na- 
turally are considered only as “fancy” 
fowls. 
A few fanciers in this country are rais- 
ing Japanese Phoenix fowls, very re- 
markable birds with tails sometimes five 
feet long. The Japs think so highly of 
this breed that a strain may be handed 
down from father to son for many gen- 
erations. The Japanese are true fanciers, 
keeping some breeds purely for their 
ornamental qualities—and they are not so 
impatient for quick results as are the 
fanciers of this country. 
HOUSE HEATING HINTS 
By J. C. TAYLOR 
ROM the pioneer practice of heating the 
country home with nothing but the open 
fireplace, which didn’t heat the house as 
much as it furnished a cheerful place to 
warm by, there has been a strong tendency 
to the other extreme of dispensing entirely 
with the fireplace in the modern plans for 
heating. The idea is to make all the house 
so comfortable all the time that no special 
warming spot is necessary. This is good 
logic, but it is mighty poor sentiment, for 
the open fire is the most characteristic part 
of the real home, and to dispense with it is 
like throwing a lot of the finest family spirit 
out of the home. 
The best plan all around is to retain a fair 
share of the open fires, and then add a 
modern hot air or hot water heating sys- 
tem. A good open fire going on cold even- 
ings in the living-room, or some room 
where the family can gather around, is the 
greatest thing going to hold the family cir- 
cle, and it would really be better for the 
home spirit itself to do without the modern 
heating appliances and keep the fireplace 
than to dispense entirely with it for the 
modern ideas. But one needn’t do either. 
-Have one or more fireplaces, and then add 
whatever heating system you prefer. With 
the fireplace you need not keep the whole 
house quite so warm as you would with- 
out it, so it will not add materially to the 
fuel account. Make it the regular old-time 
fireplace if you are burning wood; if coal is 
the fuel, have an open grate that is just as 
near to the old fireplace as you can get it. 
Of the modern heating systems there is 
a choice between the hot air furnace, a hot 
water system and a combination of the two 
called the vapor system. As to which is 
best, one might stir up pro and con argu- 
ment to last for a lifetime, and then it 
would remain largely a matter of peculiar 
local conditions or of personal preference. 
