Breeding for Table and Export. 
63 
gifts of eggs or birds, and who write me every month or two to report progress. Within the 
Colony of Queensland, I believe, any and every breed of Fowls can be kept with advantage, as 
climate of almost any kind, from severely cold to tropic heat, can be found. For instance, in the southern 
portion bordering on N.S.W., and round about Toowoomba, Warwick, and all over the Darling Downs 
country, such breeds as Cochins, Brahmas, etc., in fact all the heavier varieties that do best in the cooler 
parts, do well, and can be farmed to advantage. Then, coming north to Maryborough, Gympie, Bundaberg, 
and the country inland from there, though the feather-legged breeds may do fairly well, they are better 
discarded, save except for crossing purposes, for which they are invaluable. But I would not advise anyone 
who intends to make his living by Poultry to try either Cochins or Brahmas north of I'risbane. Many people 
have contradicted this statement, and tried to prove their case by the fact that they personally are successful 
with one or other of those breeds. But the success of the man or woman running a hobby, and able to 
devote special attention to two or three dozen birds, is a very different matter to running a couple or three 
hundred head for a living, with the constant necessity of considering the food bill, and of making the 
maximum of profit with the minimum of outlay. Cochins and Brahmas are splendid fowls for a hobby, but 
they are not a breed to keep in a warm climate. Leghorns, Andalusians, and Minorcas are the money-making 
fowls par excellence for the greater part of Queensland, or, say, from Maryborough, Bundaberg, all through 
the central division of the tolony, and as far north as Townsville and Cairns. It would almost seem as if the 
climate resembled that of the Mediterranean. On the vast tablelands of Queensland, almost any variety of 
fowl does well, I am told. To the very far north, and round about the Gulf, all the varieties of Game, 
especially Malays, thrive as if in their native place. Plymouth Rocks do very well in some of the warmer 
districts, as should Wyandottes ; but, unfortunately, very many of the heavy breeds are inclined to run to 
feather in the warmer parts of the colony. It seems to develop into a disease with certain breeds after they 
have passed their second year ; their bodies dwindle away to skin and bone, yet are covered with an abnormal 
quantity of feathers. Spanish do very well in the southern parts, and, strange to say, also in some of the far 
inland districts where the country is not too sandy. I am inclined to think that they will do well and pay to 
breed round about the vicinity of the different Bores. But the Spanish cannot be called a general utility 
Fowl for Queensland, as the hot sun in summer scalds and blisters the face. Hamburgs do well wherever 
Minorcas and Leghorns do, but they lay such a small egg that few care to keep them for profit. Crossed 
with Orpington, I find them excellent layers, good foragers, and wonderfully hardy. It is quite a common 
thing to see the Fowls in Queensland roosting in trees, on fences, or on the ridge of some outhouse. Many 
Farmers run up a wide ladder between two adjacent trees for the convenience of their feathered flock ; and 
it is not at all unusual, when riding through a paddock at night, to come upon such a place with, perhaps, 
turkeys, Guinea fowls, and common fowls, to the number of loo, or even 200, roosting thus quite securely 
and contentedly in the moonlight. This is, of course, only possible in the warmer portions of the colony, 
but undoubtedly the Fowls much prefer it to close houses during the summer months. Indeed, I find a 
great difficulty in inducing my Game Fowls to roost in a closely-boarded house even during the winter, and I 
am inclined to think they do best when allowed to follow their own inclinations and roost in the trees. 
During the whole of the extremely wet weather in 1893 — the year of flood records — between 30 and 40 of 
my Game Fowls roosted in a tree, and on two or three nights the wind was so strong that several of them 
were blown off, yet only one was lost ; the others were none the worse for their trying experience. The very 
best fowlhouse, and the one that is fast superseding all others in North Queensland, is simply a good secure 
roof, with wire sides and wooden shutters attached to the roof with hinges, so that during the hotter months 
they can be raised to form a verandah all round, and lowered at night, if necessary, as a 'wind-break,' being 
kept closed during the winter months. The wire can be dispensed with round the sides, unless snakes, 
native cats, or other animals destructive to Poultry are prevalent. By far the best fowlhouse I ever had was 
built for me by a couple of Kanakas. The wall-plate was barely 5 feet from the ground, but the roof (it was a 
round house), ran up to a peak to something like 20 or 30 feet. It was thatched with grass, and the roosts- 
were placed round the centre post in graduating circles. Strange to say, it was cool in summer and warm in 
