176 
THE GAME FOWL, ETC. 
forming animals that will be more remarkable for 
beauty than strength of constitution, though na- 
ture herself at last puts a stop to this; it must be 
admitted a somewhat revolting process, by destroy- 
ing the power of reproducing. It seems a truth, 
worthy of being constantly kept before the mind 
of those engaged in these interesting, but delicate 
enterprises, that nature will not allow art to go 
much further than she has gone herself. Man 
may carry his refinements almost to the point of 
creation. He may reach that which to bim seems 
perfection. Heights like these are not inaccessible, 
though difficult; but when we have attained them, 
the difficulty is, to preserve our position. 
A. L. Elwyn. 
Philadelphia > Nov. 1848. 
■» 
THE GAME FOWL. 
This well-known and highly-esteemed fowl, the 
qualities of which were so ably defended by a cor- 
respondent at p. 161, of the current volume, is 
found to be a distinct variety, truly remarkable in 
ts eagerness for combat, as well as for the un- 
Fig. 43. — The Game Fowl. 
flinching courage with which it maintains its fight 
under circumstances almost incredible to those who 
never have witnessed the exhibitions that formerly 
disgraced every Christian country on the globe. 
The exterior qualifications of a male bird of this 
variety, as described by a late writer on " Domestic 
and Ornamental Fowl," is, head thin along, or if 
not, very taper ; a large, full eye ; beak crooked 
and stout j neck thick and long (a cock with a 
long neck has a great advantage in his battle, par- 
ticularly if his antagonist is one of those cocks 
that will fight at no other place but the head) ; his 
body short and compact, with a round breast (as a 
sharp-breas'^ed cock carries a great deal of useless 
weight about him, and never has a fine fore hand) ; 
his thighs fine and thick, and placed well up to the 
shoulder (for where a cock's legs hang dangling 
behind him, be assured he never can maintain along 
battle) ; his legs long and thick, and if they corres- 
pond with the color of his beak — blue, grey, or 
yellow — I think it a perfection ; his feet should be 
broad and thin, with very long claws. With re- 
gard to his carriage, he should be upright, but not 
stiffly so; his walk should be stately, with his 
wings in some measure extended, and not plod 
along, as I have seen some cocks do, with their 
wings upon their backs, like geese ; his color 
father grey, yellow, or rose, with black breast • his 
spurs rough, long, and looking inward. As to the 
color he is of, it is immaterial ; there are good 
cocks of all colors ; but he should he thin of 
feathers, short, and very hard, which is another 
proof of his being healthy. Remember that acock, 
with all his stoutness, length, and thickness of leg, 
rotundity of breast, " fine fore hand," firmness of 
neck, and extent of wing, ought not to weigh more 
than 4 lbs. 8 or 10 oz. ; if he happen to have an 
ounce or two more in his composition, he is out 
of the pale of the pit, and is excluded by all match 
makers, from " fighting within the articles." A 
bird, to be a bird, "fit for the white bags, the 
trimmed wing, the mat, and the silver spur" must 
be light upon the leg, light fleshed, and large 
boned, but still no more than 4 lbs. 8 or 10 oz. 
CULTIVATION OF THE CRANBERRY. 
Wherever there is a pond of slight rise and 
fall, its margin, at a trifling expense, may befitted 
up for the culture of this plant, which will 
continue productive for many years. All that is 
necessary is, to drive in some stakes two or more 
feet within the margin of the pond, according to 
the depth necessary to be filled in, and then 
place some refuse boards against these, so as to 
prevent the soil of the cranberry beds from slid- 
ing into the water ; and lay a parcel of small 
stones or rubbish in the. bottom of these beds, and 
over them peat or bog earth, to the depth of three 
inches above, and seven inches below, the sur- 
face of the water. 
In such a situation, the plants grow readily ; 
and if a few be planted, they will entirely cover 
the bed, in the course of a year or two, by means 
of their long runners, which take root at different 
points. From a very small space, a large quan- 
tity of cranberries may be gathered. When pro- 
perly managed, they prove a remarkably regular 
crop, scarcely affected by the state of the weather, 
and are not subject to attack from insects. 
-♦ 
A Fact for Farmers. — Farmers may rely on 
this fact, that most of their luxuriant cultivated 
crops are produced by the presence, or application 
of due proportions of potash, (as wood ashes, leaf 
mold, green-sand marl, decomposed felspar, salt- 
petre, farm-yard dung, &c.,) phosphoric acid, (as 
bones, crushed, burnt, or dissolved, guano, farm- 
yard dung, oyster-shell lime, shell fish, coprolites, 
and super phosphate of lime,) and nitrogen, (as 
sulphate and muriate of ammonia, urine, guano, 
and animal manures generally,) combined with 
small quantities of lime, salt, magnesia, &c, &c. 
