80 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
afterwards fortunately obtained some imported birds (a cock and two bens) in tbe 
neighbourhood of the London Docks. With these and their chickens I had great 
success, and still continue to have the same strain. I have now for some years 
bred in and in, having been unable to procure another imported cock, nor have I 
found that by so doing they have very much decreased in size. Chickens hatched 
in March and April generally thrive remarkably v/ell ; but they require, perhaps, 
rather more care than other sorts, if the season be damp or cold, as they have a 
most noticeable paucity of feathers. Malays will bear confinement — mine have 
generally done so, and looked healthy and well. They certainly are disposed to 
be savage and irritable if kept long without food ; but for some time past I have 
managed to keep the peace by letting them have food and water constantly by 
them, in their houses. When thus treated, neither do they eat half so much. 
Malays are the only variety of poultry I have had for years, and experience has 
taught me that it is best not to keep more than a cock and two hens in one run, 
especially when intended for exhibition, as by this means they are thoroughly used 
to each other before being penned at shows. It is a great thing to keep them 
from excitement. My runs are so arranged that the birds cannot possibly see their 
neighbours. The runs should be kept sweet and clean, the soil frequently 
removed, and fresh earth substituted ; it is also necessary to let the birds have a 
heap of ashes in a corner protected from the rain. Their houses should be cleansed 
and lime-washed oftentimes during the year ; their perches should be very broad, 
and thickly bound round with carpet to keep their breasts from getting bare. The 
perch should not be very high, just room enough left to allow the cock to walk 
under it, and straw should be thickly laid for them to alight upon, as they fly to 
the ground with great force. I think they might easily be kept within bounds. 
My runs are all enclosed with the exception of one, where the birds are every 
day let out on a grass plot, the boundary being merely galvanized wire, a yard 
high; and they never attempt to fly over, though one great inducement to stay at 
home is no doubt their having corn, green meat, and water constantly by them. 
The food I find they like best is Indian corn and potatoes mashed up with meal. 
Meat, or bones to pick, should always be avoided. They require a pleirtiful 
supply of green food ; I have hundreds of cabbages and lettuces planted yearly for 
them, and it is astonishing how soon they ‘disappear. The lop comb I always look 
upon as a great mistake, having never seen it in imported birds. The eggs they 
lay are dark and rich ; and the chickens are plump and very good eating : the legs, 
on account of their length, are rather unsightly for table. A friend of mine last 
year crossed some Dorking hens with a Malay cock, and the chickens were remark- 
ably fine and heavy. During the past season I have had far more applications for 
pens of Malays than I have been able to supply ; and I sincerely hope not only to 
see the Malay classes at poultry shows better filled than they hitherto have been, 
but that those who have up to this time condemned them may be induced to give 
them a trial.” 
The remarks of these eminent authorities on this particular breed so nearly 
