110 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
attempts result from the establislimeut of very early chicken- shows, the advantage 
of vdiich is open to much discussion. Sufficient attention is not always given by 
judges at shows as to the truth of the ages of young birds, as stated by the 
owners ; consequently the honest chickens are frequently beaten by late-hatched, 
trimmed up birds. 
The only thing necessary to be done before sending Spanish to shows is, first, 
give them as much soft food as they can eat, then clean the legs and feet, and 
carefully and smoothly wash the white face and comb, drying them afterwards with 
a very soft cloth ; if the operation causes the face to become red, placing them in a 
warm dark apartment for a short time will soon restore it to the original whiteness. 
Abundance of clean dry straw should be placed at the bottom of the basket, which, 
if of open wickerwork, should be lined with canvas, which has the manifold advantage 
of preventing the birds being exposed to draught and becoming roupy on their 
journey, of precluding the probability of their tails being pulled by some incon- 
siderate spectator, and of lessening the chances of the white face being injured by 
contact with the rough wickerwork of the basket.” 
With regard to the economical value of Spanish as productive fowls. Admiral 
Hornby states : — As for eggs, I reckoned last year that my Spanish hens laid six 
eggs a week from early in February to late in August (they moulted early). 
Between November and February they averaged perhaps three a w^eek. Their eggs 
are large and handsome, broad, but slightly rounded at each end ; one end, how- 
ever, is not so much more pointed than the other as in some fowls. As for weight 
— I am cautious in speaking — I know that last year, from February to August, I 
considered their average weight to be above oz. but under 4 oz. The largest 
eggs w^ere in May (when we had rain after a long drought), many of them weighing 
oz. ; but the average of those laid in December and January I should place at 
2f oz. The eggs are, to my mind, very milky and good. I may add, however, 
that of the eggs of the best white-faced, I had frequent complaints of the 
tenderness of their shells, in spite of lime, calcined oyster- shells, soft food, &c. I 
attribute this to high feeding.” 
The colour of the Spanish egg is always clear white, with a smooth polished 
surface. Spanish pullets are commonly found to commence laying from five and a 
half to six months old, and they certainly may be described as good layers, except 
during their autumnal moult and during the severer winter months. Spanish hens 
rarely show any inclination to hatch their eggs ; even if they become broody, the 
desire to sit usually passes off in a few days, so that it is not desirable to sit them. 
Sometimes ^a hen steals a nest and hatches out a brood, in which case she generally 
proves a good mother ; but no practical poultry-keeper ever thinks of designedly 
employing them as sitters. 
In the selection of eggs for sitting, it was said by Columella, and has been 
repeated in recent publications, amongst others in Mr. Trotter’s treatise, in the 
twenty- seventh number of the Eoyal Agricultural Society’s Journal, that the sex 
of eggs is capable of being distinguished by their form and the internal position 
