198 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
ment; but not to that of M. de Sora, whose name is not even known to any person 
in that neighbourhood, but of M. Manoury, eleveur a Angy pres Mouy, to whom 
I briefly related the object of my call. I was received with every courtesy, and 
informed that he knew of no such name as M. de Sora, nor of any establish- 
ment of the kind, but that he devoted his time to rearing some 5,000 head 
of poultry per annum ; he neither fed them on horseflesh nor supplied the markets 
of Paris ; that he sold none but pure breeds, and those to gentlemen and fancy 
poultry dealers.” 
This extract may be considered as satisfactorily disposing of the question as 
to the existence or non-existence of M. de Sora’s establishment, Mr. Geyelin’s 
journey, however, was not without interest from other points of view. He 
describes in particular the manner in which turkeys are employed in France as 
foster parents for chicken. This plan has been introduced with some consider- 
able degree of success into this country ; and we have since seen a large number 
of chickens carefully protected by turkey cocks, confined under coops. 
Mr. Geyelin writes : — 
“ Amongst some places I visited, in company with two of your shareholders, 
may be mentioned the farm of Madame La Marquise de la Briffe, Chateau du 
Neuville, Gambais, near Houdan, where we observed twelve turkeys hatching at 
the same time ; here, also, we witnessed the rearing and fattening, which will be 
alluded to hereafter. In another place, that of M. Auche, of Gambais, a hatcher 
by trade, we observed some sixty turkeys hatching at the same time ; and we were 
informed that during winter and early spring he had sometimes upwards of one 
hundred hatching at the same time, and that each turkey continued hatching for 
at least three months. At the farm of M. Louis Mary, at St. Julien de Faucon, 
near Lizieux, in Calvados, I saw a turkey that was then sitting that had been so 
upwards of six months, and, considering it rather cruel, the hatcher, to prove the 
contrary, took her off the nest and put her in the meadow, and also removed the 
eggs ; the turkey, however, to my surprise, returned immediately to her nest and 
called in a most plaintive voice for her eggs. Then some eggs were placed in a 
corner of a box, which she instantly drew under her with her beak, and seemed 
quite delighted. Moreover, I was informed that it was of great economical 
advantage to employ turkeys to hatch, as they eat very little and get very fat in 
their state of confinement, and therefore fit for the market any day. 
“ The hatching-room is kept dark, and at an even temperature in summer and 
winter. In this room a number of boxes, two feet long, one foot wide, and one 
foot six inches deep, are ranged along the walls. These boxes are covered in with 
lattice or wire -work, and serve for turkeys to hatch any kind of eggs. Similar 
boxes, but of smaller dimensions, are provided for broody fowls. The bed of the 
boxes is formed of heather, straw, hay, or cocoa-fibres ; and the number of eggs 
for turkeys to hatch is two dozen, and one dozen for hens. 
At any time of the year, turkeys, whether broody or not, are taught to hatch in 
