THE POULTRY BOOK. 
209 
may suppose that this useless appendage will he regarded as equally indispensable 
in the Houdan. 
The popular prejudice in favour of stoutness of hone in the shank or leg, 
we hope, will not influence the breed, Dorking breeders are continually boast- 
ing of the thickness of the leg-bones in their fowls. The French breeders, on 
the other hand, are, with much more sense, in the habit of calling attention to 
the small bones of the best breeds. If a Dorking fancier is asked why he likes 
thick legs in his birds, he replies that ‘'you must have large bones to get a large 
frame,” confounding stoutness of bone with size of frame- work; whereas the two 
things have no connection whatever. No grazier would tolerate a thick leg in a 
short-horn, however large its frame ; but would regard the extra weight of bone as 
so much offal, as the French breeder justly regards it in his favourite table-fowls. 
The Houdan chickens are very pretty when in the down and first plumage. 
The neck, back, and wings are black ; the breast and under parts white. From 
the very first they are lively, hardy, little things ; feathering very early and 
maturing with a marvellous rapidity. 
There can be little doubt that the merits of the breed will ensure for it a 
favourable reception in this country. 
Next in our list follow the celebrated Normandy table-fowls known as the Creve- 
cceurs. Some idea of the value attached to this breed by our French neighbours, 
may be gained from a statement of the fact, that at the first great Agricultural 
Exhibition in Paris, in 1855, there were two equal sets of prizes offered for the 
poultry exhibited ; the first for Crevecoeurs, the second for all other varieties 
taken together. As Crevecoeurs are essentially French fowls, it will perhaps be 
desirable in the first instance to give the description of them published in the 
work termed “ Oiseaux de Basse Cour,” by Mme. Millet Kobinet. The authoress 
of this book, which was issued under the authority of the Minister of Agriculture, 
states : — 
“In Normandy, especially in the neighbourhood of Crevecceur, there is a 
variety of fowl which supplies Paris with a large proportion of the handsome 
poultry with which the markets abound. 
“ The hens are low on the legs, with large fleshy thighs, the wings large, and 
the body square; the abdomen is voluminous and pendent, especially in those 
which are more than a year old ; they walk slowly, scratch but little, and rarely 
fly. Their plumage is black, or black and white variegated : they carry on their 
heads a large tuft, and a small upright two-horned comb ; whilst a large cravat of 
feathers under the neck gives to them a matronly air. They are very tame, ramble 
but little, and prefer seeking their food on the dunghill in the poultry-yard to 
wandering afar off. They are somewhat later in laying, and, perhaps, lay less 
frequently than the common (French) fowl ; but their eggs are much larger, and 
they continue to lay a longer time. They sit badly, and are apt to break their eggs 
from their great weight, which is, at least, one -third more than that of the common 
fowls : they are very easily fatted. 
T 
