210 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
‘^The cocks, wliicli are similar in form to tlie hens, have a brilliant black 
plumage, sometimes golden or silver-coloured; their heads are handsomely sur- 
mounted with beautiful tufts, and large, toothed, two-horned combs, which, 
together, form a kind of crown ; they have also dense cravats of feathers, and are 
adorned with handsome pendent wattles.” 
The finest capons of this breed, when fatted for the table, are described by the 
same authoress as weighing four kilogrammes, or rather more than nine pounds 
English weight. 
The Crevecoeurs have been much longer known in this country than the 
Houdans. Their black plumage, large crests, and two-horned* combs render 
them very conspicuous, if not elegant fowls. Their characters are most ad- 
mirably given in the coloured illustration of a group, drawn by Harrison Weir. 
Like the Houdans, they are heavy, short-legged, compact fowls, but their shanks are 
much darker in colour and four-toed. They lay large eggs, and as a rule do not sit. 
There is no doubt of their value as table fowl, but in this country they certainly 
are not as hardy as the Houdan breed, nor are the chickens hatched and reared 
with such facility, being more affected by cold damp weather than any other of 
the French breeds. In favourable localities they mature very rapidly, and, under 
the general title of Normandy fowls, furnish a very large proportion of the first- 
class poultry that appears in the markets of Paris. 
As exhibition fowls, it is desirable that they should be heavy, compact, as 
free from light feathers as possible, well crested, and with the two-horned cres- 
centric comb well developed. 
There is a variety of this breed of a slaty blue colour ; but those that we have 
seen have not been equal either in appearance or weight to the darker variety. 
Both Houdans and Crevecoeurs offer great advantages for cross-breeding for 
the table. Large Dorking hens running with imported cocks produce, in the 
early spring, chickens that for size, hardihood, early maturity, and fitness for 
the market, surpass those of any pure breed that we have ever raised. 
It may be well to state that some of the French writers estimate the value of 
the Crevecoeurs as even greater than that of the Houdans. Thus M. Jacque 
states — ■ 
‘‘ This breed produces some of the best fowls which appear in the French mar- 
kets. Its bones are even lighter than those of the Houdan ; its flesh is finer, 
shorter, whiter, and more readily takes on fat. The pullets are of extraordinary 
precocity, since they may be put up to fatten at the age of three months, and they 
are ready for the table in fifteen days after. At four months old a fowl of this 
breed has reached its full perfection as to weight and quality. A poularde of five 
or six months attains the weight of six-and-a-half pounds when fatted, and weighs 
four- and- a-half pounds dressed for the cook. It is this race which produces the 
fine poulardes and capons sold in the markets of France. Those of the Houdan 
race, although of superior quality, come after them. The Crevecoeur is the first 
race in France for delicacy of flesh, ease of fattening, and precocity ; and we 
