THE POULTRY BOOK. 
225 
AVliatever may be the objection to these negro fowls as regards their appear- 
ance upon the table, none can be alleged against their edible qualities, which are 
undeniably good. In France, where they are curious in cookery, these fowls are 
even valued for their appearance, and at one of the dinners of the Acclimatization 
Society, held at St. James’s Hall, there were some boiled negro fowls served 
up, surrounded with white sauce, to make the dark colour more evident. 
The silky character of the feathers is one which occasionally occurs in other 
breeds, as in the Cochin ; and when this is the case, it may be propagated by 
a careful selection of brood stock. The so-called Emu fowl, or Silky Cochin, 
has already been described (see page 46). The preceding wood-cut shows the 
i'.eculiar character of the feather in this breed ; it is very accurately rendered in the 
engraving, which has been carefully copied from a photograph, the feather itself 
having been used as the negative. 
