260 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
gnish them ; there is sometimes a difference of hue in certain parts ; 
but this difference only occurs occasionally, and indeed it is on gait, voice, 
and demeanor that we must chiefly depend. It must be remarked that 
they pair; therefore a second hen will be neglected and useless except 
for eggs. 
Like all the gallinaceous birds, the Guinea-fowl is esteemed for its 
flesh and its eggs, which, though smaller than those of the common 
fowl, are very excellent and numerous, the hen commencing to lay in 
the month of May, and continuing during the entire summer. After 
the pheasant season, young birds of the year arc, on the table, by no 
means unworthy substitutes for that highly-prized game. Such birds are 
acceptable in the London market, and fetch a fair price. The Guinea- 
fowl is of a wild, shy, rambling disposition ; and, domesticated as it is, 
it pertinaciously retains its original habits, and is impatient of restraint. 
It loves to wander along hedgerows, over meadows, through clover or 
corn fields, and amidst copses and shrubberies; hence these birds re- 
quire careful watching, for the hens will lay in secret places, and will 
sometimes absent themselves entirely from the farm-yard until thev 
return with a young brood around them. So ingeniously will they 
conceal themselves and their nest, so cautiously leave it aud return to 
it, as to elude the searching glance of boys well used to bird-nesting; 
but it may always be found from the watchful presence of the cock 
while the hen is laying. There is one disadvantage in this, the bird 
will sit at a late period, and bring forth her brood when the season be- 
gins to be too cold for the tender chickens. The best plan is, to con- 
tiivc that the liens shall lay in a quiet secluded place, and to give about 
twenty of the earliest eggs to a common hen ready to receive them, who 
will perform the duties of incubation with steadiness. In this way a 
bi nod in June may be easily obtained. The young must receive the 
