August 25, 1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 191 
during this period the former will gain 28G and the latter 40 tbs. 
in nett weight of meat when slaughtered. The acre will thus yield 
320 lbs. of meat. Its produce of grass may be 10 tons, perhaps more. 
This is 1 lb. of meat for every hundredweight of grass ; hut we must 
remember that the grass of such land differs from the average in the 
quality as well as the quantity of its product .—(Irish Farmers' 
Gazette.) 
- Experiment in Potato Growing. — An experiment has 
been tried by Mr. Tom King, Lion Hotel, Llanymynech, in producing 
a large crop of Potatoes from a comparatively small quantity of seed. 
Mr. King took a pound of Potatoes, second early variety, and allowed 
these to spirt freely. Erom each broke a spirt, the total weight 
being half an ounce. He then planted the Potatoes and spirts in 
separate rows. The latter appeared to grow more uniformly, and to 
be in a more healthy state than the growth of the former. The 
following is the result of the experiment:—Erom the half ounce of 
spirts he has obtained 5 lbs. o ozs. of sound Potatoes, and from the 
pound of Potatoes 5 lbs. 4 ozs., showing a larger yield from one spirt 
than from a single Potato. The two lots will stand a good com¬ 
parison. Those grown from spirts are evidently earlier, firmer, and 
more regular in shape and size than those obtained from the seed 
Potatoes. There is in this case a total yield of nearly elevenfold by 
weight .—(Coven try Advertiser.) 
POULTRY NOTES. 
The following extracts from a letter published in The. Field 
are of interest in reference to the recent discussion in these 
columns and elsewhere as to the relative merits of the Dorking 
of the past and the Dorking of the present. The writer says— 
“ My first recollection of Dorkings is now more than forty years 
old. I remember some birds being brought from Sussex in 1840 or 
1841, into a district in Norfolk, which even then enjoyed a reputation 
for fattening prime poultry.” 
“ I remember that not on one farm only, but on several adjoining 
ones, the use of the Sussex-bred cocks was followed by so great an 
improvement in size and early fitness for spring chickens that the 
local higglers remarked on it and scrambled for the produce.” 
“ The ordinary run of well-fed chickens in that district in autumn 
and winter used to be about 4 lbs. to 5 lbs. per bird when dressed for 
table. The use of the Sussex cocks increased the weight fully to 
G lbs. to 8 lbs.; and I remember a special case of a pullet—bred from 
the Sussex stock on both sides—being sent as a present at Christmas 
to a friend taking pride in poultry, which weighed 9 tbs., dressed for 
table. It thus will be seen that genuine Dorkings, before a single 
specimen of the Cochin had been imported, were not small. Still less 
were they tender. I remember that, having heard of the wonderful 
new-comers, a skilful poultry woman obtained a cockerel and two 
pullets. I remember, somewhere about 1841 or 1842, these birds being 
brought home, and then rearing large broods the first season, which 
roosted on the trees. I recollect finding, one Christmas morning, an 
early pullet of their produce sitting upon a stolen nest of eleven 
eggs in a woodstack, and that every egg produced a chicken, and 
that all were reared.” 
“ I remember that, although the two original pullets purchased were 
both of the markings which were then called 1 brown-spangled ’ 
(they were selected from a large yard as being as much of a match as 
was possible to find), not all their chickens were brownish, like them¬ 
selves. Some were so; others were grey, grey and white ; but the 
cockerels w'ere mainly black-breasted, with here and there a few 
white feathers on the breast and in the tail and wing. There were 
both single and rose-combs among them.” 
“ My poultry experienci came to an end in 1843 or 1844, and I had 
none, and saw few, till about 1853-4. By this time shows had begun, 
and Capt. Hornby had made himself prominent among exhibitors of 
Dorkings. The poultry upon the homestead—where in 1838-40 there 
had been such success—had dwindled into comparatively poor things, 
roupish and thin. I determined to go, as I thought, to the fountain 
head, and I gave Capt. Hornby four guineas for a dozen eggs. I 
remember that I wished to recover the old brown-spangled sort, and 
asked for eggs of that kind, and that I was cautioned that ‘ Capt. 
Hornby would not warrant his birds breeding true to feather.’ Nor 
did they. I had greys, spangled, and at least two with only four 
toes ; but they were all fairly close-feathered (not like Game, yet 
quite unlike the modern loose-framed, loose-plumaged birds) ; they 
all were clean-legged, white-footed.” 
The writer next comments upon the good useful qualities of the 
pre-exhibition Dorking, and upon the want of uniformity in colour 
and even in dumber of toes amongst the birds first exhibited, 
and concludes with the following paragraph— 
_ “ I have thought it worth while troubling you with these recollec¬ 
tions because, as it seems to me, poultry-breeding on farms may be 
much improved by bearing in mind what is constantly being done 
with.sheep and cattle. There are tup and bull breeders who take 
infinite pains with their flocks and herds, in order to obtain sires 
capable of conveying to cross-bred produce the points those cross¬ 
bred shearlings and bullocks are wanted to possess. The men who 
take the lead in breeding bulls and tups do not tolerate cross-breeds, 
although they look forward to their animals being used for cross¬ 
breeding. Poultry keepers should do the same. For winter laying 
one cross is most suitable, and another is best for early spring 
chickens. For table poultry, to be consumed in autumn and winter, 
yet another type is preferable. But to produce any of these, pure¬ 
bred sires are highly necessary, and these must have the special 
points required concentrated by close breeding. But the modern 
show Dorking is not at all the best possible sire for this purpose. It 
may be doubted if it be equal to its predecessor for any purpose. 
And it may be doubted if any better breed than the old Dorking for 
table poultry early in the year ever existed anywhere. The Houdan, 
its main rival, seems an offshoot from it. But cross-breeding is not 
my present subject. I would maintain that the Dorkings to encourage 
at the shows are not those whose eggs, feet, feathers, and legs indi¬ 
cate a cross ; but those whose shape, skin, and thick flesh argue an 
unmixed descent from our valuable old English breed, which had all 
those points good. Such birds could be had even now by judicious 
selection ; but one must not go to prize-winning yards to make the 
selection.” 
That Mr. Harrison Weir may have the full benefit of “ Plas¬ 
tic's” testimony upon his side of the question, we add another 
extract which we had at first passed over from this interesting 
letter— 
“ I may, however, once more be allowed to state that, although the 
modern stamp of Dorking retains size, this size is accompanied by 
bigger bone, loose feathering, sooty feet, and tinted eggs—a combina¬ 
tion of phenomena which point the minds of all who are not reso¬ 
lutely bent on resisting evidence to an inevitable conclusion that the 
Dorking of the period is a cross with the darker variety of Cochin.” 
In a footnote to “Plastic’s” letter, the Editor of The Field 
states that the large coloured Dorkings first shown by Mr. J. 
Douglas were the result of a cross with a cock of a large coarse¬ 
boned Malay, or Kulm breed, sent to the Zoological Gardens by 
an officer in India. 
Whilst content to leave the discussion of the Dorking question 
to others, we desire to say a word or two as to the laying qualities 
of the breed. We know that the general concurrence of testimony 
goes to show that Dorkings are not good layers. We do not know 
whether the old breeders allege any falling-off in this respect as 
one of the demerits of the modern Dorking. Some of the sup¬ 
porters of the modern Dorking claim credit for having effected an 
improvement in the laying qualities of the breed. We shall be 
very pleased to have particulars, from those of our readers who 
keep Dorkings, as to the average number of eggs per annum 
which their birds produce. Not very long ago one of our readers 
recorded a case in which white Dorkings produced 160 eggs per 
annum each. We once had some Silver-Grey pullets which were 
exceptionally good layers. We cannot give any precise figures as 
to the number of eggs each laid in the year, but we well remem¬ 
ber that one of them laid thirty-six eggs in thirty-five days, and 
then after a few days’ rest started laying again. That took place 
some fourteen or fifteen years ago, and we have long since lost 
the strain ; but we were speaking a few days ago to the lady from 
whom we got these birds, and who still keeps up this family of 
Silver-Greys. She showed us a pullet of this year hatched on the 
7th March, which commenced laying on the 23rd July, and has 
laid six eggs each week since then. She further informed us that 
her Dorking pullets invariably commenced to lay under or just at 
six months old, and that, as a rule, they lay six eggs per week. 
The hens do not lay quite so well, but still are above the average 
as layers. This information we know to be absolutely reliable ; 
and even this one instance shows that Dorkings are not neces¬ 
sarily bad layers. The strain is one which has won many prizes, 
and, although the birds are not very large, they are very good in 
points. _ _ 
The actual laying qualities, not only of the Dorking but of our 
other breeds, are of much interest, especially when we have before 
us such figures as those which appear in the Board of Trade returns 
recently issued. These returns relate to the seven months ending 
July 31st, and they show that in the first seven months of the 
year 1881 there were imported into this country no less than 
