AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
FOR THE 
Farm, Grarden, and Household, 
“AOIilCCLTUKE IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL, HOST USEFUL, ANO MOST NOiiLE EMPLOYMENT OF M AN.” — Washington. 
Drawn 
and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, ) (TERMS: §1.50 PER ANNUM IN ADVANCE: 
PUBLISHERS AND PROPRIETORS. ESTABLISHED IN 1842. U 
> Cents additional must be sent with 'each Sub- 
Office, 245 BROADWAY. / Ascription for postage. — Single Number, 15 Cents. 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in February, 1S78, by the Orange Judd Company, at the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
■VOLUME XXXVII.— No. 3. 
NEW SERIES—No. 374. 
Portraits are given above of fowls of two con¬ 
spicuous breeds. One is remarkable for its large 
size, and tlie other for its diminutive, as well as 
picturesque and odd appearance. The Light Brah¬ 
ma is now well known amongst breeders and fan¬ 
ciers, but is not yet nearly so popular amongst 
farmers, and those who rear poultry for market, as 
it should be. The above portraits are drawn from 
life from some birds bred and owned by Messrs. 
Magrane & Fairservice, of Woodside, near Newark, 
N. J. These gentlemen, who are well known 
amongst fancy poultry breeders, have been more 
than usually successful in taking premiums at ex¬ 
hibitions, and their birds are in great demand, not 
only at home, hut in foreign countries. Some fine 
specimens were recently sold and shipped to an 
English breeder. After an inspection of their 
poultry, the selection of a pair for illustration was 
no easy matter, as it was difficult to choose where 
many were worthy of the distinction. Having so 
frequently described the Light Brahmas, we need 
not now repeat their characteristics, but merely 
point out here, the small head, the lofty carriage, 
the broad full breast, the deep round body, the 
short stout limbs, all of which mark the high-bred 
bird, and one producing a great amount of flesh 
with the least offal. This is one distinguishing fea¬ 
ture of the Brahma fowl, which renders it a profit¬ 
able breed for the fanner. No other bird excels it 
as a winter layer, and as it is a good mother, the 
plentiful fluff about it serving to keep the chicks 
warm in the coldest weather, and as the chicks are 
hardy, it is easy to have very early birds. The 
young-birds, as broilers, are remarkably juicy, well 
flavored, and tender, and the young cockerels of 4 
to 6 months, weighing, as they easily do, 8 to 9 lbs., 
make most excellent roasters. As with all high¬ 
bred, pure races, the half-bred crosses of these, on 
the common stock, are nearly as good as the pure 
bred. There is no breed that excels the Light 
Brahma as the farmer’s fowl. To introduce one 
young cock for every 25 common hens, would be to 
easily double the value of the farmer’s yearly pro¬ 
duct. This we can say after several years’ ex¬ 
perience, during which our main stock has been 
of this breed, and having had occasionally some 
hundreds of cross-bred chickens for the market. 
The Japanese Bantams, from which the portraits 
were taken, are also the property of Messrs. Ma¬ 
grane & Fairservice, who, to save trouble, request 
us to state that they have none of these birds for 
sale this season. These quaint little creatures are 
drawn in proportion to the larger birds, and weigh 
a pound and a quarter each. The plumage is w-hite, 
excepting some of the wing feathers, the tail, and 
sometimes the tips of the neck feathers, which are 
black. The legs are bright yellow. The tail is the 
most curious part of this breed, being large, and 
carried so erect as to nearly touch the head. The 
legs are so short as to be almost invisible, and this 
gives the birds a curious creeping sort of gait. The 
little hens are exemplary mothers, and one of them, 
with a brood of tiny chicks, would be the delight 
of a boy or girl, as well as attractive pets for old 
folks. This breed has the virtue, rare amongst 
bantams, of being exceedingly peaceable and quiet. 
