18# 
Different Breeds of Fowls—Charcoal as a Manure. 
The Bantam is a beautiful little bird, usually white 
in color, with short legs, feathered oftentimes to the ex¬ 
tremity of its toes. It is often of variegated colors, in¬ 
clined to red, brown, and white, prettily mixed. Occa¬ 
sionally a variety is met with that are smooth legged. 
They are very domestic, often making their nest in the 
kitchen and cupboards of the dwelling, when permitted. 
They are excellent layers, and good nurses; but require 
a dry location, on account of their short, feathered legs. 
The males are wonderful crowers, exceedingly pugna¬ 
cious, and make three times the fuss about the poultry- 
yard that any thing, but a Bantam, should do. They 
arrive at maturity early, and are well worthy of propa¬ 
gation. 
The Bucks County breed has received some cele¬ 
brity in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, as a valuable 
variety of fowl, principally on account of its enormous 
size. I have seen many specimens of this fowl, paid 
some attention to its habits, and learned from those who 
have tried them, their principal merits. It is a large 
bird, weighing, at maturity, eight,and even ten pounds; 
rather thinly feathered, of various colors from grey to 
black, and frequently speckled black and white. They 
are coarse in their legs, tall, and bony, and have evi¬ 
dently a cross of the Malay in their composition. They 
are but moderate layers; their eggs very large and good. 
They are bad sitters, frequently breaking their eggs, on 
account of their great weight and size, by crushing them; 
are not hardy, and, on the whole, will not compare with 
the common dunghill fowl for ordinary uses. They do 
not breed equally in size and appearance, showing them 
evidently to be a cross from other breeds; but from 
what they are derived, other than the Malay, it is diffi¬ 
cult to say. A gentleman of my acquaintance, who is 
very curious as well as nice in the selection of his fowls, 
tried them effectually for his poultry-yard, and they 
disappointed him. He then crossed them with the game 
breed, and has succeeded finely—the cross being re¬ 
duced in size, fuller feathered, hardier, and better layers, 
with an excellent carcass, and finer flesh. As a fancy 
fowl, or to make up a variety, they are very well; but 
can never become of great utility , except to cross with 
the common or the game fowl, to the farmer. 
The Java or Indian fowl, is a large coarse bird, co¬ 
vered with a coarse long down or hair, of a dirty white 
or yellow color, and running from that into all the shades 
of brown, even to a smoky black. It appears to differ 
little from the Malay fowl, save in its crowing, and per¬ 
haps laying deeper colored eggs. Its general charac¬ 
teristics are the same. In the northern states it is 
hardly worth propagation, and, as a fancy bird, it cer¬ 
tainly possesses neither beauty nor utility. 
The Dorking is a fine large bird, weighing, when at 
maturity, five to eight pounds. They are large-bodied, 
and of better proportions, according to their size, than 
any breed that I have yet seen, their bodies being very 
long, full, and well-fleshed in the breast and other va¬ 
luable parts. They are short legged, thickly feathered, 
with fine delicate heads, both double and single combs, 
and a shining, beautiful plumage. The color of their 
legs is white, or flesh-colored, having five instead of 
four toes, the fifth being apparently superfluous, and 
rising like a spur from the same root as the heel toe in 
the common varieties. This is a distinguishing mark of 
the variety. They are most excellent layers, good and 
steady sitters, and kind, careful nurses. Their color is 
various—from nearly white to almost black, many of 
them beautifully variegated. They are the capon fowl 
of England, and are bred in great quantities for the 
luxurious tables of the wealthy classes, in the counties 
about London. In America they are a scarce bird. I 
never saw one till the fall of 1841, when a friend, by 
whom I sent, brought me out half-a-dozen from England; 
and although they were but chickens when they arrived, 
and, from their long confinement on the voyage, mise¬ 
rably poor and full of vermin, they rapidly improved, 
commenced laying during the winter, and have, thus 
far, exceeded any other fowls I ever kept, in their good 
qualities. Their young have proved very hardy and 
easy to rear. The males, of which I imported two, are 
large strong birds, and the hens are all I could desire of 
them. Their eggs are of large size, clear white, and 
excellent in quality. For capons, they no doubt exceed 
all other fowls whatever, often weighing, full grown, 
ten or twelve pounds. This variety X have determined 
to keep for my own purposes. 
The only other distinct varieties from the above-named 
with which I am acquainted, are the common Dunghill 
fowl, which runs out into all the various ramifications 
of Creeper, Rumpless, Dominica, &c. &c., and are to 
be met with in every farm-yard of the country. Of their 
respective values, different opinions and fancies prevail. 
They are, doubtless, all good; and to those who are 
curious in their poultry, many beautiful, choice, and 
excellent birds may be selected from them for a choice 
poultry-yard. But to one who admires a true breed of 
fowls, none can be relied on but those of distinct cha¬ 
racteristics, belonging exclusively to their one variety. 
I might here enlarge, and go into the various methods 
of rearing fowls, and speak of their treatment, accom¬ 
modations, &c.; but as this was not within my purpose 
when penning the above, I refer the reader to the va¬ 
rious treatises on those subjects, or, what is belter, to 
any good, experienced housewife, on almost any farm 
in his neighborhood. The rearing of chickens, and care 
of a poultry-yard, is not among the abstruse sciences. 
L. E. A. 
Black Rock, August, 1842. 
For the American Agriculturist, 
Uses of Charcoal as Manure. 
Gent. —From an article Gn Dr. Liebig’s 
Organic Chemistry applied to Agriculture, in 
the April number of the North American Re¬ 
view, it appears that the most valuable pro¬ 
perty of a soil, is that of absorbing and giv¬ 
ing off those vapours and gases that consti¬ 
tute so considerable a portion of the food of 
plants. Reflecting on this fact, it occurred 
to me, that charcoal might prove a most 
valuable manure ; from its well known capa¬ 
city of absorbing vapours, gases and saline 
solutions, and under certain circumstances 
giving them out. 
The ladies make use of charcoal in their 
flower-pots, from an experience of these re¬ 
sults. At this time I did not know of its 
being used on a large scale. I communi¬ 
cated the idea to Mr. Phineas Sargent, and 
he remarked he did not know that it had 
been used as a manure ; but that he had often 
observed the charcoal hearths were more 
productive than the surrounding land. I 
made further inquiries of Mr. A. B. Allen on 
the same point, and he had the kindness to 
furnish me Mr. J. H. Hepburn’s valuable 
paper, “ Charcoal as a Manure,” published in 
the Trans, of the Ag. Soc. of N. Y. p. 298 
