COCHIN-CHINA FOWLS. 
153 
family, whose foliage and blossoms are almost pe¬ 
rennial. Bricks, are generally used for the walls, 
and sometimes to circumscribe the luxuriant borders 
to a stiff, unmeaning piece of tasteless or grotesque 
patchwork; but the use of the small white shells, 
w r hich abound on the banks of the numerous sur¬ 
rounding bayous and lakes, gives a tasteful and 
cleanly aspect to the borders which is not surpassed 
by the best gravel. The Morus multicaulis is much 
used here as an ornamental tree. It grows luxuri¬ 
antly, and with a graceful top. It is among the ear¬ 
liest of the trees of this climate. The leaves made 
their appearance in February, and are now fully 
expanded. The sycamore is much used in the pub¬ 
lic squares, and appears to flourish. A few wallows 
are to be found, but no elms. In place of these, 
where the grounds are sufficiently large, the live 
oak rears its magnificent crest; and w T ith its symme¬ 
trical outlines, itsfrequently pendent limbs, and the 
long festoons of silver moss, which almost sweep 
the ground and are swayed by every breeze, it fully 
makes up for the absence of both the others. These 
are sometimes of great size. I measured one in 
the suburbs, whose limbs shot out horizontally , 8 
feet above the ground, to the distance of 40 feet from 
the trunk in every direction, the latter being about 5 
feet diameter, and the apex of the flattened regular 
dome of branches apparently not exceeding 50 feet. 
The population of the city, like the delta which 
it occupies, is drawn from remote and diversified 
sources, and is the subject of continual transition 
and change. There is a large substratum of the 
ebony African, with every shade of griffe (or brown), 
mulatto and quadroon. The Creoles (natives of this 
region), mostly descended from the French, hut 
many from the Spaniards, the Germans, and the 'Ame¬ 
ricans, are numerous; as are also the emigrants from 
Europe. But by far the largest proportion of pro¬ 
fessional and business men are natives of the Atlan¬ 
tic states; and it is to the intelligence, enterprise 
and activity of these, that New Orleans is mainly 
indebted for the rapid advance she is making in 
population and wealth. But I may not longer take 
up the columns of the Agriculturist with a subject 
not purely agricultural, and shall turn my attention 
to the plantations in this vicinity in my next. 
R. L. Allen. 
New Orleans, March 20, 1847. 
COCHIN-CHINA FOWLS. 
Cochin-China Fowls —-Fig. 31. 
The above are said to be very faithful portraits 
of the Cochin-China fowls recently introduced into 
Great Britain by Queen Victoria. They are the 
largest and most magnificent of the domestic breed 
known. They were supposed at first to belong to 
the family of Bustards, but it is now settled that 
they are genuine poultry. The cocks of this breed, 
well fatted, weigh alive from 12 to 15 lbs.; hens, 
from 9 to 12 lbs. Their general color, according 
to Richardson, is a rich, glossy brown, or deep bay ; 
on the breast is a marking of a blackish color, and 
of the shape of a horse-shoe; the comb is of a 
medium size, serrated, but not deeply so, and the 
wattles are double. Besides their gigantic size, 
however, these fowl possess other distinctive cha¬ 
racteristics, among which may be enumerated the fol¬ 
lowing :—the disposition of the feathers on the 
back of the cock’s neck is reversed, these being 
turned upwards; the wing is jointed, so that the 
posterior half can, at pleasure, be doubled up, and 
brought forward between the anterior half and the 
body. 
“ I am not aware,” he adds, “ whether trial has, as 
yet, been made of the flesh; but from the white color, 
and delicate appearance of the skin, I feel confident 
that they would afford a luxurious and a princely dish. 
The eggs laid by the hen of this variety are said to 
be large, of a chocolate*color, and to possess a very 
