340 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
-- 1- - -| I III -HI mm ■■ wihiiiii .. Ml ■ ■ i ii II II III I - ~i ' ~~ 
cept myself; some of these gentlemen were 
six feet and a half high, and none of us 
were dwarfs, and not one of these could lay 
his chin on the shoulders of these brutes. 
We held a long and merry discussion on 
these same quadrupeds, and the wonder was, 
of what breed they were 1 They had short 
horns, and some of the party quizzingly 
asked if they were not original Pattcyis ? 
They were certainly got by “ bad bulls,” but 
whether from descendants of the “ bad ” 
Pattons alluded to, was not understood, as 
there was a fearful lack of pedigree ! 
So long as neither Dr. Martin, nor any 
other breeders or advocates of really good 
cattle, are disposed to breed or recom¬ 
mend the Pattons in their original estate, it 
is hardly worth while to spend more ink on 
the discussion ; and having thus placed them 
on record, I am disposed to let them slum¬ 
ber. All the milking virtues ascribed to 
them, are to be found among the Short 
Horns, when that quality has been sought, 
and to which we can safely revert, when it 
is wanted. L. F. A. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
IMPROVED POULTRY. 
The leading article in No. 72 of your val¬ 
uable journal, on the “ Importance of Poultry 
to the United State,” J read with much pleas¬ 
ure, and can fully endorse the views ad¬ 
vanced by the writer regarding the import¬ 
ance of this particular branch to the farmer. 
Many circumstances have undoubtedly com¬ 
bined to cause its neglect, not the least of 
which, as it appears to me, is the mistaken 
prejudice in the minds of farmers generally 
in favor of more bulky produce—that is, 
pork, arad the prevailing habit of allowing 
the poultry to take care of themselves. Sta¬ 
tistical articles, where a fair profit is proved 
to accrue, though it be on a small scale, it 
appears to me, may exercise some slight in¬ 
fluence in removing so erroneous an impres¬ 
sion. It is from this circumstance that I am 
induced to trouble you with my experience 
in this line, during the past season. 
I commenced the year 1854 with a stock 
of 25 fowls—a cross of the Shanghai with 
common barn-yard—which, so far as an ex¬ 
perience of three years has gone, seem to 
me to combine all the qualities that can be 
desired. From these I have obtained the 
past season, 2,042 eggs—sold for...$40,06 
Also raised 58 chickens—sold for... 28.47 
I have also accumulated manure val¬ 
ued at. 5.00 
My receipts thus averaging..$73.53 
Expended for food. 32.29 
Profit...$41.24 
From this, I have not made a further de¬ 
duction of $16.35, which includes the inter¬ 
est on house and other expenses not included 
therein, which reduces it to $24.89. 
For my own part I am fully satisfied that, 
on a large scale, with the prices of feed re¬ 
duced to their ordinary level, there is no 
other branch of business that can be more 
successfully cultivated by the farmer, both 
from the comparatively small amount of 
capital involved, the trifling loss likely to be 
incurred, and the ready market afforded to 
all such produce. 
I consider it a bad practice to leave much 
food lying about, and therefore never give 
more than I think will be eaten at the time. 
As often as three or four times a week in 
winter, and ofiener when the weather is se¬ 
verely cold, I have been in the habit of 
feeding a mixture of corn meal and refuse 
meat, chopped fine; if the latter is not to 
be obtained, potatoes boiled and mashed rvill 
answer as a substitute ; and, occasionally, a 
small quantity of pounded charcoal and lime 
with boiling water. This may be nothing 
new to many, but it is certainly very import¬ 
ant if you wish your hens to lay well through 
the winter. 
I may have more to say hereafter, with 
reference to breeding for the table, as to size, 
and quality of flesh, hoping some of your 
correspondents, who may have had experi¬ 
ence with reference to this part of the sub¬ 
ject, may be induced to impart it for the ben¬ 
efit of others, through the medium of your 
journal. W. A. T. 
SERAI-TAOOK, OR FOWLS OF THE SULTAN. 
As an addendum to the account of the 
Ptarmigan fowls, in our last number, written 
by our correspondent, “ W. H.,” we will 
give an extract from a letter received from 
Dr. Burney himself (with permission to pub¬ 
lish it), in September, 1853. 
“ I did not at first,” wrote Dr. Burney, 
“ place much value on them, as from their 
confinement on board ship, their beauty for 
some weeks or months was not observed in 
the old birds ; but being kept by themselves, 
their first hatch of chickens soon called forth 
the admiration of my neighbors, and induced 
me to* pay more attention to their merits, 
and I have no' hesitation in saying they are 
a most valuable addition to the domestic 
fowl of this country. They are elegant in 
shape, and very graceful in their actions, ex¬ 
cellent layers, and hardy in their nature. 
Their habits and appearance are those of 
the ptarmigan or grouse, being fond of feed¬ 
ing on berries and insects in the woods which 
surrounded my late residence,but when con¬ 
fined to a yard are contented and happy. 
As for beauty, they can not be surpassed, 
having splendid top-knots, profusely feath¬ 
ered legs, and vulture hocks.” 
Dr. Burney further mentioned that the 
eggs were of a good size, and the fowls very 
delicate for the table ; that they were good 
, sitters and mothers, having on several occa¬ 
sions hatched unusually large broods, and 
reared the chickens with care and success ; 
and that they were very hardy. He said 
that he had them from a gentleman who had 
been traveling in the north of Europe, and 
who had brought them to England withhim ; 
he supposed them to have come originally 
from Siberia. 
The Serai-Taook, or Sultan’s fowls, to 
which W. H. calls the attention of our read¬ 
ers, in concluding his account, were sent to 
us by a friend living at Constantinople, in 
January 1854. A year before we had sent 
him some Cochin China fowls, with which 
he was very much pleased ; and when his 
son soon after came to England, he said he 
could send from Turkey some fowls with 
which we should be pleased. Scraps of in¬ 
formation about muffs and divers beauties 
and decorations arrived before the fowls, 
and led to expectations of something much 
prettier than the pretty ptarmigan, in tvhich 
we had always noticed a certain uncertainty 
in tuft and comb. 
In January they arrived in a steamer 
chiefly manned by Turks, we should fancy 
much dirtier and in worse plight than the ar¬ 
rival at Mount Plym. The voyage had been 
long and rough, and poor fowls so rolled 
over and glued into one mass with filth were 
never seen. Months afterward, with the 
aid of one of the first fanciers in the country, 
we spent an hour trying to ascertain wheth¬ 
er the feathers of the cock were white or 
striped, and almost concluded that the last 
was the true state of the case, although they 
had been described by our friend as “ bellis- 
simi galli Bianchi.” 
We at once saw enough to make us very 
unwilling to be entirely dependent for the 
breed on the one sad-looking gentleman with 
his tuft heavy with dirt, dirt for a mantle, 
and his long, clogged tail hanging round on 
one side. We wrote directly for another im¬ 
portation, especially for a cock, and to ask 
the name they had at home. In answer to 
the first request, we found that good fowls of 
the kind are difficult to get there ; our friends 
have ever since been trying to get us two or 
three more, but can not succeed either in 
Constantinople, or other parts of Turkey ; 
the first he can meet with will be sent. With 
regard to the name, he told us they are 
called Serai-Taook : Serai, as, is known by 
every reader of eastern lore, is the name of 
the Sultan’s palace ; Taook is Turkish for 
fowl; the simplest translation of this is, 
“ Sultan’s fowls,” or “ fowls of the Sultan ;” 
a name which has the double advantage of 
being the nearest to be found to that by 
which they have been known in their own 
country, and of designating the country from 
which they came. 
Time very soon restored the fowls to per¬ 
fect health and partial cleanliness; but it 
was not until after the moulting season that 
they showed themselves as the “ bellissimi 
galli Bianchi ” described by our Constanti¬ 
nople friend. 
They are superior to the ptarmigan in 
general character, resembling rather our 
white Polands, but with more abundant fur¬ 
nishing, and shorter legs, which are vulture- 
hocked, and feathered to the toes. 
In general habits, they are much like other 
fowls, brisk, and happy-tempered; but not 
kept in as easily as-Cochin Chinas. They 
are very good layers ; their eggs are large 
and white ; they are non-sitters and small 
eaters. A grass run with them will remain 
green long after the crop would have been 
cleared by either Brahmas or Cochins, and 
with scattered food they soon become satis¬ 
fied, and walk away. 
They are the size of our English Poland 
fowls ; but it seems likely that the young 
ones will be rather larger. Their plumage 
is white andflowing. They have a full-sized, 
compact Poland tuft on the head ; are muffed, 
have a good flowing tail, short, well-feath¬ 
ered legs, and five toes upon each foot. One 
fowl which came over with them was exact¬ 
ly like the ptarmigan ; we have met with a 
very few such from Constantinople, but never 
saw any of exactly the same kind as our own 
Serai-Taook. [Poultry Chronicle. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
SHANGHAIS. 
In your paper of January 24. 1855, is an 
article on poultry, which contains these 
words : “A great improvement was observ¬ 
able in many of the choice breeds. The 
Shanghai, in particular, has been greatly 
benefitted by his change of country and 
home. He is gradually exchanging his mam¬ 
moth height and lank proportions for a size 
and form more comely, and is becoming a 
greater favorite with amateurs and breed¬ 
ers.” 
These observations are founded in error— 
on a false' appreciation of the qualities of the 
Shanghai fowl, and of all those long, gangling 
breeds, which Asia has from time to time 
sent here, for the benefit of us outside bar¬ 
barians. These breeds have been created 
by the Chinese for a special object, and are 
the result of long and persevering efforts on 
their part, in the same way and by the same 
means that choice breeds of cattle have been 
obtained, with a particular end in view— 
some for a precocious taking on of fat, oth¬ 
ers for milk, &c. 
