76 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
sauerkrout and lager-beer on Charlotte—a pair of 
well fed, able bodied people. They had thirteen 
children, physically as fine a family, probably, as 
existed in England. They grew up well developed 
specimens of humanity, sons and daughters alike, 
perfect in animal faculty—their superfluity of 
brains interposing no bar to physical maturity. 
True, idleness, dissipation, and unbounded indul¬ 
gence spoiled their animal faculties in time, as 
such influences, unchecked, would spoil anybody, 
until by a fortunate marriage of one of the sons 
—the Duke of Kent—with another German cou¬ 
sin, the present sensible, sound and healthy queen 
sprung ; and she, by a marriage with still another 
German cousin, is likely to people her various pal¬ 
aces with a progeny as numerous, if not as phy¬ 
sically stalwart, as those of her domestic old 
grandmother Charlotte. Mr. Clay’s “ analogy ” 
does not work well in this case, and a stronger 
one I can not bring to mind against myself, and 
in his favor, arising from the exceedingly artificial 
life of the examples. We both believe in good 
keep, and good care in animals, as well as in men 
and women. I now come to Mr. Clay’s argu¬ 
ment : 
2d. “ Experience .” “ The in-and-in theory re¬ 
jects selection.” Not at all, as I stated it; but 
on the other hand, as practiced by good and suc¬ 
cessful breeders, it demands the very nicest se¬ 
lection. Its rules are : perfect- health, sound consti¬ 
tution, xoilh the very best animal organization to be 
found. With such specimens, breed them to¬ 
gether, let the blood relation be what it may, and 
perfection or as near its attainment as possible, 
is the result. Mr. Clay mistakes my meaning 
when he understands me to say that commonly, 
men breed indiscriminately. I only allude to 
those who breed “common” stock of any kind, 
not “blood” animals. I am well aware that 
breeders of choice animals do select, and select 
closely, out of the line of in-and-in breeding ; yet it 
may oftentimes occur that they could breed still 
better animals, if, when possessed of superior sires 
and dams, they would breed them together longer 
and closer than they do. For instance, when the 
Scioto Valley Cattle Company brought out their 
first importation of Short-Horns, in the year 1834, 
among which were four or five very fine animals, 
strongly in-bred with Mr. Bates’ celebrated 
“ Duchess ” blood, would not that company have 
done much better to have bred that blood closely 
in-and-in for a while—the bulls and cows together 
—instead of crossing their cows which possessed 
it with the coarser and less highly bred bulls they 
bought of Whittaker and others? I have no 
doubt of it; for so strong was that “ Duchess ” 
blood, and so tenaciously did its appearance des¬ 
cend in the produce, that animals in the third and 
fourth generation of “ out-and-out ” breeding 
have been readily detected by persons familiar 
with that blood in Mr. Bates’ hands, without any 
knowledge of how they were bred since imported, 
although these descendants were from inferior 
crosses of other bulls, in every instance, and not 
equal in quality to the originals. The very beauty 
of the system of in-and-in breeding, when strictly 
fc'lowed, is the compactness and point in which 
the good blood is concentrated in the beast, giv¬ 
ing him, or her, the power to impart it strongly 
into their offspring. I admit, with Mr. Clay, that 
people commonly think “ they select the best calf, 
pig, or colt for breeding,” according to their own 
rule of judgment; but in “ nine cases out of ten 
what is that judgment good for ?” We shall not 
differ in this conclusion, I fancy. 
3d. “ Special proof." When Mr. Clay tells us 
“ the Campbells are coming” with their enormous 
hogs to the Cincinnati markets, “ which have never 
been beaten," the assertion is too vague. I want 
to know what beats; whether it be size alone, 
quality of meat, and cheapness in producing it, or 
what standard of excellence predominates. The 
position is not sufficiently defined to need further 
remark from me, and unexplained, it must go for 
nothing. 
4th. “ False proof." I will explain to Mr. Clay 
that, by “a late day,” I mean yesterday, or last 
year, if he pleases. I do not admit that the 
“ studbook” breeders “ have changed their prac¬ 
tice.” If he is “not familiar" with those 
volumes, as he says, I commend him to their 
study, and he will see how many of the celebrated 
English blood horses have been bred. As to the. 
Kentucky horses, I will not dispute him, for I am 
willing to admit, with the old Kentucky field 
preacher, when at a camp-meeting, and exhorting 
his audience to a better life, he told them that 
their reward would be in a future world “ which 
in beauty and luxuriance approached nearer to 
‘Old Kentucky,’ than any other illustration of bliss, 
he could give !” In that unsurpassed valley of 
some sixty by forty miles in area, of which Lex¬ 
ington is near the geographical centre, where, on 
its luxuriant soil, blue-grass pastures, race-horses, 
and short-horn cattle are permanent institutions, 
and “ fair women and brave men ” abound, they 
can and do perform almost anything in the horse 
line; but, Kentucky does not comprise all the 
world—even in “ making the best time.” I have 
a word to say in my next as to the “ in-and-in ” 
bl’ood of some of the “Kentucky horses.” 
But, Mr. Editor, I have already exhausted more 
space than I fear you can spare ; and as Mr. 
Clay’s further arguments bring me to the point 
where I left off in January, I may ask permis¬ 
sion of you to reply further in a future number. 
Hamburg Fowls. 
The family of Hamburg fowls are quite numer- 
oue. They have as many names as the Spanish 
Don, who knocked at the cottage-dooi to ask for 
a night’s lodging. “ Who is there ? What do you 
want?” said the inmates. “ Don Juan Jose Pe¬ 
dro Antonio Carlos Jeromio, etc., etc., wants to 
sleep here to-night.” “ Get along with you,” was 
the reply, “ how should we find room here for so 
many fellows ?” The Hamburg fowl is in the 
same position as the Spanish Don. They have 
such names as : the Silver and Golden Penciled, 
Silver and Golden Spangled, Golden and Silver 
Pheasant, Coral, Chittipratts, Creoles, Bolton 
Greys, Bolton Bays, Penciled Dutch, Dutch every 
day layers, Everlasting layers, etc., etc. They are 
called Creole from their intermixture of the black 
and white ; Bolton Greys from their being ex¬ 
tensively cultivated in and about Bolton, a town 
of that name in England. Why they are called 
Coral, it is difficult to say, unless it is on account 
of the numerous points of the polished, bright 
scarlet rose-comb, which bear no distinct resem¬ 
blance to grains of red coral; Penciled Dutch, be¬ 
cause many are imported from Holland. They 
are known in various localities as Pheasant fowls, 
from the resemblance of their spangled feathers, 
especially in the case of some of the hens, to 
those of the cock pheasant; Dutch every day 
layers, Everlasting layers, etc., for their great 
productiveness as layers. 
The Hamburg fowls, when pure bred, are com¬ 
monly looked upon as “ everlasting layers.” The 
term “ everlasting ” receives its name from the 
circumstance, that if properly fed and kept in a 
warm situation, and protected against cold, they 
will continue to lay throughout the whole of the 
year, or nearly so, and thus afford an unfailing 
supply of eggs. Fowls in general, after laying for 
a certain length of time, become “ broody ”—they 
cease to lay, and evince an uncontrollable desire, 
an instinctive propensity to devote themselves to 
the task of incubation ; but in the present breed, 
in which the season of laying is preternaturally 
lengthened out, or is almost continuous from 
Spring to Spring, (excepting the time of moult¬ 
ing), this natural desire is greatly weakened, or 
indeed altogether subdued. The hen betrays but 
little anxiety to incubate, and continues to lay 
eggs as if for no other purpose than to repay her 
keeper. It is not often that the pure “ everlast¬ 
ing laying ” fowls are to be found, and this ren¬ 
ders it the more desirable that those who possess 
the true breeds, should sedulously preserve them 
from admixture ; a cross will generally spoil the 
hens as “ everlasting layers,” without rendering 
them enduring, patient sitters. 
As layers, they are fully entitled to rank among 
the best egg-producers. The hens, if young, con¬ 
tinue to lay nearly throughout the year, but the 
eggs, which are white, are small, weighing only 
11 ounces each. As they are such abundant 
layers, they have no time, or seldom want to sit 
So rare is it for them to desire to do so, that all 
authorities I have consulted, say they never want 
to sit, consequently other hens have to be resort¬ 
ed to for hatching their chicks, and perpetuating 
their race. The hens to which their eggs are to 
be confided, should be some light active breed ; 
none being more suitable for that purpose than a 
game hen. 
At from five to six months old they are fit for 
table use, and though small, their bones being 
formed in the same proportion, they yield a fail 
quantity of white, tender, and well flavored meat. 
Their cost of food would be that of the smaller 
fowls generally ; this would allow liberal feeding 
when given in addition to a good run, but as they 
are rather impatient of restraint, and have a 
roaming disposition, they are too often left to 
cater for themselves. 
Both sexes continue to improve in appearance 
after each molt, until they are three years old. 
Birds one year old have never attained their per¬ 
fect beauty ; this is especially apparent in the 
more ample development of the tail feathers ot 
the cock, as he becomes older. —. 
The Golden Spangled Hamburg cock, (which is 
portrayed in the engraving presented herewith), 
is a perfectly beautiful bird; nothing but a full 
sized drawing, colored, can give an adequate idea 
of the extremely rich coloring and brilliant lustre 
of his plumage. The hen displays the peculiar 
markings much more distinctly than her lord. 
The ground color is a buff yellow, bay, or maroon, 
and the feathers marked at the tips with a black 
crescent or horse-shoe shape—when the spangles 
are of the crescent form, the plumage may have 
a gayer and lighter aspect, but when the spangle 
is oval or circular, the plumage is richer to the 
eye. 
