fEntered according to Act ot Congreae. Hi the year 1874, by the Itural Publishing Company, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
®he fjaultipr gitijd. 
THE POULTBY-KEEPEB.-No. 3. 
THE PLUMAGE. 
With the hen there may be three kinds of 
feathers distinguished—1, the large feathers 
on the wings for flying, und on the rump to 
form the tail; 2, the middle- 
sized feathers, which cover over 
the large feathers und are also 
found on the wing and rump ; I 
3, the small feathers which VL'a- 
cover the neck, the back, the jnkm 
sides, the throat, the shoulders, dflflffj 
and a part of the w ings. They 
are all of various sizes and Q. - 
forms In each of the three 
kinds of feather.-*. They are /'// 
always in layers compactly eov- j 
ering those beneath them like vR 
tiles. We shall designate them rjR 
by the name of the places they ’w 
occupy, or the position they 
hold, and will refer to the en¬ 
gravings to render them easy to 
recognize (Figs, 6, 7, 8 and 9). 
The letters of reference correspond with 
those of the four engravings, so that if one 
explanation is hardly clear, it helps and is 
helped by the other. 
A. The upper feathers of the head are very 
small in those fowls not tufted. They sur¬ 
round the Bkull. 
B. Tile underneath feathers of the head 
are almost like bristles. They cover the 
cheeks in the space which separates on the 
wattles. 
C. The upper feathers and those at the 
back of the neck are short and lengthening 
lower down, forming what is called the 
hackle. They become longer between the 
shoulders whore they cover the beginning of 
those on the back and the 
commencement of the 
wings. 
I). The front feathers of 
the neck extend from the 
lop of tile neck to the 
breast and over the large 
feathers. 
E. The feathers of the 
back, forming a layer 
about 0.10. These feathers 
of the same nature as those L_ 
of the neck but a little 
larger, and form the sad- , 
die. <*■ 
F. The feathers of the S_ - 
breast cover the entire jj [I 
length of the two breast 
muscles, extending beyond 
the breastbone on each ili 
side and uniting at its end. V- 
The whole forms what is 
termed the breast. These 
feathers, conjointly with X ^ 
the feathers of the loins, • 
overlap those of the sides. T--" 
O. The feathers on the - 
sides cover the loins, tak- C— 
ing In the back as far as 
the rump, which they go 
beyond and cover the C———— 
iower part of the feathers V ^ a 
of the tail. They also 
cover the commencement 
of the feathers of the 
flanks, thighs and abdo¬ 
men. 
H. The feathers of the 
flanks are light and fluffy. They cover the 
upper part of the thigh feathers and slip 
under those of the breast. 
I. The feathers of the abdomen cover and 
envelop all this part from the end of the 
breast to the rump. These feathers are gen¬ 
erally fluffy, of a silky nature and spread out 
iu a tuft. 
J. The outside feathers of the thigh cover 
those of the abdomen and leg. 
K. The inside feathers of the thigh are 
flattened and of a silky nature. 
L. The outside and inside feathers of the 
leg stop at the heel, or in some varieties they 
proceed lower and form what are called ruf¬ 
fles or vulturad hocks. 
M. The feathers of the feet or sole are long, 
short, or entirely absent in the different va¬ 
rieties. Thbso feathers are along the shank 
in either one or several rows. They are al¬ 
ways on the outside part. 
N. The feathers of the toes appear on the 
outsides. 
O. The middle tail feathers envelope the 
rump and cover the bases of the large feath¬ 
ers of the tail. 
P. The large tail feathers are in a regular 
line of seven on each side of the rump and 
form the tail. 
Q. The outside feathers of the shoulder 
cover a part of the other feathers of the 
wing. They form the shoulder. 
R. The inside feathers of the shoulder are 
small, thin and slender. 
S. The large feathers of the pinion form 
where the wing is opened a large, arched sur- 
Fio. 9. 
race and are of different sizes. These feuth- 
ers grow out of the under side of the pinion. 
T. The small, outside feathers of the pin¬ 
ion. These feathers are of different sizes. 
They come on all the outside surfaces from 
the shoulder to the pinion. They begin quite 
small on the outside edge, and finish a me¬ 
dium size on the under edge. 
U. The inside feathers of the pinion are 
close, middle-sized uud small, covering the 
bases of the large feathers of the pinion. 
V. The large flight feathers or feathers of 
the hand are large and strong, and are of 
most use to the bird in locomotion. They 
begin at the under edge of that which is 
called the top of the wing. 
Fig. 6. 
Fig. 7. 
X. The outside flight-feathers cover the 
large ones ; thoy are stiff and well flattened 
on the others. 
Y. The inside flight feathers are some small 
and others medium-sized, cover the bases of 
the flight feathere. 
Z. An appendix called the pommol of the 
wing, which represents the Angered part. It 
is at the joint of the pinlou, and has some 
middle-sized feathers of the same descrip¬ 
tion as the large pinion feath¬ 
ers, and have some small ones 
to cover them. These feathers 
assist in tho flight. 
When the whole wing is fold- 
G<3, alm09taU the feathers are 
hidden by the large feathers of 
vJ\ the pinion aad middle external 
fcatllers - Th -« classification of 
khu feathers of the ooek are 
‘ the same as those of the hen, 
but the forma of some of them 
ure different. With the cock 
{ the feathers which form the 
huckle are line, fine-pointed, 
lengthened, displayed like a 
maue on the shoulders, and cov¬ 
ering a part of the breast 
and the feathers behind the 
neck. Those of the back are very much 
of the same forms as in the hen. Those of 
the loins are also similar, but become larger 
as they approach the rump, hiding the ab¬ 
domen and covering the thighs with pendant, 
long-pointed feathers. The middle feathers 
of the wing-coverts, without being pointed, 
participate of this nature. Tho middle feath¬ 
ers covering the tail change completely in 
form and size, being in the cock larger. They 
ure of different proportions, and have all a 
semi-circular und drooping form. The two 
largest are called the great sickles ; the oth¬ 
ers are called middle und small sickles. There 
are different groups of feathers of which the 
following is a description : 
Top-knot or c.rent.— A 
considerable tuft of feath¬ 
ers either straight or 
drooping, placed on the top 
of the skull, aud differing 
in 'arrangement according 
to the breed. 
Half Top-Knot. —Com¬ 
posed of the same kind of 
feathers, but less than the 
full topknot. 
Tuft. —A little tuft of 
short feathers, firm, 
straight, or a little droop¬ 
ing, occupying the same 
— i place. 
Whiskers. — Tufts of 
a small feathers pointed or 
Jh|\ rounded, generally turned 
mi U P» encircling the cheeks 
anrJ reuniting underneath 
Wt'imJ th0 betlk ' 
fjj fJy5s A variet y° f colors and 
patterns beloug to each 
race, and are increased by 
'j V combinations in crossings. 
However, with patience 
M_.- we may easily have an idea 
U of the plumage of each 
variety, by examining 
separately a feather from 
each part of the body. We 
never And, it is true, a 
feather identically similar 
in its details to that which 
has been taken as a model, 
forasmuch as nature never 
makes two objects ex- 
NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N. Y„ JULY 11, 1874. 
1 PRICE ®X3C CENTS. 
I $3.30 PEIt YEAR. 
VOL. XXX. No. 2.1 
WHOLE No. 1376. i 
r#wlwTHl'; 
