1883 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
565 
Prize Specimens of Poultry. 
This season is the most favorable for stocking 
the poultry yard either with old favorites, or by the 
introduction of new breeds of fowls or poultry. As 
a rule it is poor policy to buy old fowls. Chickens 
one can be certain about; early hatched ones have 
nearly their full maturity of form, if not of weight, 
and their excellence in point of both form and 
feather can never be better judged than now. 
In the accompanying engraving we present a 
group of standard varieties of poultry, and even 
among the most valued and vaunted modern ones, 
it would be hard to find better. These breeds 
are characteristically English, even though the 
most prominent fowl, the dark hen in the fore- 
dure our winters well, but this does not essentially 
interfere with their greatest usefulness in our yards. 
A growing practice, and one to be warmly com¬ 
mended, is that of placing a flue male bird of some 
pure breed at the head of a yard of half breed or 
mongrel fowls. For this purpose the Dorking 
stands pre-eminent, and the Gray is superior to the 
White. The “ fancy ” Silver Gray Dorking, though 
J very beautiful, is not superior in any useful point. 
The Dorkings all have the “ flat-iron ” form, al¬ 
most as perfectly as the Games, a large development 
of breast, and, as already said, small bones. The 
two white hens in the foreground are Rose-combed 
White Dorkings. They never average quite so 
large or heavy as the Grays, but possess their other 
excellent points, with pure white plumage. The 
meaty, but their meat is largely in those muscles 
exercised in walking — the brown meat — while the 
white meat, which marks the muscles used in fly¬ 
ing, from lack of use, is not proportionately devel¬ 
oped. In this particular they are like other Asiatic 
fowls, which they also resemble in the abundance 
of their fluffy feathers and feathered legs and feet. 
This excess of feathering makes them less depen¬ 
dent upon warm weather or warm housing for 
thrift and comfort. Thus they are good winter 
layers — Asiatics and their crosses—the best we 
have, while for size, rapid growth, and early fitness 
for market, they are second to do other breed 
The Poland fowls are, in all varieties, persistent 
layers, rarely sitting, and showing no tendency to 
do so until two or three years old. They have so. 
A GROUP OF PRIZE POULTRY. 
Drawn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
ground, is a Dark Brahma, and the two top- 
knotted fowls are called Polands. As to the Brah¬ 
mas, the Dark originated in England, and the Light 
in the United States. As we now breed them, they 
are not known in India, and never were .—White 
Poland fowls are those with peculiar and exceed¬ 
ingly large top-knots, and have no more to do 
than have pole-beans with Poland and the Poles, 
The Gray Dorking , represented in the picture 
by the fine large cock with pencilled neck hackle, 
is the noblest and most useful of English breeds. 
Like Shorthorn cattle, they are the pride of English 
breeders, and combine quickness of growth and 
excellence as broilers and as table fowls, while at j 
the same time they are good layers and exemplary 
inferior to the Asiatics, while the quality of their 
flesh, their small, firm bones, and the distribution 
of the flesh upon the most valued parts, places 
them practically first among useful breeds of fowls. 
They have had the reputation in this country of 
being tender, or at least not hardy enough to en- 
skin of all three varieties of the Dorking is pale 
—nearly white—their legs and feet flesh-colored, 
and they have, as an undesirable peculiarity, a use¬ 
less fifth toe upon both feet, clearly seen in the 
engraving. This is practically a blemish, but in¬ 
asmuch as without this it would be no Dorking, it 
becomes in the breeder’s estimation the most es¬ 
sential and valued point. English and French epi¬ 
cures, whom, in most things, we follow with im¬ 
plicit gastronomic faith, prefer fowls with white 
skins, like the Dorking, the Houdan, etc., while in 
our markets, rich, yellow-skinned and yellow¬ 
legged fowls sell best, and the wisest in matters 
of gustatory taste deny that the color of the skin 
marks any difference in the flavor of the bird. 
Returning to the Anglo-Asiatic fowl, we find in 
the Dark Brahma very similar color and markings 
of the' plumage to those exhibited by the Gray 
Dorking. This has led many to suspect a direct, 
though remote, Dorking cross ; but it is not likely, 
as the fifth toe never appears. These fowls are of 
the largest size, compact, solid, well formed, and 
long been delicately reared pets, that they are 
more famous for beauty of plumage and extrava¬ 
gance of top-knot, than even as layers, hence are 
really delicate birds, and to rear them with success, 
they need a continuance of the same solicitous 
care. In the background of the picture is seen the 
head of a white Poland cock,and behind the Brahma 
a singularly beautiful Silver-spangled Poland hen. 
So much for the fowls shown in this artistically 
arranged and beautiful group. The ducks are of 
that peculiarly English breed, the Aylesbury —an 
old breed, most excellent and beautiful, prolific, 
and profitable. It originated near the town whose 
name it bears, and is now bred all over the world, 
but to perfection only where pure running water 
and clean gravel abound. The bodies of these ducks 
are long and deep, resembling the hull of a fore-and- 
aft schooner, but fuller and more rounding in the 
bows. The heads arc neat and straight, from poll 
to end of beak. The beaks are flesh-colored, and 
the pinker the better. In the show-ring any shade 
of yellow in the beak disqualifies from competi- 
