AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
333 
1872 .] 
The White Dorkings. 
Some twenty years ago, more or less, when 
the memorable “lien fever” was on, the Dork¬ 
ings were among the prime favorites. At that 
time, the now popular Asiatic breeds were 
scarcely known, save in 
the gigantic, grotesque, 
and altogether useless 
Shanghae. There are 
Gray, Fawn-colored, and 
even Black Dorkings, but 
these are all believed to 
have been produced by the 
crossing of the original 
White Dorking upon other 
breeds. How the Dork¬ 
ings originated is not 
known, but all poultry 
authorities agree that they 
are a very old English 
breed, and that the stand¬ 
ard plumage is white. 
The pure Dorkings are 
of a clear white, or it may 
be a slight cream-color 
throughout, the legs white, 
with perhaps a rosy 
tinge, and a rose comb, 
broad at the front, ending 
with a raised point behind, 
and no depression in the 
center. The breed in 
whatever color presents 
the extra or fifth toe, and 
in well-bred fowls this does 
not appear as a monstrosity, but is perfectly de¬ 
veloped. The Dorkings are good layers when 
3 r oung, but not good winter layers. The great 
merit of the breed consists in the quality of the 
flesh. As a table bird the Dorking is excellent. 
Belted Kingfisher. —(Geryle Alcyon , Boie.) 
BT ERNEST INGER30LL. 
The design of much of classic mythology 
seems to have been to account for the appear¬ 
ance of favorite 
animals upon the 
earth. Prominent 
among these, and 
one of the most 
beautiful, is the 
touching story of 
Alcyone, the fond 
wife, who, await¬ 
ing the return of 
her husband from 
his long voyage, 
one day beholds 
his dead body toss¬ 
ing in the surf. 
Overwhel m e d 
with grief, she 
springs to catch 
him from the sea, 
but ere she touches 
the water she is 
changed into a 
Kingfisher, a n d 
with her husband, 
alike transformed, 
she glides away 
over the billows. 
Many a time after 
were they seen resting upon old Ocean’s 
bosom, and whatever the violence of the storm, 
around lheir nest the sea was ever tranquil. 
What wonder that the mariners protected 
and venerated Alcj-oue, the Kingfisher! 
But for these old fables, we have no room. 
Over the winds and waves the humble King¬ 
fisher of our day has no control. Its nest is 
neither constructed of glue nor fish-bones] nor 
is it thrown on the surface of the water to float 
THE BELTED KING-FISHER.—( Ccvylc AldyOH.) 
about with its proprietor at random, but is 
snugly secured from the winds and the weather 
in the recesses of the earth. Nor, as of old, do 
even the most illiterate of our rustics or seamen 
believe its head or feathers a charm for love, a 
protection against witchcraft, or a security for 
fair weather. “It is neither venerated like the 
Kingfishers of the Society Isles, nor dreaded 
like those of some other countries; but is con¬ 
sidered merely as a bird that feeds on fish, is 
generally fat, relished by some as good eating, 
WHITE DORKINGS—ROSE COMB. 
and is now and then exposed for sale in our 
markets.” 
The Belted Kingfisher is one of two of its 
kind in North America, but the family has many 
representatives elsewhere, particularly in Aus¬ 
tralia, where a common variety, styled by 
the colonists the “Laughing Jackass,” makes 
the woods ring with his hoarse cachinations. 
Our friend ranges all over the United States, 
from the Rio Grande to Labrador, and probably 
inhabits the Bahamas. 
In the northern portions 
of the Union he is migra¬ 
tory, flying away to the 
South on the approach 
of winter, and returning 
by easy stages in the 
spring as fast as the ice 
thaws in the rivers. Yet 
they do not altogether 
follow the river-courses, 
but often fly straight 
across the country thirty 
or forty miles, their flight 
consisting of a series of 
six or seven slopes, fol¬ 
lowed by a long slide on 
motionless wings. Thus 
progressing, they reach 
us by the first of April in 
ordinary seasons, and lose 
but little time before pair¬ 
ing. A mate is soon 
found, and together they 
seek out a soft, steep bank, 
at the base of which is a 
meadow brook or larger 
stream. They ask but two 
conditions—that the earth 
be easily worked, and that 
water be near. In such a spot they dig a straight, 
sometimes winding hole, three or four iqches in 
diameter, and from two to ten feet in depth, 
near the enlarged extremity of which a little 
carpeting of loose grass and feathers constitutes 
their nest. The eggs are usually six in number, 
nearly round, and of a most beautiful whiteness. 
The Kingfisher ranks among the most bril¬ 
liant of our birds, though his great head, short 
wings, stumpy tail, and little sparrow-like feet 
are sadly out of symmetry iu their proportions. 
We all know him, 
with his high, 
brave crest, blue 
coat, and chestnut 
vest, and admire 
him, too, as he 
shakes the glisten¬ 
ing drops from his 
plumage, and looks 
sharply down from 
some high sj'ca- 
more, ready for a 
new r victim. See 
how sharply he 
glances, and woe 
to the luckless 
fish who swims 
under the range 
of his piercing 
eye ! There ! he 
sees one. And 
down he goes until 
a swift, circular 
plunge. Splash! 
into the water. 
Ah! he has it. But 
the shining scales 
glitter but an in¬ 
stant before they are gulped down, and he is 
eager for another. Mill-dams and cataracts are 
favorite resorts of the Kingfisher, and here you 
may see him in some out-of-the-wuiy place, be- 
