1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
113 
per would cloy the literary appetite of these no improve¬ 
ment farmers, and a pistareen would generally cover 
all their subscriptions for pious and charitable purpo¬ 
ses. Such wool-growers had rather pick a dead sheep 
than pay out a York six-pence for improvements in 
breeding animals or sheds. 
Now after all this Jong talk, I must confess my utter 
inability to answer either of the questions at the head 
-of this article, in a manner to satisfy even my own mind. 
I therefore leave it to others, to decide which is the most 
profitable course of farming, and make their own estimate 
of the cost of the articles they produce; being convinced 
they will feel justified or condemned, according to the 
greater or less amount of income produced from the ca¬ 
pital employed, J. S. Pettibone. Manchester , V £., 
Jan. 16, 1849. 
$l)£ JJottltrg Dark 
Varieties of the Domestic Fowl. 
The Dorking Fowl. —This breed takes its name 
from having been formerly bred chiefly in the neighbor¬ 
hood of Dorking, a town in Surrey, England. They 
were originally distinguished as having five toes to each 
foot, and as being of a white color. Their origin is 
not positively known. Some have supposed the breed 
to be of great antiquity, and in support of this hypo¬ 
thesis, have referred to the fact that five-toed fowls ex¬ 
isted anciently in Greece, as noticed by Aristotle, and 
that Pliny and Columella spoke of similar fowls being 
known in Italy in their day. But we do not see that 
there is the least evidence that those fowls were Dor¬ 
kings; or that the Dorkings have descended from them. 
Certainly, the circumstance of both having a supernu¬ 
merary toe, is of itself no proof of affinity of blood. 
It is by no means, a peculiarity confined to the Dor¬ 
kings.; the writer has in several instances seen it in the 
Polish, and in the Bantam breeds. There is no doubt 
that it is a mere freak of nature, similar to the produc-. 
tion of an extra finger or toe in some families of the 
human race. 
Arthur Young, in his Survey of Sussex, written in 
1813, says —“ The Dorking Fowls, as they are called, 
are reared in the weald of Sussex, but the finest mar¬ 
ket for them is Horsham. The five-clawed breed have 
been considered as the best sort; this, however is a 
great mistake, and it took its origin in some fowls with 
this peculiarity, that happened to be very large and fine, 
which laid the foundation of what has since been called 
the Dorking or five-clawed fowl. *** It i - a bastard 
breed.” 
Dickson, in his treatise on poultry, says of the Dor¬ 
king —“ It is very probable that this large breed is a 
cross between the Malay, or shack-back [shake-bag,] 
and the game variety.” The same idea is advanced by 
a writer in the Scottish Quarterly Journal of Agricul¬ 
ture, vol. VI. p. 381. Others have supposed the breed 
originated by a cross of the Malay and Poland, or 
Hamburgh fowl. 
Martin objects to the idea that the Dorking fowl is 
of Roman lineage, and observes that if it was of ancient 
introduction, it is surprising it should, until lately, have 
been so isolated in its locality. He alludes to the fact 
that five-toed fowls are found in Germany. 
But though the Dorking was formerly represented as 
a five-toed variety, and as being uniformly of a white 
color, many of the best known under that name of late 
years, have had only the customary number of toes, 
and have been of various colors. In fact it is stated by 
Martin, whose work was published in 1848, that those 
of a white color are now seldom seen.” He adds— 
u During a recent visit of some weeks to Dorking, 
though we visited the market regularly, and explored 
the country round, on one or two occasions only did we 
meet with pure white birds. In all, however, more or 
less white prevailed; but the cloudings and markings of 
the plumage were unlimited. Many were, as we ob¬ 
served, marked with bands or bars of ashy gray, run¬ 
ning into each other at their paler margins.” Those 
which he saw, had the five claws; but Dickson and se¬ 
veral other writers state that many have only the ordi¬ 
nary number. Such is also the case with many we have 
seen that were bred from imported stock. 
In size, the Dorking ranks next to the Malay tribe. 
It is short-legged, and large-bodied, and readily accu¬ 
mulates flesh, which is of good quality. The hens are 
good layers. The breed has been introduced from Eng¬ 
41 —BOLTON GREY, OR CREOLE FOWLS 
land, and has been bred in this country for several years. 
They have succeeded well in many instances, though we 
think they are generally more subject to disease when 
young, and have less hardiness of constitution, than some 
other varieties. 
The Sussex fowls, which are said to be more or less 
crossed with the Dorking, are considered some of the 
finest in England. They are described as longer in the 
body than the Dorking, and as equalling them in 
weight. 
The Bolton Grey, or Creole Fowl. —This is a 
very handsome variety, the origin of which we are un¬ 
able to trace. The writer first saw it upwards of thir¬ 
ty years ago, under the name of the u Leghorn breed.” 
In size, the Creoles are rather less than the ordinary 
game fowl. Their bodies are round and plump; legs 
short, sometimes yellow, occasionally lead-colored; 
heads small, finely turned, and generally surmounted 
with rose combs. The best of the variety have the 
neck-feathers pure white, those of the body white, with 
small black spots, sometimes running into a grizzle; the 
tail-feathers darker, with transverse black bars. The 
tails of the hens are unusually elevated, and are spread 
out, like a fan, during the laying season. They are 
chiefly esteemed as layers. It is one of the most orna¬ 
mental varieties we know. 
The Bantam Fowl. —The origin of this variety, as 
we have shown from Martin, (see current vol. pp. 18, 
19,) is the Bankiva jungle-fowl; and it received its 
name from having been brought from a district or town 
in Java, called Bantam. 
These fowls are the least in size of all the gallinace¬ 
ous tribe. There are several varieties. Some have 
the legs plumed with long feathers, d<3wn to the toes; 
but the clean-legged varieties are usually most esteem¬ 
ed. There is a very handsome variety which is often 
red, with a black breast. But the most celebrated 
breed, is that known as Sir John Sebright’s (fig. 42.) 
