Fkbruauy 
THE COTTAGE GAEDENER. 
n.')! 1 
quM-ios as to wlietlier tTie inflammatoi^ action might not 
liave been occasioned by the over production of eggs, &c., 
and the other from Mr. Shepperd, wliicb appeared at page 
dt't. It appears tliat the lieu was an extraordinary layer, 
and that tlio disease was not caused by her being prevented 
from sitting, or by over-stimulating food. 
With regard to Mr. Shepyierd’s letter, I must beg to st.ate 
that 1 entirely differ from him; that such a structural disease, 
as a cartilaginous thickening of an internal organ, could be 
cured by placing the patient before the tire, is utterly 
opposed to all medical experience. 
That one grain of calomel and one-twelfth of a grain of 
tartar emetic killed the hen, I also decline to believe ; 
inasmuch, as I have repeatedly given those doses to hens 
laying soft eggs from intiammation of the oviduct, and in 
every case have had hard eggs laid on the second or third 
day after. 
I It is useless to talk of leaving diseases to nature as long 
j as hens are kept in unnatural conditions; the natural 
position for a hen is to live in a warm climate, in the open 
air; to obtain her own natural food by moderate exercise; to 
lay only as many eggs as she can cover and sit; then diseases 
do not occur, and the animal dies of old age, or becoming 
decropid is destroyed by a beast of prey. 
I I agree, however, with the writer, that “ half the people 
who complain would get well without a physician,” be¬ 
cause they complain when nothing is the matter with 
them ; but althoirgh I have paid very considerable attention 
to sick poultry, I have never yet seen a hen with hypochon¬ 
driasis. 
I may mention a circumstance which has just occun-ed in 
my own yard, in corroboration of what I have said so re¬ 
peatedly respecting over feetling. My Grey Dorking pullets, 
hatched in May and June, have been laying very well since 
Christmas, some are now sitting, and will hatch before the 
end of January, they are fed most freely on barley, oats, 
meal, and rice. A few days since, I tried the experiment of 
giving them some greaves, and the result has been, that all 
the June pullets have been laying soft and imperfect eggs ; 
some malformed, containing no yolk, otlicrs merely yolk, 
Ac., and this morning I picked up one on the grass IJI 
inches long, tapering to eaeli end, quite soft, without any 
yolk ; thus proving that a very considerable portion of the 
oviduct was in a state of unnatural irritation, and which 
I have no doubt I can remedy immediately, by giving 
each one a teaspoonful of castor - oil mixed up with 
some dry barley-meal, in which form it is taken readily. 
—W. D. TEGETiiEiEr., Tottenham. 
PEA-EOWL. 
Ix the present day, when fowls of various kinds are 
fetching high prices, and much care is required to rear 
them, it appears singular that the Peacock family are 
not more considered. It is tine, they pick >the early buds 
in the garden, but tliat mischief might be guarded against 
at less expense, perhaps, than is required for the erection 
of poultry-houses. I am quite sure they would repay the 
possessor ; they require no attention, and are not voracious, 
very independent in their habits, choosing their roosting 
places in the highest trees, from whence the winter snows, 
winds, and rain, never chases them. A tine pair of these 
regal birds was presented to myself, with instructions not to 
take any further trouble about them, beyond keeping the 
young from the cock bird for the first fortnight after hatch¬ 
ing, after which time they would be able to take care of 
tliemselves. In the month of June the lien bird introduced 
a tine little liearty family of five to my admiring gaze. 
Strictly ibllowing the caution given, I enclosed the mother 
and her brood, feeding them ivith the pheasant ant and 
eggs. Confinement was evidently distasteful to them, and 
at the end of the given time, when I released her, she 
liiirried away with her young to the open field, in search of 
their natural food, insects and flies, bringing them home to 
their roosting place in the evening. Prom that moment aU 
care on my part was at an end. The iiarent birds were 
quite tame when given to me, and I have kept them so hy 
letting them feed out of my hand; the young birds became 
tamo also, coming to my call from any distance. Beyond 
now and then throwing them bits of bread, and a small ■ 
quantity of barley, I took no trouble to fatten them for the 
table ; and the following spring two of the young birds, 
when killed, were in excellent condition, and were pro¬ 
nounced by all who partook of them to be high-llavoured 
and excellent, having the noble appearance of the turkey, 
with the high gamey flavour of the pheasant. This summer 
I have left the hen to enjoy her liberty with her young, and 
find that she is quite equal to take the entire management 
of her brood: carefully did she avoid the haunts of tin* 
older birds ; and I shall, for the future, leave her to herself. 
Instinct directs her, and the IVisdom that provides for the 
safety of the meanest of his creatures has taught the 
mother how to secure her young. As a mother, the Pea¬ 
hen is far more interesting than the common fowl. She is j 
so gentle, is never disturbed if you apiproach her young; 
there is none of the noisy clucking of the hen, no scratch- I 
iug, and no bustle; she is quiet and graceful in her move j 
ments, and an elegant appendage to the lawn. I wish f ; 
may be a means of inducing others to rear this beautiful ■ 
and excellent bird.—Jvxo. 
VISITS TO SOME OF THE CHIEF POULTRY 
YARDS OF ENGLAND.-No. 5. 
(Penzance.) 
(^Concluded from page 310.) 
In the adjoining parish of Gulval, there are several 
gentlemen who have giveir their attention to poultry, and 
are possessed of some valuable specimens of the diflerent 
varieties. Now, it should be a matter of rejoicing to poultiy- 
keepers, that taste and opinion difler so much in this as in 
other pmrsuits; were we all to assign the palm of merit to 
Cochin-China, Spanish, or any other single race, the charm 
of variety would fail us, and probably, also, we should expo 
rience far less pfleasure and interest when we thus lost tho 
opportunity of comparing the conflicting merits of the nu¬ 
merous camhdates for our good opinion. Thus, 3Ir. Grenfell 
has fortunately selected the Hamburghs for his especial fa¬ 
vourites, and possesses capital buds of both the Silver-pen¬ 
cilled and Silver-spangled varieties. The latter apipear, per 
haps, rattier more robust, as to form,but as regards laying, and 
other points, he considers the merits of the two very much on 
a par. (The term spangled, as opposed to pencilled, implies, 
that instead of the light longitudinal markings of the latter, 
the spangled bird has the extremity of each feather, more 
especially on the wings and tail, barred or dotted with black.) 
In every case, a full rose-comb, terminating in a point, must 
be weU-developed, and this, with the white or yellow of the 
ground contrastuig clearly with its darker tints, is always 
requisite for a perfect specimen. These are excellent layers, 
and readily raised. No fowl, be it observed, possesses a 
larger number of synonyms—Moonies, Bolton Greys, Moss 
fowls, Chitteprats, and many others, belong to them. Mr. 
Grenfell possesses also some very good tlame fowls, which 
were sent to him from Norfolk, but these are necessarily 
kepit at a distant farm. Their indomitable spirit corapiels 
their banishment from the abodes of all other kinds of 
poultry. Mr. Thomas Itoscoe, who in former days supier- 
intended the famous breed of Game fowls at Knowsley, no 
mean authority, tells us, that “ I have known tliem fre¬ 
quently attack men, dogs, calves, pigs, turkeys, and geese; 
and a single bird has killed seven of its opponents in one 
day, while lighting in our trial mains at Knowsley.” 
At Gulval vicarage, the Ilev. W. W. Wingfield has given 
his attention principally to Cochin-Chinas, regarding them 
as the race most likely to bo ultimately kept with profit by 
the cottager and farmer of this district. For this purpose, 
he considers it essential to have compact, robust birds, 
adhering closely in this respect to the opinion of The Cot¬ 
tage G.vr.DENEit, that a perfect specimen of the Cochin- 
China breed “ should have no more leggiuess than a Dork¬ 
ing.” The birds that here appeared to answer this descrip¬ 
tion were still young, but of good shape and colour. 'We 
noticed also some very promising cinnamon and buff pullets, 
from the collection of Mr. Blee. The cock from which the 
greater number of Mr. Wingfield’s chickens have been bred, 
is very light buff, with a rich golden hackle, very short on 
