THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, February 26, 1861. 
325 
find rotund fellow, not a bad type of his English master. He 
is large, strong, and bold. He has less variety of colour than 
these novelties, but he does not lack valuable properties. His 
breast and back are nearly black, he has no ring round his neck, 
but he weighs sometimes 4 lbs., sometimes 4-i lbs., and has been 
known to weigh more. It must, however, be admitted he is 
more appreciated in coverts than in aviaries, because he is not 
so marked in his plumage. Like Mrs. Primrose’s wedding dress, 
he must be taken not for his showy appearance, but for qualities 
that will wear well. 
There is no place in which Pheasants will not do well, pro¬ 
vided there is a little attention paid to natural habits. They 
must be on the earth , except when they are perching. We will, 
in few words, state all that is necessary. First, all Pheasants 
in confinement should be pinioned, or should have then’ wings 
cut. The reason for this assertion is, that, if they have not, they 
will, if frightened, fly up; and the result is, they break their 
necks, or, failing that, disfigure themselves so much that they 
become pitable objects instead of beautiful pets. 
An enclosure for each pair, 12 feet square, if part grass and part 
gravel so much the better ; a wooden-house with a perch 3 feet 
deep, 4 feet long, and 6 feet high, only the sides of which need 
be closed, the centre may be always open. In one corner there 
should be a heap of dust, which is essential to their health. Any 
sort of enclosure will do—netting, wire, or trellis-work. A small 
stunted tree fixed in the centre of such a pen affords a good 
perch and adds to the appearance very much. Plieasantries 
may be easily fixed against any wall in a garden, or when such 
conceits are pleasant, they may be cheated into shrubberies, 
that hide the wire, and give to the birds the semblance of being 
at liberty. 
We will treat of feeding, &c., hereafter. 
COMBS OF SILVER-SPANGLED HAMBUEGH 
HENS. 
Several of my Silver-spangled Hamburgh hens and pullets 
have small shrivelled black combs, which appearance continues 
summer and winter, and whilst laying freely. Some of the 
original stock given me three years since had this defect, and 
it shows itself in every successive brood. Some of the birds are 
very good, both in feather and comb, and this defect now shows 
itself in the cocks. The health of the birds and their laying 
qualities are perfect, so that I do not think the feeding can be 
at fault. Does this arise from disease, or from breeding in and 
in, no fresh blood having been introduced for six or seven 
years?—E. C. C. 
[It is a peculiarity in some breeds of Spangled Ilamburghs 
that their combs remain dark and undeveloped like those of 
Sebright Bantams. Many of these birds are, like yours, perfect 
in every other respect. We cannot imagine that any breed can 
be going on well using only the same stock for six or seven 
years : we, therefore, advise a change. Choose it carefully from 
some strain where the comb is very moderate in size, and firm 
on the head. There are many yards where they would gladly 
exchange their blood-red, but loose combs, for your dark blue, 
leaden, but tight ones. It is no wonder that the cocks should 
be free from this fault, as in this breed it is seldom possible to 
breed perfect birds of both sexes from the same parents. In 
any experiment you make in the way of crossing be careful to 
keep some of your old breed pure. It ; s more than likely you 
may still prefer them to the altered breed.] 
PARALYSED SPANISH COCK. 
I have a Spanish cock which, as he walks along, appears as if 
he was taken with a fit; also when he puts his head down to pick 
up his food his head turns round as if he was giddy; and when 
he wishes to perch he always flies over it as if he could not judge 
the distance. He has been fed on Indian corn in the morning, 
and sharps in the middle of the day, and he has a good run. 
One side of his white face is turning green and sore.— R. E. 
[We are afraid it is a bad case with your Spanish cock. He 
has what we call the “gids,” and birds seldom recover from 
them. You must purge him freely with castor oil for three 
days. This will make him very weak, but you will see whether 
it lessens the disease. You must afterwards feed him freely, 
and if necessary give him yolks of eggs to eat. Your feeding 
has not been good enough for the severe season fowls have h: d 
to encounter. If he overcome the giddiness, give him oatmeal 
and bread and ale. Rub his face with compound sulphur 
ointment.] 
FOWLS WITH ULCERATED THROATS. 
There is a disease among my fowls, the Black-breasted Red 
Game, that I cannot account for, and that I never heard of 
before. It occurs among the chickens when about two months 
old ; and I used to. think it was confined to chickens, but I have 
latterly lost a favourite hen by the same complaint, and now a 
very high-bred male bird is affected and will be sure to die. 
There is internal ulceration about the throat and mouth, a 
watery discharge is occasionally expelled from the bill and 
nostrils, and the head, and bill itself ultimately, become a mass of 
sores. The cock has to-day, I perceive, a frothy saliva-looking 
matter half covering the upper part of one of the eyes. 
The fowls are kept in a somewhat spacious enclosed yard, and 
have plenty to eat of wheat and barley, with cabbage leaves, &c., 
as a substitute for grass.—A Subscriber. 
[Give castor oil to the fowls that are affected. Discontinue 
your whole corn; feed on meal. Have some large heavy sods of 
growing grass cut and thrown into the yard. Take away the 
sickly birds. Nothing but free purging will heal the ulcerated 
mouth. If you adopt the oil, the sods, and oatmeal, you will 
cure your fowls.] 
EGG-HARYEST OF 1860. 
From twenty-five hens the following is an account of the 
monthly produce of eggs :—January, 228 ; February, 280; 
March, 412; April, 359; May, 367; June, 320; July, 201; 
August, 251 ; September, 203; October, 103; November, 20; 
December, 0. 
I think it a great mistake about sitting hens on seven eggs. 
Give them as many as ever they can cover is my rule, and I 
generally have success. Last j ear I had forty-three chicks out 
of three nests, fifteen each, in the month of February. I have 
now twelve chicks from thirteen eggs. —An Amateur. 
EPIZOOTIC APHTHOUS DISEASE OF THE 
DOMESTIC FOWL. 
By T. Tomaso, Veterinary Surgeon . 
This disease manifests itself on the comb and wattles. The 
aphtha or vesicles are of the size of pins’ heads,'and of a reddish 
colour. Sometimes the eruption appears all over the body of 
the birds ; they lose their appetite, droop their wings and tail, 
evince a disinclination to move, and about the second day the 
vesicles resemble pearls in shape and transparency. About the 
fifth day they begin to point, on the seventh day they have at¬ 
tained their maturity, and on the eighth they break, when a little 
serum oozes out, after which the majority of the birds recover. 
Few die after the seventh day. 
Ne.croscopia .—The combs and wattles are found to be much 
swollen, and of a purple or scarlet colour. The vesicles are of 
the size of a lentil, some are full of limpid serum, other have 
dried up. In the cranial cavity the meninges are somewhat 
injected, and the cavity contains some serum ot a reddish colour. 
No other alteration in this organ was perceived. The mucous 
membranes are of a violet colour ; the tongue pale ; the crop 
empty of food, but slightly distended with gas ; the stomach 
contains some undigested matters, emitting an acid smell; 
the intestines are filled with liquid of a yellow colour, and 
possessing a fetid odour; the mucous lining of the intestines 
presents some reddish spots on its surface; the lungs and the 
liver are normal. 
The author describes a second and third form of this disease, 
but they vary only in intensity. The cure or treatment consists 
in giving the birds, fasting, a spoonful of the following mixture : 
Antim Pot. Tart., 20 decigrammes. 
Pot. Bi-Tart., 20 grammes. 
Acid. Nitric., 20 drops. 
Aq. Distil., 250 grammes. 
For Turkeys and water-birds the strength must be somewhat 
increased—about a tenth part of the ingredients. The affected 
parts should also be bathed with ferruginous water, which 
