THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, June 16, 1857 
plaining to the old man all his proceedings since the last 
interview, ending by saying, “ Well, I s’pose next week we 
must do so and so,” naming his scheme. 
The rejoinder was, as usual, half abstractedly, “ Ob ! 
exactly—very good—certainly ! ” 
Not very long after the farmer made his appearance at 
the office, and commenced a tirade of invective and abuse. 
Accusations of robbery, lying, and swindling flowed rapidly 
from the lips of the enraged countryman. At last, when, 
I from the excess of rage, the man had spnk exhausted on a 
friendly chair, my relative mildly ventured to ask the cause 
I of all this explosion. A rejoinder was quickly commenced. 
“ You know, Sir, you told me to take the law of my rascally 
chap, as how you lcnowed all about, and, Sir, I’ve a done 
everything you said, and you’ve a let me in for a precious 
j hill I know. I shouldn’t a minded if when I axed your 
j advice you'd a told the truth.” 
Grandfather. —“ Asked my advice !” 
Farmer .—“ Asked your advice ! why, yes.” 
Grand. —“I really don’t remember ( 'taking down a long red 
hook). What was the date?” 
Farmer. —“ What’s the use of looking in that old hook? 
You know all about it as well as I do.” 
Grand. —“ The fact is this book contains entries of matters 
relating to advice, and the proper sums to be charged, Ac.” 
Farmer. —“ Charge ! Why, you never charged. Of course 
you gived it to me.” 
Grand .—“ Pray, my good friend, be still. I wonder you 
hadn’t been ruined; for, remember, advice gratis is seldom 
j worth having.” 
The advice I give is in regard to poultry matters, and, as 
the numerous shows are just commencing, it might not be 
unacceptable to the readers of this periodical if a cursory 
view be taken of some of the various sorts introduced into 
the schedules for competition as per se, that is, thorough 
bred ; but to descant upon each would he to supersede or 
| add to the many excellent works so comeatable from their 
i cheapness to everybody, and therefore I will advise every 
person about to commence the fancy to make himself fully 
acquainted with the peculiarity of each kind. It is marvellous 
with what ease a thorough Judge singles out a cross bred. 
, It is not wholly necessary that a Judge should know every 
little peculiarity—ofttimes they are very obscure; but it is 
necessary to know a point of excellence difficult of attain- j 
ment, viz., the pure white satiny and unstained face of the j 
Spanish, in contradistinction to a harsh, rough, and tainted 
j one; the broad shoulders, short legs, good colour, snaky 
j head, Ac., of the Cochins; and, in addition, the enor- , 
mous breasts, with no crooked bones, of the Dorkings , in 
opposition to a narrow, stilty one of these very heavy kinds, j 
, But stop, here is the Malay. Now, character of build is I 
everything with this bird—a stork like bird of great Aveight, 
great length of leg and neck, immense shoulders, grab-eyed, 
and of intense crimson colour, with a tail not floAving, but 
the sickle feathers stuck in almost upright, and the ends 
dropping suddenly doAvn : a lack of either of these essentials 
Avould be fatal. 
The Game. — Vide some back numbers of this periodical. 
I cannot tell you anything more about them. 
The Hamburghs. —How difficult was it to get the white ear¬ 
lobe ! now they are seldom seen without. These birds are noAv 
perfection, and the good ones are not common by any means, 
i The breasts of the cocks in the Spangled almost equal the 
j rest of the body for regularity of marking. In this class 
character and style are often overlooked. The four kinds 
are very different in their build, as also in colour, in different 
localities, especially the Golden - spangled. Give me the 
dark colour: I find these breed the best cocks. Three years 
since the male bird’s breast was ahvays black ; iioav it is a 
mass of spangles. 
Polands. —These birds are very beautiful, and show the 
result of careful breeding. They differ from the last-men¬ 
tioned class in having merely a rudimentary comb, and in 
its stead a topknot. This, to be perfection, should he a 
round, compact mass of feather, like a child’s worsted ball, 
| and if of the Spangled class similarly laced. There is much 
to know about this class which space will not permit me to 
descant on. 
Bantams. —And here character must assist us. As a 
general maxim the cock should be a veritable coxcomb, very I 
179 
small, good double Hamburgh comb, white ear-lobes, wings 
low, good tail, tight-feathered, and delicate looking. These 
are general points in reference to these breeds, excepting 
the hen-tails of the Sebright, and comb, Ac., of the Game. 
The bars, lacings, size, Ac., are often better in birds lacking 
the coveted point than in those Avith it; therefore one is apt 
to overlook the grand point unless taking the opinion of a 
good judge. 
How would a beginner look on bringing home his new 
purchase birds of extraordinary merit as to size, shape, and 
colour, to find, on submitting them to the inspection of a, 
good judge, to have them set down as worthless for show 
purposes ? For instance, a Cochin with AvilloAv legs; a 
Spanish with a speck of red over the eye; a Dorking with a 
crooked, narrow breast and bad feet; a Malay with a Game 
comb, and Game with a Malay one; a Spangled Hamburgh 
Avith red ear-lobes, and Pencilled with mealy hackles in 
addition to them; Polands Avitli combs, and Bantams with 
cupped ones. 
In conclusion, attend to all that has been urged in 
this periodical resyiecting the sale of birds. “ I have 
suffered;” and, Avhatever you do, never part Avith a bird 
with the view of risking his return. State fairly his good 
and his bad points ; if manifestly ill suited to the person 
applying to you, by forwarding it no good will ensue. And 
another important point is, do not be seduced by designing 
men, Avho do not mean actually to rob you of your bird, but by 
dilly-dallying, offering to exchange, Ac., gain time to breed 
from him, and then send him back, perhaps maimed, and 
too late in the season for exhibiting. This has happened to 
me this season. More satisfaction is gained and money 
earned by selling reasonably and honestly; and when you 
have found out such a one, probably not over affluent, and 
living in the country, relieve him of the greater portion of 
j his chickens or winter birds ; eat some, sell other's, and keep 
l the remainder, and you will find his means to please you will 
j increase, and his preference also. I have known many a 
man date his success in poultry matters from dealing freely, 
fairly, and liberally with an emulative villager.—W. H., 
Exeter. 
VARIETIES OF GAME FOWLS. 
Will you allow me a space in your valuable paper for 
the purpose of saying a little about Game fowls ? I read in 
your paper a long list of the different sorts, and was bewil- 
dered Avhen I tried to recollect “ Furnaces,” “ Birchens,” 
“ Gingers,” and a host of others. Noaa', it appears that 
such a number of sorts is very dangerous to the breed. 
Half these so-called different kinds are only crosses betAveen 
the chief and proper sorts of Game ; and all this crossing 
has given an immensity of trouble, for scarcely any breeder 
of Game is there but has some pet cross, called by the 
name of a different variety, and having a standard for 
colour which he himself has formed. Then what confusion 
is there now as to the legs of Game. One man defends 
Avhite; another raves for yellow; a third will not look at a 
bird that is not oirve-legged ; Avhile a fourth says they are 
all AA’rong, and blue is the right. 
The chief and only proper sorts of Game are, to my 
thinking, 1st, the various Reds; 2nd, the Duckwings; 
til'd, the various Piles; 4th, the Greys and Blues; 5th, White 
and Black. Of all these I prefer Black-breasted Reds and 
Whites; and Whites are one of the handsomest sorts. I 
forgot to mention Brassy-Avinged, of which the best is the 
“ Furness” breed. Game foivls are capital sitters and 
mothers; indeed, scarcely to be surpassed in this respect. 
They also lay pretty frequently, and their eggs are of a 
capital flavour. 
By the by, reading “ H. R.’s” account of those splendid 
Spanish made me think I Avould tell your readers, if they 
Avant prime Spanish, to proAvl about in the London stable- 
yards and meivs, for you often see better birds at these 
places than elsewhere. 
Duckwing Bantams can be bred by mating a small Duck¬ 
wing Game cock to a Silver-grey Bantam hen, and so going 
on for five or six generations, mating the aforesaid hen to 
the smallest cock of the brood, until you get your Bantams. 
—PuosrERO. 
