046 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, February 17,1857. 
HAM BURGHS versus COCHINS. 
In the May number of The Cottage Gardener of last 
year I inserted a report of the produce of four Silver-pen¬ 
cilled Hamburgh fowls—chickens of 1855—during the first 
four months of the year. I was induced to do so out of a 
t friendly spirit of opposition to your correspondent “ Felix 
j Rabbit,” against whose Cochins I drew up my Hamburghs 
j in battle array. 
My opponent did not consider that it was fair to select 
| four months only of the year as the battle-field, and he 
I therefore expressed a hope that I would write a report of the 
year’s produce of my birds in January, 1857. 
Being thus challenged I have descended from my perch, 
and herewith throw down the gauntlet to “ Felix Rabbit.” 
The number of eggs laid by my four Silver-pencilled Ham¬ 
burgh fowls during the twelve months of 1856 is this : — 
January . 55 
February. 75 
March . 88 
April. 84 
May. 104 
June. 76 
July. 88 
August. 02 
September . 40 
October. 6 
November. 24 
December. 33 
Total 774 
I will make no remarks on this return, merely calling the 
attention of “ Felix Rabbit” to the fact, that “the average 
that each bird produced is larger than 150 each,” being 
actually rather more than 190 each. 
Now, on the principle that the interchange of opinions and 
experiences is one of the most useful points of a poultry 
chronicle, as your correspondent, “Amateur,” justly re¬ 
marks, I will venture to send a few more notes on “ my 
pets,” the Hamburghs. 
First, with respect to the observations of “ Felix Rabbit,” 
I would observe that I did not write of Hamburghs kept in 
mere walks, such as are frequently used by poultry amateurs. 
I said that I had a good grass walk for them, meaning by 
this that they had a good grass field to roam about in. 
What they will do in a more confined space I do not pre¬ 
tend to say; but “ E. B., Oxford," says, that “with a fair 
run and proper treatment they will lay almost as early and 
as well as Cochins." I think he is right, and, with a good 
grass run, I maintain that they beat Cochins into fits. “ Fe¬ 
lix Rabbit” is quite right in his opinion that any Ham¬ 
burghs would fall off in the moulting season. My October 
return of only six eggs tells plainly that such was the case; 
and what description of fowl, I should like to know, does not 
fall off at that time ? 
But the period of moulting does not last long. I had a 
fair quantity of eggs in November again, and a still larger 
, quantity in December, when the weather was unusually 
j severe; and though I have three Cochins — to which I 
alluded in May—which have laid well during November and 
December, yet now they begin to want to sit, and not an 
j egg have I had for the last fortnight. So much for “ Cochins ” 
I versus “Hamburghs." 
| Again, with respect to the rice as food, to which “Felix 
! Rabbit ” alludes, I would add that boiled rice lias been my 
principal food throughout the year. At times it has been 
changed for a short period to barleymeal, or barley, or oats, 
by way of an alterative; but still rice has been the principal 
food of my birds, and they have had no nice corn-stacks to 
go to, for the best of all reasons, viz., that I have none. 
Another of your correspondents, “ Henricus,” observes, 
that as winter layers Hamburghs are very poor indeed. Let 
! him look at my return. I do not consider the number of 
eggs laid by my four Hamburghs in the months of January, 
February, November, and December, as by any means “very 
poor indeed.” Certainly the eggs are smaller than those 
of many other fowls; but the yolk of a Hamburgh’s egg 
is large for the size of the egg. But whilst on the subject 
of the size of eggs, let me ask what fowl there is which 
lays so small an egg in proportion to its size as the Cochin? 
She eats enormously, with an appetite voracious, and then, 
after all, out comes an egg which reminds one of the old 
fable of “the mountain in labour.” But, however, I have 
not quite done with “ Henricus." 
“ I saw young Harry with his beaver on,” and I intend to 
give him a peck or two to make him doff the same. He 
says 'that he had some Silver-pencilled pullets given him, but 
that the first thing they did was to become ill with the roup, 
and, in fact, all his other fowls. If he had the roup in his l 
yard, it was a natural consequence that the other fowls 
[ should become liable to the visitation; but this does not 
j speak very well for his care in the management of his 
poultry. A mupy fowl should be treated like a convict, and 
I sent to solitary confinement; and not only that, but he 
: should not have his “ticket of leave” granted until he 
shows real and true signs of a lasting amendment. Of 
course, if “Henricus” took no care of his diseased Ham- j 
burghs, he could not expect them to be prolific. The very 
fact of their not beginning to lay until April proves that 
they were not taken much care of, and so he was at last I 
truly thankful to get rid of them. Well, I hope his friends 
will not send him any more, 
With respect to the extreme delicacy of Hamburghs to 
which “Henricus ” refers, 1 must say that I differ from him. 
I have often heard people call them delicate fowls. My 
own experience, however, has never led me to consider them 
such. I have kept them nearly five years, and have lost 
but very few indeed. Neither have I to complain of their 
roaming about on buildings, or tearing all the thatch off 
ricks, though all my buildings are thatch, and there are hay 
ricks close at hand ; and as to their being as mischievous as 
a peacock in a garden, I have always found that, should 
they intrude within these sacred precincts, after being once 
or twice scared away, they will not come again; at least, 
such I find to be the case with my own birds, and my 
garden is not fenced in at all, being merely separated from 
the grass run of the fowls by a carriage drive. 
I fear, Mr. Editor, that you will think me a great j 
trespasser upon your time, your patience, and your space ; ! 
but here I am challenged, and, therefore, come down from 
my perch, and whilst “ I am on- my legs ” I will take the 
opportunity of wishing to the Poultry Chronicle continued 
success, feeling convinced that each succeeding year will 
add fresh laurels, fresh lustre, and fresh fame to that class 
of fowls of which there is no prouder champion than yours 
most truly— Silver-pencilled Hamburgh. 
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PARTRIDGE- 
FEATHERED COCHIN COCK. 
Amongst the classes for single cocks at our late Liverpool 
Exhibition a Silver Cup was offered for the best Cochin- 
China cock of any variety or age. In this class specimens I 
of all the various colours were exhibited. The cup was 
given to a very fine Buff bird ; another of the same colour | 
was highly commended, and, by way of finish, I presume, to 
their labours, a cock called a Partridge-feathered bird was ! 
highly commended. Now, I do not intend to complain in j 
any way as to the decision respecting the cup; it was, per- ( 
haps, on the whole, fair. My very strong objection and 
cause of complaint are the “highly commending” the so- 
called Partridge cock, and overlooking altogether a pure 
specimen of this breed. By way of justifying this remark I 
will try fairly to describe the two birds, giving precedence to 
the highly commended one. His shape was very good, 
being short in leg and well feathered, body large and well 
formed, and, indeed, generally correct in all points as 
respects shape; colour (if previous notions are correct) vile, 
being a dull, rusty, dead brown, with patches of brown feathers 
over all the breast, thighs, and rump. I may notice, also, that 
his owner was equally astonished with myself at the notice 
taken of him by the Judges, having stated to a friend of my 
own that he would willingly have taken twenty shillings for 
him the previous day—a remark soon to be realised, for, 
though he was entered in the catalogue to be sold for .£20, 
this was reduced by Mr. P. Cartwright (the owner) to £3 
within two hours of the opening of the Exhibition; and, 
finding no buyer even at this reduction, he was finally sold 
