[33 ] 
The Cochin-China Fowl 
HERE are such things as china 
eggs, but this is not the bird 
that lays them, though this fowl 
came from Cochin China, and so is 
called the “Cochin.” This is buff in 
color, that is, a dull yellowish orange. 
These buff Cochins were the very first 
of all buff-colored fowl. They are large 
-— and thickly covered with feathers even 
down to their toes,—all the feathers, it seems, that they could possibly grow. 
This is the hen, and she is really famous as a generous layer of eggs. 
The Duck 
D 
^UCKS, swans, and geese all have 
the same language—they all say 
“Quack! Quack!” They are all 
web-footed, too, and can swim in water. 
When ducks come to walk on land, they 
waddle, because their legs are set far 
back in order to help them swim. The 
male, the drake, has more beautiful 
plumage than the duck. His head and 
neck are a glossy green, his breast a bright chestnut, and his back white, 
while his sides are gray or violet with black and white bands. 
The Geese 
S EE these fine white geese! Their orange-colored bills are about as 
long as their heads. They have all over them an undercoat of soft 
down, and above it their feathers lie so close and thick that they are 
almost water-proof. The male of the 
geese is called a “gander.” When a 
flock marches along after its leader, on 
their way to a pond to swim, they go 
single file. When they are flying in the 
sky, they fly in single file in a V-shaped 
wedge, headed by their leader. They 
always keep good order. You can hear 
their call from the sky both day and 
night when they are going north or 
south. 
