692 
FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
quiet and attentive to their duties, are well worth their 
keep ; and, in fact, invaluable to the breeder of Bantams. 
Sebrights, as sitters, are rarely useful, frequently leaving 
the eggs before incubation is finished. The chickens, when 
hatched, should not be fed too soon — warmth being of more 
importance than food at that time. 
The diet should consist of soft feed in the morning, and 
good, sound wheat at night. A little canary seed should be 
employed twice a week. Their food should be scattered, 
and constant foraging and activity encouraged. S. S. B. 
will find them hardy, and among the most charming of his 
pets. C. W. Chamberlain. 
Arlington, November, 1874. 
TRIPS AMONG THE FANCIERS. 
(Continued from page 595.) 
On the following morning, in company with Mr. Wal- 
ton, we visited his poultry house and yards. Mr Walton 
breeds Brown Leghorns exclusively, and showed us some 
fine birds from the yards of Messrs. Kinney, Bonney, and 
Watson. As Mr. Walton has all his young stock reared 
upon farms, several miles from home, we had no opportu- 
nity of seeing them, but were told that many of them were 
fine, and rapidly approaching a salable age. Our attention 
was next invited to quite a collection of rabbits, belonging 
to his son, A. H. Walton. Amongst them was the fine 
pair of Angoras that carried off first honors at Doylestown, 
last winter. Leaving Mr. Walton, our next stopping place 
was Mr. Wm. Frankenfield’s. Here we saw some very 
pretty White Fantails, Black Fantails, Blue Pied Pouters, 
Trumpeters, Black Jacobins, and Black Carriers. 
We next called upon Mr. Barton Darlington, a young 
amateur pigeon fancier. In his loft we were shown Black 
Barbs, White Fantails, Brown Snells, Silver-winged Tur- 
bits — altogether quite a creditable display for so young a 
fancier. If he keeps on, some of the older fanciers about 
Doylestown will have to look to their laurels. After leav- 
ing Mr. Darlington, our next halt was made at the residence 
of Mr. Charles Selser. Here we saw Dominique Leghorns, 
Golden-Spangled Hamburgs, Black Hamburgs, and Silver- 
Spangled Hamburgs. 
As Mr. Selser has been quite successful in the show-room, 
we deem it unnecessary for us to praise his stock ; but we 
will say a few words in regard to his practical and conve- 
nient coops or pens. As his room is rather limited, he is 
compelled to keep his fowls in these small pens, and they 
struck us as being the most simple and desirable that we 
have ever seen, combining both cheapness and durability. 
We will endeavor to give a short description of them : 
They are thirteen feet long, four feet wide, and two feet 
high. The frame is constructed of one inch by one and a 
half inch lath stuff, sawed in half, nailed on the sides, and 
just four feet wide. Whole lath are used to cover them. 
The top, sides, and ends are made in separate sections, and 
can be quickly taken apart or put together. Again, on top, 
at the back part, a small roof is made — or rather a sort of a 
shed — -being two feet high in front, and one at the back. 
This portion is made of boards, and has a door at one side to 
get at the nests, which are inside of this covered portion, 
also the perch. 
We have frequently met persons who contended that 
poultry will not thrive if penned up; but we know that if 
properly fed and cared for they will. We asked for and 
obtained, from Mr. Selser, an account of the number of eggs 
laid by the hens confined in these coops, which I will give 
for the benefit of those who are deterred from keeping fowls 
because they have no room. Be it understood, that these 
fowls were kept in these small pens (13 x 4), and were never 
out even for an hour. 
No. 1. Cock and five Dominique Leghorn pullets — laid 
in three months two hundred and fifty eggs. Average fifty 
eggs to each hen. 
No. 2. One cock and two Black Hamburg pullets — laid 
one hundred and thirty-five eggs in three months. Aver- 
age sixty-seven and one-half to each hen. 
No. 3. One cock and five Golden-Spangled Hamburg 
hens — received two hundred and twenty-nine eggs in three 
months. Average fifty-seven and one-half to each hen. 
No. 4. One cockand five Silver-Spangled Hamburg hens, 
that were four years old — received two hundred and fifty- 
five eggs, an average of fifty-five eggs for each lien. 
The above is not guess work, and proves satisfactorily to 
our mind that fowls, with proper care and food, can be 
kept with profit in small pens. After chatting pleasantly 
for some time with Mr. Selser, on “ Chickenology,” we 
reluctantly bade him and Mr. Walton, and several others 
who had made our visit so pleasant, farewell ; and, taking 
our seat in the car, the iron horse snorted, shrieked, and 
puffed, and we were off on our homeward journey. 
W. E. Flower. 
A WARNING TO SPECULATORS. 
Now that there is much said and done about limited 
liability companies, particularly in the county of Lancaster, 
we give the following account of the formation of one in a 
village near to the town of Huddersfield : “ Partnerships on 
the limited liability principle are just now all the rage. 
Two worthies in this village were recently seized with the 
prevailing epidemic. They formed themselves into a limited 
liability company for ihe breeding of poultry, seeing a vast 
opening for providing the village with what they thought it 
was much in need of, an unlimited supply of hens. All their 
ready cash was expended at the Blue Bull and Throstle 
Hotel, in the preliminary expenses connected with the for- 
mation and launching of the company, but by much ingenuity 
and large promises, they managed to obtain a likely looking 
hen on credit. She appeared to be a hen that could and 
would sit eternally. The vendor cracked up her sitting- 
propensities in a manner worthy of a quack doctor, or a 
Huddersfield auctioneer. The next point was to obtain the 
eggs. By a judicious distribution of their forces, much 
wheedling, and a promise of shares when the company was 
fairly floated, they borrowed thirteen eggs of various breeds, 
ages, and sizes, from their neighbors, which, had they borne 
fruit, might haVe given birth to anything from a monkey to 
a mousetrap. They next found a suitable place for their 
plant and hatching operations ; formed a nest, placed the 
eggs therein, and put the hen fairly on the top. But that 
hen was not in a sitting mood. She would repose for a 
short time, but soon marched off with the complacency and 
alacrity of a Banter to a revival camp-meeting. They tried 
glue, but that hen burst her bonds, and left her feathers stick- 
ing to the nest and eggs. In despair they went to the wisest 
man in the village as their consulting engineer, who was, 
and is, a bird fancier or hen merchant. He told them he 
could give them an infallible recipe for getting the hen to 
sit, but he required a fee of five shillings by way of ream- 
