POULTRY: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE CHOICE, BREEDING, REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS TEXT

are remarkably stout, and the robust tarsi are of a yellow colour. The voice is a sort of crow--hoarse and short, and very different from the clear notes of defiance uttered by our farmyard chanticleer. This species has the habit, when fatigued, of resting on the tarsi or legs, as we have seen the emu do under similar circumstances." In the "Proceedings of the Zoological Society" for 1832, we find the following notice respecting this breed, by Colonel Sykes, who observed it domesticated in the Deccan: "Known by the name of the Kulm cock by Europeans in India. Met with only as a domestic bird; and Colonel Sykes has reason to believe that it is not a native of India, but has been introduced by the Mussulmans from Sumatra or Java. The iris of the real game bird should be whitish or straw yellow. Colonel Sykes landed two cocks and a hen in England in June, 1831. They bore the winter well; the hen laid freely, and has reared two broods of chickens. The cock has not the shrill clear pipe of the domestic bird, and his scale of note appears more limited. A cock in the possession of Colonel Sykes stood twenty-six inches high to the crown of the head; but they attain a greater height. Length from the tip of the bill to the insertion of the tail, twenty-three inches. Hen one-third smaller than the male. Shaw very justly describes the habit of the cock, of resting, when tired, on the first joint of the leg." It is a long, large, heavy bird, standing remarkably upright, having an almost uninterrupted slope from the head to the insertion of the tail; with very long, though strong, yellow legs, quite free from feathers; long, stout, firm thighs, and stands very erect; the cock, when full grown, being at least two feet six inches, and sometimes over three feet in height, and weighing from eight to eleven pounds. The head has great fulness over the eye, and is flattened above, resembling that of the snake. The small, thick, hard comb, scarcely rising from the head, and barely as long, like half a strawberry, resembles that of a Game fowl dubbed. The wattles are very small; the neck closely feathered, and like a rope, with a space for an inch below the beak bare of feathers. It has a hard, cruel expression of face; a brilliant bold eye, pearled around the edge of the lids; skinny red face; very strong curved yellow beak; and small, drooping tail, with very beautiful, though short, sickle feathers. The hen resembles the cock upon all these points, but is smaller. Their colours now comprise different shades of red and deep chestnut, in combination with rich browns, and there are also black and white varieties, each of which should be uniform. The feathers should be hard and close, which causes it to be heavier than it appears. Malays are inferior to most other breeds as layers, but the pullets commence laying early, and are often good winter layers. Their eggs, which weigh about 2-1/2 ounces each, are of a deep buff or pale chocolate colour, surpass all others in flavour, and are so rich that two of them are considered to be equal to three of ordinary fowls. They are nearly always fertile. Their chief excellence is as table fowls, carrying, as they do, a great quantity of meat, which, when under a year old, is of very good quality and flavour. Crossed with the Spanish and Dorking, they produce excellent table fowls; the latter cross being also good layers. Malays are good sitters and mothers, if they have roomy nests. Their chickens should not be hatched after June, as they feather slowly, and are delicate; but the adult birds are hardy enough, and seem especially adapted to crowded localities, such as courts and alleys. "Malays," says Mr. Baily, "will live anywhere; they will inhabit a back yard of small dimensions; they will scratch in the dust-hole, and roost under the water-butt; and yet not only lay well, but show in good condition when requisite." Like the Game fowl, it is terribly pugnacious, and in its native country is kept and trained for fighting. This propensity, which is still greater in confinement, is its greatest disadvantage. When closely confined they are apt to eat each other's feathers, the cure for which is turning them into a grass run, and giving them a good supply of lettuce leaves, with an occasional purgative of six grains of jalap. The Chittagong is said to be a variety of the Malay. CHAPTER XIII. GAME. This is the kind expressly called the English breed by Buffon and the French writers, and is the noblest and most beautiful of all breeds, combining an admirable figure, brilliant plumage, and stately gait. It is most probably derived from the larger or continental Indian species of the Javanese, or Bankiva Jungle Fowl--the _Gallus Bankiva_ of Temminck--which is a distinct species, distinguished chiefly from the Javanese fowl by its larger size. (_See_ page 124.) Of this continental species, Sir W. Jardine states that he has seen three or four specimens, all of which came from India proper. The Game cock is the undisputed king of all poultry, and is unsurpassed for courage. The Malay is more cruel and ferocious, but has less real courage. Game fowls are in every respect fighting birds, and, although cock-fighting is now very properly prohibited by law, Game fowls are always judged mainly in reference to fighting qualities. But their pugnacious disposition renders them very troublesome, especially if they have not ample range, although it does not disqualify them for small runs to the extent generally supposed. A blow with his spur is dangerous, and instances have been recorded of very severe injuries inflicted upon children, even causing death. An old newspaper states that "Mr. Johnson, a farmer in the West Riding of Yorkshire, who has a famous breed of the Game fowl, has had the great misfortune to lose his little son, a boy of three years old, who was attacked by a Game cock, and so severely injured that he died shortly afterwards." High-bred hens are quite as pugnacious as the cocks. The chickens are very quarrelsome, and both cocks and hens fight so furiously, that frequently one-half of a brood is destroyed, and the other half have to be killed. Game fowls are hardy when they can have liberty, but cannot be well kept in a confined space. They eat little, and are excellent for an unprotected place, because by their activity they avoid danger themselves, and by their courage defend their chickens from enemies. The hen is a prolific layer, and, if she has a good run, equal to any breed. The eggs, though of moderate size only, are remarkable for delicacy of flavour. She is an excellent sitter, and still more excellent mother. The chickens are easily reared, require little food, and are more robust in constitution than almost any other variety. The flesh of the Game fowl is beautifully white, and superior to that of all other breeds for richness and delicacy of flavour. They should never be put up to fat, as they are impatient of confinement. "They are in no way fit for the fattening-coop," says Mr. Baily. "They cannot bear the extra food without excitement, and that is not favourable to obesity. Nevertheless, they have their merits. If they are reared like pheasants round a keeper's house, and allowed to run semi-wild in the woods, to frequent sunny banks and dry ditches, they will grow up like them; they will have little fat, but they will be full of meat. They must be eaten young; and a Game pullet four or five months old, caught up wild in this way, and killed two days before she is eaten, is, perhaps, the most delicious chicken there is in point of flavour." The Game-fowl continues to breed for many years without showing any signs of decay, and in this respect is superior to the Cochin, Brahma, and even to the Dorking. The cock's head should be long, but fine; beak long, curved, and strong; comb single, small, upright, and bright red; wattles and face bright red; eyes large and brilliant; neck long, arched, and strong; breast well developed; back short and broad between the shoulders, but tapering to the tail; thighs muscular, but short compared to the shanks; spur low; foot flat, with powerful claws, and his carriage erect. The form of the hen should resemble the above on a smaller scale, with small, fine comb and face, and wattles of a less intense red. The feathers of both should be very hard, firm, and close, very strong in the quills, and seem so united that it should be almost impossible to ruffle them, each feather if lifted up falling readily into its original place. Size is not a point of merit, from four to six pounds being considered sufficient, and better than heavier weights. Among the list of imperfections in Game cocks, Sketchley enumerates "flat sides, short legs, thin thighs, crooked or indented breast, short thin neck, imperfect eye, and duck or short feet." "It is the custom," says Miss Watts, "consequently imperative, that all birds which are exhibited should have been dubbed, and this should not be done until the comb is so much developed that it will not spring again after the dubbing. This will be safe if the chicken is nearly six months old, but some are more set than others at a certain age. A keen pair of scissors is the best instrument with which to operate. Hold the fowl with a firm hand, cut away the deaf ears and wattles, then cut the comb, cutting a certain distance from the back, and then from the front to join this cut, taking especial care not to go too near the skull. Some operators put a finger inside the mouth to get a firm purchase. We should like to see dubbing done away with, leaving these beautiful fowls as nature makes them; but since amateurs and shows will not agree to this, it is best to give directions for dubbing, as an operation bunglingly performed is sure to give unnecessary pain." To save the bird from excessive loss of blood his wattles are usually cut off a week later. Every superfluous piece of flesh and skin should be removed. The "Henwife" well says: "Why these poor birds are condemned to submit to this cruel operation is a mystery, unfathomable, I suspect, even by the judges themselves. Cock-fighting being forbidden by law, the cocks should, on principle, be left undubbed, as a protest against this brutal amusement. The comb of the Game male bird is as beautifully formed as that of the Dorking; why then rob it of this great ornament? It is asserted that it is necessary to remove the comb to prevent the cocks injuring each other fatally in fighting; but this is not true; a Dorking will fight for the championship as ardently as any Game bird, and yet his comb is spared. Cockerels will not quarrel if kept apart from hens until the breeding season, when they should be separated, and put on their several walks. If pugnaciously inclined I do not believe that the absence of the comb will save the weaker opponent from destruction; therefore I raise my voice for pity, in favour of the beautiful Game cock." The colours are various, and they are classed into numerous varieties and sub-varieties, of which the chief are--Black-breasted Red; Brown-Red; Silver Duck-wing Greys, so called from the feathers resembling those of a duck; Greys; Blues; Duns; Piles, or Pieds; Black; White; and Brassy-winged, which is Black with yellow on the lesser wing coverts. Colours and markings must be allowed a somewhat wide range in this breed; and figure, with courage, may be held to prove purity of blood though the colour be doubtful. Mr. Douglas considers the Black-breasted Red the finest feathered Game, and states that he never found any come so true to colour as a brood of that variety. White in the tail feathers is highly objectionable, though not an absolute disqualification. White fowls should be entirely white, with white legs. The rules for the coloured legs are very undecided. Light legs match light-coloured birds best. No particular colour is imperative, but it should harmonise with the plumage, and all in a pen must agree. The best layers are the Black-breasted Reds with willow legs, and the worst the Greys. CHAPTER XIV. DORKINGS. This is one of the finest breeds, and especially English. A pure Dorking is distinguished by an additional or fifth toe. There are several varieties, which are all comprised in two distinct classes--the White and the Coloured. The rose-combed white breed is _the_ Dorking of the old fanciers, and most probably the original breed, from which the coloured varieties were produced by crossing it with the old Sussex, or some other large coloured fowl. "That such was the case," says Mr. Wright, "is almost proved by the fact that only a few years ago nothing was more uncertain than the appearance of the fifth toe in coloured chickens, even of the best strains. Such uncertainty in any important point is always an indication of mixed blood; and that it was so in this case is shown by the result of long and careful breeding, which has now rendered the fifth toe permanent, and finally established the variety." Mr. Brent says: "The _old_ Dorking, the _pure_ Dorking, the _only_ Dorking, is the _White_ Dorking. It is of good size, compact and plump form, with short neck, short white legs, five toes, a full rose-comb, a large breast, and a plumage of spotless white. The practice of crossing with a Game cock was much in vogue with the old breeders, to improve a worn-out stock (which, however, would have been better accomplished by procuring a fresh bird of the same kind, but not related). This cross shows itself in single combs, loss of a claw, or an occasional red feather, but what is still more objectionable, in pale-yellow legs and a yellow circle about the beak, which also indicates a yellowish skin. These, then, are faults to be avoided. As regards size, the White Dorking is generally inferior to the Sussex fowl (or 'coloured Dorking'), but in this respect it only requires attention and careful breeding. The pure White Dorking may truly be considered as fancy stock, as well as useful, because they will breed true to their points; but the grey Sussex, Surrey or Coloured Dorking, often sport. To the breeders and admirers of the so-called 'Coloured Dorkings' I would say, continue to improve the fowl of your choice, but let him be known by his right title; do not support him on another's fame, nor yet deny that the rose-comb or fifth toe is essential to a Dorking, because your favourites are not constant to those points. The absence of the fifth claw to the Dorking would be a great defect, but to the Sussex fowl (erroneously called a 'Coloured Dorking') it is my opinion it would be an improvement, provided the leg did not get longer with the loss." The fifth toe should not be excessively large, or too far above the ordinary toe. The White Dorking must have the plumage uniformly white, though in the older birds the hackle and saddle may attain a light golden tint. The rose-comb is preferable, and the beak and legs should be light and clear. The Coloured Dorking is now bred to great size and beauty. It is a large, plump, compact, square-made bird, with short white legs, and should have a well-developed fifth toe. The plumage is very varied, and may have a wide range, and might almost be termed immaterial, provided a coarse mealy appearance be avoided, and the pen is well matched. This latitude in respect of plumage is so generally admitted that the assertion "you cannot breed Dorkings true to colour," has almost acquired the authority of a proverb. They may be shown with either rose or single combs, but all the birds in a pen must match. The Dorking is the perfection of a table bird, combining delicately-flavoured white flesh, which is produced in greatest quantity in the choicest parts--the breast, merry-thought, and wings--equal distribution of fat, and symmetrical shape. Mr. Baily prefers the Speckled or Grey to the White, as "they are larger, hardier, and fatten more readily, and although it may appear anomalous, it is not less true that white-feathered poultry has a tendency to yellowness in the flesh and fat." Size is an important point in Dorkings. Coloured prize birds weigh from seven to fourteen pounds, and eight months' chickens six or seven pounds. The White Dorking is smaller. They are not good layers, except when very young, and are bad winter layers. The eggs are large, averaging 2-3/4 ounces, pure white, very much rounded, and nearly equal in size at each end. The hen is an excellent sitter and mother. The chickens are very delicate, requiring more care when young than most breeds, and none show a greater mortality, no more than two-thirds of a brood usually surviving the fourth week of their life. They should not be hatched before March, and must be kept on gravel soil, hard clay, or other equally dry ground, and never on brick, stone, or wooden flooring. This breed will only thrive on a dry soil. They are fond of a wide range, and cannot be kept within a fence of less than seven feet in height. When allowed unlimited range they appear to grow hardy, and are as easily reared as any other breed if not hatched too early. If kept in confinement they should have fresh turf every day, besides other vegetable food. Dorkings degenerate more than any breed by inter-breeding, and rapidly decrease in size. Dorkings are peculiarly subject to a chronic inflammation or abscess of the foot, known as "bumble-foot," which probably originated in heavy fowls descending from high perches and walking over sharp stones. The additional toe may have rendered them more liable to this disease. It may now arise from the same cause, and is best prevented by using broad, low perches, and keeping their runs clear of sharp, rough stones, but it also appears to have become hereditary in some birds. There is no cure for it when matured except its removal, and this operation fails oftener than it succeeds; but Mr. Tegetmeier states, that he has in early cases removed the corn-like or wart-like tumours on the ball of the foot with which the disease begins, and cauterised the part with nitrate of silver successfully. [Illustration: Golden-pencilled and Silver-spangled Hamburgs. Black Spanish] CHAPTER XV. SPANISH. This splendid breed was originally imported from Spain, and is characterised by its peculiar white face, which in the cock should extend from the comb downwards, including the entire face, and meet beneath in a white cravat, hidden by the wattles; and in the hen should be equally striking. The plumage is perfectly black, with brilliant metallic lustre, reflecting rich green and purple tints. The tail should resemble a sickle in the cock, and be square in the hen. The comb should be of a bright red, large, and high, upright in the cock, but pendent in the hen; the legs blue, clean, and long, and the bearing proud and gallant. With care they will thrive in a very small space, and are perhaps better adapted for town than any other variety. They are tolerably hardy when grown, but suffer much from cold and wet. Their combs and wattles are liable to be injured by severe cold, from which these fowls should be carefully protected. If frost-bitten, the parts should be rubbed with snow or cold water, and the birds must not be taken into a warm room until recovered. The Spanish are excellent layers, producing five or six eggs weekly from February to August, and two or three weekly from November to February, and also laying earlier than any other breed except the Brahma, the pullets beginning to lay before they are six months old. Although the hens are only of an average size, and but moderate eaters, their eggs are larger than those of any other breed, averaging 3-1/2 ounces, and some weighing 4-1/2 ounces, each. The shells are very thin and white, and the largest eggs are laid in the spring. The flesh is excellent, but the body is small compared to that of the