VI. THE DORKING FOWL.

The Dorking, or, as it has been called, the five-toed fowl, would appear to owe its name to its having been chiefly bred and cultivated in a town of Surrey, of the same appellation. That the peculiarity of five toes, or, in other words, of two hind toes instead of one, is to be regarded as a distinctive character of the breed, is by some writers questioned, and by others wholly denied. For my part, I should say, that wherever this characteristic is absent, a cross has been at work.

The writer on "Poultry," in Rees' Encyclopedia, is most positive in asserting the possession of five toes by the Dorking fowl as "all a mistake;" but this person, whoever he may have been, does not appear to have had even a correct idea of the fowl about which he wrote; for instance, he says, that the Dorking fowl has a long body! on the contrary, the body of the Dorking fowl is round, plump, and short, resembling as much as possible, that roundest, and plumpest, and prettiest of birds, the linnet.

I do not, however, mean to assert that this possession of two hind toes instead of one, has never occurred in any other family of fowls except those bred at Dorking, in Surrey, for Aristotle has mentioned the existence of a similar peculiarity among certain fowl in Greece, and both Columella and Pliny assert the existence of such in their time in Italy, so also does Aldrovand; and these authors lived hundreds of years ago; and, oddly enough, these breeds were remarkable, as are our own Dorking, for being good layers* and good sitters. Were they not evidently their originals? Doctor Bechstein mentions a variety with six toes, and I have seen fowl with seven toes; but I think these are mere monstrosities.

The colour of the Dorking is generally pure white on the entire neck; the prevailing colour also of the body is white, spotted or spangled with black; these colours will sometimes merge into a grey or grizzle, with occasionally black bars at the extremity of the tail. These birds have been long prized, and it is now many years since their superiority over our ordinary domestic varieties was originally discovered and appreciated; they were first noticed, and the variety adopted, by the Cumberland breeders; whence they were soon brought into Lancashire and Westmoreland, and gradually spread over all England. They have not as yet become

*Though undoubtedly good layers, they are, however, better sitters.

generally known in Ireland, but they are, nevertheless, to be found in many parts of that country.* Whether, however, from injudicious treatment, or imperfect feeding, or change of climate, or from whatever cause, it is certain that, when met with far from their native place, they appear greatly to have degenerated from their original superiority of character.

VII. THE SPANGLED HAMBURGH.

In describing this fowl I cannot avoid again remarking, that most persons who have written upon the subject of poultry, appear to have been mere compilers, and to have possessed but little, if any, practical acquaintance with the subject of which they undertook to treat; for example, in the case of the very bird now under consideration, I find in "Dickson on Poultry," p. 15, the Hamburgh fowl described as possessing a singularly

* I cannot refrain from particularising the noble breed of Dorkings, in possession of Mr. Reilly, of Belmont, as also those of Captain Arbuthnott, and my friend, Doctor Duke, of Ballitore. The Dorking seems to have become naturalized in Ireland with peculiar facility, and many bred there are far superior even to the original natives of Surrey.

large comb and wattles; and while the writer states it to be a variety of the Paduan or Polish, he adds "the nourishment expended in that to form a crest of feathers goes to enlarge the comb and wattles." Now, it so happens that the Hamburgh fowl have a large top knot, with but very small comb and wattles, and another peculiarity that shall be described in its proper place. I do not follow blindly the descriptions furnished by my predecessors, however highly I may conceive their writings are, in many respects, to be esteemed. I am this moment writing my description of the Hamburgh fowl from two beautiful specimens as they stand before me on the table in the house of their owner, my friend Mr. Nolan, of Dublin. These fowl gained the prizes at the last show of the Royal Agricultural Improvement Society of Ireland, from a host of very worthy, but still far inferior competitors; consequently, in my case, no blunder can possibly occur.

The Spangled Hamburgh fowl are divided into two varieties, the distinctive characteristics being slight, and nearly altogether dependent upon colour; these varieties are termed the GOLDEN and SILVER spangled. The former will suffice for me to describe, as the points of form, &c., excepting only colour, are identical.

The Golden Spangled Hamburgh Fowl is one of no ordinary beauty; it is well and very neatly made; has a good body, and

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no very great offal. On the crest, immediately above the beak, are two small fleshy horns, resembling, to some extent, an abortive comb. In some specimens this crest is divided into more than two horns; but two are the ordinary and more legitimate number. Above this crest, and occupying the place of a comb, is a very large brown or yellow tuft, the feathers composing it darkening towards their extremities. Under the insertion of the lower mandible, or that portion of the neck corresponding to the chin in man, is a full, dark-coloured tuft, somewhat resembling a beard. The wattles are very small. In the golden variety, the hackles on the neck are of a brilliant orange, or golden yellow; and the general ground-colour of the body is of the same hue, but somewhat darker. The thighs are of a dark brown, or blackish shade, and the legs and feet are of a bluish grey.

In the Silver Spangled variety the only perceptible difference is, that the ground colour is a silvery white. The extremity, and a portion of the extreme margin of each feather, are black, presenting, when in a state of rest, the appearance of regular semicircular marks or spangles-and hence the name of " Spangled Hamburgh," the varieties being termed gold or silver, according to the prevailing colour being bright, yellow, or silvery white. These fowl have good plump bodies, a good skin, are good layers, and lay good-sized eggs. They are, therefore, little less remarkable for utility than beauty, although certainly, in mere excellence of flesh and as layers, they are not equal to the Dorking or Spanish varieties.

VIII. THE POLISH OR PADUAN FOWL.

Of the Polish fowl there are three sub-varieties: one of which, however, would appear to be nearly, if not altogether, extinct, even in its native country. This fowl is, perhaps, the most unchanged from the primitive stock of any we are now acquainted with, being beyond any reasonable doubt the immediate and almost unmixed descendants of the "Gallus giganteus," or great wild cock of St. Jago. The three varieties of Polish fowl

are

I. The Spangled Polish—a bird of extraordinary beauty, extremely scarce, and very difficult to be procured. This fowl presents a symmetrical and regular combination of the following colours, viz. :-A bright orange, a clear white, a brilliant green, and a jetty black, softened down with a rich and pure brown,

every feather being tipped with white, so as to produce the effect whence has been derived the term of SPANGLED. The colour of the hen is a prevailing golden yellow, with white spangles like the cock. In the cock the thighs are black, and are, likewise, though in a less degree, marked and spangled with black and golden yellow. The hinder end of the body is furnished with green and orange-brown hackles, and the tail is carried well up. The flesh of these birds is of good quality, and they are very prolific. They also fatten quickly, and have, by some, been compared to the Dorking for similarity of flesh and other excellencies of quality. I, however, must unequivocally award the preference to the latter bird, independent of the enhanced price occasioned by the far greater scarcity of the former.

II. The second variety of the Polish fowl is the well-known black fowl, with a white tuft on the crown. Mowbray describes this fowl with accuracy, but errs in supposing its original country to have been Holland, they having been brought from St. Jago by the Spaniards, to whom they owe their first introduction into Europe. The colour of these birds is a shining black, and both cock and hen have the white top-knot. The head is flat, surmounted by a fleshy protuberance, out of which spring the crown feathers constituting the tuft. These are remarkably good layers, and will, if kept warm, lay nearly throughout the year; and it is this cause, probably, that has induced Mowbray and other writers to confound them with the Dutch breed, which, from a similar circumstance, have been styled Every-day layers."

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III. This variety of Polish fowl is the most pure and unmixed of the three. This is, indeed, the uncontaminated descendant of the great fowl of St. Jago. Its colour is a brilliant white body, with a jet black top-knot. This variety was described by Aldrovand, and more recently by Dr. Bechstein. I have never myself seen a specimen of the breed, and have every reason to suppose it to be extinct, or very nearly so. Mr. Nolan, the celebrated Irish breeder, informs me that he wrote to various persons in Germany connected with the poultry fancy, in order to procure some of them at any cost, but without success, receiving for answer that they were no longer to be had.

IX. THE DUTCH EVERY-DAY LAYERS.

These have, by many inexperienced writers, compilers rather,