The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-10-04
agricultural department.
CONDUCTED BY ALBERT CHAPMAN
Domestic Value of Fowls.
by CYRUS o. POOLE.


Few persons are aware how much we
are indebted to fowls for the comfort Of
our families. How bare would our tables
be without their broiled chickens, their
fricassees and roasts, their omelettes, and
the various forms of eggs which the good
housewife so well knows how to prepare!
She, alone, is aware how meagre her fare
would be without eggs as Ingredients Of
half the dishes she prepares. Besides,
the pleasure of keeping and raising poul-
try, is above all price.
My chicks are the delight of the house,
hold from the time they first break shell,
till the first crow, or maiden egg, announ-
ces maturity.
As | write, see from the window my
stately Dorkiug cock, escorting his harem
Of choice wives, with all the dignity of
Brigham Young, giving an element of
living interest to landscape, which, how
ever beautiful, would be lonely without
them. Farther on beyond the pond, the
imported Houdans toss their plumed
heads like the French grenadiers they re-
semble, though they cluck and crow in
unmistakeable Yankee vernacular. And
little to the right the Cochin Chinas
show their elegant plumage, while beyond
we see Brahmas. Games, &c. In fact
my "twenty-six acres enough" are dotted
over with the various breeds which we
have adopted.
Nothing so interests and amuses fam.
lily as chicks; nothing better repays care,
and every child should early have its at
tention called to their habits. They are
thus taken out Of doors and thrown into
direct contact with mother Garth and ma.
ture, awakening pure thoughts and feel
ings, and teaching tenderness and human.
ity. Hence regard the increased atten-
ton given to the rearing Of fowls as
matter Of great congrstulation. If l can
impart to others little of the enthusiasm
which l have felt upon this subject from
my earliest boyhood, it will be source
of great qualification to me.
In an artistic point of view again, poul.
try is indispensable to rural place. You
cannot enter any picture gallery, without
finding a bevy of small children-or those
Of larger growth, around some barn yard
scene, and chromos of "Taits chickens"
have had immense sale in homes where
there is no room for the originals. 1t is
refreshing to see, amid scenes of stateli-
ness and grandeur, these cunning little
biqueds, cuddling up into the affections
md lingering in the memory.
This much l must say in favor Of cul.
tivating the graces OF the yard, for their
influence in attaching our children and
ourselves to our homes. | know a girl
away from home, who always finishes her
letter with "How many chicks have we
now ?" and show large are they" and
chow nice it will be to help feed them
when my school is out" and sure enough
they will all know her in a week, and
come at her call. and fly to her shoulders
and head, and eat tit.bits from her hand,
making prettier picture to me, at least,
than TAFT has ever given us.
VARIETIES OE FOWLS.
The varieties Of fowl which are to be
coveted, should, with every amateurs, de.
pend on the size Of his yard or yards, and
the dryness or humidity of the ground.
1t is q great mistake to think that any
one variety can be the best under all sur.
roundings. That depends entirely on To-
eality and circumstance. Breeders in
England and America force fashion up.
on the market, which they change-well,
nearly as often as the ladies change the
fashion Of their bonnets Fabulous pri-
oes are paid for birds which are entirely
undesirable in some yards, but are really
very valuable in others. Of this, each
breeder must decide for himself, but |
will give you some hints from my
own varied experience. in regard to
the desirability of the various known
breeds.
LANCE fOWLs-ARE THEY A SUGGEST
Many poultry breeders prefer the larg-
est possible fowls that can be obtained.
These always make fine show, which,
with many, outweighs other advantages.
The Asiatics are all large, and under the
terms Cochins and Shanghais exist in
various. degrees of purity all over the
country.
| am yet doubtful if the great popular.
ity they have obtained be entirely justif.
able. They have excellent qualities. it is
true, but they are only such as fit them
for peculiar localities. From being SC
well feathered in body and legs, they are
good winter layers, and consequently ART
not affected by severe cold or fluctuations
Of temperature. They are also very do
Gle, their sluggish, domestic habits disin
elining them to ramble. Hence, theil
chief advantages they can be kept il
very small yards, and are suited to fami
lies who live in villages, where land i
measured only by feet and inches. Fo
ornament, a flock Of ten or fifteen hens o
the Light Brahma, or Buff or Partridg
Cochin, make very fine show, when seeI
at little distance. But they never seen
entirely naturalized. They are not Amer
loans, nor can they be, better than tn
ostrich or the camel. The hens are fai
settlers and mothers; not shy, and easil
handled, SO they are likely to be yer
popular for while in the family. The
have contented, motherly way. that
very pleasant. But look at tho hal
grown chicks Can you imagine any
thing more odd and ungainly than tAei
long, loose-jointed, halffesthered legs