Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1870-03-22
Breeds of PouItrY---The Cochins

Breeds of Poultry he CochIns.
The Hen Fever that prevailed like an
epidemic throughout this part of the coun- .
try nearly twenty years ago, though fol-
lowed with something of a reaction after
the heat had subsidized, undoubtedly did a
good deal of good Most excitements Of
the kind do good by waking up the public
mind and diffusng information Of various
kinds which would not have been ditiused
without them. Anything is better than
stagnation And so the "merino fever"
the "morus m0iticaulis," and more recently
the rage for imported stock, all have ac-
complished more or less good by awaken
ing the public mind.
The hen fever was the means of bringing
to notice many novelties in the way Of poul-
try that no one ever heard Of, not a few Of
which no one would ever wish to hear of
again. It is well known that the Asiatc
breeds were at tina, time all the rage The
eastern continent was secured to find some
thing new, and every eccentricity that APP
peared in the way Of breeding was de
veloped with the greatest skill and ma. e
the most of.
Among the breeds that had the greatest
run" few surpassed the Cochin-. Their
immense size astoni-hed the un~kiled in
hen literature, and for a time carried of the
palm. 1t is no doubt the case that since
the period referred to, the eye, Of many
have been rather blinded by prejudice,
and shut, to some extent, to the intrinsic
merits Of the breed, for the Cochins really
/ possess good points They lay better in
winter than most other breeds, and winter
is the time when eggs bring the most mon
! ey.
Cochin pullets of seven or eight months
begin to lay, if they are well fed, almost
irrespective of season or temperature, 50
that they become valuable winter layers
when eggs are scarce. Another great adj
vantage Of Cochins Is that they may be
confined readily by fence three and A
half feet high, and this circumstance is
very often a matter of great convenience.
Besides, the Cochins are as hardy as any
variety of domestic poultry. They hatch
well, being excellent mothers, and the
chickens are so strong and robust that
they can be reared in almost any situation.
Among their disadvantages may be in
cluded the fact that they are large eaters
as might be expected from their large size,
and notwithstanding they weigh heavier
they are not first rate birds for the table.
Their skin and fat are yellow and look
badly when the fowls are boiled, while
there is not so much flesh on the breast as
in the game or the Dorking and those
breeds that incline to use their wings in
flight
Still they are never likely to be without
their admirers on account of their domes-
ITCHY, their egg producing qualities in win
ter, the ease with which they may be con-
fined and their hardihood.
The striking characteristics are size,
shortness of leg, fulness of plumage and q
certain square angularity of shape that
contrasts strikingy with the slim elegance
of the game fowl. The color of Cochins
varies. The most general color is buff,
then there are the partridge and grouse
colored birds and pure white, Formerly
black Cochins were exhibited, but they
seem 10 have lost their admirers and are
now rarely, if ever, seen.
Cochin chickens are rather backward in
Hedging, especially chickens bred from i'm.
mature fowls, but they reach maturity ear.
ly. On the whole they must be admitted
to possess many excellent and desirable
quahties.-Noss. PloughmdH.