Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1903-08-14
DAVENPORT'S PLEASANTLY
The Most Interesting Poultry Farm in
the World.

Mr.. Joseph =. WOOD, pathological |
taxidermist of the National Museum, |
has recently returned from a visit to !
the wonderful poultry farm and pleas |
.antry of Mr.. Homer Davenport, near |
Elizabeth n. j.. where he was sent by !
the management of the museum to
study the habits. pose, attitude, etc. of |
certain rare fowls not found elsewhere |
in the United States, and also to pro-
cure specimens of some of the more re-
markabl varieties which he is now
mounting for exhibition at the ST. |
Louis Exposition. 1t will doubtless be
a surprise to the public generally to
learn that Mr. Homer Davenport, so
well known for his amusing sketches
caricaturing the trusts, the plutocrats.
and the capitalists, is the owner of the
most extensive bird farm on the west
ern hemisphere. There is nothing like
it in all the two Americas, the nearest
approach to this singular institution
being the park and menagerie of Sir
Walter Rothschild at Tring. England.
All the money which Davenport has
earned during his career one of the
foremost caricaturists in America he
has spent on this, his one hobby. To
give a full and accurate description of
this place, so little known save to nat
III sllSts, Dlid lSilNiCio, iilSiI VI 81
ence. would require many pages, but
suffice it to say that among dozens of
other rare fowls he is now successfully
breeding, is Andersons kaleege, Il
species of pheasant which is not to be
found even in stuffed and mounted
state, much less alive. elsewhere in the
whole OF North America. Speaking of
his visit to this most interest ting place,
Mr.. Wood, who is quite an enthusiast
on birds. said:
II am free to confess that Homer
Davenport's poultry and bird farm is
quite the most extraordinary place in
the United States. OF course, there are
other people who go in for raising
Japanese long-tailed fowls, Seabrght
| bantams, etc, but Davenport is quite
different in his aims and purposes from
al these. His object has been to secure
only such birds as are very rare and
difficult to procure, and he has certainly
succeeded wonderfully. The first thing
which attracted my attention to the
| left as / entered his place was a small
lake surrounded by trees with a beauti-
full green lawn sloping back to the
roadway. Certain aquatic trees are al
SO growing up out of the water of the
lake, about the base of which. a few
|
are nailed pretty little homes for the
mating ducks. Here for the first time
beheld a beautiful American wood
duck carefully leading her young to
and fro, the tiny youngsters looking
| more like punches of moving down. Not
| far distant l saw another pair of this
same species making preparations for
housekeeping, while near by beautiful
mandarin ducks were busy overhauling
and inspecting the interior of their
tiny domiciles. In short, here were wild
water fowl of every continent, thor
oughly domesticated and at home. Pin
tials running in Indian file, European
widgeons, mallards. and the attractive
little Cereopsis goose, with his stately
carriage and disagreeable voice. One
adnires the little fellow until he utters
his call note, which sounds exactly like
the grunting of swine. Then you feel
sorry fer him. Be careful where you
STEP calculated the manager. an old
and very efficient Scotch gamekeeper,
and. luckily enough, l stopped just in
time to avoid treading on what seemed
to me a bunch of down. closer in
spection revealed female mallard on
her nest, VINO by this time has doubtless
Matched out her brood of young. Like
unrestricted and are as tame as the
| tameSt domestic waterfowl. \ little
farther on and / stopped to admire a
procession of wild geese, the mother
birds in front the younger generation
following, and the male birds bringing
up the rear. Like the others, there is
nothing to prevent these wild geese
from leaving, but their domestication
is so complete that they remain near
the feeding house. and are on hand as
regularly at meal times as the others.
Here also l saw Egyptian geese, with
their pretty little spotted goslings.
Don't pick one up says the Scotcil
manager warningly, for if you do you
may have need for glass eye What
he stated was true, for although these
wild birds are domesticated, they still
retain many of their wild traits, and if
one wants to have serious conflict on
his hands let him attempt to catch one
of their young. In the same Enclosure
also saw the rare banded headed In
dian goose, with it's musical call note;
the cackling goose. and the Magellanie
goose from the Straits of Magellan and
Terra del Fuego. The cackling geese
despise the quarrelsome Egyptian
species, and while 1 was there they
found ane of the Egyptian females
alone and proceeded to give her good
beating. Her cries for help brought
one of the males to the scene, who
>. scattered the little cackling geese RICH,
and left. l also noticed the strange
= looking chinese geese among the col
lection, with their curious protuberance
over the bill, reminding one of the horr
. on the nose of rhinoceros.
., BEAUTIFUL PHEASANT.
: From the area devoted to water
, fowl we entered that part of tn,
= grounds devoted to pheasants, which o
- itself is worth the whole trip. First t,
meet US were dozen or more speci
, mems of the exceedingly rare and beau
- tiful Impeyan pheasants, their plumag,
= a perfect blaze of gorgeous color asso
:, ciating tremendously with domesticatei
3 wild turkeys. Stranger still was tht
:, :, sight of twenty-five or. thirty Californi;
y quail with the pretty little top-knot
. of the males nodding UP and down "a
they ran about, catching bugs ant
other insects. l never knew before tina
- the California quail could be domesti
= Gated hut there fie DroOfS that sucl