Poland FowlsPOLAND FOWLS.
POLAND FOWLS.
The Polish are chiefly suited for keeping in a small way, and in a clean and grassy place. They are certainly not so fit for the farm-yard, as they become blinded and miserable with dirt. Care should be exercised to procure them genuine, since there is no breed of fowls more disfigured by mongrelism than this. They will, without any cross-breeding, occasionally produce white stock that are very pretty, and equally good for laying. If, however, an attempt is made to establish a separate breed of them, they become puny and weak. It is, therefore, better for those who wish for them to depend upon chance; every brood almost of the black produces one white chicken, as strong and lively as the rest.
These fowls are excellent for the table, the flesh being white, tender, and juicy; but they are quite unsuitable for being reared in any numbers, or for general purposes, since they areso capricious in their growth, frequently remaining stationary in this respect for a whole month, getting no larger; and this, too, when they are about a quarter or half grown—the time of their life when they are most liable to disease. As aviary birds, they are unrivalled among fowls. Their plumage often requires a close inspection to appreciate its elaborate beauty; the confinement and fretting seem not uncongenial to their health; and their plumage improves in attractiveness with almost every month.
The great merit, however, of all the Polish fowls is, that for three or four years they continue to grow and gain in size, hardiness, and beauty—the male birds especially. This fact certainly points out a very wide deviation in constitution from those fowls which attain their full stature and perfect plumage in twelve or fifteen months. The similarity of coloring in the two sexes—almost a specific distinction of Polish and perhaps Spanish fowls—also separates them from those breeds, like the Game, in which the cocks and hens are remarkably dissimilar. Their edible qualities are as superior, compared with other fowls, as their outward apparel surpasses in elegance. They have also the reputation of being everlasting layers, which further fits them for keeping in small enclosures; but, in this respect, individual exceptions are often encountered—as in the case of the Hamburghs—however truly the habit may be ascribed to the race.
There are four known varieties of the Polish fowl, one of which appears to be lost to this country.
The Black Polish.This variety is of a uniform black—both cock and hen—glossed with metallic green. The head is ornamented with a handsome crest of white feathers,springing from a fleshy protuberance, and fronted more or less deeply with black. The comb is merely two or three spikes, and the wattles are rather small. Both male and female are the same in color, except that the former has frequently narrow stripes of white in the waving feathers of the tail, a sign, it is said, of true breeding. The hens, also, have two or three feathers on each side of the tail, tinged in the tip with white. They do not lay quite so early in the spring as some varieties, especially after a hard winter; but they are exceedingly good layers, continuing a long time without wanting to sit, and laying rather large, very white, sub-ovate eggs. They will, however, sit at length, and prove of very diverse dispositions; some being excellent sitters and nurses, others heedless and spiteful.
The chickens, when first hatched, are dull black, with white breasts, and white down on the front of the head. They do not always grow and get out of harm’s way so quickly as some other sorts, but are not particularly tender. In rearing a brood of these fowls, some of the hens may be observed with crests round and symmetrical as a ball, and others in which the feathers turn all ways, and fall loosely over the eyes; and in the cocks, also, some have the crest falling gracefully over the back of the head, and others have the feathers turning about and standing on end. These should be rejected, the chief beauty of the kind depending upon such little particulars. One hen of this variety laid just a hundred eggs, many of them on consecutive days, before wanting to incubate; and after rearing a brood successfully, she laid twenty-five eggs before moulting in autumn.
The Golden Polands.These are sometimes called GoldSpangled, as their plumage approaches to that of the Gold Spangled Hamburghs; but many of the finest specimens have the feathers merely fringed with a darker color, and the cocks, more frequently than the hens, exhibit a spotted or spangled appearance. Many of them are disfigured by a muff or beard; as to which the question has been raised whether it is an original appendage to these birds or not. A distinct race, of which the muff is one permanent characteristic, is not at present known. This appendage, whenever introduced into the poultry-yard, is not easily got rid of; which has caused some to suspect either that the original Polish were beardless, or that there were two ancient races.
The Golden Polands, when well-bred, are exceedingly handsome; the cock has golden hackles, and gold and brown feathers on the back; breast and wings richly spotted with ochre and dark brown; tail darker; large golden and brown crest, falling back over the neck; but little comb and wattles. The hen is richly laced with dark-brown or black on an ochre ground; dark-spotted crest; legs light-blue, very cleanly made, and displaying a small web between the toes, almost as proportionately large as that in some of the waders.
They are good layers, and produce fair-sized eggs. Many of them make excellent mothers, although they cannot be induced to sit early in the season. The chickens are rather clumsy-looking little creatures, of a dingy-brown, with some dashes of ochre about the head, breast and wings. They are sometimes inclined to disease in the first week of their existence; but, if they pass this successfully, they become tolerably hardy, though liable to come to a pause when about half-grown. It may be noted as a peculiarity in the temper ofthis breed, that, if one is caught, or attacked by any animal, the rest, whether cocks or hens, will instantly make a furious attack upon the aggressor, and endeavor to effect the rescue of their companion.
The Silver Polands.These are similar to the preceding in shape and markings, except that white, black, and gray are exchanged for ochre or yellow, and various shades of brown. They are even more delicate in their constitution, more liable to remain stationary at a certain point of their adolescence, and, still more than the other varieties, require and will repay extra care and accommodation. Their top-knots are, perhaps, not so large, as a general thing; but they retain the same neat bluish legs and slightly-webbed feet. The hens are much more ornamental than the cocks; though the latter are sure to attract notice. They may, unquestionably, be ranked among the choicest of fowls, whether their beauty or their rarity is considered. They lay, in tolerable abundance, eggs of moderate size, French-white, much pointed at one end; and when they sit, acquit themselves respectably.
The newly-hatched chickens are very pretty; gray, with black eyes, light lead-colored legs, and a swelling of down on the crown of the head, indicative of the future top-knot, which is exactly the color of a powdered wig, and, indeed, gives the chicken the appearance of wearing one. There is no difficulty in rearing them for the first six weeks or two months; the critical time being the interval between that age and their reaching the fifth or sixth month. They acquire their peculiar distinctive features at a very early age, and are then the most elegant little miniature fowls which can possibly be imagined. The distinction of sex is not very manifest till they are nearlyfull-grown; the first observable indication being in the tail. That of the pullet is carried uprightly, as it ought to be; but in the cockerel, it remains depressed, awaiting the growth of the sickle-feathers. The top-knot of the cockerel inclines to hang more backward than that of the pullets. It is remarkable that the Golden Polish cock produces as true Silver chickens, and those stronger, with the Silver Polish hen, as the Silver Polish cock would bring.
The Silver Polands have all the habits of their golden companions, the main difference being the silvery ground instead of the golden. This variety will sometimes make its appearance even if merely its Golden kind is bred, precisely as the Black Polish now and then produce some pure White chickens that make very elegant birds.
The Black-topped White.This variety does not at present exist among us; and some have even questioned whether it ever did. Buffon mentions them as if extant in France in his time. An attempt has been made to obtain them from the preceding, by acting on the imagination of the parents. The experiment failed, though similar schemes are said to have succeeded with animals; it proved, however, that it will not do to breed from the White Polish as a separate breed. Being Albinos, the chickens come very weakly, and few survive.
This breed is now recoverable, probably, only by importation from Asia.
For all the purposes of a really good fowl—for beauty of model, good size, and laying qualities—the thorough-bredShanghae is among the best, and generally the most profitable of domestic birds. The cock, when full-grown, stands about twenty-eight inches high, if he is a good specimen; the female, about twenty-two or twenty-three inches. A large comb or heavy wattles are rarely seen on the hen at any age; but the comb of the male is high, deeply indented, and his wattles double and large. The comb and wattles are not, however, to be regarded as the chief characteristics of this variety, nor even its reddish-yellow feathered leg; but the abundant, soft, and downy covering of the thighs, hips, and region of the vent, together with the remarkably short tail, and large mound of feathers piled over the upper part of its root, giving rise to a considerable elevation on that part of the rump. It should be remarked, also, that the wings are quite short and small in proportion to the size of the fowl, and carried very high up the body, thus exposing the whole of the thighs, and a considerable portion of the side.
ShanghaesSHANGHAES.
SHANGHAES.
These characteristics are not found, in the same degree, in any other fowl. The peculiar arrangement of feathers gives the Shanghae in appearance, what it has in reality—a greater depth of quarter, in proportion to the brisket, than any other fowl.
As to the legs, they are not very peculiar. The color is usually reddish-white, or flesh-color, or reddish-yellow, mostly covered down the outside, even to the end of the toes, with feathers. This last, however, is not always the case. The plumage of the thorough-bred is remarkably soft and silky, or rather downy; and is, in the opinion of many, equally as good for domestic purposes as that of the goose. The feathers are certainly quite as fine and soft, if not as abundant.
In laying qualities, the pure Shanghae equals, if it does not excel, any other fowl. The Black Poland, or the Bolton Gray, may, perhaps, lay a few more eggs in the course of a year, in consequence of not so frequently inclining to sit; but their eggs are not so rich and nutritious. A pullet of this breed laid one hundred and twenty eggs in one hundred and twenty-five days, then stopped six days, then laid sixteen eggs more, stopped four days, and again continued her laying. The eggs are generally of a pale yellow, or nankeen color, not remarkably large, compared with the size of the fowl, and generally blunt at the ends. The comb is commonly single, though, in some specimens, there is a slight tendency to rose.
The flesh of this fowl is tender, juicy, and unexceptionable in every respect. Taking into consideration the goodly size of the Shanghae—weighing, as the males do, at maturity, from ten to twelve pounds, and the females from seven and a half to eight and a half, and the males and females of six months, eight and six pounds respectively—the economical uses to which its soft, downy feathers may be applied, its productiveness, hardiness, and its quiet and docile temper, this variety must occupy, and deservedly so, a high rank among ourdomestic fowls; and the more it is known, the better will it be appreciated.
White ShanghaesWHITE SHANGHAES.
WHITE SHANGHAES.
The White Shanghae.This variety is entirely white, with the legs usually feathered, and differ in no material respect from the red, yellow, and Dominique, except in color. The legs are yellowish, or reddish-yellow, and sometimes of flesh-color. Many prefer them to all others. The eggs are of a nankeen, or dull yellow color, and blunt at both ends.
It is claimed by the friends of this variety that they are larger and more quiet than other varieties, that their flesh is much superior, their eggs larger, and the hens more profitable. Being more quiet in their habits, and less inclined to ramble,the hens are invaluable as incubators and nurses; and the mildness of their disposition makes them excellent foster-mothers, as they never injure the chickens belonging to other hens.
These fowls will rank among the largest coming from China, and are very thrifty in our climate. A cock of this variety attained a weight of eight pounds, at about the age of eight months, and the pullets of the same brood were proportionably large. They are broad on the back and breast, with a body well rounded up; the plumage white, with a downy softness—in the latter respect much like the feathering of the Bremen goose; the tail-feathers short and full; the head small, surmounted by a small, single, serrated comb; wattles long and wide, overlaying the cheek-piece, which is also large, and extends back on the neck; and the legs of a yellow hue, approaching a flesh-color, and feathered to the ends of the toes.
This variety of fowls is remarkable for great brilliancy of plumage and diversity of colors. On a white ground, which is usually termed silvery, there is an abundance of black spots. The feathers on the upper part of the head are much longer than the rest, and unite together in a tuft. They have a small, double comb, and their wattles are also comparatively small. A remarkable peculiarity of the cock is, that there is a spot of a blue color on the cheeks, and a range of feathers under the throat, which has the appearance of a collar.
The hen is a smaller bird, with plumage similar to that of the cock, and at a little distance seems to be covered withscales. On the head is a top-knot of very large size, which droops over it on every side. The Silver Pheasants are beautiful and showy birds, and chiefly valuable as ornamental appendages to the poultry-yard.
Spanish FowlsSPANISH FOWLS.
SPANISH FOWLS.
This name is said to be a misnomer, as the breed in question was originally brought by the Spaniards from the West Indies; and, although subsequently propagated in Spain, it has for some time been very difficult to procure good specimens from that country. From Spain, they were taken in considerable numbers into Holland, where they have been carefully bred, for many years; and it is from that quarter that our best fowls of this variety come.
The Spanish is a noble race of fowls, possessing many merits; of spirited and animated appearance; of considerable size; excellent for the table, both in whiteness of flesh and skin, and also in flavor; and laying exceedingly large eggs in considerable numbers. Among birds of its own breed it is not deficient in courage; though it yields, without showing much fight, to those which have a dash of game blood in their veins. It is a general favorite in all large cities, for the additional advantage that no soil of smoke or dirt is apparent on its plumage.
The thorough-bred birds should be entirely black, as far as feathers are concerned; and when in high condition, display a greenish, metallic lustre. The combs of both cock and hen are exceedingly large, of a vivid and most brilliant scarlet; that of the hen droops over upon one side. Their most singular feature is a large, white patch, or ear-hole, on the cheek—in some specimens extending over a great part of the face—of a fleshy substance, similar to the wattle; it is small in the female, but large and very conspicuous in the male. This marked contrast of black, bright red, and white, makes the breed of the Spanish cock as handsome as that of any variety which we have; in the genuine breed, the whole form is equally good.
Spanish hens are celebrated as good layers, and produce very large, quite white eggs, of a peculiar shape, being very thick at both ends, and yet tapering off a little at each. They are, by no means, good mothers of families, even when they do sit—which they will not often condescend to do—proving very careless, and frequently trampling half their brood under foot. The inconveniences of this habit are, however,easily obviated by causing the eggs to be hatched by some more motherly hen.
This variety of fowl has frequently been known to lose nearly all the feathers in its body, besides the usual quantity on the neck, wings, and tail; and, if they moult late, and the weather is severe, they feel it much. This must often happen in the case of an “everlasting layer;” for if the system of a bird is exhausted by the unremitting production of eggs, it cannot contain within itself the material for supplying the growth of feathers. They have not, even yet, become acclimated in this country, since continued frost at any time is productive of much injury to their combs; frequently causing mortification in the end, which at times terminates in death. A warm poultry-house, high feeding, and care that they do not remain too long exposed to severe weather, are the best means of preventing this disfigurement. Some birds are occasionally produced, handsomely streaked with red on the hackle and back. This is no proof of bad breeding, if other points are right.
The chickens are large, as would be expected from such eggs, entirely shining black, except a pinafore of white on the breast—in which respect they are precisely like the Black Polish chickens—and a slight sprinkling under the chin, with sometimes also a little white round the back and eyes; their legs and feet are black. Many of them do not get perfectly feathered till they are three-fourths grown; and, therefore, to have this variety come to perfection in a country where the summers are much shorter than in their native climate, they must be hatched early in spring, so that they may be well covered with plumage before the cold rains of autumn. There is,however, a great lack of uniformity in the time when they get their plumage; the pullets are always earlier and better feathered than the cockerels—the latter being generally half naked for a considerable time after being hatched, though some feather tolerably well at an early age.
TheBlackis not the only valuable race of Spanish fowl; there is, also, theGray, orSpeckled, of a slaty gray color, with white legs. Their growth is so rapid, and their size, eventually, so large, that they are remarkably slow in obtaining their feathers. Although well covered with down when first hatched, they look almost naked when half-grown, and should, therefore, be hatched as early in spring as possible. The cross between the Pheasant-Malay and the Spanish produces a particularly handsome fowl.
As early pullets, for laying purposes in the autumn and winter after they are hatched, no fowls can surpass the Spanish. They are believed, also, to be more precocious in their constitution; and consequently to lay at an earlier age than the pullets of other breeds.
Fowls are classed by modern naturalists as follows:
Division.Vertebrata—possessing a back bone.Class.Aves—birds.Order.Rasores—scrapers.Family.Phasianidæ—Pheasants.Genus.Gallus—the cock.
Birds, as well as quadrupeds, may be divided into two great classes, according to their food: the Carnivorous and the Graminivorous. Fowls belong, strictly speaking, to the latter.
In the structure of thedigestive organs, birds exhibit a great uniformity. The œsophagus, which is often very muscular, is dilated into a large sac—called thecrop—at its entrance into the breast; this is abundantly supplied with glands, and serves as a species of first stomach, in which the food receives a certain amount of preparation before being submitted to the action of the proper digestive organs. A little below the crop, the narrow œsophagus is again slightly dilated, forming what is called theventriculus succenturiatus, the walls of which are very thick, and contain a great number of glands, which secrete the gastric juice. Below this, the intestinal canal is enlarged into a third stomach, thegizzard, in which the process of digestion is carried still farther. In the graminivorous birds, the walls of this cavity are very thick and muscular, and clothed internally with a strong, hornyepithelium, serving for the trituration of the food. The intestine is rather short, but usually exhibits several convolutions; the large intestine is always furnished with twocorea. It opens by a semicircular orifice into thecloaca, which also receives the orifices of the urinary and generative organs. The liver is of large size, and usually furnished with a gall-bladder. The pancreas is lodged in a kind of loop, formed by the small intestine immediately after quitting the gizzard. There are also large salivary glands in the neighborhood of the mouth, which pour their secretion into that cavity.
Theorgans of circulation and respirationin birds are adapted to their peculiar mode of life; but are not separated from the abdominal cavity by a diaphragm, as in the mammalia. The heart consists of four cavities distinctly separated—two auricles and two ventricles—so that the venous andarterial blood can never mix in that organ; and the whole of the blood returned from the different parts of the body passes through the lungs before being again driven into the systemic arteries. The blood is received from the veins of the body in the right auricle, from which it passes through a tabular opening into the right ventricle, and is thence driven into the lungs. From these organs it returns through the pulmonary veins into the left auricle, and passes thence into the ventricles of the same side, by the contraction of which it is driven into the aorta. This soon divides into two branches, which, by their subdivision, give rise to the arteries of the body.
The jaws, or mandibles, are sheathed in a horny case, usually of a conical form, on the sides of which are the nostrils. In most birds, the sides of this sheath or bill are smooth and sharp; but in some they are denticulated along the margins. The two anterior members of the body are extended into wings. The beak is used instead of hands; and such is the flexibility of the vertebral column, that the bird is able to touch with its beak every part of its body. This curious and important result is obtained chiefly by the lengthened vertebræ of the neck, which, in the swan, consists of twenty-three bones, and in the domestic cock, thirteen. The vertebræ of the back are seven to eleven; the ribs never exceed ten on each side.
The clothing of the skin consists offeathers, which in their nature and development resemble hair, but are of a more complicated structure. A perfect feather consists of theshaft, a central stem, which is tubular at the base, where it is inserted into the skin, and thebarbs, or fibres, which form thewebson each side of the shaft. The two principalmodifications of feathers arequillsandplumes; the former confined to the wings and tail, the latter constituting the general clothing of the body. Besides the common feathers, the skin of many birds is covered with a thick coating of down, which consists of a multitude of small feathers of peculiar construction; each of these down feathers is composed of a very small, soft tube imbedded in the skin, from the interior of which there rises a small tuft of soft filaments, without any central shaft. These filaments are very slender, and bear on each side a series of still more delicate filaments, which may be regarded as analogous to the barbules of the ordinary feathers. This downy coat fulfils the same office as the soft, woolly fur of many quadrupeds; the ordinary feathers being analogous to the long, smooth hair by which the fur of these animals is concealed. The skin also bears many hair-like appendages, which are usually scattered sparingly over its surface; they rise from a bulb which is imbedded in the skin, and usually indicate their relation to the ordinary feathers by the presence of a few minute barbs toward the apex.
Once or twice in the course of a year the whole plumage of the bird is renewed, the casting of the old feathers being calledmoulting. The base of the quills is covered by a series of large feathers, called thewing coverts; and the feathers of the tail are furnished with numerous muscles, by which they can be spread out and folded up like a fan. In the aquatic birds—like the goose, the duck, and the swan—the feathers are constantly lubricated by an oily secretion, which completely excludes the water.
In their reproduction, birds are strictly oviparous. Theeggsare always enclosed in a hard shell, consisting ofcalcareous matter, and birds almost invariably devote their whole attention, during the breeding season, to the hatching of their eggs and the development of their offspring; sitting constantly upon the eggs to communicate to them the degree of warmth necessary for the evolution of the embryo, and attending to the wants of their newly-hatched young, until the latter are in a condition to shift for themselves.
In the structure and development of the egg there is a great uniformity; but there is a remarkable difference in the condition of the young bird at the moment of hatching. In the class under consideration, the young are able to run about from the moment of their breaking the egg-shell; and the only care of the parents is devoted to protecting their offspring from danger, and leading them into those places where they are likely to meet with food.
Thelongevityof birds is various, and, unlike the case of men and quadrupeds, seems to bear little proportion to the age at which they acquire maturity. A few months, or even a few weeks, suffice to bring them to their perfection of stature, instincts, and powers. Domestic fowls live to the age of twenty years; geese, fifty; while swans exceed a century.
The orderRasoresincludes the numerous species ofgallinaceous birds, and the term is applied to them from their habit of scratching in the ground in search of food. They are generally marked by a small head, stout legs, plumage fine, the males usually adorned with magnificent colors, and the tails often developed in a manner to render the appearance extremely elegant. The wings are usually short and weak, and the flight of the birds is neither powerful norprolonged. Thecorlaof this order are larger than in any other birds.
The species are found in almost all parts of the world, from the tropics to the frozen regions of the north; but the finest and most typical kinds are inhabitants of the temperate and warmer parts of Asia. They feed principally on seeds, fruit, and herbage, but also, to a considerable extent, on insects, worms, and other small animals. Their general habitation is on the ground, where they run with great celerity, but many of them roost on trees. They are mostly polygamous in their habits, the males being usually surrounded by a considerable troop of females; and to these, with a few exceptions, the whole business of incubation is generally left. The nest is always placed on the ground in some sheltered situation, and very little art is exhibited in its construction; indeed, an elaborate nest is the less necessary, as the young are able to run about and feed almost as soon as they have left the egg; and at night or on the approach of danger, they collect beneath the wings of their mother. Most of these species are esteemed for the table, and many of them are among the most celebrated of game birds.
Thepheasant family, of this order, includes the most beautiful of the rasorial birds; indeed, some of them may, perhaps, be justly regarded as pre-eminent in this respect over all the rest of their class. In these, the bill is of moderate size and compressed, with the upper mandible arched to the tip, where it overhangs the lower one; thetarsiare of moderate length and thickness, usually armed with one or two spurs; the toes are moderate, and the hinder one short and elevated; the wings are rather short and rounded, and the tail more or lesselongated and broad, but frequently wedge-shaped and pointed. The head is rarely feathered all over; the naked skin is sometimes confined to a space about the eye, but generally occupies a greater portion of the surface, occasionally covering the whole head, and even a part of the neck, and frequently forming combs and wattles of very remarkable forms. In some species, the crown is furnished with a crest of feathers.
The birds of this family are, for the most part, indigenous to the Asiatic continent and islands, from which, however, several species have been introduced into other parts of the globe. The Guinea Fowl of Africa, and the Turkeys of America, are almost the only instances of wild Phasianidous birds out of Asia. Some species, such as the Domestic Fowl, the Peacock, the Turkey, and the Guinea Fowl, have been reduced to a state of complete domestication, and are distributed pretty generally over the world.
This bird belongs to the same division, class, order, and family as the Domestic Fowl; but is assigned by naturalists to the genus Numida, or Numidian. It is indigenous to the tropical parts of Africa, and in a wild state, Guinea Fowls live in flocks, in woods, preferring marshy places, and feed on insects, worms, and seeds; they roost on trees; the nest is made on the ground, and usually contains as many as twenty eggs. They have been propagated in the Island of Jamaica to such an extent as to have become wild, and are shot like other game. They do much damage to the crops, and are therefore destroyed by various means; one of which is, to get them tipsy by strewing corn steeped in rum, and mixed with theintoxicating juice of the cassava, upon the ground; the birds devour this, and are soon found in a helpless state of inebriety.
The Guinea FowlTHE GUINEA FOWL.
THE GUINEA FOWL.
The Guinea Fowl, to a certain degree, unites the characteristics of the pheasant and the turkey; having the delicate shape of the one, and the bare head of the other. There are several varieties: the White, the Spotted, the Madagascar, and the Crested. The latter is not so large as the common species; the head and neck are bare, of a dull blue, shaded with red, and, instead of the casque, it has an ample crest of hair-like, disunited feathers, of a bluish black, reaching as far forward as the nostrils, but, in general, turned backward. The whole plumage, except the quills, is of a bluish black, covered with small grayish spots, sometimes four, sometimes six on each feather.
This fowl is not a great favorite among many keepers of poultry, being so unfortunate as to have gained a much worse reputation than it really deserves, from having been occasionally guilty of a few trifling faults. It is, however, useful, ornamental, and interesting during its life; and, when dead, a desirable addition to the table, at a time when all other poultry is scarce.
The best way to commence keeping Guineas is to procure a sitting of eggs which can be depended upon for freshness, and if possible, from a place where but a single pair is kept. A Bantam hen is the best mother; she is lighter, and less likely to injure them by treading on them than a full-sized fowl. She will cover nine eggs, and incubation will last a month. The young are excessively pretty. When first hatched, they are so strong and active as to appear not to require the attention which is really necessary to rear them. Almost as soon as they are dry from the moisture of the egg, they will peck each other’s toes, as if supposing them to be worms, scramble with each other for a crumb of bread, and domineer over any little Bantam or chicken that may chance to have been hatched at the same time with themselves. No one, ignorant of the fact, would guess, from their appearance, to what species of bird they belonged; their orange-red bills and legs, and the dark, zebra-like stripes with which they are regularly marked from head to tail, bear no traces of the speckled plumage of their parents.
Of all known birds, the Guinea fowl is, perhaps, the most prolific of eggs. Week after week, and month after month, there are very few intermissions, if any, of the daily deposit. Even the process of moulting is sometimes insufficient to draw off the nutriment which it takes to make feathers instead of eggs; and the poor thing will sometimes go about half-naked in the chilly autumn months, unable to refrain from its diurnal visit to the nest, and consequently unable to furnish itself with a new outer garment. The body of the Guinea hen may be regarded, in fact, as a most admirable machine for producingeggs out of insects, grain, and vegetables, garbage, or whatever material an omnivorous creature can appropriate.
Its normal plumage is singularly beautiful, being spangled over with an infinity of white spots on a black ground, shaded with gray and brown. The spots vary from the size of a pea to extreme minuteness. The black and white occasionally change places, causing the bird to appear covered with a net of lace.
The white variety is not uncommon, and is said to be equally hardy and profitable with the usual kind; but the peculiar beauty of the original plumage is, certainly, all exchanged for a dress of not the purest white. It is doubtful how long either this or the former variety would remain permanent; though, probably, but for a few generations. Pied birds blotched with patches of white, are frequent, but are not comparable, in point of beauty, with those of the original wild color.
This bird is assigned to the genusparo, or peacock—the division, class, or sex, and family, being the same as the preceding. The male of this species is noted for its long, lustrous tail, which it occasionally spreads, glittering with hundreds of jewel-like eye-spots, producing an unrivalled effect of grace and beauty. The form of the bird is also exceedingly elegant, and the general plumage of the body exhibits rich metallic tints; that of the neck, particularly, being of a fine deep blue, tinged with golden green. The female, however, is of a much more sober hue, her whole plumage being usually of a brownish color. The voice of the peacock is by no means suitable tothe beauty of its external appearance, consisting of a harsh, disagreeable cry, not unlike the wordpaon, which is the French name of the bird.
The Pea FowlTHE PEA FOWL.
THE PEA FOWL.
Although naturalized as a domestic bird in Europe and America, the pea fowl is a native of India, where it is still found abundantly in a wild state; and the wild specimens are said to be more brilliant than those bred in captivity. The date of its introduction into England is not known; but the first peacocks appear to have been brought into Europe by Alexander the Great, although these birds were among the articles imported into Judea by the fleets of Solomon. They reached Rome toward the end of the republic, and their costliness soon caused them to be regarded as one of the greatest luxuries of the table, though the moderns find them dry and leathery. This, perhaps, as much as the desire of ostentation, may have induced the extravagance of Vitellius and Heliogabulus, who introduced dishes composed only of the brains and tongues of peacocks at their feasts. In Europe, during the middle ages, the peacock was still a favorite article in the bill of fare of grand entertainments, at which it was served withthe greatest pomp and magnificence. And during the period of chivalry, it was usual for knights to make vows of enterprise on these occasions, “before the peacock and the ladies.” At present, however, the bird is kept entirely on account of the beauty of its appearance.
In a state of nature, pea fowl frequent jungles and wooded localities, feeding upon grain, fruits, and insects. They are polygamous, and the females make their nests upon the ground among bushes; the nest is composed of grass, and the number of eggs laid is said to be five or six. They roost in high trees, and, even in captivity, their inclination to get into an elevated position frequently manifests itself; and they may often be seen perched upon high walls, or upon the ridges of buildings.
The latter characteristic is, indirectly, one reason why many are disinclined to keep pea fowl in a domestic state. Their decided determination so to roost prevents such a control being exercised over them as would restrain them from mischief, until an eye could be kept on their movements; and, consequently, they commit many depredations upon gardens, stealing off to their work of plunder at the first dawn, or at the most unexpected moments. Their cunning indeed is such that, if frequently driven away from the garden at any particular hour of the day or evening, they will never be found there, after a certain time, at that special hour, but will invariably make their inroads at day-break. Many have tried, as a last resort, to eject them with every mark of scorn and insult, such as harsh words, the cracking of whips, and the throwing of harmless brooms; but they remain incorrigiblemarauders, indifferent to this disrespectful usage, and careless of severe rebuke.
A mansion, therefore, where the fruit and vegetable garden is at a distance, is almost the only place where they can be kept without daily vexation. The injury they do to flowers is comparatively trifling; though, like the Guinea-fowl, they are great eaters of buds, cutting them out cleanly from theaxillaeof leaves. They must likewise have a dusting-hole, which is large and unsightly; but this can be provided for them in some nook out of the way; and by feeding and encouragement, they will soon be taught to dispose themselves into a pleasing spectacle, at whatever point of view may be deemed desirable. No one with a very limited range should attempt to keep them at all, unless confined in an aviary. Where they can be kept at large, they should be collected in considerable numbers, that their dazzling effects may be as impressive as possible.
A wanton destructiveness toward the young of other poultry is also charged upon them. Relative to this, however, statements differ; some contending that such instances of cruelty constitute the exceptions, and not the rule.
The hen does not lay till her third summer; but she then seems to have an instinctive fear of her mate, manifested by the secrecy with which she selects the place for her nest; nor, if the eggs are disturbed, will she go there again. She lays from four or five to seven. If these are taken, she will frequently lay a second time during the summer; and the plan is recommended to those who are anxious to increase their stock. She sits from twenty-seven to twenty-nine days. A common hen will hatch and rear the young; but the sameobjection lies against her performing that office, except in very fine, long summers, for the pea fowl as for turkeys—that the young require to be brooded longer than the hen is conveniently able to do. A turkey will prove a much better foster-mother in every respect. The peahen should, of course, be permitted to take charge of one set of eggs. Even without such assistance, she will be tolerably successful.
The same wise provision of Nature noticed in the case of the Guinea fowl is evinced in a still greater degree in the little pea chickens. Their native jungle—tall, dense, sometimes impervious, swarming with reptile, quadruped, and even insect, enemies—would be a most dangerous habitation for a little tender thing that could merely run and squall. Accordingly, they escape from the egg with their quill-feathers very highly developed. In three days, they will fly up, and perch upon any thing three feet high; in a fortnight, they will roost on trees, or the tops of sheds; and in a month or six weeks, they will reach the ridge of a barn, if there are any intermediate low stables or other buildings to help them to mount from one to the other.
There are two varieties of the common pea fowl: thepiedand thewhite. The first has irregular patches of white about it, like the pied Guinea fowl, and the remainder of the plumage resembling the original sorts; the white have the ocellated spots on the tail faintly visible in certain lights. These last are tender, and much prized by those who prefer variety to real beauty. They are occasionally produced by birds of the common kind, in cases where no intercourse with other white birds can have taken place. In one instance, in the samebrood, whose parents were both of the usual colors, there were two of the common sort, and one white cock, and one white hen.
The Wild Turkey.The turkey belongs to the genusmeleagris, and, though now known as a domestic fowl in most civilized countries, was confined to America until after the discovery of that country by Columbus. It was probably introduced into Europe by the Spaniards about the year 1530. It was found in the forests of North America, when the country was first settled, from the Isthmus of Darien to Canada, being then abundant even in New England; at present, a few are found in the mountains of Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey; in the Western and the Southwestern States they are still numerous, though constantly diminishing before the extending and increasing settlements.
The Wild TurkeyTHE WILD TURKEY.
THE WILD TURKEY.
The wild male bird measures about three feet and a half, ornearly four feet, in length, and almost six in expanse of the wings, and weighs from fifteen to forty pounds. The skin of the head is of a bluish color, as is also the upper part of the neck, and is marked with numerous reddish, warty elevations, with a few black hairs scattered here and there. On the under part of the neck, the skin hangs down loosely, and forms a sort of wattle; and from the point where the bill commences, and the forehead terminates, arises a fleshy protuberance, with a small tuft of hair at the extremity, which becomes greatly elongated when the bird is excited; and at the lower part of the neck is a tuft of black hair, eight or nine inches in length.
The feathers are, at the base, of a bright dusky tinge, succeeded by a brilliant metallic band, which changes, according to the point whence the light falls upon it, to bronze, copper, violet, or purple; and the tip is formed by a narrow, black, velvety band. This last marking is absent from the neck and breast. The color of the tail is brown, mottled with black, and crossed with numerous lines of the latter color; near the tip is a broad, black band, then a short mottled portion, and then a broad band of dingy yellow. The wings are white, banded closely with black, and shaded with brownish yellow, which deepens in tint toward the back. The head is very small, in proportion to the size of the body; the legs and feet are strongly made, and furnished with blunt spurs, about an inch long, and of a dusky reddish color; the bill is reddish, and brown-colored at the tip.
The female is less in size; her legs are destitute of spurs; her neck and head are less naked, being furnished with short, dirty, gray feathers; the feathers on the back of the neck have brownish tips, producing on that part a brown, longitudinalband. She also, frequently, but not invariably, wants the tuft of feathers on the breast. Her prevailing color is a dusky gray, each feather having a metallic band, less brilliant than that of the cock, then a blackish band, and a grayish fringe. Her whole color is, as usual among birds, duller than that of the cock; the wing-feathers display the white, and have no bands; the tail is similarly colored to that of the cock. When young, the sexes are so much alike that it is not easy to discern the difference between them; and the cock acquires his beauty only by degrees, his plumage not arriving at perfection until the fourth or fifth year.
The habits of these birds in their native wilds are exceedingly curious. The males, calledGobblers, associate in parties of from ten to a hundred, and seek their food apart from the females, which either go about singly with their young, at that time about two-thirds grown, or form troops with other females and their families, sometimes to the number of seventy or eighty. These all avoid the old males, who attack and destroy the young, whenever they can, by reiterated blows upon the skull. But all parties travel in the same direction, and on foot, unless the dog or the hunter or a river on their line of march compels them to take wing. When about to cross a river, they select the highest eminences, that their flight may be more sure, and in such positions they sometimes stay for a day or more, as if in consultation. The males upon such occasions gobble obstreperously, strutting with extraordinary importance, as if to animate their companions; and the females and the young assume much of the same pompous manner, and spread their tails as they move silently around. Having mounted, at length, to the tops of the highest trees,the assembled multitude, at the signal note of their leader, wing their way to the opposite shore. The old and fat birds, contrary to what might be expected, cross without difficulty, even when the river is a mile in width; but the wings of the young and the meagre, and, of course, those of the weak, frequently fail them before they have completed their passage, when they drop in, and are forced to swim for their lives, which they do cleverly enough, spreading their tails for a support, closing their wings, stretching out their necks, and striking out quickly and strongly with their feet. All, however, do not succeed in such attempts, and the weaker often perish.
The wild turkeys feed on maize, all sorts of berries, fruits, grasses, and beetles; tadpoles, young frogs, and lizards, are occasionally found in their crops. The pecan nut is a favorite food, and so is the acorn, on which last they fatten rapidly. About the beginning of October, while the mast still hangs on the trees, they gather together in flocks, directing their course to the rich bottom-lands, and are then seen in great numbers on the Ohio and Mississippi. This is theturkey-monthof the Indians. When they have arrived at the land of abundance, they disperse in small, promiscuous flocks of both sexes and every age, devouring all the mast as they advance. Thus they pass the autumn and winter, becoming comparatively familiar after their journeys, when they venture near plantations and farm-houses. They have even been known, on such occasions, to enter stables and corn-cribs in quest of food. Numbers are killed in the winter, and preserved in a frozen state for distant markets.
The beginning of March is the pairing season, for a short time previous to which the females separate from their mates,and shun them, though the latter pertinaciously follow them, gobbling loudly. The sexes roost apart, but at no great distance, so that when the female utters a call, every male within hearing responds, rolling note after note in the most rapid succession; not as when spreading the tail and strutting near the hen, but in a voice resembling that of the tame turkey when he hears any unusual or frequently-repeated noise.
Where the turkeys are numerous, the woods, from one end to the other, sometimes for hundreds of miles, resound with this remarkable voice of their wooing, uttered responsively from their roosting-places. This is continued for about an hour; and, on the rising of the sun, they silently descend from their perches, and the males begin to strut for the purpose of winning the admiration of their mates.
If the call of a female be given from the ground, the males in the vicinity fly toward the individual, and, whether they perceive her or not, erect and spread their tails, throw the head backward, and distend the comb and wattles, shout pompously, and rustle their wings and body-feathers, at the same moment ejecting a puff of air from the lungs. While thus occupied, they occasionally halt to look out for the female, and then resume their strutting and puffing, moving with as much rapidity as the nature of their gait will admit. During this ceremonious approach, the males often encounter each other, and desperate battles ensue, when the conflict is only terminated by the flight or death of the vanquished. The usual fruits of such victories are reaped by the conqueror, who is followed by one or more females, that roost near him, if not upon the same tree, until they begin to lay, when theirhabits are altered, with the view of saving their eggs, which the male breaks, if he can get at them. These are usually from nine to fifteen in number, sometimes twenty, whitish and spotted with brown, like those of the domestic bird. The nest consists of a few dried leaves placed on the ground, sometimes on a dry ridge, sometimes on the fallen top of a dead leafy tree, under a thicket of sumach or briers, or by the side of a log. Whenever the female leaves the nest, she covers it with leaves, so as to screen it from observation. She is a very close sitter, and when she has chosen a spot will seldom leave it, on account of its being discovered by a human intruder. Should she find one of her eggs, however, sucked by a snake, or other enemy, she abandons the nest forever. When the eggs are near hatching, she will not forsake her nest while life remains.
The females are particularly attentive to their young, which are very sensitive to the effects of damp; and consequently wild turkeys are always scarce after a rainy season. The flesh of the wild turkey is much superior to that of the domestic bird; yet the flesh of such of the latter as have been suffered to roam at large in the woods and in the plains is, in no respect, improved by this partially wild mode of life.
The origin of the popular name, turkey, appears to be the confusion at first unaccountably subsisting relative to the identity of the bird with the Guinea fowl, which was still scarce at the time of the introduction of the turkey. Some, however, say that the name arose from the proud andTurkishstrut of the cock. There is a question whether the domesticturkey is actually a second and distinct species, or merely a variety of the wild bird, owing its diversity of aspect to circumstances dependent on locality, and consequent change of habit, combined with difference of climate and other important causes, which are known in the case of other animals to produce such remarkable effects.