FEATHERS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1188, 7 December 1894, Page 27

FEATHERS.

) In endeavouring to procure prolificacy in the flock let there,be ail object in view, says Poultry Keeper. If a pure-bred cock is to bo used with commofi'“hens, 'tlib poultryrnari should ..first determine what kinds of grades he desires, and then breed for them. .As the shorthorn cattle are bred for beef the stock breeder does not resort to the Jersey :bull to build up the beef-producing qualities, and the same mle applies to poultry, •* If a good strain of laying hens are desired breed for them. There are birds that; never sit, and lay well, such as the Hamburg, Minorcas, Leghorns, Spanish, &c., and when eggs are the object cocks of one of these breeds should be lised. If heavy market chicks and fowls are preferred, the largei’ breeds, such as Brahmas, Cochins, or Plymouth Rocks, will be more suitable. You cannot get all the desirable qualities in a.single breed. There must be~a sacrifice in some direction. But whatever is most desited aini to secure by using tbe breed best adapted to that purpose.

Considerable difference of opinion lias always existed amongst poultry-breeders as to Whether the five toes on the Dorking fowl form an original characteristic of the breed, or have been merely introduced by careful selection of stock by present-day breeders. As the subject is of some general interest at the present time, the following extract from a letter by “Northerner" in a recent issue of the Fanciers' Gazette throws considerable light on the subject. “ Northerner " states : “ In a copy of ‘ Mowbray’s Poultry Book published in 1824, it says,-speaking of the ‘ Dorking 5 fowls * The genuine colour is entire white; chief distinctive mark, five claws upon each foot.’ But perhaps the most important testimony, although not so old, is that of Mr John Baily, in his little monograph on “The Dorking Fowl," wherein I find that gentleman says:— * Touching the claws, I would remark it will sometimes happen that breeding from cock and pullet, each five-clawed, chickens will come lacking that distinctive mark ; it does not follow that there is any fault in the breed, as the produce of these chickens will probably be five-clawed, but I would only tolerate it in home-bred chickens ; in buying for stock I would not: only insist on the presence of the five claws, but <Sh every other characteristic of the breed being present.' Going further back, the great naturalist, Buffon, speaks of ‘the peculiar species which has five (toes) on each foot. In face of these facts, these who declare that this is a new feature in the Dorking, due to the machinations of the fancier, must hide their diminished heads, and I hope breeders will adhere to it. — Northerner."