( 42 )

putting a fecond Cock down to Hcns, it is pro ..

pcr thcy !hould be all clear before an Egg be-
fa ved from him, tho' there be half a Dozen with
him, or elfe how muft a Períon come to the
Truth of bis Brecd ; for Suppofition will never
do in breeding Cocks.
Thcre is another great Diípute among Bree-
ders conccrning Rucking Eggs, whether they
will be as P,Ood as thc prior Part of rhe Lowter
or not? Towhich 1 aníwer, that there will be
no Difference as to Goodnefs or Way of fighting,
but will be fmaller and weaker than the Genera-
Iity of the reft ; for when a Hen rucks, íhe is
depriv'd of all her Luít, and does not receive
the Cock with that Warmth and Vigour,
at fuch Times as fhould ftrain thofe Eggs,
as 'at other Times, nor are they nigh fo well
:filled. As for flinging away the firft, it is for
Faíhion's Sake more than any Reafon a .Breeder
can give; and among the many idle Notions that
is one: But the beft Way to avoid all Difputes
concerning R ucking Eggs, is to omit fetting of
thern, which is not to be done effeétually with-
out taking up évery Hen as foon as thcy ruck,
into fome adjacent Place, and keep them up in a
Pcn without Straw, 'rill they have laid out all
their Rucking Eggs ; and at rhe fame Time it is
necdfary to giYc thern a little warrn Mcat once or
twice during thc Time, for it will help to encreafe
their Luft and rnakc them cleavc to the Cock a
grcat deal fooner ; by this Means you have not
onl y the foil Strength of evcry refpcdive Hen,
but may gct a grcar many more than by fuffering
thern
 43 )Days before they are
them to fit two (or three
turned off their Ncfts, There remains another
Thing in the Praétice of fetting Eggs, which I
look upon to be very trifling, and that is the
fuiring or picking out thofe which are addle , if
a Cletch are a Fortnight of gathering, and kept
the fame ~antity of Time before thcy are fer,
in cold Weather, as is very cornrnon, there will
then be as many addle as otherways, and it may
not be amifs upon fuch Sufpicion to examine
them ; but if Eggs are gathercd as they ought
to be, tho' it be a Fortnight from one Hen, and
kept in a Place where there is a moderare
Warmth, and fet imrnediatcly after the Nurn-
ber of eleven are gathcrcd, which N umber I
would not exceed early in the Year, what Ne-
neffity can there be for cndeavouring to find out
fuch as 'are addle ; but I have no Notion of hav-
ing many fuch, for I can fafely rake it upon
Oath, in the Year 1741, I fet upwards of an hun-
dred from four odd Hens, and had only four faul-
ty in the whole N urnber.; and the grcatcíl: Fail-
ing that I .find among Breeders with rcgard to
fetting Eggs, is the Negleét of providing fitting
Hens in due Time, for it is proper they íhould
be procured three or four Days bcfore there is
Occaíion for thern, during which Time they
will have Laid out all their Rncking Eggs, and
be fore to fit ftcady ; but Icaí] they íhould not,
or an Egg be addcd to the Number, which
lhould be all mark'd, 'tis proper to examine eve-
ry Ncíl: two or thrcc Days afrer they are fet :
Thcrc is :t grcat <leal alfo in forming a Neíl after
F ~ a
 ( 44 )
a proper Manner, and mind that it is not too
dccp, for if fo, there is no Relief for fome Part
of thern, but mufi be crowded one u pon ano-
ther, fo that fome will rcceive a great <leal more
Warmth than others, becaufe the Hen cannot
turn thcm as Nature díreds, the Want of which
commonly produces fmall Cletches,
The next Thingneceífary to be obferv'd is thc
bringing up of Chickens, which, if ftopt in their
Growth by bad Managernent, cannot arrive to
Perfell:ion ; thcrcforc, as foon as Chickcns are
all hatch'd, it is propcr they fhould be taken in-
to a Room which is pretty warm and dry, as a
boarded Floor with Straw .at cach Comer, for
the Hen to brood them on, or clíe into a littlc
Straw Houfe, where nought can get to them
that is hurtful ; for tho' the Hen can give
Warmth to all Parrs of the Body while they
continué fmall, yet their tender Feet are apt to
be cold.
I nced not be very particular as to the Diet-
ing Part, moft People being acquainted with it ,
therefore, fhall only obíerve, that their Meat
ought not to be either too large or too dry,
whilc they are young : Milk is an excellent
Thing for them the firft Fortnight, and Checfe
Cürd ; and when they are large enough to cat
whole Oat-Meal, thcy fhould have Plenty of
Milk and Water with it, as being very dry
Food ; and whcther thcir Food afterward be
Wheat or Barley, they ought to have Plenty
of Water; for 1 have known Fowl rcceívc a
Taint in their Youth for want of ít, in a dry
Sea fon. Thc
 (( 45
45 ))
The next Thing that follows is, the putting
out Staggs to Walks, there being divers Ways
of doingit ; but the moft prejudicial Way of
all is, the putting of them out to Mafter
W alks too foon, as a great many do at three
and four Months old, without confidering the
ill Confequences of it ; far tho' they are bred
ever fo early, it muft be ata Time of the Year
whcn Corn is, gencrally fpeaking, thraíh'd out;
thereforc, their Dependance is chiefly upon be-
ing fed once a Day with Hinder-ends, which
they get a very fmall Share of among a N urn-
ber of Hens; befides, the Detriment they muft
receíve, thro' a Ncccffity of performing Family-
Duty, which they are not capable of at that
Age, but ought rather to refervc that Strength,
which they are needlefly deprived of, till they
have an Opportunity of íhewing their Valour
another Way; and it is as much owing to this,
as any one Thing that I can mention, that we
have fo many fíat íided, ílender bon'd, loofe
feather'd Cocks ; and, I think, of the two bad
Ways, it is a great deal worfc than letting Staggs
run under, tho' it be a whole Year.
A bctter Way than eithcr of thefe is, to keep
them together, by Hand-feeding, till Harveít
is all got in, for then early Staggs are able to
cncounter with a few Hens; befides, at that
Time of the Year, Hens are either fitting or
molting; and thofe which are not, are not fo
eraving, as from the Spring of the Year ti U
J11!J: But thcn again, there is one Misfortune
attcnds this \Vay, as thofe Staggs won't go
under
 ( 46 )
under, there muft cither be a Supply of frefh
Walks cvery Year, or elfe a leíler Number bred
one Year, to mak:e Room for a greater thc next ;_
therefore, this is not the perfeél: Way, tho' it
differs only in this, inílead of putting thern out
at Micbaelmas, 1 would continue thern toge-
ther in a Farm-Yard all Winter, and until the
old Cocks were fought off, to the End, that
they rnight fuccced them : But 1 muft obíerve,
that there ought not to be a Female of any
Age with them, leaft it occaíion a Civil War
amongft them; nor muft tbeir Comb and GiUs
be cut during the Time of their Cohabitation
together, but rather when they are about three
Months old, or elíe, not till· they go .out to
Walks: But 1 think the former much the befi:
Way, becauíe the moft of them being nigh
a Year old, before they can take :Mafter..
Walks by this Method, their Combs will be
a pt to be too full grown, and therefore will
Ioofe too great a Q.i;intity of Blood.
I fhall condude the whole by fhewing a Ne-
cefliry for keeping proper and regular Books,
with the Manner of doing it : A grcat inany
Breeders content themfelves with Jcecping a
fmall and imperfeél: Account of thc Genealogy
of their Fowl, and think Books are only ufefol
for Memorandums of what Fowl are bred, and
where they are walkcd; but I muft beg Leavc
to givc thcm to underfland, that it is very ma-
terial, to infert in a particular Manner, what
fuch and íiich Cocks and Hcns are defcended
from, which are put togcthcr every Year, or
elfo
 ( 47 }
elíe, how can they form any Judgment how to
rnake proper Croffes in their own Family? This
Negled 1 Iook upon to be very rnuch the Oc-
caíion of a great many good Breeds being Iofl,
for want oí knowing how far they were related,
or whether they were related at all or not,
A Man that would be a curious Brecder of
Cocks, ought to be a good Genealogift, and car-
ry all in bis Head that is material to be inferted
in the Book, with regard to Pedigree ; and I
arn of Opinion, that there ought to be two
Books, one for Memorandums, during thc Time
of Breeding, the other to gi ve a fatisfall:ory Ac-
count of the Parentage of Fowl, and where
they are walked : In the forrner Book, you are
to take an Account, Firfi, Of what Places you
breed ar, what Fowl you have at each Place,
and how they are rnarked: Secondly, You are
to take an Account of the QEantity of Eggs
fet in every Cletch, from each Place, and where
they are fet : Thirdly, When Chickens come off
you are to croís out the Eggs, and fet clown fo
.rnany Chickens come off at foch a Time, men-
tioning the Place where they are to be brought
up; and when any dies, or happen any Misfor-
tune, you mufi reduce the Number according-
Iy : Laílly, When thcy arrive at rhat Agc, fo
as to diftinguifh handfome Pullets from others,
which will be about the .Time when Cockrels
ought to have their Combs eithcr cut or pulled,'
the whole Number then fhould be colleéted to-
gcthcr, killing of thofe Pullets that are uíeleís,
the reíl: muft be taken an Account of as well as
the
 ( 48 )
the Cocks : This is the fole Ufo of thc Memo-
randurn Book.
The Second is of no Ufe till Staggs go out
to Walks, wherein, Firfi, You mufi copy from
the othcr what Places you breed at _!hat Year,
from what Fowl they are bred, and what they
are derived from, for three Generations of each
Side ; Secondly, when they go out to Walks,
you are to take an Account of every Cock and
Hen, where they are walked, what Fowl they
are hred frorn, what Colour thcy are of, and
what Marks they have, both natural and artifi-
cial; becauíe, you rnay be deceivcd in the lat-
ter; Lafily, When any Cock happens a Misfor-
tune, fo as eithcr to be flole, or killcd by Acci-
dcnt, the faid Cock muft be crofs'd out of the
Book, adding the Mísfortune ; alfo when Cocks
are fought off.

F 1 N 1 S.