SILVER-SPANGLED HAMBURG.--These fowls are among the most highly
developed of all the spangled varieties. They are valued as egg
producers and rank among the best. They are very impatient of
confinement and are said to succeed best when they can have the run of
a clean pasture or common. A large grass walk is recommended by the
most successful breeders. Six-foot fences, where they are intended to
be restricted to certain limits, will not be more than sufficient for
the safe custody of these chickens. The hens, if young, lay nearly
throughout the year, but the eggs, which are white, are small, weighing
about 1-1/2 ounces each. As they are such abundant layers they seldom
want to sit. The chickens are healthy and strong requiring no unusual
care. When first hatched they are cream-colored. They feather early
and the barred character of the penciled birds quickly appears. In the
rapidity of their movements they are said to rival even the active
little Bantams.
It has been observed that both sexes of all the varieties continue
to improve in appearance after each moult until they are 3 years
old. Birds of 1 year old have never attained to their full beauty,
this being especially apparent in the more ample development of the
tail-feathers of the cock as he becomes older. At from five to six
months old they are fit for table use, their meat white, tender, and
well-flavored.
The Silver-Spangled Hamburg, or Silver Pheasant, as it is commonly
called there, is a breed that has for generations been known in
England. In Lancashire this variety had been brought to a very high
standard of excellence years before poultry shows were thought of, and,
as Wright observes, all our modern skill and careful breeding have been
unable to improve upon the old breed of Mooneys, as they were called,
which were absolutely perfect in point of feather. The spangling, so
large, round, and rich in color, was really something to be wondered
at and shows a skill and enthusiasm in breeding which has about it
something of the marvelous.
PLYMOUTH ROCK HEN AND CHICKENS.--In March, 1873, Rev. H. H. Ramsdell
thus describes the origin of this valued fowl:
"Some thirty years since John Giles, Esq., introduced a fowl into this
vicinity--Putnam, Conn.--called the Black Java. Its plumage was black
and glossy, its size large, pullets sometimes reaching 11 pounds in
weight. It was an unusually hardy bird, with a dark, slate-colored,
smooth leg and the bottom of the feet yellow. The hens proved good
layers and of extra quality for the table. I sold a few of these birds
to a Mr. Thayer of Pomfret, of whom Mr. George Clark of Woodstock,
Conn., purchased some he supposed the same. Mr. Clark, passing Mr.
Joseph Spaulding's yard one day, noticed his fine flock of Dominiques
and proposed bringing a few of his Javas over to cross with them to
increase the size. Mr. Spaulding accepted the offer, and when the
chickens were grown rejected the black ones and those with double comb,
reserving to breed from only the single-comb birds, which retained the
Dominique color, or near it. One of the first products from the eggs
of this cross was a hen which weighed 9-3/4 pounds. We soon had a fine
flock of them. The fowls were spread around the neighborhood and were
much sought after, but had as yet no name. A gentleman asked me what
I called them. I said 'Plymouth Rock.' The name passed from one to
another and they were soon generally known by that name."
The general characteristics of the cock are: Comb single, upright, and
neatly arched, notched, or serrated; body large and deep; back broad
and short; breast deep, broad, and full; thighs large and strong; size
very large, ranging from nine to twelve pounds; general shape massive,
but compact; carriage upright and commanding.