[Illustration: 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.
The _Black_ is not the only valuable race of Spanish fowl; there is,
also, the _Gray_, or _Speckled_, 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.