THE POLAND.
The Poland, or Polish fowl, is quite unknown in the country which would seem to have suggested the name, which originated from some fancied resemblance between its tufted crest and the square-spreading crown of the feathered caps worn by the Polish soldiers.
The breed of crested fowls is much esteemed by the curious, and is bred with great care. Those desirous of propagating any singular varieties, separate and confine the individuals, and do not suffer them to mingle with such as have the colors different. The varieties are more esteemed in proportion to the variety of the colors, or the contrast of the tuft with the rest of the plumage. Although the differences of plumage are thus preserved pretty constant, they seem to owe their origin to the same breed, and cannot be reproduced pure without careful superintendence. The cocks are much esteemed in Egypt, in consequence of the excellence of their flesh, and are so common that they are sold at a remarkably cheap rate. They are equally abundant at the Cape of Good Hope, where their legs are feathered.
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 are so 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 Gold Spangled, 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 of this 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 nearly full-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.