F. W. Woodward, Esq. : Dear Sir - My communication in the August number of the Horticulturist, upon the subject of Brahmas, grew to such dimensions as to influence me to omit some paragraphs of commendation which I desired to incorporate at that time. But, sir, allow me to say that the Brahma is a pretty "big thing," and that its merits, like the bird itself, can not be conveniently dissected and dispatched at a single sitting. You will remember that in the conclusion of my article I gave a very brief extract, from the London Cottage Gardener, referring to the popularity of these birds in England.

I beg now to quote a paragraph fram the same journal, touching the merits of this well-tested and popular variety.

"Every frequenter of our poultry shows must have noticed the gradual and steady increase, from year to year, in the Brahma classes, showing a correspondingly steady growth in the popularity of the breed. In fact, no breed of fowls has made such rapid progress of late years; and with an utter absence of anything like mania,' this is a sure evidence that great and real merit is at the bottom of it; and such is certainly the case. As layers, Brahmas are in the very first class; as table fowls, they are much better than Cochins, though not equal to Dorkings; and as sitters, while their behavior is unexceptionable, it may safely be said of them that the propensity to incubate occurs just often enough to be reliable and useful, without being troublesome. Such merits are quite enough to justify their great and growing popularity; and the more so when combined with the very strongest constitution, and capacity of bearing confinement, of any fowls we know of. It is these solid and useful qualities that are bringing the breed so rapidly into repute, and recommending Brahmas most strongly for family use, as the chickens may be reared with facility at any time of year".

Assuming, now, that I have said enough relative to this specific variety, I will conclude this article by attempting to give you the results of a portion of my experience and observation in the management, feeding, and diseases of fowls; and this experience dates back for considerably more than a quarter of a century.

In selecting fowls of any variety for breeding purposes, the prime object should be to get those with the best and most clearly defined characteristics of their specific kind, and to get those that have strong and large bones, with broad backs and full breasts, and standing firmly and squarely upon their legs. Be sure to get symmetrical and harmonious proportions; and don't sacrifice these to any fashionable clamor for either short or long legs, to heavily-feathered or slightly-feathered legs, or to any of that epidemic nonsense which sometimes sacrifices form and the highest developments of beauty to the demands of a crotchety judgment or the whims of a crude and uneducated taste. Remember that large birds, like the more spacious and pretentious edifices, must have broader foundations and stronger framework to give solidity and force, and loftier pillars to add grace and dignity, than the more diminutive and humble. And with birds right in form, robust in healthy strong in bone, and true in characteristics there will be, generally, not only success but pleasure in the poultry-yard of the appreciative breeder.

Being fully satisfied that poultry, like animals and men, degenerate from "in-and-in" breeding, I have always made it a point to select cocks and hens as remotely related as possible for breeding together. I have generally allowed upon my yards an average of ten or twelve hens for each cock, and my success has always been so satisfactory as to excite no desire to depart from this habit. Mature cocks and hens produce larger and stronger chicks than those which have not attained to the highest force and vigor. Spring pullets, of the Asiatic breeds, will commence laying, generally, by the time they are six months old, and if well cared for they will lay through the winter. Good health and fair condition in hens is indispensable to the production of eggs in winter. A Brahma pullet's eggs will weigh from two to three ounces each, and to produce these from day to day, and to supply the waste of nature, demands something more than a snow-bank or the rarefied air of winter; but this is about as much as some people concede to their poultry. I am fully convinced that the ground (whether under cover or otherwise) is the best place, after the winter frosts are over, for hens to make their nests and sit.

A certain amount of moisture seems to be needful for the eggs while in process of incubation, and this necessary moisture is supplied from the earth, which supersedes the customary sprinkling which many persons give to eggs under sitting hens. Hens which make their nests upon the earth are not annoyed by vermin, as is too often the case with those which have been put to sitting in boxes and baskets. I generally put thirteen eggs ("there's luck in odd numbers," you know) under a medium-sized hen, while hens of large size can easily cover fifteen. It is said that the sex of eggs may be ascertained by holding the egg to a lighted candle, in a darkish room or other place, or before rays of sunshine through a crack or chink, with the large end uppermost; if the air-bladder is at the top of the large end, the chick is a male; and if at the side of the large end, it is a female. It is not difficult to determine the fertility of eggs after they have been sat upon for four or five days. To explain : after the hen has been sitting five days, take a lighted lamp (or use the sun-light, as referred to above) into a dark room, and holding the egg near to the light, between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and making a sort of telescope of the right hand, with the eye at one end and the egg pressing against the other, no light will be admitted except through the egg.

If it is fertile, streaks of blood will be distinctly seen in the yolk ; if the egg is quite clear, there is no vitality in it. It is well to know this fact, - for where two or more hens have been put to sitting at the same time, all the unfertile eggs may be removed, the vital ones consolidated, and a fresh clutch substituted under one of the sitters. Hens, whether sitting or laying, require dust - beds (these are their bathtubs), in which they may disport themselves at will, and cleanse themselves from the annoying parasites which sometimes infest their nests and roosts. When con-lined to circumscribed quarters, hens should have burnt or broken shells and bones, lime and gravel, for these are indispensable to the formation of the shells of their eggs, as well as to the preservation of their health.