The Book of Household Management
Chapter 110 : THE COCHIN-CHINA.--About fifteen years ago, the arrival of this distinguished Asiatic

THE COCHIN-CHINA.--About fifteen years ago, the arrival of this distinguished Asiatic created in England as great a sensation as might be expected from the landing of an invading host. The first pair that ever made their appearance here were natives of Shanghai, and were presented to the queen, who exhibited them at the Dublin poultry-show of 1818. Then began the "Cochin"

_furor_. As soon as it was discovered, despite the most strenuous endeavours to keep the tremendous secret, that a certain dealer was possessed of a pair of these birds, straightway the avenues to that dealer's shop were blocked by broughams, and chariots, and hack cabs, until the shy poulterer had been tempted by a sufficiently high sum to part with his treasure. Bank-notes were exchanged for Cochin chicks, and Cochin eggs were in as great demand as though they had been laid by the fabled golden goose. The reign of the Cochin China was, however, of inconsiderable duration. The bird that, in 1847, would fetch thirty guineas, is now counted but ordinary chicken-meat, and its price is regulated according to its weight when ready for the spit. As for the precious buff eggs, against which, one time of day, guineas were weighed,--send for sixpenn'orth at the cheesemonger's, and you will get at least five; which is just as it should be. For elegance of shape or quality of flesh, the Cochin cannot for a moment stand comparison with our handsome dunghill; neither can the indescribable mixture of growling and braying, peculiar to the former, vie with the musical trumpeting of our own morning herald: yet our poultry-breeders have been immense gainers by the introduction of the ungainly celestial, inasmuch as _new blood_ has been infused into the English chicken family. Of this incalculable advantage we may be sure; while, as to the Cochin's defects, they are certain to be lost in the process of "cross and cross" breeding.

BOILED FOWLS A LA BECHAMEL.

943. INGREDIENTS.--A pair of fowls, 1 pint of Bechamel, No, 367, a few bunches of boiled brocoli or cauliflower.

_Mode_.--Truss and boil the fowls by recipe No. 938; make a pint of Bechamel sauce by recipe No. 367; pour some of this over the fowls, and the remainder send to table in a tureen. Garnish the dish with bunches of boiled cauliflowers or brocoli, and serve very hot. The sauce should be made sufficiently thick to adhere to the fowls; that for the tureen should be thinned by adding a spoonful or two of stock.

_Time_.--From 1/2 to 1 hour, according to size.

_Average cost_, in full season, 5s. a pair.

_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.

_Seasonable_ all the year, but scarce in early spring.

s.p.a.cE FOR FOWLS.--We are no advocates for converting the domestic fowl into a cage-bird. We have known amateur fowl-keepers--worthy souls, who would b.u.t.ter the very barley they gave their pets, if they thought they would the more enjoy it--coop up a male bird and three or four hens in an ordinary egg-chest placed on its side, and with the front closely barred with iron hooping! This system will not do. Every animal, from man himself to the guinea-pig, must have what is vulgarly, but truly, known as "elbow-room;" and it must be self-evident how emphatically this rule applies to winged animals. It may be urged, in the case of domestic fowls, that from constant disuse, and from clipping and plucking, and other sorts of maltreatment, their wings can hardly be regarded as instruments of flight; we maintain, however, that you may pluck a fowl's wing-joints as bare as a pumpkin, but you will not erase from his memory that he is a fowl, and that his proper sphere is the open air. If he likewise reflects that he is an ill-used fowl--a prison-bird--he will then come to the conclusion, that there is not the least use, under such circ.u.mstances, for his existence; and you must admit that the decision is only logical and natural.

BOILED FOWL, with Oysters.

(_Excellent_.)

944. INGREDIENTS.--1 young fowl, 3 dozen oysters, the yolks of 2 eggs, 1/4 pint of cream.

_Mode_.--Truss a young fowl as for boiling; fill the inside with oysters which have been bearded and washed in their own liquor; secure the ends of the fowl, put it into a jar, and plunge the jar into a saucepan of boiling water. Keep it boiling for 1-1/2 hour, or rather longer; then take the gravy that has flowed from the oysters and fowl, of which there will be a good quant.i.ty; stir in the cream and yolks of eggs, add a few oysters scalded in their liquor; let the sauce get quite _hot_, but do not allow it to _boil;_ pour some of it over the fowl, and the remainder send to table in a tureen. A blade of pounded mace added to the sauce, with the cream and eggs, will be found an improvement.

_Time_.--1-1/2 hour. Average cost, 4s. 6d.

_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to April.

THE FOWL-HOUSE.--In building a fowl-house, take care that it be, if possible, built against a wall or fence that faces the _south_, and thus insure its inmates against many cold winds, driving rains, and sleets they will otherwise suffer. Let the floor of the house slope half an inch to the foot from back to front, so as to insure drainage; let it also be close, hard, and perfectly smooth; so that it may be cleanly swept out. A capital plan is to mix a few bushels of chalk and dry earth, spread it over the floor, and pay a paviour's labourer a trifle to hammer it level with his rammer. The fowl-house should be seven feet high, and furnished with perches at least two feet apart. The perches must be level, and not one above the other, or unpleasant consequences may ensue to the undermost row. The perches should be ledged (not fixed--just dropped into sockets, that they may be easily taken out and cleaned) not lower than five feet from the ground, convenient slips of wood being driven into the wall, to render the ascent as easy as possible. The front of the fowl-house should be latticed, taking care that the interstices be not wide enough even to tempt a chick to crawl through. Nesting-boxes, containing soft hay, and fitted against the walls, so as to be easily reached by the perch-ladder, should be supplied. It will be as well to keep by you a few portable doors, so that you may hang one before the entrance to a nesting-box, when the hen goes in to sit. This will prevent other hens from intruding, a habit to which some are much addicted.

FRICa.s.sEED FOWL OR CHICKEN (an Entree).

945. INGREDIENTS.--2 small fowls or 1 large one, 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter, a bunch of parsley and green onions, 1 clove, 2 blades of mace, 1 shalot, 1 bay-leaf, salt and white pepper to taste, 1/4 pint of cream, the yolks of 3 eggs.

_Mode_.--Choose a couple of fat plump chickens, and, after drawing, singeing, and was.h.i.+ng them, skin, and carve them into joints; blanch these in boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes; take them out, and immerse them in cold water to render them white. Put the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, with the necks and legs, into a stewpan; add the parsley, onions, clove, mace, shalot, bay-leaf, and a seasoning of pepper and salt; pour to these the water that the chickens were blanched in, and simmer gently for rather more than 1 hour. Have ready another stewpan; put in the joints of fowl, with the above proportion of b.u.t.ter; dredge them with flour, let them get hot, but do not brown them much; then moisten the frica.s.see with the gravy made from the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, &c., and stew very gently for 1/2 hour.

Lift the fowl into another stewpan, skim the sauce, reduce it quickly over the fire, by letting it boil fast, and strain it over them. Add the cream, and a seasoning of pounded mace and cayenne; let it boil up, and when ready to serve, stir to it the well-beaten yolks of 3 eggs: these should not be put in till the last moment, and the sauce should be made _hot_, but must _not boil_, or it will instantly curdle. A few b.u.t.ton-mushrooms stewed with the fowl are by many persons considered an improvement.

_Time_.--1 hour to make the gravy, 1/2 hour to simmer the fowl.

_Average cost_, 5s. the pair.

_Sufficient_.--1 large fowl for one entree.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

STOCKING THE FOWL-HOUSE.--Take care that the birds with which you stock your house are _young_. The surest indications of old age are fading of the comb and gills from brilliant red to a dingy brick-colour, general paleness of plumage, brittleness of the feathers, length and size of the claws, and the scales of the legs and feet a.s.suming a ragged and _corny_ appearance. Your c.o.c.k and hens should be as near two years old as possible. Hens will lay at a year old, but the eggs are always insignificant in size, and the layers giddy and unsteady sitters. The hen-bird is in her prime for breeding at three years old, and will continue so, under favourable circ.u.mstances, for two years longer; after which she will decline. Crowing hens, and those that have large combs, are generally looked on with mistrust; but this is mere silliness and superst.i.tion--though it is possible that a spruce young c.o.c.k would as much object to a spouse with such peculiar addictions, as a young fellow of our own species would to a damsel who whistled and who wore whiskers. Fowls with yellow legs should be avoided; they are generally of a tender const.i.tution, loose-fleshed, and of indifferent flavour.

FRICa.s.sEED FOWL (Cold Meat Cookery).

946. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast fowl, 1 strip of lemon-peel, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, 1 onion, popper and salt to taste, 1 pint of water, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 1/4 pint of cream, the yolks of 2 eggs.

_Mode_.--Carve the fowls into nice joints; make gravy of the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and legs, by stewing them with the lemon-peel, mace, herbs, onion, seasoning, and water, until reduced to 1/2 pint; then strain, and put in the fowl. Warm it through, and thicken with a teaspoonful of flour; stir the yolks of the eggs into the cream; add these to the sauce, let it get thoroughly hot, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle.

_Time_.--1 hour to make the gravy, 1/4 hour to warm the fowl.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the cold chicken, 8d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTH AND POWER.--The chief characteristics of health in a fowl are brightness and dryness of eye and nostrils, the comb and wattles firm and ruddy, the feathers elastic and glossy. The most useful c.o.c.k is generally the greatest tyrant, who struts among his hens despotically, with his head erect and his eyes ever watchful. There is likely to be handsomer and stronger chicks in a house where a bold, active--even savage--bird reigns, than where the lord of the hen-house is a weak, meek creature, who bears the abuse and peckings of his wives without a remonstrance. I much prefer dark-coloured c.o.c.k-birds to those of light plumage. A c.o.c.k, to be handsome, should be of middling size; his bill should be short, comb bright-red, wattles large, breast broad, and wings strong. His head should be rather small than otherwise, his legs short and st.u.r.dy, and his spurs well-formed; his feathers should be short and close, and the more frequently and heartily he crows, the better father he is likely to become. The common error of choosing hens _above_ the ordinary stature of their respective varieties should be avoided, as the best breeding-hens are those of medium size.

FRIED FOWLS (Cold Meat Cookery).

I.

947. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast fowls, vinegar, salt and cayenne to taste, 3 or 4 minced shalots. For the batter,--1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 pint of hot water, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, the whites of 2 eggs.

_Mode_.--Cut the fowl into nice joints; steep them for an hour in a little vinegar, with salt, cayenne, and minced shalots. Make the batter by mixing the flour and water smoothly together; melt in it the b.u.t.ter, and add the whites of egg beaten to a froth; take out the pieces of fowl, dip them in the batter, and fry, in boiling lard, a nice brown.

Pile them high in the dish, and garnish with fried parsley or rolled bacon. When approved, a sauce or gravy may be served with them.

_Time_.--10 minutes to fry the fowl.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the cold fowl, 8d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

CHANTICLEER AND HIS COMPANIONS.--On bringing the male and female birds together for the first time, it will be necessary to watch the former closely, as it is a very common occurrence with him to conceive a sudden and violent dislike for one or more of his wives, and not allow the obnoxious ones to approach within some distance of the others; indeed, I know many cases where the capricious tyrant has set upon the innocent cause of his resentment and killed her outright. In all such cases, the hen objected to should be removed and replaced by another. If the c.o.c.k should, by any accident, get killed, considerable delicacy is required in introducing a new one. The hens may mope, and refuse to a.s.sociate with their new husband, cl.u.s.tering in corners, and making odious comparisons between him and the departed; or the c.o.c.k may have his own peculiar notions as to what a wife should be, and be by no means satisfied with those you have provided him. The plan is, to keep him by himself nearly the whole day, supplying him plentifully with exhilarating food, then to turn him loose among the hens, and to continue this practice, allowing him more of the society of his wives each day, until you suffer him to abide with them altogether.

II.

948. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast fowl, vinegar, salt and cayenne to taste, 4 minced shalots, yolk of egg; to every teacupful of bread crumbs allow 1 blade of pounded mace, 5 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, 1 saltspoonful of salt, a few grains of cayenne.

_Mode_.--Steep the pieces of fowl as in the preceding recipe, then dip them into the yolk of an egg or clarified b.u.t.ter; sprinkle over bread crumbs with which have been mixed salt, mace, cayenne, and lemon-peel in the above proportion. Fry a light brown, and serve with or without gravy, as may be preferred.

_Time_.--10 minutes to fry the fowl.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the cold fowl, 6d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

VARIOUS MODES OF FATTENING FOWLS.--It would, I think, be a difficult matter to find, among the entire fraternity of fowl-keepers, a dozen whose mode of fattening "stock" is the same. Some say that the grand f secret is to give them abundance of saccharine food; others say nothing beats heavy corn steeped in milk; while another breeder, celebrated in his day, and the recipient of a gold medal from a learned society, says, "The best method is as follows:-The chickens are to be taken from the hen the night after they are hatched, and fed with eggs hard-boiled, chopped, and mixed with crumbs of bread, as larks and other small birds are fed, for the first fortnight; after which give them oatmeal and treacle mixed so as to crumble, of which the chickens are very fond, and thrive so fast that, at the end of two months, they will be as large as full-grown fowls." Others there are who insist that nothing beats oleaginous diet, and cram their birds with ground oats and suet.

But, whatever the course of diet favoured, on one point they seem agreed; and that is, that, while fattening, the fowls _should be kept in the dark_. Supposing the reader to be a dealer--a breeder of gross chicken meat for the market (against which supposition the chances are 10,000 to 1), and beset with as few scruples as generally trouble the huckster, the advice is valuable. "Laugh and grow fat" is a good maxim enough; but "Sleep and grow fat" is, as is well known to folks of porcine attributes, a better. The poor birds, immured in their dark dungeons, ignorant that there is life and suns.h.i.+ne abroad, tuck their heads under their wings and make a long night of it; while their digestive organs, having no harder work than to pile up fat, have an easy time enough. But, unless we are mistaken, he who breeds poultry for his own eating, bargains for a more substantial reward than the questionable pleasure of burying his carving-knife in chicken grease. Tender, delicate, and nutritious flesh is the great aim; and these qualities, I can affirm without fear of contradiction, were never attained by a dungeon-fatted chicken: perpetual gloom and darkness is as incompatible with chicken life as it is with human. If you wish to be convinced of the absurdity of endeavouring to thwart nature's laws, plant a tuft of gra.s.s, or a cabbage-plant, in the darkest corner of your coal-cellar. The plant or the tuft may increase in length and breadth, but its colour will be as wan and pale, almost, as would be your own face under the circ.u.mstances.

POULET A LA MARENGO.