Untilmanselectsbirdsdifferingintherelativelengthofthewing—
feathersortoes，etc。，nosensiblechangeinthesepartsshouldbeexpected。Norcouldmandoanythingunlessthesepartshappenedtovaryunderdomestication:Idonotpositivelyassertthatthisisthecase，althoughIhaveseentracesofsuchvariabilityinthewing—feathers，andcertainlyinthetail—feathers。Itwouldbeastrangefactiftherelativelengthofthehindtoeshouldnevervary，seeinghowvariablethefootisbothinsizeandinthenumberofthescutellae。Withrespecttothedomesticracesnotroostingorbuildingintrees，itisobviousthatfancierswouldneverattendtoorselectsuchchangesinhabits;butwehaveseenthatthepigeonsinEgypt，whichdonotforsomereasonlikesettlingonthelowmudhovelsofthenatives，areled，apparentlybycompulsion，toperchincrowdsonthetrees。Wemayevenaffirmthat，ifourdomesticraceshadbecomegreatlymodifiedinanyoftheabovespecifiedrespects，anditcouldbeshownthatfanciershadneverattendedtosuchpoints，orthattheydidnotstandincorrelationwithotherselectedcharacters，thefact，ontheprinciplesadvocatedinthischapter，wouldhaveofferedaseriousdifficulty。
Letusbrieflysumupthelasttwochaptersonthepigeon。Wemayconcludewithconfidencethatallthedomesticraces，notwithstandingtheirgreatamountofdifference，aredescendedfromtheColumbalivia，includingunderthisnamecertainwildraces。Butthedifferencesbetweenthelatterthrownolightwhateveronthecharacterswhichdistinguishthedomesticraces。
Ineachbreedorsub—breedtheindividualbirdsaremorevariablethanbirdsinastateofnature;andoccasionallytheyvaryinasuddenandstrongly—markedmanner。Thisplasticityoforganisationapparentlyresultsfromchangedconditionsoflife。Disusehasreducedcertainpartsofthebody。Correlationofgrowthsotiestheorganisationtogether，thatwhenonepartvariesotherpartsvaryatthesametime。Whenseveralbreedshaveoncebeenformed，theirintercrossingaidstheprogressofmodification，andhasevenproducednewsub—breeds。Butas，intheconstructionofabuilding，merestonesorbricksareoflittleavailwithoutthebuilder’sart，so，intheproductionofnewraces，selectionhasbeenthepresidingpower。Fancierscanactbyselectiononexcessivelyslightindividualdifferences，aswellasonthosegreaterdifferenceswhicharecalledsports。Selectionisfollowedmethodicallywhenthefanciertriestoimproveandmodifyabreedaccordingtoaprefixedstandardofexcellence;
orheactsunmethodicallyandunconsciously，bymerelytryingtorearasgoodbirdsashecan，withoutanywishorintentiontoalterthebreed。Theprogressofselectionalmostinevitablyleadstotheneglectandultimateextinctionoftheearlierandlessimprovedforms，aswellasofmanyintermediatelinksineachlonglineofdescent。Thusithascometopassthatmostofourpresentracesaresomarvellouslydistinctfromeachother，andfromtheaboriginalrock—pigeon。
CHAPTER1。VII。
FOWLS。
BRIEFDESCRIPTIONSOFTHECHIEFBREEDS。
ARGUMENTSINFAVOUROFTHEIRDESCENTFROMSEVERALSPECIES。
ARGUMENTSINFAVOUROFALLTHEBREEDSHAVINGDESCENDEDFROMGALLUSBANKIVA。
REVERSIONTOTHEPARENT—STOCKINCOLOUR。
ANALOGOUSVARIATIONS。
ANCIENTHISTORYOFTHEFOWL。
EXTERNALDIFFERENCESBETWEENTHESEVERALBREEDS。
EGGS。
CHICKENS。
SECONDARYSEXUALCHARACTERS。
WING—ANDTAIL—FEATHERS，VOICE，DISPOSITION，ETC。
OSTEOLOGICALDIFFERENCESINTHESKULL，VERTEBRAE，ETC。
EFFECTSOFUSEANDDISUSEONCERTAINPARTS。
CORRELATIONOFGROWTH。
Assomenaturalistsmaynotbefamiliarwiththechiefbreedsofthefowl，itwillbeadvisabletogiveacondenseddescriptionofthem。（7/1。Ihavedrawnupthisbriefsynopsisfromvarioussources，butchieflyfrominformationgivenmebyMr。Tegetmeier。Thisgentlemanhaskindlylookedthroughthischapter;andfromhiswell—knownknowledge，thestatementsheregivenmaybefullytrusted。Mr。Tegetmeierhaslikewiseassistedmeineverypossiblewayinobtainingformeinformationandspecimens。ImustnotletthisopportunitypasswithoutexpressingmycordialthankstoMr。
B。P。Brent，awell—knownwriteronpoultry，forcontinuousassistanceandthegiftofmanyspecimens。）FromwhatIhavereadandseenofspecimensbroughtfromseveralquartersoftheworld，IbelievethatmostofthechiefkindshavebeenimportedintoEngland，butmanysub—breedsareprobablystillunknownhere。Thefollowingdiscussionontheoriginofthevariousbreedsandontheircharacteristicdifferencesdoesnotpretendtocompleteness，butmaybeofsomeinteresttothenaturalist。Theclassificationofthebreedscannot，asfarasIcansee，bemadenatural。
Theydifferfromeachotherindifferentdegrees，anddonotaffordcharactersinsubordinationtoeachother，bywhichtheycanberankedingroupundergroup。Theyseemalltohavedivergedbyindependentanddifferentroadsfromasingletype。Eachchiefbreedincludesdifferentlycolouredsub—varieties，mostofwhichcanbetrulypropagated，butitwouldbesuperfluoustodescribethem。Ihaveclassedthevariouscrestedfowlsassub—breedsunderthePolishfowl;butIhavegreatdoubtswhetherthisisanaturalarrangement，showingtrueaffinityorbloodrelationship。Itisscarcelypossibletoavoidlayingstressonthecommonnessofabreed;
andifcertainforeignsub—breedshadbeenlargelykeptinthiscountrytheywouldperhapshavebeenraisedtotherankofmain—breeds。Severalbreedsareabnormalincharacter;thatis，theydifferincertainpointsfromallwildGallinaceousbirds。AtfirstImadeadivisionofthebreedsintonormalandabnormal，buttheresultwaswhollyunsatisfactory。
[1。GAMEBREED。
Thismaybeconsideredasthetypicalbreed，asitdeviatesonlyslightlyfromthewildGallusbankiva，or，asperhapsmorecorrectlynamed，ferrugineus。Beakstrong;combsingleandupright。Spurslongandsharp。
Featherscloselyappressedtothebody。Tailwiththenormalnumberof14
feathers。Eggsoftenpalebuff。Dispositionindomitablycourageous，exhibitedeveninthehensandchickens。Anunusualnumberofdifferentlycolouredvarietiesexist，suchasblackandbrown—breastedreds，duckwings，blacks，whites，piles，etc。，withtheirlegsofvariouscolours。
2。MALAYBREED。
Bodyofgreatsize，withhead，neck，andlegselongated;carriageerect;
tailsmall，slopingdownwards，generallyformedof16feathers;combandwattlesmall;ear—lobeandfacered;skinyellowish;featherscloselyappressedtothebody;neck—hacklesshort，narrow，andhard。Eggsoftenpalebuff。Chickensfeatherlate。Dispositionsavage。OfEasternorigin。
3。COCHIN，ORSHANGAIBREED。
Sizegreat;wingfeathersshort，arched，muchhiddeninthesoftdownyplumage;barelycapableofflight;tailshort，generallyformedof16
feathers，developedatalateperiodintheyoungmales;legsthick，feathered;spursshort，thick;nailofmiddletoeflatandbroad;anadditionaltoenotrarelydeveloped;skinyellowish。Combandwattlewelldeveloped。Skullwithdeepmedialfurrow;occipitalforamen，sub—
triangular，verticallyelongated。Voicepeculiar。Eggsrough，buff—
coloured。Dispositionextremelyquiet。OfChineseorigin。
4。DORKINGBREED。
Sizegreat;bodysquare，compact;feetwithanadditionaltoe;combwelldeveloped，butvariesmuchinform;wattleswelldeveloped;colourofplumagevarious。Skullremarkablybroadbetweentheorbits。OfEnglishorigin。
ThewhiteDorkingmaybeconsideredasadistinctsub—breed，beingalessmassivebird。
（FIGURE30。SPANISHFOWL。）
5。SPANISHBREED（figure30）。
Tall，withstatelycarriage;tarsilong;combsingle，deeplyserrated，ofimmensesize;wattleslargelydeveloped;thelargeear—lobesandsidesoffacewhite。Plumageblackglossedwithgreen。Donotincubate。Tenderinconstitution，thecombbeingofteninjuredbyfrost。Eggswhite，smooth，oflargesize。Chickensfeatherlatebuttheyoungcocksshowtheirmasculinecharacters，andcrowatanearlyage。OfMediterraneanorigin。
TheANDALUSIANSmayberankedasasub—breed:theyareofaslaty—bluecolour，andtheirchickensarewellfeathered。Asmaller，short—leggedDutchsub—breedhasbeendescribedbysomeauthorsasdistinct。
（FIGURE31。HAMBURGHFOWL。）
6。HAMBURGHBREED（figure31）。
Sizemoderate;combflat，producedbackwards，coveredwithnumeroussmallpoints;wattleofmoderatedimensions;earlobewhite;legsblueish，thin。
Donotincubate。Skull，withthetipsoftheascendingbranchesofthepremaxillaryandwiththenasalbonesstandingalittleseparatefromeachother;anteriormarginofthefrontalboneslessdepressedthanusual。
Therearetwosub—breeds;theSPANGLEDHamburgh，ofEnglishorigin，withthetipsofthefeathersmarkedwithadarkspot;andthePENCILLED
Hamburgh，ofDutchorigin，withdarktransverselinesacrosseachfeather，andwiththebodyrathersmaller。Boththesesub—breedsincludegoldandsilvervarieties，aswellassomeothersub—varieties。BlackHamburghshavebeenproducedbyacrosswiththeSpanishbreed。
（FIGURE32。POLISHFOWL。）
7。CRESTEDORPOLISHBREED（figure32）。
Headwithalarge，roundedcrestoffeathers，supportedonahemisphericalprotuberanceofthefrontalbones，whichincludestheanteriorpartofthebrain。Theascendingbranchesofpremaxillarybonesandtheinnernasalprocessesaremuchshortened。Theorificeofthenostrilsraisedandcrescentic。Beakshort。Combabsent，orsmallandofcrescenticshape;
wattleseitherpresentorreplacedbyabeard—liketuftoffeathers。Legsleaden—blue。Sexualdifferencesappearlateinlife。Donotincubate。Thereareseveralbeautifulvarietieswhichdifferincolourandslightlyinotherrespects。
Thefollowingsub—breedsagreeinhavingacrest，moreorlessdeveloped，withthecomb，whenpresent，ofcrescenticshape。TheskullpresentsnearlythesameremarkablepeculiaritiesofstructureasinthetruePolishfowl。
SUB—BREED（a）SULTANS。
ATurkishbreed，resemblingwhitePolishfowlswithalargecrestandbeardwithshortandwell—featheredlegs。Thetailisfurnishedwithadditionalsicklefeathers。Donotincubate。（7。2。ThebestaccountofSultansisbyMissWattsin’ThePoultryYard’1856page79。IowetoMr。Brent’skindnesstheexaminationofsomespecimensofthisbreed。）
SUB—BREED（b）PTARMIGANS。
Aninferiorbreedcloselyalliedtothelast，white，rathersmall，legsmuchfeathered，withthecrestpointed;combsmall，cupped;wattlessmall。
SUB—BREED（c）GHOONDOOKS。
AnotherTurkishbreedhavinganextraordinaryappearance;blackandtailless;crestandbeardlarge;legsfeathered。Theinnerprocessesofthetwonasalbonescomeintocontactwitheachother，owingtothecompleteabortionoftheascendingbranchesofthepremaxillaries。Ihaveseenanalliedwhite，taillessbreedfromTurkey。
SUB—BREED（D）CREVE—COEUR。
AFrenchbreedoflargesize，barelycapableofflight，withshortblacklegs，headcrested，combproducedintotwopointsorhorns，sometimesalittlebranchedlikethehornsofastag;bothbeardandwattlespresent。
Eggslarge。Dispositionquiet。（7/3。Agooddescription，withfigures，isgivenofthissub—breedinthe’JournalofHorticulture’June10，1862page206。）
SUB—BREED（e）HORNEDFOWL。
Withasmallcrest;combproducedintotwogreatpoints，supportedontwobonyprotuberances。
SUB—BREED（f）HOUDAN。
AFrenchbreed;ofmoderatesize，short—leggedwithfivetoes，welldeveloped;plumageinvariablymottledwithblack，white，andstraw—yellow;
headfurnishedwithacrest，onatriplecombplacedtransversely;bothwattlesandbeardpresent。（7/4。Adescription，withfigures，isgivenofthisbreedin’JournalofHorticulture’June3，1862page186。Somewritersdescribethecombastwo—horned。）
SUB—BREED（g）GUELDERLANDS。
Nocomb，headsaidtobesurmountedbyalongitudinalcrestofsoftvelvetyfeathers;nostrilssaidtobecrescentic;wattleswelldeveloped;legsfeathered;colourblack。FromNorthAmerica。TheBredafowlseemstobecloselyalliedtotheGuelderland。
8。BANTAMBREED。
OriginallyfromJapan（7/5。Mr。Crawfurd’Descript。Dict。oftheIndianIslands’page113。BantamsarementionedinanancientnativeJapaneseEncyclopaedia，asIaminformedbyMr。BirchoftheBritishMuseum。）
characterisedbysmallsizealone;carriageboldanderect。Thereareseveralsub—breeds，suchastheCochin，Game，andSebrightBantams，someofwhichhavebeenrecentlyformedbyvariouscrosses。TheBlackBantamhasadifferentlyshapedskull，withtheoccipitalforamenlikethatoftheCochinfowl。
9。RUMPLESSFOWLS。
Thesearesovariableincharacter（7/6。’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’
1848。）thattheyhardlydeservetobecalledabreed。Anyonewhowillexaminethecaudalvertebraewillseehowmonstrousthebreedis。
10。CREEPERSORJUMPERS。
Thesearecharacterisedbyanalmostmonstrousshortnessoflegs，sothattheymovebyjumpingratherthanbywalking;theyaresaidnottoscratchuptheground。IhaveexaminedaBurmesevariety，whichhadaskullofratherunusualshape。
11。FRIZZLEDORCAFFREFOWLS。
NotuncommoninIndia，withthefeatherscurlingbackwards，andwiththeprimaryfeathersofthewingandtailimperfect;periosteumofbonesblack。
12。SILKFOWLS。
Featherssilky，withtheprimarywingandtail—feathersimperfect;skinandperiosteumofbonesblack;combandwattlesdarkleaden—blue;ear—lappetstingedwithblue;legsthin，oftenfurnishedwithanadditionaltoe。Sizerathersmall。
13。SOOTYFOWLS。
AnIndianbreed，havingthepeculiarappearanceofawhitebirdsmearedwithsoot，withblackskinandperiosteum。Thehensalonearethuscharacterised。]
Fromthissynopsisweseethattheseveralbreedsdifferconsiderably，andtheywouldhavebeennearlyasinterestingforusaspigeons，iftherehadbeenequallygoodevidencethatallhaddescendedfromoneparent—species。
Mostfanciersbelievethattheyaredescendedfromseveralprimitivestocks。TheRev。E。S。Dixon（7/7。’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’1848。）
arguesstronglyonthissideofthequestion;andonefancierevendenouncestheoppositeconclusionbyasking，"Dowenotperceivepervadingthisspirit，thespiritoftheDEIST？"Mostnaturalists，withtheexceptionofafew，suchasTemminck，believethatallthebreedshaveproceededfromasinglespecies;butauthorityonsuchapointgoesforlittle。Fancierslooktoallpartsoftheworldasthepossiblesourcesoftheirunknownstocks;thusignoringthelawsofgeographicaldistribution。Theyknowwellthattheseveralkindsbreedtrulyevenincolour。Theyassert，but，asweshallsee，onveryweakgrounds，thatmostofthebreedsareextremelyancient。Theyarestronglyimpressedwiththegreatdifferencebetweenthechiefkinds，andtheyaskwithforce，candifferencesinclimate，food，ortreatmenthaveproducedbirdssodifferentastheblackstatelySpanish，thediminutiveelegantBantam，theheavyCochinwithitsmanypeculiarities，andthePolishfowlwithitsgreattop—knotandprotuberantskull？Butfanciers，whilstadmittingandevenoverratingtheeffectsofcrossingthevariousbreeds，donotsufficientlyregardtheprobabilityoftheoccasionalbirth，duringthecourseofcenturies，ofbirdswithabnormalandhereditarypeculiarities;theyoverlooktheeffectsofcorrelationofgrowth——ofthelong—continueduseanddisuseofparts，andofsomedirectresultfromchangedfoodandclimate，thoughonthislatterheadIhavefoundnosufficientevidence;andlastly，theyall，asfarasI
know，entirelyoverlooktheall—importantsubjectofunconsciousorunmethodicalselection，thoughtheyarewellawarethattheirbirdsdifferindividuallyandthatbyselectingthebestbirdsforafewgenerationstheycanimprovetheirstocks。
Anamateurwrites（7/8。Ferguson’IllustratedSeriesofRareandPrizePoultry’1834page6Preface。）asfollows:"Thefactthatpoultryhaveuntillatelyreceivedbutlittleattentionatthehandsofthefancier，andbeenentirelyconfinedtothedomainsoftheproducerforthemarket，wouldalonesuggesttheimprobabilityofthatconstantandunremittingattentionhavingbeenobservedinbreeding，whichisrequisitetotheconsummatingintheoffspringofanytwobirdstransmittableformsnotexhibitedbytheparents。"Thisatfirstsightappearstrue。ButinafuturechapteronSelection，abundantfactswillbegivenshowingnotonlythatcarefulbreeding，butthatactualselectionwaspractisedduringancientperiods，andbybarelycivilisedracesofman。InthecaseofthefowlIcanadducenodirectfactsshowingthatselectionwasancientlypractised;buttheRomansatthecommencementoftheChristianerakeptsixorsevenbreeds，andColumella"particularlyrecommendsasthebest，thosesortsthathavefivetoesandwhiteears。"（7/9。Rev。E。S。Dixoninhis’OrnamentalPoultry’page203givesanaccountofColumella’swork。）InthefifteenthcenturyseveralbreedswereknownanddescribedinEurope;andinChina，atnearlythesameperiod，sevenkindswerenamed。Amorestrikingcaseisthatatpresent，inoneofthePhilippineIslands，thesemi—barbarousinhabitantshavedistinctnativenamesfornolessthanninesub—breedsoftheGamefowl。（7/10。Mr。Crawfurd’OntheRelationoftheDomesticatedAnimalstoCivilization’separatelyprintedpage6;firstreadbeforetheBrit。Assoc。atOxford1860。）Azara（7/11。’QuadrupedesduParaguay’tome2
page324。），whowrotetowardsthecloseofthelastcentury，statesthatintheinteriorpartsofSouthAmerica，whereIshouldnothaveexpectedthattheleastcarewouldhavebeentakenofpoultry，ablack—skinnedandblack—
bonedbreediskept，frombeingconsideredfertileanditsfleshgoodforsickpersons。Noweveryonewhohaskeptpoultryknowshowimpossibleitistokeepseveralbreedsdistinctunlesstheutmostcarebetakeninseparatingthesexes。Willitthenbepretendedthatthosepersonswho，inancienttimesandinsemi—civilisedcountriestookpainstokeepthebreedsdistinct，andwhothereforevaluedthem，wouldnotoccasionallyhavedestroyedinferiorbirdsandoccasionallyhavepreservedtheirbestbirds？
Thisisallthatisrequired。Itisnotpretendedthatanyoneinancienttimesintendedtoformanewbreed，ortomodifyanoldbreedaccordingtosomeidealstandardofexcellence。Hewhocaredforpoultrywouldmerelywishtoobtain，andafterwardstorear，thebestbirdswhichhecould;butthisoccasionalpreservationofthebestbirdswouldinthecourseoftimemodifythebreed，assurely，thoughbynomeansasrapidly，asdoesmethodicalselectionatthepresentday，Ifonepersonoutofahundredoroutofathousandattendedtothebreedingofhisbirds，thiswouldbesufficient;forthebirdsthustendedwouldsoonbecomesuperiortoothers，andwouldformanewstrain;andthisstrainwould，asexplainedinthelastchapter，slowlyhaveitscharacteristicdifferencesaugmented，andatlastbeconvertedintoanewsub—breedorbreed。Butbreedswouldoftenbeforatimeneglectedandwoulddeteriorate;theywould，however，partiallyretaintheircharacter，andafterwardsmightagaincomeintofashionandberaisedtoastandardofperfectionhigherthantheirformerstandard;ashasactuallyoccurredquiterecentlywithPolishfowls。If，however，abreedwereutterlyneglected，itwouldbecomeextinct，ashasrecentlyhappenedwithoneofthePolishsub—breeds。Wheneverinthecourseofpastcenturiesabirdappearedwithsomeslightabnormalstructure，suchaswithalark—likecrestonitshead，itwouldprobablyoftenhavebeenpreservedfromthatloveofnoveltywhichleadssomepersonsinEnglandtokeeprumplessfowls，andothersinIndiatokeepfrizzledfowls。Andafteratimeanysuchabnormalappearancewouldbecarefullypreserved，frombeingesteemedasignofthepurityandexcellenceofthebreed;foronthisprincipletheRomanseighteencenturiesagovaluedthefifthtoeandthewhiteear—lobeintheirfowls。
Thusfromtheoccasionalappearanceofabnormalcharacters，thoughatfirstonlyslightindegree;fromtheeffectsoftheuseandthedisuseofparts;
possiblyfromthedirecteffectsofchangedclimateandfood;fromcorrelationofgrowth;fromoccasionalreversionstooldandlong—lostcharacters;fromthecrossingofbreeds，whenmorethanonehadbeenformed;but，aboveall，fromunconsciousselectioncarriedonduringmanygenerations，thereisnoinsuperabledifficulty，tothebestofmyjudgment，inbelievingthatallthebreedshavedescendedfromsomeoneparent—source。Cananysinglespeciesbenamedfromwhichwemayreasonablysupposethatallaredescended？TheGallusbankivaapparentlyfulfilseveryrequirement。IhavealreadygivenasfairanaccountasIcouldoftheargumentsinfavourofthemultipleoriginoftheseveralbreeds;andnowI
willgivethoseinfavouroftheircommondescentfromG。bankiva。
[ButitwillbeconvenientfirstbrieflytodescribealltheknownspeciesofGallus。TheG。sonneratiidoesnotrangeintothenorthernpartsofIndia;accordingtoColonelSykes（7/12。’Proc。Zoolog。Soc。’1832page151。），itpresentsatdifferentheightsoftheGhauts，twostronglymarkedvarieties，perhapsdeservingtobecalledspecies。Itwasatonetimethoughttobetheprimitivestockofallourdomesticbreeds，andthisshowsthatitcloselyapproachesthecommonfowlingeneralstructure;butitshacklespartiallyconsistofhighlypeculiar，hornylaminae，transverselybandedwiththreecolours;andIhavemetnoauthenticaccountofanysuchcharacterhavingbeenobservedinanydomesticbreed。（7/13。
ThesefeathershavebeendescribedbyDr。W。Marshall’DerZoolog。Garten’
April1874page124。IexaminedthefeathersofsomehybridsraisedintheZoologicalGardensbetweenthemaleG。sonneratiiandaredgame—hen，andtheyexhibitedthetruecharacterofthoseofG。sonneratii，exceptthatthehornylaminaeweremuchsmaller。）Thisspeciesalsodiffersgreatlyfromthecommonfowl，inthecombbeingfinelyserrated，andintheloinsbeingdestituteoftruehackles。Itsvoiceisutterlydifferent。ItcrossesreadilyinIndiawithdomestichens;andMr。Blyth（7/14。SeealsoanexcellentletteronthePoultryofIndiabyMr。Blythin’Gardener’sChronicle’1851page619。）raisednearly100hybridchickens;buttheyweretenderandmostlydiedwhilstyoung。Thosewhichwererearedwereabsolutelysterilewhencrossedinterseorwitheitherparent。AttheZoologicalGardens，however，some’hybridsofthesameparentagewerenotquitesosterile:Mr。Dixon，asheinformedme，made，withMr。Yarrell’said，particularinquiriesonthissubject，andwasassuredthatoutof50
eggsonlyfiveorsixchickenswerereared。Some，however，ofthesehalf—
bredbirdswerecrossedwithoneoftheirparents，namely，aBantam，andproducedafewextremelyfeeblechickens。Mr。Dixonalsoprocuredsomeofthesesamebirdsandcrossedtheminseveralways，butallweremoreorlessinfertile。NearlysimilarexperimentshaverecentlybeentriedonagreatscaleintheZoologicalGardenswithalmostthesameresult。（7/15。
Mr。S。J。Salterin’NaturalHistoryReview’April1863page276。）Outof500eggs，raisedfromvariousfirstcrossesandhybrids，betweenG。
sonneratii，bankiva，andvarius，only12chickenswerereared，andoftheseonlythreeweretheproductofhybridsinterse。Fromthesefacts，andfromtheabove—mentionedstrongly—markeddifferencesinstructurebetweenthedomesticfowlandG。sonneratii，wemayrejectthislatterspeciesastheparentofanydomesticbreed。
Ceylonpossessesafowlpeculiartotheisland，viz。G。stanleyii;thisspeciesapproachessoclosely（exceptinthecolouringofthecomb）tothedomesticfowl，thatMessrs。LayardandKellaert（7/16。SeealsoMr。
Layard’spaperin’AnnalsandMag。ofNat。History’2ndseriesvolume14
page62。）wouldhaveconsideredit，astheyinformme，asoneoftheparent—stocks，haditnotbeenforitssingularlydifferentvoice。Thisbird，likethelast，crossesreadilywithtamehens，andevenvisitssolitaryfarmsandravishesthem。Twohybrids，amaleandfemale，thusproduced，werefoundbyMr。Mitfordtobequitesterile:bothinheritedthepeculiarvoiceofG。stanleyii。Thisspecies，then，mayinallprobabilityberejectedasoneoftheprimitivestocksofthedomesticfowl。
JavaandtheislandseastwardasfarasFloresareinhabitedbyG。varius（orfurcatus），whichdiffersinsomanycharacters——greenplumage，unserratedcomb，andsinglemedianwattle——thatnoonesupposesittohavebeentheparentofanyoneofourbreeds;yet，asIaminformedbyMr。
Crawfurd（7/17。SeealsoMr。Crawfurd’DescriptiveDict。oftheIndianIslands’1856page113。），hybridsarecommonlyraisedbetweenthemaleG。
variusandthecommonhen，andarekeptfortheirgreatbeauty，butareinvariablysterile:this，however，wasnotthecasewithsomebredintheZoologicalGardens。Thesehybridswereatonetimethoughttobespecificallydistinct，andwerenamedG。aeneus。Mr。BlythandothersbelievethattheG。temminckii（7/18。DescribedbyMr。G。R。Gray’Proc。
Zoolog。Soc’1849page62。）（ofwhichthehistoryisnotknown）isasimilarhybrid。SirJ。BrookesentmesomeskinsofdomesticfowlsfromBorneo，andacrossthetailofoneofthese，asMr。Tegetmeierobserved，thereweretransversebluebandslikethosewhichhehadseenonthetail—
feathersofhybridsfromG。varius，rearedintheZoologicalGardens。ThisfactapparentlyindicatesthatsomeofthefowlsofBorneohavebeenslightlyaffectedbycrosseswithG。varius，butthecasemaypossiblybeoneofanalogousvariation。ImayjustalludetotheG。giganteus，sooftenreferredtoinworksonpoultryasawildspecies;butMarsden（7/19。ThepassagefromMarsdenisgivenbyMr。Dixoninhis’PoultryBook’page176。
Noornithologistnowranksthisbirdasadistinctspecies。）thefirstdescriber，speaksofitasatamebreed;andthespecimenintheBritishMuseumevidentlyhastheaspectofadomesticvariety。
Thelastspeciestobementioned，namely，Gallusbankiva，hasamuchwidergeographicalrangethanthethreepreviousspecies;itinhabitsNorthernIndiaasfarwestasSinde，andascendstheHimalayatoaheightof4000
ft。;itinhabitsBurmah，theMalaypeninsula，theIndo—Chinesecountries，thePhilippineIslands，andtheMalayanarchipelagoasfareastwardasTimor。Thisspeciesvariesconsiderablyinthewildstate。Mr。Blythinformsmethatthespecimens，bothmaleandfemale，broughtfromneartheHimalaya，areratherpalercolouredthanthosefromotherpartsofIndia;
whilstthosefromtheMalaypeninsulaandJavaarebrightercolouredthantheIndianbirds。Ihaveseenspecimensfromthesecountries，andthedifferenceoftintinthehackleswasconspicuous。TheMalayanhenswereashaderedderonthebreastandneckthantheIndianhens。TheMalayanmalesgenerallyhadaredear—lappet，insteadofawhiteoneasinIndia;butMr。
BlythhasseenoneIndianspecimenwithoutthewhiteear—lappet。ThelegsareleadenblueintheIndian，whereastheyshowsometendencytobeyellowishintheMalayanandJavanspecimens。IntheformerMr。Blythfindsthetarsusremarkablyvariableinlength。AccordingtoTemminck（7/20。
’Coup—d’oeilgeneralsurl’IndeArchipelagique’tome31849page177;seealsoMr。Blythin’IndianSportingReview’volume2page51856。）theTimorspecimensdifferasalocalracefromthatofJava。Theseseveralwildvarietieshavenotasyetbeenrankedasdistinctspecies;iftheyshould，asisnotunlikely，behereafterthusranked，thecircumstancewouldbequiteimmaterialasfarastheparentageanddifferencesofourdomesticbreedsareconcerned。ThewildG。bankivaagreesmostcloselywiththeblack—breastedredGame—breed，incolouringandinallotherrespects，exceptinbeingsmaller，andinthetailbeingcarriedmorehorizontally。
Butthemannerinwhichthetailiscarriedishighlyvariableinmanyofourbreeds，for，asMr。Brentinformsme，thetailslopesmuchintheMalays，iserectintheGamesandsomeotherbreeds，andismorethanerectinDorkings，Bantams，etc。Thereisoneotherdifferencenamely，thatinG。
bankiva，accordingtoMr。Blyth，theneck—hackleswhenfirstmoultedarereplacedduringtwoorthreemonthsnotbyotherhackles，aswithourdomesticpoultry，butbyshortblackishfeathers。（7/21。Mr。Blyth’AnnalsandMag。ofNat。Hist。’2ndseriesvolume11848page455。）Mr。Brent，however，hasremarkedthattheseblackfeathersremaininthewildbirdafterthedevelopmentofthelowerhackles，andappearinthedomesticbirdatthesametimewiththem:sothattheonlydifferenceisthatthelowerhacklesarereplacedmoreslowlyinthewildthaninthetamebird;butasconfinementisknownsometimestoaffectthemasculineplumage，thisslightdifferencecannotbeconsideredofanyimportance。ItisasignificantfactthatthevoiceofboththemaleandfemaleG。bankivacloselyresembles，asMr。Blythandothershavenoted，thevoiceofbothsexesofthecommondomesticfowl;butthelastnoteofthecrowofthewildbirdisratherlessprolonged。CaptainHutton，wellknownforhisresearchesintothenaturalhistoryofIndia，informsmethathehasseenseveralcrossedfowlsfromthewildspeciesandtheChinesebantam;thesecrossedfowlsBRED
FREELYwithbantams，butunfortunatelywerenotcrossedinterse。CaptainHuttonrearedchickensfromtheeggsoftheGallusbankiva;andthese，thoughatfirstverywild，afterwardsbecamesotamethattheywouldcrowdroundhisfeet。Hedidnotsucceedinrearingthemtomaturity;butasheremarks，"nowildgallinaceousbirdthriveswellatfirstonhardgrain。"
Mr。BlythalsofoundmuchdifficultyinkeepingG。bankivainconfinement。
InthePhilippineIslands，however，thenativesmustsucceedbetter，astheykeepwildcockstofightwiththeirdomesticgame—birds。（7/22。
Crawfurd’Desc。Dict。ofIndianIslands’1856page112。）SirWalterElliotinformsmethatthehenofanativedomesticbreedofPeguisundistinguishablefromthehenofthewildG。bankiva;andthenativesconstantlycatchwildcocksbytakingtamecockstofightwiththeminthewoods。（7/23。InBurmah，asIhearfromMr。Blyth，thewildandtamepoultryconstantlycrosstogether，andirregulartransitionalformsmaybeseen。）Mr。CrawfurdremarksthatfrometymologyitmightbearguedthatthefowlwasfirstdomesticatedbytheMalaysandJavanese。（7/24。Ibidpage113。）Itisalsoacuriousfact，ofwhichIhavebeenassuredbyMr。Blyth，thatwildspecimensoftheGallusbankiva，broughtfromthecountrieseastoftheBayofBengal，arefarmoreeasilytamedthanthoseofIndia;noristhisanunparalleledfact，for，asHumboldtlongagoremarked，thesamespeciessometimesevincesamoretameabledispositioninonecountrythaninanother。IfwesupposethattheG。bankivawasfirsttamedinMalayaandafterwardsimportedintoIndia，wecanunderstandanobservationmadetomebyMr。Blyth，thatthedomesticfowlsofIndiadonotresemblethewildG。
bankivaofIndiamorecloselythandothoseofEurope。]
Fromtheextremelycloseresemblanceincolour，generalstructure，andespeciallyinvoice，betweenGallusbankivaandtheGamefowl;fromtheirfertility，asfarasthishasbeenascertained，whencrossed;fromthepossibilityofthewildspeciesbeingtamed，andfromitsvaryinginthewildstate，wemayconfidentlylookatitastheparentofthemosttypicalofallthedomesticbreeds，namely，theGamefowl。Itisasignificantfact，thatalmostallthenaturalistsinIndia，namelySirW。Elliot，Mr。
S。N。Ward，Mr。Layard，Mr。J。C。Jerdon，andMr。Blyth（7/25。Mr。Jerdoninthe’MadrasJourn。ofLit。andScience’volume22page2speakingofG。
bankivasays"unquestionablytheoriginofmostofthevarietiesofourcommonfowls。"ForMr。Blythseehisexcellentarticlein’Gardener’sChronicle’1851page619;andin’AnnalsandMag。ofNat。Hist。’volume20
1847page388。），whoarefamiliarwithG。bankiva，believethatitistheparentofmostorallourdomesticbreeds。ButevenifitbeadmittedthatG。bankivaistheparentoftheGamebreed，yetitmaybeurgedthatotherwildspecieshavebeentheparentsoftheotherdomesticbreeds;andthatthesespeciesstillexist，thoughunknown，insomecountry，orhavebecomeextinct。Theextinction，however，ofseveralspeciesoffowls，isanimprobablehypothesis，seeingthatthefourknownspecieshavenotbecomeextinctinthemostancientandthicklypeopledregionsoftheEast。Thereis，infact，notoneotherkindofdomesticatedbird，ofwhichthewildparent—formisunknown，thatisbecomeextinct。Forthediscoveryofnew，ortherediscoveryofoldspeciesofGallus，wemustnotlook，asfanciersoftenlook，tothewholeworld。Thelargergallinaceousbirds，asMr。Blythhasremarked（7/26。’Gardener’sChronicle’1851page619。），generallyhavearestrictedrange:weseethiswellillustratedinIndia，wherethegenusGallusinhabitsthebaseoftheHimalaya，andissucceededhigherupbyGallophasis，andstillhigherupbyPhasianus。Australia，withitsislands，isoutofthequestionasthehomeforunknownspeciesofthegenus。Itis，also，asimprobablethatGallusshouldinhabitSouthAmerica（7/27。Ihaveconsultedaneminentauthority，Mr。Sclater，onthissubject，andhethinksthatIhavenotexpressedmyselftoostrongly。Iamawarethatoneancientauthor，Acosta，speaksoffowlsashavinginhabitedS。Americaattheperiodofitsdiscovery;andmorerecently，about1795，OlivierdeSerresspeaksofwildfowlsintheforestsofGuiana;thesewereprobablyferalbirds。Dr。Danielltellsme，hebelievesthatfowlshavebecomewildonthewestcoastofEquatorialAfrica;theymay，however，notbetruefowls，butgallinaceousbirdsbelongingtothegenusPhasidus。TheoldvoyagerBarbutsaysthatpoultryarenotnaturaltoGuinea。Capt。W。Allen（’NarrativeofNigerExpedition’1848volume2page42）describeswildfowlsonIlhadosRollas，anislandnearSt。Thomas’sonthewestcoastofAfrica;thenativesinformedhimthattheyhadescapedfromavesselwreckedtheremanyyearsago;theywereextremelywildandhad"acryquitedifferenttothatofthedomesticfowl，"andtheirappearancewassomewhatchanged。Henceitisnotalittledoubtful，notwithstandingthestatementofthenatives，whetherthesebirdsreallywerefowls。Thatthefowlhasbecomeferalonseveralislandsiscertain。Mr。Fry，averycapablejudge，informedMr。
Layard，inaletter，thatthefowlswhichhaverunwildonAscension"hadnearlyallgotbacktotheirprimitivecolours，red，andblackcocks，andsmoky—greyhens。"Butunfortunatelywedonotknowthecolourofthepoultrywhichwereturnedout。FowlshavebecomeferalontheNicobarIslands（Blythinthe’IndianField’1858page62），andintheLadrones（Anson’sVoyage）。ThosefoundinthePellewIslandsCrawfurd）arebelievedtobeferal;andlastly，itisassertedthattheyhavebecomeferalinNewZealand，butwhetherthisiscorrectIknownot。）asthatahumming—birdshouldbefoundintheOldWorld。FromthecharacteroftheothergallinaceousbirdsofAfrica，itisnotprobablethatGallusisanAfricangenus。WeneednotlooktothewesternpartsofAsia，forMessrs。BlythandCrawfurd，whohaveattendedtothissubject，doubtwhetherGalluseverexistedinawildstateevenasfarwestasPersia。AlthoughtheearliestGreekwritersspeakofthefowlasaPersianbird，thisprobablymerelyindicatesitslineofimportation。ForthediscoveryofunknownspecieswemustlooktoIndia，totheIndo—Chinesecountries，andtothenorthernpartsoftheMalayArchipelago。ThesouthernportionofChinaisthemostlikelycountry;butasMr。Blythinformsme，skinshavebeenexportedfromChinaduringalongperiod，andlivingbirdsarelargelykeptthereinaviaries，sothatanynativespeciesofGalluswouldprobablyhavebecomeknown。Mr。Birch，oftheBritishMuseum，hastranslatedformepassagesfromaChineseEncyclopaediapublishedin1609，butcompiledfrommoreancientdocuments，inwhichitissaidthatfowlsarecreaturesoftheWest，andwereintroducedintotheEast（i。e。China）inadynasty1400B。C。
Whatevermaybethoughtofsoancientadate，weseethattheIndo—ChineseandIndianregionswereformerlyconsideredbytheChineseasthesourceofthedomesticfowl。Fromtheseseveralconsiderationswemustlooktothepresentmetropolisofthegenus，namely，tothesouth—easternpartsofAsia，forthediscoveryofspecieswhichwereformerlydomesticated，butarenowunknowninthewildstate;andthemostexperiencedornithologistsdonotconsideritprobablethatsuchspecieswillbediscovered。
Inconsideringwhetherthedomesticbreedsaredescendedfromonespecies，namely，G。bankiva，orfromseveral，wemustnotquiteoverlook，thoughwemustnotexaggerate，theimportanceofthetestoffertility。Mostofourdomesticbreedshavebeensooftencrossed，andtheirmongrelssolargelykept，thatitisalmostcertain，ifanydegreeofinfertilityhadexistedbetweenthem，itwouldhavebeendetected。Ontheotherhand，thefourknownspeciesofGalluswhencrossedwitheachother，orwhencrossed，withtheexceptionofG。bankiva，withthedomesticfowl，produceinfertilehybrids。
Finally，wehavenotsuchgoodevidencewithfowlsaswithpigeons，ofallthebreedshavingdescendedfromasingleprimitivestock。Inbothcasestheargumentoffertilitymustgoforsomething;inbothwehavetheimprobabilityofmanhavingsucceededinancienttimesinthoroughlydomesticatingseveralsupposedspecies，——mostofthesesupposedspeciesbeingextremelyabnormalascomparedwiththeirnaturalallies，——allbeingnoweitherunknownorextinct，thoughtheparent—formofnootherdomesticatedbirdhasbeenlost。Butinsearchingforthesupposedparent—
stocksofthevariousbreedsofthepigeon，wewereenabledtoconfineoursearchtospecieshavingpeculiarhabitsoflife;whilstwithfowlsthereisnothingintheirhabitsinanymarkedmannerdistinctfromthoseofothergallinaceousbirds。Inthecaseofpigeons，Ihaveshownthatpurely—
bredbirdsofeveryraceandthecrossedoffspringofdistinctracesfrequentlyresemble，orrevertto，thewildrock—pigeoningeneralcolourandineachcharacteristicmark。Withfowlswehavefactsofasimilarnature，butlessstronglypronounced，whichwewillnowdiscuss。
REVERSIONANDANALOGOUSVARIATION。
Purely—bredGame，Malay，Cochin，Dorking，Bantam，and，asIhearfromMr。
Tegetmeier，Silkfowls，mayfrequentlyoroccasionallybemetwith，whicharealmostidenticalinplumagewiththewildG。bankiva。Thisisafactwelldeservingattention，whenwereflectthatthesebreedsrankamongstthemostdistinct。Fowlsthuscolouredarecalledbyamateursblack—
breastedreds。Hamburghsproperlyhaveaverydifferentplumage;
nevertheless，asMr。Tegetmeierinformsme，"thegreatdifficultyinbreedingcocksofthegolden—spangledvarietyistheirtendencytohaveblackbreastsandredbacks。ThemalesofwhiteBantamsandwhiteCochins，astheycometomaturity，oftenassumeayellowishorsaffrontinge;andthelongerneckhacklesofblackBantamcocks"（7/28。Mr。Hewittin’ThePoultryBook’byW。B。Tegetmeier1866page248。），whentwoorthreeyearsold，notuncommonlybecomeruddy;theselatterBantamsoccasionally"evenmoultbrassy—winged，oractuallyred—shouldered。"SothatintheseseveralcasesweseeaplaintendencytoreversiontothehuesofG。bankiva，evenduringthelifetimeoftheindividualbird。WithSpanish，Polish，pencilledHamburgh，silver—spangledHamburghfowls，andwithsomeotherlesscommonbreeds，Ihaveneverheardofablack—breastedredbirdhavingappeared。
Frommyexperiencewithpigeons，Imadethefollowingcrosses。Ifirstkilledallmyownpoultry，nootherslivingnearmyhouse，andthenprocured，byMr。Tegetmeier’sassistance，afirst—rateblackSpanishcock，andhensofthefollowingpurebreeds，——whiteGame，whiteCochin，silver—
spangledPolish，silver—spangledHamburgh，silver—pencilledHamburgh，andwhiteSilk。Innoneofthesebreedsisthereatraceofred，norwhenkeptpurehaveIeverheardoftheappearanceofaredfeather;thoughsuchanoccurrencewouldperhapsnotbeveryimprobablewithwhiteGamesandwhiteCochins。Ofthemanychickensrearedfromtheabovesixcrossesthemajoritywereblack，bothinthedownandinthefirstplumage;somewerewhite，andaveryfewweremottledblackandwhite。InonelotofelevenmixedeggsfromthewhiteGameandwhiteCochinbytheblackSpanishcock，sevenofthechickenswerewhite，andonlyfourblack。Imentionthisfacttoshowthatwhitenessofplumageisstronglyinherited，andthatthebeliefintheprepotentpowerinthemaletotransmithiscolourisnotalwayscorrect。Thechickenswerehatchedinthespring，andinthelatterpartofAugustseveraloftheyoungcocksbegantoexhibitachange，whichwithsomeofthemincreasedduringthefollowingyears。Thusayoungmalebirdfromthesilver—spangledPolishhenwasinitsfirstplumagecoal—
black，andcombinedinitscomb，crest，wattle，andbeard，thecharactersofbothparents;butwhentwoyearsoldthesecondarywing—feathersbecamelargelyandsymmetricallymarkedwithwhite，and，whereverinG。bankivathehacklesarered，theywereinthisbirdgreenish—blackalongtheshaft，narrowlyborderedwithbrownish—black，andthisagainbroadlyborderedwithverypaleyellowish—brown;sothatingeneralappearancetheplumagehadbecomepale—colouredinsteadofblack。Inthiscase，withadvancingagetherewasagreatchange，butnoreversiontotheredcolourofG。bankiva。
AcockwitharegularrosecombderivedeitherfromthespangledorpencilledsilverHamburghwaslikewiseatfirstquiteblack;butinlessthanayeartheneck—hackles，asinthelastcase，becamewhitish，whilstthoseontheloinsassumedadecidedreddish—yellowtint;andhereweseethefirstsymptomofreversion;thislikewiseoccurredwithsomeotheryoungcocks，whichneednotherebedescribed。Ithasalsobeenrecorded（7/29。’JournalofHorticulture’January14，1862page325。）byabreeder，thathecrossedtwosilver—pencilledHamburghhenswithaSpanishcock，andrearedanumberofchickens，allofwhichwereblack，thecockshavingGOLDENandthehensbrownishhackles;sothatinthisinstancelikewisetherewasacleartendencytoreversion。