TwoyoungcocksfrommywhiteGamehenwereatfirstsnowwhite;ofthese，onesubsequentlyassumedmaleorange—colouredhackles，chieflyontheloins，andtheotheranabundanceoffineorange—redhacklesontheneck，loins，andupperwing—coverts。Hereagainwehaveamoredecided，thoughpartial，reversiontothecoloursofG。bankiva。Thissecondcockwasinfactcolouredlikeaninferior"pileCamecock;"——nowthissub—breedcanbeproduced，asIaminformedbyMr。Tegetmeier，bycrossingablack—breastedredGamecockwithawhiteGamehen，andthe"pile"sub—breedthusproducedcanafterwardsbetrulypropagated。Sothatwehavethecuriousfactoftheglossy—blackSpanishcockandtheblack—breastedredGamecockwhencrossedwithwhiteGamehensproducingoffspringofnearlythesamecolours。
IrearedseveralbirdsfromthewhiteSilkhenbytheSpanishcock:allwerecoal—black，andallplainlyshowedtheirparentageinhavingblackishcombsandbones;noneinheritedtheso—calledsilkyfeathers，andthenon—
inheritanceofthischaracterhasbeenobservedbyothers。Thehensnevervariedintheirplumage。Astheyoungcocksgrewold，oneofthemassumedyellowish—whitehackles，andthusresembledinaconsiderabledegreethecrossfromtheHamburghhen;theotherbecameagorgeousbird，somuchsothatanacquaintancehaditpreservedandstuffedsimplyfromitsbeauty。
WhenstalkingaboutitcloselyresembledthewildGallusbankiva，butwiththeredfeathersratherdarker。Onclosecomparisononeconsiderabledifferencepresenteditself，namely，thattheprimaryandsecondarywing—
featherswereedgedwithgreenish—black，insteadofbeingedged，asinG。
bankiva，withfulvousandredtints。Thespace，also，acrosstheback，whichbearsdark—greenfeathers，wasbroader，andthecombwasblackish。Inallotherrespects，evenintriflingdetailsofplumage，therewastheclosestaccordance。AltogetheritwasamarvelloussighttocomparethisbirdfirstwithG。bankiva，andthenwithitsfather，theglossygreen—
blackSpanishcock，andwithitsdiminutivemother，thewhiteSilkhen。
ThiscaseofreversionisthemoreextraordinaryastheSpanishbreedhaslongbeenknowntobreedtrue，andnoinstanceisonrecordofitsthrowingasingleredfeather。TheSilkhenlikewisebreedstrue，andisbelievedtobeancient，forAldrovandi，before1600，alludesprobablytothisbreed，anddescribeditascoveredwithwool。Itissopeculiarinmanycharactersthatsomewritershaveconsidereditasspecificallydistinct;yet，aswenowsee，whencrossedwiththeSpanishfowl，ityieldsoffspringcloselyresemblingthewildG。bankiva。
Mr。Tegetmeierhasbeensokindastorepeat，atmyrequest，thecrossbetweenaSpanishcockandSilkhen，andheobtainedsimilarresults;forhethusraised，besidesablackhen，sevencocks，allofwhichweredark—
bodiedwithmoreorlessorange—redhackles。Intheensuingyearhepairedtheblackhenwithoneofherbrothers，andraisedthreeyoungcocks，allcolouredliketheirfather，andablackhenmottledwithwhite。
Thehensfromthesixabove—describedcrossesshowedhardlyanytendencytoreverttothemottled—brownplumageofthefemaleG。bankiva:onehen，however，fromthewhiteCochin，whichwasatfirstcoal—black，becameslightlybrownorsooty。Severalhens，whichwereforalongtimesnow—
white，acquiredastheygrewoldafewblackfeathers。AhenfromthewhiteGame，whichwasforalongtimeentirelyblackglossedwithgreen，whentwoyearsoldhadsomeoftheprimarywingfeathersgreyish—white，andamultitudeoffeathersoverherbodynarrowlyandsymmetricallytippedorlacedwithwhite。Ihadexpectedthatsomeofthechickenswhilstcoveredwithdownwouldhaveassumedthelongitudinalstripessogeneralwithgallinaceousbirds;butthisdidnotoccurinasingleinstance。Twoorthreealonewerereddish—brownabouttheirheads。Iwasunfortunateinlosingnearlyallthewhitechickensfromthefirstcrosses;sothatblackprevailedwiththegrandchildren;buttheyweremuchdiversifiedincolour，somebeingsooty，othersmottled，andoneblackishchickenhaditsfeathersoddlytippedandbarredwithbrown。
Iwillhereaddafewmiscellaneousfactsconnectedwithreversion，andwiththelawofanalogousvariation。Thislawimplies，asstatedinapreviouschapter，thatthevarietiesofonespeciesfrequentlymockdistinctbutalliedspecies;andthisfactisexplained，accordingtotheviewswhichImaintain，ontheprincipleofalliedspecieshavingdescendedfromoneprimitiveform。ThewhiteSilkfowlwithblackskinandbonesdegenerates，ashasbeenobservedbyMr。HewittandMr。R。Orton，inourclimate;thatis，itrevertstotheordinarycolourofthecommonfowlinitsskinandbones，duecarehavingbeentakentopreventanycross。InGermany（7/30。’DieHuhner—undPfauenzucht’Ulm1827s。17。ForMr。
Hewitt’sstatementwithrespecttothewhiteSilkfowlseethe’PoultryBook’byW。B。Tegetmeier1866page222。IamindebtedtoMr。Ortonforaletteronthesamesubject。）adistinctbreedwithblackbones，andwithblack，notsilkyplumage，haslikewisebeenobservedtodegenerate。
Mr。Tegetmeierinformsmethat，whendistinctbreedsarecrossed，fowlsarefrequentlyproducedwiththeirfeathersmarkedorpencilledbynarrowtransverselinesofadarkercolour。Thismaybeinpartexplainedbydirectreversiontotheparent—form，theBankivahen;forthisbirdhasallitsupperplumagefinelymottledwithdarkandrufousbrown，withthemottlingpartiallyandobscurelyarrangedintransverselines。Butthetendencytopencillingisprobablymuchstrengthenedbythelawofanalogousvariation，forthehensofsomeotherspeciesofGallusaremoreplainlypencilled，andthehensofmanygallinaceousbirdsbelongingtoothergenera，asthepartridge，havepencilledfeathers。Mr。Tegetmeierhasalsoremarkedtomethat，althoughwithdomesticpigeonswehavesogreatadiversityofcolouring，weneverseeeitherpencilledorspangledfeathers;
andthisfactisintelligibleonthelawofanalogousvariation，asneitherthewildrockpigeonnoranycloselyalliedspecieshassuchfeathers。Thefrequentappearanceofpencillingincrossedbirdsprobablyaccountsfortheexistenceof"cuckoo"sub—breedsintheGame，Polish，Dorking，Cochin，Andalusian，andBantambreeds。Theplumageofthesebirdsisslaty—blueorgrey，witheachfeathertransverselybarredwithdarkerlines，soastoresembleinsomedegreetheplumageofthecuckoo。Itisasingularfact，consideringthatthemaleofnospeciesofGallusisintheleastbarred，thatthecuckoo—likeplumagehasoftenbeentransferredtothemale，moreespeciallyinthecuckooDorking;andthefactisallthemoresingular，asingold—andsilver—pencilledHamburghs，inwhichpencillingischaracteristicofthebreed，themaleishardlyatallpencilled，thiskindofplumagebeingconfinedtothefemale。
Anothercaseofanalogousvariationistheoccurrenceofspangledsub—
breedsofHamburgh，Polish，Malay，andBantamfowls。Spangledfeathershaveadarkmark，properlycrescent—shaped，ontheirtips;whilstpencilledfeathershaveseveraltransversebars。ThespanglingcannotbeduetoreversiontoG。bankiva;nordoesitoftenfollow，asIhearfromMr。
Tegetmeier，fromcrossingdistinctbreeds;butitisacaseofanalogousvariation，formanygallinaceousbirdshavespangledfeathers，——forinstance，thecommonpheasant。Hencespangledbreedsareoftencalled"pheasant"—fowls。Anothercaseofanalogousvariationinseveraldomesticbreedsisinexplicable;itis，thatthechickens，whilstcoveredwithdown，oftheblackSpanish，blackGame，blackPolish，andblackBantam，allhavewhitethroatsandbreasts，andoftenhavesomewhiteontheirwings。（7/31。
Dixon’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’pages253，324，335。ForgamefowlsseeFergusonon’PrizePoultry’page260。）Theeditorofthe’PoultryChronicle’（7/32。’PoultryChronicle’volume271。）remarksthatallthebreedswhichproperlyhaveredear—lappetsoccasionallyproducebirdswithwhiteear—Tappets。ThisremarkmoreespeciallyappliestotheGamebreed，whichofallcomesnearesttotheG。bankiva;andwehaveseenthatwiththisspecieslivinginastateofnature，theear—lappetsvaryincolour，beingredintheMalayancountries，andgenerally，butnotinvariably，whiteinIndia。
Inconcludingthispartofmysubject，Imayrepeatthatthereexistsonewidely—ranging，varying，andcommonspeciesofGallus，namely，G。bankiva，whichcanbetamed，producesfertileoffspringwhencrossedwithcommonfowls，andcloselyresemblesinitswholestructure，plumage，andvoicetheGamebreed;henceitmaybesafelyrankedastheparentofthis，themosttypicaldomesticatedbreed。Wehaveseenthatthereismuchdifficultyinbelievingthatother，nowunknown，specieshavebeentheparentsoftheotherdomesticbreeds。Weknowthatallthebreedsaremostcloselyallied，asshownbytheirsimilarityinmostpointsofstructureandinhabits，andbytheanalogousmannerinwhichtheyvary。WehavealsoseenthatseveralofthemostdistinctbreedsoccasionallyorhabituallycloselyresembleinplumageG。bankiva，andthatthecrossedoffspringofotherbreeds，whicharenotthuscoloured，showastrongerorweakertendencytoreverttothissameplumage。Someofthebreeds，whichappearthemostdistinctandtheleastlikelytohaveproceededfromG。bankiva，suchasPolishfowls，withtheirprotuberantandlittleossifiedskulls，andCochins，withtheirimperfecttailandsmallwings，bearinthesecharacterstheplainmarksoftheirartificialorigin。Weknowwellthatoflateyearsmethodicalselectionhasgreatlyimprovedandfixedmanycharacters;andwehaveeveryreasontobelievethatunconsciousselection，carriedonformanygenerations，willhavesteadilyaugmentedeachnewpeculiarity，andthushavegivenrisetonewbreeds。Assoonastwoorthreebreedswereonceformed，crossingwouldcomeintoplayinchangingtheircharacterandinincreasingtheirnumber。BrahmaPootras，accordingtoanaccountlatelypublishedinAmerica，offeragoodinstanceofabreed，latelyformedbyacross，whichcanbetrulypropagated。Thewell—knownSebrightBantamsofferanotherandsimilarinstance。HenceitmaybeconcludedthatnotonlytheGame—breedbutthatallourbreedsareprobablythedescendantsoftheMalayanorIndianvarietyofG。bankiva。Ifso，thisspecieshasvariedgreatlysinceitwasfirstdomesticated;buttherehasbeenampletime，asweshallnowshow。
HISTORYOFTHEFOWL。
RutimeyerfoundnoremainsofthefowlintheancientSwisslake—dwellings;
but，accordingtoJeitteles（7/33。’DievorgeschichtlichenAlterthumer’II。
Theil1872page5。Dr。Pickeringinhis’RacesofMan’1850page374saysthattheheadandneckofafowliscarriedinaTribute—processiontoThoutmousisIII。（1445B。C。）;butMr。BirchoftheBritishMuseumdoubtswhetherthefigurecanbeidentifiedastheheadofafowl。SomecautionisnecessarywithreferencetotheabsenceoffiguresofthefowlontheancientEgyptianmonuments，onaccountofthestrongandwidelyprevalentprejudiceagainstthisbird。IaminformedbytheRev。S。ErhardtthatontheeastcoastofAfrica，from4to6degsouthoftheequator，mostofthepagantribesatthepresentdayholdthefowlinaversion。ThenativesofthePellewIslandswouldnoteatthefowlnorwilltheIndiansinsomepartsofS。America。FortheancienthistoryofthefowlseealsoVolz’BeitragezurCulturgeschichte’1852s。77;andIsid。GeoffroySt。—Hilaire’Hist。Nat。Gen。’tome3page61。Mr。Crawfurdhasgivenanadmirablehistoryofthefowlinhispaper’OntheRelationofDomesticatedAnimalstoCivilisation’readbeforetheBrit。Assoc。atOxfordin1860andsinceprintedseparately。IquotefromhimontheGreekpoetTheognis，andontheHarpyTombdescribedbySirC。Fellowes。IquotefromaletterofMr。
Blyth’swithrespecttotheInstitutesofManu。），suchhavecertainlysincebeenfoundassociatedwithextinctanimalsandprehistoricremains。Itis，thereforeastrangefactthatthefowlisnotmentionedintheOldTestament，norfiguredontheancientEgyptianmonuments。ItisnotreferredtobyHomerorHesiod（about900B。C。）;butismentionedbyTheognisandAristophanesbetween400and500B。C。ItisfiguredonsomeoftheBabyloniancylinders，betweenthesixthandseventhcenturiesB。C。，ofwhichMr。Layardsentmeanimpression;andontheHarpyTombinLycia，about600B。C。:sothatthefowlapparentlyreachedEuropeinadomesticatedconditionsomewhereaboutthesixthcenturyB。C。IthadtravelledstillfartherwestwardbythetimeoftheChristianera，foritwasfoundinBritainbyJuliusCaesar。InIndiaitmusthavebeendomesticatedwhentheInstitutesofManuwerewritten，thatis，accordingtoSirW。Jones，1200B。C。，but，accordingtothelaterauthorityofMr。H。
Wilson，only800B。C。，forthedomesticfowlisforbidden，whilstthewildispermittedtobeeaten。If，asbeforeremarked，wemaytrusttheoldChineseEncyclopaedia，thefowlmusthavebeendomesticatedseveralcenturiesearlier，asitissaidtohavebeenintroducedfromtheWestintoChina1400B。C。
Sufficientmaterialsdonotexistfortracingthehistoryoftheseparatebreeds。AboutthecommencementoftheChristianera，Columellamentionsafive—toedfightingbreed，andsomeprovincialbreeds;butweknownothingaboutthem。Healsoalludestodwarffowls;butthesecannothavebeenthesamewithourBantams，which，asMr。Crawfurdhasshown，wereimportedfromJapanintoBantaminJava。Adwarffowl，probablythetrueBantam，isreferredtoinanoldJapaneseEncyclopaedia，asIaminformedbyMr。
Birch。IntheChineseEncyclopaediapublishedin1596，butcompiledfromvarioussources，someofhighantiquity，sevenbreedsarementioned，includingwhatweshouldnowcallJumpersorCreepers，andlikewisefowlswithblackfeathers，bones，andflesh。In1600Aldrovandidescribessevenoreightbreedsoffowls，andthisisthemostancientrecordfromwhichtheageofourEuropeanbreedscanbeinferred。TheGallusturcicuscertainlyseemstobeapencilledHamburgh;butMr。Brent，amostcapablejudge，thinksthatAldrovandi"evidentlyfiguredwhathehappenedtosee，andnotthebestofthebreed。"Mr。Brent，indeed，considersallAldrovandi’sfowlsasofimpurebreed;butitisafarmoreprobableviewthatallourbreedshavebeenmuchimprovedandmodifiedsincehistime;
for，ashewenttotheexpenseofsomanyfigures，heprobablywouldhavesecuredcharacteristicspecimens。TheSilkfowl，however，probablythenexistedinitspresentstate，asdidalmostcertainlythefowlwithfrizzledorreversedfeathers。Mr。Dixon（7/34。’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’1847page185;forpassagestranslatedfromColumellaseepage312。ForGoldenHamburghsseeAlbin’NaturalHistoryofBirds’3volumeswithplates1731—38。）considersAldrovandi’sPaduanfowlas"avarietyofthePolish，"whereasMr。BrentbelievesittohavebeenmorenearlyalliedtotheMalay。TheanatomicalpeculiaritiesoftheskullofthePolishbreedwerenoticedbyP。Borelliin1656。Imayaddthatin1737onePolishsub—
breed，viz。，theGolden—spangled，wasknown;butjudgingfromAlbin’sdescription，thecombwasthenlarger，thecrestoffeathersmuchsmaller，thebreastmorecoarselyspotted，andthestomachandthighsmuchblacker:
aGolden—spangledPolishfowlinthisconditionwouldnowbeofnovalue。
DIFFERENCESINEXTERNALANDINTERNALSTRUCTUREBETWEENTHEBREEDS:
INDIVIDUALVARIABILITY。
Fowlshavebeenexposedtodiversifiedconditionsoflife，andaswehavejustseentherehasbeenampletimeformuchvariabilityandfortheslowactionofunconsciousselection。AstherearegoodgroundsforbelievingthatallthebreedsaredescendedfromGallusbankiva，itwillbeworthwhiletodescribeinsomedetailthechiefpointsofdifference。Beginningwiththeeggsandchickens，Iwillpassontotheirsecondarysexualcharacters，andthentotheirdifferencesinexternalstructureandintheskeleton。Ienteronthefollowingdetailschieflytoshowhowvariablealmosteverycharacterhasbecomeunderdomestication。
[EGGS。
Mr。Dixonremarks（7/35。’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’page152。）that"toeveryhenbelongsanindividualpeculiarityintheform，colour，andsizeofheregg，whichneverchangesduringherlife—time，solongassheremainsinhealth，andwhichisaswellknowntothosewhoareinthehabitoftakingherproduce，asthehand—writingoftheirnearestacquaintance。"
Ibelievethatthisisgenerallytrue，andthat，ifnogreatnumberofhensbekept，theeggsofeachcanalmostalwaysberecognised。Theeggsofdifferentlysizedbreedsnaturallydiffermuchinsize;butapparently，notalwaysinstrictrelationtothesizeofthehen:thustheMalayisalargerbirdthantheSpanish，butGENERALLYsheproducesnotsuchlargeeggs;whiteBantamsaresaidtolaysmallereggsthanotherBantams（7/36。
Fergusonon’RarePrizePoultry’page297。Thiswriter，Iaminformed，cannotgenerallybetrusted。Hegives，however，figuresandmuchinformationoneggs。Seepages34and235ontheeggsoftheGamefowl。）;
whiteCochins，ontheotherhand，asIhearfromMr。Tegetmeier，certainlylaylargereggsthanbuffCochins。Theeggs，however，ofthedifferentbreedsvaryconsiderablyincharacter;forinstance，Mr。Ballancestates（7/37。See’PoultryBook’byMr。Tegetmeier1866pages81and78。）thathisMalay"pulletsoflastyearlaideggsequalinsizetothoseofanyduck，andotherMalayhens，twoorthreeyearsold，laideggsverylittlelargerthanagoodsizedBantam’segg。SomewereaswhiteasaSpanishhen’segg，andothersvariedfromalightcream—colourtoadeeprichbuff，oreventoabrown。"Theshapealsovaries，thetwoendsbeingmuchmoreequallyroundedinCochinsthaninGamesorPolish。SpanishfowlslaysmoothereggsthanCochins，ofwhichtheeggsaregenerallygranulated。Theshellinthislatterbreed，andmoreespeciallyinMalaysisapttobethickerthaninGamesorSpanish;buttheMinorcas，asub—breedofSpanish，aresaidtolayhardereggsthantrueSpanish。（7/38。’TheCottageGardener’October1855
page13。OnthethinnessoftheeggsofGame—fowlsseeMowbrayon’Poultry’
7theditionpage13。）Thecolourdiffersconsiderably，——theCochinslayingbuff—colouredeggs;theMalaysapalervariablebuff;andGamesastillpalerbuff。Itwouldappearthatdarker—colouredeggscharacterisethebreedswhichhavelatelycomefromtheEast，orarestillcloselyalliedtothosenowlivingthere。Thecolouroftheyolk，accordingtoFerguson，aswellasoftheshell，differsslightlyinthesub—breedsoftheGame。IamalsoinformedbyMr。Brentthatdarkpartridge—colouredCochinhenslaydarkercolouredeggsthantheotherCochinsub—breeds。Theflavourandrichnessoftheeggcertainlydifferindifferentbreeds。Theproductivenessoftheseveralbreedsisverydifferent。Spanish，Polish，andHamburghhenshavelosttheincubatinginstinct。
CHICKENS。
Astheyoungofalmostallgallinaceousbirds，evenoftheblackcurassowandblackgrouse，whilstcoveredwithdown，arelongitudinallystripedontheback，——ofwhichcharacter，whenadult，neithersexretainsatrace，——itmighthavebeenexpectedthatthechickensofallourdomesticfowlswouldhavebeensimilarlystriped。（7/39。Myinformation，whichisveryfarfromperfect，onchickensinthedown，isderivedchieflyfromMr。Dixon’s’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry。’Mr。B。P。Brenthasalsocommunicatedtomemanyfactsbyletter，ashasMr。Tegetmeier。Iwillineachcasemarkmyauthoritybythenamewithinbrackets。ForthechickensofwhiteSilkfowlsseeTegetmeier’PoultryBook’1866page221。）Thiscould，however，hardlyhavebeenexpected，whentheadultplumageinbothsexeshasundergonesogreatachangeastobewhollywhiteorblack。Inwhitefowlsofvariousbreedsthechickensareuniformlyyellowishwhite，passingintheblack—
bonedSilkfowlintobrightcanary—yellow。ThisisalsogenerallythecasewiththechickensofwhiteCochins，butIhearfromMr。Zurhostthattheyaresometimesofabufforoakcolour，andthatallthoseofthislattercolour，whichwerewatched，turnedoutmales。ThechickensofbuffCochinsareofagolden—yellow，easilydistinguishablefromthepalertintofthewhiteCochins，andareoftenlongitudinallystreakedwithdarkshades:thechickensofsilver—cinnamonCochinsarealmostalwaysofabuffcolour。ThechickensofthewhiteGameandwhiteDorkingbreeds，whenheldinparticularlights，sometimesexhibit（ontheauthorityofMr。Brent）fainttracesoflongitudinalstripes。Fowlswhichareentirelyblack，namely，Spanish，blackGame，blackPolish，andblackBantams，displayanewcharacter，fortheirchickenshavetheirbreastsandthroatsmoreorlesswhite，withsometimesalittlewhiteelsewhere。Spanishchickensalso，occasionally（Brent），have，wherethedownwaswhite，theirfirsttruefeatherstippedforatimewithwhite。TheprimordiallystripedcharacterisretainedbythechickensofmostoftheGamesub—breeds（Brent，Dixon）;
byDorkings;bythepartridgeandgrouse—colouredsub—breedsofCochins（Brent），butnot，aswehaveseen，bythesub—breeds;bythepheasant—Malay（Dixon），butapparentlynot（atwhichIammuchsurprised）byotherMalays。
Thefollowingbreedsandsub—breedsarebarely，ornotatall，longitudinallystriped:viz。，goldandsilverpencilledHamburghs，whichcanhardlybedistinguishedfromeachother（Brent）inthedown，bothhavingafewdarkspotsontheheadandrump，withoccasionallyalongitudinalstripe（Dixon）onthebackoftheneck。Ihaveseenonlyonechickenofthesilver—spangledHamburgh，andthiswasobscurelystripedalongtheback。Gold—spangledPolishchickens（Tegetmeier）areofawarmrussetbrown;andsilver—spangledPolishchickensaregrey，sometimes（Dixon）withdashesofochreonthehead，wings，andbreast。Cuckooandblue—dunfowls（Dixon）aregreyinthedown。ThechickensofSebrightBantams（Dixon）areuniformlydarkbrown，whilstthoseofthebrown—
breastedredGameBantamareblack，withsomewhiteonthethroatandbreast。Fromthesefactsweseethatyoungchickensofthedifferentbreeds，andevenofthesamemainbreed，differmuchintheirdownyplumage;and，althoughlongitudinalstripescharacterisetheyoungofallwildgallinaceousbirds，theydisappearinseveraldomesticbreeds。PerhapsitmaybeacceptedasageneralrulethatthemoretheadultplumagediffersfromthatoftheadultG。bankiva，themorecompletelythechickenshavelosttheirstripes。]
Withrespecttotheperiodoflifeatwhichthecharacterspropertoeachbreedfirstappear，itisobviousthatsuchstructuresasadditionaltoesmustbeformedlongbeforebirth。InPolishfowls，theextraordinaryprotuberanceoftheanteriorpartoftheskulliswelldevelopedbeforethechickenscomeoutoftheegg（7/40。AsIhearfromMr。Tegetmeier;seealso’Proc。Zoolog。Soc。’1856page366。Onthelatedevelopmentofthecrestsee’PoultryChronicle’volume2page132。）butthecrest，whichissupportedontheprotuberance，isatfirstfeeblydeveloped，nordoesitattainitsfullsizeuntilthesecondyear。TheSpanishcockispre—eminentforhismagnificentcomb，andthisisdevelopedatanunusuallyearlyage;
sothattheyoungmalescanbedistinguishedfromthefemaleswhenonlyafewweeksold，andthereforeearlierthaninotherbreeds;theylikewisecrowveryearly，namely，whenaboutsixweeksold。IntheDutchsub—breedoftheSpanishfowlthewhiteear—lappetsaredevelopedearlierthaninthecommonSpanishbreed。（7/41。Onthesepointssee’PoultryChronicle’volume3page166;andTegetmeier’PoultryBook’1866pages105and121。）Cochinsarecharacterisedbyasmalltail，andintheyoungcocksthetailisdevelopedatanunusuallylateperiod。（7/42。Dixon’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’page273。）Gamefowlsarenotoriousfortheirpugnacity;
andtheyoungcockscrow，claptheirlittlewings，andfightobstinatelywitheachother，evenwhilstundertheirmother’scare。（7/43。Fergusonon’RareandPrizePoultry’page261。）"Ihaveoftenhad，"saysoneauthor（7/44。Mowbrayon’Poultry’7thedition1834page13。），"wholebroods，scarcelyfeathered，stone—blindfromfighting;therivalcouplesmopingincorners，andrenewingtheirbattlesonobtainingthefirstrayoflight。"
Theweaponsandpugnacityofallmalegallinaceousbirdsevidentlyservethepurposeofgainingpossessionofthefemales;sothatthetendencyinourGamechickenstofightatanextremelyearlyageisnotonlyuseless，butinjurious，astheysuffermuchfromtheirwounds。ThetrainingforbattleduringanearlyagemaybenaturaltothewildGallusbankiva;butasmanduringmanygenerationshasgoneonselectingthemostobstinatelypugnaciouscocks，itismoreprobablethattheirpugnacityhasbeenunnaturallyincreased，andunnaturallytransferredtotheyoungmalechickens。Inthesamemanner，itisprobablethattheextraordinarydevelopmentofthecombintheSpanishcockhasbeenunintentionallytransferredtotheyoungcocks;forfancierswouldnotcarewhethertheiryoungbirdshadlargecombs，butwouldselectforbreedingtheadultswhichhadthefinestcombs，whetherornotdevelopedatanearlyperiod。Thelastpointwhichneedherebenoticedisthat，thoughthechickensofSpanishandMalayfowlsarewellcoveredwithdown，thetruefeathersareacquiredatanunusuallylateage;sothatforatimetheyoungbirdsarepartiallynaked，andareliabletosufferfromcold。
SECONDARYSEXUALCHARACTERS。
Thetwosexesintheparent—form，theGallusbankiva，differmuchincolour。Inourdomesticbreedsthedifferenceisnevergreater，butisoftenless，andvariesmuchindegreeeveninthesub—breedsofthesamemainbreed。ThusincertainGamefowlsthedifferenceisasgreatasintheparent—form，whilstintheblackandwhitesub—breedsthereisnodifferenceinplumage。Mr。Brentinformsmethathehasseentwostrainsofblack—breastedredGames，ofwhichthecockscouldnotbedistinguished，whilstthehensinonewerepartridge—brownandintheotherfawn—brown。A
similarcasehasbeenobservedinthestrainsofthebrown—breastedredGame。Thehenofthe"duck—wingedGame"is"extremelybeautiful，"anddiffersmuchfromthehensofalltheotherGamesub—breeds;butgenerally，aswiththeblueandgreyGameandwithsomesub—varietiesofthepile—
game，amoderatelycloserelationmaybeobservedbetweenthemalesandfemalesinthevariationoftheirplumage。（7/45。SeethefulldescriptionofthevarietiesoftheGame—breedinTegetmeier’PoultryBook’1866page131。ForCuckooDorkingspage97。）AsimilarrelationisalsoevidentwhenwecomparetheseveralvarietiesofCochins。Inthetwosexesofgoldandsilver—spangledandofbuffPolishfowls，thereismuchgeneralsimilarityinthecolouringandmarksofthewholeplumage，exceptingofcourseinthehackles，crest，andbeard。InspangledHamburghs，thereislikewiseaconsiderabledegreeofsimilaritybetweenthetwosexes。InpencilledHamburghs，ontheotherhand，thereismuchdissimilarity;thepencillingwhichischaracteristicofthehensbeingalmostabsentinthemalesofboththegoldenandsilvervarieties。But，aswehavealreadyseen，itcannotbegivenasageneralrulethatmalefowlsneverhavepencilledfeathers，forCuckooDorkingsare"remarkablefromhavingnearlysimilarmarkingsinbothsexes。"
Itisasingularfactthatthemalesincertainsub—breedshavelostsomeoftheirsecondarymasculinecharacters，andfromtheircloseresemblanceinplumagetothefemales，areoftencalledhennies。Thereismuchdiversityofopinionwhetherthesemalesareinanydegreesterile;thattheysometimesarepartiallysterileseemsclear（7/46。Mr。HewittinTegetmeier’PoultryBook’1866pages246and156。Forhen—tailedgame—cocksseepage131。），butthismayhavebeencausedbytoocloseinterbreeding。
Thattheyarenotquitesterile，andthatthewholecaseiswidelydifferentfromthatofoldfemalesassumingmasculinecharacters，isevidentfromseveralofthesehen—likesub—breedshavingbeenlongpropagated。Themalesandfemalesofgoldandsilver—lacedSebrightBantamscanbebarelydistinguishedfromeachother，exceptbytheircombs，wattles，andspurs，fortheyarecolouredalike，andthemaleshavenothackles，northeflowingsickle—liketail—feathers。Ahen—tailedsub—breedofHamburghswasrecentlymuchesteemed。ThereisalsoabreedofGame—
fowls，inwhichthemalesandfemalesresembleeachothersocloselythatthecockshaveoftenmistakentheirhen—featheredopponentsinthecock—pitforrealhens，andbythemistakehavelosttheirlives。（7/47。’TheField’
April20，1861。Thewritersayshehasseenhalf—a—dozencocksthussacrificed。）Thecocks，thoughdressedinthefeathersofthehen，"arehigh—spiritedbirds，andtheircouragehasbeenoftenproved:"anengravingevenhasbeenpublishedofonecelebratedhen—tailedvictor。Mr。Tegetmeier（7/48。’ProceedingsofZoolog。Soc。’March1861page102。Theengravingofthehen—tailedcockjustalludedtowasexhibitedbeforetheSociety。）hasrecordedtheremarkablecaseofabrown—breastedredGamecockwhich，afterassumingitsperfectmasculineplumage，becamehen—featheredintheautumnofthefollowingyear;buthedidnotlosevoice，spurs，strength，norproductiveness。Thisbirdhasnowretainedthesamecharacterduringfiveseasons，andhasbegotbothhen—featheredandmale—featheredoffspring。Mr。
GrantleyF。Berkeleyrelatesthestillmoresingularcaseofacelebratedstrainof"polecatGamefowls，"whichproducedinnearlyeverybroodasinglehen—cock。"Thegreatpeculiarityinoneofthesebirdswasthathe，astheseasonssucceededeachother，wasnotalwaysahen—cock，andnotalwaysofthecolourcalledthepolecat，whichisblack。Fromthepolecatandhen—cockfeatherinoneseasonhemoultedtoafullmale—plumagedblack—breastedred，andinthefollowingyearhereturnedtotheformerfeather。"（7/49。’TheField’April20，1861。）
Ihaveremarkedinmy’OriginofSpecies’thatsecondarysexualcharactersareapttodiffermuchinthespeciesofthesamegenus，andtobeunusuallyvariableintheindividualsofthesamespecies。Soitiswiththebreedsofthefowl，aswehavealreadyseen，asfarasthecolourofplumageisconcerned，andsoitiswiththeothersecondarysexualcharacters。Firstly，thecombdiffersmuchinthevariousbreeds（7/50。I
ammuchindebtedtoMr。Brentforanaccount，withsketches，ofallthevariationsofthecombknowntohim，andlikewisewithrespecttothetailaspresentlytobegiven），anditsformiseminentlycharacteristicofeachkind，withtheexceptionoftheDorkings，inwhichtheformhasnotbeenasyetdeterminedonbyfanciers，andfixedbyselection。Asingle，deeply—
serratedcombisthetypicalandmostcommonform。Itdiffersmuchinsize，beingimmenselydevelopedinSpanishfowls;andinalocalbreedcalledRed—caps，itissometimes"upwardsofthreeinchesinbreadthatthefront，andmorethanfourinchesinlength，measuredtotheendofthepeakbehind。"（7/51。The’PoultryBook’byTegetmeier1866page234。）Insomebreedsthecombisdouble，andwhenthetwoendsarecementedtogetheritformsa"cup—comb;"inthe"rose—comb"itisdepressed，coveredwithsmallprojections，andproducedbackwards;inthehornedandcreve—coeurfowlitisproducedintotwohorns;itistripleinthepea—combedBrahmas，shortandtruncatedintheMalays，andabsentintheGuelderlands。InthetasselledGameafewlongfeathersrisefromthebackofthecomb:inmanybreedsacrestoffeathersreplacesthecomb。Thecrest，whenlittledeveloped，arisesfromafleshymass，but，whenmuchdeveloped，fromahemisphericalprotuberanceoftheskull。InthebestPolishfowlsitissolargelydeveloped，thatIhaveseenbirdswhichcouldhardlypickuptheirfood;andaGermanwriterasserts（7/52。’DieHuhner—undPfauenzucht’1827
s。11。）thattheyareinconsequenceliabletobestruckbyhawks。
Monstrousstructuresofthiskindwouldthusbesuppressedinastateofnature。Thewattles，also，varymuchinsize，beingsmallinMalaysandsomeotherbreeds;incertainPolishsub—breedstheyarereplacedbyagreattuftoffeatherscalledabeard。
Thehacklesdonotdiffermuchinthevariousbreeds，butareshortandstiffinMalays，andabsentinHennies。Asinsomeordersmalebirdsdisplayextraordinarily—shapedfeathers，suchasnakedshaftswithdiscsattheend，etc。，thefollowingcasemaybeworthgiving。InthewildGallusbankivaandinourdomesticfowls，thebarbswhicharisefromeachsideoftheextremitiesofthehacklesarenakedornotclothedwithbarbules，sothattheyresemblebristles;butMr。BrentsentmesomescapularhacklesfromayoungBirchenDuckwingGamecock，inwhichthenakedbarbsbecamedenselyre—clothedwithbarbulestowardstheirtips;sothatthesetips，whichweredarkcolouredwithametalliclustre，wereseparatedfromthelowerpartsbyasymmetrically—shapedtransparentzoneformedofthenakedportionsofthebarbs。Hencethecolouredtipsappearedlikelittleseparatemetallicdiscs。
Thesickle—feathersinthetail，ofwhichtherearethreepair，andwhichareeminentlycharacteristicofthemalesex，differmuchinthevariousbreeds。Theyarescimitar—shapedinsomeHamburghs，insteadofbeinglongandflowingasinthetypicalbreeds。TheyareextremelyshortinCochins，andarenotatalldevelopedinHennies。Theyarecarried，togetherwiththewholetail，erectinDorkingsandGaines;butdroopmuchinMalaysandinsomeCochins。Sultansarecharacterisedbyanadditionalnumberoflateralsickle—feathers。Thespursvarymuch，beingplacedhigherorlowerontheshank;beingextremelylongandsharpinGames，andbluntandshortinCochins。Theselatterbirdsseemawarethattheirspursarenotefficientweapons;forthoughtheyoccasionallyusethem，theymorefrequentlyfight，asIaminformedbyMr。Tegetmeier，byseizingandshakingeachotherwiththeirbeaks。InsomeIndianGamecocks，receivedbyMr。BrentfromGermany，thereare，asheinformsme，three，four，orevenfivespursoneachleg。SomeDorkingsalsohavetwospursoneachleg（7/53。’PoultryChronicle’volume1page595。Mr。Brenthasinformedmeofthesamefact。WithrespecttothepositionofthespursinDorkingssee’CottageGardener’September18，1860page380。）;andinbirdsofthisbreedthespurisoftenplacedalmostontheoutsideoftheleg。DoublespursarementionedinanancientChineseEncyclopaedia。Theiroccurrencemaybeconsideredasacaseofanalogousvariation，forsomewildgallinaceousbirds，forinstance，thePolyplectron，havedoublespurs。
JudgingfromthedifferenceswhichgenerallydistinguishthesexesintheGallinaceae，certaincharactersinourdomesticfowlsappeartohavebeentransferredfromtheonesextotheother。Inallthespecies（exceptinTurnix），whenthereisanyconspicuousdifferenceinplumagebetweenthemaleandfemale，themaleisalwaysthemostbeautiful;butingolden—
spangledHamburghsthehenisequallybeautifulwiththecock，andincomparablymorebeautifulthantheheninanynaturalspeciesofGallus;
sothathereamasculinecharacterhasbeentransferredtothefemale。Ontheotherhand，inCuckooDorkingsandinothercuckoobreedsthepencilling，whichinGallusisafemaleattribute，hasbeentransferredtothemale:nor，ontheprincipleofanalogousvariation，isthistransferencesurprising，asthemalesinmanygallinaceousgeneraarebarredorpencilled。Withmostofthesebirdsheadornamentsofallkindsaremorefullydevelopedinthemalethaninthefemale;butinPolishfowlsthecrestortop—knot，whichinthemalereplacesthecomb，isequallydevelopedinbothsexes。Inthemalesofcertainothersub—breeds，whichfromthehenhavingasmallcrest，arecalledlark—crested，"asingleuprightcombsometimesalmostentirelytakestheplaceofthecrest。"
（7/54。Dixon’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’page320。）Fromthislattercase，andmoreespeciallyfromsomefactspresentlytobegivenwithrespecttotheprotuberanceoftheskullinPolishfowls，thecrestinthisbreedmustbeviewedasafemininecharacterwhichhasbeentransferredtothemale。IntheSpanishbreedthemale，asweknow，hasanimmensecomb，andthishasbeenpartiallytransferredtothefemale，forhercombisunusuallylarge，thoughnotupright。InGamefowlstheboldandsavagedispositionofthemalehaslikewisebeenlargelytransferredtothefemale（7/55。Mr。TegetmeierinformsmethatGamehenshavebeenfoundsocombative，thatitisnowgenerallythepracticetoexhibiteachheninaseparatepen。）;andshesometimesevenpossessestheeminentlymasculinecharacterofspurs。Manycasesareonrecordoffertilehensbeingfurnishedwithspurs;andinGermany，accordingtoBechstein（7/56。
’NaturgeschichteDeutschlands’b。31793s。339，407。），thespursintheSilkhenaresometimesverylong。Hementionsalsoanotherbreedsimilarlycharacterised，inwhichthehensareexcellentlayers，butareapttodisturbandbreaktheireggsowingtotheirspurs。
Mr。Layard（7/57。OntheOrnithologyofCeylonin’AnnalsandMag。ofNat。
History。’2ndseriesvolume141854page63。）hasgivenanaccountofabreedoffowlsinCeylonwithblackskin，bones，andwattle，butwithordinaryfeathers，andwhichcannot"bemoreaptlydescribedthanbycomparingthemtoawhitefowldrawndownasootychimney;itis，however，"
addsMr。Layard，"aremarkablefactthatamalebirdofthepuresootyvarietyisalmostasrareasatortoise—shelltom—cat。"Mr。BlythfoundthesameruletoholdgoodwiththisbreednearCalcutta。Themalesandfemales，ontheotherhand，oftheblack—bonedEuropeanbreed，withsilkyfeathers，donotdifferfromeachother;sothatintheonebreed，blackskinandbonesandthesamekindofplumagearecommontobothsexes，whilstintheotherbreed，thesecharactersareconfinedtothefemalesex。
AtthepresentdayallthebreedsofPolishfowlshavethegreatbonyprotuberanceontheirskulls，whichincludespartofthebrainandsupportsthecrest，equallydevelopedinbothsexes。ButformerlyinGermanytheskullofthehenalonewasprotuberant:Blumenbach（7/58。’Handbuchdervergleich。Anatomie’1805page85note。Mr。Tegetmeier，whogivesin’Proc。
Zoolog。Soc。’November25，1856averyinterestingaccountoftheskullsofPolishfowls，notknowingofBechstein’saccount，hasdisputedtheaccuracyofBlumenbach’sstatement。ForBechsteinsee’NaturgeschichteDeutschlands’
b。31793s。399note。ImayaddthatatthefirstexhibitionofPoultryattheZoologicalGardensinMay1845Isawsomefowls，calledFriezlandfowls，ofwhichthehenswerecrested，andthecocksfurnishedwithacomb。），whoparticularlyattendedtoabnormalpeculiaritiesindomesticanimals，states，in1805，thatthiswasthecase;andBechsteinhadpreviously，in1793observedthesamefact。Thislatterauthorhascarefullydescribedtheeffectsontheskullofacrestnotonlyinthecaseoffowls，butofducks，geese，andcanaries。Hestatesthatwithfowls，whenthecrestisnotmuchdeveloped，itissupportedonafattymass;butwhenmuchdeveloped，itisalwayssupportedonabonyprotuberanceofvariablesize。Hewelldescribesthepeculiaritiesofthisprotuberance;heattendedalsototheeffectsofthemodifiedshapeofthebrainontheintellectofthesebirds，anddisputesPallas’statementthattheyarestupid。Hethenexpresslyremarksthatheneverobservedthisprotuberanceinmalefowls。HencetherecanbenodoubtthatthisextraordinarycharacterintheskullsofPolishfowlswasformerlyinGermanyconfinedtothefemalesex，buthasnowbeentransferredtothemales，andhasthusbecomecommontobothsexes。
[EXTERNALDIFFERENCES，NOTCONNECTEDWITHTHESEXES，BETWEENTHEBREEDSAND
BETWEENINDIVIDUALBIRDS。
Thesizeofthebodydiffersgreatly。Mr。TegetmeierhasknownaBrahmatoweigh17pounds;afineMalaycock10pounds;whilstafirst—rateSebrightBantamweighshardlymorethan1pound。Duringthelast20yearsthesizeofsomeofourbreedshasbeenlargelyincreasedbymethodicalselection，whilstthatofotherbreedshasbeenmuchdiminished。Wehavealreadyseenhowgreatlycolourvariesevenwithinthesamebreed;weknowthatthewildG。bankivavariesslightlyincolour;weknowthatcolourisvariableinallourdomesticanimals;neverthelesssomeeminentfanciershavesolittlefaithinvariability，thattheyhaveactuallyarguedthatthechiefGamesub—breeds，whichdifferfromeachotherinnothingbutcolour，aredescendedfromdistinctwildspecies！Crossingoftencausesstrangemodificationofcolour。Mr。TegetmeierinformsmethatwhenbuffandwhiteCochinsarecrossed，someofthechickensarealmostinvariablyblack。
AccordingtoMr。Brent，blackandwhiteCochinsoccasionallyproducechickensofaslaty—bluetint;andthissametintresults，asMr。
Tegetmeiertellsme，fromcrossingwhiteCochinswithblackSpanishfowls，orwhiteDorkingswithblackMinorcas。（7/59。’CottageGardener’January3，1860page218。）Agoodobserver（7/60。Mr。WilliamsinapaperreadbeforetheDublinNat。Hist。Soc。quotedin’CottageGardener’1856page161。）
statesthatafirst—ratesilver—spangledHamburghhengraduallylostthemostcharacteristicqualitiesofthebreed，fortheblacklacingtoherfeathersdisappeared，andherlegschangedfromleaden—bluetowhite:butwhatmakesthecaseremarkableis，thatthistendencyraninthebloodforhersisterchangedinasimilarbutlessstronglymarkedmanner;andchickensproducedfromthislatterhenwereatfirstalmostpurewhite，"butonmoultingacquiredblackcoloursandsomespangledfeatherswithalmostobliteratedmarkings;"sothatanewvarietyaroseinthissingularmanner。Theskininthedifferentbreedsdiffersmuchincolour，beingwhiteincommonkinds，yellowinMalaysandCochins，andblackinSilkfowls;thusmocking，asM。Godron（7/61。’Del’Espece’1859page442。Fortheoccurrenceofblack—bonedfowlsinSouthAmerica，seeRoulinin’Mem。
del’Acad。desSciences’tome6page351;andAzara，’QuadrupedesduParaguay’tome2page324。AfrizzledfowlsenttomefromMadrashadblackbones。）remarksthethreeprincipaltypesofskininmankind。Thesameauthoraddsthat，asdifferentkindsoffowlslivingindistantandisolatedpartsoftheworldhaveblackskinandbones，thiscolourmusthaveappearedatvarioustimesandplaces。
Theshapeandcarriageofthebody，andtheshapeoftheheaddiffermuch。
Thebeakvariesslightlyinlengthandcurvature，butincomparablylessthanwithpigeons。Inmostcrestedfowlsthenostrilsofferaremarkablepeculiarityinbeingraisedwithacrescenticoutline。Theprimarywing—
feathersareshortinCochins;inamale，whichmusthavebeenmorethantwiceasheavyasG。bankiva，thesefeatherswereinbothbirdsofthesamelength。Ihavecounted，withMr。Tegetmeier’said，theprimarywing—
feathersinthirteencocksandhensofvariousbreeds;infourofthem，namelyintwoHamburghs，aCochin，andGamebantam，therewere10，insteadofthenormalnumber9;butincountingthesefeathersIhavefollowedthepracticeoffanciers，andhaveNOTincludedthefirstminuteprimaryfeather，barelythree—quartersofaninchinlength。Thesefeathersdifferconsiderablyinrelativelength，thefourth，orthefifth，orthesixth，beingthelongest;withthethirdeitherequalto，orconsiderablyshorterthanthefifth。Inwildgallinaceousspeciestherelativelengthandnumberofthemainwingandtail—feathersareextremelyconstant。
Thetaildiffersmuchinerectnessandsize，beingsmallinMalaysandverysmallinCochins。InthirteenfowlsofvariousbreedswhichIhaveexamined，fivehadthenormalnumberof14feathers，includinginthisnumberthetwomiddlesickle—feathers;sixothers（viz。，aCaffrecock，Gold—spangledPolishcock，Cochinhen，Sultanhen，GamehenandMalayhenhad16;andtwo（anoldCochincockandMalayhen）had17feathers。TherumplessfowlhasnotailandinonewhichIpossessedtherewasnooil—
gland;butthisbirdthoughtheoscoccygiswasextremelyimperfect，hadavestigeofatailwithtworatherlongfeathersinthepositionoftheoutercaudals。Thisbirdcamefromafamilywhere，asIwastold，thebreedhadkepttruefortwentyyears;butrumplessfowlsoftenproducechickenswithtails。（7/62。Mr。HewittinTegetmeier’PoultryBook’1866page231。）
Aneminentphysiologist（7/63。Dr。BrocainBrown—Sequard’JournaldePhys。’tome2page361。）hasrecentlyspokenofthisbreedasadistinctspecies;hadheexaminedthedeformedstateoftheoscoccyxhewouldneverhavecometothisconclusion;hewasprobablymisledbythestatement，whichmaybefoundinsomeworks，thattaillessfowlsarewildinCeylon;
butthisstatement，asIhavebeenassuredbyMr。LayardandDr。KellaertwhohavesocloselystudiedthebirdsofCeylon，isutterlyfalse。
Thetarsivaryconsiderablyinlength，beingrelativelytothefemurconsiderablylongerintheSpanishandFrizzled，andshorterintheSilkandBantambreeds，thaninthewildG。bankiva;butinthelatter，aswehaveseen，thetarsivaryinlength。Thetarsiareoftenfeathered。Thefeetinmanybreedsarefurnishedwithadditionaltoes。Golden—spangledPolishfowlsaresaid（7/64。Dixon’OrnamentalPoultry’page325。）tohavetheskinbetweentheirtoesmuchdeveloped:Mr。Tegetmeierobservedthisinonebird，butitwasnotsoinonewhichIexamined。Prof。HoffmannhassentmeasketchofthefeetofafowlofthecommonbreedatGiessen，withawebextendingbetweenthethreetoes，foraboutathirdoftheirlength。
InCochinsthemiddletoeissaid（7/65。’PoultryChronicle’volume1page485。Tegetmeier’PoultryBook’1866page41。OnCochinsgrazingibidpage46。）tobenearlydoublethelengthofthelateraltoes，andthereforemuchlongerthaninG。bankivaorinotherfowls;butthiswasnotthecaseintwowhichIexamined。Thenailofthemiddletoeinthissamebreedissurprisinglybroadandflat，butinavariabledegreeintwobirdswhichI
examined;ofthisstructureinthenailthereisonlyatraceinG。
bankiva。