Chap. VII. OSTEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES. 273 



The Cochin, from its deeply furrowed frontal bones, peculiarly 

 shaped occipital foramen, short wing-feathers, short tail con- 

 taining more than fourteen feathers, broad nail to the middle 

 toe, fluff}'- plumage, rough and dark-coloured eggs, and espe- 

 cially from its peculiar voice, is probably the most distinct of 

 all the breeds. If any one of our breeds has descended from 

 some unknown species, distinct from G. bankiva, it is probably 

 the Cochin ; but the balance of evidence does not favour this 

 view. All the characteristic differences of the Cochin breed 

 are more or less variable, and may be detected in a greater or 

 lesser degree in other breeds. One sub-breed is coloured 

 closely like G. bankiva. The feathered legs, often furnished 

 with an additional toe, the wings incapable of flight, the 

 extremely quiet disposition, indicate a long course of domes 

 tication ; and these fowls come from China, where we know 

 that plants and animals have been tended from a remote 

 period with extraordinary care, and where consequently we 

 might expect to find profoundly modified domestic races. 



Osteological Differences. — I have examined twenty-seven 

 skeletons and fifty- three skulls of various breeds, including 

 three of G. bankiva : nearly half of these skulls I owe to the 

 kindness of Mr. Tegetmeier, and three of the skeletons to 

 Mr. Eyton. 



The Skull differs greatly in size in different breeds, being nearly 

 twice as long in the largest Cochins, but not nearly twice as broad, 

 as in Bantams. The bones at the base, from the occipital foramen 

 to the anterior end (including the guadrates and pterygoids), are 

 absolutely identical in shape in all the skulls. So is the lower jaw. 

 In the forehead slight differences are often perceptible between the 

 males and females, evidently caused by the presence of the comb. 

 In every case I take the skull of G. bankiva as the standard of 

 comparison. In four Games, in one Malay hen, in an African cock, 

 in a Frizzled cock from Madras, in two black-boned Silk hens, no 

 differences worth notice occur. In three Spanish cocks, the form 

 of the forehead between the orbits differs considerably ; in one it is 

 considerably depressed, whilst in the two others it is rather promi- 

 nent, with a deep medial furrow ; the skull of the hen is smooth. 

 In three skulls of Sebright Bantams the crown is more globular, and 

 slopes more abruptly to the occiput, than in G. bankiva. In a 

 Bantam or Jumper from Burmah these same characters are more 

 strongly pronounced, and the supra-occiput is more pointed. In 

 a black Bantam the skull is not so globular, and the occipital 



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