2 57 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THERE never has, perhaps, been such long 

 and acrimonious discussion upon any 

 poultry subject as upon the origin of 

 this breed of fowls, and there never was 

 so little real reason for any at • all, or more 

 practical certainty about the facts, 

 Origin j^g established by all the really 



Brahmas. respectable evidence. This proves 

 the Brahma to be quite one of the 

 earliest imported of the feathered Asiatic races, 

 having, in fact, been introduced into America in 

 the very same year that Cochins were imported 

 into England. The controversy is now closed, 

 and it will not be necessary to recapitulate it at 

 such length as was imperative in the second and 

 subsequent editions of the former Illustrated 

 Book of Poultry, which had the effect of placing 

 the facts beyond any further doubt, or even 

 disputation. At this date, therefore, a brief 

 summary will suffice. 



In a letter to Dr. J. C. Bennett, dated 

 March 2nd, 1852, Mr. Virgil Cornish, of Con- 

 necticut, gave the following account of these 

 birds :- — 



In regard to the history of these fowls very little is 

 known. A mechanic by the name of Chamberlain, in 

 this city, first brought them here. Mr. Chamberlain 

 was acquainted with a sailor, who informed him that 

 there were three pairs of large imported fowls in New 

 York ; and he dwelt so much upon the enormous size 

 of these fowls that Mr. Chamberlain furnished him 

 with money, and directed him to go to New York and 

 purchase a pair of them for him, which he did. The 

 sailor reported that he found one pair of light grey ones, 

 which he purchased ; the second pair were dark 

 coloured, and the third pair were red. The man in 

 New York, whose name I have not got, gave no 

 account of their origin, except that they had been 

 brought there by some sailors in the Indian ships. The 

 parties through whose hands the fowls came, so far as 

 I have been able to trace them, are all obscure men. I 

 obtained my stock from the original pair brought here 

 by Mr. Chamberlain, and have never crossed them in 

 the least. These fowls were named Chittagong by Mr. 

 Chamberlain, on account of their resemblance, in some 

 degree, to the fowls then in the country called by that 

 name ; but it is certain that they never bred until they 

 reached this town. 



A valued American correspondent, Colonel 

 Mason C. Weld, then associate-editor of the 



American Agriculturist, forwarded for us to Mr. 

 Cornish a series of questions on the subject, 

 and transmitted to us that gentleman's reply, 

 as follows : — 



New Britain, Connecticut, U.S., 

 November gth, 1S69. 

 Mason C. Weld, Esq. 



Dear Sir, — I have your letter of 5th. I give below 

 all the facts relating to the early history of the Brahma- 

 Pootra fowls I can call to mind at this late day. At 

 an earlier day I could have given a history of these 

 fowls more satisfactory to myself, i.e. more fully than 

 I can now ; nevertheless, so far as it goes, the truth of 

 it cannot he questioned. I will at once answer your 

 questions. 



1st. — Mr. Chamberlain's Christian name is Nelson H. 



2nd. — The' sailor's name I never made note of, and 

 cannot give it. 



3rd. — The ship arrived in New York in September. 

 1846. The first brood came out in May, 1847. i 

 purchased the most of that brood in August, and the 

 old pair the April following. 



4th. — The name of the port from which the ship 

 sailed with the fowls on board is Luckipoor. This port 

 is up from the mouth of the Brahma- Pootra river, in 

 India. The name of the ship I cannot give, neither 

 can I give the name of the captain. Did not at the 

 time think it of importance, and made no record of it. 



5th. — The Brahmas were first exhibited in Boston by 

 Mr. Hatch, of Hampton, Conn., under the name of 

 Grey Chittagongs, in 1850. I declined exhibiting mine 

 at that time ; I believed them to be a breed different 

 from the Chittagong, and preferred to accumulate stock 

 and test them further before bringing them out publicly. 



6th. — I attended the exhibition at Boston, and con- 

 tended that they differed from the Chittagongs, and 

 should pass under a different name. A committee was 

 appointed, and the name Brahma - Pootra given ; it 

 being the name of the great river from the banks of 

 which they came. The name was then established. 



7th. — Weight of cocks, full-sized, twelve to fourteen 

 pounds ; cocks, six to seven months, nine to ten pounds. 

 Hens when first introduced, nine to ten pounds. 



8th. — I did notice the "pea-com'o" on the first birds. 

 It was small. It was not so with all, and yet it appeared 

 different from the comb of the Chittagong. 



gth. — There was no degeneracy in the birds of my 

 breeding. I had some specimens larger than the 

 imported birds. I sold no birds until December, 1850. 

 I sold at first at twelve dollars per pair, and soon after 

 from fifteen dollars to fifty dollars per pair. The price 

 went up as the fowls became better known, and recog- 

 nised as a distinct breed. 



loth. — I bred them eight years, when my health 

 failed, and I was obliged to leave all care for a time. . 



nth. — There was a tendency to throw dark chickens, 



