^3* 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



high, and tapers away towards the tail, the back 

 being long, rather convex in outline, and slant- 

 ing downwards : the tail is also carried low and 

 drooping, so that the back of the neck, the back, 

 and top feathers of the tail appear as three 

 nearly similar curved lines meeting at nearly 

 equal angles : these curves were first represented 

 by us in 1872, and are so characteristic as to be 

 now adopted in the standard, as given on p. 344. 

 The tail is fairly long, but well whipped, or 

 carried rather close together, and the sickles and 

 coverts should be narrow, and tapering very 

 gradually towards the points. Both thighs and 

 shanks are very long, the wings fairly large, and 

 the shoulders standing out prominently from the 

 body even when they are closed. All the plum- 

 age is short, narrow, and hard, so much so that 

 the breast of the cock is generally bare in the 

 centre. This bare breast-bone is not caused by 

 wear, and is so characteristic that when absent 

 it is sometimes artificially produced by plucking ; 

 but when any such bare strip appears in a bird 

 whose feathers on each side are too broad, any 

 judge who passes it without penalty ought to feel 

 humiliated. The plumage is also marked by 

 great lustre when the birds are in good condition. 

 The size is very large, especially in height, some 

 cocks standing 28 to 30 inches in the pen ; but 

 the plumage is so scanty and close, that the body 

 always appears rather small for its real size and 

 weight. The comb and beetle-brows, the narrow 

 and hard feathers, the height and length of limb, 

 the prominent shoulders, and the " three curves," 

 are the main points of a Malay, and so prominent 

 that no judge can be excused for overlooking 

 them. 



The hen has the same prominent shoulders, 

 the same type of head and neck, and the same 

 general carriage, somewhat less pronounced. 

 She has a peculiar habit of "playing" her tail 

 about more than other breeds, and this point 

 is rather valued as evidence of good blood. 



In regard to colour, all varieties should have 

 brilliant red faces and appendages, pearl, or 

 yellow, or daw eyes, rich yellow shanks with 

 large scales, and yellow beaks, or yellow and 

 horn ; or horn-colour is allowed with very dark 

 plumage. The most common colour shown is 

 a Black-breasted Red cock, with Red Wheaten 

 or cinnamon-coloured hen, a combination which 

 is natural, and breeds true from single mating. 

 Pure Whites are perhaps next common, but 

 less so than many years ago. Of late we have 

 several times seen birds of more or less brown- 

 er ginger-breasted type. Many years since we 

 used to see really magnificent Piles, applying 

 the adjective to both size and colour ; but this 

 variety seems rare now. We have known it 



imported direct in the old days, but it is also 

 easily bred from Whites and the Black-breasted 

 Reds, and it is probable that really good Piles 

 would again be popular at the present day. 



The Malay is mentioned so far back as in 

 the first edition of Bonington Moubray upon 

 Domestic Poultry, m 18 15, and is there spoken 



of as practically synonymous with 

 Early the Chittagong, which may have been 



^of'"^ correct at that time of loose state- 



Malays, ment and nomenclature; but we have 



already seen reason for believing 

 that at a later period the Chittagong represented 

 a more composite race, crossed more or less with 

 Shanghae, and possibly with Dorking, and 

 probably owing more of its Indian blood to the 

 Aseel than the Malay, as shown by the pea- 

 comb and less prominence, though still marked, 

 of the brows. We preserve the following notes 

 written for us in 1870 by the late Mr. Hewitt, 

 as carrying the personal recollection of a well- 

 known judge and fancier so far back as the year 

 1830. 



Taking a retrospect of the Malays, as they existed 

 before poultry-shows were so common, it appears that 

 the strong elastic feather, so hard and metallic, yet so 

 scanty, and the extreme length of the thighbone — so 

 unsightly, yet so all-important characteristics — owners 

 of late years have attempted to soften down, simply to 

 ensure a better-looking and more compact fowl on the 

 table. We thus have lost, in a great measure, the 

 lovely narrow, lustrous feather that once stamped this 

 breed as standing far aloof from all others — a feature 

 that in the Malays of the years 1S30 to 1835 was almost 

 universal, the breast-feathers of birds of about that date 

 being so narrow and free from down as scarcely to cover 

 the fowl's body ; whilst the sickles and side coverts 

 of the cock's tail never exceeded a half-inch in width, 

 were of the brightest iridescent hue, but slightly curved, 

 and tapered very gradually indeed to an extremely fine 

 point. Though carrying with them first impressions of 

 being so barely supplied as to quantity of plumage, such 

 birds when adult never appeared chilled, but, on the 

 contrary, as though encased in whalebone-like armour 

 from the effects of the cold. 



Neither do we now see any close approach to the 

 great weights customary to Malays of bygone days. 

 In 1S33 I possessed a flock of Red Pile Malays, bred 

 from a pen of three birds purchased for me from on 

 shipboard at Liverpool : the old cock was nearly eleven 

 pounds weight and the best hen a little over nine pounds. 

 With the enthusiasm of youth, I weighed them scores of 

 times, hoping to make this couple twenty-one pounds, 

 which, however, at their best they never did attain by 

 two or three ounces. I think we may look in vain for 

 birds of that weight in the present hour. For the 

 amusement of friends, I frequently tested this cock by 

 putting a piece of bread on a table twenty-eight inches 

 in height and four inches from the edge, and yet he was 

 so lengthy and stilty as to easily appropriate the much- 

 coveted morsel without jumping. These fowls bred 

 well, and tolerably true to feather; but among many 

 chickens, I obtained two white pullets and a black-red 

 cockerel, though for three years they bred exclusively 

 Red Piles, the three "sports " just named all occurring 



