ORIGIN OF INDIAN GAME. 



339 



the now fashionable colour, which he promptly 

 returned. That he subsequently accepted a 

 black-red cock from my own yard as a change 

 of blood, may be taken as proof that the English 

 show bird is in all, save colour, a worthy descen- 

 dant of his warlike Indian ancestor. 



" The Standard now embodied in that of the 

 Poultry Club, was drawn up some years ago at 

 the request of several admirers of the breed, 

 by Mr. Charles F. Montresor, and those who 

 wish to take up this interesting variety cannot 

 do better than study it carefully. No remarks 

 on Aseel would be complete without a reference 

 to the great benefits also conferred on the 

 breed in England by such careful breeders as 

 Mr. James Hutchings, Major Dunning, Mr. 

 Stawell Bryan, Mr. Peele, Mr. F. C. Tomkins, 

 and Mr. E. Leake, all of whose names are 

 household words in the annals of the show pen." 

 The Aseel resembles the Malay somewhat 

 in the high and prominent shoulders, drooping 

 tail, and short and narrow feather ; but the 

 shoulders are a little less angular, and the bird 

 has much shorter and more powerful limbs, 

 striking one as a little low in carriage of the 

 body. The most marked characteristic of the 

 race is weight compared with size : taking in 

 hand an apparently small bird, it feels " like 

 lead " compared with any other fowl, the Indian 

 Game coming next to it in this respect. This 

 arises from the e.xtraordinary density of muscle 

 which has been produced by generations of 

 severe competitive selection, and we fear it 

 must tend to decrease as the Aseel is bred 

 year after year without that training and 

 selection, as a mere fowl. Rigorously to dis- 

 card any approach towards " softness " either 

 of flesh or feather, is all that can be done to 

 guard against this tendency. 



INDIAN GAME. 



This breed has been familiar in Devonshire 

 and Cornwall for at least si.xty years, but has 

 only been practically known to any extent out- 

 side of those counties since about the year 

 1875, being at that date often spoken of or 

 referred to as " Cornish " Game, in recognition 

 of its local character. For j'ears previous to 

 that it often received and filled classes at the 

 local shows, and in 1870 we found a large and 

 good collection at the Plymouth show of that 

 year. We had at that date never seen the true 

 Aseel, and our idea was then that the breed 

 had probably been produced by crossing Malays 

 with English Game. Other various accounts 

 have been given of its origin. The late Mr. 

 Comyns leaned to the opinion that it sprang 



from Game and Malay "with a touch of Aseel 

 and Indian Jungle Fowl"; and Mr. Tegetmeier 

 also believed it to be mainly Malay. It was 

 known as Cornish " Game," because on many 

 occasions the fowl was actually fought by the 

 Cornish miners, being in the early days — as we 

 know from many sources — fierce and possessed 

 of some courage. But even at its best it was 

 never able to stand against good English Game, 

 being too heavy and slow, and lacking spirit in 

 comparison ; and any fighting capacity which it 

 ever did possess has now almost disappeared. 



There can, however, be no doubt at all now 

 that the true ancestor of the Indian Game fowl is 

 the Aseel, from which is derived the pea-comb, 

 more moderated carriage and pro- 

 Origin portion, and more rounded form. 



of The chief question really debatable 



Indian Game, has been, whether the Aseel had 

 been crossed with Malay, or with the 

 British race; and this is practically set at rest 

 by the direct affirmation of Mr. Montresor. That 

 gentleman published a statement in Poultry a 

 few years ago, to the effect that in 1846 he had 

 been personally informed by the late General 

 Gilbert (afterwards Sir Walter Raleigh Gilbert) 

 how he had himself originated the breed in 

 Cornwall, years before that, by crossing red 

 Aseel, which he had imported direct from 

 India, with English black-breasted Red Game of 

 Lord Derby's strain. Taking into consideration 

 date, and social position, and locality, and detail, 

 this statement must be held to settle that 

 question in the main. But from inquiries we 

 made in various directions respecting changes 

 which we noted with our own eyes in the birds 

 as exhibited, there can be little doubt that some 

 further modification of the breed took place 

 about 1870-77, crosses being made with birds 

 intensely black in the cocks and magnificently 

 glossed in both sexes, then e.xhibited occasionally 

 as " Pheasant Malays." From this cross was 

 derived a solid black breast and darker colour 

 in the cocks, and greater richness of colour and 

 more iridescence of the lacing in the hens ; 

 and we suspect the double lacing also, which 

 we never remember to have seen before. What 

 this " Pheasant Malay " itself really was, we are 

 at the present date unable to say. It was 

 certainly not Malay as otherwise shown ; being 

 smaller, with fuller tail, and with more symmetry 

 and rounded shoulders, and it had a pea-comb. 

 Neither was it Aseel as now shown ; having too 

 much tail, though of very narrow feathers, rather 

 too much limb, and too upright or Malay a type 

 of carriage. Our own impression, confirmed by 

 every American fancier who has ever seen the 

 breed in the United States, and whom we have 



