348 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



certain extent,* has otherwise become now a 

 matter of history, some authentic details will 

 be of interest. The following notes were kmdly 

 supplied by an old and valued correspondent 

 of ours during many years, who told us that 

 he fought and won his first main about the 

 year 1840, with the -parish constables keeping 

 order in the pit, since which he had fought and 

 assisted in scores of mains in various parts 

 of England, Scotland, Wales, and the Con- 

 tinent. They will prove that some votaries of 

 this sport have been neither low nor ignorant 

 men ; and record also a widespread and 

 almost passionate attachment to it, which may 

 be a revelation to some, and which is only to 

 he explained by what we have already hinted at 

 respecting an affinity with some phases of the 

 English character. There can be no doubt that 

 real and genuine admiration for the birds and 

 their courage has lain deep at the root of it, 

 however perverted. Many of the following 

 details were given to us long ago, but at the 

 date of the first edition of The Illustrated Book 

 of Poultry it was not deemed advisable to 

 publish them, for reasons which the lapse of 

 forty years further have largely diminished. 



" For seven centuries cocking was more or 

 less a national sport with us ; and althougli 

 disapproved and prohibited by Edward III. and 

 our eighth Harry, who was so tender-hearted as 



not to allow the poor cocks to be 

 Historical fought for the amusement of his 

 DetaUs. beloved subjects, the latter built a 



cock-pit at Whitehall, to himself, 

 wherein to take his royal pastime. Many suc- 

 ceeding edicts were passed against it, including 

 one from Cromwell, the Protector, a fac-simile of 

 which, with his seal, I have now before me. It 

 dates ' Fryday, March 31, 1654,' and is signed by 

 Henry Scobell, Clerk of the Council. On the 

 other hand, many of our kings have been partial 

 to and encouraged cock-fighting, and it has been 

 called a royal sport. King James was one of 

 its royal patrons ; and in the Travels of Cosmo 

 HI., Grand Duke of Tuscany, through England, 

 in the reign of Charles II., 1669, it is said, 

 ' Attended by Lord Philip Neville, Gascoigne, 

 and Castiglione, his Highness went out in his 

 carriage to the theatre appropriated to cock- 

 fighting, a common amusement of the English, 

 who, even in the public streets, take a delight 

 in seeing such battles, and considerable bets are 

 made on them. To render the cocks fit for 

 fighting they select the best of the breed, cut off 



* Only a few weeks ago we saw an advertisement asking 

 for reliable spurs ; and in recent years have seen steel spurs ad- 

 vertised, but all is now carried on under great difficulties, and 

 decreasing more and more. 



their crests and spurs, keep them in separate 

 coops, and mix with their usual food, pepper, 

 cloves, and other aromatics, and yolks of eggs, to 

 heat and render them more vigorous in battle. 

 When they want to bring them to the trial, they 

 convey them in a bag, put on artificial spurs 

 made of silver or steel, and let them out in the 

 place appointed. . . . This amusement was 

 not new to His Highness, for he had seen it on 

 board ship on his voyage from Spain to 

 England.' The above description is not far 

 different from later custom ; and to the monarch 

 already named is ascribed the introduction of 

 the Pile cock, so called from his different and 

 distinct colours. 



" To such a height was this sport carried 

 in former years, that in old deeds tenants were 

 bound to walk so many fighting cocks for the 

 use of the lords ; and in corporation accounts 

 of expenses I have seen large sums charged 

 for entertaining this or that dignitary with 

 cock-fighting. In the Easter week of 1822, 

 in one pit, 188 cocks, weighing together 

 7 cwt. 4 lbs. 6 ozs.,* were fought for sums 

 amounting to upwards of £6,000. Still more 

 recently over 1,000 cocks have fallen in a 

 single season in one of our northern towns. 



" Victory lay with no special colour. In 

 Queen Anne's time a noted sportsman, named 

 Frampton, had the best strain of cocks of the 

 day. They were grey, with a brown, tawny 

 wing, and the progeny of ' Old Sour-face ' was 

 long in high repute. Greys, Yellows, and Red 

 Piles were also highly prized, and Bradbury's 

 Duns and Whites fought their way into notoriety. 

 In the eighteenth century the mealy Greys, with 

 black legs, beaks, and eyes, of Hugo Meynell and 

 Sir C. Sedley could scarcely be surpassed. Then 

 followed Mr. Nunis's wonderful yellow Birchens, 

 the Earl of Mexborough's true-f^eathered Duck- 

 wings, Sir Francis Boynton's slashing Duns, and 

 Col. Mellish's Dark Reds. Lowther's and Hol- 

 ford's Light Reds with yellow legs cut down 

 everything before them ; and Mr. Elwes bred 

 one of his red Duns that won twenty-seven 

 battles. Then Vauxhall Clarke came into the 

 royal pit to carry off the annual gold cup with 

 his Greys. He bred different colours, and 

 beating him was out of the question. The 

 Cholmondeleys, Raylances, Molyneuxes, etc., 

 bred Smocks and the light Cheshire Piles, that 

 would frequently electrify the pit by dropping 

 their cocks as dead as a log in a severe battle, 

 with the long odds against them. Dr. Wing, 



* The interest of this total consists in the proof that the 

 average weight per bird was 4 lbs. 3 ozs. No cocks over 

 4 lbs. 8 ozs. or under 3 lbs. 6 ozs. were formerly allowed to 

 be lought in regular mains. 



