QUALITIES OF THE ENGLISH GAME FOWL. 



355 



majority of a company arrested and charged 

 in a modern police-court. Years ago we 

 quoted an American champion of this " sport," 

 who made the terrible vaunt that he could 

 take one of his celebrated birds, and cut 

 off both of his legs and wings, and the bird 

 would fight then ! We hope and believe that 

 no Englishman could make such a sickening 

 boast, and no English journal publish it ; but it 

 is a terrible proof of the callous brutality to 

 which man can be brought by habitual seeking 

 of excitement in the spectacle of animal suffer- 

 ing. We are sure that we need add no more. 



This noble breed is now widely exhibited 

 and still more widely bred, for its beauty and its 

 quality of flesh. In combination of grace with 

 agile strength it is unequalled, and the qualities 

 for which it was bred produced also the utmost 

 proportion of muscle (flesh) in the best places 

 for the table, so that in wings and breast-meat 

 it had no superior. It found its way into the 

 exhibition-pen in the earliest days of poultry 

 shows ; but there, unfortunately, the changes of 

 fashion of which other instances have been 

 quoted already, played havoc with the breed. 

 At first changes were slight, the birds being 

 only slightly more tall and " reachy," which was 

 generally admired ; but the change went on, as 

 shown in our next chapter, until the breed had 

 been transformed out of all recognition. At 

 last a reaction set in, and in 1S82 a class for the 

 " old " breed was offered at Cleator 

 Revival Moor in Cumberland, followed by 



Olf EngUsh classes with a special judge at Wig- 

 Game, ton in 1883 ; ever since which 

 time, classes and popularity have in- 

 creased continuously. In 1887 the Old English 

 Game Fowl Club was formed, to encourage and 

 watch over this noble breed, the first secretary 

 being Mr. J. W. Simpson, at that time of Silloth, 

 in Cumberland, a county which was long the 

 headquarters of the Old English Game. 



For the following article on the fowl as now 

 bred and exhibited, we are indebted to Mr. 

 Herbert Atkinson, of Ewelme, Wallingford, one 

 of the vice-presidents of the Old English Game 

 Fowl Club. 



" The Old English Game fowl or British Game 

 fowl of Buffon is a great contrast to the modern 

 exhibition, or fancier's breed of Game, in almost 

 every particular. It was owing to the modern 

 variety having been so continuously bred for 

 show points for a considerable period as to have 

 very much modified nearly all hs useful qualities, 

 that some fanciers began, about 1885, to try to 

 revive the breeding and exhibition of the old 

 English breed of Game fowl, as it used to be 



bred for cock-fighting, when that sport was 

 recognised as one of the national and even 

 ' royal ' sports of this country, ranking even 

 before horse-racing in importance, antiquity, 

 and popularity. This sport was suppressed 

 in England about 1835, and some fifteen years 

 later Game fowls began to be exhibited at 

 poultry shows. By breeding for certain and 

 entirely fancy points, and by selection, and 

 crossing with alien breeds, the modern Game 

 fowl had been produced. It was necessary 

 therefore to seek out the old breed again, either 

 from old breeders who had kept them pure, or 

 from cock-fighters. These old breeders, and 

 ' cockers,' had all these years kept the breed in 

 its purity of blood, and vigorous constitution, 

 never exhibiting, never selling, merely keeping 

 them solely for love of the old breed, and it was 

 therefore at first almost impossible to obtain 

 them. However, one way and another, many 

 birds of good blood were obtained, and exhibited; 

 their useful qualities were soon re-discovered 

 and appreciated by several modern fanciers ; and 

 from the first shows where classes were provided 

 for them in the 'eighties, they have increased in 

 numbers by leaps and bounds, until at the 

 present time they form some of the largest 

 classes at all the important shows. This is less 

 a cause for wonder when we consider their great 

 beauty and many useful qualities, to say nothing 

 of the liking of most Englishmen for anything 

 thoroughbred ; and nothing can exceed the 

 thoroughbred racehorse and the Old English 

 Game cock in purity of blood, unless it be the 

 Arab horses and the native Indian Game, or 

 Aseel, as we now call him. While other breeds 

 of poultry and horses, etc., may be what the 

 Americans call ' standard-bred,' they cannot 

 trace a pure pedigree for any great period of 

 time. 



" Returning then to the useful qualities of Old 

 English Game, they stand not only in the front 

 rank as table fowls, but surpass all 

 Qualities of other breeds in delicacy, flavour, and 

 Old English nutritive qualities of flesh, while they 

 Game. carry more of it, in proportion to 



bone and offal, than any other breed, 

 while in flavour it vies with that of the pheas- 

 ant. They of course lack the great size of 

 the Indian Game and some others, but that 

 size is only produced together with great 

 bone, offal, yellow skin, coarser meat, and 

 large appetites. Old English Game chickens 

 grow fast, and are always plump and full of 

 meat, not requiring to be fattened, which indeed 

 they will not bear, owing to their restless 

 temperaments. If allowed to go at liberty with 

 the hen on a good range, they require but little 



