CEYLON JUNGLE FOWL. 159 
of incubation, and was found to contain a three-quarter developed 
living chicken, too immature tolive. It was shown to Dr. Willey, 
F.R.S., of the Colombo Museum. All the other eggs of the clutch 
proved infertile. Had this egg not been broken, there seems 
no reason why it should not have hatched out at full term. 
This incident gave fresh hope and zest to further experimenting. 
Since Ist June, 1906, this last experiment has met with some 
important success. Two wild jungle hens were introduced into 
the run with the hybrid cock and hybrid hen. This seemed 
to draw the hybrids closer together, and they both treated the 
wild hens so badly that after a time they had to be removed to 
save their lives. This entirely bore out the opinion expressed 
on pages 25 and 26 as to the selection of. various females by the 
hybrid cock, ¢.¢., that if he had a hybrid hen and a jungle hen, 
he would certainly by preference take up with the hybrid and © 
neglect the jungle hen. 
It was certainly after this experiment that the first success with 
the hybrids was achieved. 
A batch of seven eggs laid by this hen in August were incubated 
by herself, and on 3rd September, 1906, the first chicken was 
hatched out in the Queensdown run from this hybrid + hybrid 
mating. The six other eggs of the setting were infertile, which 
seems a very remarkable fact and will be noted later. It was 
thought well to coop up this chicken with its mother, because at 
nights the hen roosted on a high perch, and if the chicken remained 
on the ground it would be certainly eaten by rats. It was no 
easy matter to catch this one day old chick: the hybrid mother 
was very fierce and defended her young with great determina- 
tion. She would fly at the would-be capturer, not at his 
hands or feet, but would hurl herself, with an impetuosity and 
abandon that are unknown in domestic birds, right at his 
face. In fact it was necessary first to capture the mother 
and then the matter was simplified. The chicken seemed very 
robust and thrived very well in the coop and feathered rapidly. 
After eight days of cooping, which was much resented by the 
hen, they were both turned into the experimental run with 
the cock. The chicken was of a whitish gray colour, with three 
dark streaks on the head and down the back. The shanks were 
yellow. It feathered very rapidly. The wing feathers were of a 
pale brown with dark barrings, just like the markings of the wing 
of the hybrid hen and exactly like those of a jungle hen. When 
startled it darted about with great rapidity, more swiftly than 
the ordinary domestic chick, and very like the wild jungle 
chick. It was a good flyer at the age of nine days, flying with 
ease up on to a perch more than four feet from the ground. At 
nights it always roosted onahigh perch under the mother’s wing. 
