54 BRITISH BIRDS. 



confine myself to one, and that is, between eleven and 

 twelve o'clock. I have often heard the cocks of Smyr- 

 na crowing in full chorus at that time, and with scarcely 

 the variation of a minute. The second cock-crowing is 

 between one and two o'clock ; therefore, when our Lord 

 says, * In this night, before the cock crow twice,' Mark 

 xiv. 30, the allusion was clearly to these seasons. In 

 fact, this was altogether so novel to me at my first ar- 

 rival in Smyrna, that I could calculate the hours of the 

 night with the utmost precision, by what I termed my 

 electrometer, as by my watch." 



Innumerable are the varieties which may be traced 

 to the primal stock, varieties arising from domestication 

 during a long course of time, and showing what great 

 effects may be produced on other creatures by similar 

 circumstances. How this fowl was introduced into our 

 own country cannot be determined ; it must have been, 

 however, at a very early date, for it was prohibited as 

 food, among other things, by the Druids. The brutal 

 practice of cock-fighting appears to have been brought 

 hither by the Romans, and has been continued till a 

 very recent period ; indeed, there are some few who still 

 practise this cruel and debasing sport. 



The principal breeds now reared in Britain are, the 

 Dorking, which is the largest ; but is surpassed for the 



