260 THE FOWL 



but as the forests of many parts of India still abound with several 

 varieties of the cock in the wild or natural condition, it is quite 

 reasonable to conclude that the race was first domesticated in the 

 eastern countries, and gradually extended thence to the rest of the 

 world. The cock is always more splendid in plumage than the 

 hen, and when in good health and full plumage his movements 

 and gestures seem all influenced by consciousness of personal 

 beauty and courage : his stately march and frequent triumphant 

 crowing express confidence in his strength and bravery. His sexual 

 powers are matured when he is about six months old, and his full 

 vigour lasts for about three years. 



The hen is ready to commence laying after she has moulted or 

 changed her plumage, and is not at the trouble of making a regular 

 nest. A simple hole scratched in the ground in some retired place 

 serves her purpose, and she generally lays from twelve to fifteen 

 eggs before she begins to sit upon them for the purpose of hatching. 

 In sitting she becomes a model of enduring patience, remaining 

 fixed in her place until the urgency of hunger forces her to go in 

 quest of food : then a short time suffices for running eagerly about 

 in quest of sustenance, and soon resumes her charge. In twenty- 

 one days the incubation is completed, and when the whole of the 

 young birds are hatched out she leads them forth in search of food. 

 With her brood her natural timidity departs, for she fiercely and 

 vigorously attacks all aggressors, watches over the safety of her 

 young with the utmost jealousy, neglects the demands of her own 

 appetite to divide the food she may obtain among her nurslings, 

 and labours with untiring diligence to provide them sufficient 

 sustenance. 



Fowl (Anglo-Saxon, fugel, a bird, connected with the verb to 

 fly) is a term now used to designate the genus Callus, of which the 

 common barn-door fowl is a familiar example. There are several 

 examples of the genus Gallus, such as the Jungle Fowl, a native 

 of India, which is rather less than the domestic fowl. The Bankiva 

 Jungle Fowl, now supposed to be the original stock of the domesti- 

 cated poultry, is a native of Java, the male closely resembling the 

 English gamecock. The Cochin-China Fowl is a large, ungainly 

 bird, chiefly valuable for its fecundity, eggs being laid during win- 

 ter. The Game Fowl is noted for its pugnacity, bright plumage, 

 and excellent flesh. The Dorkings are short-legged, round-bodied, 

 plump, and excellent for table. The Spanish is a very fine variety, 

 glossy black, excellent in flesh, and the hens regular layers. The 

 Bantam, a puny little member of the tribe, mostly kept for fancy, 

 and for sitting partridge eggs. The common Barn-door Fowl is 

 a compound of various breeds, therefore of no particular one, no 

 pains being taken to prevent crossing. Of the various breeds the 

 most in request for hatching pheasant eggs are the lighter-weight 

 hens of the Barn-door Fowl and the Silver Wyandotte Fowl, as they 



