6 The Origin of Poultry Breeds. 



In studying nature, especially in the care of birds, we find 

 that some species vary naturally, even in a wild state, while 

 others vary but very little, either in size, form or color, even in 

 domestication. This is noticeable in guinea-fowls and peafowls, 

 and to a less extent in turkeys, geese and ducks, but pigeons 

 and gallinaceous fowls have a variable nature that sports into 

 oddities, not only in form, but also in color and size. This 

 characteristic may be taken advantage of, and under the hands 

 of man these birds are plastic to a singular degree. 



Long and interesting accounts of the origin of our domestic 

 fowls may be found in Darwin's " Animals and Plants Under 

 Domestication." The more knowledge brought to bear on this 

 subject, the stronger the evidence that the progenitors of all 

 our domestic fowls were of one species Callus Bankiva. All 

 the varieties of pigeons, which are very numerous, are now 

 believed to have a common origin, and the more I study the 

 subject, the more I feel convinced that this is also true of our 

 domestic fowls. In breeds that resemble Callus Bankiva as 

 the Games, and in color the Brown Leghorns who has not 

 noticed a wilder character than is observable in other breeds 

 further removed from the original type in form or color ? 

 Games and Dorkings are both primeval in form or color, al- 

 though the Silver-Gray Dorkings do not, at first sight, appear so 

 much so in color as the others. Breeders of Games, however, 

 know that it is an easy step from the Black-breasted Red to the 

 Duck-wing colors, and this is the case with the Dorkings also. 

 The pugnacious character of the males, the quality of the 

 meat of both, and the intelligence of the Dorkings are quite 

 noticeable. The tendency to brassiness in white and gray 

 feathering, and the persistent intrusion of red and yellow in 

 promiscuous breeding point in the same direction. When ab- 

 normal peculiarities are transmitted by selection, and diver- 

 gence from the original type is established, the greater is the 

 change from the original characteristics. The eggs also show 

 this change from normal conditions, in size, shape, etc. From 

 the creamy or nearly white, we have various shades of buff, 



