THE COCK. 279 



without that unconquerable propensity to liberty 

 which in birds is so general. The poultry kind, if 

 well fed, seldom desire to range, and from the first 

 moment of their confinement, seem satisfied if .their 

 supply of food be plentiful. Their increased plump- 

 ness in such situations, shews their contentment, 

 while tlie wilder species when cooped up in cages, 

 unless inured to it when very young, fall into languor, 

 and sometimes pine to death amidst the greatest pro- 

 fusion of the most delicate food. These circumstances, 

 my dear Sir, evidently display the infinite wisdom of 

 the Author of Nature, in adapting every creature to 

 its particular destination. 



/ THE COCK 



perhaps exhibits a greater number of varieties than 

 any. other animal of the feathered race; for scarcely 

 any two birds of this tribe exactly resemble each 

 other in plumage and shape. This may probably 

 proceed from the effects of domestication, as of all the 

 different kinds of birds the cock seems to be that 

 which was first reclaimed from the forest, and taken 

 to supply the luzuries of the table. 



The time when the cock was first domesticatecj in 

 Europe is not ascertained; but he is supposed to have 

 been introduced from Persia. In the island of Tinian, 

 and many others of the Indian ocean, this bird is 

 found in his native state. In those islands, and in the 

 woods of Malabar, his plumage was black and yel- 

 low, and his comb and wattles are yellow and purple. 

 In those of the Indian woods, there is also another pe- 

 culiaritv,---their bones when boiled are as black as 

 ebony ; those of the European cock, on the contrary, 

 are white. 



No animal whatever displays greater courage than 

 the cock; and in every part of the world, from which 

 it is not yet banished by refinement and polished 

 manners, cock-fighting constitutes one of the most 

 popular diversions. In China, India, and the Phillip- 

 pine islands, it is one of the principal amusements of 

 the great; and in all parts of the East the highest 

 ranks participate in an enjoyment which casts upou 



