572 



G A L L I N I D JE. 



tary watch they recal us loudly to our labours and 

 cares. They do not suffer the day-beam to surprise 

 us without timely warning. Their crowing announces 

 the hour of morning, and the crowing itself is an- 

 nounced by the clapping of their wings. Each farm- 

 yard has its peculiar king ; and amongst these mo- 

 narchs, as amongst princes of our race, empire is the 

 meed of victory. They appear to comprehend the 

 design of those weapons with which their feet are 

 armed. It is not uncommon for two rivals to perish 

 in the combat. If one be conqueror, he immediately 

 sings forth his triumph, and proclaims his own supre- 

 macy ; the other retreats and disappears, ashamed of 

 his defeat. The gait of the cock is proud and com- 

 manding ; he walks with head erect and elevated 

 crest. Alone of all birds he habitually looks up to 

 the sky, raising at the same time his curved and 

 sithe-formed tail, and inspiring terror in the lion 

 himself, that most intrepid of animals. Some of 

 these birds seem actually bora for nothing but war- 

 fare and battles ; some have rendered the countries 

 which produced them famous, such as Rhodes and 

 Tanagra. The second rank is assigned to those from 

 Melos and Chalcis, birds truly worthy of the homage 

 they receive from the Roman people ! Their repasts 

 are solemn presages ; they regulate daily the conduct 

 of our magistrates, and open or close to them their 

 own houses. They prescribe repose or movement to 

 the Roman fasces ; they command or prohibit battles ; 

 they have announced all the victories gained through- 

 out the universe ; in a word, they lord it over the 

 masters of the world. Their very entrails and fibres 

 are not le.ss agreeable to the gods than the richest 

 victims. Their prolonged notes in the evening, and 

 at extraordinary hours, constitute presages. By 

 crowing all nightlong they announced to the Boeotians 

 a celebrated victory over the Lacedemonians ; thus 

 did the diviners interpret it, because this bird never 

 crows when he is conquered." 



The cock is more stately in his march than any 

 bird, or, indeed, than almost any animal. His tread 

 is slow and firm, his step long, and his whole frame 

 expressive of energy and vigour. The eye of the 

 cock is lively and animated, his air proud and inde- 

 pendent, without anything ferocious or menacing. He 

 is a being confident in his own strength and courage, 

 conscious of his own worth, but not disdainful of 

 others. Sure of his own superiority, and of the 

 right which he assumes, he knows how to maintain 

 them in everything of importance, and how to relax 

 in matters of lees consideration. Though the cock 

 reigns and rules like a bashaw over his harem, yet he 

 is an attentive husband and a tender father. The 

 females and their young are to him a people that must 

 obey, but they must at the same time be governed 

 with mildness. Their weakness and his strength secure 

 submission on the one hand, and protection on the 

 other. He desires no food for himself but as much 

 as will suffice to support his strength ; and should 

 he chance to meet with anything delicate, he touches 

 it not, but calls his family around him, who answer 

 immediately to the voice of their master who sum- 

 mons them, and of a husband and father who invites. 

 His acquisition he shares between the mothers and 

 the children, answering to their murmurs of gratitude 

 by lower and gentler accents. His progeny are pro- 

 tected by his acting either on the defensive or offensive 

 against every enemy that assails them. He repels 

 and combats with all intruding animals. And acts as 



a master with the other birds of the poultry-yard, and 

 compels them to keep at a respectful distance from his 

 establishment. But his greatest wrath and irritation 

 he exhibits against one of his own sex and species ; 

 he will contend with him until his adversary retreats 

 by flight or is destroyed, or his own strength fails. 

 He claps his wings, if successful, and utters several 

 shrill and reiterated crows, in token of his success. 



From the cock being of a warm and vigorous con- 

 stitution, one will suffice for fifteen or twenty-hens. 

 To those, however, who are engaged in the breeding 

 of poultry the choice of a cock is of great importance. 

 He is judged to possess all the necessary qualities 

 when he is of a fine shape, but middle size ; when he 

 carries his head boldly and erect, has a quick, lively, 

 and animated eye, a powerful and clear voice, and a thick 

 and short bill. He should have a bright and polished 

 red comb, a membranous wattle, of considerable size, 

 and equally high coloured with the crest. The wings 

 should be strong, the chest broad, the plumage very 

 dark red or black, the thighs very muscular, the legs 

 stout, and armed with long spurs, the toes provided 

 with claws slightly crooked, and strongly acerated. 

 He should also be alert and petulant in his demean- 

 our, as well as prompt in defending the females; 

 attentive in soliciting them to eat, in keeping them 

 together during the day, and assembling them in 

 the evening for rest. 



At the age of three or four months the cock has 

 arrived so far to maturity as to be able to propagate, 

 which lasts in perfection four or five years, though he 

 may live to the age of ten, and in some rare instances 

 to fifteen years. The larger species and varieties of 

 cocks are more slow in their development, and their 

 prime, in all probability, lasts longer. When the 

 cock becomes aged he must be turned out of the 

 farmyard, as no longer worth}' to figure there, and a 

 young and vigorous one placed there in his stead. 

 When the poultry-yard is divided between two or 

 more cocks, peace reigns but a short time among 

 them. Their jealous and impetuous character soon 

 breaks out in frequent and bloody quarrels, combat 

 follows instantaneously on provocation ; the two ad- 

 versaries stand opposed to each other with erected 

 plumes, keeping the neck extended and the head low ; 

 with fixed and sparkling eyes they observe each other 

 in silence ; on the slightest movement from either 

 they erect themselves, dart upon, and tilt their bodies 

 against each other ; this manoeuvre is repeated until 

 the most adroit and the strongest has torn the comb 

 of his enemy, and overwhelmed him with blows from 

 his wings, or gored him with his spurs. Some cocks 

 are of a very quarrelsome and peevish disposition, 

 they beat and annoy the hens, and are continually 

 disturbing the establishments of their neighbours. 

 The most simple method of quieting these refractory 

 subjects is by passing a piece of leather over the foot, 

 close under the spur ; they then become as quiet as 

 men who have got irons on their hands and feet. The 

 cock is a very clean bird, is careful of his dress, and 

 may frequently be seen engaged in cleansing, comb- 

 ing, and polishing his feathers with his bill. If, like 

 the warbler or the nightingale, whose melody is 

 created by love, he has no ambition to be distinguished 

 by the excellence of his music, it is certain that he is 

 very fond of exhibiting the strength, the sonorousness, 

 and the compass of his voice. He listens after crow- 

 ing, to hear if he is answered, and should another 

 cock reoly he recommences immediately, and appears 



