252 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



THE GAME COCK AND HEK. 



whiteness and sapidity of its flesh ; the hens are excellent layers, and 

 the eggs, though of moderate size only, are remarkable for the delicacy 

 of their flavor. The game cock is very attentive to his female train, 

 and ever ready to do baitle in their defense ; but not unfrequently he 

 becomes savage and dangerous. A blow with his spnr is no trifle. 

 Children have been severely injured, and cases have been mentioned in 

 which they have been killed. From these causes, and from the fact 

 that the young broods, as soon as fairly feathered, begin to fight among 

 themselves with desperate determination, blinding each other, stripping 

 the skin from each other's heads and necks, and killing each other on 

 the spot, many persons object to keep this breed ; and it must be con- 

 fessed that it occasions great trouble ; it is not always convenient or pos- 

 sible to separate the young broods ; and as the young cocks and hens 

 fio-ht indiscriminately, it not unfrequently happens that one-half is de- 

 stroyed in the mUee^ while most of the survivors are so mangled as to 

 render it necessary to put them out of pain, to the mortification of the 

 farmer or breeder of fowls for profit ; for not only are the broods lost, 

 but the time also. 



Of all breeds, the game breed is the most beautiful, whether we look 

 to contour or coloring; the game cock carries himself proudly, and yet 

 gracefully; his port and bearing proclaim his fiery spirit and undaunt- 

 ed mettle, which endure even to his last breath; for while prostrate and 

 mortally wounded, he will answer the insulting crow of his victorious 

 rival, and make a last effort to revenge himself before the spark of life 

 is extinct. No wonder that the gallant cock should have been chosen 

 as the emblem of courage. 



Bantams. — The classes of Bantams are gold-laced, silver-laced, white, 

 black, and -one for "any other variety;" from which last may especially 

 be selected the exceedingly beautiful game Bantams, and the once popu- 

 lar, but now rare, booted sub-variety. Diminutive size and bold carriage 

 are important points in all Bantams ; in other respects, the diff'erent 

 kinds difi'er as much as distinct varieties of fowls can do. The Ban- 

 tams are peculiarly fancy fowls; they have been accused of not being 

 a useful kind, as of course there is little to eat in a fowl which, when 

 full grown, should weigh, the cock about a pound, the hen less, the eggs 



