THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 157 



none, soon lays another !" Natural History has a hard strag- 

 gle to come at correct conclusions in this department of orni- 

 thology. 



The Cochin China Cock has a large, upright, single, deeply- 

 indented comb, very much resembling that of the Black 

 Spanish, and, when in high condition, of quite as brilliant a 

 scarlet ; like him also, he has a very large white ear-lobe on 

 each cheek.* The wattles are large, wide, and pendent. The 

 legs are of a pale flesh-colour : some specimens have them 

 yellow, which is objectionable. The feathers on the breast 

 and sides are of a bright chesnut-brown, large and well-defined, 

 giving a scaly or imbricated appearance to those parts. The 

 hackle of the neck is of a light yellowish brown ; the lower 

 feathers beiDg tipped with dark brown, so as to give a spotted 

 appearance to the neck. The tail feathers are black, and 

 darkly iridescent; back, scarlet-orange; back-hackle, yellow- 

 orange. It is, in short, altogether a flame-coloured bird. Both 

 sexes are lower in the leg than either the Black Spanish or 

 the Malay. 



The Hen approaches in her build more nearly to the Dork- 

 ing than any other, except that the tail is very small and pro- 

 portionately depressed : it is smaller, and more horizontal, I 

 think, than in any other Fowl. Her comb is moderate-sized, 

 almost small; she has also a small white ear-lobe. Her 

 colouring is flat, being composed of various shades of very 

 light brown, with light yellow on the neck. Her appearance 

 is quiet, and only attracts attention by its extreme neatness, 

 cleanness, and compactness. My male bird has two claws on 



* "I have seen a great many Cochin Fowl, and have observed 

 that but few of them had white ear-lobes ; I therefore conclude that 

 it is not an indispensible, if even a required qualification." J. 

 BisselL It is, however, to be preferred, for beauty at least, if not aa 

 a mark of pure blood. 



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