240 THE, GAME FOWL. 



warm rooms, with boxing-gloves, made to fit the heel, and pre- 

 vent them from hurting each other. The feeding part, on 

 which so much depends, is a great secret." [Every feeder has 

 his own secret, and no two secrets are probably the same.] 



" I have known them frequently attack men, dogs, calves, 

 pigs, turkeys, and geese; and a single bird has killed seven 

 of its opponents in one day, when fighting in our trial mains 

 at Knowsley." 



Neither John Roscoe, nor his son Thomas Roscoe, ever had 

 anything to do with the feeding of the late Lord Derby's game 

 birds, or the training them for the Pit on their own account, 

 but there were always regular persons, called " feeders " or 

 " trainers," who made it their business, and were employed by 

 different gentlemen who had mains, and under whose special care 

 and direction the birds were always placed for a certain time 

 previous to their being brought out to fight. Roscoe, and his 

 son, now living, having for many years seen the course and the 

 methods pursued by these trainers, and under whose orders 

 they had to act, have no doubt picked up and remember some 

 of the secrets of the trade which used to exist among them, 

 and to be kept with very great jealousy; but they were never 

 employed themselves as feeders, except as any other servant 

 might have been who was supposed to have some little know- 

 ledge on the occasion of the trial mains, which always occur- 

 red previous to the regular public mains of the match, in order 

 to test the goodness of the different crosses from which the 

 selection of the combatants was to be made. A system was 

 universally adopted by all Cockers of distinguishing the seve- 

 ral breeds, by special artificial marks attached to each cross, 

 so that a Cock marked so and so, was put down with a certain 

 number of Hens marked, say " light eyes," to breed at a par- 

 ticular spot or farm, the produce of which would be marked 

 by the mixture of the parents' marks. The Eggs from these 

 were all gathered up regularly, and set, and the Chickens put 



