CHAPTER IV, 

 ASIATIC FOWLS. 



r IHE VAKIOUS ASIATIC! BREEPS. II. DAKK BRAHMAS. HI. LIGHT BRAHMAS. 



IV. CC^OHIN FOWLS. V. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COCHINS. VI. 



WUITE COCHINS. VII. BUFF COCHINS. VIII. PARTRIDGE COCHINS. 



I. The Vaxious Asiatic Breeds. 



Of all the varieties of the large Asiatic breeds introduced into the 

 United States, first and last, the Brahmas and the Cochin Chinas alone 

 have held their own with other popular breeds, and have been generally 

 disseminated. The so called Shanghai and the Chittagong — the latter 

 confessedly the giants of the larger breeds of fowls— have not fulfilled 

 expectations. Wo shall, therefore, give the Chittagong only a passing no- 

 tice, and simply delineate the principal varieties of the Brahmas and the 

 Cochins. Of the Shanghais it may be remarked, that, when first intro- 

 duced, they were the largest of the fowls imported up to that time, and 

 were of various colors, gray, buff, cinnamon-colored, partridge and 

 black ; and it is more than prr/bable that some varieties of the Cochins 

 owe their parentage to a union /f the Shanghai and Chittagong, if indeed 

 the so called Shanghai be not a Cochin and nothing else. However this 

 may be, neither the Cochins nor Brahmas' were originally from the 

 Brahma-Pootra river, in India, since this region having been in the pos- 

 session of the English so long, these remarkable fowls, if they had 

 existed there, could not have remained unnoticed. 



n. Dark Brahmas. 



As bred both in England and America the characteristics of the dark 

 Brahmas are as follows : The head of the cock should be surmounted 

 with what is termed a "pea-comb." This resembles three small combs 

 running parallel the length of the head, the centre one the highest; 

 beak strong, well curved ; wattles full ; oar-lobes red, well rounded and 

 falling below the wattles. The neck should be short, well curved; 

 hackle full, silvery white striped with black, flowing well over the back 

 and sides of the breast; feathers at the head should be white. Back 

 very short, wide and flat, rising into a nice, soft, small tail, carried up- 

 right ; back almost white ; the saddle feathers white, striped with black, 



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