THE CHIEF KINDS OF POULTRY 17 



hastily conceal themselves under the leaves or crouch 

 in the hollows of trees and wait motionless until the 

 danger is past. To get within gun-shot of these 

 birds is well-nigh impossible, and to capture them 

 one must have recourse to the same snares one uses 

 for catching larks." 



"A fowl smaller than a partridge, and that they 

 catch in the woods with snares for larks, " remarked 

 Jules, "ought to be a very pretty bird, but not of 

 much use if raised in poultry-yards. Does our poul- 

 try come from such a small kind as that!" 



"It certainly comes either from the Bankiva fowl 

 or from other kinds just as small that live in a wild 

 state in the forests of Asia ; but when and how the 

 hen and the cock became domesticated is wholly un- 

 known. From the dawn of history man has been in 

 possession of the barnyard fowl, at least in Asia, 

 whence later the species came to us already domes- 

 ticated. During long centuries, improved by our 

 care, which assures it abundant food and comfortable 

 shelter, the original small species has produced nu- 

 merous varieties differing much in size and plumage. 

 They are classed in three groups : the small, the me- 

 dium, and the large. 



"To the first group belongs the bantam or little 

 English fowl, about the size of a partridge. It is a 

 beautiful bird with short legs that let the tips of the 

 wings drag on the ground, quick movements, gentle 

 and tame habits. Its eggs, proportioned to the small 

 size of the hen, weigh scarcely thirty grams apiece, 

 while those of other hens weigh from sixty to ninety 



