OEIGINAIi FOWL.] 



POULTRY. 



[OKIGINAL FOWL. 



latter is, 'beyond all question, the exclusive abori- 

 ginal stock from wliich the whole of our domestic 

 varieties of common poultry have desceuded." 



Mr. Blyth continues — " However difFerent 

 these may be, whether the silky fowl of 

 China, the gigantic Chittagong race, or the 

 feather-legged bantams of Burmah, their 

 Toice at once and unmistakably proclaims 

 their origin, and is as difFerent as can be, 

 in every cry, from that of G. Sonneratii; 

 besides that we continually meet with common 

 domestic cocks which correspond, feather by 

 feather, with the wild bird, the peculiar notched 

 comb of which is again retained invariably, 

 even when the comb is double or compound. 

 This much premised, however, it is remarkable 

 that the domestic jjoultry of India do not ap- 

 proximate to the wild race in any respect more 

 closely than the common fowls of Europe ; and 

 I have sought in vain for traces of intermixture 

 of jungle-foivl blood in districts where the 

 species abounds in a state of nature^ 



A friend of Mr. Blyth's, in one of his sport- 

 ing excursions in Cuttack, came upon the nest 

 of a jungle hen, in the hole of the trunk of 

 a tree. It contained nine eggs, which he took 

 home with him, and placed under a common 

 hen. The chickens were all reared, and lived 

 with his other poultry, being permitted to go 

 at large to feed during the day, whilst, at 

 roosting time, they returned home with the 

 other fowls. He, however, set no particular, 

 value on them ; but observed them sufficiently 

 to be able to state that they interbred with 

 the other fowls, and that the breed finally 

 merged in the general stock. From this, 

 taken in connection with other facts, Mr. 

 Blyth is certain that our domestic poultry 

 are derived from this particular wild species ; 

 and of the tame pea-fowl being desceuded 

 from the vital Indian one. He further 

 says, that the peculiarities of many of 

 the domestic breeds are not such as occur 

 among any wild birds whatever ; such, for in- 

 stance, as the silk fowl, with its black skin and 

 periosteum; the frizzled birds, with their 

 feathers twisted the wrong way; those with 

 supernumerary toes; and the feather-legged 

 varieties. This theory, however, is apt to 

 startle us when we think of the gigantic 

 Cochin-Chiuas and Malays, the tiny Bantams, 

 the superb Polish, and the droll Kumples and 

 8UG 



Negro fowl, being all the progeny of one 

 single Indian species. This supposition, how- 

 ever, is coincident with that maintained by 

 some in reference to the origin of all tha 

 varieties of the dog:. 



Mr. Blyth goes on to say — " It is a curious 

 instance of how little is currently known of 

 the zoology of India, that, to this day, authors 

 who write on the history of the common fowl, 

 generally repeat the statement, that 'its 

 original stock is very uncertain ; but it is sup- 

 posed to be descended from a wild species still 

 met with in the island of Java!' The truth 

 being, that the genuine wild common fowl is 

 familiarly known to every sportsman in all 

 Northern India, and is with justice highly 

 prized as a game bird — abounding in all 

 suitable localities, from the sub-Himalayan 

 region on the north, to the Viudhyan range on 

 tlie south, and spreading farther southward, 

 along the eastern coast of the peninsula, to 

 some distance beyond Vizagapatam ; while to 

 the eastward it likewise abounds in Assam, 

 and all along the eastern side of the Bay of 

 Bengal, throughout the Burmese countries, 

 the Malayan peninsula, Java, and Sumatra. 

 G. Sonneratii begins to replace it on the 

 Viudhyan range of hills, bordering tlie great 

 table-land of the peninsula to the northward ; 

 and wholly replaces it in Southern India 

 generally ; while in Ceylon two other wild 

 species occur, the hen of one of these being 

 figured by the name of G. Stanlejji, in Hard- 

 wick's Illustrations y 



In support of his position, Mr. Blyth bids 

 us look to the crest of a Polish fowl, and see 

 how different it is to the crest of the pea-fowl, 

 or of the Impeyan Lophophorus, consisting of 

 hackles similar to those of the saddle and 

 neck. The same is the case witli the feather- 

 legged breeds. It is observed that the tarsal 

 plumelets of owls, grouse, &c., are of a charac- 

 ter peculiar to themselves ; while the foot 

 plumes of pigeons, and some other fowls, bear 

 a striking resemblance to those of the corre- 

 sponding joints of the wings. That animals 

 long domesticated fall into singular varieties, 

 we have sufficiently shown in the case of the 

 dog, which has entirely lost the uniformity of 

 appearance which, with the exception of a 

 few, is found in the numerous wild animals 

 belonging to that species. Even among fish 



