THE MALAY FOAVL.] 



POULTET. 



[the MALAY FOWL. 



peninsula which forms the southern point of 

 Hiudostan ; and is a title probably much more 

 correct than most other names of poultry 

 derived from the countries whence they are 

 supposed to come. 



Malays stand very high on the legs ; are long- 

 necked, serpent-headed, and carry too much 

 oflUl for the poulterer. They are, accordingly, 

 Bot so valuable to him as are some other fowls. 

 Their flesh, before cooking, is not tempting in 

 its appearance, and they very often have yellow 

 skins. Their colour is various: some greatly 

 resemble the duck-winged game; others are 

 dark-brown, streaked with yellow. Black Ma- 

 lays are handsome birds ; and the white va- 

 riety, with bright yellow legs, is a remarkable 

 creature. Good Malays, although unprofit- 

 able, certainly adorn a poultry-yard ; but hav- 

 ing a domineering disposition, with the power 

 to indulge in it, they frequently are the cause 

 of considerable annoyance. Chittagongs are 

 members of the Malay family, which is widely 

 spread throughout the East. Crosses with 

 Malays produce fine birds, but they are of 

 uncertain qualities and colours. Their weight 

 is considerable ; and their efficiency as duelists 

 terribly certain, if it were the fashion now to 

 indulge in such practices. 



Tears ago, tiiere used to be a variety of fowls 

 much in request in England, called the " Shake- 

 bag," or the " Duke of Leeds' fowl ;" a noble- 

 man of that name having been a great amateur 

 breeder of them. These fowls were as large as 

 the Malays, but differed from them in the su- 

 perior whiteness and tenderness of their flesh, 

 as well as in their very superior combative 

 qualities. Mowbray thus writes of one in his 

 possession : — " The only one I ever possessed 

 was a red fowl, in 1784, weighing about ten 

 pounds, which was provided for me, at the price 

 of one guinea, by Goff", the dealer, who then 

 lived upon Hulborn Hill, in Loudon ; and who, 

 at the end of two years, received him back at 

 half a guinea, having allowed me, in the interim, 

 three shillings and sixpence each for such tho- 

 rough-bred cock chickens as I chose to send him. 

 At that puriod, the real 'Duke of Leeds' fowl' bad 

 become very scarce, which induced the dealers 

 to put Shakebag cocks to Malay hens, by that 

 means keeping up the original standard size, 

 but entirely sacrificing their colour, and delicate 

 flavour of the fiefsh." 

 83-i 



The name of this fowl seems to have arisen 

 from the old practice of cock-fighting, when the 

 fancy used to challenge all-comers, who had 

 their cocks concealed in a bag ; and the tre- 

 mendous size and power of the Duke of Leeds' 

 fowl proving so far superior to all competitors, 

 as usually to insure conquest. The breed 

 eventually obtained the ndLme,par excellence, of 

 Slialcehag, since corrupted into Shackbag. 



Mowbray informs us that this fine bird was 

 not unfrequently substituted for a turkey ; and 

 this, IS he facetiously adds, " to the great 

 convenience of poulterers and inn-keepers of 

 Wokingham and elsewhere." 



In judging this bird, an intelligent writer 

 suggests the following points for a basis : — 



The Cock. 



Head. — The beak, horn colour. — Eyes, orange red, 

 sunk beneath a projecting eyebrow. — Comb 

 low, indented. — Wattles, very small, more pro- 

 perly folds of the skin of the throat than wattles. 

 — Earlobe, rudimentary. — Face, brilliant crimson. 



Neck. — Orange red. 



Back. — Marone. 



Saddle. — Orange red. 



Wing. — Shoulder, marone; steel-blue bar across; 

 flight-feathers, bay. 



Breast. — Black, with irregular bay markings. 



Tail. — Scanty, drooping. 



Legs. — Olive-brown. 



The Hen. 



Head. — Same characters as cock, but less de- 

 veloped. 



Neck. — Middle of feather brown, edges golden, 

 shaft straw colour. 



Back. — Brown, shaft of feathers straw colour. 



Breast. — Brownish fawn colour. 



I'ail. — Brownish black. 



Legs. — Olive-brown. 



The Malay is widely distributed. It is to 

 be met with largely in India, China, the islands 

 of the Indian Archipelago, the South-Sea 

 Islands, and America. Its introduction into 

 England is of comparatively recent date ; and 

 as, in our culture of poultr}'-, varieties of food 

 and climate enter so largely into the consider- 

 ation, diversities will necessarily arise ; and, 

 whether the birds exhibited be brown- breasted 

 reds, cream-coloured, white, or otherwise, all 

 we mean to suggest is, that main descriptive 

 points shall be attended to, and lots assorted. 

 Of the sub-varieties of Malay, there are three 

 well-defined. The first, Temminck's Gigan- 

 teus, long cultivated in India, under different 

 names, stands nearly two feet in height. 

 The second, the variety commonly imported 



