THE POULTRY KIND. 



generous and noble, being remarkable for fecun- 

 dity; the other sort, ignoble and useless, from 

 their sterility. These distinctions differ widely 

 from our modern notions of generosity in this 

 animal ; that which we call the game-cock^emg 

 by no means so fruitful as the ungenerous dung- 

 hill-cock, which we treat with contempt. The 

 Athenians had their cock matches as well as we ; 

 but it is probable they did not enter into our re- 

 finement of choosing out the most barren of the 

 species for the purposes of combat. 



However this be, no animal in the world has 

 greater courage than the cock when opposed to 

 one of his own species ; and in every part of the 

 world where refinement and polished manners 

 have not entirely taken place, cock-fighting is a 

 principal diversion. In China, India, the Philip- 

 pine Islands, and all over the East, cock-fighting 

 is the sport and amusement even of kings and 

 princes. With us it is declining every day ; and 

 it is to be hoped it will in time become only the 

 pastime of the lowest vulgar. It is the opinion 

 of many, that we have a bolder and more valiant 

 breed than is to be found elsewhere ; and some, 

 indeed, have entered into a serious discussion 

 upon the cause of so flattering a singularity. But 

 the truth is, they have cocks in China as bold, if 

 not bolder than ours ; and, what would still be 

 considered as valuable among cockers here, they 

 have more strength with less weight. Indeed, I 

 have often wondered why men who lay two or 

 three hundred pounds upon the prowess of a 

 single cock, have not taken every method to im- 



