PLUMAGE OP POULTRY. 231 



formly black ; in the fourth uniformly white ; and in 

 the fifth he had white feathers mixed with a good deal 

 of ruddy brown, bordering upon chestnut, his back, neck, 

 wings and belly being ruddy, and even where there 

 were white feathers, they were mingled with ruddy ones. 

 His owner being absent for two months in summer, 

 found the cock, on his return, again totally changed, his 

 plumage having become all over of the purest white. 



The general plumage of the male bird is richer than 

 that of the female, and the tail is much larger and more 

 majestic. The crown of the head is also adorned with 

 a fleshy crest, called the corah, and the lower mandible 

 or bill with wattles, as those fleshy appendages are 

 teimed. When the bird is in good health, the comb 

 and wattles are bright crimson ; when the bird is 

 moulting or otherwise ailing, or in old age, they are 

 pale and dingy ; in severely cold weather they become 

 purple or bluish. In the female the crest and wattles 

 are very little developed, except in old age, when the 

 hens sometimes acquire a sort of neuter appearance, and 

 have even been known to crow like a cock. 



The cock is a stately and majestic bird, his whole 

 deportment being indicative of a courageous and self- 

 dependent spirit. He is lordly in his demeanour to the 

 other birds of the poultry-yard, and requires implicit 

 obedience from his numerous family. But he is kind, 

 and attentive to their wants, seeking out food for them, 

 and when he has found it, calling them all together, 

 and sharing it among the hens and chickens. He also 

 fearlessly defends them from their enemies, attacking 

 with great boldness all intruding animals. His jealousy 

 of rivals is intense, and he will combat to the death with 

 a bird of his own sex and species, unless that bird be 

 so young as not to incur his hostility. In some cases 

 cocks are naturally of so quarrelsome a disposition, that 

 they beat and annoy the hens, and are continually 

 breaking in upon the establishments of their neighbours. 

 In this case they are tamed by putting a piece of leather 



