1837.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



659 



along the whole feathere, as far as dm tip, where 

 it becomes broader, and gives rise to a sort o( 

 gristly plate, of a rounded (orm, whitish, thin, and 

 very polished. This trrisily substance is Ibund 

 still more obvious on the wmirs. The tip, indeed, 

 ol" all the wint^-feaihers forms a broad jirisily 

 plate, whose substance is solid, and very thick to 

 the touch, thoujjh as shininij and polished as in 

 the feathers of the neck. These gristly plates are 

 of a deep red color, and Ibrni by their union a 

 plate of a red maroon, which looks as il" it were 

 varnishe<l. 



The jungle-hen is smaller than the cock, has 

 neither comb nor wattles, and the throat is cover- 

 ed with feathers, a very marked distinction fi-oni 

 our domestic hens. The space around the eyes is 

 naked, and of a red.iish color. All the plumage 

 of the under p irts is similar to that of the cock, 

 but by no means so bright. She has not the long 

 leathers at the nape of the neck, nor the thin 

 gristly plates at the lips of the feathers. The 

 whole of the upper parts are more or less blackish- 

 grey, with white rays occupying the middle of the 

 leather, and Ibllowiug the direction of its mid-rib. 



The jungle-cock, in a word, seems to be as dif- 

 ferent from any known variety of our tame fowls, 

 as a hare is from a rabbit, or a goat from a sheep ; 

 and the fact, that the jungle-cock is :iot domesti- 

 cated in its native country of India, while our 

 dunghill fowls are common there, seems to be de- 

 cisive against the opinions of JVI. Sonnerat and 

 Count Buffon. 



Of the domestic species there are the follow- 



3. Domestic Cock. 



Char. Spec. — Gallus Bankiva (A.) domesticiis, Tem- 

 ■ininck. Male: comb toothnd, compressed; throat 

 wattled beneath ; tail compressed, ascendini; : fea- 

 thers of the neck long and narrow, variegated with 

 fine colors. Female : comb and wattles less than in 

 the male — Gallus domesticiis et gallina, Brisson, 

 Orn. i. 166 ; Idem, 8vo. p. 45 ; Rati, Synop. 51, A.; 

 Will. 109, tab. 26 ; Schaef. El. Orn. tab. 38 ; Rom. 

 Orn. i. 56, tab. 9, and p. 59, tab. 7; Storia degb 

 Uccelli, ii. tab. 207 and 208 ; Frisch. tab. 127—129. 

 Phasianus gallus domesticus, Lath. Ind. Orn. ii.626, 

 B. ; Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 270 ; Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. 

 737, sp. 1, B.; Reiz. Linn. Faun. Seuc. 206; Bo- 

 rowsk. Nat. ii. 177, Aiector; Klein, Aves, 111, A. 

 1; Idem, Ov. 31, tab, 13, fig. 1.— Coq commiin a 

 Crete on Coq villageois, Biiffon, ii. 116, tab. 2 ; Idem, 

 PI. Enlum. i. ; Idempa.T Sonnini, v. 104, tab. 35 fig, 

 1; Bonat, Tab. Encycl. Orn. 181, pi. 87, fig. 1; 

 Gmel. Trad. Fran?, ii. 407, var. b. ; Temm.^Pig. 

 et Gallin. ii. 92, and Tab. Anat. ii. figs. 2, 3, 4, and 

 5; Idem, Tab. Annat. iii. figs 3 and 4. a feather of 

 the neck and one of the wing-coverts. Domestic 

 Cock, ^i6m. Birds, iii. tab. 32; Broivn, Jam. 470 ; 

 Sban, Jam. ii. 301, Phil. Trans, xii, 923 ; Lath, 

 Gen. Syn. iv. 700. — Das gemeineKammoder Haus- 

 huhn, Bechstein. Natur. Deutschl. iii. 1212, tab. 44. 

 (a.) Das Huhn mit dem kieine Kamme ; (6.) Das 

 Kronenhuhn; (c.) Das silberfarbige Huhn; (rf.) Das 

 schieferblaue Huhn ; (e.) Daschamoisfarbige Huhn; 

 (/.) Das geschupfte oder hermelinartige Huhn ; (g.) 

 Die Wittwe ; (A.) Das feuerfarbige und steinfarbige 

 Huhn, Bechst. — Gallo commune, Storia degli Uccel- 

 li, ii. pi. 207, pi. 211 and 213. Horned individuals. 



Description. — The domestic cock is characteris- 

 tically distinguished by a thin indented or scallop- 

 ed comb, with wattles on each side under the 



beak ; by the tail rising in an arch above the le- 

 vel of the rump ; by the feathers of the neck be- 

 ing long and line-like ; and by the colors beini' 

 finely varieuated. 



The female has the comb and wattles smaller 

 than those of the cock, is smaller in size, and has 

 the colors more dull and sombre. 



The influence of domestication in our tame 

 breeds of this species, havinir produced alterations 

 in the entire forms of the body and ol' the comb 

 and wattles, it is dilRult to indicate the nices which 

 owe their origin to the same stock or source ; but 

 those races most approaching the primitive spe- 

 cies (G. Bankiva) have undergone the fewest 

 changes from taming, and have f;roduccd by in- 

 teralliance the breed of duuirhill l()w!s, with comb 

 and wattles — the breed of tulied l()vvls, with small 

 comb and wattles, in which those juices proper to 

 form these parts have been, it would a[)pear, ex- 

 pended in the production of the tuft of feathers 

 which ornament the head ; — all those breeds of 

 fowls whose legs and feet are more or less covered 

 with feathers, the origin of which may be attri- 

 buted to superabundance of nutriment that has in 

 this instance produced leathers on the legs, as it 

 has formed a tuft on th(; head in the tufted fowl ; 

 the race of liamburirh cocks which have the 

 head hooded, and the leathers stretched back 

 over the ears. 



Exclusive" of the more marked breeds to be af- 

 terwards noticed in detail. Dr. Bechstein, as we 

 have seen in the synonymes, has distinguished 

 eight varieties of the common domestic fowl, 

 namely, the fowl with a small comb ; the crown- 

 ed fowl ; the silver-colored fowl ; the slate-blue 

 f^vvl ; the chamois-colored fowl; the ermine-like 

 fowl ; the widow, which has white tear-like spots 

 on a darker ground ; and the fire and slone color- 

 ed fowl. It is, however, diificuil in many cases 

 to identify the distinctions made by foreign wri- 

 ters, with the fowls bred in this country, i shall 

 class the varieties therefore, as distinctly as I am 

 able, and will be glad to be corrected where I may 

 fall into mistake. 



4. Dunghill Cock. 



The sort usually called the dunffhill breed is a 

 mongrel arising from crosses of all kinds of vari- 

 eties, and consequently not distinguishable by any 

 peculiar mark, but partaking more or less of the 

 form and qualities of the parent birds. The vari- 

 eties in most esteem are of nuddle size, with dark 

 colors, and white, not yellow leers. Light colored 

 or white bodies are more tender of constitution, 

 and are said by some not to be ffood layers, 

 though this does not always hold. White chick- 

 ens are the best to fatten for the table. 



5. Game Cock. 



The game cock is the variety termed the Eng- 

 lish cock by Count Bufl^cin and the French writers. 

 It is more slender, both in the body, the neck, the 

 bill, and the legs, than the other sorts, and the 

 colors, particularly in the male, are in most cases 

 very bright and showy. Even. of the game cock, 

 however, there are many varieties, some of Avhich 

 are more celebrated than others, among amateurs 

 and feeders. Amoncst these Sketchly mentions 

 i the black-breasted red, which, when true bred, is 



