190 THE PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPER. 



death or terrible suffering, as has been proved over and 

 over again, even from a very few seconds' encounter ; 

 whereas dubbed ones can generally be separated before 

 much injury is done. In these circumstances, hot abuse 

 of the practice by those who know nothing about the 

 matter shows more zeal than discretion. The time may 

 however come, from the reason stated, when dubbing may 

 no longer be necessary in the show bird. 



OLD ENGLISH GAME. 



The excessively stilty development of the exhibition 

 Game fowl during recent years has provoked a reaction, 

 which has brought into fashion again the original English 

 race, which had been preserved in the interim solely by the 

 care of the breeders who still practised cock-fighting in out- 

 of-the-way corners. The grand old breed has of late filled 

 large and popular classes at all the principal shows, and can 

 be seen, even on cursory inspection, to be totally different 

 in many points from the preceding. Almost the only point 

 of formation in which the two agree is the general shape of 

 the body itself, which is tolerably round in the hands, and 

 broad at shoulders, tapering towards the tail, somewhat like 

 a fir cone. But even here the Old English Game is shorter 

 and more compact. 



The radical differences are as follows : The long neck 

 of the cock is very strong at the junction with the 

 shoulders, and, instead of being very scant and short in 

 hackle, is very long and full, the hackle flowing over the 

 shoulders. The back is broader and shorter, the saddle 

 hackles also being full. The wings are longer and stronger, 

 with tendency to meet under the tail. The tail, instead of 

 being very short, narrow in feather, and carried low, is 

 carried high, and is very full and expanded a good flowing 

 tail, with quill feathers broad and hard. The thighs are 



