122 GAME FOWL*. 



sick or well, to cower before the steel, or quail at the terrors of the 

 pit. They are fast fighters, and their other qualities are the same aa 

 other high bred Games. 



My Yankee Game, from the stock of John C. Bennett, of Plymouth, 

 Mass., are out of the Wild Indian Game hen, and the Spanish Game 

 cock. They have a very bold, lofty carriage ; compact and neat in 

 appearance ; close and short feathered, and semi-fan-tailed, with a 

 small comb, and scarcely any wattles, but their wings and tail are 

 not so long as in some other varieties; the plumage is bright, showy, 

 and captivating in appearance. They are considered by many to be 

 equal, if not superior to the Sumatra, which difference of opinion 

 sustains their comparative excellencies. These, and the Irish grey, 

 (of which I have also some very fine ones,) being pronounced the 

 finest specimens of the Game variety, by all who have seen them. 

 The chicks feather slowly, are healthy, and easy raised, if hatched 

 eoon in the season. In hatching the eggs of this variety, it is neces- 

 sary to watch them closely after the eighteenth day, at which time, I 

 have seen the shell entirely broke off, and the chick completely 

 enclosed in the membrane which lines it; so much so, that it could 

 not be released until it was cut with a pair of scissors. The chick in 

 this case was not adhering to the membrane, but was perfectly free, 

 using every effort to get out, and had stripped it longitudinally in 

 several places, with the claws. 



My Bengal Mountain Game, is also from the stock of Dr. Bennett, 

 out of the Wild Indian Game hen, and an imported Bengal Mountain 

 Game cock; he weighing eight and a quarter pounds, being one of the 

 largest of that species. They are of a beautiful, bright, shining 

 plumage, and in that respect nearly equal to the Sumatra ; very close 

 and short feathered, and almost entirely destitute of comb or wattles ; 

 the eyes, very brilliant; the bill, one of the most powerful I have 

 ever seen ; the neck is long, and of great strength, with large, long 

 legs, which are rather out of proportion to the size of the body, which 

 is small in comparison to the height, and in some measure make them 

 resemble the Malay; they are, however, very heavy in proportion to 

 their size ; (the specific gravity of a fowl always determines its fine- 

 ness and juiciness of flesh, and on which account they are preferred 

 as being the best for table use.) 



Dr. B. says, these are fast and unyielding fighters, and when the 

 cock I now own was only two months old, he fought, on two several 

 occasions, for three hours, and his ardor could only be cooled after 

 these long contests, by immersing him in cold water. They may be 

 unyielding fighters, but in my opinion, (I have not, however, tried 

 them,) they are too slow ; their legs being very large and heavy, 

 they lack the agility of the other Games. A smart, well trained 

 Game cock, would kill them, while they are studying where to hit. 

 1 have a cross produced from this variety with other Game hens, 

 which are much improved in symmetry, the plumage being equally 

 fine, and their motions greatly accelerated. 



It is stated in many of the works on poultry, that the Game breed 

 are not the fowls for the farmer, or those that breed for the market, 

 on account of their quarrelsome, pugnacious disposition, being mani- 



