274 FOWLS. Chap. VIL 



foramen is very large, and has nearly the same sub-triangiilar out- 

 line presently to be described in Cochins ; and in this skull the 

 two ascending branches of the premasillary are OYerlaj)ped in a 

 singular manner by the processes of the nasal bone, but, as I have 

 seen only one specimen, some of these differences may be individual. 

 Of Cochins and Brahmas (the latter a crossed race approaching 

 closely to Cochins) I have examined seven skulls; at the point 

 where the ascending branches of the premaxillary rest on the frontal 

 bone the surface is much depressed, and from this depression a deep 

 medial furrow extends backwards to a variable distance ; tlie edges 

 of this fissure are rather prominent, as is the top of the skull behind 

 and over the orbits. These characters are less developed in the 

 hens. The pterygoids, and the processes of the lower jaw, are 

 broader, relatively to the size of the head, than in O. hankiva ; and 

 this is likewise the case with Dorkings when of large size. The 

 fork of the hyoid bone in Cochins is twice as wide as in G. bankiva, 

 whereas the length of the other hyoid bones is only as three to 



3 A 



Fig. 33.— Occipital Foramen, of natural size. A. WM Gallus bankiva. B. Cochin Cock. 



two. But the most remarkable character is the shape of the 

 occipital foramen : in G. bankiva (A) the breadth in a horizontal 

 line exceeds the height in a vertical line, and the outline is nearly 

 circular ; whereas in Cochins (B) the outline is sub-triangular, and 

 the vertical line exceeds the horizontal line in length. This same 

 form likewise occurs in the black Bantam above referred to, and an 

 approach to it may be seen in some Dorkings, and in a slight degree 

 in certain other breeds. 



Of Dorkings I have examined three skulls, one belonging to the 

 w^hite-sub-breed ; the one character deserving notice is the breadth 

 of the frontal bones, wlrich are moderately furrowed in the middle ; 

 thus in a skull which was less than once and a half the length of 

 that of G. bankiva, the breadth between the orbits was exactly 

 double. Of Bamhiirghs I have examined four skulls (male and 

 female) of the pencilled sub-breed, and one (male) of the spangled sub- 

 breed; the nasal bones stand remarkably wide apart, but in a 

 variable degree; consequently narrow membrane-covered spaces 

 are left between the tips of the two ascending branches of the pre- 

 maxillary bones, which are rather short, and between these branches 

 and the nasal bones. The surface of the frontal bone, ou which the 



