BIRDS. 79 



between them and the Persian nation, may have obtained a 

 breed, previously domesticated, from that country, the appel- 

 lation is less objectionable,— for it is knowi^ that in a do- 

 mestic state poultry have existed in Persia from a very 

 remote antiquity. 



It may be mentioned, as a curious fact illustrating the 

 extensive distribution of these " household birds," that when 

 the South Sea islands were first visited by Captain Cook, 

 they were found well stocked with poultry ; and the more 

 recent as well as more ample narratives of the missionaries 

 have confirmed the statements of the great navigator re- 

 garding the practice of cock-fighting in Otaheite and other 

 islands of Polynesia.* • ' 



In regard, however, to the origin of our domestic poultr}', 

 the first approximation to the truth (and it can be regarded 

 as nothing more) resulted from the discovery by Sonnerat 

 of a species of tvild poultry, native to the mountains of the 

 Ghauts in India. This is' the Gallus Sonneratii of system- 

 atic naturalists, better known to the British residents under 

 the now familiar name of jungle-cock. But our knowledge 

 of gallinaceous birds has so greatly increased during recent 

 years, and so many additional species have been discovered, 

 that we are able to proceed upon much more secure grounds 

 • in our present reasoning than were the naturalists of the 

 preceding century. The jungle-cock is not only no longer 

 the only claimant to the honour of having so greatly bene- 

 fited the human race, but other species have become known 

 which bear a resemblance so much closer to certain standard 

 varieties among the domestic breeds, that his claims may 

 fairly be considered as altogether set aside. In fact, several 

 characters of the jungle-cock have never been traced in 

 any of the domestic varieties, and many of these latter pre- 

 sent features which, if not incompatible with, at least bear 

 no resemblance to any of the attributes of the supposed 



original, t . . 



As the species which we consider as more justly entitled 



than the jungle-cock to be regarded as the natural stock of 



our domestic breeds occur chiefly in the great eastern islands, 



*See more particularly Mr. Ellis's Polynesian- Researches. 



t For a more ample exposition of this subject, consult a paper ' On 

 the Origin of Domestic Poultry," in the 6th volume of the Memoirs of the 

 Wenierian Society, p. 402, 



