49 



the contrary ; an important part of the trainer's 

 duty was to closely observe his birds while 

 sparring and decide the exact place where the 

 weapon could be fixed with greatest advantage. 

 " There can be no certain rule about heeling. 

 Some cocks want heels very high, others very 

 low." It depended on the individual bird's 

 method of striking 



The author of The Royal Pastime of Cocking 

 had no preferences in the matter of colour, 

 by which we may safely understand that he 

 was not a believer in any particular strain or 

 breed: ''That is the best which you fancy 

 most, be it black or white, red or dun, grey 

 or piled or any other colour whatever " ; 

 but it is probable that contemporary cock 

 masters would not have agreed with him on 

 this head 



If this authority had no prejudice in favour of 

 one strain or another, he held strong views con- 

 cerning the size of cocks. He had no opinion of 

 the large cock that weighed 9 or 10 Ibs. or more, 

 and was from 36 to 40 inches long. Such a 

 bird was not, in his judgment, fit to encounter 

 the smaller cock ; with a 6 Ib. or 8 Ib. bird the 

 cocker might fight the largest, the odds being- 

 two to one on the little one, which " not only 

 lies under and secure from blows which pass 



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