COCK AND HEN. 17 



well known, that all animals when taken under the 

 protection of man and made his property, undergo 

 more or less changes, both in figure and colour. 

 Those animals therefore, which have been longest in 

 captivity, have suffered the greatest changes in these 

 respects. 



Of all the feathered race, the Cock seems to have 

 been the longest in captivity, and hence he differs most 

 widely from birds of the same kind, which have con- 

 tinued in a state of nature, and enjoyed their indepen- 

 dence. 



All wild birds of the same kind, which flock togeth- 

 er, appear alike, and are marked with the same spots, 

 or are of the same colour. Thus one blue jay, or one 

 robin, will give a correct idea of all the other jays, 

 or robins, in the neighbourhood. But it is not so 

 with the Cock and Hen. Some are red, others white, 

 and others spotted with various colours. 



These birds differ also in other respects. Some 

 Cocks are ornamented with large and beautiful tails, 

 while others are entirely without this ornament. The 

 bodies of some are covered with smooth shining plu- 

 mage, while others are clothed with feathers, standing 

 in all directions, and so wide are these differences, 

 that one kind which comes from Japan, is covered with 

 hair instead of feathers. 



Nor is this all ; for there is as much difference in the 

 size of them, as there is in their colours. One kind is 

 nearly three feet high ; and from this down to the Ban- 

 tam chicken, which is little larger than a pigeon, these 

 birds are seen of all sizes. 



All these varieties of colours and sizes appear to be 

 3 



