POULTEY. 119 



came with the first colonists by whom the islands were peo- 

 pled ; or that they were made by Taarva at the same time 

 that men were made." 



The courage of the cock is emblematic, his gallantry ad- 

 mirable, his sense of discipline and subordination most exem- 

 plary. See how a good game-cock of two or three years' ex- 

 perience will, in five minutes, restore order into an uproarious 

 poultry -yard ! He does not use harsh means of coercion when 

 mild will suit the purpose. A look, a gesture, a deep chuck- 

 ling growl, gives the hint that turbulence is no longer to be per- 

 mitted ; and if these are not effectual, severer punishment is 



fearlessly administered His politeness to females is 



as marked as were Lord Chesterfield's attentions to old ladies, 

 and much more unaffected. Nor does he merely act the agree- 

 able dangler ; when occasion requires, he is also their brave 

 defender, if he be good for anything. 



" The hen is deservedly the acknowledged pattern of mater- 

 nal love. When her passion of philoprogenitiveness is disap- 

 pointed by the failure or subtraction of her brood, she will 

 either go on sitting till her natural powers fail, or will violent- 

 ly kidnap the young of some other fowl and insist upon adopt- 

 ing them."* 



The varieties of the domestic fowl are almost numberless, 

 but only a few of them are worthy of more than a mere men- 

 tion here. Among these we give the first place to 



1. The Spanish Fowl. The. thorough-bred Spanish fowl is 

 entirely black, so far as feathers are concerned, with a greenish 

 metallic luster. The combs of both the male and the female 

 are very large and of a brilliant scarlet ; that of the hen droops 

 over on one side. Their most singular feature is a large white 

 patch, or ear-lobe, on the cheek, which in some specimens ex- 

 tends over a large part of the face. It is a fleshy substance, 

 similar to the wattle, and is small in the hens but large and 

 conspicuous in the cocks, giving them a very striking appear- 



* Kev. Edmund Saul Dixon. 



