268 



THE SPANISH FOWLS. BANKIYA FOWL. 



THE SPANISH FOWLS. 



The Black Spanish fowls are favorites among the poulterers. They 



are large, showy, and possess tha 

 blackest of plumage. They havr 

 an unusually large comb and wat 

 ties, and a white cheek. As table 

 birds, their flesh is particularly 

 white, tender and juicy The 

 hens are layers of the first order 

 being extremely prolific, easy 

 fed, and easy to control, when 

 required to sit. "I regard these 

 birds," says Kichardson, "as the 

 result of the highest artifici<i 

 culture," and in support of his 

 opinion, he adduces their un- 

 usually large comb and wattles, 

 characteristics not' found in the 

 primitive varieties. The eggs are 

 of large size, fine-flavored, and 



unlike most of the eggs from 

 SPANISH FOWLS. dark colored poultry, the shells 



are white as alabaster. 



THE BANKIVA FOWL. 



This fowl is supposed to be the original stock, of our domestic 

 varieties. Dickson thus describes it: "The cook lias a thin, ii; 

 dented, or scolloped comb, and wattles under the mouth : the tail a 

 little e/evated above the rump, and the feathers somewhat disposer 

 in the form of tiles. The feathers of the neck are long, falling down 

 and rounded at the tips, and are of the finest gold color. The head 

 ind neck are fawn-colored; the wing coverts are dusky, brownisb 

 und black; the tail and belly are black; the hen is of a dusky, ash^ 

 gray and yellowish color, and haa her comb and beard much smaller 

 than the cock, with no feathers on ti;e neck, besides the long hackles.' 



The Bankiva cock is nearly twice as large as the common Bantam 

 The hen is scarcely as large as S mnorat's Jungle fowl. The breed 

 la native to the East Indies, where it is much valued by the lover? 

 ot cock-fighting. The Bankiva is very bold and spirited, though 

 inferior to Sonnerat's fowl in these qualities as in others more valu 

 able. It was for some time a question, whether this fowl was not 

 derived from the same stock as the larger Jungle fowl ; but the 

 question has been determined in favor of its being a distinct variety. 



The Jungle fowls have a powerful body, short wings, and a moderate- 

 sized graduated tail, consisting of fourteen feathers, placed vertically 

 one above another. The beak is long, of medium length, the high loot is 

 armed with a spur ; a fleshy comb rises at the top of the head, and 

 from the lower part of the beak depend soft fleshy wattles ; the region of 

 the cheek is bare. The thick variegated plumage is so prolonged on 



