THE ORIGIN OF THE DOMESTIC COCK. 327 



does not produce a valuable nest. The notice which we have 

 given, from M. Hooyman, of the manners and building-places of 

 G. nidifica, he says applies equally to those of C. fuctphaga in 

 every particular ; and especially he has often remarked that they 

 retire early in the afternoon to their caverns (i. e., about 4 p.m.) ; 

 but he states that the edible nests, as we see them, are only the 

 lining which comes out entire, though independently affixed to the 

 rock, being underlaid by a network of some vegetable fibrous 

 substance placed on the ledges, which the gatherers are careful 

 never to remove. Further attention is invited to this subject. 



ON THE OEIGIN OF THE DOMESTIC COCK.* 

 By E. Cambeidge Phillips, F.L.S. 



It is universally admitted that the English game fowl has 

 been carefully bred in this country and kept in its purity for 

 many centuries. Introduced here by the Csesars (a favourite 

 pastime of the Komans being cock-fighting, and copied by them 

 from the Greeks, who most probably obtained their fighting 

 birds originally from the far East), the English game fowl 

 stands alone in its great antiquity, its beauty, and marvellous 

 courage, far above all other breeds of our domestic poultry. 



During the past twenty-five years I have kept at various 

 times all the different varieties of game fowl, and more particularly 

 the pure white bird with yellow legs and bill. I purpose there- 

 fore recording the following experiences I have had in crossing 

 White game with Black-red game and other poultry, the results 

 in each case being so surprising, and so very different to my 

 expectations, that I venture to hope they may be found of some 

 interest to naturalists and ornithologists in throwing some faint 

 light upon the origin of the domestic cock, the subject of this 

 paper. 



As this will probably be read out of England, it may not be 



* From experiments made in crossing some of the different varieties of 

 pure English game fowls with each other, and also in crossing game fowls 

 with common domestic poultry. A paper read at the Ornithological Con- 

 gress at Vienna, April, 1884. 



