236 MR, J. T. CUNNINGHAM ON [ Mar. 17, 
Cock A. Longest feather 13 inches from skin. 
Cock B. The same. But there were more long feathers in 
Cock A, the outer ones being more nearly the length of the 
middle. 
As I found I had not time to pay attention to more than two 
cocks, and as, moreover, they soon began to fight, I got rid of 
Cocks C and D; and what I have to say hereafter refers only to 
Cocks A and B, which were undoubtedly the best of the four, and 
had the most beautiful colours. I began tying these two cocks 
on ordinary perches in the daytime by means of a piece of tape 
tied to one leg and round the perch. 
Dec. 1st. Age 5 months 18 days.—Longest feather in Cock A 
18 inches, in Cock B the same. This shows a growth of 5 inches 
in five weeks, or 1 inch per week. Perhaps the feather in Cock A 
was really a little longer, as nearly all the feathers in this bird 
had lost their tips by friction against the ground. ‘There is thus 
no evidence up to this time that pulling the feathers mi Cock B 
has increased the rate of growth. 
Dec. 8th.—I had been stroking the feathers of Cock B regularly 
at morning and evening. Usually I tied the birds on the perches 
at night, and generally tied the feathers up in paper when the 
birds were free. I used tissue-paper, and rolled the tail up trans- 
versely, fastening it with tape. I tried a rough narrow cage with 
wooden bars for Cock B, but the bird turned round and escaped 
through the opening behind the perch. 
T noticed now that one of the long feathers in Cock B seemed 
to have stopped growing, the sheath having peeled off and left a 
dry stalk. This was one of the outer tail-coverts, but the rest 
were still growing vigorously. 
Dec. 27th.—As my first attempt at a cage did not succeed, and 
LT was unwilling to confine the birds so completely as the Japanese 
do, I made a perch of about 9 imches in length supported on two 
uprights. This apparatus was movable, not fixed to the ground. 
T used this for Cock B, tying him to it by a piece of tape fastened 
round one leg. This answered very well, although he once upset 
the perch and slightly wounded his head. No permanent injury 
resulted from this accident. 
On this date, when I was stroking the feathers, one of the 
smaller tail-coverts on the right side came out of the socket, with 
the epidermic sheath attached to it. This feather was 14 inches 
long. This seemed to indicate that the effect of stroking the 
feathers was, as suggested by a correspondent of ‘ Nature,’ to pull 
the growing feathers out, instead of increasing their growth ; but 
my experiments were not finished yet. 
Dec. 31st. Age 6 months 18 days.—Measured the feathers as 
accurately as possible on a flat wooden measure. 
Cock A longest two feathers, the central feathers of the tail, 
22 inches. ; 
Cock B longest feather scarcely 22 inches, also a central 
rectrix. 
