1903. | JAPANESE LONG-TAILED FOWLS. 243 
feathers were tied up having come undone, the feather got caught 
in a door and was pulled out. There was some indication that 
the feather was ceasing its growth, as, although the sheath was 
long and soft, the bar bs at the base were beginning to be slightly 
downy. 
The total length of the feather was 2 ft. 10} in., or 2 ft. 92 in. 
beyond the socket. 
As this completes the history of the feathers of the first season, 
I will here give a table showing the history of the feathers which 
were pulled out, as it is the fur ther history of these feathers 
which constitutes the most important result of my experiment. 
Feathers of first adult plumage in Cock B pulled out. 
Right side of Tail. Hae oe 
Small lateral covert, growing.................. Dec. 27. 
Anterior lateral covert, nearly ceased ...... Feb. 11. 
Posterior covert, ceased) .s..c.5-s.c-sc-.er esse Feb. 17. 
Anterior lateral covert, growing ............ Mar. 2. 
Anterior Ist covert, STOWING .................. Mar. 11. 
Central "rectrix, STOWE... ...--.¢--c-c-e ssc ee. Apr. 13 
Left side of Tail. 
Central rectrix, growing......0.0iececss cesses es Feb. 15. 
Anterior central covert, growing ............ Mar. 10. 
Anterior 2nd covert, nearly ceased ......... May 27. 
Posterior central covert, growing ............ July 13. 
Of these it is important to note that all but the last two 
sprouted again almost immediately, and continued to grow, 
though not very fast, till the general moult. The last two did 
not appear again until the month of September, that is to say in 
the moulting-season. It is evident, therefore, that the recrescence 
of a feather is influenced by the season of the year. After the 
moult, that is to say in winter and spring, there is a general 
tendency to feather-growth, and if a feather is pulled out ‘during 
this time a successor at once begins to grow in its place. After 
the end of April, at any rate in ‘the second year of the bird’s life, 
the activity of feather-growth slackens or ceases, and feathers 
pulled out after this time are not replaced till the following 
moulting-period. 
July 31st. Age 1 year 1 month 18 days.—Found today that 
Cock A had begun to moult bis wing-primaries: there were three 
or four new feathers growing, and one of them was already half 
its full length. Cock B was in the same condition, but had not 
shed so many feathers. The wing-secondaries were moulting also. 
Aug. 4th.—Found one of the outermost short tail-coverts in 
Cock A growing again, the old feather having been moulted. 
This was the beginning of the moult in the tail-feathers. 
