Summary of the Argument. 247 



have a strong suspicion that from us Burnham " borrowed " the very idea — but it was attempted 

 for far other objects than that stated by him, and every breeder soon gave it up in disgust ; 

 moreover, it was always the Brahma cock and Deriving hen whicli was thus employed. That 

 Mr. Teebay for many years rejected from preference numerous black-breasted cocks in favour of 

 speckled ones is known to all intelligent fanciers, and also the fact that every good strain breeds 

 both. We still prefer a slight mottling ourselves for breeding pullets, while no doubt the black- 

 breasted cocks look best for exhibition. Either can be bred with the greatest ease ; and the 

 assertions which Burnham elsewhere makes still more broadly, that most of the English birds 

 exported to America bear evident traces of the Dorking, is an offensive and libellous falsehood, 

 without any foundation whatever except the desire to puff off his own strain, which he does 

 constantly. On the other hand, the persistence with which he attacks what he calls the cross, and 

 insists on the preservation of the pure Brahma, is, to say the least, amusing in the very man who 

 has been the sole source of the supposition that this identical "pure Brahma " is itself a 7nongrel 

 of his own creation ! 



To sum up, then: when to the foregoing conclusions are added the facts that all Mr. Burnham's 

 early Light Brahmas (until, as is known, he bought through a friend at Boston in 1852, some of the 

 real strain) were single-combed, while the originals were triple; that Burnham's had a distinct straw 

 or buff tint, while the originals were white; and that Burnham's had the same creamy-coloured fluff, 

 while real Brahmas were and still are a pearly grey under the plumage ; the whole becomes clear. 

 It is plain that there was a strain of real Brahmas, distinct from Cochins or the fowls then known in 

 America as Chittagongs (we say then known, because our Indian friend's remark makes it far from 

 improbable that som& previous importation of the Brahma or real Chittagong had given to the fowl 

 so-called part if not the whole of its character — that our very fowl, in fact, had been imported before, 

 but from want of interest in poultry so degraded as to be unrecognisable), all which were traced up 

 to the birds brought into Connecticut by Mr. Chamberlain ; that Burnham, having as is clearly 

 proved vainly tried to purchase some of this stock, bred the best imitations he could, which formed 

 another strain, always at that date clearly distinguishable from the real, and well known to be distinct 

 both by himself and by others ; and that, finally, he claimed for his the credit of being the original 

 birds, and unfortunately found in England what he never could in America, a respectable writer 

 who would without question adopt his tale. No other conclusion is hardly possible to any one who 

 has passed in review the whole evidence, from which we have extracted a small part in the 

 particulars here given. 



The Brahma and Cochin being confessedly closely-related races, it is rather interesting to 

 estimate their relative antiquity ; and looking at the various facts simply with the eye of a naturalist, 

 nearly all will be found to favour the superior antiquity or purity of the Brahma. The pea-comb 

 alone is almost conclusive evidence of this, when considered in relation to the fact already mentioned 

 as established by Mr. Darwin, that "the very act of crossing gives an impulse to reversion, as shown 

 by the appearance of long-lost characters." After a long and laborious investigation, we have 

 ascertained that this triple or pea-comb has been found at different times on the pure Malay breed ; 

 on (very rarely) the pure Cochin breed ; more frequently on the Malay and Cochin cross ; on the 

 so-called Sumatra Game Fowl ; and on two mongrel birds. One of the latter was about seven pounds 

 weight, black-red in colour, with olive legs and five claws on each foot, showing very plainly a cross 

 of Malay and Dorking. In each case except one of the mongrels (whose parentage was simply 

 undistinguishable) one of the Asiatic breeds was known to be implicated; and in fact it thus 

 appears that each of the great Asiatic races, when crossed, and more rarely even when pure, has 

 produced the pea-comb by reversion. The conclusion is irresistible, that this pea -comb belonged to 



