302 The Illustrated Book of Poultry. 



torture poor defenceless pigeons by the dozen — nay, so far as cruelty goes, he is the most cruel ; 

 for the Game cock at least fights on equal terms, while the pigeon has little chance against tlie 

 central-fire breech-loader of our aristocratic " sportsman." It is true, too, that cocks will fight ; 

 and that if, as is ingeniously urged by the apologist, our cock could be asked whether he would 

 prefer to have his neck wrung by Betty the cook, or to " fight for his life," he would probably 

 choose the latter. But both these comparisons involve fallacies which need to be exposed. 



As regards the natural propensity of cocks to fighting, and the place of this instinct in the 

 economy of nature, the argument drawn hence is really irrelevant, and cannot be urged without 

 either some want of knowledge or want of candour. It is forgotten that the propensity, as it 

 exists in the Game fowl, is an artificial creation of man, and is not found naturally in any part of the 

 world. Cocks will fight, indeed ; but very rarely will any individual but a Game cock fight to the 

 death. The propensity in him, and every faculty that can minister to it, has been assiduously 

 cultivated and artificially increased age after age, till a bird has been produced which literally 

 cannot yield ; but no such bird exists in nature. There is a contest, in which one may occasionally 

 be killed ; but as a rule the beaten bird yields, and departs to seek another harem elsewhere, or to 

 thrash and dispossess a still weaker rival if he can find one. Cocks are not habitually killing each 

 other in the jungle, as this argument would imply ; and the Game fowl has been literally and really 

 created by man himself/t^r fighting as the end of his existence. In some birds, in fact, the 

 unnatural propensity is developed to such an intensity that they are perfectly ungovernable, and 

 actually useless even for the pit from very excess of it, turning savagely upon the " setter's " hands 

 or whatever else is nearest to them, instead of reserving their attack for the opposing bird. The few 

 cases recorded in the newspapers from time to time (amounting, we believe, to some half a dozen 

 in the last thirty years), in which children have been attacked and dangerously injured — in at least 

 two cases even killed — by Game cocks, have probably arisen with birds of this unnaturally savage 

 type, and will show the artificial character of the propensity thus intensified by the art of man- 

 This being understood, the whole argument hence drawn can be properly appreciated ; and it 

 may well be asked whether the creation — for such it really is — of such an unnatural disposition in 

 any of God's creatures, is not of itself about as strong an argument«against a practice as 

 could well be urged. 



With reference to the actual suffering inflicted by cock-fighting, it may not be so great 

 as some accounts might lead a reader to suppose ; but, on the other hand, it is far more than 

 cock-fighters usually admit. In Dr. Cooper's work on the Game fowl, to which we have before 

 alluded, is quoted at length, with high commendation, an account of the " Great New York 

 Main against the Daffodil Cocking Club of Portchester,'' won by the " Daffodils," with birds 

 of his own favourite " Tartar" strain. The main consisted of seven battles, which were 

 won respectively as follows : — First, eight minutes ; second, forty minutes ; third, thirty minutes 

 (drawn) ; time of fourth and fifth not stated ; sixth, forty-three minutes ; seventh, thirty-three 

 minutes. In spite, therefore, of the deadly weapons with which they were armed, nearly all these 

 birds suffered far more than the "very few minutes" carelessly spoken of by various apologists. 

 Of the nature of that suffering, we find it rather difficult to give a good idea without actually 

 quoting the account of the battles : but we may state that one poor bird fought on with a broken 

 wing iox forty minutes ; while in another battle "an unlucky cojip blinded" the Daffodil cock, which 

 nevertheless kept on, till at last he managed to get hold of the other, and " finished " him. This 

 bird is accordingly compared enthusiastically with the "Old Jacksons," of which the almost 

 incredible explanatory remark is made that this strain " had the reputation ol fighting better after 

 losing their eyesight!" In the account to which we have already made a passing allusion, of a 



