Silky Fowls. 



45; 



The skin itself is " uncanny," being of a deep violet colour, almost black, and the surface of the 

 bones is the same, making the bird rather a queer-looking dish to partake of, though excellent 

 eating to those who can carry out the maxim, " Handsome is that handsome does." As Mr. 

 Layard writes from Ceylon, " On table it is a revolting-looking dish. But taste it ! " The comb, 

 face, and wattles are of a deep bluish or livid colour — the comb being more of a dark purple, 

 while the deaf-ears are a brighter blue ; and the legs — five-toed and feathered, but not vulture- 

 hocked — are also of a deep bluish-black. With the exception of the white plumage, there is a 

 "very black look about it altogether." 



The nature and cause of the silky plumage can best be shown by Fig. 95, which is a magnified 

 representation of a portion of an ordinary feather. It will be seen that from the stem proceed 

 strong and elastic fibres, which form the vane of the feather, and which are furnished on each side 

 with minute fibrils. On one side of each fibre these fibrils are branched, and bent downwards, 

 while on the other side they are single, and bent upwards. The two sets thus interlace and 

 hold each other when the main fibres are in position ; and this is the reason why the vane of a 

 feather, though its fibres be separated, reunites if " smoothed " with the fingers, as every one 



■ Fig-9S- 



knows. The feather of the Silky fowl differs from this arrangement in several respects. In the 

 first place, both the stem and the fibres which proceed from it are very thin, weak, and non- 

 elastic, so that the fibres have no tendency to assume a position opposite each other, but hang 

 about in a lax and indctermincd manner ; and, secondly, the fibrils are also very weak and thin, 

 besides being so sparse that they can be seen and counted with the naked eye or a very low 

 magnifier ; while in an ordinary feather many hundreds occupy the length of one inch. The fibrils 

 of the Silky also extend from the main fibres at nearly equal angles, being thus destitute of that 

 interlocking power we have just described. The consequence of these variations in structure is 

 the loose and flossy character represented in Fig. 96, which shows very accurately feathers from 

 the hackle of a Silky cock and the body of a Silky hen, with which we have been kindly furnished 

 by Mr. R. S. S. Woodgate. 



The Silky fowl is generally said to be a native of India ; but Mr. Blyth, Curator of the 

 Asiatic Society's Museum at Calcutta, stated that the only specimens he had seen " were from 

 China, Malacca, or Singapore." Some had single combs, and in these the colour of the combs more 

 resembled the ordinary red of other fowls ; while the others had double black combs.* These 

 differences are met with in English stocks at the present day. Feathered and clean legs arc 

 also met with ; but the accepted type of bird for exhibition is now generally understood to have a 



* See Wingfield and Johnson's " Poultiy Book," 1S53, p. 210. 



