RED JUNGLEFOWL 195 



in making the feather grow somewhat more rapidly, but this is only an unimportant 

 indirect stimulation, not used by the Japanese. The finest specimens come from 

 Shinowara, a small village three miles from Kochi, in the Province of Tosa on the 

 Island of Shikoku. Prof. Ijima of Tokyo University told me that tradition in regard to 

 these fowls goes back many hundred years, but their origin is wrapped in unsolved 

 mystery. It is said that the breed was known in Corea before a.d. 1000. In former 

 years the Japanese breeders were encouraged by the Daimyo or Governor of the 

 Province to produce birds with especially long feathers, as these were of importance in 

 heraldry and also used as spear decorations by high officials. Recently, however, owing 

 to lack of government support and popular interest, the industry is on the wane, as but 

 few purchasers are to be found. At present, a good pair of birds with the cock's feathers 

 six or eight feet long may be purchased for two hundred yen ; one hundred dollars in 

 our currency. 



For the first two years the birds are kept like ordinary fowls, but after this time the 

 cocks are confined in a narrow box-like cage, on a perch from which they cannot descend 

 nor can they turn around on it. From this time there appears to be no moult of the 

 tail-coverts and central rectrices, and within from four to six years these feathers have 

 attained an enormous length. Cocks are used for breeding only six or seven times, and 

 are then valueless, as their long feathers drop out. This irregularity of moult is the 

 explanation of the phenomenon. 



The lower rump feathers sometimes reach a length of three or four feet, while fifteen 

 or twenty of the upper tail-coverts themselves attain a much greater development. The 

 roots of these feathers become correspondingly thicker and stronger as the weight 

 increases. The central sickle-shaped rectrices attain the greatest length, but the 

 remainder of the tail itself is of normal length. 



The box in which the bird is confined varies in height according to the length of 

 the feathers. As these increase in length they are carefully wrapped in mulberry paper, 

 thus protecting them from dirt and from any danger of being abraded. The birds are 

 fed with great care on nourishing food, and it is said that under the best treatment 

 a growth of six inches a month has been obtained. The longest recorded feather 

 measured twenty feet and two inches. The bird remains contentedly enough on its 

 perch until taken out for exercise, which, when it approaches relative perfection, is done 

 only every other day. The fowls are very tame, and stalk solemnly about, an attendant 

 holding up their enormous train until they are replaced in their exhibition box. Once 

 or twice a month the bird, together with its tail-feathers, is carefully washed with warm 

 water. I could not learn definitely of its diet, but unhusked rice, cabbage, and other 

 vegetables are given and all the water which the bird will drink. The birds are white 

 and of various colours, but usually of the game type. The hens are very ordinary- 

 looking, and lay about twenty-five or thirty eggs each year. Inbreeding has made this 

 race of fowls exceedingly delicate, and birds under a year old cannot be transported with 

 safety. Second year birds are the best for purchasing, as in older specimens the 

 lengthened feathers render shipment most difficult. The fertility is very low, three 

 fertile eggs out of twenty being considered an excellent average. But within the last 

 few years crossing with black minorcas and white leghorns has been attempted, and the 

 non-moult of the posterior dorsal feathers is found to be a dominant factor in the hybrids, 



