GAMES. lOS 



SAMES. 



There are two distinct races of Game fowls, the English and the East-Indian ; 

 both having originally been bred forthe purpose of cock-fighting, which was one 

 of the most popular amusements in England until it was prohibited by law in 

 the seventeenth century. 



In fowls bred for such a purpose we should expect to find compactness of form, 

 hardiness of constitution, and great courage, and these qualities are eminently 

 characteristic of th6 Games, and especially of the English Games, in which the 

 practice of cock-fighting has served to forward the working of the natural laws 

 by which the strongest and hardiest become the progenitors of the race, as the 

 victors of the eock-pit were naturally selected for the chiefs of the breeding-yard, 

 a " natural selection " which was protected and encouraged by the skill in breed- 

 ing for which the English are justly celebrated, until this breed of fowls has 

 come to be regarded as the highest type of gallinaceous hardihood, courage, and 

 elegance of form. 



Indeed, so great has been the care taken of the purity of the blood of certain 

 strains of these fowls that their pedigrees have been kept after the manner of 

 cattle and horses, so that they may be ti'aoed for a century or more. 

 , There are many sub-varieties of the English Game, based upon size, or color 

 of plumage, but these aU have a generally recognized and uniform type 

 of form and carriage, the characteristics of which are thus given by 

 Tegetmeier: 



" The carriage and form of ihe Game cook are certainly more beautiful than 

 those-of any other domestic fowl. The neck is long, strong, and gracefully 

 curved ; the hackle short and very close ; the breast broad ; the back short, and 

 broad across the shoulders ; the whole body very firm and hard, with a perfectly 

 straight breast and back, the latter tapering towards the tail ; the winigs are large 

 and powerful, and carried closely pressed into the sides ; the thighs are strong, 

 muscular end short, tightly clothed with feathers, and well set forward on the 

 body, so as to be available for fighting ; the shanks rather long, strong, but not 

 coarse, covered with fine scales, and of moderate length; the feet flat and thin, 

 the toes long and spreading, so as to give a good hold on the ground ; the hind 

 toe must be set low down, so as to rest flatly on the ground, and not merely 

 touch with the point — a defect Which is known as duck-footed, and is regarded 

 as a serious disqualification, as it renders the bird unsteady when pushed back- 

 ward by his opponent. 



" The plumage is compact, hard, and mail-like to a remarkable degree, and pos- 

 sesses a brilliant glossiness that cannot be surpassed. The tail in the cock is 

 rather long, the sickle feathers gracefully arched, and carried closely together, 

 the whole tail curved backwards, and not brought forwards over the back — a de- 

 fect which when present causes the bird to be termed squirrel-tailed. 



"The head in this variety is extremely beautiful, being thin and long, like that 

 of a greyhound ; the beak massive at its root, strong and well curved ; th» eye 

 large, very full, and brilliant iti lustre ; the ear-lobe and face of a bright aearlst, 

 and the comb in undubbed birds single, erect, and thin. The spur, which is 

 exeeedingly dense and sharp, should be set low on the leg, its power as a weapen 



