18 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 



benefits the inhabitants of those islands have derived 

 . from us. And should this little book ever penetrate so 

 far into the other hemisphere, let it persuade the 

 Sandwich Islanders to preserve, by domestication, and 

 by transmission to this country, a stock of their most 

 interesting, pretty, and unique little geese, before the 

 race is quite swept out of existence. 



CLASSIFICATION. 



The correct mode of classifying domestic fowls, 

 doubtless would be to arrange them with the wild 

 ones, in natural order and sequence ; but in the pre- 

 sent state of our knowledge, this is impossibre, except 

 by a comparatively unsatisfactory, rough approxima- 

 tion. A half century hence, when the Indian Archi- 

 pelago and the islands of the Pacific shall have been 

 more fully explored, such a thing, perhaps, may be 

 successfully attempted. 



It is evident, that, if our common fowls are believed 

 to be merely altered forms of one or two wild races, 

 under the influence of altered food and climate, they 

 must be arranged on different principles to what they 

 would be if we allow them to take rank as original 

 and independent varieties or species. In the one case, 

 we have to search out the wild bird nearest resembling 

 any one domestic breed, and form our series from that 

 as a beginning, as well as we can ; in the other, we 

 have to become well acquainted with all the wild and 

 all the domestic species of gallus, and then arrange 

 them in groups or in a continuous line, according to 

 their resemblances and relationships, without any refer- 

 ence to the circumstance of their domestication or their 

 untameability. The former plan can be carried out 

 by a little' theory and bold guess, work ; the latter 

 requires industry, accurate observation, and opportu- 

 nities which few individuals, if any, have at present 

 at command. In the meanwhile, I will attempt some- 



