230 



FOWLS. 



Chap. VII. 



black, white, and straw-yellow ; head furnished with a crest, and a triple 

 comb placed transversely ; both wattles and beard present,' 



Sub-breed (g) Gicelderlmds.—No comb, head said to be surmounted by a 

 longitudinal crest of soft velvety feathers ; nostrils said to be crescentic • 

 wattles well developed ; legs feathered ; colour black. From North 

 America. The Breda fowl seems to be closely allied to the Gruelderland. 



8. Bantam Beeed.— Originally from Japan, 5 characterized by small size 

 alone ; carriage bold and erect. There are several sub-breeds, such as the 

 Cochin, G-ame, and Sebright Bantams, some of which have been recently 

 formed by various crosses. The Black Bantam has a differently shaped 

 skull, with the occipital foramen like that of the Cochin fowl. 



9. Bump-less Fowls.— These are so variable in character 6 that they 

 hardly deserve to be called a breed. Any one who will examine the caudal 

 vertebrae will see how monstrous the breed is. 



10. Ceeepeks or Jumpers. — These are characterized by an almost mon- 

 strous shortness of legs, so that they move by jumping rather than by 

 walking ; they are said not to scratch up the ground. I have examined a 

 Burmese variety, which had a skull of rather unusual shape. 



11. Frizzled or Caffre Fo^ls.— Not uncommon in India, with the 

 feathers curling backwards, and with the primary feathers of the wing 

 and tail imperfect ; periosteum of bones black. 



12. Silk Fowls.— Feathers silky, with the primary wing and tail-feathers 

 imperfect ; skin and periosteum of bones black ; comb and wattles dark 

 leaden-blue ; ear-lappets tinged with blue ; legs thin, often furnished with 

 an additional toe. Size rather small. 



13. Sooty Fowls. — An Indian breed, of a white colour stained with soot, 

 with black skin and periosteum. The hens alone are thus characterized. 



From this synopsis we see that the several breeds differ 

 considerably, and they would have been nearly as interesting 

 for us as pigeons, if there had been equally good evidence 

 that all had descended from one parent-species. Most fanciers 

 believe that they are descended from several primitive stocks. 

 The Rev. E. S. Dixon 7 argues strongly on this side of the 

 question; and one fancier even denounces the opposite con- 

 clusion by asking, " Do we not perceive pervading this spirit, 

 the spirit of the Deist ? " Most naturalists, with the exception 

 of a few, such as Temminck, believe that all the breeds have 

 proceeded from a single species ; but authority on such a point 



4 A description, with, figures, is given 

 of this breed in ' Journal of Horticul- 

 ture,' June 3rd, 1862, p. 186. Some 

 writers describe the cornb as two-horned. 



5 Mr. Crawfurd, ' Descript. Diet, of 

 the Indian Islands,' p. 113. Bantams 

 are mentioned in an ancient native 



Japanese Encyclopeelia, as 1 am in- 

 formed by Mr. Birch of the British 

 Museum. 



6 ' Ornamental and Domestic Poul- 

 try," 1848. 



7 ' Ornamental and Domestic Poul- 

 try,' 1848. 



