Chap. VII. REVERSION AND ANALOGOUS REVERSION. 253 



general appearance the plumage had become pale-coloured 

 instead of black. In this case, with advancing age there 

 was a great change, but no reversion to the red colour of 

 G. banhiva. 



A cock with a regular rose comb derived either from tlie 

 spangled or pencilled silver Hamburgh was likewise at first 

 quite black ; but in less than a year the neck-hackles, as in 

 the last case, became whitish, whilst those on the loins 

 assumed a decided reddish-yellow tint ; and here we see the 

 first symptom of reversion ; this likewise occurred with some 

 other young cocks, which need not here be described. It has 

 also been recorded 29 by a breeder, that he crossed two silver- 

 pencilled Hamburgh hens with a Spanish cock, and reared a 

 number of chickens, all of which were black, the cocks having 

 golden and the hens brownish hackles ; so that in this instance 

 likewise there was a clear tendency to reversion. 



Two young cocks from my white Game hen were at first 

 snow white ; of these, one subsequently assumed pale orange- 

 coloured hackles, chiefly on the loins, and the other an 

 abundance of fine orange red hackles on the neck, loins, and 

 upper wing-coverts. Here again we have a more decided, 

 though partial, reversion to the colours of G. banhiva. This 

 second cock was in fact coloured like an inferior "pile Game 

 cock;" — now this sub-breed can be produced, as I am in- 

 formed by Mr. Tegetmeier, by crossing a black-breasted red 

 Game cock with a white Game hen, and the " pile " sub- 

 breed thus produced can afterwards be truly propagated. So 

 that we have the curious fact of the glossy-black Spanish 

 cock and the black-breasted red Game cock when crossed 

 with white Game hens producing offspring of nearly the 

 same colours. 



I reared several birds from the white Silk hen by the 

 Spanish cock: all were coal-black, and all plainly showed 

 their parentage in having blackish combs and bones ; none 

 inherited the so-called silky feathers, and the non-inheritance 

 of this character has been observed by others. The hens 

 never varied in their plumage. As the }'oung cocks grew 



29 'Journal of Horticulture,' Jan. 14th, 1862, p. 323. 



