20 
Cmiary Breeding 
females, is confirmed by the examples of this variety of poultry distinguished by 
the protuberance on the head : for of this deformity very slight traces indeed 
are found in the cocks, and those but seldom." 
Darwin supports Blumenbach in his statement tliat this protuberance, with 
its accompanying crest, was originally confined to the female sex {loc. ext. p. 270). 
Corroborative Evidence. 
(A) Since writing the above, Mr Lewer has sent me a most interesting 
article on the " Origin of our Breeds of Poultry," by Henry Scherren, F.Z.S., 
M.B.O.U., which appeared in Feathered World for Oct. 11, 1907 (with coloured 
plate). 
This will be found to corroborate my theory. Aldrovandus' classification in 
1599 is given : 
(1) Common farm poultry — with game characteristics— the female slightly 
crested. 
(2) Paduans — a crested variety with pale coloured (yellow) beak and legs 
and the wild plumage broken up with white, green, red, and yellow. 
(3) A " buskined " or feather-legged race with similar characteristics. Evi- 
dently the original Cochin. 
(4) A dwarf race — the original bantam. 
(5) Turkish fowls — in which Lewis Wright saw a fairly strong resemblance 
to the Pencilled Hamburghs. Compare my origin of the Lizard canary. 
(6) Persians — tailless or rumpless fowls. 
Aldrovandus also mentions : — - 
(7) Frizzled Fowl. 
(8) Woolly Fowl— the Silk Fowl of the present day. 
(B) Buff Poultry and Cinnamon Canaries. The term "butf" in poultry, 
indicates colour, not quality of feather. The butf colour has been grafted on 
to the different varieties of poultry, exactly in the same manner as cinnamon in 
canaries, e.g. cinnamon Norwich, cinnamon Crests, etc. 
Davenport, after showing that the buff colour of the Cochin is of high antiquity, 
and stating that it has been transferred to many other breeds by crossing, e.g. Buff 
Wyandotte, quotes McGrew (1901, p. 24): 
" Two distinct lines were produced under different methods. One was formed 
from Wyandotte — Buff Cochin cross ; the other came through the Rhode Island 
Red — Wyandotte cross. The Rhode Island Red is, however, as is well-known, 
a direct descendant of the Buif Cochin. The Buff Plymouth Rocks were derived 
directly or indirectly from the Buff Cochin. The history of the Buff Leghorn is 
the same — the offspring of a yellow Danish Leghorn cock and Buff Cochin pullets. 
