Origin of Domestic Poultry. 
411 
black, and this point is more strongly pronounced in the Gallas Stanley ii than in any of the other wild 
breeds. 
The Galliis Soncratii has been successfully crossed with the domestic hen, the hybrids breed with 
either parent, and also inter-sc ; and though this breed is possessed of such peculiar plumage, it is 
astounding how quickly the horny plates of the plumage become absorbed, and disappear altogether when 
crossed, so that, even though this breed may not have been the direct ancestor of any one variety of our 
Domestic Poultry, it may, at the same time, be an off-shoot of one of the original wild breeds, and although 
the plumage presents such a marked variation from the normal type, it is scarcely sufficient — and by no 
means conclusive — evidence of distinct species. 
In addition to the wild breeds acknowledged, some little claim must be allowed on behalf of a bird with 
feathered shanks, and this points to a bird somewhat of the Langshan type, as one of the original ancestors of 
the Asiatic breeds. It is well known that the anatomy of the Langshan is totally different to other races of 
Fowls, and this breed possesses exclusive characteristics which never vary, and which are transmitted to their 
offspring from generation to generation with astonishing fidelity, so that they may be looked upon as being 
allied to some other and larger wild breed indigenous to Eastern Asia ; and, as further evidence, there are 
some of the purest strains of Lingshans in which a small proportion of the progeny come clean-legged. 
The " Jop," or Sacred Bird of China, ancestry dates back some centuries before the Roman Game 
Fowls were known, and this is fairly strong evidence that the Asiatic breeds and their off-shoots are more or 
less compc)sed of the blood of some quite distinct variety, crossed with either Gallus Bankiva or Galhis 
Fiircatus. 
It has been proved how easily the leg-feathering of a breed can be perpetuated, and equally as how 
easy to breed it quite out. This lends colour to the supposition that some feather-legged breed, probably 
crossed with one or other of the wild varieties recognised by naturalists, produced the Gallus Gigantciis of 
Temminck, and thus, through various crosses and variations,' became fixed, giving us the original stock of 
Langshans, Cochins, Brahmas, Malays, and Aseels. 
The shape of skull in the Brahma, Cochin, and Aseel, though totally different to other breeds, may have 
become fixed owing to some previous variation, or by natural selection and preference in mating for 
generations, but even this strongly-pronounced characteristic may be bred out quite easily, and just as easily 
brought back again in entirety by the aid of a distinct cross. The evidence available does not allow it to be 
stated with absolute certainty that the wild breeds recognised by scientists are alone wholly responsible for 
the different varieties of Domestic Poultry, but rather leaves it an open question as to whether there was not 
fj;/o///cr larger wild breed— the actual progenitor of those now known — which possibly has become extmcl, 
some of its characteristics being strongly represented in the Asiatic breeds, which are quite alien in many 
important respects to the wild breeds recognised by naturalists as the progenitors of the Domestic Fowl. It 
will be noted how vastly different the early Cochins and Brahmas were to the present day specimens ; and, 
though unquestionably the latter exhibit unmistakable traces of Gallus Furcatus blood, it is plainly evident 
that still another variety must have been a part component of these breeds. 
In conclusion, there seems little doubt that the various breeds of wild Jungle Fowls indigenous to 
Southern and Western Asia are quite distinct from a bird of the Langshan type, and one has but to 
remember that as recent as a half-century back, Brahmas and Cochins closely approached the type of the 
Langshan, the heavy leg-feathering of the Modern Brahma and Cochin being entirely the result of artificial 
selection ; and, when it is taken into consideration that Fowls can be produced, in a comparatively short 
space of time, of a distinctly pronounced type, and resembling in no way any of the component parts, and 
that, if these birds are crossed with alien stock, the progeny will immediately revert to the original type, in 
scarcely any marked characteristic resembling either parent, though at times there will be some slight 
characteristic of the original stock present in a modified form (which may be detected on close scrutiny, but 
not otherwise), it is an almost overwhelming proof of Darwin's " Unity of Species." 
