246 
The Illustrated Book of Poultry. 
Further testimony oeing desirable, a valued American correspondent, Colonel Mason C. Weld, 
then associate-editor of the American Agriculturist , iorwarded to Mr. Cornish for us a series of 
questions on the subject, and transmitted to us Mr. Cornish’s reply, as follows : — 
New Britain, Connecticut, U.S., November gih, 1869. 
Mason C. Weld, Esq. 
Dear Sir, — I have your letter of 5th. I give below all the facts relating to the early history of the Brahma- 
Pootra fowls I can call to mind at this late day. At an earlier day I could have given a history of these fowls more satisfactory 
to myself, i.e., more fully than I can now ; nevertheless, so far as it goes, the truth of it cannot be questioned. I will at once 
answer your questions. 
1st. — Mr. Chamberlain’s Christian name is Nelson H. 
2nd. — The sailor’s name I never made note of, and cannot give it. 
3rd.— The ship arrived in New York in September, 1846. The first brood came out in May, 1847. I purchased the most 
if that brood in August, and the old pair the April following. 
4th. — The name of the port from which the ship sailed with the fowls on board is Luckipoor. This port is up from the 
mouth of the Brahma-Pootra river, in India. The name of the ship I cannot give, neither can I give the name of the captain. 
Did not at the time think it of importance, and made no record of it. 
5th. — The Brahmas were first exhibited in Boston by Mr. Hatch, of Hampton, Conn., under the name of Grey Chittagongs, 
in 1850. I declined exhibiting mine at that time ; I believed them to be a breed different from the Chittagong, and preferred 
to accumulate stock and test them further before bringing them out publicly. 
6th. — I attended the exhibition at Boston, and contended that they differed from the Chittagongs, and should pass under 
a different name. A committee was appointed, and the name Brahma-Pootra given ; it being the name of the great river 
from the banks of which they came. The name was then established. 
7th. — Weight of cocks, full-sized, twelve to fourteen pounds ; cocks, six to seven months, nine to ten pounds. Hens when first 
introduced, nine to ten pounds. 
8th. — I did notice the ‘pea-comb’ on the first birds. It was small. It was not so with all, and yet it appeared different 
from the comb of the Chittagong. 
9th. — There was no degeneracy in the birds of my breeding. I had some specimens larger than the imported birds. I sold 
no birds until December, 1850. I sold at first at twelve dollars per pair, and soon after from fifteen dollars to fifty dollars per 
pair. The price went up as the fowls became better known, and recognised as a distinct breed. 
10th. — I bred them eight years, when my health failed, and I was obliged to leave all care for a time. 
Ilth. — There was a tendency to throw dark chickens , but a greater tendency to become lighter, and yet not white like 
the White Dorking. All breeds of fowls having dark and light feathers can be varied either way, to darker or lighter, by 
choosing always the darkest or the lightest for breeders. If your stock of Brahmas are pure, and they are allowed to breed 
together promiscuously, the variation in colour will be slight. I never bred to either extreme. 
Yours truly, VIRGIL CORNISH. 
The most important point in relation to this testimony is, of course, the position and trust- 
worthiness of Mr. Cornish; and this we cannot show better than by quoting part of another lettei 
to ourselves from that gentleman. The letter is dated New Britain, Connecticut, April 12, 1870, 
and we ought to add that we carefully verified its statements from independent sources : — 
As my name has appeared in this country and in England in connection with the history of the Brahmas, I beg you 
to allow me a word for myself. 
My letters to Dr. Bennett and others, from which you make extracts, were called for, written, and published at an 
early day, when the parties who brought them (the Brahmas) from India to New York, and from thence to Hartford, 
Connecticut, were living and to be seen by all men. They were often seen and inquired of by parties interested, and their 
statements were never discredited, nor doubted by any one except Mr. Burnham, and by him only by falsely stating that he 
originated them in his own yard. 
At the time the original pair of Brahmas were brought to Hartford, Connecticut, I was an officer at the Retreat for the 
Insane in that city ; having in charge all the business of that Institution, except that which belonged strictly to the medical 
department. I had purchased a farm of fifty acres for the Institution, and thereon fitted up a large yard for the 
accommodation of rare animals, flowers, and birds ; and had placed in them more than sixty distinct breeds (of fowls and 
other animals), in which I took much interest and pleasure. This I had done for the amusement of our convalescent patients. 
I had no pecuniary interest in bringing out the Brahma fowls, but saw at once that they were a distinct breed, and worthy of 
a high place 
