Former Characteristics of Malays. 
279 
“ I quite agree with all that Mr. Brooke has said about the white feathers in tail and wing of the 
Black-breasted Reds ; they are very objectionable, and are very likely to be transmitted ro their 
offspring. As regards the combs, my only objection to their smallness is that the small-combed 
cocks are very likely to throw pea-combed, chickens. This is certainly a very objectionable point, yet 
I have seen one of our best judges highly commend such birds. I have also known a single-combed 
hen awarded two prizes as a pullet. Both these faults in the comb are, or should be, disqualifica- 
tions ; both of them, I believe, come from narrow-combed birds. 
“Malays are exceedingly pugnacious; their cruel expression is really an index of their 
disposition. The hens especially fight vigorously, and the addition of a new bird to a yard is the 
signal for a ‘ free fight ’ all round. They should never be exhibited in pairs ; one is morally 
certain to be scalped. 
“ They sit well, but are dangerous mothers ; I have known one call her chickens and 
deliberately pluck out their feathers. To place two coops near together is certain death to some 
of the chickens ; they have no mercy on a stranger. Yet I had one instance this year in a Polish 
chick, a fortnight older than the rest of the brood, that I wanted to give to a fresh mother. The hen 
took to all except the Poland ; yet, after being well-nigh scalped, by dint of perseverance, watching 
its opportunity and darting behind the mother to sleep, this chicken contrived to ingratiate itself 
into her affections, and at six weeks old was received on the footing of a daughter. 
“ Last year I saw some birds brought from India by a friend. These birds he called Game , but 
in many respects they more resembled Malays. The cock’s comb and gills appeared to have been 
cut ; the shoulders were very prominent, and of extraordinary breadth for the size of the bird; the 
weight probably under six pounds, but the size and hardness of thighs something marvellous. The 
thickness of the neck was also another marked point ; the hackle was scanty, and the tail drooping ; 
whilst the general carriage was very Malay. The hens were even more Malay in character than 
the cocks, and the combs appeared warty. Of these birds my friend was remarkably proud. No 
strain could stand against them in fighting in India, and he had been offered fabulous sums for 
them. The hardness of these birds was something quite out of the common, and he tell-s me the 
same bird has fought four days following. The method of fighting there is a test of pluck and 
endurance, for they cut off the spur and bind tape over it, so that the battle is lengthened out ; yet, 
he says, these birds would fight day after day for the time I have stated. I cannot but think that 
this strain is a mixture of English Game and Malay.” Probably they were Aseels. 
The following additional notes by the late Mr. Plewitt contrast the modern Malay with the 
breed as formerly known : — 
“Taking a retrospect of the Malays, as they existed before poultry-shows were so common, it 
appears that the strong elastic feather, so hard and metallic, yet so scanty, and the extreme length 
of the thigh bone — so unsightly, yet so all-important characteristics — owners of late years have 
attempted to soften down, simply to ensure a better-looking and more compact fowl on the table. 
We thus have lost, in a great measure, the lovely, narrow, lustrous feather that once stamped this 
breed as standing far aloof from all others— a feature that in the Malays of the years 1S30 to 1835 
was almost universal, the breast-feathers of birds of about that date being so narrow and free from 
clown as scarcely to cover the fowl’s body ; whilst the sickles and side coverts of the cock’s tail 
never exceeded a half-inch in width, were of the brightest iridescent hue, but slightly curved, and 
tapered very gradually indeed to an extremely fine point. Though carrying with them first impres- 
sions of being so barely supplied as to quantity of plumage, such birds when adult never appeared 
chilled, but, on the contrary, as though encased in whalebone-like armour from the effects of cold. 
“ Neither do we now see any close approach to the great weights customary in Malays of 
