CHAPTER -Vin. 
MALAYS. 
T he precise origin of the Malay fowl, like that of all other varieties of our 
domesticated animals, is lost in the obscurity of the past. Whether, as 
generally suggested, it is a descendant of a supposed wild breed, the so-called 
Gallus giganteus of Temminck ; or whether, as is rendered far more probable by the 
researches of Mr. C. Darwin, it, like all the other domesticated Gallinaceous 
birds, is derived from a single wild species, the Gallus Bankiva, is a point more 
fitted for discussion in a strictly scientific treatise than in a practical Poultry Book ; 
and we must, therefore, refer those who wish to enter more fully into this matter, 
to the forthcoming work of Mr. Darwin on variation in animals. 
The Malay has been for many years the type of bird most frequently kept in a 
domesticated state in many parts of the East. The cocks emploj^ed in the cock- 
fights in India and the adjacent islands are not English Game, but a small breed 
of Malays that are sometimes shown at our poultry exhibitions under the title 
of ‘‘Indian game fowls.” 
For many years the stewards of the vessels trading to and from India 
have been in the habit of bringing home Malay fowls, and consequently good 
specimens may not unfrequently be purchased at the dealers* in the neighbourhood 
of the Docks at the east of London. 
Although never constituting large classes at our poultry shows, Malays have 
always had their admirers ; and previous to the introduction of Cochins and 
Brahmas, were of necessity had recourse to in all cases where it was required to 
throw size and weight into the ordinary poultry of the farm-yards by means of 
cross breeding. 
The imported birds are somewhat various in their markings, but by the careful 
selection of breeding stock the colours of our show-pens are rendered as fixed and 
definite as those of any other variety. 
The following account of their characteristics is mainly compiled from 
information with which we have been favoured by Mr. Hewitt, and by Mr, 
Charles Ballance, of Stanley House, Lower Clapton, formerly of Taunton, Somer- 
set, well known as a most successful breeder and exhibitor of this variety. 
As regards size, Malays may be regarded as worthy of their supposed descent 
from the Kulm fowl, or Gallus giganteus. The cocks should not weigh less than 
from nine to eleven and a half pounds, and, when full grown, should stand from 
two feet nine inches to three feet high, and be able to peck off an ordinary table 
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