THE POULTRY BOOK. 
139 
commanding characteristics. But even when this ill-judged treatment is combined 
with unnatural food, they struggle on protractedly before death relieves them, 
their constitution being unsurpassed by any fowls. 
With good range, their flesh undoubtedly is excellent, and to my palate the 
best-flavoured of all fowls. I willingly admit two trifling drawbacks, — viz., limited 
size, and generally an inclination to prove yellow in the skin. Yet, with these 
admitted, I still wish any sceptic to try for himself a Game pullet lulled shortly 
before commencing laying her first eggs, and I do not doubt his becoming a convert 
to my opinion ; whilst the carving-knife will prove my best witness, that they carry 
more flesh than any variety of fowls whatever, under natural and inexpensive 
feeding.” 
The newly-hatched chickens are exceedingly attractive in appearance ; those of 
the darker breeds are light brown, with a broad dark-brown stripe down the hack, 
and a narrower line over the eye. The duckwings, greys, and blues have propor- 
tionally paler hues, hut the stripe is rarely absent. 
The chickens feather rapidly, and with ordinary care and a liberal and varied 
diet, such as custard, chopped egg, with a portion of onions, chives, or leeks, bread- 
crumbs, grits, boiled oatmeal, wheat, and barley, with some new milk, in the earlier 
stages of their growth, are reared with less difficulty than those of other fowls. 
Nor are they subject to any maladies of chickenhood beyond what is common to 
poultry generally. 
The removal of the combs, ear-lobes, and wattles, of game cocks, or, as it is 
technically termed, dubbing, is objected to by some persons, being regarded by 
them as being as senseless a proceeding as docking the tail and ears of a horse. 
This objection, however, arises from their ignorance of the nature and disposition 
of these birds. Game and game bantams, if worthy of the name, and if possessing 
the proverbial comhativeness and courage of the race, ivill fight ; they are provided 
naturally with offensive and even deadly weapons, and their combats are in obe- 
dience to a law of nature which man can modify to a certain extent, but cannot 
altogether obviate. The object of these combats, when they occur in a state of 
nature, is one conducing to the well-being of the race. Into this matter, how- 
ever, we do not propose to enter at present. 
Our object is twofold : to prove the desirability of dubbing the birds, and to 
describe the manner in which the operation should be performed. Firstly, as to 
the desirability of dubbing ; no one who has ever kept these birds can doubt for 
a moment the advantage of the plan. Game cocks will fight until one becomes 
master of the situation. In these combats an undubbed bird is at fearful disad- 
vantage : his comb and gills offer an easy hold to his adversary’s beak, and as a 
cock always strikes where he holds, when once he has seized his foe he has him 
entirely in his power. Even supposing that the bird is not Idlled, the loss of 
blood suffered by an undubbed cock is much greater than that sustained by one 
that has been trimmed. 
Now for the operation ; — Cocks should not be dubbed till their combs have 
