THE POULTEY BOOK. 
175 
stated, . appear to affect the instinct or intelligence of the birds, as they do not 
differ in these respects from other non-sitting varieties of domestic poultry. The 
formation is connected in some very mysterious manner with the size of the crest 
of feathers which ornaments the head of the Polish fowls : whenever there is a 
large crest there is a large tuberosity, and vice versa — indeed, it appears impossible 
for one to exist without the other. 
The young when first hatched show the prominence most distinctly, each little 
chick running about with a head that looks as if half a marble had been thrust 
under the skin of the skull ; and by the size of the tuberosity, even at this early 
age, the birds can be selected that will have the best developed crests. 
Before the recent investigations of Mr. Tegetmeier and Mr. K. Palmer Williams, 
of Dublin, so little was known about these birds that Blumenhach’s errors remained 
uncorrected ; and in the museum of the Koyal College of Surgeons there was a 
skull described in the catalogue as the result of disease, whereas the peculiarity is 
the natural formation in every variety of largely crested fowl, and may be found in 
the Spangled Polish, both gold and silver ; in the White, and in the White-crested 
Black, although the latter is evidently a very distinct breed. 
Another marked peculiarity in the skulls of the Polish fowls is the deficiency in 
the hones of the upper mandible. These hones (the intermaxillary) in most 
fowls are arched upwards, and give due support to the membrane of the nostrils ; 
in all the heavily crested birds, however, they are more or less deficient, as shown 
in the figures of the Polish skulls on the previous page. The nostrils consequently 
are flattened and scarcely so freely open as in other varieties. 
The comb of the crested birds also assumes a peculiar character ; it consists of 
two horns, forming a kind of crescent, as shown in the coloured engraving of the 
Crevecoeurs. In good specimens of Polish, the comb is so very small as to he 
almost wanting, but, however minute, the two-horned character is almost always 
visible on close inspection, unless, indeed, as not unfrequently occurs, its entire 
extinction has been effected by artificial aid. 
The Polish fowls, as a class, are constituted of several well marked and very 
distinct varieties. Among the best known are the White-crested Black, the Gold 
and the Silver Spangled, the Pure White, the Pure Black, the Blue, and the Buff 
spangled with white, without including in the group those nearly related crested 
breeds, known as Sultans, Houdans, Crevecoeurs, &c., &c. 
The White-crested Black are better known throughout England than the other 
varieties. We will, therefore, take them first on our list. Eespecting this breed, 
Mr. P. Jones, one of the oldest Polish fanciers, writes as follows : — 
They are not a hardy or prolific fowl, except under very favourable circum- 
stances with regard to locality, temperature, sun, &c. ; they will not do well in 
damp, low-lying situations ; but I believe that in a dry atmosphere, with dry, sandy 
or chalky soil, and plenty of room, they may be reared very successfully and with 
profit. With regard to their appearance, there can be no denying their claims to 
personal beauty ; in fact, I think few sights so pretty as about a dozen well-matched 
