252 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
TIIE GAME COOK AND IIEN. 
whiteness and sapidity of its flesh ; the hens are excellent layers, and 
the eggs, though of moderate size only, are remarkable for the delicacy 
ot their flavor. The game cock is very attentive to his female train, 
and ever ready to do battle in their defense ; but not unfrequcntly he 
becomes savage and dangerous. A blow with his spur is no trifle. 
Children have been severely injured, and cases have been mentioned in 
winch they have been killed. From these causes, and from the fact 
that the young broods, as soon as fairly feathered, begin to fight among 
themselves with desperate determination, blinding each other, stripping 
the skin from each other’s heads and necks, and killing each other on 
the spot, many persons object to keep this breed ; and it must be con- 
fessed that it occasions great trouble ; it is not always convenient or pos- 
sible to separate the young broods; and as the young cocks and hens 
hght indiscriminately, it not unfrequcntly happens that one-half is de- 
stroyed in the melee, while most of the survivors are so mangled as to 
render it necessary to put them out of pain, to the mortification of the 
farmer or breeder of fowls for profit; for not only are the broods lost, 
but the time also. 
Of all breeds, the game breed is the most beautiful, whether we look 
to contour or coloring; the game cock carries himself proudly, and yet 
gracefully; his port and bearing proclaim his fiery spirit and undaunt- 
ed mettle, which endure even to his last breath; for while prostrate and 
mortally wounded, he will answer the insulting crow of his victorious 
rival, and make a last effort to revenge himself before the spark of life 
is extinct No wonder that the gallant cock should have been chosen 
as the emblem of courage. 
Bantams— The classes of Bantams are gold-laced, silver-laced, white, 
black, and one for “any other variety;” from which last may especially 
be selected the exceedingly beautiful game Bantams, and the once popu- 
Jar, but now rare, booted sub-variety. Diminutive size and bold carriage 
are important points in all Bantams ; in other respects, the different 
kinds differ as much as distinct varieties of fowls can do The Ban- 
tams are peculiarly fancy fowls; they have been accused of not being 
a useful kind, as of course there is little to eat in a fowl which, when 
full grown, should weigh, the cock about a pound, the hen less, the eggs 
