PHASIANUS. 61 
taking roof; after which they fhould be inured to bear 
the open air by degrees, and may be removed into it at 
the end of June or beginning of July, in a flickered fitu- 
ation. As they advance in growth, the perennial forts 
mnft be removed into larger pots. Some that are lefs 
tender may be Town on a warm border at the end of 
April; and, when, the plants run up, they muft be fup- 
ported. See Abrus, Clitoria, Connarus, Cytisus, 
Dolichos, Glycine, Hedysarum, and Mimosa. 
PHASIA'NUS, f. [i. e. the bird of Phafis.J The Phea¬ 
sant. This elegant tribe contains notonly the pheafants 
properly fo called, but likewife the Cock, the primaeval 
parent of the whole family ; and of which there is only 
one fpecies known in the world, all the others being mere 
varieties. In ornithology, a genus of the order gallinae, 
from gallus, acock, as being the chief and molt important 
individual of the order. Generic charafters—Bill fliort 
and llrong ; cheeks fmoothed with naked Ikin ; legs of 
the males, for the moll part, fpurred. There are feventeen 
fpecies, befides varieties. 
i. Phafianus gallus, the wild cock : comb on the crown 
and two wattles on the chin comprefled ; ears naked ; 
tail comprefled, eredled ; feathers of the neck linear, long, 
membranaceous at the tips. 
Of the period when this bird was firft introduced into 
Europe, all refearches will not enable us even to prefume 
a conjeflure; but it feems to be taken for granted, that 
the cock is one of the oldeft companions of mankind, and 
that he was among the firft who were drawn from the wilds 
of the foreft, to become a partaker of the advantages of 
fociety. Although it does not appear at what period this 
took place, yet it is almoft certain that the firft accounts 
we have of the cock is from the Perfian hiftory, to which 
kingdom, according to Buffon, the weftern parts of the 
world are certainly indebted for him. Arirtophanes calls 
the cock the Perfian bird, and it was known fo early in the 
mod favage parts of Europe, that we find the cock was one 
of'the forbidden articles of food among our early anceftors 
the ancient Britons. The domeftic fowl has almoft every 
where banifhed the wild one; it is ftill, however, found 
wild in the Tinian iflands, and in many others in the Indian 
Ocean, and in the woods on the coaft of Malabar, in his 
ancient ftate of independence. In his wild ftate, his plum¬ 
age is black and yellow, and his comb and wattles yellow 
and purple. Among the ancients, at leaft the Europeans, 
after this bird’s firft introdudlion among them, thofe 
whole feathers were of a reddifn caft were confidered as 
invaluable; but thofe whole plumage was white they 
confidered as unfit for domeftic purpofes. Ariftotle has 
treated of them as being the leaft fruitf ul of the two; tiie 
firft he calls generous and noble, being remarkable for 
their fecundity ; the other ignoble and ulelefs, on account 
of their fterility. Thefe diftinftions, as Buffon obferves, 
differ widely from our modern experience, the generous 
game-cock being by no means fo fruitful as the dunghill 
cock. The annexed Engraving exhibits (from Sonnerat) 
the original Indian wild cock and hen. 
The varieties which have proceeded from this parent- 
flock are the following. 
13. Gallus domefticus, the common or dunghill cock : 
comb and wattles comprefled ; ears naked ; tail comprefl- 
ed, eredled ; feathers of the neck linear, loVig. 
The domeftic cock is a fagacious bird, with manners 
fedate and compofed. His wings are fhort, and hence he 
flies feldom, and fometimes his fcreams indicate the vio¬ 
lence of the effort. Pie crows either in the night or day, 
but not regularly at certain hours; and his note differs 
widely from that of the female. In Greek he was called 
a.'hzKlup, from a. priv. and Xafipov, a couch, on account of 
his early crowing. Some domeftic hens make a kind of 
crowing, though fainter, and not fo diftindlly articulated. 
He fcrapes the ground to feek his food, and fwallows, 
with the grains, little pebbles, which aflift digeftion. He 
drinks, by taking a little water into his bill, and raifing 
Vol. XX. No. 1351 
his head at each draught. He fleeps ofteneft on one foot, 
and his head covered by the wing on the fame fide. 
In its natural fituation, the body is nearly parallel to 
the ground, and fo is the bill; the neck rifes vertically, 
the forehead is ornamented with a red flefliy comb, and 
the under-part with double pendent gills of the fame co¬ 
lour and fiibftance; this, however, is neither flefh nor 
membrane, but of a peculiar nature, different from every 
thing elfe. In both fexes the noftrils are fituated fideways 
on the upper mandible, and below each ear a white piece 
of fkin is fpread. The feet have commonly four toes, 
fometimes five, but always three of them placed before. 
The feathers rife two and two from each (haft; a remark¬ 
able character, which has been noticed by few naturalifts. 
The tail is nearly ftraight, though it admits of a linall 
elevation and depreffion. In thole gallinaceous tribes 
where it is Angle, it conlifts of fourteen feathers, which 
are parted into two unequal planes that join at their upper 
margin, making an angle more or lefs acute. But what 
dillinguifnes the male is, that the two feathers in the 
middle of the tail are much longer than the reft, and are 
bent into an arch ; that the feathers of the tail and rump 
are long and narrow, and that the feet are armed with 
lpurs. It is indeed true, that fome hens alfo have fpurs, 
but this rarely occurs; and in fuch hens there are many 
other points of refemblance to the male; their comb and 
tail are arched the fame way; they imitate the crowing 
of the cock, and would even attempt to perform his office. 
But we (hould be miftaken, were we to infer that they 
are hermaphrodites, though they are unfit for procreation; 
we muft regard them as imperfedt degenerate individuals, 
wherein the fexual character is obliterated; and hence, 
when detected, thefe creatures are always immediately 
killed. 
A good cock is one whofe eyes fparkle with fire, who 
has boldnefs in his demeanour, and freedom in his motions, 
and whofe whole proportions difplay force. Such a bird 
would not indeed ftrike terror into a lion, as has often 
been faid and written; but he would command the love 
of the females, and place himfelf at the head of a numerous 
flock of hens. To lpare him, he ought not to be allowed 
more- than twelve. Columella recommends that they 
fhould not exceed five. In England, fix or feven are 
deemed quite fufficient, and bell calculated for a lure 
breed ; but, though the cock fliould have fifty a-day, it is 
faid that he would not negledl one. Yet no one can be 
certain that all his embraces are efficacious, and fufficient 
to fecundate the eggs of the female; whence the danger 
to breeders of poultry, in letting him have too many hens. 
Yet his lull feems to be as fiery as his gratifications are 
frequent. In the morning, the firft thing he does, after 
he is let out from his roolt, is to tread iiis hens. Food 
feems to him only a fecondary want ; and, if he is deprived 
for fome time of the company of his family, he makes his 
addrefles to the firft female he meets, though of a very 
'different fpecies, and even courts the firft male that occurs. 
The firft fadl is mentioned by Ariftotle; the fecond is 
proved by an obfervation of Edwards, who, having Ihut 
up three or four cocks in a place where they could have 
no commerce with any hen, they foon laid alide their 
formef animofity ; and, inftead of fighting, each tried tlje 
other, though none feemed willing to fubmit. By a law- 
mentioned by Plutarch, it was enadted, that a cock con- 
vidled of this unnatural aft, fliould be burnt alive. 
The hens fhould be feledled for the cock, if we would 
have a genuine race; but, if we want to vary and improve 
the fpecies, the breed muft be crofted. This obfervation 
did not efcapethe ancients: Columella exprefsly mentions, 
that the bell poultry is produced by the union of a cock of 
a foreign family with the ordinary hens; and we find in 
Athenasus, that this idea was improved, by a zock-pheafauL 
being given to the common hens. In every cafe we ought 
to choofe thofe hens which have a lively eye, a flowing 
red comb, and that have no fpurs. The proportions of 
B their 
