174 
ANCESTRY OF DOMESTIC COCK. 
cocker chewed ground ivy, and applied the juice to the 
wound.”* 
Whether the various breeds of domestic fowls have 
diverged by independent and different roads from a single 
type, which is most probable, or whether they have de¬ 
scended from several distinct wild species, as some natu¬ 
ralists maintain, is a question which can scarcely be 
answered in the present treatise, A separate volume 
might be written on the subject. Nevertheless, the general 
opinion is that all the various breeds have descended from 
a common wild ancestor—the Gallus bankiva of India. 
This species has a wide geographical range. It inhabits 
Northern India as far west as Scinde, and ascends the 
Himalaya to a height of 4,000 feet. It is found in 
Burmah, the Malay Peninsula, the Indo-Chinese countries, 
the Philippine Islands, and the Malayan Archipelago, as far 
eastward as Timor. Mr. Darwin has shown f that it varies 
considerably in the wild state, and observes J that “from 
the extremely close resemblance in colour, general struc¬ 
ture, and especially in voice, between Gallus bankiva and 
the game-fowl; from their fertility, as far as this has been 
ascertained, when crossed ; from the possibility of the wild 
species being tamed, and from its varying in the wild 
state, we may confidently look at it as the parent of the 
* “ The Compleat Gamester,” 1709. 
t “ The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication,” i. 235. 
t Id - i- 236, 237.. 
