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Show 1903.] JAPANESE LONG-TAILED FOWLS. 229 continuous growth, and it is stated that the moult is checked or prevented by some means unknown to Europeans. We have seen that in Wright's book the statement is cited that the feathers are only moulted once in three years, but this might be a congenital peculiarity, whereas the expression used in the 4 Dictionary of Birds ' implies that the moult is prevented by artificial treatment. Very definite statements on the question are made in a paper by Mr. Basil Hall Chamberlain (" Note on a Long-tailed Breed of Fowls in Tosa," Trans. Asiatic Soc. Japan, vol. xxvii. 1900), for my knowledge of which I have to thank Mr. Frank Finn. Mr. Chamberlain made enquiries on the subject in the country from which the breed is obtained, and where presumably it originated, but nevertheless his statements are based on the assertions of breeders and not on any investigations of his own. The following is a summary of his paper:- The origin of the breed is not known, but it is believed to be at least a hundred years old. It has been produced simply by selection of the best specimens; one highly-prized variety, the Haku, was produced in this way within the last few years. The proper general name for the Long-tailed fowls is Shino-wara- to, derived from the village of Shinowara in the province of Tosa, east of Kochi the capital. Some are still bred in that place, but most now in Kochi itself, whence the majority are exported to Kobe and some of the finest to Tokio, but the very finest are retained by the producers. The following varieties were described to Mr. Chamberlain :- Shira-fuji: white head- and body-feathers, tail black as in the other varieties. He saw one specimen of this two years old, and measured its tail-feathers, which were 7| feet long. Another specimen, fourteen months old, had tail-feathers 4 feet long. Others have black bodies. Another variety is the Haku, white all over with yellow legs ; another, Totenko, has red neck- and body-feathers ; another, Dokiri, has reddish colour mixed with the white of the body. All these except the Haku have black tail-feathers. As great a length as 18 feet has been reached in the tail-feathers, but even 12 feet is a rarity. From 7 or 8 to 11 feet is the usual length. The feathers grow about 4 inches a month, and continue to grow while the bird lives, which may be eight or nine years. The beautiful body-feathers growing from the shoulders reach a length of 4 feet. (Note.-This evidently refers to the saddle-hackles, which grow not from the shoulders but from the top of the rump.) Some of these saddle-hackles may fall off in moulting, but the tail-feathers never do so. He saw the birds in October 1898 when moulting, and only the ordinary feathers were gone or going, not the long ones. He also saw the hen, which was a handsome bird, distantly reminding one of a hen-pheasant, with fawn-coloured breast and white quill to the delicately-coloured feathers of the back. She, |
