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Show 226 FOWLS. CHAP. VII. as sub-breous unrlor tho Polish fowl ; bnt I have great ~oubts whether this i. a natural arrangement, showing ~rue a.ffimty or blood relationship. It is scarcely po siblc t? a.vo•:l laymg stress 011 the commonness of a Lrced ; and if cortam forc1gn sub-breeds had been largely kept in this country th y would perhaps have b een rm·s e d to tl1e 1·ank of main-breeds. Several br.e eds .a rc abnormal in c·haractcr; that is, they differ in corta~n. ~omts from all wild Gallinaceous birds. At fir t I made a divJSLOn of the breeds into normal aml abnormal, but the result was wholly unsati factory. Fig. 30.-Spani~h Fowl. l. GAME HrtEJm.-'l'hi~ nmy be considered as tho typical breed, as it deviates only .·Uo-htly from the wild Urtflus bun/,;iva, or, as perhaps more correctly named, j'e,·,·ugineus. Beak strong; comb single and upright. Spur. long and sharp. Feathers closely adprcssed to tho body. Tail with the normal number of 14 feather~;;. Eggs often pale-buff. Disposition CnAP. VJI. DESClUPTlON OF llltKEDS. 227 indomitably courageous, exhibited even in the hens and chickens. An unusual number of differently colotuccl varieties exist, such as black and brown-breasted reds, duckwings, blacks, whites, piles, &c., with their legs of various colours. 2. MALAY l3HEED.-Body of great sir.e, with head, neck. and legs elongated; carriage erect; tail small, r:;loping downwards, generally formccl of 16 feathers; comb and wattle ·mall; car-lohc and face red; skin ycllowi ·h; feathers closely adp1·csscd to the body; neck-hackles short, narrow, and hard. Eggs often pale buff. Chickens feather late. Disposition savage. Of Eastcm origin. 3. CocmN, on SHANG AI BnEED.-Sizc great; wing feathers short, arched, much hidden in the soft downy plumage; barely capable of flight; tail short, generally formed of 16 feathers, developed at a Jato period in the young males; legs thick, feathered; spurs short, thick; nail of middle toe flat and broad; an additional toe not rar ly developed; skin yellowish. Comb and wattle well developed. Skull with deep medial furrow; occipital foramen, sub-triangLllar, vertically elongated. Voice peculiar. Eggs rough, buff-coloured. Disposition extremely quiet. Of Chinc:o origin. 4. Dotu<rNG Bnmm.-Sizc great; body square, compact; feet with an additional toe; comb well developed, but varies much in form; wattles well developed; celom of plumage various. Skull remarkably broad between the orbits. Of English origin. 'l'ho white Dorking may be considered as a distinct sub-breed, being a less massive bird. 5. SPA.NISU BnEED.-'l'all, with stately carriage; tarsi long; corn b sino-Jo, deeply scnatcd, of immense size; wattles largely developed; tho large ear-lobes and sides of face white. Plumage black glossed with green. Do not incubate. Tender in constitution, the comb being often injured by frost. Eggs white, smooth, of large size. Chickens feather late, but the young cocks show their masculine characters, and crow at an early age. Of Mcditenauean origin. The Arl(lalusiwn.~ may be ranked as a sub-breed : they arc of a slaty blue colour, and their chickens arc well feathered. A smaller, short-legged Dutch sub-breed bas been described by some authors as distinct. 6. liAMUULWH BHEED (fig. 31).-Size moderate; comb flat, produced backwards, covered with numerous small points; wattle of moderato dimensions; car-lobe white; legs blueish, thin. Do not incubate. Skull, with the tips of the ase;cnclino- branches of the premaxillary and with the nasal bones standing a little separate from caeh other; anterior margin of the frontal bones less d pressed than usual. 'fbcrc arc two sub-breeds; the RJUW.rJled Ham burgh, of English origin, with the tips of the feathers marked with a dark spot; and the. pe,,cil/erl Hambmgh, of Dntch origin, with dark transverse lines across each feather, and with tltc body mthcr smaller. Both these sub-breeds include gold and silv r varieties, as well as some other sub-varieties. Black Ilambmghs have been produced by a cross with tho Spanish breed. 7. CUESTED OH POLISH BHEED (fig. 32).-licad with a large, rounded crest of feathers, supported on a hemispherical protuberance of the frontal bones, Q 2 |