THE DOMESTIC FOWL. The cock tribe is used as a generic term, to include
the whole family of domestic fowls; the name of the male, in this
instance, furnishing an appellation sufficiently comprehensive and well
recognized.
The domestic cock appears to have been known to man from a very early
period. Of his real origin there is little definitely known; and even
the time and manner of his introduction into Greece, or Southern Europe,
are enveloped in obscurity. In the palmiest days of Greece and Rome,
however, he occupied a conspicuous place in those public shows which
amused the masses of the people. He was dedicated to the service of the
pagan deities, and was connected with the worship of Apollo, Mercury,
Mars, and particularly Esculapius. The flesh of this bird was highly
esteemed as a delicacy, and occupied a prominent place at the Roman
banquets. Great pains were taken in the rearing and fattening of poultry
for this purpose.
The practice of cock-fighting, barbarous as it is, originated in classic
times, and among the most polished and civilized people of antiquity. To
its introduction into Britain by the Caesars we owe our acquaintance with
the domestic fowl.
It is impossible to state positively to what species of the wild cock,
known at present, we are to look for the primitive type, so remote is
the date of the original domestication of the fowl. Many writers have
endeavored to show that all the varieties of the domestic fowl, of which
we now have knowledge, are derived from a single primitive stock. It
has, also, been confidently asserted that the domestic cock owes his
origin to the jungle fowl of India. The most probable supposition,
however, is, that the varieties known to us may be referred to a few of
the more remarkable fowls, as the progenitors of the several species.
The great fowl of St. Jago and Sumatra may, perhaps, safely be
recognized as the type of some of the larger varieties, such as the
Spanish and the Padua fowls, and those resembling them; while to the
Bankiva cock, probably, the smaller varieties belong, such as Bantams,
the Turkish fowl, and the like.
The reasons assigned for supposing these kinds to be the true originals
of our domestic poultry, are, _first_, the close resemblance subsisting
between their females and our domestic hens; _second_, the size of our
domestic cock being intermediate between the two, and alternating in
degree, sometimes inclining toward the one, and sometimes toward the
other; _third_, from the nature of their feathers and their general
aspect--the form and distribution of their tails being the same as our
domestic fowls; and, _fourth_, in these two birds alone are the females
provided with a crest and small wattles, characteristics not to be met
with in any other wild species.
The wild cock, or the St. Jago fowl, is frequently so tall as to be able
to peck crumbs without difficulty from an ordinary dinner-table. The
weight is usually from ten to thirteen or fourteen pounds. The comb of
both cock and hen is large, crown-shaped, often double, and sometimes,
but not invariably, with a tufted crest of feathers, which occurs with
the greatest frequency, and grows to the largest size, in the hen. The
voice is strong and very harsh; and the young do not arrive to full
plumage until more than half grown.
The Bankiva fowl is a native of Java, and is characterized by a red
indented comb, red wattles, and ashy-gray legs and feet. The comb of the
cock is scolloped, and the tail elevated a little above the rump, the
feathers being disposed in the form of tiles or slates; the
neck-feathers are of a gold color, long, dependent, and rounded at the
tips; the head and neck are of a fawn color; the wing coverts a dusky
brown and black; the tail and belly, black. The color of the hen is a
dusky ash-gray and yellow; her comb and wattles much smaller than those
of the cock, and--with the exception of the long hackles--she has no
feathers on her neck. These fowl are exceedingly wild, and inhabit the
skirts of woods, forests, and other savage and unfrequented places.
These Bankivas resemble our Bantams very much; and, like them, are also
occasionally to be seen feathered to the feet and toes.
Independent of all considerations of profitableness, domestic fowls are
gifted with two qualifications, which--whether in man, beast, or
bird--are sure to be popular: a courageous temper and an affectionate
disposition. When we add to these beauty of appearance and hardiness of
constitution, it is no wonder that they are held in such universal
esteem.
The courage of the cock is emblematic, his gallantry admirable, and his
sense of discipline and subordination most exemplary. The hen is
deservedly the acknowledged pattern of maternal love. When her passion
of philoprogenitiveness is disappointed by the failure or subtraction of
her own brood, she will either continue incubating till her natural
powers fail, or will violently kidnap the young of other fowls, and
insist upon adopting them.
It would be idle to attempt an enumeration here of the numerous breeds
and varieties of the domestic fowl. Those only, therefore, will be
described which are generally accepted as the best varieties; and these
arranged, not in the order of their merits necessarily, but
alphabetically, for convenience of reference.