trimmed, (in the comb at least,) in case they should be wanted in a hurry for a private spar.

The game cock approaches nearer to the Malay and pheasant-Malay than to any other variety of fowl. As I have made the Spanish fowl, on account of his well-developed single comb, the type of the genus, so,

in any circular arrangement of the genus itself, I should make the game fowl the centre from which the rest, in one way or another, diverge. There are the white-legged, the yellow-legged, and the leaden or black-legged game fowl, all of which vary in the color of their plumage. No other breed runs off into so many varieties, which still are all "true game fowls." The catalogue of sorts is a long one; and many of them have been preserved in various noble and gentle families, in Europe, distinct. At present, the Earl of Derby possesses a breed which has been in possession of that noble family for many generations, and which is sedulously preserved from base alloy. It

is a black-breasted red, with a purple band across the wing, and, though superior in size to the Bankiva jungle fowl, it closely resembles that bird in plumage and in elegance of contour.

The exterior qualifications of a male bird of this variety, is described by an anonymous writer in the following words:" In the choice of the game or fighting cock, four things are to be principally considered; these are shape, color, courage, and the sharpness of the heel. As to the shape, such a one should be chosen as is neither too small nor too large; the very large ones are always clumsy and unwieldy, and the small ones are slow and tedious in fighting, and are generally too weak to stand a very tight battle; another disadvantage to these extremes, is, that they are very difficult to be matched; the middle size ought therefore to be preferred, as he is generally the most nimble and active with his strength, and the matching him is easy. The head ought to be small, the eyes large and brisk, and the beak strong and hooked at the setting on; its color ought also to answer to that of the principal or general color of the feathers, whether they be yellow, reddish, or grey. The beam of his leg ought to be very strong, and, according to his plumage, either blue, grey, or yellow; and the spurs ought to be rough, long, and sharp, a little bending and pointing inward. The three colors esteemed in the game cock are grey, yellow, and red, with a black breast. The perfection of a cock is not, however, tied down to these colors absolutely, for experience has shown that there are cocks of other colors which have proved excellent ones, but these are, in general, the best. The pied cock sometimes turns out good, but the white and dun are seldom of any value. If the neck of a cock be invested with a circle of scarlet complexion, it is a sign that he is strong and vigorous, and has great courage; but if it be pale and wan, it denotes him to be defective in these material particulars."

The game cock is by no means the aggressive san

guinary tyrant that he is commonly represented to be. He will submit to no insult nor intrusion within his own domain; but neither does he offer any unprovoked assault. If his antagonist flee, he is satisfied, and does not pursue him in order to perpetrate any bloody revenge. Other poultry that are killed by game cocks generally draw down the punishment upon themselves, by their own impudent and continued aggression. The bird, too, is as enduring of pain, as he is bold in combat.

But though I wish to clear the game breed from the charge of blood-thirsty cruelty, I cannot hold them out as patterns of gentleness and forbearance. "Might with them, makes right." None but the brave, however well they may deserve, or how muchsoever they may long for, are likely to enjoy any favor from the present class of rusty-fusty colored beauties. "Quiet people," says a late writer, "unless they have studied phrenology, or kept game fowls, have little idea how close a connexion there is said to be between love and murder. But the ladies have long found it out; there is no sweetheart like a soldier. A constantly pacific male is despicable in their eyes. “Eh! si je veux qu'il me batte !' 'If I choose my husband to beat me, what business is that of yours? A pretty state of things, when a woman may not permit her own husband to beat her!' So wrote the great Molière, in the high-heeled, periwigged reign of Louis XIV. But civilised and uncivilised nature is alike. The southern she savage, when her brute lifts his waddy, to give her a tap on the head that would fell an English ox, bows thankfully to receive the caress on her indurated noddle, and triumphs that the compliment was not bestowed upon either of the other squaws."

The game hens, as well as the cocks, also vary in color, and some breeders think the darkest to be of the purest blood; a deep-brown hen, with dark legs and small leaden comb, is thought to be the model bird; but in most, if not all game hens, the tail will be found

to be large, vertical, fan-like, and well carried over the back-a distinction which continues to be very apparent in the first cross with any other breed. The flesh, even of the yellow-legged, yellow-skinned breeds, is justly, in high repute; their eggs, also, are much prized for the table, but my own palate is not sufficiently discriminating to detect their particular superiority to the eggs of other hens. They are comparatively small, contain a somewhat larger proportion of yolk, are generally tapering, unequally elliptic, and mostly, though not always, tinged with buff.

Another general merit of the hens, is their excellence as incubators and nurses; a virtue in them which is no new discovery. "Florentius," says Aldrovandi, "is the authority, that in the Alexandria which faces Ægypt, certain hens, from which the fighting cocks are produced, are called Monositæ, (that is, one-mealers, or such as eat only once a day,) and that these will go on sitting for the second or third time, in consequence of their chicks being smuggled away as soon as hatched and brought up elsewhere. It thus happens that a single hen may hatch forty, and even sixty or more, at one sitting." When they are at length permitted to receive their reward in the shape of a brood of chicks, nothing can exceed their admirable conduct. The very young hens, with their first clutch, are apt to be over-anxious, and not at all forbearing to other fowls that come in their way; but that is a fault on the right side, and if the feathers of intruders are now and then made to fly abroad, they must grow again. The delicate proportions of the game hen adapt her to take charge of even the most fragile gallinaceous birds; while her courage and determination render her equal to the most robust. Every breeder or experimenter should have a nursery of game hens.

"The nest for the hen," says the same anonymous writer, referred to above, "should be made of sweet and clean straw, and should be placed in some warm corner, out of the way of disturbance from any other

fowl, for this sort of interruption provokes this quarrelsome bird in such a manner as to endanger the eggs. That she may never have occasion to leave the eggs so long as to cool them, it will be proper to lay all sorts of food that she is likely to approve of before her, and to put clean water every day not only for her to drink but to wash and trim herself in; some ashes, sand, and gravel should also be sifted on the ground near the nest. The chickens are hatched in about three weeks, and the nest is to be carefully watched about this time, for there are always some of the chickens hatched before the others; these should be taken away as soon as out of the shell, and laid before the fire, or in some warm place in wool, and as soon as the rest are hatched these should be given back to the hen. They are not to be suffered to go abroad for the first fortnight, and the room they are kept in must be boarded, all other floors being too cold and too moist. At about a month old, the chickens may be turned out into a walk of some fresh grass, that they may feed at liberty and eat worms and other insects; but there must be no puddle of water near the place, for they are apt to get into such, and it occasions them a number of diseases.

"As soon as the comb and wattles appear on the cocks, they must be cut away, and the sore place anointed with fresh butter till it is well-(the cock fighter only will act in this cruel manner, the fancier will not thus disfigure his birds). The chickens may be all suffered to run together till they begin to peck one another, then the cocks are to be separated; each must have his particular walk, and the more freed from disturbance this is the better. The place of feeding them must either be a boarded floor, or a very soft and dry piece of ground. If the place be hard, as a stony pavement, or a plastered floor, the taking up their food will injure and blunt their beaks, so that they will never be able to hold fast afterwards. Any white corn is good for the young game cook in his