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 Price, 25 Cents. 
 
 THE 
 
 BOOK OF THE GAMES 
 
 A BRIEF TREATISE 
 
 UPON THE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF GjlMES. 
 
 By H. H. STODDARD, 
 
 EDITOR OF "THE POULTRY WORLD," " THE AMERICAN POULTRY YARD," AND " THE CO- 
 OPERATIVE POULTRY POST." AUTHOR OF "AN EGG FARM," "POULTRY DISEASES," 
 "POULTRY ARCHITECTURE," "LIGHT BRAHMAS," " WHITE LEGHORNS," 
 "BROWN LEGHORNS," "PLYMOUTH ROCKS," " WYANDOTTES," 
 "THE BOOK OF THE BANTAMS," " THE BOOK OF THE 
 
 DORKING," "DOMESTIC WATER FOWL," ] 
 
 ] "HOW TO FEED FOWLS," " HOW TO WIN POULTRY PRIZES," " HOW TO PRESERVE EGGS, 
 
 "INCUBATION; NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL," "HOW TO RAISE PIGEONS," ETC. 
 
 PUBLISHER OF " HOW TO RAISE POULTRY ON A LARGE SCALE," 
 
 "A POULTRY COMPENDIUM," " THE BOOK OF THE 
 
 HAMBURGS," ETC. 
 
 HARTFORD, CONN 
 
 1886. 
 
THE 
 
 BOOK OF THE GAMES, 
 
 A BRIEF TREATISE 
 
 UPON THE 
 
 M&lifrg Refeififrg fctfid M^^i^ge^qeM 
 
 ■ DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF GAMES. 
 
 By H. H. STODDARD, 
 
 EDITOR OF "THE POULTRY WORLD," " THE AMERICAN POULTRY YARD," AND " THE CO- 
 OPERATIVE POULTRY POST." AUTHOR OF "AN EGG FARM," "POULTRY DISEASES," 
 " POULTRY ARCHITECTURE," "LIGHT BRAHMAS," " WHITE LEGHORNS," 
 "BROWN LEGHORNS," "PLYMOUTH ROCKS," " WYANDOTTES," 
 "THE BOOK OF THE BANTAMS," " THE BOOK OF THE 
 DORKING," "DOMESTIC WATER FOWL," 
 **HOW TO FEED FOWLS," " HOW TO WIN POULTRY PRIZES," " HOW TO PRESERVE EGGS,'' 
 "incubation; NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL," "how TO RAISE PIGEONS," ETC. 
 PUBLISHER OF " HOW TO RAISE POULTRY ON A LARGE SCALE," 
 "A POULTRY COMPENDIUM," " THE BOOK OF THE_ 
 HAMBURGS," ETC. 
 
 HARTFORD, CONN. 
 
 1886. 
 
SV5o: 
 .SSI 
 
 Copyright, 1886, by H. H. Stoddard, Hartford, Conti, 
 
The Book of the Games 
 
 OF all the prominent questions that have arisen and 
 been freely discussed in poultry literature, from the 
 first establishment of that branch of literature to the 
 present time, probably none has taken a wider range, 
 nor been treated of from a greater number of different 
 standpoints, than the origin of the Game fowl. 
 
 Nearly every section of the world has been selected as 
 its birth-place by enthusiastic advocates of this justly 
 celebrated fowl. Writers of every age, and clime, and of 
 greater or less ability, have rushed into type, claiming 
 the honor, in most cases, for their respective countries. 
 The various theories promulgated have apparently caused 
 a greater degree of confusion in regard to this question, 
 instead of elucidating it. There seems to be no unani- 
 mity among writers upon this point, scarcely two agreeing 
 as to the facts, much less as to the conclusions deduci- 
 ble from those facts. 
 
 The brief space allotted to this work will not permit 
 us to give the subject that full and searching considera- 
 tion which perhaps it deserves. We shall therefore 
 merely glance at a few of the theories advanced, together 
 
6 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 with the main facts supporting them, and determine if it 
 is possible at the present time to arrive at any satisfac- 
 tory and practical conclusion regarding this question. 
 
 Many writers refer the origin of the Game fowl to 
 the wild jungles of India, partly on the ground of the 
 known length of time the Game has existed, partly on 
 that of present habitation, and partly on the similarity 
 of all Game stock as to certain characteristics. Others 
 deny this claim, contending that it cannot be proven 
 that the Game originated in the wild jungle of India or 
 any other jungle. They further claim that there are a 
 great number of varieties, possessing individual character- 
 istics which could mot be obtained from any one parent 
 stock. The pheasant-dunghill combination theory so 
 strongly urged by many is ably treated by Dr. Cooper 
 and its evident fallacies exposed. After a careful con- 
 sideration of the subject, we are led to the conclusion 
 that the theory that India is the only or sole place of 
 origin of the Game cannot be substantiated, for, although 
 the Gallus Bankiva is very nearly a counterpart of our 
 Black-breasted Game in external appearance, apart from 
 the carriage of the tail, still our modern Games are the 
 product of artificial breeding carried on for great periods 
 of time, and precisely the crosses and experiments that 
 have been made during all these ages will never be 
 known. The principal source of the difficulty has been 
 that those who have discussed the subject do not seem 
 to have been fully aware of the extent of the changes 
 which domestication and selection may make in a species. 
 It has been said, for instance, that one species of wild 
 fowl {Gallus Bankiva) is too small and too timid to 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 7 
 
 have been the original stock ; that another {Gallus Son- 
 nera/ii) has horny feathers ; and still another [Gallus 
 Furcatus) has a comb that is neither serrated nor lobed, 
 and that these differences prevent us from tracing the 
 origin of the Game fowl to any one of them. No one 
 pretends that the fully-developed breed sprang ready- 
 feathered from the egg of any wild stock, but it is to 
 be kept in view that any variety may spring from any 
 other, no matter how great the minor differences ; and 
 the further question of the connection of any two is 
 simply one of approximate probability. 
 
 From a careful survey of all existing species of wild 
 fowl, there seems to be good reason to conclude that all 
 domesticated breeds, including the one of which we are 
 treating, sprang originally from the Gallus Bankiva. This 
 is not the place to enter into a discussion of the evi- 
 dence. It depends, however, mainly on the fact that 
 individuals of each and every breed occasionally present 
 the features belonging to that stock. Furthermore, what- 
 ever may be said of the other breeds of tame fowls, 
 there is still stronger reason for asserting this of the 
 Game, which very closely resembles in every point the 
 Bankiva ; and the superior strength and fighting qualities 
 should certainly be expected to result from such a long 
 series of breeding to these characteristics. A Bankiva 
 fowl has a greater resemblance to the Black-breasted 
 Reds than to any other variety of Games, and a similar 
 plumage often shows itself on individuals of certain other 
 breeds. 
 
 What was the period of the first domestication of 
 the Game we do not at all know. It was not probably 
 
8 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 any very difficult process, as the Bankiva of to-day is 
 very easily tamed, and produces fertile crosses with com- 
 mon fowls. 
 
 As already said, it must have been in very remote 
 times, and the locality was probably the present habitat 
 of the wild Bankiva, just as all the other possessions of 
 the Occident seemed to have journeyed from the East. 
 The breed once introduced, its courage and endurance 
 gave it a popularity now as strong as ever, and one that 
 it does not seem likely ever to lose. 
 
 While, however, the origin of this most excellent and, 
 in many respects, desirable variety of fowls is, in the 
 opinion of many persons, involved in hopeless obscurity, 
 its existence, or that of its prototype, from time immemorial 
 is very clearly shown. That it nourished throughout Asia 
 in very early ages is an unquestioned fact. The inhabi- 
 tants of Greece, especially those of Athens, were enthu- 
 siastic lovers of cock fighting ; while those of Delos, 
 Rhodes and Media were scarcely less so. Here the sport 
 had probably a religious or semi-religious origin, and, by 
 means of its influence, the courage and patriotism of the 
 young men of the country was supposed to be strength- 
 ened and increased. That this would be the effect upon 
 men having the natural disposition of the Greeks is 
 manifest, and the Grecian historians and writers upon 
 nearly all subjects mention this pastime so frequently 
 that we are led to regard it as almost a national amuse- 
 ment. The fact that one day in each year was set apart 
 for this purpose shows clearly what a hold it had upon 
 the predilections of the people at large. 
 
 Many years later we find the Romans indulging in 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES 9 
 
 the same sport, but not to the same degree nor for the 
 same purpose. That people being semi-barbarous, having 
 but little knowledge of the arts and sciences, nor, in 
 point of fact, of anything except what pertained to war, 
 were accustomed to bring back from their conquests more 
 or less of the customs of the particular people most 
 recently conquered, , and, in this manner, cock fighting 
 was introduced into Rome, although it never rose, in 
 that country, to a higher level than a simple brutal fight 
 for the mere amusement of the spectators, and it does 
 not seem to have even achieved the distinction of a 
 national amusement in any sense. 
 
 The Romans, without doubt, introduced this custom 
 into England, though the date of its introduction is un- 
 known and perhaps immaterial. At all events it grew 
 rapidly and flourished to such an extent that at the time 
 of Henry the Second we find it to be the sport of 
 school-boys on certain occasions, and in this they had 
 the presence and support of their masters and friends. 
 It was afterwards prohibited by law, but was revived by 
 Henry the Eighth and James the First. At this period 
 five celebrated cock pits were upon English soil, the 
 most noted of which was the one in Drury-lane. These 
 furnished a rendezvous for all cockers and handlers in 
 the kingdom and disseminated both the love and practice 
 of this amusement throughout the land. New-castle-on- 
 the-Tyne, however, claims to have been the most impor- 
 tant place in England, judging from a cocker's and 
 handler's point of view, and this claim is made with a 
 great show of reason, hundreds of birds having been 
 handled and fought there at a single meeting. 
 
IO THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 Mexico has also furnished a goodly supply of finely 
 bred Game stock, and many writers claim that the cradle 
 of the Game was rocked in that country. However that 
 may be, it is certainly true that fine Games were found 
 there at the time of the conquering of that country by 
 Spain, Montezuma being said to have had a passion for 
 that amusement. It seems also that the love of this 
 pastime was deeply implanted in the hearts of all the 
 people without distinction of race or position. Priests 
 and laymen, nobles and plebeians, soldiers and citizens, 
 old and young, in fact all classes of every race, sex 
 and station in life seemed imbued with this feeling. 
 
 It will be noticed that thus far the Game has had 
 apparently but one destiny — that one the pit. In the 
 future it is destined to be the object of a two-fold 
 destiny and to have its beauties and excellencies con- 
 trasted and determined in a more peaceful and humane 
 manner than has formerly been the case. The show 
 room is about to become the arena where most of its 
 peaceful contests will be held and decided ; and men 
 are about to have the privilege of rearing Games for an 
 objective point other than that of war. 
 
 There is probably no field in which man can labor 
 that will yield him more pleasure as well as profit (that 
 is if he has a taste for it) than is found in breeding 
 what is termed "fancy poultry." If a man has not the 
 taste for the vocation he had better let the business 
 severely alone — for what a certain writer said of the poet 
 is paralleled in his case, viz.: 
 
 4 A man can no more make himself a Poet, 
 Than a sheep can make herself a Go-ctt." 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. II 
 
 The breeder of improved poultry will find that it re- 
 quires much patience and care, yet the occupation is one 
 that will prove full of pleasure. Although there may be, 
 and without doubt there is, fully as much profit in rais- 
 ing some of the larger varieties of fowls, yet to the man 
 who can afford to gratify his tastes as well as tc consult 
 his pocket no breed will compare with the Game. His- 
 tory and poetry have united in doing him honor. The 
 fact is there is something in this bird that man admires 
 -aye, loves. Pass all the laws you may in regard to him 
 and still the Game cock stands true to his name, (in a 
 chicken sense at least) the idol of humanity. His erect 
 and noble bearing ; his elegant plumage ; his perfect sym- 
 metry of form ; his brilliant eye ; his broad and hand- 
 some breast ; his perfect self-control ; his docility when 
 not attacked by an adversary ; his courage ; his patience 
 in suffering ; his love for his own flock — showing almost 
 human affection in its highest type, in the providing for 
 and protecting them and proving to the enemy that dares 
 to intrude or assail his favorites a foeman ready to do 
 and die if necessary to protect and preserve his family ; 
 all these combine to render the Game cock the most 
 interesting as well as the most distinguished of all do- 
 mestic fowls. 
 
 What we have said of the cock is equally true of 
 the hen when applied to her sphere. She is a true 
 mother — none of your foster mothers. She does not 
 follow the fashionable mother of the present day, who 
 seems to think it is only necessary for her to see her 
 offspring twice in twenty-four hours, say "what a jewel 
 my darling is," and then pass it over to the tender 
 
12 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 mercy of some "other biddy" seeming to think that she 
 is fulfilling all the duties that the laws of nature and 
 humanity demand. Not so with the Game mother. She 
 is ever on the alert, discovering danger and protecting 
 her young from that danger, providing for their daily 
 needs and teaching them by her example how they may 
 best meet their future wants and preparing them as best 
 she can to meet and overcome all of the difficulties that 
 they will be likely to encounter in life. As gallant sons 
 spring from noble mothers, so we may expect nothing 
 less from the devoted, heroic, Game hen, than that her 
 sons should ever do her honor. Place the Game where 
 you may, among his own breed or among the common 
 dunghill fowls or even among the choicest fancy breeds, 
 and he shows by his attention and care of those put in 
 his charge that among all the numberless breeds in ex- 
 istence, in his veins alone courses only royal blood. 
 
 The man that sees nothing good or grand in a Game 
 cock but as he sees him in the pit is brutish ; or the 
 one that sees ' nothing beautiful or chivalric in him be- 
 cause perchance he is sometimes debased by being fought 
 in the pit — such a man is to be pit-ied. 
 
 Being a native of no particular country, the home of 
 the Game is the world. In city or country, in torrid 
 or frigid zones, anywhere, everywhere, he stands cock 
 of the walk. No nation or clime can claim him as its 
 own, and few, very few, over this broad earth but recognize 
 in him that true nobility that stamps him king of the 
 poultry world. 
 
 That he is brave and true all must admit ; that he 
 descends from the most ancient as well as the most 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 13 
 
 illustrious of all varieties in the chicken kingdom* is a 
 fact in regard to which all agree, and while a countless 
 number of other breeds have flourished in their day and 
 then "stepped down and out," giving place to something 
 new, the Game has more than held its own, and has to- 
 day more friends and admirers than ever before in its 
 history. Its flesh is particularly tender and delicate, ren- 
 dering it a sweet morsel for the epicure, and bringing a 
 greater price per pound than that of any other fowl, while 
 in the matter of egg production this variety excels many 
 and will produce more than the average of fancy breeds, 
 thus establishing it as a profitable as well as a pleasur- 
 able variety. With so many excellencies and so few 
 defects, is it strange that this breed compels our admira- 
 tion? 
 
 Games are generally acknowledged to be fine layers, 
 the most delicious of table fowls, and the best of mothers; 
 yet, in spite of these qualities of greatest utility, the ma- 
 jority of those who breed poultry for strictly practical 
 purposes look with suspicion upon them, as merely a 
 fancier's fowl. 
 
 The pugnacity of the Game has, without doubt, been 
 the great drawback to his universal adoption. True, he 
 is a brave spirited bird that will admit of no invasion 
 of right or domain; yet, admitting this pugnacity, with the 
 ordinary care exerted to preserve the combs and ear-lobes 
 of our Brahmas, Plymouth Rocks or Leghorns from the 
 disastrous results of combat, all trouble may be avoided. 
 Where but a single yard is kept, its champion may as 
 well be game as craven ; on the plantation and farm there 
 is room enough for all. 
 
14 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 While eggs are sold by number, number, not size, is 
 the objective point. Here, again, the Game will bear com- 
 parison with any variety not non-sitting. This is particu- 
 larly true when entire freedom is allowed, yet in con- 
 finement their record will pass close inspection. A lot 
 of Red Piles, bred side by side with an equal number 
 of Plymouth Rocks, excelled the latter in egg production. 
 The quality of the eggs was richer beyond dispute, and 
 the size little if any below the average. It is the testi- 
 mony of all who have had the pleasure of testing Games 
 upon the table, that in delicacy of flesh they are un- 
 equalled. The chief point, then, to be urged against them, 
 is on account of size. It has been an annual custom 
 to dispose of superfluous stock of old fowls to the village 
 butcher. On one occasion, having been sent some Plym- 
 outh Rock hens, he said — "Have you nothing smaller to 
 send me ? My customers say that one is not quite enough 
 and two are as much as a turkey, a little more old hen 
 than they wish at once." He was sent some Games that 
 filled the order to the letter. Now as it is estimated 
 that two Games may be kept at the cost of one Plym- 
 outh Rock, if one had two Games for every Rock, noth- 
 ing would have been lost in expense or weight and more 
 attractive birds could have been offered. 
 
 There is yet another feature less generally considered. 
 The cock of no other variety stamps the good qualities 
 of his blood upon his progeny in such a marked degree. 
 He is then especially valuable to improve inferior stock ; 
 indeed it is no exaggeration to compare the effect thus pro- 
 duced to that resulting from the introduction of Hereford 
 or Shorthorn bulls among the coarse cattle of the West. 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 15 
 
 The beauty and general attractiveness of the Game 
 forbid that he should ever suffer from lack of friends ; 
 were his practical qualities as generally appreciated we be- 
 lieve that he would be universally acknowledged the flower 
 of his race. In the foregoing we have viewed this noble 
 breed from the dress circle and not from the pit. 
 
 BREEDING. 
 
 In breeding Games the objective point should be care- 
 fully considered, the different elements to be brought 
 together and harmonized closely looked after, and such 
 measures taken and methods of breeding adopted as will 
 command success. We do not mean to be understood 
 as saying that, as a matter of theory, two entirely dif- 
 ferent systems of breeding must of necessity be practiced 
 — one for the show pen and one for the pit, — but as a 
 matter of practice the two methods usually adopted differ 
 to such an extent that Pit Games bred by an experienced 
 cocker are seldom fit for the show room. And here let 
 us observe that for feather and all external appearances the 
 standard Game is the more difficult to breed, and there- 
 fore that branch of the subject will be treated of at 
 greater length, simply indicating in the proper place where 
 the other method differs from this. 
 
 This is the rock upon which the bark of so many 
 enthusiastic admirers founders. A majority are able to 
 manage their stock during the remainder of the year 
 (certainly with the aid of a little advice), but when they 
 arrive at that period where birds must be selected, mated 
 and bred, they utterly fail to achieve any satisfactory re- 
 sult. Most of these ill results follow from the fact that 
 
l6 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 the breeder seeks to cojitrol, not guide, nature. Now the 
 laws of nature are as immovable and immutable as the 
 laws of the Medes and Persians, and any one who en- 
 deavors to wrest the control of these immutable laws from 
 nature and render them entirely subservient to the will 
 of man will find that confusion worse confounded reigns 
 in all his borders, and that his cherished schemes laid 
 with so much care will be frustrated. 
 
 The kindred subjects — selection of breeding stock, 
 mating and breeding — are so nearly allied that it seems 
 impossible to separate them, and we prefer to treat of 
 them in connection with each other. The first step to 
 be taken is the selection of breeding stock, and this is 
 an operation that requires all the skill, knowledge and 
 experience of the most veteran breeder, since it is the 
 key-stone upon which the results of t\\z year (and per- 
 haps a score of years) rest. The first and principal requi- 
 site in selecting birds for the breeding pen is perfect 
 hardiness. To breed from weak and debilitated stock, 
 with the expectation that their progeny will be fine birds, 
 is in effect crying for the moon. The law that " like pro- 
 duces like " is nowhere more strongly shown than in this 
 very matter. It is by carefully observing this law and 
 seeking to guide it in the moulding and formation of all 
 classes and forms of animal life that the greatest and best 
 results are obtained. That the best and fittest do actually 
 survive and perpetuate their kind in a state of nature is 
 such a fixed fact that it may well be regarded as an 
 axiom. This fact must be taken advantage of and skill- 
 fully used by the breeder if he desires success. Select 
 stock, then, famous for its health and stamina and you 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 1 7 
 
 have the first element of success. Inquiry should also be 
 made as to the progenitors of this stock, since, if some 
 of them were weak and debilitated, the law of reversion 
 may assert itself and wreck the good effects already ob- 
 tained, though nature works in a kindly manner in this 
 respect, and the ancestry are, broadly speaking, more apt 
 to perpetuate their strength than their weakness. If this 
 were not so, the task of producing a new variety or 
 strain of fowls would be an even much greater under- 
 taking than it is at present. 
 
 It is a well known fact that, in this variety, pullets 
 produce the greater number of eggs and consequently the 
 more chicks, while hens give those that are larger and 
 stronger. It is with birds as with all other animals. The 
 first colt is always expected to be smaller than its suc- 
 cessors, and the same is true of the calf, pig, etc. The 
 principal reason for this state of facts, in the case of 
 fowls at least, is that pullets are in an immature condi- 
 tion, so to speak, while hens are fully matured and their 
 muscles and procreative organs are fully developed. Now, 
 like begets like, and therefore the more matured and 
 perfect birds you breed from the more perfect will be the 
 chicks. This applies to males as well as females, and, 
 consequently, in making up breeding pens it is better to 
 have both sexes fully developed ; that is, about two years 
 of age if possible. Where this is not convenient or 
 it is desirable, for any reason, to test the qualities of 
 younger birds as breeders, it is always far more advan- 
 tageous to have at least one sex more than one year of 
 age ; that is, mate cocks with pullets and stags with 
 hens. 
 
l8 THE BOOK GE 1 HE GAMES. 
 
 MATING GAMES. 
 
 Perfect constitutions and well-matured stock are the 
 two chief considerations in the mating of Games, whether 
 for the pit or the exhibition room. The breeder of Pit 
 Games further desires to secure courage that will not fail, 
 rapid and sure fighting qualities, and a figure that is best 
 adapted to attain his special ends. He selects, therefore, 
 for his breeding stock only tested birds, those that have 
 felt the steel, and have proved their spirit. A rather 
 short-legged, broad shouldered, long snaky-necke'd cock, 
 with a proud, erect carriage and a sharp, clear crow, like 
 the crack of a rifle, is chosen to head his breeding pen. 
 With him are mated from two to six hens of like char- 
 acteristics, having well developed spurs. Color is imma- 
 terial. He wishes to produce the bird that will win, one 
 that ends the battle either as victor or in death, and he 
 cares not what color he bears so that it leads to victory. 
 Like the ancient warriors, his cock must bring home his 
 shield or be brought home upon it. 
 
 The breeder of Exhibition Games, however, has a very 
 different purpose in view. His birds are to win not in 
 the pit but in the show room. For him 
 
 " Peace hath her victories no less glorious than war," 
 and station, color and markings count much in the strug- 
 gle. The exhibition cock has longer legs, a proud and 
 lofty carriage, markings evenly arranged, and a plumage 
 of glistening sheen and radiant colors. The hens are like 
 their lord in style and symmetry, and, although clothed 
 in less gaudy colors, have a beautifully arranged plumage. 
 No breed known to the fancier offers a better or more 
 inviting field for the exercise of skill in the production 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 19 
 
 of color and symmetry, than the beau ideal of beauty, the 
 ever popular Game fowl. 
 
 While objection is made to the beeeding of fowls for 
 the pit, and an odium has become attached to this once 
 popular sport, as brutalizing and degrading, while the laws 
 in many states prohibit it under severe penalties, to the 
 breeding of the really more beautiful bird, the Exhibition 
 Game, there can be no reasonable objection. Every ad- 
 mirer of this noble fowl may select and breed the va- 
 riety which meets his tastes with the approval of every 
 right-minded man, and in the mating of the several va- 
 rieties for the production of the highest degree of excel- 
 lence he will find enough to employ all his skill and 
 knowledge. 
 
 VARIETIES 
 
 The American Standard of Excellence recognizes eight 
 varieties of Exhibition Games, with which it is of course 
 alone concerned. These are 
 1. Black-breasted Red. 
 
 Brown Red. 
 
 Red Pile. 
 
 Silver Duckwing. 
 
 Yellow Duckwing. 
 
 Black. 
 
 White. 
 
 Black Sumatras. 
 We think the Black Sumatras are erroneously included 
 in the list of Games : at least their title to be recognized 
 as Games is no stronger than that of the Black-breasted 
 Red Malay. Both varieties possess many qualities in 
 common with the Games, but the very best authorities 
 
20 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 reject them as Game fowls, or degrade them, to a list of 
 bad Games. We shall therefore consider only the first 
 seven varieties as making up our list of Exhibition Games. 
 
 THi BLACK-BREASTED RED GAME 
 
 is perhaps the most popular of all the varieties. His 
 admirer's name is legion. And, although in our own es- 
 timation he is hardly so beautiful as the Duckwings, we 
 cannot say that this popularity is misplaced. He is, in 
 truth, a noble bird, beautiful alike in plumage and sym- 
 metry, and in size exceeding all the other varieties. 
 
 The neck of the cock is long and nicely arched, and 
 covered with a light red hackle. The back is short, 
 broad at the .shoulders, and in plumage of a rich red. 
 The breast is broad and full and jet black in color. The 
 wings are of medium length, dark red in color, with a 
 wide black glistening bar. The tail is of medium length,, 
 carried rather low, is of a jet black color, and is denomi- 
 nated a "whip tail." The shanks are long and strong, 
 and in color, willow, olive, yellow, white or blue, accord- 
 ing to the strain. 
 
 The hen has a long slender neck clad in a hackle of 
 a bright brownish yellow, striped with black. Her back 
 is of a light brown color, penciled with black. Her breast 
 is of a light salmon hue shading off to ashy brown. Her 
 wings are brown, penciled with black. The tail is dark 
 brown, nearly black, in color. In shape the hen has the 
 general characteristics of the breed, rather slender and 
 graceful. 
 
 While no weights are given in the Standard, it is na 
 uncommon thing for a cock of this variety to weigh seven 
 
22 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 or eight pounds, although very heavy weights lead to , the 
 suspicion of a more or less liberal infusion of Malay blood. 
 
 Such birds as we have described when mated together 
 produce a fair proportion of exhibition chicks. Sometimes 
 the hackle of the cock is penciled underneath, and such 
 birds often produce beautiful pullets. Hens of a lighter 
 color are also used whose hackle' is of light golden color, 
 very slightly striped with black, breast of an ashy yellow 
 hue, and back plentifully interfused with gold. From such 
 hens very beautiful cockerels are often bred, especially 
 fine in hackle. 
 
 To avoid repetition we state, once for all, that for the 
 minor points of description, for the many little details that 
 make a high scoring bird, we must refer the reader to 
 the Standard of Excellence, a book that no breeder of 
 fowls, who hopes to win success, can afford to be without. 
 
 THE BROWN RED GAME 
 
 has many admirers. In general style the fowl is like the 
 previously described variety, but in plumage is darker. 
 The hackle of the cock is of a red color, shading off 
 to lemon, striped with black. The back is of a dark 
 crimson color. The saddle feathers resemble those of the 
 hackle. The breast is black, the shafts and margins of 
 the feathers being reddish brown in hue and growing 
 darker as they approach the thighs. The wing-bows are 
 dark crimson, the wing-butts black or a very dark brown, 
 and the wing-coverts glossy black. The tail is black, the 
 coverts and sickles having a greenish sheen. The shanks 
 are dark willow, olive or black with a bronze hue. 
 
 The hen has a hackle of gold or lemon color striped 
 
24 • THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 with black, a very dark brown back, a black breast, wings 
 of black or a very dark brown, and a black tail. Her 
 shanks should be of the same color as those of the cock. 
 
 The Brown Red Games are very difficult to breed to 
 feather, but a comparatively few of the chicks being suit- 
 able for exhibition purposes, but those that are obtained 
 are very beautiful birds. This may be one of the reasons 
 that has given the Black-breasted Red Games so much 
 greater popularity, as they breed reasonably true, and pro- 
 duce a fair percentage of standard chicks. 
 
 Many rules are given for the mating of this variety, 
 but the underlying principle of the matings is to mate 
 the sexes so that the light colors of the cock may be 
 set against the dark colors of the hen, or in other words 
 the lightest cocks are mated to the darkest hens and vice 
 versa. To the true fancier there is a certain fascination 
 in the difficulty of breeding exhibition birds, something 
 akin to the feeling of the born florist who produces seed- 
 ling flowers. He knows that many of his specimens will 
 be worthless, but feels well repaid for his time and labor 
 by the few perfect ones which he produces. This feeling 
 has preserved to us the beautiful Brown Red Game, for 
 in spite of the many difficulties in the way of producing 
 perfect specimens the fowl has never lacked for ardent 
 admirers, many of whom honestly feel that there is no 
 more beautiful fowl in the world. 
 
 THE RED PILE GAME 
 
 has its own select class of devotees, who grow enthusi- 
 astic over its good qualities. It is certain that the chest- 
 nut red head and hackle, the crimson back, the white 
 
26 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 breast slightly laced with chestnut, the wings with their 
 crimson bars, the white tail, and yellow, willow or white 
 shanks of the cock, make a bird worthy of admiration, 
 especially when it is added that no variety of Games is 
 finer in symmetry or nobler in station. 
 
 The hen is equally beautiful with her white hackle 
 laced with gold, white back, dark salmon breast, white 
 wings slightly tinged with light chestnut, and white tail. 
 
 In breeding Piles little difficulty is experienced, as they 
 breed very true to color. To give hardness to feather 
 an occasional cross with the Black-breasted Red Game is 
 resorted to. Fine Piles are also bred by matching a 
 Weedon hen — a Black-breasted Red hen with partridge- 
 colored back — to a White or Pile cock. 
 
 THE SILVER DUCKWING GAME, 
 
 by many regarded as the Exhibition Game par excellence ; 
 and certainly from the vivid contrast of colors, and the 
 richness of the wing-bars, from which it derives its name, 
 one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, of 
 all the varieties, has a host of admirers and never fails 
 to elicit expressions of admiration, when on exhibition, from 
 all classes of people. It would be "difficult to conceive 
 of a more wonderful union of colors than this bird pos- 
 sesses. In the cock the head, hackle, back and saddle 
 are of a clear silvery white color, the breast of a rich 
 glossy black hue, the wing-bows silvery white, the wing- 
 butts black, and the wing-coverts a steely blue, forming 
 a broad glistening bar across the wings, the tail with, 
 coverts and sickles deep black, and the shanks willow, 
 olive, bronze or blue. 
 
28 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 The hen has a silvery gray head, silvery gray hackle 
 striped with black, ashy gray back, light salmon breast, 
 ashy gray wings, and a dark gray, nearly black, tail. Both 
 sexes are very handsome. 
 
 Duckwings are quite difficult to breed, although less 
 so than was formerly felt to be the case. Bred together 
 they produce some very good chicks, but the way in 
 vogue with many breeders is to cross a Silver Duckwing 
 hen with a Black-breasted Red cock and vice versa to 
 produce cockerels ; for pullets Duckwing cocks and hens 
 bred together, or a Duckwing cock and a partridge-colored 
 Black-breasted Red hen are preferred. 
 
 THE YELLOW DUCKWING GAME 
 
 cock has a straw colored neck — often striped, but this 
 is objectionable, — a bright copper or golden colored back, 
 a jet black breast, wings the butts of which are black, 
 the bows copper or golden colored, and the coverts blue 
 or black, forming a wide and beautiful bar, a black tail, 
 and willow, olive-yellow, or blue shanks. 
 
 The hen has a dark gray head, ashy gray hackle 
 striped with black, dark salmon breast, slaty gray wings 
 and back, and a dark gray, nearly black, tail. 
 
 This variety of Duckwings, like the former, is crossed 
 with the Black-breasted Reds to produce fine exhibition 
 birds. For cockerels a Yellow Duckwing cock, crossed 
 with a Weedon hen, is strongly recommended. Duckwings 
 bred together produce very good pullets. 
 
 THE BLACK AND THE WHITE GAMES 
 
 possess the same distinctive form and symmetry as the 
 

 mv jit 
 
30 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 other varieties, but are clad in solid glossy black in the 
 one case and in pure immaculate white in the other. In 
 solid colored birds there is no difficulty in mating for 
 breeding, care needing to be exercised only in selecting 
 standard specimens with rich plumage free from any ad- 
 mixture of other colors. 
 
 IN PIT GAMES 
 
 there are not less than sixty or seventy varieties men- 
 tioned, with the number ever on the increase. Some of 
 the most famous of these are Tartars, Claibornes, Earl 
 Derbys, Red Strychnines, Clippers, Rattlers, The Thompson 
 Whites, Pittsburg Dominic, White Hackles, Bob Mace 
 Shufflers, Belfast Reds, and others. For one who is spe- 
 cially interested in the study of Pit Games we can rec- 
 ommend- to him the complete work of Doctor J. W. 
 Cooper, "Game Fowls, Their Origin and History," in 
 which the various strains and their value for pit purposes 
 is quite fully and exhaustively set forth. It would tran- 
 scend the limits of this work to go into these details. 
 It may suffice us to say that Pit Games are largely of 
 the color of the varieties already described, although there 
 are grays, blues and dominiques, these colors also being 
 combined with reds and browns. There are also Henny 
 Games, so called from having a tail like a hen, without 
 sickle feathers, of various colors, the Whites perhaps being 
 the best known. 
 
 DUBBED OR UNDUBBED GAMES. 
 
 Game cocks are : - seldom shown in their natural condi- 
 tion, the comb, wattles and ear-lobes being usually cut 
 
32 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 off. This is called dubbing. The age for dubbing is 
 generally from four to five months old. To do it prop- 
 erly requires two persons, one to hold the bird firmly so 
 as to prevent struggling, while the other removes the parts 
 to be cut off. The operation is thus described by Mr. 
 F. W. McDougall : " The operator lays hold of the wattle, 
 inserting the point of his dubbing scissors at the lower 
 mandible, or jaw, and striking straight for the ear, leaving 
 the old skin about half an inch, or hardly so much, be- 
 tween your cut and the eye. When you get to the ear 
 commence again at the under side of the wattle, and run 
 the point of the scissors about half way down, then dis- 
 sect gradually up to the ear. When the wattles and ears 
 are off, the operator inserts his left thumb across the in- 
 side of the beak, placing his forefinger on the back of 
 the head. Care must, however, be taken not to choke 
 the bird. Then setting his scissors close and firmly on 
 the head, straight up from the beak, with one cut, by 
 keeping the scissors well pressed down as he cuts, he will 
 take the comb clean off ; then merely a slight cut each 
 side of the beak, to take off a small excrescence that 
 would make the setting in at the beak heavy, and the 
 operation is over. The blood usually stops at once and 
 nothing more is required. He will then be nice and red 
 again in six weeks, and fit to exhibit." 
 
 Dubbing was first practiced for pit purposes, and for 
 such purposes it is undoubtedly necessary. People have 
 become so accustomed to the appearance of a dubbed 
 Game cock that they have begun to regard it as an ad- 
 dition to his beauty. But it may be questioned whether 
 it does not rather detract from than add to the beauty 
 
34 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 Df the bird. One of the greatest additions to the appear- 
 ance of most breeds of fowls is the comb. Not only is 
 there a contrast between its color and that of the plum- 
 age, but it is an ornament which from its larger develop- 
 ment distinguishes the cock from the hen, and gives him 
 his masculine air. Why it should be different in Games 
 is difficult to be seen. We doubt if it is so. We are 
 of the opinion that an evenly serrated comb of moderate 
 size and comely shape would really brighten the beauty 
 of the bird when once our eyes had become accustomed 
 to the sight. Already in England and Scotland they are 
 making classes for undubbed Games at their leading shows. 
 
 We hardly think the practice of dubbing Games can 
 he considered cruel, for the birds apparently suffer little 
 pain from the operation and quickly recover from its 
 effects, and they are thus protected from the freezings 
 to which many undubbed birds are exposed. And yet it 
 has been seriously questioned whether a person would not 
 become liable to prosecution by the Society for the Pre- 
 vention of Cruelty to Animals for dubbing a fowl. 
 
 However that may be, on the score of beauty, and to 
 put breeders of Exhibition Games on an equality with 
 the breeders of other fowls, requiring them to show per- 
 fect combs instead of no combs at all, it may be quite 
 properly urged that Games shall be shown undubbed, 
 leaving the dubbing of cocks to those who desire to test 
 the mettle of their fowls in the pit and who prefer the 
 test of steel to the highest number of points on the 
 score card. It costs but little to try the experiment and 
 the results of it might be even more favorable than one 
 would dare to predict. 
 
$6 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 PECULIARITIES OF GAMES. 
 
 Games are the most pugnacious of all varieties of do- 
 mestic fowls. Fighting among the stags is as natural as 
 eating. They never seem so well satisfied as when having 
 a regular " Donnybrook Fair." This leads to the practice 
 of early separating the males and putting them out on 
 "walks," which means no more and no less than having 
 each stag — i. e., cockerel — kept by himself where he can- 
 not have the pleasure of indulging in the "manly art of 
 self-defense." 
 
 Stags may be kept together until they are dubbed. 
 Even after dubbing a number of stags may be put in a 
 pen with a strong old cock who generally puts a stop 
 to any incipient battle by administering a sharp rebuke 
 with bill or spurs to the over-ambitious combatants. If 
 keeping them together is attempted, one must take pains 
 to keep them out of sight of females, for the attentions 
 of one young gallant will be likely to awaken the rivalry 
 of the others, and a " battle royal " will soon be in pro- 
 gress. This pugnacious spirit, this 
 
 " Spirit that can dare 
 The deadliest form that death can take, 
 And dare it for the daring's sake," 
 
 has led these birds to do many things that other fowls 
 seldom or never undertake. Games have been known to 
 give battle to hawks, cats, rats and dogs, and to drive 
 off the intruders. They have been known to rival the 
 cat or terrior in mice catching, seizing the incautious 
 vermin with their beaks and making a quick end of them, 
 putting a finale upon the deed by devouring their victim. 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 37 
 
 CARE OF BREEDERS. 
 
 If there is one thing of more importance than all 
 others in poultry breeding, it is the care of the breeding 
 stock. Both cocks and hens should be kept in a vigor- 
 ous and robust state of health. From weakly and diseased 
 parents, weakly and diseased offspring alone can be ex- 
 pected. Both sexes should be in full feather and well- 
 matured specimens. Care should be taken to prevent them 
 from getting too fat, and at the same time to prevent 
 any diminution of their strength. Their feed should be 
 generous and hearty and furnished in the right quantities. 
 Over-feeding and under-feeding should be guarded against. 
 Oats and wheat with an occasional feed of corn, boiled 
 plucks once or twice a week, fed in a limited quantity, 
 ground oyster shells and granulated bone always before 
 them, and plenty of fresh water with a little Douglass 
 Mixture in it, or a few drops of tincture of iron, make 
 a menu upon which Games or any other variety of fowls 
 will do well. ' 
 
 Should the cock show an aversion to any one of his 
 mates, she should be removed from the pen, as keeping 
 her there will do no good and may result in her death. 
 From three to ten hens are usually placed with one cock, 
 perhaps five or six being about the average number. From 
 so few hens almost every egg will be fertilized, and if 
 the stock is of sound constitution and has been fed as 
 recommended, the chicks will be likely to be vigorous 
 and satisfactory. 
 
 BREEDING IN-AND-IN. 
 
 In Games as in every other breed this vexed question 
 arises, and we find advocates both for and against the 
 
38 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 practice. Inbreeding seems a cross-cut to perfection, but 
 in inexperienced hands it often proves the truth of the 
 old saying, " The nearest way home is the farthest way 
 around." It issues only too often in an undermining of 
 the constitution, decreasing of the procreative powers, 
 diminution of the size, and the destruction of all the 
 characteristic qualities of the Game. It is possible that 
 very close breeding may be carried on for a succession 
 of years without any marked deterioration of the stock, 
 when only strong and robust breeders are selected. From 
 two nearly related fowls, each having a perfect constitu- 
 tion, the chances are that the chicks will be stronger than 
 from two non-related fowls of uncertain constitution, but 
 one can never be absolutely sure that his fowls have per- 
 fect constitutions, and it is but a simple mathematical 
 problem to prove that if there is a weakness or special 
 tendency to disease in the blood that it is strongly in- 
 creased in the offspring by close breeding. To illustrate 
 this point : Suppose you mate a cock and hen, brother 
 and sister, in the blood of which there is a tendency to 
 consumption ; and suppose you should mate another with 
 this same tendency to consumption to a fowl not akin, 
 but having a tendency to some other disease. From the 
 first mating you would be pretty sure to obtain some 
 chicks with a strong tendency to consumption, for both 
 parents have a weakness in the same direction. From the 
 second mating, the tendency to consumption would be 
 checked by a lack of such a tendency in one of the 
 parents, which might prove the physical salvation of whole 
 broods resulting from this union. In the blood of each 
 there is a tendency to weakness, but the strength of one 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 39 
 
 offsets and corrects the weakness of the other. These 
 mutual checks are of great service in maintaining the 
 vigor of fowls. 
 
 Of course with the introduction of fresh blood antag- 
 onistic tendencies may be introduced, but since the adop- 
 tion of a uniform standard for each variety, breeders have 
 the same end in view, and there is less danger in intro- 
 ducing fresh blood than was previously the case. Bred 
 for the same purpose the different strains of a variety 
 are brought closer together in tendencies, and fresh blood 
 may be had which, while strengthening the constitutions 
 of one's stock, does not introduce any, or at least but 
 a comparatively few, objectionable tendencies. This is one 
 thing for which fanciers can be thankful to the Standard. 
 It has made fresh blood for fine breeding more available. 
 
 The conclusion of the whole matter is that inbreeding 
 is dangerous, even in skillful hands, and in the hands of 
 the inexperienced is almost necessarily disastrous. If fresh 
 blood is introduced, some trouble may arise ; if it is not, 
 it certainly will arise. It is the part of wisdom, at least 
 for the beginner, to avoid what is surely dangerous. If 
 he must take chances, let him take those that may turn 
 out well, not those that must turn out ill. 
 
 CROSSING. 
 
 Closely allied to the foregoing subject is the matter of 
 crossing. Shall the fancier make any crosses, and if so 
 what ones ? What are the advantages and disadvantages 
 of crossing ? 
 
 To answer the last question first we may say that the 
 advantages of crossing Games are an increase of the size, 
 
40 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 a greater development of muscle, a greater hardness of 
 feather, a stronger constitution, greater prolificacy, more 
 vigorous procreative powers. In a utilitarian point of view 
 crossing Games is advantageous. The breeder for the pit 
 recognizes this and has his favorite crosses for battle. Its 
 disadvantages are that it destroys the distinctive charac- 
 teristics of the breeds and makes of color and marking 
 a hopeless jumble. 
 
 And yet we have seen that even the fancier in breed- 
 ing to feather is obliged to resort to some crosses. How 
 were the Duckwings and the Piles produced ? By crossing. 
 How are many of the best exhibition specimens produced 
 to-day ? By crossing. How were some of the largest 
 Black-breasted Reds produced ? By crossing. And it is 
 not inconceivable that even now an occasional cross be- 
 tween the varieties may be advantageously had for the 
 purpose of restoring the brilliancy of feather that may 
 have been in some degree lost. 
 
 But if Games are to be crossed, let them be only 
 crossed with Games. Never dilute the royal blood that 
 flows in the veins of Games with other. Let even your 
 cross-bred birds be real Games. 
 
 If crosses are made it is well that they should be 
 made with an eye to the resulting color. A certain writer 
 says: "As to crossing and mixing the different colors I 
 think that Piles and Red Duns cross best of all, both 
 being of a light red. Reds will always spoil the color 
 of grays, giving them a tinge of red and brown, but grays 
 do not spoil the reds. The best colored Duckwings are 
 bred from the dark gray cross, though this spoils dark 
 grays. It is well known to all good breeders that cross- 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 41 
 
 ittg colors is very injudicious, as a rule all the best 
 breeders liking each sort to be exactly alike both in shape, 
 in feather and in blood, and disliking all mongrel mixed 
 colors and crosses. In crossing colors when the hens are 
 of a stronger and harder color than the cock, most of 
 the cock chickens will be the color of the hen and the 
 pullets the color of the cock. For instance, in crossing 
 Brown Red hens with a willow-legged Black-breasted Red 
 cock, most of the cocks will be Brown Reds, and most of 
 the pullets of the partridge color. This, however, is not 
 a good cross." 
 
 HATCHING. 
 
 The Game hens make the best of sitters and mothers. 
 As they are light and active, they neither crush the eggs 
 nor tread upon the chickens. Active and brave, they 
 forage well for their broods and protect them from ma- 
 rauders. Not more than eleven eggs should be set under 
 Game hens on account of their small size. They might 
 cover more and even succeed in hatching them, but one 
 ought not to expect so good results when a too large 
 number of eggs are given. The efforts of a small hen 
 to cover a large nest of eggs remind one of the story 
 of the boy who had put two hundred eggs under a broody 
 turkey hen. "But she can't hatch them," objected the 
 father. "I know it," said the boy; "I didn't give them 
 to her to hatch, but I wanted to see the old fool spread 
 herself." 
 
 Cockers have a practice of rejecting what is known as 
 the "clucking egg," that is the egg laid after the hen 
 begins to show signs of broodiness ; and also the after- 
 noon eggs, that is eggs laid in the afternoon. While the 
 
42 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 former practice can be defended on sound principles, as 
 the last egg of a litter is laid when a hen is in a dis- 
 turbed condition, weakened by her previous efforts, the 
 latter practice is an indefensible superstition, for there is 
 no reason why an egg laid in the afternoon should not 
 produce as vigorous a chick as one laid in the morning. 
 Having rejected the "clucking egg," the fancier selects 
 ten or eleven eggs of an even size, and as free from all 
 irregularities as possible. These are placed in a nest, 
 slightly concaved to keep the eggs from rolling out, made 
 upon the earth if possible, by a slight sprinkling of shavings 
 or straw well broken, and rendered vermin proof by a 
 liberal supply of some insecticide like sulphur, tobacco, 
 Dalmatian Insect Powder, or the like. The nest should 
 be in a retired place, removed from the possible visits of 
 other hens, for their visits would be likely to result in 
 bad blood and broken eggs. This would be neither pleas- 
 ant nor profitable for the owner, whose visions would 
 disappear like those of the, milk maid we all used to 
 read about. 
 
 CARE OF CHICKENS. 
 
 When the period of incubation has passed, that is on 
 the twenty-first day, the expectant breeder is saluted with 
 a peeping sound that tells him he has not waited in vain. 
 He will not disturb the hen for twenty-four hours yet, 
 but allow her to finish hatching and drying the chicks. 
 They need no food ; the yolk which they have drawn 
 into their body will be ample nourishment for at least 
 twenty-four hours. At the end of that time the hen and 
 her chicks should be removed to the coop intended for 
 their occupation, and the nest of the sitter destroyed. 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 43 
 
 Many take the precaution, and it is a wise one, to dust 
 the hen with insect powder and to apply a little of the 
 same effective agent to the heads of the chicks, to guard 
 against lice. 
 
 How interesting the little strangers are ! It matters 
 not whether they are black, as is the case with young 
 Blacks, Gingers and Brown Reds, or striped as are the 
 young of the Black-breasted Reds, or white as are the 
 offspring of the Whites, they are alike the cause of wonder 
 and admiration. These animated balls of various colored 
 down, with their pert ways and consequential airs, must 
 be properly cared for. Interest and admiration will not 
 rear them. They now need to be fed. 
 
 The most successful system of feeding which we have 
 ever practiced, is to feed for the first week upon hard 
 boiled eggs chopped very fine, and mixed with stale bread 
 crumbs. Give only a very little indeed. It is natural for 
 young chicks to receive only the scanty rations the mother 
 scratches out of the ground, and artificial sudden surfeits 
 are injurious and sometimes even deadly. After this, 
 while furnishing an egg now and then for variety, we 
 rely upon oat meal dry, cracked corn, and whole wheat. 
 Dry feed is better than mixed feed, — not that corn meal 
 dough will not nourish them, but in a somewhat extended 
 experience we have found that on dry feed the percentage 
 of losses is much smaller. 
 
 Cooked meat cut into very small pieces and fed twice 
 a day will be found a valuable addition to their diet 
 Ground oyster shell and granulated bone are kept before 
 them constantly, and they are allowed to eat just as much 
 of this as they choose. Pure water or water with a little 
 
44 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 Douglass Mixture or tincture of iron is also kept before 
 them at all times, and frequently renewed to insure its 
 freshness. 
 
 For the first month the chicks should be fed about 
 five times a day, — morning, mid-forenoon, noon, mid-after- 
 noon, and evening, — but after that three times will be 
 found sufficient. 
 
 The coop and its surroundings should be kept scrupu- 
 lously clean. Cleanliness is a great preventive of vermin 
 and disease. Without it no system of feeding can secure 
 the best results. 
 
 We have met with the greatest success by confining 
 the hen, but allowing the chicks to run out, and pick 
 the green grass after the dew is off. But they should 
 not be allowed to run in the wet grass. If one cannot 
 permit the chicks to get at the grass, some substitute 
 should be supplied. Finely chopped lettuce, cabbage and 
 so forth, with an occasional onion, will be beneficial. 
 
 With the best of care occasionally a chick will be 
 found to be drooping. When one is discovered in this 
 condition a careful examination should be made for lice, 
 and even if none are found it will do no harm to grease 
 the chick's head with pure lard, or to dust it with Dal- 
 matian powder or buhach. We then mix some corn meal 
 or shorts with boiling water and add a dash of cayenne 
 pepper as a stimulant. Cayenne pepper is one of the best 
 stimulants for man, beast or bird, in the whole range of 
 stimulating substances, and a single dose often restores to 
 his wonted activity many a chick that might otherwise be 
 lost. 
 
 By taking these precautions whole broods may be 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 45 
 
 reared without the loss of a single member. Farmers 
 often calculate to hatch seventy-five per cent, of the eggs 
 and to rear but fifty per cent, of the chickens, or in 
 other words they do not expect to rear much more than 
 one chick for every three eggs set. But this need not 
 be so, as we have practically demonstrated again and again. 
 We should expect to raise ninety-five per cent, of all the 
 strong chickens hatched, and it can be done, barring acci- 
 dents, by a proper regard to diet and the observing of 
 the above precautions. Chicks fed and reared in this way, 
 if from good stock, properly mated, will develop into 
 birds that will be the pride of their owner and the envy 
 of his visitors? 
 
 FEEDING IN GENERAL. 
 
 Breeders of Pit Games have many nice rules for the 
 putting of their birds into condition for hard battle. As 
 these rules have a value for stock in general, we repro- 
 duce what is known as 
 
 stamper's rule. 
 " Ten days before the cock is taken up from his walk 
 to be prepared for battle he should be carefully examined 
 to see that he is a sound fowl ; his feathers should be 
 glossy, hard and lie close ; if you are fully satisfied from 
 this examination of his soundness you can then spar him 
 with a cock of his own weight until he becomes wearied ; 
 should he turn black in the face turn him out, as it will 
 be impossible to get him right in time for the contest. 
 If he does not show any sign of disease, give him a dose 
 of the following physic : Six grains cream tartar and six 
 grains rhubarb made into pills with unsalted butter or 
 
46 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 lard. After giving the physic, flirt him a few times, then 
 give him a warm mash of bread steeped in sweetened 
 water or boiled rice and milk ; leave him for twenty-four 
 hours and this will have acted sufficiently ; he can now 
 be turned out. Give one feed of boiled rice and milk. 
 For the balance of the ten days feed on such grain as 
 he may have been accustomed to, giving an occasional 
 feed of raw meat chopped fine, which will be of great 
 advantage should it agree with him. 
 
 "nth. Having been prepared as above suggested, the 
 cock will now be taken up preparatory to being fed and 
 drilled for the pit. Cut off his spurs, which should be 
 done with a small saw made for the purpose, leaving 
 about half an inch. Flirt him until he seems tired, then 
 give him warm sulphur water. Late that evening physic 
 as before directed, spar him, then give him a mash of 
 barley or oat bread and milk to work off the physic. 
 
 "12th. At twelve o'clock to-day feed boiled rice and 
 milk, late in the evening flirt him, then give warm sulphur 
 water. 
 
 " 13th. Clean out your coop well, then wash your 
 cock's mouth, legs and feet, wipe dry and put him back 
 into the coop. His first feed should be barley or oat 
 meal bread moistened with skimmed milk or water. Give 
 him three feeds of this, and his drink should be barley 
 water three times that day. Flirt him. 
 
 "14th. Feed oat bread and scalded barley mixed; at 
 twelve o'clock oat bread and the white of a hard boiled 
 egg ; late in the evening exercise by flirting, feed with 
 scalded barley and corn bread. Give him free-stone water 
 three times for drink. 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 47 
 
 ' " 15th. Feed corn bread and raw beef chopped fine and 
 mixed, in the morning, oat bread and the white of a 
 hard boiled egg at twelve o'clock, flirt him in the evening 
 for exercise, feed oat bread and scalded barley ; give 
 barley water cool three times and let him roost at night. 
 
 " 16th. Feed oat bread and raw beef chopped fine 
 and mixed, in the morning ; at twelve o'clock feed with 
 corn bread and the white of a hard boiled egg. Exercise 
 him in the evening by flirting and feed him oat bread 
 and scalded barley. His drink should be spring water 
 and milk. Let him roost at night. 
 
 "17th. Feed corn bread and scalded barley mixed, in 
 the morning ; at twelve o'clock feed on oat bread and 
 the white of a hard boiled egg. In the evening flirt him 
 for exercise, and feed corn bread and scalded barley 
 mixed. His drink should be barley water three times. 
 Let him roost at night. 
 
 "18th. Feed barley bread and the white of a hard 
 boiled egg in the morning. At twelve o'clock feed corn 
 bread and the white of a hard boiled egg. Flirt him in 
 the evening, and feed on oat bread and scalded barley. 
 Let him roost at night. 
 
 " 19th. Feed corn bread and scalded barley. At twelve 
 o'clock feed oat bread and the white of a hard boiled 
 egg. Flirt in the evening, and turn loose for a few 
 minutes in a room, but not one in which ' he cannot get 
 fresh air. Feed corn bread and scalded barley. 
 
 " 20th. This being the day of battle, give him a light 
 feed of oat bread early in the morning, and in about 
 one hour a drink of spring water and milk." 
 
 Such is the care recommended for the fitting of a cock 
 
48 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 for battle. What must his condition be in order to win ? 
 Must he not be strong, in perfect health, hard from exer- 
 cise, and not rendered sluggish by too much fat ? 
 
 And what ought to be the condition of a breeding 
 cock to insure the fertility of every egg ? Ought he not 
 also to be strong, in perfect health, hard from exercise, 
 and not rendered sluggish by too much fat ? Would it not 
 pay breeders to take a hint from the cocker, and put 
 their breeding birds in as good form for reproduction as 
 he does for fighting. 
 
 What are the principles which underlie this system of 
 fitting ? Are they not the following ? 
 
 i st. Plenty of exercise. 
 
 2d. Variety of food. 
 
 3d. Food of a strengthening and not of a fattening 
 character. 
 
 4th. Careful attention to the digestive organs. 
 
 5 th. Fresh air. 
 
 6th. Scrupulous cleanliness. 
 
 These principles are equally applicable to breeding 
 stock, and he is the wise man who takes a hint wher- 
 ever he can find one. Let us learn from the cocker how 
 to take better care of our breeding stock in order that 
 we may meet with better success in breeding fowls, in 
 doing away with complaints about infertile eggs, and in 
 meeting with more satisfactory results in rearing our 
 broods. Like begets like. Strong parents have strong 
 children. Health as well as disease is hereditary. There- 
 fore breeding stock ought to be in the pink of condition. 
 
 PREPARING GAMES FOR EXHIBITION. 
 
 Fowls for exhibition need to be in the finest possible 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 49 
 
 condition. In those varieties where weight counts much, 
 as in Brahmas and Cochins, the fowls should be quite 
 fat, not so fat as to make them appear over-fed and 
 sluggish, with a tendency in the hens to dropping down, 
 but as fat as they can be and yet preserve all their out- 
 ward fine points. But in Games there is no need of 
 this superfluous fat. The bird should be well nourished, 
 the muscles full and plump, but fat is unnecessary. A 
 Game should look slender, tall and erect, and too much 
 adipose tissue tends to the reverse of this appearance. 
 No better rule for fitting a Game for exhibition can be 
 given than has already been given for fitting one for 
 battle, with tke exception of "sparring" him with other 
 cocks and removing his spurs for the adjustment of 
 gaffs. 
 
 The cock and hen should be kept separate until just 
 before the show, as their plumage will be in better con- 
 dition for this separation. The fowls should be kept 
 scrupulously clean and should be put into cages every day 
 for some time before the exhibition to accustom them to 
 such confinement. They should be confined in the cages 
 but a few hours at a time. 
 
 White birds are improved by washing all over, and the 
 legs, feet and heads of all birds should be carefully 
 sponged off. The addition of a little alcohol to the- water 
 will be advantageous, as it will have a tendency to 
 brighten the red of their faces, and also will prevent their 
 taking cold. 
 
 If the fowls are colored, the back of the cages should 
 be white or light gray, as this will serve to bring out 
 their colors more clearly by the contrast. White birds 
 
5° THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 need a dark background to their cages for the same 
 reason. 
 
 Care should be taken in shipping them to the exhibi- 
 tion so that they need not take cold. A cloth coop fur- 
 nishes ventilation and avoids draughts. If it is very cold 
 weather, paper tacked around three sides of the coop will 
 keep them warmer. 
 
 The sum of the whole matter may be expressed in a 
 few words. 
 
 i. Have your fowls in perfect health. 
 
 2. Have them in full feather. 
 
 3. Have them scrupulously clean. 
 
 4. Exhibit them in suitable coops. 
 
 5. Avoid colds in shipping. 
 
 6. Avoid too much fatness. 
 
 ' By attention to these matters, birds will be in a con- 
 dition to show to the best of advantage, and their scores 
 will not be reduced by cuts on condition, symmetry and 
 station, which figure up a good many points on the score 
 card. 
 
 THE PLEASURE OF GAME BREEDING. 
 
 In the breeding of all fowls, when intelligently pursued, 
 there is an indescribable pleasure ; and of all varieties 
 there is none more suitable for this purpose than the 
 Game. It matters not whether one's choice is the noble 
 Black-breasted Red, his darker hued brother, the Brown 
 Red, the exquisite Duckwing, or any other of the standard 
 varieties, in the development of fine specimens he cannot 
 fail to receive much pleasure. The rapidity of reproduc- 
 tion, in comparison with mammals, enables one of an ex- 
 perimental turn of mind to make numerous experiments 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 5 1 
 
 for the purpose of demonstrating the effects of different 
 matings upon figure and color ; the constant change from 
 the downy covering of the chick to the mature feathering 
 of the fowl awakens an unflagging interest ; the peculiar 
 traits of character exhibited by the different birds, their 
 loves and hates, their gallantries and rivalries, afford an 
 increasing fund of amusement ; the comparisons which may 
 be drawn from their acts and similar acts of man often 
 provoke merriment or lead to serious reflection ; the study 
 of the laws of life, nowhere more easily prosecuted than 
 in the poultry-yard, may lead to results of wide applica- 
 bility, by which the student not only is made wiser, but 
 the world better. 
 
 There is a distinct literature of the Game fowl, and 
 although this relates chiefly to their origin and the history 
 of cock' pits we cannot refrain from quoting a few scraps 
 for our entertainment. We have sedulously omitted the 
 various rules for gafting and the numberless regulations 
 for cock fighting, because of our conviction that the pro- 
 hibition of this sport by statute laws of various states has 
 been wisely made with a view to promote the morals and 
 welfare of civilized society. Cocking mains are fitted for 
 a rude state of society, and indicate an uncultured con- 
 dition of the mind. " The slaughter of the innocents " at 
 a cocking main, the sudden transfer of wealth from one 
 to another, of those who have staked their all upon the 
 issue of a battle or a main, tend to unsettle the public 
 mind and divert it from those steady channels of business 
 upon which public prosperity rests. For these great reasons 
 of public policy cocking has fallen into disrepute, and 
 mains are now fought in most states only in violation of 
 
52 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 law, under cover of the night, and with guards out to 
 warn of the dreaded advance of the police. Violation of 
 law cannot be commended, even if the law is a bad one, 
 as it serves to bring all laws into contempt, and so we 
 must rejoice when cock fighting shall become wholly a 
 thing of the past. But the noble Game will still be bred, 
 for beyond his uses for the pit arise other and nobler 
 uses. His popularity will not wane, but will increase, for 
 he has to a certain extent gotten a bad name from the 
 uses to which he has been put, which deters many men 
 from breeding him. "Do you breed Games V is asked. 
 
 "Yes," is the answer. 
 
 "But I shouldn't think you would breed fighting birds," 
 says the objector. 
 
 This may be a foolish superstition on the part of the 
 public, but cocking mains serve to keep it alive and give 
 some color to the prejudice. But with the disappearance 
 of the last vestiges of this sport, many admirers of this 
 truly admirable fowl, clergymen, business men and others, 
 can safely breed them without being brought under the 
 suspicion of fighting them on the sly. Congregations will 
 not watch with solicitude their beloved pastor even if he 
 does happen to fancy Games. Business men will not be 
 looked at askance as being in alliance with questionable 
 characters because their yards rejoice in fine specimens 
 of the Black-breasted Red. Clerks and mechanics, if they 
 oversleep, will not be suspected of having been at a cock 
 fight the night before because they fancy Brown Reds or 
 Duckwings. It is really for the interests of Game fanciers 
 to have the cock pit done away with. 
 
 Cock fighting used to be regarded as a legitimate kind 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 53 
 
 of amusement, like bear baiting, bull fights, dog fights and 
 similar sports. It was patronized by monarchs, encouraged 
 by the nobility, engaged in by school-boys with the ap- 
 proval of their masters, and was considered the fitting 
 sport of the mass of men. Courage and loyalty were 
 supposed to be developed and promoted by it, and the 
 nation's life and defence thus more surely secured. Such 
 notions have passed away. In nations where the sport 
 has been prohibited by law the profession of arms has 
 not fallen into desuetude, courage has not vanished and 
 loyalty has not disappeared. If we desired an illustration 
 of this, we need but to point to our own citizen soldiery 
 and their gallant conduct in battle during the late civil 
 war. At no time did men more eagerly spring to arms 
 in defence of their country, and by no men were lives 
 laid down and blood poured out more cheerfully. With- 
 out cock fights a nation may be brave, and the martial 
 spirit not wanting. 
 
 After a time cock fighting came under the ban of the 
 law. In Ireland where it had flourished under the pro- 
 tection of the law, it was finally prohibited. Cock fights 
 of course did not entirely cease, but they had to be 
 carried oh more secretly. Dr. Cooper relates the following 
 amusing scene : 
 
 "At a cock fight in Dublin one night, the police came 
 in upon the crowd, and ' sich a gitting up stairs you 
 never did see ' by all of the crowd, except one fellow, 
 who was one of the chief men at the main, and who ran 
 about the pit catching the cocks, putting them into bags 
 and handing them over to the police, as if he had just 
 come in with them, and was anxious to break up the 
 
54 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 whole concern. ■ We don't want the cocks,' said the 
 
 police. 'But what the shall be done with them — they 
 
 will get them and go to fighting them again, if they are 
 left here,' replied the stranger. ' Then we deputize you to 
 take care of them,' said the chief of the party ; and thus 
 did the proprietor save his own and his opponents' cocks, 
 and they fought them afterwards." 
 
 " Privateer," one of the old correspondents to Porter 
 Spirit, says: "Cocking, in a philosophical point of vieltv, 
 was ably treated by that rare wit and ripe scholar, the 
 late Dr. Maginn. I think I can remember the verses, 
 though it is twenty years, or thereabout, since I read the 
 novel, 'John Manesty, or the Liverpool Merchant,' in 
 which they are. The scene is in Lancashire ; the place, 
 Bullock Smithy, a country hamlet ; the name has been 
 changed, by some sentimentalizer, to ' Rosedale.' The 
 dramatis persona, a young lord, a sporting baronet, a tip- 
 pling parson, who is waiting for the old rector of Everton 
 earn Toffy to die, that he may succeed to the benefice, 
 a sporting character who once fought Jack Broughton, 
 and rejoices in the cognomen of ' Broken-nosed Bob,' and 
 other worthies, have been exhibiting a main of cocks ; 
 becoming convivial afterwards, the tippling parson obliges 
 the company with a song — 
 
 ' The main is fought and passed, 
 And the pit is empty now — 
 
 Some cocks have crowed their last, 
 While some more loudly crow, 
 From the shock ! 
 
 In the world the same we see, 
 
 Where'er our wonderings be, 
 
 So here's a health to thee, jolly cock ! 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 55 
 
 When once you're stricken down, 
 And the spur is in your throat, 
 You are surely over — crown 
 By the world's insulting note, 
 Fierce in mock ! 
 However game you be, 
 In the day of thought and glee, 
 
 So here's a health to thee, jol'y cock ! 
 
 Then with eyes and feathers right, 
 And with spurs sharp and prime, 
 In condition for the fight, 
 And sure to come to time 
 As a clock ! 
 We will crow out bold and free, 
 With no care for what may be, 
 
 So here's a health to thee, jolly cock!' " 
 
 Leaving the tippling parson to sing over again, if he 
 likes, his convivial song, to the loud encore of his rev- 
 elling companions, we take leave of our subject, trusting 
 that the reader has been instructed, if not entertained, 
 and that he will not allow any breed, however good, to 
 wean him from one of the oldest and most beautiful of 
 all thoroughbred fowls, one that has a pedigree ante- 
 dating most breeds and a history which in interest is 
 second to none, the noble, the stately, the resplendent, 
 the symmetrical, the graceful Game fowl. Yet we cannot 
 leave the topic of mains and the cock pit without 
 refuting this specious argument so often brought forward: 
 Games love to fight, and therefore it is net cruel to afford 
 them facilities for mutilating each other. 
 
 One apologist for cock fighting has given us perhaps 
 
56 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 the most forcible plea for this beastly, brutal amusement 
 ever written, which we quote from the Poultry World 
 of May, 1876, p. 133, as follows: 
 
 1 • The venerable Dr. Watts says in his well-known hymns (we 
 knew them all when a boy) that we should * let dogs delight to bark 
 and bite, for 'tis their nature to.' Every one takes delight in seeing 
 'delight.' Nothing is of the least use to young people (nor, by the 
 way, of much use to old ones) but what interests them. We are not 
 all made alike. We love the beauties of nature, and find true happi- 
 ness in the observation and study of the same, whether we admire 
 the delicate moss by the roadside, the grass on which we tread, fruits 
 and flowers, or animals and their different natures. Vanity, when seen 
 in a brute, is pleasant, though to be deprecated in the human species. 
 Ferocity is the pure essence of tiger and demon. It casts on the 
 human face the paleness alike of the horse of death and the ashes of 
 hell. We see vanity and courage, but not ferocity, in the Game cock. 
 
 " We are to take it for granted that every creature is in some 
 way good, and has naturally a duty and a specific operation to per- 
 form. What is it in a Game cock? We are to look to the natural 
 instincts of each, and derive pleasure from their entire perfection and 
 fitness for the duty they have to perform, and in their entire fulfill- 
 ment of it ; and so we are to take pleasure and find grounds for ad- 
 miration, for instance, in the magnificent courage of the Game cock, 
 and his adaptation to fighting (/'. e., delight), as of the canary for 
 singing. 
 
 " Now, I hold that every village or family in the land ought to 
 breed Game cocks ; there would be less bad and more good than 
 now. We all want a bird for dinner on Sundays. I breed Black 
 Leghorns for beauty and to reach a high s'andard, and they are not 
 to be surpassed ; but they take ' delight ' in a different way from the 
 Games. 
 
 "I also breed fifty-three Game cocks — fifty-two for eating, one 
 for breeding — and do it in this way. Every Saturday afternoon I let 
 together two Game cocks, which take ' delight ' and afford me the 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 57 
 
 same (and sometimes some friends from city and country), when the 
 one that gets the least delight has his head taken off for not illus- 
 trating the principle of ' the survival of the fittest ' in the struggle or 
 existence. At the end of the year the cock that ' survives ' is kept as 
 a breeder, and we are each Sunday furnished a bird for dinner be- 
 sides the assistance in our admiration of the beauties of nature. This 
 pastime also dispels ennui for the day, which is born of many of our 
 Saturdays. If this practice of affording ' delight ' to both birds and 
 men were generally followed, it would save much time which might 
 otherwise be spent in dissipation, or worse. St. Peter was lying and 
 swearing when the cock crew thrice. The cock very likely had been 
 fighting, or affording delight, which was much better than spending 
 time in telling lies and profanity. R. W." 
 
 East Windsor Hill. 
 
 The fallacy of R. W.'s argument may be detected by 
 the aid of a little anecdote. When the writer was a lad 
 a schoolfellow of ours had a most ungovernable temper. 
 Life and limb of the by-standers were in danger if an 
 axe, knife or club was at hand when the quick tempered 
 boy was exasperated by the taunts and gibes of his 
 mates. Stones of a convenient size for throwing were 
 always at hand on the play-ground, and on one occasion 
 a boy had his head cut open by one of these thrown 
 by his frenzied schoolmate. Now apply the course of 
 reasoning R. W. applies to his Games. It is " the nature " 
 of the passionate boy to fight on provocation, therefore 
 provoking him to deeds of violence is justifiable. Here 
 you have it in a nutshell. 
 
 A STUMBLING BLOCK. 
 
 There is a stumbling block that sometimes appears in 
 the way of tyros who are keeping Games. The word 
 
58 THE BOuK OF 1 HE GAMES. 
 
 "game" is used to convey two separate meanings. " Is 
 he game ?" some one asks regarding a cockerel, meaning 
 will he fight to the death, or is he cowardly, no refer- 
 ence whatever being intended to be made to the question 
 of the bird's descent with unmixed blood from pure-bred 
 Game stock. Again, perhaps a questioner asks what breed 
 a certain cockerel is of, and the reply is: "He is Game.'* 
 The meaning here is that the bird is not Hamburg or 
 Brahma or Polish but that he is of the breed of Games. 
 No assertion is meant to be conveyed at all regarding his 
 fighting qualities, for there are Games and Games. Some 
 fight well and some do not. 
 
 Now it has happened again and again that readers 
 have mistaken one use of the word "game" for the other, 
 and hard thoughts and recrimination have followed. 
 
 There are strains of Standard of Excellence Games, or 
 "fancy Games," whose owners never pretend to fight them 
 or to breed them for fighting qualities or to cherish these 
 qualities in their birds. But they advertise Games, and 
 parties purchase, thinking that "game" means fight, and 
 after testing the courage of their new acquisitions the 
 buyers are "mad as a March hare." 
 
 The following letter throws light on the meaning 
 wrapped up in the word "game:" 
 
 IS IT SWINDLING ? 
 
 " H. H. Stoddard, Sir: — The subscriber would like to know if 
 it is swindling for a party to advertise in any journal or book, ' Game 
 fowls for sale,' and in answer to letters of inquiry say lie has no 
 such fowls. Of course he does not say it in so many words, but in 
 this wise : ' My stock is bred from such a strain and so and so's 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 59 
 
 breed ; would not feel justified in warranting these Dead Game ; do 
 not test my stock and never shall, but consider them amply able to 
 defend themselves.' Or : 'I always supposed my fowls were Game, 
 but do not practice cock fighting. I have confidence in them, and 
 they are very fierce.'' Another writes : ' I know they are Game, be- 
 cause they don't squeal when I catch them.' Again, you write to 
 some breeder after this fashion: 'Dear Sir — I wish to purchase a 
 pair of Red Piles or Black-reds (whatever it may be), standard birds 
 and Dead Game ; if they are not Dead Game I do not want them, 
 as I can get plenty of dunghills, and splendid feathered birds, too, 
 at from 50 cents to $1.00 each.' His answer totally ignores your 
 questions, and it reads like this : ' Your favor at hand. I have a 
 pair of Black-reds that won 1st, 2d, or 3d at show, very gamy- 
 looking birds, which you may have for .' 
 
 1 ' Now, I should be pleased to have some person give me the 
 true definition of Game, or Dead Game. If it is a fowl that will 
 stand a steel test at from one year to one and one-half years old, 
 then I say there are parties that advertise what they have not got. 
 But if they are merely a fowl of high station, with comb and wattles 
 trimmed, and different color, just such eyes and legs, then / have no 
 Games. All quotations are extracts from letters that I have received 
 from breeders of the so-called Games within the last six months. 
 
 "Now, please allow me space to say a word to amateurs buying 
 Game fowls. If you do not want to be disappointed, do not buy of 
 any one unless he gives you the privilege of refunding your money, 
 and unless he warrants them Dead Game. Such stock you can use 
 in the show or in the pit ; you can furnish parties wanting fowls for 
 the pit or the exhibition room. I do not approve of cock fighting 
 for bets, or pleasure, but consider it no more than just and fair to 
 personally test your stags or cocks in the spring. Now, is it swindling 
 to advertise fowls as Games and not know whether they are Games, 
 or is it just and fair? I should like to have an answer, so that 
 parties in quest of Games should first know whether there was such 
 a breed. On the Square." 
 
 Now it must be kept in mind of course that the type 
 
60 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 of our Game fowls has been fixed or at least preserved 
 through centuries and even thousands of years of selection 
 on the basis of fighting qualities. The shape of the bird 
 which is fixed by " thoroughbred breeding " is that of the 
 active, lithe, muscular, fighting character, and the Games 
 of the present and of the future possess and are bound 
 to possess the fighting shape essentially of the ancestral 
 stock even if the qualification of courage is neglected by 
 those who keep and breed them. 
 
 Trevor Dickens gives the following very complete de- 
 scription of the characteristic Game shape : 
 
 " The beak should be strong, curved, long and sharp ; 
 the comb, single, small and thin, low in front, erect and 
 evenly serrated ; it is usually red, but sometimes darkish 
 red. Head, long and sharp, with the face and throat 
 lean and thin. Ear-lobes, small and red, never whitish. 
 Neck, long, strong and well arched ; the hackle, short, 
 hard, close, firm and broad in the feather. Back, short, 
 and very hard, both in flesh and feather ; broad at shoul- 
 ders, narrow at tail, and rounded at the sides. Breast, 
 broad and very hard, but not by any means too lean or 
 too full — the last would be useless weight ; a good hard 
 breast is most essential, as it is the most vulnerable part 
 of the bird. The rump should be narrow, neat and short ; 
 the saddle-feathers, close, hard and short. Wings, very 
 strong, and of just a medium length, well rounded to the 
 body, and carried neither high nor low, but so as to pro- 
 tect the thighs. Very long winged birds are usually too 
 long in the body, and short-winged birds too broad in 
 the stern. Tail, neither long nor short, but medium length, 
 and carried erect to show good spirit, but not ' squirrel 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 6 1 
 
 fashion ' over the back ; it should be well ' fanned,' or 
 spreading, and the sickle-feathers of a good round full 
 curve, and standing clearly above the points of the quill 
 tail-feathers. Very long-tailed birds are soft and long- 
 bodied, and short-tailed birds are too short-winged, and 
 often have broad rumps. Thighs, short and very muscular, 
 hard and firm ; placed well wide apart, and well up to 
 the shoulders, in order to give a fine forehand, and make 
 the bird stand firm on his legs ; which latter should be 
 sufficiently long, but not too much so, and placed wide 
 apart as the thighs. Spurs, low down, long, sharp, and 
 rather thin ; a little curved upward, not turning in too 
 much. Feet, flat, broad, spreading and thin ; the claws 
 and the nails, straight, long and strong; the back claw 
 especially long and flat to ~the ground, to give a firm 
 footing. The whole plumage should be very close, short 
 and hard, with glossy reflections, and the quills or stems 
 strong and elastic. Body in hand short and very hard, 
 and the general carriage, upright, quick, fierce and sharp. 
 The back is best rather curved, provided it be flat cross- 
 wise^ and not hump-backed or lop-sided. Weight not over 
 4}^ pounds. 
 
 " The hen should correspond in form, but, of course, 
 in proportion, hardness of flesh and feather, with short- 
 ness of body, being main points. Good hens generally 
 become spurred, and such breed the hardest and best 
 cocks. The proper weight of a hen is from 3 to 3% 
 pounds. 
 
 "A short or clumsy head, short or soft neck, long 
 body, narrow shoulders, long thighs, legs set close together, 
 loose or soft plumage, and especially what is known as 
 
62 THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 
 
 a 'duck-foot,' are very serious defects. It should be re- 
 membered that a Game fowl is always judged mainly by 
 reference to its fighting qualities, and anything that inter- 
 feres with them is a fault of the bird." 
 
 The attention of the reader is called to the concluding 
 sentence, which claims that the fighting type as regards 
 shape, plumage and carriage should always be kept in 
 mind; and with this we agree even if the "peaceable 
 strains" of the "Exhibition Games" or "fancy Games" 
 or " Standard of Excellence Games " are to be cultivated 
 rather than Pit Games. 
 
 In the Standard of Excellence, under the list of points 
 in Games, will be found one which is assigned a con- 
 spicuous position as regards the number of points allotted 
 to it, and which we judge from the many queries we 
 have received for information concerning it, is not well 
 understood. We refer to " Station." What is " station"? 
 Many who would fain be considered experts in judging 
 Games, fail when brought to the test of scoring for 
 " station." 
 
 This term is applied to a certain indescribable carriage, 
 an air of aristocracy, a bearing conveying to the dis- 
 criminating and sympathetic beholder that blue blood 
 fills every vein. A bird may have perfect symmetry, a 
 faultless plumage, with health and vivacity, and be con- 
 sidered by Mr. A. a perfect specimen, while Mr. B. 
 misses in this specimen what he finds in another, termed 
 "station," and in scoring cuts the first one for the defect. 
 An infusion of Game blood into other breeds of fowls 
 will have a marked effect, as we have before stated, and 
 it is largely owing to this very trait, the proud bearing 
 
THE BOOK OF THE GAMES. 63 
 
 or station which is displayed and which remains stamped 
 on the progeny for many generations. One who has 
 looked through a picture gallery of some old family, whose 
 ancestry can be traced many generations back, will have 
 noticed the fact that, after a new type appears, perhaps 
 as introduced by the marriage of a son with some distinct 
 family, this new infusion appears stamped on the descend- 
 ants, not so much in the features and complexion as in 
 expression and deportment or carnage. The same features 
 with an entirely different expression will make an entirely 
 different appearing person. And this truth may be carried 
 into lower types of animal life with the same application. 
 The necessity therefore of being able to distinguish the 
 true rank of a bird as regards station will be seen. 
 
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