; wattles well developed; legs feathered; colour black. From
North America. The Breda fowl seems to be closely allied to the
Guelderland.

8. BANTAM BREED.--Originally from Japan,[365] characterized by small
size alone; carriage bold and erect. There are several sub-breeds, such
as the Cochin, Game, and Sebright Bantams, some of which have been
recently formed by various crosses. The Black Bantam has a differently
shaped skull, with the occipital foramen like that of the Cochin fowl.

9. RUMP-LESS FOWLS.--These are so variable in character[366] that they
hardly deserve to be called a breed. Any one who will examine the
caudal vertebrae will see how monstrous the breed is.

10. CREEPERS OR JUMPERS.--These are characterized by an almost
monstrous shortness of legs, so that they move by jumping rather than
by walking; they are said not to scratch up the ground. I have examined
a Burmese variety, which had a skull of rather unusual shape.

11. FRIZZLED OR CAFFRE FOWLS.--Not uncommon in India, with the feathers
curling backwards, and with the primary feathers of the wing and tail
imperfect; periosteum of bones black.

12. SILK FOWLS.--Feathers silky, with the primary wing and
tail-feathers imperfect; skin and periosteum of bones black; comb and
wattles dark leaden-blue; ear-lappets tinged with blue; legs thin,
often furnished with an additional toe. Size rather small.

13. SOOTY FOWLS.--An Indian breed, of a white colour stained with soot,
with black skin and periosteum. The hens alone are thus characterized.

From this synopsis we see that the several breeds differ considerably, and
they would have been nearly as interesting for us as pigeons, if there had
been equally good evidence that all had descended from one parent-species.
Most fanciers believe that they are descended from several primitive
stocks. The Rev. E. S. Dixon[367] argues strongly on this side of the
question; and one fancier even denounces the opposite conclusion by asking,
"Do we not perceive pervading this spirit, the spirit of the _Deist_?" Most
naturalists, with the exception of a few, such as Temminck, believe that
all the breeds have proceeded from a single species; but authority on such
a point {231} goes for little. Fanciers look to all parts of the world as
the possible sources of their unknown stocks; thus ignoring the laws of
geographical distribution