emur
considerably longer in the Spanish and Frizzled, and shorter in the
Silk and Bantam breeds, than in the wild _G. bankiva_; but in the
latter, as we have seen, the tarsi vary in length. The tarsi are often
feathered. The feet in many breeds are furnished with additional toes.
Golden-spangled Polish fowls are said[424] to have the skin between
their toes much developed; Mr. Tegetmeier observed this in one bird,
but it was not so in one which I examined. In Cochins the middle toe is
said[425] to be nearly double the length of the lateral toes, and
therefore much longer than in _G. bankiva_ or in other fowls; but this
was not the case in two which I examined. The nail of the middle toe in
this same breed is surprisingly broad and flat, but in a variable
degree in two birds which I examined; of this structure in the nail
there is only a trace in _G. bankiva_.

The voice differs slightly, as I am informed by Mr. Dixon, in almost
every breed. The Malays[426] have a loud, deep, somewhat prolonged
crow, but with considerable individual differences. Colonel Sykes
remarks that the domestic Kulm cock in India has not the shrill clear
pipe of the English bird, and "his scale of notes appears more
limited." Dr. Hooker was struck with the "prolonged howling screech" of
the cocks in Sikhim.[427] The crow of the Cochin is notoriously and
ludicrously different from that of the common cock. The disposition of
the different breeds is widely different, varying from the savage and
defiant temper of the Game-cock to the extremely peaceable temper of
the Cochin. The latter, it has been asserted, "graze to a much greater
extent than any other varieties." The Spanish fowls suffer more from
frost than other breeds.

Before we pass on to the skeleton, the degree of distinctness of the
several breeds from _G. bankiva_ ought to be noticed. Some {260} writers
speak of the Spanish as one of the most distinct breeds, and so it is in
general aspect; but its characteristic differences are not important. The
Malay appears to me more distinct, from its tall stature, small drooping
tail with more than fourteen tail-feathers, and from its small comb and
wattles; nevertheless one Malay sub-breed is coloured almost exactly like
_G. bankiva._ Some authors consider the Polish fowl as very distinct; but
this is a semi-monstrous breed, as shown by the protu