CEYLON HENNIES

A palavra nativa para galinha é “Kikili”, de onde vema raça recebe o nome de
“Kikilia”.

São malaios grandes, com penas de henny, com pente ou crista de morango,
lutadores muito ativos e vingativos. O galo é um terço maior que a galinha e,
como a maioria dos orientais, é muito propenso à monogamia.

Eles são uma raça muito interessante e acredita-se que estejam no Ceilão
desde tempos imemoriais. Muito poucos exemplares foram exportados para a
Europa, mas não há a menor dúvida de que as aves a que Stonehouse se
refere, em seu livro “Breeds of Poultry”, são Kikilias.

Eles são combatidos com os calcanhares nus e são perfeitamente agressivos,

fortes e resistentes. Os japoneses têm uma variedade semelhante e talvez
tenham sido introduzidas no Ceilão, assim como introduziram outras aves de
caça indianas.

INDIAN MALAYS

Encontrados em quase toda parte no centro e no sul da Índia, os malaios

tornaram-se, em alguns casos, monturos de lixo, embora sempre mantendo
uma propensão selvagem para a luta desde a mais tenra juventude.

Esses malaios são diferentes dos pássaros ingleses que têm esse nome e,
embora tenham nádegas ligeiramente inclinadas - o que não é perceptível
pelos pêlos - nunca se vê pássaros com dorso de barata, nem tão altos como
os pássaros ingleses.

Em diversas localidades existem malaios de caça estritamente mortos, que são

aves de combate extremamente boas, com todas as características que
caracterizam a grande e antiga raça dos orientais. Dissemos em outro lugar
que eles provavelmente foram introduzidos na Índia pelo comércio de cockers
e por comerciantes de cocking vários séculos antes de nossa era, e desde
então têm sido considerados aves nacionais.

Fortes, de penas duras, lustrosos e chutadores cruéis, eles

são típicos heelers nus, embora às vezes até lutem com slashers. Deve-se
notar que existem variedades e linhagens de malaios de caça estritamente
mortos, ao contrário do barndoor malaio ou do inglês.
JAPANESE GAME FOWL
Japanese Game birds constitute a veritable force in
the realm of feathered warriors. They have estabished
a formidable repute, second perhaps only to the English
birds of yore and to the very fountain of cocking,
India

We are very sorry to have to confess, that in spite

of doing our best trying hard to get the very best information,
we have advanced very little in several
years of investigation. We have approached scientific
authorities whom we strongly believe to be fully cognizant
of the matter questioned and we have corresponded
with reputed breeders and cockers, but have
not been able to learn from them anything that we did
not already know. The greatest bulk of this correspondence,official and private, form a collection

of very polite, —extremely —

polite, letters but no specific
information.

It is one of the Japanese national virtues to learn

and know everything from abroad but to close their
chest of knowledge before foreign inquiries. Should
these remarks hurt the tender feelings of some of our
Japanese friends, we would like to state that, while we
deplore the situation, we fully admire their patriotism
and as such our criticisms are to be taken as what they
are —a compliment!
But what we did not learn in theory, we have been
lucky to have learned from a practical side. Japanese
fowls have been scattered all over the world and have
contributed their large quota towards the production
of highest class pit birds.

We are indebted to Count Casimir Selor, who stayed

a long time in Indo-China and Japan, for information

on cocks and cocking in Japan, and with his aid we

were able to trace many data which otherwise would
have been very difficult to obtain.

Early History. A few hundred years ago, Japan

was very poor in horses and cattle, but they had cocks
which contributed a great lot to the diversion of the
natives. Prolific Japanese artists have depicted scenes
of cocking, centuries ago, and the queer fact is that the
cocks that appear to have been fought then were small

Bankivas ;—
at any rate small cocks. Some are depicted
with very long and flowing tails suggesting the Sumatra,
but we quite admit that possibly those long tails,
thin shanks, etc., were mainly intended as decorative
adjuncts, not really as representative characteristics.

To the highly developed artistic tastes of the average

Japanese, the grand stance of the fighting cock was an
incentive for the production of decorative figures and
drawings, and many are the art gems where the splendid
hues of pheasants and cocks have served as prototypes
for coloristic orgies.

Breeders have gone a step further and with endless

patience and admitted skill, have produced a great
variety of ornamental fowls, which though mere freaks,

have in Japan a “real” —not a fancy value. In the

West we admire and smile at such fancies and are
quite willing to pay a few shillings for our hobbies,
but in Japan they constitute an effective piece of possession
which we fail to grasp.

Such are the small Chabos and other fancy bantams,

many of which are also fought. Such also are the
famous Phoenix or Yokohama fowls, known as Sinowaratao
and other names. We have studied the latter
and come to the conviction that they were made up from
Bankiva and Sumatra blood.

Somebody once stated that a Sumatra can easily be manufactured through Asil and Yokohama
blood. The product must be
in the neighborhood of the Sumatra
though, as both have its blood, but never can be compared
with the real Sumatra pit fowl which is decidedly
different. We cannot well nigh judge pit breeds by the
conventional exhibition standard. Cockers know that
too well already.

The Sumatra, though it had a peculiar type,

old time
was not bred to this type but to its performances in the
pit. That European fanciers constructed a fancy standard
round this unique type, does not change the facts
in the least.

There were Sumatra Game fowl in South Japan, and

so far as our information goes, still exist there and are

fought in slashers. Many pictures and photos of Yokohama

fowl that we have studied carefully also show
distinct Sumatra features.

Of course the method of breeding such decorative birds must break their pit
but the fighting spirit has not vanished altogether.
utility,
There were also Bankivas in Japan, native and
imported, and that they were used in the pit is shown
inmany Japanese pictures. Besides, many of the
Japanese decorative varieties are plain enough Bankiva.

It is a matter of speculation when the Malayoid was

introduced in Japan; for introduced it was. Our researches
show that it can have been between just one
century ago and the year 1200, when Japanese sailors
and traders had regular contact with the Siamese.

Shamo is the name given to the ordinary game fowl

of the country, derived from “Siam,” and the average
Japanese knows nothing of the Malay, because of the
reason that that term is naturally ignored. Shamo,
then is the name of any Malay or Oriental type fowl,
from the gigantic Ainoku to the smallest Tuzo. As in
India, the average Japanese cocker does not identify the
dilferent varieties of fowl by their type, but by their
specific pit qualification. It is by this method that the
Western investigator is puzzled and confounded. You
may know the small Seki or Tuzo and believe that it is
a standardized breed, but in Japan possibly very few
may know anything about it. On the other side, you
may know a gigantic Shamo strain and while referring
to same Japan, for ordering or investigating you may
in
be shown or referred to a dozen varieties which go
under that banner just the same.

We had an adventure in earlier days when asking

more concise details regarding certain fowl, and our
Japanese informant could answer no better than stating
that those fowls were “Very good, very nice; fight like
hell!”

You will not meet many cockers in Japan who can

give you a satisfactory relation of their fowl, but sure they are that they “fight like hell.” Those
early Siamese fowl introduced in Japan were not always of a definite
type and size, as they had been in domestication from
time immemorial, and subjected ever since to pit uses,
changed type and proclivities according to their breeding.
They founded a new cocking era in Japan and
were bred tolerably pure until Indian fowl was introduced
with the advent of long-shore navigation. Apparently
the first Indian specimens were introduced
from Singapur, small black, Asil-bred cocks of unquestionable
gameness and grand ring generals. They
contributed their share towards the production of the
most reputed and aristocratic Game fowl, the “Tuzo.”

Gentlemen of high position, Samurais and princes

took up the Tuzo as their favorite. They became rare
and scarce like the true Asil of India, and is one of
those breeds that cannot be easily bought for any
amount of money. Occasionally a few specimens came
into the hands of poorer breeders who soon learned
that they were highly valued, causing them to breed as
much as possible. The true little Tuzo is black, of a
brilliant purple and green sheen, with white eyes, but
black tongue and spurs. The lesser popular edition, the
Plebeian Tuzo, comes in all colors, even white, and
though they are not valued like the Royal bird they
were those birds referred to above which could “fight
like hell.” In type they are fairly Malay, rather stilty,
drooping tails, large heads, short parrot-like beaks,
strong necks. Comb small knob or pea; face generally
fiery red, but not infrequently very dark. Some specimens,
especially the lesser ones have small wattles like
a ridge under the lower mandible. The better ones have
no wattles, but ample dew-lap.

In this connection we may mention that, contrary to

the opinion of some Japanese authorities who maintain

that the dewlap is an anatomical commodity to allow

the birds to breathe and swallow with ease, it is to be
looked upon as a true sexual characteristic, ranging in
importance, equal with comb, lobes and wattles. That
it is an anatomical commodity besides nobody may deny,
but in the chief it is one of the secondary sexual tokens
of Malayoids. We base our statements on the following
observations:
 large and developed in mature males, but
1. It is
small in females;

2. Entirely absent in young stock which have a

plain throat; and
3- It makes its appearance with progressing sexual
development.

We have pointed to the fact elsewhere that it is a

Malay characteristic so far that in pure Bankivas a
genuine dewlap does not exist, who in change have
fairly large wattles and Sumatras are partly if not
entirely feathered up to the lower mandible. Of course,
in Malays, the throat is fairly bare, and the dewlap
shows vivid red during the pairing period. We have
discussed already in previous chapters that the large
earlobes, sometimes hanging, the dewlap just mentioned,
take the place of the visible facial appendices of
Bankivoids, comb, lobes and wattles.

Now, in Tuzos as also in the larger Japs, it is remarkable

that black-faced specimens, like Sumatras,
have a very small comb and dewlap. After the Singapur
black Malay (Kalkatiya) had been introduced in
Japan, it appears that some Malays and Indian Game
were likewise imported with a decisive view of improving
the fighting stock. Up to the present they
knew only the Siamese varieties, but soon got hold of
the gigantic Malays of the mainland with which fowl
they crossed their larger hens, also fairly Malayoid,producing the variety known locally in Japan
as Ainoku, a word that means “mestizo” or “crossed.”

These Ainoku, reputed as hard kickers, but not very

lively, also termed “Hooh-nah-ku-rit” (large birds that
strike with force) are generally used by the lower
population for improvised fights in blunt heels. Sometimes
game to the last, sometimes indifferent and not
seldom dunghill in disposition, they are kept for the
large price obtained for them as culinary delicacy, but
the true breeder and
cocker does not recognize
the Ainoku as the
real Shamo pit fowl,
though blood-lines it
in-
is a near relation to it.
The Shamo Game
fowl is entirely different
and a true pit bird from
tip to tail. Its blood
has been changed with
advancing years and the type is not fixed after a standard fashion. In the main, it is a Siamese-
Indian
bird in blood, selected merely for the pit, and as such
has no match in his weight category, throughout the
world, fighting in naked heels. Some birds of the
Shamo breed are the prototype of bold aggressiveness,
dead gameness and endurance. They are perhaps not
so perfect generals as the small Raja Murghi of India,
or the small Tuzo, but on the other hand they can stand
such a tremendous amount of pounding that we believe
a decent Shamo cock can outwear three ordinary
game-cocks in naked heels.

Breeds and Strains. In the main, the Japanese

cocker and breeder will recognize no more than four
principal groups, their chief difference residing more in their weights and capacity than in the
type. The English bird has been bred to a standard of type and
color, losing considerably in its pit utility, but the
Japanese has been bred, as most American strains, to a
standard of quality for the pit, with little or no attention
as to its general type and color.

The four groups or varieties of Japanese Game fowl,

such as we consider them, are as follows:

1.Ainoku or crossed. Large powerful birds, slow

and heavy. Pets among the country population who
raisethem as turkeys and fight them occasionally. They
are now seldomseen in any place with pretensions to
be considered as cock-pit. They may be classed as the
current Japanese Malay.

2. Shamos. Middleweights, from 7 i/2 lbs. To 9 i/2

Fairly Malay in outline, they not seldom resemble the
“Kulangs” of India, the Madrassi and Haiderabadi
Games, to which they are related. Bred entirely for
the pit, dead-game, hard and enduring, moderately fast,
aggressive and grand executors, they are the prototype
of what is generally known among cockers as “Japs.”
They are not, by far, homogeneous in type and color,
while some varieties resemble each other, just as much
as an American Roundhead will resemble a Cuban or
any other strain. Some strains are large winged and
fairly rich tailed, others compact and perfectly Oriental.
It requires care and judgment to select the
right sort, though most all are dead game and tremendously
strong.

For crossing on Caucasian fowl care is needed, and

specimens showing characteristics of hybridization
should be avoided, as their blood is not so reliable in
the perpetuation of crossbred strains.

These Shamos are the best all-round naked heelers

that one can imagine, and with due despect to the fine
Indian fowl, we have come to appreciate them just as high.

They are generally valuable and hard to obtain

as most any high class pit-fowl, but much more frequent
than the lighter varieties.

3. Ashuras. We take this name in a generic form.

In fact it belongs only to a restricted strain, such as we
would use in America to denominate Warhorses or
Roundheads. Their weights range between 5 to 7 lbs.
Generally carefully bred. Very tight in feather, angular
and high stationed. They lack the elegance of the
Caucasian or Sumatra, though in their tight suit of
feathers and peculiar gait, they are in their way nice
and interesting. The best birds are dark, though blues,
grays and even white are not rare.

Combs, small buttons,

triple orvery seldom, rose. These birds have
no wattles, but fairly large earlobes. It appears that
they are slowly vanishing, as the population rather
prefers the larger Shamos or the small Tuzos. Apparently
these Ashuras were produced by crossing the
Shamo with the small Singapur or Tuzo Game. As pit
fowl, they are excellent and leave nothing to be desired
for fighting in naked heels or short steel. They are
noted dodgers and side-steppers and carry on the fight
without hate until they can place their spurs in a most
effective way. So good wind have these birds that they
can carry on for hours of fighting and wearing an adversary
out. The larger birds are very often hopeless
billers and when distressed seem unable to strike without
beak-hold. Ashuras kick free and do not resort to
billing more than strictly necessary. They are most interecting
birds and sure to give entire satisfaction.

In their tactics they resemble the Asil fowl of India, over

which they have the advantage of reach.

4.Tuzos. The name is also used as vaguely identifying

the smallest tribe of Oriental fighting fowl. They
are smaller even than the Raja Murgh of India, which
they otherwise resemble in value in gameness.

The few specimens we have been able to observe were

exceedingly interesting and proved their value in breeding
true to feather and type, with very little difference.
A brood of 17 chicks, of one age, just feathered, were
so much alike, that it was exceedingly difficult to identify
each chick. We
used to grow our birds very close
to our home, deriving the greatest pleasure in their
observance. Dewlap is not noticeable until completion
of 6th month, and from then on grows gradually.

It
isgood policy to separate the males, as they are very
prone to fall on each other upon the slightest provocation.
Atmospheric depressions, change of weather, or
any external cause influence their mind, raising their
pugnacity and rage. Queer enough, they do not take
much notice of other breeds, and quite willingly give
way to any mongrel, duck or peafowl. But against
their own kin they are superbly intolerant and fight
from earliestage to a fatal decision. We left two tiny
chicks fight out when not older than five weeks, and
it
both chewed and kicked without a chirp until the
night. Other chicks squeal and cry, but these go at it
silent as the grave. No hope that they will let loose.

Hens fight as well as the cocks, and even fight with

stags to a desperate finish. There is only one hope to
accustom them to a pen with two or three hens in a
group, and that is letting them run free during moult
and pen in just prior to completion, but without cock.
To let the cock into the pen, it is better to have him
placed before the hens in a coop for a couple of weeks,
when they will establish friendly relations in a neighborly
mood. As soon as the hens show signs of wanting
to lay, let the cock in, but observe closely. Between
love and war they are always undecided, and we fancy,
with a strong inclination towards war. Of course, with
an aged cock, and young hens or pullets these precautions
are not necessary, as the cock is arrogant and admits no discussion. A cock is man enough for
three
hens and will produce fertile and strong offspring. As
in all Game birds, however, it is wiser not to let chance
creep in, and single-mate each hen to a cock or stag.
Then you know which hen is mother to each egg and
evade any guesswork.

These Tuzos run from

3 to 4 lbs. and in appearance
are overgrown
Bantams. In fact they
are not, as most Bantams
grow normally,
i. e. like full-size birds

up to feathering stage,
and then hang back.
Tuzos grow up exactly
as large breeds, it being
extremely difficult to
differentiate between the sexes until the secondary
sexual characteristics show up.

Noted Oriental cockers, to say nothing of the Japanese,

prefer Tuzos to any breed alive, and place
them higher than any of the Indian breeds, not excluding
the Asil Rajah Murghi. Very upright in carriage,
their tails point straight downwards. Wings very short.
Spurs not always straight but generally good size. In
their characteristics they resemble the small Asil, being
higher in station, rather more slender, long and strong
thighs, remarkably flat and broad chested and very
strong neck, round thick heads, with short beaks and
diminutive combs, eyes deeply set in, protected by
heavy brows and prominent hard cheeks.

During a fight they do not stop for a second and go at

it in a desperate effort to get the enemy down and out.

They try incessantly and kick, —small as they are, with horrible power. They are generally head-
fighters
but land their blows where they can. They appear perfectly
unaffected by any amount of punishment and do
not even stagger under the fiercest blows. They have
been bred to from time immemorial, resembling also
it

in this the trueRaja Murgh of India. Of course, they

are profoundly game and gallant, and will as soon fight
any cock their own size, as they will any shake, turkey,
lion or elephant.

The Fights. The Japanese have an institution like

the Indian Dora Dirza or tape fight. The fundamental
rules of the Dora Dirza is to cut tails clean, shorten the
spurs and after healing, bandaging the spurs with nine
folds of tape.During a fight, which may drag for several
days, you can pick up your cock whenever you like
and call for a “parni” or pause, but you are not allowed
to pick up your cock more than ten times during
the whole fight.

It requires judgment to pick up your cock at the

right moment and not become nervous when the cock
is having the worst of it. If you pick the cock too
soon you lose an opportunity later, and if you pick him
up too late he may be so hurt that no amount of nursing
willbring him back. Of course in the Indian Dora
Dirza the gray matter of the cocker (clever seconding)
plays a great role, and more fights are lost by defective
handling than is the case in Western countries.

The Japanese authorities maintain that cocks are not

given even chances with bandages and the possible
seconding of a stupid handler. A very good cock may
lose against the lesser one, but better managed. Very
rightfully, we believe, Japanese the cocks fight it out
let
their own way. Small cocks areinvariably fought
sharp heeled in their natural spurs, or armed with
some eastern contrivance of deadly mortal effect. They are weighed and evenly matched and let
loose at a fair
distance. From then on the cocks are not touched until
one or both are carried out. Two strong and clever
cocks have fought for hours until both sank down generally ;

in a close clinch. For Western cockers would

this
mean the end, or a good opportunity to call it a draw.
In Japan just at this minute the fun begins, and
watches are pulled out to note when one of the birds
lifts the head again. Many bets are based upon this
important second, the first one raising the head and
striking, being the winner. So hard and enduring are
these little Japs that after a minute or two of deep rest
they raise, punch-drunk or not, and go at it with renewed
bitterness. Game, exceedingly game birds, well
worthy to be so highly patronized by the choice of the
Japanese Samurais, reputed all over the world for
utmost gallantry.

The Ashuras are fought almost the same way as the

littleTuzo, and for wearing qualities they earn their
great reputation. When they land their blows, due
to their tight feathers and absence of wing flutter, you
do not seldom hear the thud like the report of a big
drum. It is said that the onlookers grin in broadest
delight when this happens. You see the same in any
boxing contest, and the result is alike. The well-versed
knows better that the silent massive punch on vulnerable
spots is less noisy, but the more effective.

Shamos are not seldom fought blunt heeled, in fact, it

isthe rule in the highest class fights. The idea is to
lessen the injury by a cutting pointed spur so that the
birds show their remarkable staying powers, punishment
absorbing qualities and deep gameness. For
Western cockers such a mill would appear cruel and
tiresome, but to the Japanese it is a true proof of the
highest desirable qualities.

Not seldom the bouts drag for several hours and the
nearer the cocks are to complete exhaustion, the greater
the enthusiasm in the audience, then now comes the
supreme moment of witnessing which cock is better,
well knowing that nothing
tests gameness better
than extreme exhaustion.
A clean kill
early in the session is
rare, considering the
enormous strength of
the cocks, but such a
fact is better known as
chance or accident than
a desirable feat. The
best reputed cocks of the
country are considered
those that have finally
won in a heavy drag
against all odds and
chances.

Japanese fights are a

supreme test for game-'
ness and endurance.
Extreme s^peed is consequently not primordial, in fact, at some instances even undesirable, as
nothing requires more muscle-work and wind than the
development of speed.

Itstands to reason that for effective performance in

Japanese cock-pits several points are of highest interest,
to wit:

Weight. Should be medium, as too heavy cocks cannot

possibly stand the heavy exertion of a long drag
fight. Wise breeders state that the best birds of Japan
are from crossed origin, due to the efforts towards reducing the natural heavy weight of the giant
Malay.
The same breeders believe that most of the extremely
heavy birds, not seldom over 15 lbs., are examples of
regression to the original prototype. These birds are
mostly Ainoku, and when fought are not seldom

matched in short slashers —as in —with

Southern India
a view to shorten the contest.

Heavy birds are also slow to mature, taking from 24

to 36 months to reach full maturity. The Jap crosses,
due to the flyer blood, Bankiva or Sumatra, mature at
from 18 to 24 months.

Accurate Cutting. This is a notable feature of the

best cocks, which could not reach the pinnacle of ring
performance without a perfect sense of time and distance.
We gather from our data that birds of the
all
Ashura type, for some reason or
other, probably by
selection, are the most accurate cutters of the Orient,
surpassing in this feature even the best Asil fowls.
Accuracy is a paramount condition for Japs.

Dodging. Also a grand quality of Japs and most

Orientals. Fighting against heavy punchers, it is not
only necessary to be able to absorb a lot of punishment,
but it is obvious that it is of advantage to avoid it. The
long neck of Japs comes in handy, and it is remarkable
to note how some Japanese cocks dodge, side-step and
shift to avoid blows. Some cocks, by deficient training
or bad breeding rather overdo this point, but is invariably
admired by the Japanese.

Aggressiveness. When accompanied by power and

accuracy is a great feature, and when two cocks are
evenly matched it is a sure bet on the most aggressive
cock. Tactics go hand in hand with aggressiveness,
and while some clever cocks are decidedly back-fighters,
returning blow by blow, others are on the initiative
side, attacking constantly. Naturally the back-fighting
cock has a big advantage on a savage charger. Many Japanese cocks also overdo this feature,
being on the
slow, back-fighting side.

Gluttony. Oriental cocks are universally reputed as

gluttons for the heaviest punishment. The average steel
fighting cocker has no idea of the amount of punishment
a Jap can absorb, and probably never will have an
opportunity to learn it under steel fighting rules. This
feature makes the Oriental such superior naked heelers.
They can stand the most severe mill and weather any
storm. Even punch-drunk and staggering, they can
recover and retaliate most effectively. The best cocks
of Japan are perfectly indifferent towards any sort of
execution, and even mortally injured are extremely dangerous
opponents.

Strength. It is only reasonable to expect in Japs of

high order a terrible muscular strength which preferably
is located in thighs and rump. As they generally
do not strike with wings as some flyers do, they appear
poor in breast, though very broad. The quality of
muscle is of highest order, dense and dry. Hence their
standing power. They require less water than flyers,
which point borne out in their endurance and good
is

wind. Many Japs are scantily feathered, appearing

thin and even weak, yet with a small bundle of muscles
they can perform astounding feats. No human measure
seems even approximate in comparison with the power
of Jap Orientals.

General Remarks. Following Western customs we

have classified the Japanese Game-fowl in four groups,
but would like to point out that this classification would
not hold good in Japan. The cockers there recognize
just the Game fowl as such, but pay no attention to
these groups, matching any variety of fowl which
strikes their fancy. Strains are known locally or
credited to some special breeder, but no strain-craze is
known, such as is evident in the States.

For breeding they will readily mate an Ashura on any type hens, for
example, they are just good enough and promise of
if
throwing good offspring. This is the rule, but some
breeders are not only careful about the quality of their
stock, but will consider some type and color features,
i. e. strain characteristics, before attempting any breeding

at all. It is to such breeders that we owe the

preservation of several different types.

Besides the average Oriental, we may find in Japan

also some tolerably pure Bankivas, Filipinos and Javanese.
We have referred already to the Sumatra, whose
type maybe traced in several varieties, but whether
due to direct Sumatra infusion or if the blood crept
in through the many Indian importations nobody can
say. Pure Sumatras, or very near in type to the oldtime
pheasant fowl, are to be met with in Southern
Japan, and though not at all frequent at present, it appears
that once they were bred in fair numbers and
fought, as in the Sundas, with slashers.

This would partially explain the appearance of Black

blood in several strains. They also knew and had deadblack
Silkies, in fact, Japan was once credited with
being the original country of the Silky, though we now
are prone to doubt it.

Muffed Japs are also known, as well as bearded

Malays, this being only natural in fowls, that from
their ancestors have inherited partially feathered races.

Some Japanese fowl, also pit-birds, are partially bare

or naked neck, being very similar to, if not identical
with, the naked necks of Madagascar and Siam.

Conditioning cocks for the pit is an art highly developed

in Japan as whole Orient. It would take
in the
us too far to go into the minute details that complete
the Japanese program of conditioning. There are books
in Japan dealing with this fact, but most of the procedure is done according to tradition or as
taught by actual practice.

Perhaps very few readers will ever have heard of

the strange fruit or berry known in India as “Lukutate”
and on which sick and aged elephants and
Sambar-deer feed. The medical properties of this
fruit appears to be of highest interest, and by desintoxicating
the organism causes rejuvenation of the
individual. We want to point to this fact with a special
view of inducing interested investigators to gather
more information. The “Shuriagati” people of India,
it isreported, enjoy by its use perfect health and attain
high age. “Lukutate” is used by some cockers for conditioning
cocks, many of which have established phenomenal
records in the pit, as well as healing rapidly
from the most severe injuries. Of course most Malayoids
have an astounding healing flesh, attributed to
their glandular function, but whether the latter is only
naturally acquired or has been stimulated by the berries
they get, no one can say with any exactitude.

Most orientals or pea-combed Malayoids have been

all
liberallytermed Japs in the last decades, and under
this banner travelled many dunghills which had done
better to stay at home. They have done some discredit
to the grand pit-fowl of the Orient, but the wise breeder
will know that the real Japanese Game fowl are pit
birds of highest order and repute.

An American’s Experiences. We have pointed out

at several instances that among contemporaneous authorities
on Game fowl, Dr. H. P. Clarke’s judgment
ranks as one of the best founded. His experience and
great knowledge covers a lapse of time in cocking history
that is highly interesting for being an era of transcendental
importance in the scattering of Game fowl
over the globe. Concerning Japanese Game fowl, he
writes, April 1928:

“If one could only visit Japan and look for fighting
fowls, he would doubtless find several breeds heretofore
unknown to the Caucasian world. I have even heard of
steel fighting (possibly with slashers) in some places.
As I wrote once before, all the Jap cocks that I have
seen in this country in recent years have been decidedly
on the Malay order, whereas my old line secured in

the 80’s through a friend in San Francisco —who had

a relative missionary in Japan — those birds were

elongated Asils in type, tall and rather slender in build
but pretty well feathered, with strong wings and good
spurs. I do not remember any downward pointing
spurs as in Malays. Those cocks could fly well, for

Orientals —of course not like Bankivoids —were very

quick and used heel rather than beak. Cocks from 7 1/2

to 9 1/2 lbs., —small for Shamos.

“Some 20 years later I got another bunch of Shamos
similar to preceding in many respects but coarser and
not quite so well feathered. Size about the same. It
was from this stock that I raised one stag, hatched in
winter, stunted by the cold, developed into a 4 lb. cock.
Sent him to a friend near Cienfuegos on south coast of
Cuba. That cock bred to small ‘fina’ hens produced
cocks the most uniformly successful that Cuba ever saw.
And in only a few years that Jap-Cuban cross had run
out and disappeared entirely.
“About that same time I got pure white Japs from
the West. Much like the Ashuras on page 31 ( Grit and
Steel, April 1928) but more heavily feathered. These
were stolen before I had a chance to learn much of their
pit qualities.

“At different times I had individual Jap cocks of

various Pacific Coast (more than one from Anthony
Greene stock) and Hawaiian strains, some very large,
but none that compared in pit qualities with the ‘missionary’
importation mentioned above. This is the stock that I introduced in France and Belgium. Two
stags (V2 Jap, V2 T. A.) I fought in France in 1894,
and left them with Cliquennois.”

We may add for the benefit of the reader that Mr.

Anthony Greene, of California, a great Orientalist
though not really introducing Japs into America first,
imported very often and contributed to the scattering
and credit of high-class Japs throughout the States,
more than any other Western cocker. We have a record
published by Mr. Greene, with the names of numerous
Eastern and Southern cockers of repute, who got breeding
stock from him in the last decades, which shows
clearly that many American strains generally considered
of true Caucasian blood have the Oriental streak
and doubtless derive some surprising qualities from this
blood infusion.

Mr. Greene’s experiences must be both extensive and

interesting, and it is deplorable that the grand Orientalist
did not publish a review of his work, which would
fill a large gap in American cocking history.

The experiences of Dr. Clarke show once more that

besides the typical Malayoids there exists many other
varieties in Japan. On
the other hand, it is quite possible
that his early stock was the product of recent
importations to Japan of Southern fowl.