The exact origin of the common domestic fowl and its numerous varieties is unknown. It is doubtless derived from one or more of the wild or jungle fowls of India. Some naturalists are of opinion that it is derived from the common jungle fowl known as the _Gallus Bankiva_ of Temminck, or _Gallus Ferrugineus_ of Gmelin, which very closely resembles the variety known as Black-breasted Red Game, except that the tail of the cock is more depressed; while others consider it to have been produced by the crossing of that species with one or more others, as the Malay gigantic fowl, known as the _Gallus giganteus_ of Temminck, Sonnerat's Jungle Fowl, _Gallus sonneratii_, and probably some other species. At what period or by what people it was reclaimed is not known, but it was probably first domesticated in India. The writers of antiquity speak of it as a bird long domesticated and widely spread in their days. Very likely there are many species unknown to us in Sumatra, Java, and the rich woods of Borneo. The process by which the various breeds have been produced "is simple and easily understood," says Mr. Wright. "Even in the wild state the original breed will show some amount of variation in colour, form, and size; whilst in domestication the tendency to change, as every one knows, is very much increased. By breeding from birds which show any marked feature, stock is obtained of which a portion will possess that feature in an _increased degree_; and by again selecting the best specimens, the special points sought may be developed to almost any degree required. A good example of such a process of development may be seen in the 'white face' so conspicuous in the Spanish breed. White ears will be observed occasionally in all fowls; even in such breeds as Cochins or Brahmas, where white ear-lobes are considered almost fatal blemishes; they continually occur, and by selecting only white-eared specimens to breed from, they might be speedily fixed in any variety as one of the characteristics. A large pendent white ear-lobe once firmly established, traces of the white _face_ will now and then be found, and by a similar method is capable of development and fixture; whilst any colour of plumage or of leg may be obtained and established in the same way. The original amount of character required is _very_ slight; a single hen-tailed cock will be enough to give that characteristic to a whole breed. Any peculiarity of _constitution_, such as constant laying, or frequent incubation, may be developed and perpetuated in a similar manner, all that is necessary being care and time. That such has been the method employed in the formation of the more distinct races of our poultry, is proved by the fact that a continuance of the same careful selection is needful to perpetuate them in perfection. If the very best examples of a breed are selected as the starting-point, and the produce is bred from indiscriminately for many generations, the distinctive