Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-03-03
HISTORY OF THE CHICKEN.
Originally Wild Fowl, But Domestieated
For Many Centuries.

Oscar Err writes in Bulletin $50 OF
the Kansas agricultural experiment
station:
To one who is familiar with the DIFF
Iferent types of chickens to be found
in a poultry show room it seems almost
incredible that these varieties should
have descended from one parent source.
It is, however thought by scientists
that all domestic chickens have been
bred from a single species Of jungle
fowl Of India. '
This wild chicken is smaller than the
common varieties and is colored In a
manner similar to the blackbreasted
game breed. The habits Of this bird
are like those of the quail and prairie
chicken, both of which belong to the
same geological family.
From it's natural home in India the
chicken spread both east and. west
Chinese poultry culture is ancient. In
China, as we'll as India, the chief care
seems to have been to breed very
large fowls, and from these countries
all the large, heavily feathered breeds
have been imported.
Poultry is also known to have been
bred in the early Babylonian and
E,gyptian periods Here, however, the
nroeress was in a different line from
that of China. Artificial incubation was
early developed and the selection was
for birds that produced eggs continual
lv rather than for those that laid few
er eggs and brooded in the natural
manner.
The Egyptian type Of chicken spread
to the countries bordering on the Med
iterranean, and from southern Europe
our nonsetting breed Of fowls have oeen
imported. Throughout the countries
of northern Europe minor differences
were developed, the French chickens
were selected for the quality OF the
meat. while in Poland the peculiar top
knotted breed is supposed to nave
been formed. The chief point to De
noted in all European poultry is that IL
differs from Asiatic poultry in being
smaller, lighter feathered, quicker
maturing. of greater egg producing ca
pacity, less disposed to become broody
and more active than the Asiatic fowl.
The early American hens were or
European origin, but Of no fixed breeds.
About 1910 Italian chickens began 10
be imported. These, with fixed types
Of form and color constitute our
Mediterranean or nonsetting breeds or
the present day. Soon after the impor-
tation of Italian chickens a chance I'M
portion was made from southeastern
Asia. These Asiatic chickens were
quite different from anything yet seen'
and further importations followed
Poultry breeding soon became the
fashion, and the first poultry show was
held in Boston in the early fifties. The
Asiatic fowls imported were gray OF
yellowish red in color, and were Varl-
ously known as the Brahmapootras'
Cochin Chinas and Shanghais. with
| the rapid development Of poultry breed
ing there came a desire to produce new
varieties. Every conceivable form OF
cross breeding was resorteu Io' Ah0
great majority of breeds and varieties
as they exist today are the result OF
crosses followed by few years OF Sc
lection for the desired from and Color
Many of our common breeds still give
us occasional individuals that resemble
some Of the types from when the
breed was formed. The exact history
of the formation of the American or
mixed breeds is in dispute, but 1t Is
certain that they have been formed
from a complex mixing Of blood from
both European and Asiatic sources
Thus we see that the fundamental
traits of our modern breeds are the re-
suits of centuries Of development along
certain fixed lines.