Evening times-Republican., 1917-05-11
THE POULTRY YARD
HISTORY OF THE CHICKEN.
BY Ed Weber
BY Ed Weber

The horse, COW, sheep. dog, pig,
chicken goose and duck have been so
intimately associated with civilized
man for so many centuries that we
hardly ever think that somewhere N
the misty past these animals roamed
about in their wild state and later
were domesticated by man. So early
in the stage of human development
was the domestication OF animals un-
dertaken, and so long before hiero-
glyphics and writing were first resort
cd to, that 1t Is almost impossible to
determine the exact time or place Of
their domestication.
There are four species of the Cal
linaceous tribes, which have been de-
clared the parents of our barnyard
fowls at different times, but whether
any one is the sole parent. or whether
by cross Of two or more of the spe-
cies the present family of domesticateu
fowls was established, Is still "a moot
ed question. AS Asia was the original
home Of man. so was it the original
home Of the domesticated fowl. The
present Jungle fowl of India resembles
quite little some varieties of pure
bred poultry. According to Zorcaster,
the cock was originally considered
divinity, heing the herald OF the dawn.
and consequently 1t became the sym
boil of light and of the sun. In later
times we find him regarded as The
syn;hc! nf vigilance and knowledge ;;";:
again, at a much later period, we find
him the chief emblem in the art of
alectryomancy. in which the black cock
I,- IL, in
Grecian history first recognizes the
domestic cock about tho middle OF the
second century before Christ. st. Peter
had exceedingly good cause to know
of the cock In the biblical times. ana
in the fourth century we find that the
monaSteries began to apply themselves
to the breeding Of poultry and practt-
cally were pioneers OF the civilized
worlds poultry industry. After TINS
It quite naturally was taken up by the
peasantry, and this class in Italy,
France and Germany were permitted
for very long period to pay their
taxes in poultry and eggs The ancient
Egyptians, according to Dlodorus, the
Sicilian. mot content with the natural
production Of these creatures as
among other nations, do themselves.
from an innate love Of art. increase
the number OF these birds to an un-
speakable extent; for they do not hatch
them by means OF the birds, but
strange to say. they display with their
own hands such intelligence and skill
that they are not surpassed by natures
operations" The allusion. while by no
means very definite or clear. probably
is to the use of ovens, the forerunnerS
Of the modern incubators. The Romans
recognized the advantage Of good lay
ers, and Varro recommends that those
should be selected which were prolific
egg layers. VA &< a.
Even artificial fattening by the
cramming process was not unknown
to the Romans, for Martial says:
",,he hen is easily fed on sweet meal
and in darkness: so clever is the pal
ate"
Moves to Europe.
While the domestlcated fowl was
slowly moving westward thru Asia
Minor into Europe, 1t was working it's
way eastward over into China and
Japan. During the centuries that the
fowls OF China were loft to themselves
they changed a great deal and were far
Europe. In 1S43 the British ambas-
sador to China sont most beautiful
pen Of Cochin Chlnas to Queen Vic
toria. The fowls created a sensation
and. az told by Tennan in 1856. the
poultry world went stark mad. No
other breed Of poultry has ever at
tracted equal attention or maintained
such high prices for such a length Of
time To account for this 1t should
be remembered that no similar fowls
had been known in Europe. And when.
therefore. Cochns were first exhibited
1t was natural that their gigantic size,
gentle disposition, prolificncss, and the
ease with which they could be kept in
confinement, should rapidly make them
favorites with the public. The fowls
given to her majesty were cnlleh tho
Royal Cochin Chinas md were import
ed direct to this country between 1916
and 1850
Cochins Make Industry in Europe.
The importation OF these large twelve
and fifteen pound fowls from China
was the making Of the poultry industry
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