Abstract
A LITTLE while ago in your columns Prof. Lankester referred to this breed as “a magnificent sport,” and considered the occurrence of genius in mankind as a case of the same kind. In Newton's “Dictionary of Birds,” article “Feather,” it is stated that in these Japanese poultry the moult is checked or prevented by some means unknown to Europeans. It is obvious that the latter statement, if correct, is not compatible with Prof. Lankester's description. If the breed really arose as “a magnificent sport,” I presume that the excessive growth of the tail coverts would be due to a spontaneous variation, and not to some artificial method of preventing the annual moult. After a great deal of trouble I have succeeded in obtaining evidence, which seems to me unimpeachable, concerning the means taken by the Japanese to produce this extraordinary elongation of feather the cocks of the breed in question.
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CUNNINGHAM, J. Long-tailed Japanese Fowls. Nature 64, 158 (1901). https://doi.org/10.1038/064158a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/064158a0
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