es more abruptly to the
occiput, than in _G. bankiva_. In a Bantam or Jumper from Burmah these
same characters are more strongly pronounced, and the supra-occiput is
more pointed. In a black Bantam the skull is not so globular, and the
occipital foramen is very large, and has nearly the same sub-triangular
outline presently to be described in Cochins; and in this skull the two
ascending branches of the premaxillary are overlapped in a singular
manner by the processes of the nasal bone, but, as I have seen only one
specimen, some of these differences may be individual. Of Cochins and
Brahmas (the latter a crossed race approaching closely to Cochins) I
have examined seven skulls; at the point where the ascending branches
of the premaxillary rest on the frontal bone the surface is much
depressed, and from this depression a deep medial furrow extends
backwards to a variable distance; the edges of this fissure are rather
prominent, as is the top of the skull behind and over the orbits. These
characters are less developed in the hens. The pterygoids, and the
processes of the lower jaw, relatively to the size of the head, are
broader than in _G. bankiva_; and this is likewise the case with
Dorkings when of large size. The terminal fork of the hyoid bone in
Cochins is twice as wide as in _G. bankiva_, whereas the length of the
other hyoid bones is only as three to two. But the most remarkable
character is the shape of the occipital foramen: in _G. bankiva_ (A)
the breadth in a horizontal line exceeds the height in a vertical line,
and the outline is nearly circular; whereas in Cochins (B) the outline
is sub-triangular, and the vertical line exceeds the horizontal line in
length. This same form likewise occurs in the black Bantam above
referred to, and an approach to it may be seen in some Dorkings, and in
a slight degree in certain other breeds.

[Illustration: Fig. 33.--Occipital Foramen, of natural size. A. Wild
_Gallus bankiva_. B. Cochin Cock.]

Of _Dorkings_ I have examined three skulls, one belonging to the white
sub-breed; the one character deserving notice is the breadth of the
frontal bones, which are moderately furrowed in the middle; thus in a
skull which was less than once and a half the length of that of _G.
bankiva_, the breadth between the orbits was exactly double. Of
_Hambu