. Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. SEXUAL CHARACTERS OF SOME DOMESTIC BIRDS. 37 strains of Plymouth Rocks, the fully developed comb of the male is very much smaller than that of the Brown Leghorns, though the latter are only half the weight of the Plymouth Rocks. The female Minorca has a larger comb than that of the Plymouth Rock male, but, of course, the combs of the Minorca males are correspondingly larger. Moreover, in most instances the comb of the male has a proportionally larger blade than that of the female. A further difference is found in the texture of the comb, that o
. Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. SEXUAL CHARACTERS OF SOME DOMESTIC BIRDS. 37 strains of Plymouth Rocks, the fully developed comb of the male is very much smaller than that of the Brown Leghorns, though the latter are only half the weight of the Plymouth Rocks. The female Minorca has a larger comb than that of the Plymouth Rock male, but, of course, the combs of the Minorca males are correspondingly larger. Moreover, in most instances the comb of the male has a proportionally larger blade than that of the female. A further difference is found in the texture of the comb, that of the female being finer than that of the male. Finally, in the female Leghorn and similar breeds the comb almost always lops to one side. This secondary sexual character is not universal among domestic fowl, but is most common in the Mediterranean races. Or- dinarily, capons are derived from the low-combed races, a circumstance which has made it difficult to say that the capon's comb is not feminine. In the Leghorns, however, the capon's comb is practically undeveloped. Therefore, the only possible conclusion is that the capon's comb and wattles are infantile. They do not, of course, remain of the same size as that of the chick at the time of the operation. The base of the comb. Comparative size of the combs of Brown Leghorn fowls. a, an adult male, b and c, two adult females, d, an adult capon. Drawing one-half natural size. increases in length with the increase in size of the skull. The height of the comb also increases somewhat in absolute size, but not in pro- portion to the comb length. The comb of the Leghorn capon, however, is about the same size as that of some Plymouth Rock females. The comparative sizes of the combs of the normal Brown Leghorn, male and female, and of the capon are shown in the accompanying text-figure. In the castrated females, the comb has developed in varying degrees, becoming very large and male-like in some, while in others it has remained compa
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