were gently pulled by stroking between the finger and thumb from the base
outwards. The feathers in the tail were seven pairs of rectrices, two rows
of tail coverts, anterior and posterior, four or five pairs in each row, a
number of transition feathers: all these were steel-blue, almost black; in
front of them on the saddle were a number of reddish yellow, very slender
saddle hackles.

In September 1901, when the birds ware just over three months old, the
adult feathers of the tail were all growing. The growing condition can be
distinguished by the presence of a horny tubular sheath extending up the
base of the feather for about one inch. When growth ceases this sheath is
shed. In cock A growth continued till the end of the following March, when
the longest feathers, the central rectrices, 2 feet 4-1/2 inches long. One
of the feathers--namely, one of the anterior tail coverts--was
accidentally pulled out on 11th February 1902, when it was 15-1/4 inches
long and had nearly ceased to grow and formed its quill, and it
immediately began to grow again and continued to grow till the following
September, when it was accidentally broken off at the base: it was then 18
inches (44.5 cm.) long.

The effect of stroking in cock B was to pull out from time to time one of
the growing feathers. Of the original feathers, one, the left central
posterior covert, continued to grow till 13th July 1902, when it was 2
feet 9-1/2 inches long without the part contained in the follicle. All the
feathers pulled out immediately commenced to grow again, except the last
two pulled out 27th May and 13th July, which did not grow again till the
following moulting season, in September.

The first right central rectrix in cock B was accidentally pulled out on
13th April 1902, when it was 2 feet 9-7/8 inches long. Its successor began