Jerome Pratt
Arizona - USA

7-2-1996

Dear Mr Pratt,

Thank you for your letters and interesting material. As the pheasants and the fowl are virtually belonging to the family the possibilities are certainly that there could be a link in the line of descendants.

It seems to me that no where in the literature can you find any attempt to pursue the ancestry of Gallus gallus (Red Jungle Fowl) itself:

The early writers, Wright, Tegetmeier etc etc all pushed Darwin’s belief that the domestic fowl descended from the red jungle fowl. FULL STOP.

If a story is repeated enough times it is believes. I believe some scholars even today still stick to this theory. However growing in numbers are the people who doubt it: The evidence is building up that there were possibility 3 different species which came down the line of decent from a common extinct ancestor.

Where Darwin’s theory breaks down is that it is in contrast to his evolutionary ideas that everything obviously evolved. He offers no explanation as to what the Red Jungle Fowl evolved from. They are still running around in the jungle. What I believe we need now is to investigate from whence the Jungle Fowl came from. I’m not sure where we have to start but I believe it needs to be done.

I have to read trough your material again; I have a fair bit of stuff coming in at the moment and  having difficulty keeping up to it.

I have correspondents all over the world exchanging information with me. Unfortunately some of it in foreign languages which I have difficulty with.

I’m afraid I haven’t had anything to do with pigeons. However I found your material interesting. During. World War 2 I served in the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (Army) for 3 ½ years, 2 years of which were served in New Guinea.

I will make some enquires regarding the pigeons used in the Australian Army. I believe they were. I was born in 1921 have had problems with eyesight for same years. The last 8 years  the sight has failed badly. My doctor tells me that the optic nerve in one of my eyes has been damaged by the glaucoma and of course the macular degeneration.

My other eye has been faulty since birth. The centre of the retina is damaged. I have had cataract surgery on both eyes and a cornea transplant on one of them. My doctor has done all possible for me.

I have some literature regarding the Saipan Game bird which I will locate and send you a copy. It appears to me it is essentially a Malay.

Over the years I have acquired many contacts overseas with people interested in chickens in overseas countries, e.g. Fred Jeffrey, Prof. George F. Carter of Texas A&M University and others in the USA as well as others in Europe. I find there is increasing support and evidence that the Malay and Jungle Fowl perhaps have different roots. I am firmly convinced that they did, especially after reading Finsterbusch Cocks and Cockfighting all over the World. Finsterbusch made a definitive study of the subject.

I also have recently received info from a Russian geneticist who appears to think along these lines.

I have found this a very interesting although at times somewhat frustrating subject. My archives on there matters - origins - poultry genetics - breeds - and my poultry library is now quite considerable.

OK re your repairs to Our Poultry  Weir. I do not have this book although I have access to it through a friend of mine. I have Wright, Tegetmeier, Wingfield and Johnson and others. They also cover much of the some territory.

My son is also involved in chickens and shortly will be beginning the preparation of a definite study on the Old English game in Australia It will probably be a couple of years before it becomes available. We are into the process of researching the material for this project.

I may have told you that I am visiting Europe during 1996 at the invitation of Dr Elio Corti of Valenza in Italy: He spent a month with me last May and copied much material from my files- I hope to meet some of the people I have corresponded with in the UK an perhaps the Netherlands. This will be most interesting.

Over the past 12 months the amounts of correspondence and  exchange of information has increased considerably and I have be to work and to keep up with it. However it is all good value for the exchange of information in a subject such as we are interested in is essential.

By the way thank you for the info on Ball’s Jungle Fowl of the Pacific - a handy publication. I obtained a copy some years ago which was a useful addition to my library.

I think I have covered the points of your letters I will study the info further when I get mail cleared up and probably have some further comment.

All the best for now.

Regards.