390 THE FEATILEUED TKTr.ES. 



original supposition of this and the stock-dove heing identical. In form and size they 

 A"ery uearlj' agree, the rock-dove being, perhaps, rather more slender. The predominant 

 shades of each are also much the same ; the principal variations consisting in the colour 

 of the runif), which, in the stock-dove, is invariably bliiish-gray, but iu the rock-dove 

 generally white ; in the two distinct bands of bars (of black) crossing the wings of the 

 latter bird; and in the colour of the breast and belly, which, in the stock-dove, is more of 

 a purpUsh-red. The dissimilarity of their habits, however, marks even more strongly 

 the specific difference between them, than the proofs drawn from the j^lumage, the stock- 

 dove being a constant inhabitant of the woods, and frequently the interior of the country; 

 but the species under consideration Is, In its wild state, always met with inhabiting rocky 

 places, and these principally on the sea-coast." 



" It is to the rock-dove," says a recent writer, " a species almost Invariably spread in 

 its wild state throughout the Old World, that the domestic pigeon and its varieties must 

 be referred. All these A'arieties breed with each other, and with the \vild rock-dove ; 

 and without due care, all, as it is called, soon degenerate, and acquire the original form 

 and colouring." 



On this subject a highly intelligent naturalist, Mr. W. C. L. Martin, remarks : " To 

 this opinion, were we not from experience aware of the difficulty of keeping up any 

 remarkable strain In Its purity, we should hesitate to subscribe ; and we are not quite 

 sure that there Is not some ancient jidmixturc of allied sijecles (as we believe to be in the 

 instance of the dog), whence, perhaps, arises a certain constitutional tendency to assume, 

 at indefinite periods, varieties of form and contour. We doubt much whether any plans 

 of treatment or Inter-breedIng would ever produce a carrier or horseman, so slngulai'ly 

 specific are they In their characters ; and of this we are sure, that if the brood be once 

 extinct, no arts will ever consvnnmate its renewal. Other varieties arc far more easily 

 accounted for; but this, of ancient lineage, descended from a remote line of oriental 

 ancestry, has continued in distinctness to the present day. True, it has been inter-bred 

 with baser strains by fonclers ; but, more or less pure, its distinctive characters' yet survive, 

 often In high perfection. We may say the same, with some reservation, respecting the 

 barb, a black pigeon with an occipital crest, and a naked circle of scarlet skin round 

 the eyes." 



THE IIOVE-COTE PIGEON. 



In most countries the common dove-cote pigeon is kept in abundance for the table, and 

 the markets of most large towns are plentifully sujjplled with these birds. In the 

 outskirts of Ispahan the pigeon-houses arrest the attention of the traveller, and at a 

 distance might be taken for towers of defence or lofty strongholds. They are generally 

 surmounted by smaller houses, capped with a sugar-loaf si>\ve, having apertures for the 

 exits and entrances of the birds. Inside, the breeding cells arc placed in close arrav, 

 furnishing accommodation for many hundreds. From these towers vast clouds of pigeons 

 issue, and at one time they whirled about in masses so extensive and compact, as to 

 obscure the sun when they passed overhead. In Persia, however, these birds are reared 

 for the sake of their dung, whicli is used as a manure fur melon-grounds ; and in llic 

 neighbourhood of Isjiahan, the melons arc celebrated for their superiority. 



The inhabitants of Syria and ralcstine, like the western Asiatics generally, are 

 fond of pigeons. Dove-cotes arc consijicuous in most of the villages, and \ast flocks 

 of wild doves appear about the time the corn begins to ripen, and remain fill (ho 

 harvest is over, llcncc the simile of the prophet Isaiah : — " Who arc these that fly as a 

 </o/(t/, and as the (lores to their windov^^s ^ " Wliilo other allusions to these birds aro 

 equally natural. 



