FRENCH COLOMBIER 



buildingwith foundations firmly planted in the 

 ground, and with its nests, called boulins, cover- 

 ing the interior of the walls from floor to roof. 

 The law did not concern itself with the mere 

 fuie or vo/tere, both of which were of the nature 

 of the wooden structures often seen attached 

 to English stable-walls and gable-ends. 



Standing apparently on a somewhat de- 

 batable ground between these two extremes 

 was the colombier sur piliers, built upon stone 

 pillars, or sometimes on wooden posts. Gener- 

 ally such a structure was held to be exempt 

 from restrictions, but in Brittany, as also in 

 Touraine, it ranked as a colombier a pied. 



Too numerous to be mentioned are the 

 many local variations of this general law. In 

 some districts a member of the privileged 

 orders could, were he of the noblesse, erect 

 his dovecote with no questions asked; as a 

 roturier he must first obtain permission from 

 authority. The evil of numerous dovecotes 

 was not long in being felt; and from time to 

 time various measures were taken to minimise 

 the wrong. In some parts of France a dove- 

 cote could not be maintained, even by those 



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