375 TURKESTAN PIGEONS. 



natives of Eastern Turkestan assert tliat tlie differences which 

 are found among the pigeons are due to the direct inter- 

 position of Providence, but they know that the varieties can 

 only be regularly perpetuated by interbreeding. They also 

 add, that by crossing different varieties they could predict 

 almost exactly what the resulting progeny would be like ; in 

 short, they seemed to think that pigeons could be bred to a 

 feather. 



" The people were well aware of the great fondness domestic 

 pigeons have for salt. A Yarkandi fancier advised me to give 

 my birds plenty of salt. He said the result of this would be 

 that my pigeons would attract those of other people to the 

 place where the salt was to be found, and that I should thus 

 greatly increase my stock of pigeons at a very trifling cost. 



" The domestic pigeons of Kashgaria are very fond of 

 perching. In almost every house where pigeons are kept, a 

 pole is placed across the open courtyard, from wall to wall, 

 for them to perch on, and several other plans are resorted to 

 for the same object. In the house where I kept my pigeons, 

 I had sticks placed across in various directions, and I found 

 that they preferred perching on them to standing on the 

 ground. Great fights often took place among the birds to 

 secure favourite places. 



"In Eastern Turkestan I never saw any of the dovecotes 

 tenanted by semi- domesticated pigeons in nearly the same 

 livery as the wild stock which are commonly met with about 

 the villages in Egypt. 



" I have given all the native names first in the Persi Arabic 

 character, as written by the Tarkandis, then a translation of 

 the words into Roman character, and, wherever it is known 

 to me, I have added the meaning in English. It will be 

 noticed that many of the names (Damdar, Palang, Zagh, &c.) 

 are Persian, and that others have reference to China. 



" All the measurements were made in the flesh, before skin- 

 ning. The length is from the tip of the beak to the tip of 



