proved, in his time, to be barren. It was 

 not his (the lecturer's) intention to enter 

 into controversy on this point, but de- 

 sired to place information befone the meet- 

 ing of a unique character from his own 

 experiments, observations, and study, in 

 tne hope that these investigations and ex- 

 periments might be continued, thus en- 

 lightening the world further on the limits 

 or development of the creation system. 

 Darwin did not believe in a "special crea- 

 tion'' with defined and absoliutely fixed 

 species., nor can we, if, by their hybridisa- 

 tion, fertile offspring are produced. Every 

 descnber of species has made continuity 

 and transition in characters the test of 

 variety, and discontinuity the test of a 

 separate species. Darwin differed sbarp- 

 ly from Huxley on ttie one hand, and Wal- 

 lace on the other, as to the significance 

 and history of sterility between species, 

 and his conviction anpears to have been 

 at the same cause which induces varie- 

 ties in a domesticated species removes the 

 barrier of natural sterxiity between two 

 different species, when crossed. He seem- 

 ed to attribute a mysterious unknown 

 power in domestication, and on these lines 

 he (the lecturer) had carried througn an- 

 other interestingly difficult experiment in 

 hybridisation. Whatever may have been 

 the ongin of belief and ics '^resent accept- 

 ance, the facts of recent experiments prove 

 that species, recognised as fixed, have 

 inter-bred, and healthy, fertile offsr)rmg 

 have, in some cases, been the result. 

 Young of wood pigeon hybrids, formerly 

 believed to be impossible of production, he 

 (Mr. Podraore) had had the honour of 

 presenting, for the first time in the his- 

 tory of zoology, to the scientific world. 

 These prolific hybrids are now living in 

 the western aviary of the London Zoologi- 

 cal Gardens. During the past 15 years 

 he had reclaimed domesticated and 

 hybridised British wild doves. He then 

 described his method of breeding hybrids. 

 As to pigeons, "it is necessary to procnre 

 young wood pigeons before they are 

 fledsed. A bird reared from the nest at 

 eight or nine days old will remain tame 

 for life, if proper care and kindness are 

 used. Birds reared by placing wood 

 pigeons' eggs under domestic pigeons are 

 always useless, as they become so wild 

 that, in my case, I have been obliged to 

 destroy them. The same is the result 

 when birds are taken after the feathers 

 have partially developed. They become 

 fairly tame during the process of daily 

 feeding and handling, but as soon as t-iiey 

 become independent they revert to tneir 

 original wild type. To rear young birds 

 a knowledge of pigeon ailments and re- 

 quirements is necessary. The appear- 

 ance of the plumage, clearness of the eye, 

 .ind general activity of the wings and 

 legs, are good guides. They not only re- 

 quire freshly-prepared food daily, but, in 



addition to grain, lettuce, chopped meat, 

 Hyde's grit, sulphur, castor-oil, linseed, 

 and chalk, as experience dictate«s. When 

 the young can fly they should be trained 

 to the sound of the voice. This can easily 

 b^ done by uttering some familiar words 

 or whistling during feeding time. I have 

 also made use of certain movements of my 

 hand to summon my birds, at first simply 

 snapping the fingers or twisting the hand 

 round in a circle. I have a male hybri'd, 

 about six years old, that still remembers 

 and obeys such signs. As to feeding 

 parents and young, plenty of room is 

 necessary for breeding purposes, and each 

 pair must be confined in a separate 

 aviary. The age of the domestic male 

 should be in excess of the female. Hemp 

 seed, dari, and fresh lettuce should be 

 given during mating time, but after incu- 

 bation has commenced nemp seea should 

 be omitted. When the young are hatched 

 fresh lettuce is most important, together 

 with sound grain, such as wheat and dari 

 (no Indian corn). The aviary must be 

 kept clean, grit sprinkled daily upon the 

 ground, and clean water regularly sup- 

 plied. If the nest-box has a foundation 

 of soft, elastic material, the birds will 

 probably be reared. In my own case I 

 put paper clippings to a depth of half an 

 inch, and covered the top with straw and 

 fine twigs. In a wild state the nest is 

 composed of materials that give the 

 weight and movements of the young. I 

 found nearly all the young birds that 

 have died suffered from internal com- 

 plaints, brought about by the heavy pres- 

 sure of their bodies upon the hard, un- 

 resisting surface of the nest-box, I 

 think, however, the wisest course would 

 be to remove the young from the parents 

 after the eighth day. and bring them up 

 by hand. In selecting a mate, I com- 

 menced with a pure-bred white Dragoon 

 hen mated to a black Dragoon cock that 

 had a few white feathers at the side of 

 the neck. Alter tAvelve months, one bird 

 was reared with a decided ring, like a 

 dove. Tliis proved to be a male. I now 

 bred with a large blue Carrier, whose 

 plumage contained the greyish-blue 

 feathers, and from his cross I procured 

 the male parent of dove hybrids. During 

 the year 1899 I became decidedly dis- 

 heartened, having lost, from different 

 pairs, no fewer than forty young birds, 

 from causes what appeared to me at that 

 time unaccountable. On August 2 I 

 wrote to the press: — "Eleven days seeui 

 about the extent of life permitted to the 

 young of this curious cross - breed- 

 ing. The hen generally dies on the fifth 

 day, and the cock on the eleventh." It 

 happened that just at the time when I 

 was about to give up my experiment, suc- 

 cess came. In September, 1899, I reared 

 a ring dove hybrid that has proved one of 

 the healthiest and hardiest of tae pigeon 



