OF THE DOMESTIC PIGEON. 249 



case; and the other on a rising above the roof, and 

 consisting of small holes, three or four, by twelve or 

 fourteen inches for the entrance of the pigeons. A 

 series of ranges of these are generally placed over each 

 other, in a boarded front looking to the south, with a 

 shelf to each range, and surrounded by a row of iron 

 spikes to protect them from cats. The elevation of 

 pigeon-houses, as already described, are of endless 

 variety. 



" The breeding holes constitute the fixtures of the 

 pigeon-house; its utensils are the hopper and bottle 

 already described, a barrel or box for food, a step lad- 

 der to reach the nests, and some other articles not pe- 

 culiar to this department of rural economy. The 

 pigeon-trap for enticing and entrapping the pigeons of 

 others, we do not describe." 



Although the Persians do not eat pigeons, they ap- 

 pear to make an extensive and important use of their 

 dung as manure. See the following quotation from 

 the same book : 



" The dung of pigeons is so highly prized in Persia, 

 that many pigeon-houses are erected at a distance 

 from habitations, for the sole purpose of collecting 

 their manure. They are large round towers, rather 

 broader at the bottom than at the top, and crowned by 



