POULTRY 19 



colour that goes with the strongest constitu- 

 tion there is some reason why the black and 

 white and variegated fowls and ducks and 

 pigeons do not get common in the wild state, 

 though single ones may appear among the 

 wild birds, just as we see white and pied 

 sparrows and blackbirds. But when men 

 tame and protect these birds, those which 

 may have strange colours have as good a 

 chance as the rest, and are very often kept in 

 preference, since fanciers like a novelty, even 

 if it is not as pretty as the original sort ; for 

 instance, many people value white peacocks 

 very much, though they certainly cannot 

 compare in beauty with the coloured ones. 

 And, of course, the more odd-coloured birds 

 are reared the more chance there is of their 

 finding mates of a strange colour, so that the 

 varieties keep on increasing until all possible 

 colours for that kind of bird are produced. 

 Some colours seem to be impossible for certain 

 birds ; for instance, we have black fowls and 

 pigeons, but although the goose has been tame 

 so long, no one seems ever to have heard of 

 a black variety of that bird. Peculiarities 

 in shape in our tame birds get a chance to 



