32 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 



civilized Man can see his interest in their preservation,- and it 

 is lucky for Fowls that their destiny threw them in contact 

 with the Caucasian race instead of Australian aborigines. But 

 the increase of knowledge and humanity may even yet do some- 

 thing to extend a merciful and forbearing conduct towards ex- 

 isting animals. Had the Dodo survived to these days, it might 

 perhaps date a renewed term of existence from the day that it 

 was subjected to confinement in a menagerie. Now the utter 

 destruction of the Dodo appears, if we think of it, to have oc- 

 casioned a great loss to mankind: it might have proved a 

 valuable addition to our live stock. It was a gallinaceous, or 

 rather a columbine bird, covered with fine down. That its 

 flesh was good is proved by the fact of the whole race having 

 been eaten and consumed in so short a time, though there do 

 seem to have been two opinions, some preferring Turtle-dove 

 to Dodo. Its weight (fifty pounds) made it of importance ; 

 its unwieldiness and inability to fly (being an avis not a volu- 

 cm) made it easy to confine. It was said to lay numerous 

 eggs : but if it produced only two or three young in the year, 

 it was at least as prolific as the Sheep. We do not find it 

 stated what was the food of the Dodo. Its strong scratching 

 feet, powerful digestion, thick neck, and enormous beak, seem 

 to indicate that roots might be its main sustenance. Let us 

 hope that the beautiful Honduras Turkey will not be permitted 

 to be extirpated in like manner. 



The size, inactivity, and sluggishness of such creatures as 

 these are the main cause of the extinction they are undergoing 

 as wild races; but the common Hen has one peculiar habit, 

 which woulc[ alone insure the destruction of her progeny in an 

 unprotected state, in spite of all her fruitfulness and her great 

 maternal virtues. Her delight at having laid an egg, expressed 

 by loud cackling, which is joined in by all her companions 

 that are at hand, would, by itself, be sufficient to prevent much 

 increase of her young. The Latin writers called the cry sin- 



