474 THE DESCENT OF MAN. 



however^ admits that the beauty of the male probably aids 

 in exciting the female; and her acquiescence is necessary. 

 Mr Hewitt is convinced that the union is by no means left 

 to mere chance, for the female almost invariably prefers 

 the most vigorous, defiant and mettlesome male; hence it 

 is almost useless, as he remarks, "to attempt true breeding 

 if a gamecock in good health and condition runs the local- 

 ity, for almost every hen on leaving the roosting-place will 

 resort to the gamecock, even though that bird may not 

 actually drive away the male of her own variety." Under 

 ordinary circumstances the males and females of the fowl 

 seem to. come to a mutual understanding by means of cer- 

 tain gestures, described to me by Mr. Brent. But hens 

 will often avoid the officious attentions of young males. 

 Old hens and hens of a pugnacious disposition, as the 

 same writer informs me, dislike strange males, and will not 

 yield until well beaten into compliance. Ferguson, how- 

 ever ; describes how a quarrelsome hen was subdued by the 

 gentle courtship of a shanghai cock.* 



There is reason to believe that pigeons of both sexes 

 prefer pairing with birds of the same breed; and dove-cote 

 pigeons dislike all the highly improved breeds, f Mr. Har- 

 rison Weir has lately heard from a trustworthy observer 

 who keeps blue pigeons that these drive away all other 

 colored varieties, such as white, red and yellow; and from 

 another observer, that a female dun carrier could not, after 

 repeated trials, be matched with, a black male, but imme- 

 diately paired with a dun. Again, Mr. Tegetmeier had a 

 female blue turbit that obstinately refused to pair with two 

 males of the same breed, which were successively shut up 

 with her for weeks; but on being let out she would have 

 immediately accepted the first blue dragon that offered. 

 As she was a valuable bird, she was then shut up for many 

 weeks with a silver (i. e., very pale blue) male, and at last 

 mated with him. Nevertheless, as a general rule, color 

 appears to have little influence on the pairing of pigeons. 

 Mr. Tegetmeier, at my request, stained some of his birds 

 with magenta, but they were not much noticed by the 

 others. 



* " Rare and Prize Poultry," 1854, p. 27. 



f " The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication," 

 vol. U, p. 103. 



