Appendix. 



X PIGEON LITERATURE. 



AVING for many years been a collector of 

 books relating to domestic pigeons, I have 

 now a collection of them, in various languages, 

 which it would be difficult to match. Some 

 of the works are of great rarity, and have only 

 been got after years of search. When it is considered that 

 few fanciers consider it necessary to publish their experiences, 

 it is surprising to find how many books have been written 

 on the subject from time to time. It is true that the great 

 proportion of them are merely reprints or abridgments of 

 previous works; but the publication of so many editions of 

 Girton's " Complete Pigeon-Fancier," for instance, shows that 

 the demand for them must have been considerable. 



Early Printed Books. 



PLINY'S " NATURAL HISTORY." The first edition was printed 

 at Venice, by Joannes de Spira, in 1469, and is, I suppose, 

 the first printed book containing any reference to the pigeon 

 fancy. The notices are in Chaps, lii.-liii. of Book X., as already 

 mentioned in Chapter I. of this work. The first edition is 



