4 HISTORY OF 



Almost, if not all the domestic birds of the 

 poultry kind that we maintain in our yards are 

 of foreign extraction ; but there are others to be 

 ranked in this class that are as yet in a state of 

 nature, and perhaps only wait till they become 

 sufficiently scarce to be taken under the care of 

 man to multiply their propagation. It will appear 

 remarkable enough, if we consider how much the 

 tame poultry which we have imported from dis- 

 tant climates has increased, and how much those 

 wild birds of the poultry kind that have never 

 yet been taken into keeping have been diminish- 

 ed and destroyed. They are all thinned ; and 

 many of the species, especially in the more culti- 

 vated and populous parts of the kingdom, are 

 utterly unseen. 



Under birds of the poultry kind I rank all those 

 that have white flesh, and, comparatively to their 

 head and limbs, have bulky bodies. They are 

 furnished with short strong bills for picking up 

 grain, which is their chief and often their only 

 sustenance. Their wings are short and concave, 

 for which reason they are not able to fly far. 

 They lay a great many eggs ; and as they lead 

 their young abroad the very day they are hatch- 

 ed in quest of food, which they are shown by the 

 mother, and which they pick up for themselves, 

 they generally make their nests on the ground. 

 The toes of all these are united by a membrane 

 as far as the first articulation, and then are divid- 

 ed as in those of the former class. 



Under this class we may therefore rank the 

 common cock, the peacock, the turkey, the pin- 



