Galli and Gallince 85 



a warm, narrow, and dark place, for exercise and light 

 hinder the fattening. The largest birds are chosen 

 for this purpose, and not always those which men 

 mistakenly call Melicae, because the ancients, as they 

 used to say Thelis for Thetis, also used to call 

 Medica Melica. At first they were called Medicae 

 because on account of their size they were brought 

 hither out of Media. 



COLUMELLA. 



Of Gallinae some are court-yard birds, others again 

 are wild, others are African. The court-yard bird is 

 that which commonly is seen at nearly every country- 

 house. The wild sort, which is not unlike that of 

 the country-house, is trapped by bird-catchers. It 

 is abundant in the island lying in the Ligurian sea, 

 which sailors, lengthening the bird's name out, have 

 called continuously Gallinaria. The kind from Africa, 

 which many call Numidica, is like the Meleagris, 

 save that on its head it bears a helmet and a crest 

 of red, but in the Meleagris both of these are blue 1 . 



PLINY. 



In a like way the Meleagrides fight in Bceotia. 

 The Africae, that is a hunch-backed kind of Gallinae, 

 are sprinkled here and there with variegated feathers ; 

 and they are the last of foreign birds to be received 

 at table, on account of their unpleasant flavour : but 

 the tomb of Meleager has ennobled them 2 . 



ARISTOTLE. 



Likewise the Hadrianic birds are small indeed in 

 body, but they lay their eggs daily. Yet they are 

 fierce and often kill their chicks. They are of varied 



1 See Art. Guinea Fowl in Prof. Newton's Diet. B. p. 399. 



2 The reader may here be referred to any work relating to mythology. 



