250 



UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY 



geese, turkeys, and guinea-fowl, and the importance of these 

 (especially the first) to agriculture in this country may be seen 

 from the following statistics: The value of the poultry and eggs 

 consumed in the United Kingdom during 1902 amounted to 

 ^16,408,994, including foreign produce worth /;, 358,934, Irish 

 produce worth ,2,300,000, and produce of Great Britain worth 

 ,6,750,000. 



THE PIGEON (COLUMBA LIVIA). The wild Blue Rock- Pigeon 

 (Columba livia), the races of which have at the present day a 



Fig. 1182. Ostriches (Struthio camelus] on a South African Farm 



very wide range through Europe, Asia, and North Africa, is 

 believed to be the original stock from which the very numerous 

 domesticated breeds are descended. The ancient Egyptians 

 would seem to have tamed it over 5000 years ago, and it was 

 valued by them not only as a source of food, but also as a 

 means of communication. Its military importance in the latter 

 connections has been abundantly demonstrated in modern times, 

 and it seems destined to play a leading part in the campaigns of 

 the future. 



As we shall see in the sequel the theoretical importance of 

 pigeons is very great, for they throw considerable light upon 



