CHAP, v.] HOW FAR DOMESTIC. 175 



attained to that child-like stage of development, that 

 they love everything about them intensely, and are 

 pleased with everything they see ; hut if they were once 

 lost in the labyrinth of a lane, or in the mazes of a grove, 

 they would wander up and down, like the babes in the 

 wood, picking a seed here and a berry there, searching 

 in vain all the while for their wished-for cage or chamber, 

 till they were drowned in the first thunder storm, or 

 perished by the first frosty night. And then the Robin 

 Red-breast, or the sighing wind, would cover them with 

 leaves, and complete their sylvan funeral. 



If we could but advance this incomplete mental growth 

 only just a little, and add to it the intelligence and do- 

 mesticity of the fowl, and the local memory of the 

 Carrier, we should then have a bird which, in spite of 

 the tenderness of its constitution, would occupy a very 

 important place in our rural economy. One objection 

 to the popularity of the new live stock might be, that 

 Englishmen are nearly as obstinate as Jews in matters 

 of eating. Many good things do we despise and reject, 

 only because we have not the courage to taste them. 

 Pigeon-pie is orthodox, but one filled with Turtle Doves 

 would be repugnant to a sentimental stomach. Turtle 

 Doves are, nevertheless, excellent eating. We do not 

 object to innocent lamb, nor to gentle veal, nor to 

 dear little chickens, nor to baby-like sucking-pig : why 

 such prolific and easily-reared delicacies as Collared 

 Turtles should be tabooed is scarcely explicable. Per- 

 haps they may henceforth come in fashion as a side- 

 dish. A moderate-sized aviary would produce them in 

 considerable numbers at no great cost. 



But if we want to proceed further, the grand scheme of 

 nature is unalterable by us. We cannot educate and 



