250 GUANS AS POULTEY. [CHAP. n. 



it passed back, and entered the body as in other birds. 

 Probably the loud trumpet note of this bird is owing to 

 this formation."* 



Of the admirable efficiency of the means employed 

 there can be no question with those who have once 

 heard their wonderful vocal effects. The object for 

 which this faculty was conferred upon these creatures by 

 their Creator, may be supposed to be, that, as these birds 

 inhabit the densest, darkest, most impervious, and en- 

 tangled forests of South America, and are dispersed 

 mostly in separate pairs, a voice of varied expression 

 and space-penetrating power is necessary to telegraph 

 their whereabouts to each other, as they are hidden 

 among the leaves in search of fruits and berries, lest 

 they should be lost and part company in the sylvan 

 labyrinth. 



Even less is generally known respecting Guans, as 

 far as their propagation under human sway is con- 

 cerned than about Curassows. Almost every late book 

 (on Ornithology especially) which mentions them, re- 

 commends them as a desirable and easily-managed addi- 

 tion to our poultry stock, or our head of game ; yet no 

 author has either seen this project carried into practice, 

 or has given, or can give, any directions in detail as to 

 how they are to be successfully managed and reared. 



Thus, M. Temminck, whose French we believe we 

 are translating into English for the first time, re- 

 marks " The Penelopes, with a disposition not less 

 gentle and peaceable than the Curassows, have less 

 frequently been made the subject of experiment. Al- 

 though their manners are so similar, the Penelopes 



* Edwards' Voyage up the Amazon, p. 144. 



