DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 33 



canaries/' There are no wild canaries outside of 

 their native islands. 



Pigeons have been domesticated three or four 

 thousand years. There are now perhaps 200 dif- 

 ferent varieties of the domesticated pigeon — car- 

 riers, tumblers, trumpeters, pouters, fantails, etc. 

 All varieties of the domesticated pigeon have come 



•THE ROCK-DOVE" 



from the rock-dove of Europe. Pigeons mate for 

 life. They are the only monogamous domesticated 

 birds. They feed their young on * * pigeon 's milk, ' ' 

 a liquid made from half-digested grain in the par- 

 ental crop. The rock-dove is bluish in color, with 

 two black bars on its wdngs. It is called the * * rock- 

 dove '' because it makes its home among rocks. 



14. Domesticated Insects. 



There are over a half -million species of insects 

 already known to science. The insects form the 

 big branch of the animal kingdom. Only three or 

 four species out of this enormous array have been 

 domesticated by man. Insects are too small and 

 weak for burden-bearers, and they are not, as a 

 rule, palatable to man. 



The honey -hee was probably the first domesti- 



