168 NATURAL HISTORY. 
be 8,712,000 bushels per day. Their breeding-places are 
large forests, sometimes fifty miles long by four or five 
wide, in which every tree has from fifty to a hundred 
nests. 
274. The flight of the Pigeon is very rapid. Pigeons 
have been killed in New York State with Carolina rice 
in their crops. Judging by the short time required in 
them for the process of digestion, it is calculated that 
these birds must have flown between three and four hund- 
red miles in six hours, which is over a mile in a minute. 
The Carrier Pigeon has been known to fly much faster 
than this—nearly one hundred and fifty miles in an hour. 
Before the invention of the Electric Telegraph this bird 
was extensively employed in Europe for carrying mes- 
sages. Some were trained to carry both from and to 
their residence. The letter was fastened under the wing 
or to its feet. The feet were bathed in vinegar to keep 
them cool, lest the bird should stop on the way to bathe. 
On starting, it rose high in the air, made two or three 
circular sweeps, and then darted off like an arrow for its 
place of destination. 
275. The other six families are styled commonly the 
true Gallinaceous birds, from gallus, cock, and gallina, 
hen. The Curassows are peculiar to the tropical part of 
South America. Some species are as large as Turkeys, 
and are much prized as food. They can be easily domes- 
ticated. 
276. In the Pheasant family the hind toe is placed so 
high that only the tip touches the ground, and there are 
also commonly one or more spurs. This family includes 
the common Fowls, Turkeys, Pheasants, Peacocks, Par- 
tridges, etc. The common Fowl is more extensively dif- 
fused than any others, and there are many varieties pro- 
duced by domestication. Its native country is India, in 
whose jungles it is found in great numbers living on 
grain and seeds. The Turkeys are natives of North and 
Central America. The wattles, which are larger in these 
