* ORDER GALLIN.E. 97 



of the latter, have proved, that if trituration, to which alone 

 Reaumur attributed all the mechanism of digestion, prepares 

 the maceration of the aliments, the operation is completed 

 by the action of the gastric juices, to which the small stones, 

 swallowed by the gallinaceous birds, contribute in a very 

 small, if indeed in any degree. The length of the intestinal 

 canal increases the analogy of this order of birds with the 

 mammalia, to which we have just compared them. 



We have seen in the text, that the conformation of the 

 sternum, &c. in the gallinae, is calculated to deprive them of 

 facility in flying ; we find, accordingly, that they seldom or 

 never have recourse to flight, until they have attempted in 

 vain to escape, by running from the danger with which they 

 may happen to have been menaced. 



The gallinse are, almost all of them, polygamous ; and the 

 desire of reproduction is more impetuous and more strongly 

 marked in them, than in any other order of this class of 

 animals. It amounts, at times, even to a pitch of frenzy, and 

 the males often combat desperately for the possession of the 

 females. 



The A lectors, or great gallinaceous birds of America, with- 

 out spurs, live in woods, and nestle on trees. But the other 

 gallinse nestle on the ground : and the male neither feeds the 

 female, nor takes any share in the process of incubation. 



The gallinae, of all other species of birds, administer the 

 most to the wants, the taste, and the enjoyments of man. The 

 flesh of most of them constitutes a light, wholesome, and 

 nutritious food, of considerable restorative powers in cases of 

 illness, and most savoury and relishing to those who are in 

 health. Their feathers are also employed for a variety of 

 uses. The taming and rearing such races as the turkey, &c. 

 entitle the persons who first performed the service to mankind, 

 to no mean rank among the benefactors of our species. 



VOL. VIII. H 



