50 



140. — The original of these Pigeons came from Bazora, in Persia, 

 being sometimes brought by shipping, and sometimes in the caravans ; 

 hence by some ignorant people they are called bufFories. 



141. — This city is situate about two miles distant from a river called 

 Xat Arab, which is formed by the meeting of the two great rivers Tigris 

 and Euphrates ; near this place is a small house, like a hermitage, dedi- 

 cated to Iza ben Mariam, that is, Jesus the son of Mary ; in passing which 

 place, the Mahometans themselves very devoutly offer up their prayers : 

 there is likewise a considerable quantity of land, whose revenues belong to 

 this chapel. 



142. — We come now to give an account of the name which is given to 

 this pigeon, and it is called a Carrier, because it is frequently made use of 

 to carry a letter from one place to another. And such is the admirable 

 cunning, or sagacity of this bird, that though you carry them hood-winked, 

 twenty or thirty miles, nay I have known them to be carried threescore or 

 a hundred, and there turned loose, (*) they will immediately hastenlto the 

 place where they were bred. The Dutch call this pigeon bagadat, I sup- 

 pose, from a corruption of the name of the city Bagdad, which was for- 

 merly old Babylon which Nimrod built, because they judge this pigeon in 

 its way from Bazora to be brought through that city. 



be better, and not so liable to be confused, if they were reduced to five properties, 

 viz. : — 



1st. The Beak. 



2nd. The Wattle. 



3rd. The Head. 



4th. TheE>e. 



5th. Length and Thinness of Neck, and Length of Body. 

 But as the gentlemen of that Fancy have not yet taken upon them to fix a proper 

 standard, as has been done for the Almond Tumbler and the Pouter, the above is sub- 

 mitted to their consideration. The reducing the twelve properties to five, simplifies, 

 and is generally adopted by the Gentlemen of the Fancy, who are appointed to the 

 office of Judges. 



140. (Eaton.) — It is not my intention to attempt to bother you as to where this 

 pigeon came from ; 'tis pleasing work to look at a pen of exquisite Carriers, as I have 

 many times seen, and difficult enough to breed a better bird. 



• 142. (GiRTiN, p. 65.) — The winged messenger no sooner finds itself at large, 

 than its love for its native home influences all its motions. It immediately flies up 

 into the clouds to an almost imperceptible height, and then with great certainty and 

 exactness, darts itself, by some unknown intuitive principle, towards its native* spot, 

 which is frequently at the distance of many mUes, bringing its message to the person to 

 whom it is directed. By what visible means they discover the place, or by what com- 

 pass they are conducted in the right way, is equally mysterious and unknown ; biit it 

 has been proved, by experiment, that they will perform a journey of forty miles in the 

 space of one hour and a half ; which is a degree of dispatch three times sooner than 

 the swiftest four-footed animal can possibly perform. 



(GiRTiN, p. 6Q.) — Extraordinary attention was formerly paid to the training of these 

 pigeons, in order to be sent from governors in a besieged city to generals that were 

 coming to succour it ; from princes to their subjects, with news of some important 

 transaction. 



