The Barb Pi^eor 



241 



It ia owing to some importations of barbs from the South o£ France, 

 made by Mesara. John Baily and Son abont twenty-five yeara ago, that 

 this pigeon exists in our country in its present excellence. Its French 

 name ia the Polish pigeon (pigeon Polonais), and though it ia now known 

 in Germany as the Barbary pigeon, from its English name, it was formerly 

 called the Indian pigeon (Indianische-tauie) . Nenmeiater aays, "There ia 

 no explanation of the origin of the name ' Indian ' and the French designa- 

 tion ' Polish.' " From what we know of modern nomenclature, aa applied 

 to new varietiea of pigeona and poultry, it would never do to depend on 

 the names of old varieties as being indications of their origin. It is 



// ''yv////)'i^fc>M\K>^ 

 .SbputL/de'LHvl. 



Head of a Barb. 



allowed, both here and in Germany, that the barbs of the South of France 

 are the beat, or, at least, were so lately, and though its name in French 

 literature ia pigeon Polonais, it may have another name in the south. 

 It is evidently an ancient variety, and it is more nearly allied to the 

 highest type of the owl tribe than any other. Both may be from the same 

 stem, and both may have existed from pre-historic times. I have seen 

 a few barbs in Bengal, but was informed that they were the produce 

 of some that had been imported from Europe. 



The barb should be smooth-headed and clean-legged ; at the same 

 time a created variety has existed for long, and ia mentioned in our 



