250 UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY 
geese, turkeys, and guinea-fowl, and the importance of these 
(especially the first) to agriculture in this country may be seen 
from the following statistics:—The value of the poultry and eggs 
consumed in the United Kingdom during 1902 amounted to 
416,408,994, including foreign produce worth £7,358,934, Irish 
produce worth £2,300,000, and produce of Great Britain worth 
46,750,000. 
Tue Piceon (Cotumpa Livia).—The wild Blue Rock-Pigeon 
(Columba livia), the races of which have at the present day a 
is ae) A | Ht Ne 
Fig. 1182,—Ostriches (S¢ratho camedis; on a South African Farm 
very wide range through Europe, Asia, and North Africa, is 
believed to be the original stock from which the very numerous 
domesticated breeds are descended. The ancient Egyptians 
would seem to have tamed it over 5000 years ago, and it was 
valued by them not only as a source of food, but also as a 
means of communication. Its military importance in the latter 
connections has been abundantly demonstrated in modern times, 
and it seems destined to play a leading part in the campaigns of 
the future. 
As we shall see in the sequel the theoretical importance of 
pigeons is very great, for they throw considerable light upon 
