TUE MOUSE 425 



Of the domesticated })irds the poultry are the most impor- 

 tant. Under tlie term ' ' poultry ' ' are included the common fowl 

 of the barnyard, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea-fowl, and pea- 

 cocks. The common fowl is one of the main sources of animal 

 food in the United States. The annual value of eggs produced 

 and poultry sold is estimated to amount to about half a billion 

 dollars. A hen may laj' eight times her weight in eggs in a 

 single year at an average total valuation of .f 3 for the year. 

 The principal kinds of fowls are the game lireeds,' which are 

 most like the wild fowl of the j ungle; the Mediterranean breeds,^ 

 which are prolific laj'ers, but do not, as a rule, incubate their 

 eggs; and the Asiatic fowls,-^ which are valuable for their great 

 size and because they make excellent mothers. Combinations 

 of these three groups have been made in profusion. Fowls 

 have been kept under domestication in China for over 2000 

 years. They are not mentioned in the Old Testament, and 

 hence probably reached Syria only shortly before our era 

 began. 



Pigeons have been derived from a blue, wild, rock pigeon 

 having two black bars on the wings. From this ancestral 

 form over a score of well-marked varieties have been produced 

 by the fanciers. The pouters, fantails, and the tumblers are 

 familiar examples. Not only are pigeons interesting to bird 

 lovers, but they have considerable economic value, since the 

 young birds, known as squabs, are highly esteemed as food 

 because of their gamj^ flavor. 



Of the fishes only the goldfish can be regarded as domesti- 

 cated. It has been cultivated by the Chinese and Japanese in 

 a great variety of colors and with extraordinar}^ modifications 

 of the fins. 



1 Fig. 391, c. ^Fig. 391,a. 'Fig. 391, d. 



