8CRAT0HER8. 273 



thest part of the kingdom, and even from foreign lands across the' 

 sea. 



The Domestic Dove. — ^Doves of this species when unve- 

 claimed have only two broods in the year, and lay their eggs in 

 nc«ts rudely formed in the holes of rocks and ruined towers. Do- 



Domestic Dore. 



meaticated, and allowed the rich supplies of the farmyard, they 

 are surprisingly prolific, and produce a succession of broods from 

 three to twelve times in the year. The usual number of eggs laid 

 and hatched are two, one of which is commonly a male, and the 

 other a female bird. The bird sits upon her eggs during the 

 period of incubation, from fourteen to seventeen days. Domestic 

 doves are kept almost in every part of the civilized world, as fhe 



8 



