CoN'CERMxr, PiGEOx's :Milk. 107 



Water ... ... ... ... 77 



Albumen ... ... 14 



Fat 8 



Mineral 1 



100 

 Taking the solids of Pigeons' milk only, Mr. 

 Hambly found their constituent parts to work out as 

 follows ; — 



Albumen ... ... ... ;"i8 



Fat 37 



Mineral ... ... ... ... Tj 



100 



THE N.VME NOT X MISNOJIER. 



There is much in the character of Pigeons milk 

 which warrants it being called milk. For instance, 

 the watery extract of Pigeons milk when treated with 

 rennet, clots in precisely the same manner as does 

 ordinary cow's milk when so treated, which indicates 

 that it contains albuminous matter of the nature of 

 casein, which cliemists class with the family of the 

 nucleo-albumens, the most nutritive of all the albumens. 

 From the above, my readers will readily gather that 

 Pigeon's milk contains ingredients of a highlv nut- 

 ritive nature — fat and nucleo-albumens. 



This splendid nutritive article it is which accounts 

 for the wonderful growth of the squabs. It is easih' 

 digested and made tise of, for the bodies of the milk 

 cells are digested off b>' the stomach above the gizzard, 

 and the free fat globules found in the gut can be easily 

 traced into the cells of the villi, and even to the 

 leucocytes of the blood. The digestive ferments arc 

 sui)plied by the squab itself, and not by the parent 

 birds, for the milk as it leaves the crops of the parents 

 contains no digestive ferments. 



n.-vture's provision. 

 As regards the meaning of this particular method 

 of feeding, which is distinct from any other member 

 of the feathered tribe, one can only surmise that the 



