COLUMBARIUM 



long survived, and even crossed the sea to us. 

 In John Moore's Columbarium, or the Pigeon 

 House, first published in 1735, occurs the fol- 

 lowing passage: 



" Being thus entered on the head of diet, it 

 leads us necessarily to consider a certain com- 

 position called by the fanciers a Salt Cat, so 

 named, I suppose, from a certain fabulous oral 

 tradition of baking a cat . . . with cummin seed, 

 and some other ingredients, as a decoy for your 

 neighbour's pigeons; this, though handed 

 down by some authors as the only method for 

 this purpose, is generally laughed at by the 

 gentlemen of the fancy, and never practised." 



Moore then gives the ingredients of this 

 mixture, which include sand, lime rubble, with 

 cummin seed and saltpetre, both the last- 

 named items being much relished by pigeons. 

 Whether, however, the genuine "salt cat" was 

 always altogether absent from the composi- 

 tion seems doubtful. In the accounts of Jesus 

 College, Cambridge, for the year 165 1-2 may 

 be read the following suggestive entry: 



" For a roasted dog and comin seed, 

 00 : 02 : 00 ; " 



9 



