Chap. V. 



ON THE EFFECTS OF DISUSE. 



173 



Table II. 



Pigeons with their beaks longer than that of the Bock-pigeon, proportionally 

 with the size of their bodies. 



Name of Breed. 



Wild rock-pigeon (mean measurement) 

 Carrier 



5J 



5? 



„ Dragon 



Bagadotten Carrier 



Scanderoon, white 



Pigeon cygne 



Kunt 



Number of specimens 



Actual 



length 



of 



Feet. 



2-02 



Difference between 

 actual and calculated 



length of feet, in 

 proportion to length of 

 feet and size of body- 

 in the Rock-pigeon. 



Too short 



by 



Too long 



by 



GO 

 60 

 40 



25 

 80 

 80 

 85 

 75 



0-31 

 0-25 

 0-21 

 0-06 

 0-56 

 0-37 

 0-29 

 0-27 



In these two tables we see in the first column the actual length of the 

 feet in thirty-six birds belonging to various breeds, and in the two other 

 columns we see by how much the feet are too short or too long, according 

 to the size of bird, in comparison with the rock-pigeon. In the first table 

 twenty-two specimens have their feet too short, on an average by a little 

 above the tenth of an inch (viz. \L07); and five specimens have their feet 

 on an average a very little too long, namely, by -07 of an inch. But some 

 of these latter and exceptional cases can be explained ; for instance, with 

 pouters the legs and feet arc selected for length, and thus any natural 

 tendency to a diminution in the length of the feet will have been coun- 

 teracted. In the swallow and barb, when the calculation was made on any 

 standard of comparison excepting the one above used (viz. length of body 

 from base of beak to oil-gland), the feet were found to be too small. 



In the second table we have eight birds, With their beaks much longer 

 than in the rock-pigeon, both actually and proportionally with the size of 

 body, and their feet are in an equally marked manner longer, namely, in 

 proportion, on an average by -29 of an inch. I should here state that 

 in Table I. there are a few partial exceptions to the beak being proportionally 

 shorter than in the rock-pigeon: thus the beak of the English frill-back 

 is just perceptibly kmger, and that of the Bussorah carrier of the same 

 length or slightly longer, than in the rock-pigeon. The beaks of spots, 

 swallows, and laughers are only a very little shorter, or of the same pro- 

 portional length, but slenderer. Nevertheless, these two tables, taken con- 

 jointly, indicate pretty plainly some kind of correlation between the length 

 of the beak and the size of the feet. Breeders of cattle and horses believe 

 that there is an analogous connection between the length of the limbs and 

 head ; they assert that a race-horse with the head of a dray-horse, or a 



