157 
CHAP. XII. 
ON THE RASORIAL ORDER, OR GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 
(178.) Tue gallinaceous birds, or RasorEs, may be 
generally characterised as large, heavy, and terrestrial ; 
and as being that order more especially set apart by their 
Great Creator for the service of man. Hence they are 
more easily domesticated than any other birds, their 
flesh is the most savory, and their fecundity the most 
productive. They exhibit in the highest perfection all 
those characters which we have elsewhere assigned to 
one of the primary types of nature, which among birds 
is called the rasoria/, and among quadrupeds the hoofed. 
Strong thick legs, long necks, short wings, elegant crests, 
and large ample tails, characterise the majority of these 
birds ; and they are the only ones, as a group, which, 
like the ruminating quadrupeds, habitually eat the green 
leaves of vegetables. They live, indeed, almost entirely 
upon the ground, which consequently affords them their 
chief nourishment in the seeds and grains of different 
plants. The domesticated races of the fowl, the turkey, 
and the peacock are familiar to every one, and in them- 
selves give us the typical habits of nearly the whole 
order. Here also we rank the pigeon tribe; since, 
although it exhibits many peculiarities, more especially 
that of rapid flight, it is still in many other respects 
inseparably a part of this order. The Rasores are the 
largest birds in creation ; for among them are found the 
Ostrich, the cassowary, and the emu: they are also 
the most gentle, and are endowed with the greatest 
aptitude for domestication ; since, above all others, they 
administer to the wants and the comforts of man. 
Their flesh and their eggs are universally wholesome 
and very nutritious ; while their feathers are employed, 
