liviapresentsseveralwildforms，regardedbysomenaturalistsasspeciesandbyothersassub—speciesorasmerevarieties，butthatthespeciesofseveralalliedgeneraareinthesamepredicament。Thisisthecase，asMr。
Blythhasremarkedtome，withTreron，Palumbus，andTurtur。），andstillmoresowhensemi—domesticated，asshownbycomparingtheSierraLeonepigeonswiththoseofIndia，orwiththosewhichapparentlyhaverunwildinMadeira。Ithasundergoneastillgreateramountofvariationinthecaseofthenumeroustoy—pigeons，whichnoonesupposestobedescendedfromdistinctspecies;yetsomeofthesetoy—pigeonshavetransmittedtheircharactertrulyforcenturies。Why，then，shouldwehesitatetobelieveinthatgreateramountofvariationwhichisnecessaryfortheproductionoftheelevenchiefraces？Itshouldbeborneinmindthatintwoofthemoststrongly—markedraces，namely，CarriersandShort—facedTumblers，theextremeformscanbeconnectedwiththeparent—speciesbygraduateddifferencesnotgreaterthanthosewhichmaybeobservedbetweenthedovecote—pigeonsinhabitingdifferentcountries，orbetweenthevariouskindsoftoy—pigeons，——gradationswhichmustcertainlybeattributedtovariation。
Thatcircumstanceshavebeeneminentlyfavourableforthemodificationofthepigeonthroughvariationandselectionwillnowbeshown。Theearliestrecord，ashasbeenpointedouttomebyProfessorLepsius，ofpigeonsinadomesticatedcondition，occursinthefifthEgyptiandynasty，about3000
B。C。（6/31。’Denkmaler’abth。2bl。70。）;butMr。Birch，oftheBritishMuseum，informsmethatthepigeonappearsinabilloffareinthepreviousdynasty。DomesticpigeonsarementionedinGenesis，Leviticus，andIsaiah。（6/32。’The’Dovecote’bytheRev。E。S。Dixon1851pages11—13。
AdolphePictet（inhis’LesOriginesIndo—Europeennes’1859page399）
statesthatthereareintheancientSanscritlanguagebetween25and30
namesforthepigeon，andother15or16Persiannames;noneofthesearecommontotheEuropeanlanguages。ThisfactindicatestheantiquityofthedomesticationofthepigeonintheEast。）InthetimeoftheRomans，aswehearfromPliny（6/33。Englishtranslation1601book10ch。37。），immensepricesweregivenforpigeons;"nay，theyarecometothispass，thattheycanreckonuptheirpedigreeandrace。"InIndia，abouttheyear1600，pigeonsweremuchvaluedbyAkberKhan:20，000birdswerecarriedaboutwiththecourt，andthemerchantsbroughtvaluablecollections。"ThemonarchofIranandTuransenthimsomeveryrarebreeds。HisMajesty，"
saysthecourtlyhistorian，"bycrossingthebreeds，whichmethodwasneverpractisedbefore，hasimprovedthemastonishingly。"（6/34。’AyeenAkbery’
translatedbyF。Gladwin4toeditionvolume1page270。）AkberKhanpossessedseventeendistinctkinds，eightofwhichwerevaluableforbeautyalone。Ataboutthissameperiodof1600theDutch，accordingtoAldrovandi，wereaseageraboutpigeonsastheRomanshadformerlybeen。
ThebreedswhichwerekeptduringthefifteenthcenturyinEuropeandinIndiaapparentlydifferedfromeachother。Tavernier，inhisTravelsin1677，speaks，asdoesChardinin1735，ofthevastnumberofpigeon—housesinPersia;andtheformerremarksthat，asChristianswerenotpermittedtokeeppigeons，someofthevulgaractuallyturnedMahometansforthissolepurpose。TheEmperorofMoroccohadhisfavouritekeeperofpigeons，asismentionedinMoore’streatise，published1737。InEngland，fromthetimeofWillughbyin1678tothepresentday，aswellasinGermanyandinFrance，numeroustreatiseshavebeenpublishedonthepigeon。InIndia，aboutahundredyearsago，aPersiantreatisewaswritten;andthewriterthoughtitnolightaffair，forhebeginswithasolemninvocation，"inthenameofGod，thegraciousandmerciful。"Manylargetowns，inEuropeandtheUnitedStates，nowhavetheirsocietiesofdevotedpigeon—fanciers:atpresenttherearethreesuchsocietiesinLondon。InIndia，asIhearfromMr。
Blyth，theinhabitantsofDelhiandofsomeothergreatcitiesareeagerfanciers。Mr。LayardinformsmethatmostoftheknownbreedsarekeptinCeylon。InChina，accordingtoMr。SwinhoeofAmoy，andDr。LockhartofShangai，Carriers，Fantails，Tumblers，andothervarietiesarerearedwithcare，especiallybythebonzesorpriests。TheChinesefastenakindofwhistletothetail—feathersoftheirpigeons，andastheflockwheelsthroughtheairtheyproduceasweetsound。InEgyptthelateAbbasPachawasagreatfancierofFantails。ManypigeonsarekeptatCairoandConstantinople，andthesehavelatelybeenimportedbynativemerchants，asIhearfromSirW。Elliot，intoSouthernIndia，andsoldathighprices。
Theforegoingstatementsshowinhowmanycountries，andduringhowlongaperiod，manymenhavebeenpassionatelydevotedtothebreedingofpigeons。
Hearhowanenthusiasticfancieratthepresentdaywrites:"IfitwerepossiblefornoblemenandgentlementoknowtheamazingamountofsolaceandpleasurederivedfromAlmondTumblers，whentheybegintounderstandtheirproperties，IshouldthinkthatscarceanynoblemanorgentlemanwouldbewithouttheiraviariesofAlmondTumblers。"（6/35。J。M。Eaton’TreatiseontheAlmondTumbler’1851;Prefacepage6。）Thepleasurethustakenisofparamountimportance，asitleadsamateurscarefullytonoteandpreserveeachslightdeviationofstructurewhichstrikestheirfancy。
Pigeonsareoftencloselyconfinedduringtheirwholelives;theydonotpartakeoftheirnaturallyvarieddiet;theyhaveoftenbeentransportedfromoneclimatetoanother;andallthesechangesintheirconditionsoflifewouldbelikelytocausevariability。Pigeonshavebeendomesticatedfornearly5000years，andhavebeenkeptinmanyplaces，sothatthenumbersrearedunderdomesticationmusthavebeenenormous:andthisisanothercircumstanceofhighimportance，foritobviouslyfavoursthechanceofraremodificationsofstructureoccasionallyappearing。Slightvariationsofallkindswouldalmostcertainlybeobserved，and，ifvalued，would，owingtothefollowingcircumstances，bepreservedandpropagatedwithunusualfacility。Pigeons，differentlyfromanyotherdomesticatedanimal，caneasilybematedforlife，and，thoughkeptwithotherpigeons，rarelyproveunfaithfultoeachother。Evenwhenthemaledoesbreakhismarriage—vow，hedoesnotpermanentlydeserthismate。Ihavebredinthesameaviariesmanypigeonsofdifferentkinds，andneverrearedasinglebirdofanimpurestrain。Henceafanciercanwiththegreatesteaseselectandmatchhisbirds。Hewillalsoseethegoodresultsofhiscare;forpigeonsbreedwithextraordinaryrapidity。Hemayfreelyrejectinferiorbirds，astheyserveatanearlyageasexcellentfood。
[HISTORYOFTHEPRINCIPALRACESOFTHEPIGEON。（6/36。AsinthefollowingdiscussionIoftenspeakofthepresenttime，Ishouldstatethatthischapterwascompletedintheyear1858。）
Beforediscussingthemeansandstepsbywhichthechiefraceshavebeenformed，itwillbeadvisabletogivesomehistoricaldetails，formoreisknownofthehistoryofthepigeon，littlethoughthisis，thanofanyotherdomesticatedanimal。Someofthecasesareinterestingasprovinghowlongdomesticvarietiesmaybepropagatedwithexactlythesameornearlythesamecharacters;andothercasesarestillmoreinterestingasshowinghowslowlybutsteadilyraceshavebeengreatlymodifiedduringsuccessivegenerations。InthelastchapterIstatedthatTrumpetersandLaughers，bothsoremarkablefortheirvoices，seemtohavebeenperfectlycharacterisedin1735;andLaugherswereapparentlyknowninIndiabeforetheyear1600。Spotsin1676，andNunsinthetimeofAldrovandi，before1600，werecolouredexactlyastheynoware。CommonTumblersandGroundTumblersdisplayedinIndia，beforetheyear1600，thesameextraordinarypeculiaritiesofflightasatthepresentday，fortheyarewelldescribedinthe’AyeenAkbery。’Thesebreedsmayallhaveexistedforamuchlongerperiod;weknowonlythattheywereperfectlycharacterisedatthedatesabovegiven。TheAVERAGElengthoflifeofthedomesticpigeonisprobablyaboutfiveorsixyears;ifso，someoftheseraceshaveretainedtheircharacterperfectlyforatleastfortyorfiftygenerations。
POUTERS。
Thesebirds，asfarasaveryshortdescriptionservesforcomparison，appeartohavebeenwellcharacterisedinAldrovandi’stime（6/37。
’Ornithologie’1600volume2page360。），beforetheyear1600。Lengthofbodyandlengthoflegareatthepresenttimethetwochiefpointsofexcellence。In1735Mooresaid（seeMr。J。M。Eaton’sedition）——andMoorewasafirst—ratefancier——thatheoncesawabirdwithabody20inchesinlength，"though17or18inchesisreckonedaverygoodlength;"andhehasseenthelegsverynearly7inchesinlength，yetaleg61/2or63/4long"mustbeallowedtobeaverygoodone。"Mr。Bult，themostsuccessfulbreederofPoutersintheworld，informsmethatatpresent（1858）thestandardlengthofthebodyisnotlessthan18inches;buthehasmeasuredonebird19inchesinlength，andhasheardof20and22inches，butdoubtsthetruthoftheselatterstatements。Thestandardlengthofthelegisnow7inches，butMr。Bulthasrecentlymeasuredtwoofhisownbirdswithlegs71/2long。Sothatinthe123yearswhichhaveelapsedsince1735therehasbeenhardlyanyincreaseinthestandardlengthofthebody;17or18
incheswasformerlyreckonedaverygoodlength，andnow18inchesistheminimumstandard;butthelengthoflegseemstohaveincreased，asMooreneversawonequite7incheslong;nowthestandardis7，andtwoofMr。
Bult’sbirdsmeasured71/2inchesinlength。TheextremelyslightimprovementinPouters，exceptinthelengthoftheleg，duringthelast123years，maybepartlyaccountedforbytheneglectwhichtheysuffered，asIaminformedbyMr。Bult，untilwithinthelast20or30years。About1765（6/38。’ATreatiseonDomesticPigeons’dedicatedtoMr。Mayor1765
Prefacepage14。）therewasachangeoffashion，stouterandmorefeatheredlegsbeingpreferredtothinandnearlynakedlegs。
FANTAILS。
ThefirstnoticeoftheexistenceofthisbreedisinIndia，beforetheyear1600，asgiveninthe’AyeenAkbery’（6/39。Mr。Blythhasgivenatranslationofpartofthe’AyeenAkbery’in’AnnalsandMag。ofNat。
Hist。’volume191847page104。）;atthisdate，judgingfromAldrovandi，thebreedwasunknowninEurope。In1677WillughbyspeaksofaFantailwith26tail—feathers;in1735Mooresawonewith36feathers;andin1824MM。
BoitardandCorbieassertthatinFrancebirdscaneasilybefoundwith42
tail—feathers。InEngland，thenumberofthetail—feathersisnotatpresentsomuchregardedastheirupwarddirectionandexpansion。Thegeneralcarriageofthebirdislikewisenowmuchvalued。Theolddescriptionsdonotsufficetoshowwhetherintheselatterrespectstherehasbeenmuchimprovement:butifFantailswiththeirheadsandtailstouchinghadformerlyexisted，asatthepresenttime，thefactwouldalmostcertainlyhavebeennoticed。TheFantailswhicharenowfoundinIndiaprobablyshowthestateoftherace，asfarascarriageisconcerned，atthedateoftheirintroductionintoEurope;andsome，saidtohavebeenbroughtfromCalcutta，whichIkeptalive，wereinamarkedmannerinferiortoourexhibitionbirds。TheJavaFantailshowsthesamedifferenceincarriage;andalthoughMr。Swinhoehascounted18and24tail—feathersinhisbirds，afirst—ratespecimensenttomehadonly14tail—feathers。
JACOBINS。
Thisbreedexistedbefore1600，butthehood，judgingfromthefiguregivenbyAldrovandi，didnotenclosetheheadnearlysoperfectlyasatpresent:
norwastheheadthenwhite;norwerethewingsandtailsolong，butthislastcharactermighthavebeenoverlookedbytherudeartist。InMoore’stime，in1735，theJacobinwasconsideredthesmallestkindofpigeon，andthebillissaidtobeveryshort。HenceeithertheJacobin，ortheotherkindswithwhichitwasthencompared，mustsincethattimehavebeenconsiderablymodified;forMoore’sdescription（anditmustberememberedthathewasafirst—ratejudge）isclearlynotapplicable，asfarassizeofbodyandlengthofbeakareconcerned，toourpresentJacobins。In1795，judgingfromBechstein，thebreedhadassumeditspresentcharacter。
TURBITS。
Ithasgenerallybeensupposedbytheolderwritersonpigeons，thattheTurbitistheCortbeckofAldrovandi;butifthisbethecase，itisanextraordinaryfactthatthecharacteristicfrillshouldnothavebeennoticed。Thebeak，moreover，oftheCortbeckisdescribedascloselyresemblingthatoftheJacobin，whichshowsachangeintheoneortheotherrace。TheTurbit，withitscharacteristicfrill，andbearingitspresentname，isdescribedbyWillughbyin1677;andthebillissaidtobelikethatofthebullfinch，——agoodcomparison，butnowmorestrictlyapplicabletothebeakoftheBarb。Thesub—breedcalledtheOwlwaswellknowninMoore’stime，in1735。
TUMBLERS。
CommonTumblers，aswellasGroundTumblers，perfectasfarastumblingisconcerned，existedinIndiabeforetheyear1600;andatthisperioddiversifiedmodesofflight，suchasflyingatnight，theascenttoagreatheight，andmannerofdescent，seemtohavebeenmuchattendedtoinIndia，asatthepresenttime。Belon（6/40。’L’HistoiredelaNaturedesOiseaux’
page314。）in1555sawinPaphlagoniawhathedescribesas"averynewthing，viz。pigeonswhichflewsohighintheairthattheywerelosttoview，butreturnedtotheirpigeon—housewithoutseparating。"ThismannerofflightischaracteristicofourpresentTumblers，butitisclearthatBelonwouldhavementionedtheactoftumblingifthepigeonsdescribedbyhimhadtumbled。TumblerswerenotknowninEuropein1600，astheyarenotmentionedbyAldrovandi，whodiscussestheflightofpigeons。TheyarebrieflyalludedtobyWillughby，in1687，assmallpigeons"whichshowlikefootballsintheair。"Theshort—facedracedidnotexistatthisperiod，asWillughbycouldnothaveoverlookedbirdssoremarkablefortheirsmallsizeandshortbeaks。Wecaneventracesomeofthestepsbywhichthisracehasbeenproduced。Moorein1735enumeratescorrectlythechiefpointsofexcellence，butdoesnotgiveanydescriptionoftheseveralsub—breeds;
andfromthisfactMr。Eatoninfers（6/41。’TreatiseonPigeons’1852page64。）thattheShort—facedTumblerhadnotthencometofullperfection。
MooreevenspeaksoftheJacobinasbeingthesmallestpigeon。Thirtyyearsafterwards，in1765，intheTreatisededicatedtoMayor，short—facedAlmondTumblersarefullydescribed，buttheauthor，anexcellentfancier，expresslystatesinhisPreface（page14）that，"fromgreatcareandexpenseinbreedingthem，theyhavearrivedtosogreatperfectionandaresodifferentfromwhattheywere20or30yearspast，thatanoldfancierwouldhavecondemnedthemfornootherreasonthanbecausetheyarenotlikewhatusedtobethoughtgoodwhenhewasinthefancybefore。"Henceitwouldappearthattherewasarathersuddenchangeinthecharacteroftheshort—facedTumblerataboutthisperiod;andthereisreasontosuspectthatadwarfedandhalf—monstrousbird，theparent—formoftheseveralshort—facedsub—breeds，thenappeared。Isuspectthisbecauseshort—facedTumblersarebornwiththeirbeaks（ascertainedbycarefulmeasurement）asshort，proportionallywiththesizeoftheirbodies，asintheadultbird;andinthisrespecttheydiffergreatlyfromallotherbreeds，whichslowlyacquireduringgrowththeirvariouscharacteristicqualities。
Sincetheyear1765therehasbeensomechangeinoneofthechiefcharactersoftheshort—facedTumbler，namely，inthelengthofthebeak。
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