Hist。’volume141847page104;hesaysthatthey"maybeseenatanyoftheCalcuttabird—dealers。"）Mr。EvanskeptapairinLondon，importedbyCaptainVigne;andheassuresmethathehasseenthemtumbleintheair，aswellasinthemannerabovedescribedontheground。SirW。Elliot，however，writestomefromMadras，thatheisinformedthattheytumbleexclusivelyontheground，orataverysmallheightaboveit。Healsomentionsbirdsofanothersub—variety，calledtheKalmiLotan，whichbegintorolloverifonlytouchedontheneckwitharodorwand。
SUB—RACE7/III。COMMONENGLISHTUMBLERS。
ThesebirdshaveexactlythesamehabitsasthePersianTumbler，buttumblebetter。TheEnglishbirdisrathersmallerthanthePersian，andthebeakisplainlyshorter。Comparedwiththerock—pigeon，andproportionallywiththesizeofbody，thebeakisfrom。15tonearly。2ofaninchshorter，butitisnotthinner。ThereareseveralvarietiesofthecommonTumbler，namely，Baldheads，Beards，andDutchRollers。Ihavekeptthelatteralive;
theyhavedifferentlyshapedheads，longernecks，andarefeather—footed。
Theytumbletoanextraordinarydegree;asMr。Brentremarks（5/16。
’JournalofHorticulture’October22，1861page76。），"Everyfewsecondsovertheygo;one，two，orthreesummersaultsatatime。Hereandthereabirdgivesaveryquickandrapidspin，revolvinglikeawheel，thoughtheysometimeslosetheirbalance，andmakearatherungracefulfall，inwhichtheyoccasionallyhurtthemselvesbystrikingsomeobject。"FromMadrasI
havereceivedseveralspecimensofthecommonTumblerofIndia，differingslightlyfromeachotherinthelengthoftheirbeaks。Mr。Brentsentmeadeadspecimenofa"House—tumbler"（5/17。SeetheaccountoftheHouse—
tumblerskeptatGlasgow，inthe’CottageGardener’1858page285。AlsoMr。
Brent’spaper’JournalofHorticulture’1861page76。），whichisaScotchvariety，notdifferingingeneralappearanceandformofbeakfromthecommonTumbler。Mr。Brentstatesthatthesebirdsgenerallybegintotumble"almostassoonastheycanwellfly;atthreemonthsoldtheytumblewell，butstillflystrong;atfiveorsixmonthstheytumbleexcessively;andinthesecondyeartheymostlygiveupflying，onaccountoftheirtumblingsomuchandsoclosetotheground。Someflyroundwiththeflock，throwingacleansummersaulteveryfewyards，tilltheyareobligedtosettlefromgiddinessandexhaustion。ThesearecalledAirTumblers，andtheycommonlythrowfromtwentytothirtysummersaultsinaminute，eachclearandclean。
IhaveoneredcockthatIhaveontwoorthreeoccasionstimedbymywatch，andcountedfortysummersaultsintheminute。Otherstumbledifferently。Atfirsttheythrowasinglesummersault，thenitisdouble，tillitbecomesacontinuousroll，whichputsanendtoflying，foriftheyflyafewyardsovertheygo，androlltilltheyreachtheground。ThusI
hadonekillherself，andanotherbrokehisleg。Manyofthemturnoveronlyafewinchesfromtheground，andwilltumbletwoorthreetimesinflyingacrosstheirloft。ThesearecalledHouse—tumblers，fromtumblinginthehouse。Theactoftumblingseemstobeoneoverwhichtheyhavenocontrol，aninvoluntarymovementwhichtheyseemtotrytoprevent。Ihaveseenabirdsometimesinhisstrugglesflyayardortwostraightupwards，theimpulseforcinghimbackwardswhilehestrugglestogoforwards。Ifsuddenlystartled，orinastrangeplace，theyseemlessabletoflythanifquietintheiraccustomedloft。"TheseHouse—tumblersdifferfromtheLotanorGroundTumblerofIndia，innotrequiringtobeshakeninordertobegintumbling。ThebreedhasprobablybeenformedmerelybyselectingthebestcommonTumblers，thoughitispossiblethattheymayhavebeencrossedatsomeformerperiodwithLotans。
（FIGURE23。SHORT—FACEDENGLISHTUMBLER。）
SUB—RACE7/1V。SHORT—FACEDTUMBLERS
Thesearemarvellousbirds，andarethegloryandprideofmanyfanciers。
Intheirextremelyshort，sharp，andconicalbeaks，withtheskinoverthenostrilsbutlittledeveloped，theyalmostdepartfromthetypeoftheColumbidae。Theirheadsarenearlyglobularanduprightinfront，sothatsomefancierssay（5/18。J。M。Eaton’TreatiseonPigeons’1852page9。）
"theheadshouldresembleacherrywithabarleycornstuckinit。"Thesearethesmallestkindofpigeons。Mr。EsquilantpossessedablueBaldhead，twoyearsold，whichwhenaliveweighed，beforefeeding—time，only6ounces5drs。;twoothers，eachweighed7ounces。Wehaveseenthatawildrock—
pigeonweighed14ounces2drs。，andaRunt34ounces4drs。Short—facedTumblershavearemarkablyerectcarriage，withprominentbreasts，droopingwings，andverysmallfeet。Thelengthofthebeakfromthetiptothefeatheredbasewasinonegoodbirdonly。4ofaninch;inawildrock—
pigeonitwasexactlydoublethislength。AstheseTumblershaveshorterbodiesthanthewildrock—pigeon，theyoughtofcoursetohaveshorterbeaks;butproportionallywiththesizeofthebody，thebeakis。28ofaninchtooshort。So，again，thefeetofthisbirdwereactually。45shorter，andproportionally。21ofaninchshorter，thanthefeetoftherock—
pigeon。Themiddletoehasonlytwelveorthirteen，insteadoffourteenorfifteenscutellae。Theprimarywing—feathersarenotrarelynineinsteadofteninnumber。Theimprovedshort—facedTumblershavealmostlostthepoweroftumbling;butthereareseveralauthenticaccountsoftheiroccasionallytumbling。Thereareseveralsub—varieties，suchasBald—heads，Beards，Mottles，andAlmonds;thelatterareremarkablefromnotacquiringtheirperfectly—colouredplumageuntiltheyhavemoultedthreeorfourtimes。
Thereisgoodreasontobelievethatmostofthesesub—varieties，someofwhichbreedtruly，havearisensincethepublicationofMoore’streatisein1735。（5/19。J。M。Eaton’Treatise’edition1858page76。）
Finally，inregardtothewholegroupofTumblers，itisimpossibletoconceiveamoreperfectgradationthanIhavenowlyingbeforeme，fromtherock—pigeon，throughPersian，Lotan，andcommonTumblers，uptothemarvellousshort—facedbirds;whichlatter，noornithologist，judgingfrommereexternalstructure，wouldplaceinthesamegenuswiththerock—
pigeon。Thedifferencesbetweenthesuccessivestepsinthisseriesarenotgreaterthanthosewhichmaybeobservedbetweencommondovecote—pigeons（C。livia）broughtfromdifferentcountries。]
RACEVIII。INDIANFRILL—BACK。
Beakveryshort;feathersreversed。
[Aspecimenofthisbird，inspirits，wassenttomefromMadrasbySirW。
Elliot。ItiswhollydifferentfromtheFrill—backoftenexhibitedinEngland。Itisasmallishbird，aboutthesizeofthecommonTumbler，buthasabeakinallitsproportionslikeourshort—facedTumblers。Thebeak，measuredfromthetiptothefeatheredbase，wasonly。46ofaninchinlength。Thefeathersoverthewholebodyarereversedorcurlbackwards。
HadthisbirdoccurredinEurope，IshouldhavethoughtitonlyamonstrousvarietyofourimprovedTumbler:butasshort—facedTumblersarenotknowninIndia，Ithinkitmustrankasadistinctbreed。ProbablythisisthebreedseenbyHasselquistin1757atCairo，andsaidtohavebeenimportedfromIndia。]
RACEIX。JACOBIN。（ZOPF—ORPERRFICKENTAUBE;NONNAIN。）
Feathersoftheneckformingahood;wingsandtaillong;beakmoderatelyshort。
[Thispigeoncanatonceberecognisedbyitshood，almostenclosingtheheadandmeetinginfrontoftheneck。Thehoodseemstobemerelyanexaggerationofthecrestofreversedfeathersonthebackofthehead，whichiscommontomanysub—varieties，andwhichintheLatztaube（5/20。
Neumeister’Taubenzucht’tab。4。figure1。）isinanearlyintermediatestatebetweenahoodandacrest。Thefeathersofthehoodareelongated。
Boththewingsandtailarelikewisemuchelongated;thusthefoldedwingoftheJacobin，thoughasomewhatsmallerbird，isfully11/4inchlongerthanintherock—pigeon。Takingthelengthofthebodywithoutthetailasthestandardofcomparison，thefoldedwing，proportionallywiththewingsoftherock—pigeon，is21/4inchestoolong，andthetwowings，fromtiptotip，51/4inchestoolong。Indispositionthisbirdissingularlyquiet，seldomflyingormovingabout，asBechsteinandRiedelhavelikewiseremarkedinGermany。（5/21。Riedel’DieTaubenzucht’1824s。26。Bechstein’NaturgeschichteDeutschlands’b。4s。361795）Thelatterauthoralsonoticesthelengthofthewingsandtail。Thebeakisnearly。2ofaninchshorterinproportiontothesizeofthebodythanintherock—pigeon;buttheinternalgapeofthemouthisconsiderablywider。]
GROUPIV。
Thebirdsofthisgroupmaybecharacterisedbytheirresemblanceinallimportantpointsofstructure，especiallyinthebeak，totherock—pigeon。
TheTrumpeterformstheonlywell—markedrace。Ofthenumerousothersub—
racesandvarietiesIshallspecifyonlyafewofthemostdistinct，whichIhavemyselfseenandkeptalive。
RACEX。TRUMPETER。（TROMMELTAUBE;PIGEONTAMBOUR，GLOUGLOU。）
Atuftoffeathersatthebaseofthebeakcurlingforward;feetmuchfeathered;voiceverypeculiar;sizeexceedingthatoftherock—pigeon。
[Thisisawell—markedbreed，withapeculiarvoice，whollyunlikethatofanyotherpigeon。Thecooisrapidlyrepeated，andiscontinuedforseveralminutes;hencetheirnameofTrumpeters。Theyarealsocharacterisedbyatuftofelongatedfeathers，whichcurlsforwardoverthebaseofthebeak，andwhichispossessedbynootherbreed。Theirfeetaresoheavilyfeathered，thattheyalmostappearlikelittlewings。Theyarelargerbirdsthantherock—pigeon，buttheirbeakisofverynearlythesameproportionalsize。Theirfeetarerathersmall。ThisbreedwasperfectlycharacterisedinMoore’stime，in1735。Mr。Brentsaysthattwovarietiesexist，whichdifferinsize。]
RACEXI。SCARCELYDIFFERINGINSTRUCTUREFROMTHEWILDCOLUMBALIVIA。
SUB—RACE11/I。LAUGHERS。
SizelessthantheRock—pigeon;voiceverypeculiar。
[Asthisbirdagreesinnearlyallitsproportionswiththerock—pigeon，thoughofsmallersize，Ishouldnothavethoughtitworthyofmention，haditnotbeenforitspeculiarvoice——acharactersupposedseldomtovarywithbirds。AlthoughthevoiceoftheLaugherisverydifferentfromthatoftheTrumpeter，yetoneofmyTrumpetersusedtoutterasinglenotelikethatoftheLaugher。IhavekepttwovarietiesofLaughers，whichdifferedonlyinonevarietybeingturn—crowned;thesmooth—headedkind，forwhichI
amindebtedtothekindnessofMr。Brent，besidesitspeculiarnote，usedtocooinasingularandpleasingmanner，which，independently，struckbothMr。Brentandmyselfasresemblingthatoftheturtle—dove。BothvarietiescomefromArabia。ThisbreedwasknownbyMoorein1735。ApigeonwhichseemstosayYak—rooismentionedin1600inthe’AyeenAkbery’andisprobablythesamebreed。SirW。ElliothasalsosentmefromMadrasapigeoncalledYahui，saidtohavecomefromMecca，whichdoesnotdifferinappearancefromtheLaugher;ithas"adeepmelancholyvoice，likeYahu，oftenrepeated。"Yahu，yahu，meansOhGod，ohGod;andSayzidMohammedMusari，inthetreatisewrittenabout100yearsago，saysthatthesebirds"arenotflown，becausetheyrepeatthenameofthemosthighGod。"Mr。
KeithAbbott，however，informsmethatthecommonpigeoniscalledYahooinPersia。]
SUB—RACE11/II。COMMONFRILL—BACK（DIESTRUPPTAUBE）。
Beakratherlongerthanintherock—pigeon;feathersreversed。
[Thisisaconsiderablylargerbirdthantherock—pigeon，andwiththebeak，proportionallywiththesizeofbody，alittle（viz。by。04ofaninch）longer。Thefeathers，especiallyonthewing—coverts，havetheirpointscurledupwardsorback—wards。]
SUB—RACE11/III。NUNS（PIGEONSCOQUILLES）。
[Theseelegantbirdsaresmallerthantherock—pigeon。Thebeakisactually1。7，andproportionallywiththesizeofthebody。1ofaninchshorterthanintherock—pigeons，althoughofthesamethickness。Inyoungbirdsthescutellaeonthetarsiandtoesaregenerallyofaleaden—blackcolour;
andthisisaremarkablecharacter（thoughobservedinalesserdegreeinsomeotherbreeds），asthecolourofthelegsintheadultstateissubjecttoverylittlevariationinanybreed。Ihaveontwoorthreeoccasionscountedthirteenorfourteenfeathersinthetail;thislikewiseoccursinthebarelydistinctbreedcalledHelmets。Nunsaresymmetricallycoloured，withthehead，primarywing—feathers，tail，andtail—covertsofthesamecolour，namely，blackorred，andwiththerestofthebodywhite。ThisbreedhasretainedthesamecharactersinceAldrovandiwrotein1600。I
havereceivedfromMadrasalmostsimilarlycolouredbirds。]
SUB—RACE11/IV。SPOTS（DIEBLASSTAUBEN;PIGEONSHEURTES）。
[Thesebirdsareaverylittlelargerthantherock—pigeon，withthebeakatracesmallerinallitsdimensions，andwiththefeetdecidedlysmaller。
Theyaresymmetricallycoloured，withaspotontheforehead，withthetailandtail—covertsofthesamecolour，therestofthebodybeingwhite。Thisbreedexistedin1676（5/22。Willughby’Ornithology’editedbyRay。）;andin1735Mooreremarksthattheybreedtruly，asisthecaseatthepresentday。]
SUB—RACE11/V。SWALLOWS。
[Thesebirds，asmeasuredfromtiptotipofwing，orfromtheendofthebeaktotheendofthetail，exceedinsizetherock—pigeon;buttheirbodiesaremuchlessbulky;theirfeetandlegsarelikewisesmaller。Thebeakisofaboutthesamelength，butratherslighter。Altogethertheirgeneralappearanceisconsiderablydifferentfromthatoftherock—pigeon。
Theirheadsandwingsareofthesamecolour，therestofthebodybeingwhite。Theirflightissaidtobepeculiar。Thisseemstobeamodernbreed，which，however，originatedbeforetheyear1795inGermany，foritisdescribedbyBechstein。
Besidestheseveralbreedsnowdescribed，threeorfourotherverydistinctkindsexistedlately，orperhapsstillexist，inGermanyandFrance。
Firstly，theKarmeliten，orcarmepigeon，whichIhavenotseen;itisdescribedasofsmallsize，withveryshortlegs，andwithanextremelyshortbeak。Secondly，theFinnikin，whichisnowextinctinEngland。Ithad，accordingtoMoore’s（5/23。J。M。Eaton’sedition（1858）ofMoorepage98。）treatise，publishedin1735，atuftoffeathersonthehinderpartofthehead，whichrandownitsbacknotunlikeahorse’smane。"Whenitissalaciousitrisesoverthehenandturnsroundthreeorfourtimes，flappingitswings，thenreversesandturnsasmanytimestheotherway。"
TheTurner，ontheotherhand，whenit"playstothefemale，turnsonlyoneway。"WhethertheseextraordinarystatementsmaybetrustedIknownot;buttheinheritanceofanyhabitmaybebelieved，afterwhatwehaveseenwithrespecttotheGround—tumblerofIndia。MM。BoitardandCorbiedescribeapigeon（5/24。Pigeonpattuplongeur。’LesPigeons’etc。page165。）whichhasthesingularhabitofsailingforaconsiderabletimethroughtheair，withoutflappingitswings，likeabirdofprey。Theconfusionisinextricable，fromthetimeofAldrovandiin1600tothepresentday，intheaccountspublishedoftheDraijers，Smiters，Finnikins，Turners，Claquers，etc。，whichareallremarkablefromtheirmannerofflight。Mr。
BrentinformsmethathehasseenoneofthesebreedsinGermanywithitswing—feathersinjuredfromhavingbeensooftenstrucktogetherbuthedidnotseeitflying。AnoldstuffedspecimenofaFinnikinintheBritishMuseumpresentsnowell—markedcharacter。Thirdly，asingularpigeonwithaforkedtailismentionedinsometreatises;andasBechstein（5/25。
’NaturgeschichteDeutschlands’b。4s。47。）brieflydescribesandfiguresthisbird，withatail"havingcompletelythestructureofthatofthehouse—swallow，"itmustoncehaveexisted，forBechsteinwasfartoogoodanaturalisttohaveconfoundedanydistinctspecieswiththedomesticpigeon。Lastly，anextraordinarypigeonimportedfromBelgiumhaslatelybeenexhibitedatthePhiloperisteronSocietyinLondon（5/26。Mr。W。B。
Tegetmeier’JournalofHorticulture’January20，1863page58。），which"conjoinsthecolourofanarchangelwiththeheadofanowlorbarb，itsmoststrikingpeculiaritybeingtheextraordinarylengthofthetailandwing—feathers，thelattercrossingbeyondthetail，andgivingtothebirdtheappearanceofagiganticswift（Cypselus），orlong—wingedhawk。"Mr。
Tegetmeierinformsmethatthisbirdweighedonly10ounces，butinlengthwas151/2inchesfromtiptobeaktoendoftail，and321/2inchesfromtiptotipofwing;nowthewildrock—pigeonweighs141/2ounces，andmeasuresfromtiptobeaktoendoftail15inches，andfromtiptotipofwingonly263/4inches。]
Ihavenowdescribedallthedomesticpigeonsknowntome，andhaveaddedafewothersonreliableauthority。IhaveclassedthemunderfourGroups，inordertomarktheiraffinitiesanddegreesofdifference;butthethirdgroupisartificial。Thekindsexaminedbymeformelevenraces，whichincludeseveralsub—races;andeventheselatterpresentdifferencesthatwouldcertainlyhavebeenthoughtofspecificvalueifobservedinastateofnature。Thesub—raceslikewiseincludemanystrictlyinheritedvarieties;sothataltogethertheremustexist，aspreviouslyremarked，above150kindswhichcanbedistinguished，thoughgenerallybycharactersofextremelyslightimportance。ManyofthegeneraoftheColumbidae，admittedbyornithologists，donotdifferinanygreatdegreefromeachother;takingthisintoconsideration，therecanbenodoubtthatseveralofthemoststronglycharacteriseddomesticforms，iffoundwild，wouldhavebeenplacedinatleastfivenewgenera。ThusanewgenuswouldhavebeenformedforthereceptionoftheimprovedEnglishPouter:asecondgenusforCarriersandRunts;andthiswouldhavebeenawideorcomprehensivegenus，foritwouldhaveadmittedcommonSpanishRuntswithoutanywattle，short—beakedRuntsliketheTronfo，andtheimprovedEnglishCarrier:athirdgenuswouldhavebeenformedfortheBarb:afourthfortheFantail:andlastly，afifthfortheshortbeaked，not—
wattledpigeons，suchasTurbitsandshort—facedTumblers。Theremainingdomesticformsmighthavebeenincluded，inthesamegenuswiththewildrock—pigeon。
INDIVIDUALVARIABILITY;VARIATIONSOFAREMARKABLENATURE。
Thedifferenceswhichwehaveasyetconsideredarecharacteristicofdistinctbreeds;butthereareotherdifferences，eitherconfinedtoindividualbirds，oroftenobservedincertainbreedsbutnotcharacteristicofthem。Theseindividualdifferencesareofimportance，astheymightinmostcasesbesecuredandaccumulatedbyman’spowerofselectionandthusanexistingbreedmightbegreatlymodifiedoranewoneformed。Fanciersnoticeandselectonlythoseslightdifferenceswhichareexternallyvisible;butthewholeorganisationissotiedtogetherbycorrelationofgrowth，thatachangeinonepartisfrequentlyaccompaniedbyotherchanges。Forourpurpose，modificationsofallkindsareequallyimportant，andifaffectingapartwhichdoesnotcommonlyvary，areofmoreimportancethanamodificationinsomeconspicuouspart。Atthepresentdayanyvisibledeviationofcharacterinawell—establishedbreedisrejectedasablemish;butitbynomeansfollowsthatatanearlyperiod，beforewell—markedbreedshadbeenformed，suchdeviationswouldhavebeenrejected;onthecontrary，theywouldhavebeeneagerlypreservedaspresentinganovelty，andwouldthenhavebeenslowlyaugmented，asweshallhereaftermoreclearlysee，bytheprocessofunconsciousselection。
[Ihavemadenumerousmeasurementsofthevariouspartsofthebodyintheseveralbreeds，andhavehardlyeverfoundthemquitethesameinbirdsofthesamebreed，——thedifferencesbeinggreaterthanwecommonlymeetwithinwildspecieswithinthesamedistrict。Tobeginwiththeprimaryfeathersofthewingandtail;butImustfirstmention，assomereadersmaynotbeawareofthefact，thatthenumberoftheprimarywingandtail—
feathersinwildbirdsisgenerallyconstant，andcharacterises，notonlywholegenera，butevenwholefamilies。Whenthetail—feathersareunusuallynumerous，asforinstanceintheswan，theyareapttobevariableinnumber;butthisdoesnotapplytotheseveralspeciesandgeneraoftheColumbidae，whichnever（asfarasIcanhear）havelessthantwelveormorethansixteentail—feathers;andthesenumberscharacterise，withrareexception，wholesub—families。（5/27。’Coup—d’oeilsurL’OrdredesPigeons’
parC。L。Bonaparte’ComptesRendus’1854—55。Mr。Blythin’AnnalsofNat。
Hist。’volume191847page41，mentions，asaverysingularfact，"thatofthetwospeciesofEctopistes，whicharenearlyalliedtoeachother，oneshouldhavefourteentail—feathers，whiletheother，thepassengerpigeonofNorthAmerica，shouldpossessbuttheusualnumber——twelve。"）Thewildrock—pigeonhastwelvetail—feathers。WithFantails，aswehaveseen，thenumbervariesfromfourteentoforty—two。IntwoyoungbirdsinthesamenestIcountedtwenty—twoandtwenty—sevenfeathers。Poutersareveryliabletohaveadditionaltail—feathers，andIhaveseenonseveraloccasionsfourteenorfifteeninmyownbirds。Mr。Bulthadaspecimen，examinedbyMr。Yarrell，withseventeentail—feathers。IhadaNunwiththirteen，andanotherwithfourteentail—feathers;andinaHelmet，abreedbarelydistinguishablefromtheNun，Ihavecountedfifteen，andhaveheardofothersuchinstances。Ontheotherhand，Mr。BrentpossessedaDragon，whichduringitswholelifeneverhadmorethantentail—feathers;andoneofmyDragons，descendedfromMr。Brent’s，hadonlyeleven。IhaveseenaBald—headTumblerwithonlyten;andMr。BrenthadanAir—Tumblerwiththesamenumber，butanotherwithfourteentail—feathers。TwooftheselatterTumblers，bredbyMr。Brent，wereremarkable，——onefromhavingthetwocentraltail—feathersalittledivergent，andtheotherfromhavingthetwoouterfeatherslongerbythree—eighthsofaninchthantheothers;sothatinbothcasesthetailexhibitedatendency，butindifferentways，tobecomeforked。Andthisshowsushowaswallow—tailedbreed，likethatdescribedbyBechstein，mighthavebeenformedbycarefulselection。
Withrespecttotheprimarywing—feathers，thenumberintheColumbidae，asfarasIcanfindout，isalwaysnineorten。Intherock—pigeonitisten;
butIhaveseennolessthaneightshort—facedTumblerswithonlynineprimaries，andtheoccurrenceofthisnumberhasbeennoticedbyfanciers，owingtotenprimariesofawhitecolourbeingoneofthepointsinShort—
facedBald—head—Tumblers。Mr。Brent，however，hadanAir—Tumbler（notshort—faced）whichhadinbothwingselevenprimaries。Mr。Corker，theeminentbreederofprizeCarriers，assuresmethatsomeofhisbirdshadelevenprimariesinbothwings。IhaveseeneleveninonewingintwoPouters。IhavebeenassuredbythreefanciersthattheyhaveseentwelveinScanderoons;butasNeumeisterassertsthatinthealliedFlorenceRuntthemiddleflight—featherisoftendouble，thenumbertwelvemayhavebeencausedbytwoofthetenprimarieshavingeachtwoshaftstoasinglefeather。Thesecondarywing—feathersaredifficulttocount，butthenumberseemstovaryfromtwelvetofifteen。Thelengthofthewingandtailrelativelytothebody，andofthewingstothetail，certainlyvaries;I
haveespeciallynoticedthisinJacobins。InMr。Bult’smagnificentcollectionofPouters，thewingsandtailvariedgreatlyinlength;andweresometimessomuchelongatedthatthebirdscouldhardlyplayupright。
IntherelativelengthofthefewfirstprimariesIhaveobservedonlyaslightdegreeofvariability。Mr。Brentinformsmethathehasobservedtheshapeofthefirstfeathertovaryveryslightly。ButthevariationintheselatterpointsisextremelyslightcomparedwiththedifferenceswhichmaybeobservedinthenaturalspeciesoftheColumbidae。
InthebeakIhaveseenveryconsiderabledifferencesinbirdsofthesamebreed，asincarefullybredJacobinsandTrumpeters。InCarriersthereisoftenaconspicuousdifferenceinthedegreeofattenuationandcurvatureofthebeak。Soitisindeedinmanybreeds:thusIhadtwostrainsofblackBarbs，whichevidentlydifferedinthecurvatureoftheuppermandible。InwidthofmouthIhavefoundagreatdifferenceintwoSwallows。InFantailsoffirst—ratemeritIhaveseensomebirdswithmuchlongerandthinnernecksthaninothers。Otheranalogousfactscouldbegiven。Wehaveseenthattheoil—glandisabortedinallFantails（withtheexceptionofthesub—racefromJava），and，Imayadd，sohereditaryisthistendencytoabortion，thatsome，althoughnotall，ofthemongrelswhichI
rearedfromtheFantailandPouterhadnooil—gland;inoneSwallowoutofmanywhichIhaveexamined，andintwoNuns，therewasnooil—gland。
Thenumberofthescutellaeonthetoesoftenvariesinthesamebreed，andsometimesevendiffersonthetwofeetofthesameindividual;theShetlandrock—pigeonhasfifteenonthemiddle，andsixonthehindertoe;whereasI
haveseenaRuntwithsixteenonthemiddleandeightonthehindtoe;andashort—facedTumblerwithonlytwelveandfiveonthesesametoes。Therock—pigeonhasnosensibleamountofskinbetweenitstoes;butI
possessedaSpotandaNunwiththeskinextendingforaspaceofaquarterofaninchfromthefork，betweenthetwoINNERtoes。Ontheotherhand，aswillhereafterbemorefullyshown，pigeonswithfeatheredfeetverygenerallyhavethebasesoftheirOUTERtoesconnectedbyskin。IhadaredTumbler，whichhadacoounlikethatofitsfellows，approachingintonetothatoftheLaugher:thisbirdhadthehabit，toadegreewhichIneversawequalledinanyotherpigeon，ofoftenwalkingwithitswingsraisedandarchedinanelegant—manner。Ineedsaynothingonthegreatvariability，inalmosteverybreed，insizeofbody，incolour，inthefeatheringofthefeet，andinthefeathersonthebackoftheheadbeingreversed。ButImaymentionaremarkableTumbler（5/28。Describedandfiguredinthe’PoultryChronicle’volume31855page82。）exhibitedattheCrystalPalace，whichhadanirregularcrestoffeathersonitshead，somewhatlikethetuftontheheadofthePolishfowl。Mr。BultrearedahenJacobinwiththefeathersonthethighsolongastoreachtheground，andacockhaving，butinalesserdegree，thesamepeculiarity:fromthesetwobirdshebredotherssimilarlycharacterised，whichwereexhibitedatthePhiloperisteronSoc。Ibredamongrelpigeonwhichhadfibrousfeathers，andthewingandtail—featherssoshortandimperfectthatthebirdcouldnotflyevenafootinheight。]
Therearemanysingularandinheritedpeculiaritiesintheplumageofpigeons:thusAlmond—Tumblersdonotacquiretheirperfectmottledfeathersuntiltheyhavemoultedthreeorfourtimes:theKiteTumblerisatfirstbrindledblackandredwithabarredappearance，butwhen"itthrowsitsnestfeathersitbecomesalmostblack，generallywithabluishtail，andareddishcolourontheinnerwebsoftheprimarywing—feathers。"（5/29。’ThePigeonBook’byMr。B。P。Brent1859page41。）Neumeisterdescribesabreedofablackcolourwithwhitebarsonthewingandawhitecrescent—shapedmarkonthebreast;thesemarksaregenerallyrusty—redbeforethefirstmoult，butafterthethirdorfourthmoulttheyundergoachange;thewing—
feathersandthecrownoftheheadlikewisethenbecomewhiteorgrey。
（5/30。’DiestaarhalsigeTaube。DasGanze，etc。’s。21tab。1。figure4。）
Itisanimportantfact，andIbelievethereishardlyanexceptiontotherule，thattheespecialcharactersforwhicheachbreedisvaluedareeminentlyvariable:thus，intheFantail，thenumberanddirectionofthetail—feathers，thecarriageofthebody，andthedegreeoftremblingareallhighlyvariablepoints;inPouters，thedegreetowhichtheypout，andtheshapeoftheirinflatedcrops;intheCarrier，thelength，narrowness，andcurvatureofthebeak，andtheamountofwattle;inShort—facedTumblers，theshortnessofthebeak，theprominenceoftheforehead，andgeneralcarriage（5/31。’ATreatiseontheAlmond—Tumbler’byJ。M。Eaton1852page8etpassim。），andintheAlmond—Tumblerthecolouroftheplumage;incommonTumblers，themanneroftumbling;intheBarb，thebreadthandshortnessofthebeakandtheamountofeye—wattle;inRunts，thesizeofbody;inTurbitsthefrill;andlastlyinTrumpeters，thecooing，aswellasthesizeofthetuftoffeathersoverthenostrils。
These，whicharethedistinctiveandselectedcharactersoftheseveralbreeds，arealleminentlyvariable。
Thereisanotherinterestingfactwithrespecttothecharactersoftheseveralbreeds，namely，thattheyareoftenmoststronglydisplayedinthemalebird。InCarriers，whenthemalesandfemalesareexhibitedinseparatepens，thewattleisplainlyseentobemuchmoredevelopedinthemales，thoughIhaveseenahenCarrierbelongingtoMr。Haynesheavilywattled。Mr。Tegetmeierinformsmethat，intwentyBarbsinMr。P。H。
Jones’spossession，themaleshadgenerallythelargesteye—wattles;Mr。
Esquilantalsobelievesinthisrule，butMr。H。Weir，afirst—ratejudge，entertainssomedoubtonthesubject。MalePoutersdistendtheircropstoamuchgreatersizethandothefemales;Ihave，however，seenaheninthepossessionofMr。Evanswhichpoutedexcellently;butthisisanunusualcircumstance。Mr。HarrisonWeir，asuccessfulbreederofprizeFantails，informsmethathismalebirdsoftenhaveagreaternumberoftail—feathersthanthefemales。Mr。Eatonasserts（5/32。’ATreatise，etc。’page10。）
thatifacockandhenTumblerwereofequalmerit，thehenwouldbeworthdoublethemoney;andaspigeonsalwayspair，sothatanequalnumberofbothsexesisnecessaryforreproduction，thisseemstoshowthathighmeritisrarerinthefemalethaninthemale。InthedevelopmentofthefrillinTurbits，ofthehoodinJacobins，ofthetuftinTrumpeters，oftumblinginTumblers，thereisnodifferencebetweenthemalesandfemales。
Imayhereaddaratherdifferentcase，namely，theexistenceinFrance（5/33。BoitardandCorbie’LesPigeons’etc。1824page173。）ofawine—
colouredvarietyofthePouter，inwhichthemaleisgenerallychequeredwithblack，whilstthefemaleisneversochequered。Dr。Chapuisalsoremarks（5/34。’LePigeonVoyageurBelge’1865page87。Ihavegiveninmy’DescentofMan’6theditionpage466somecuriouscases，ontheauthorityofMr。Tegetmeier，ofsilver—coloured（i。e。verypaleblue）birdsbeinggenerallyfemales，andoftheeasewithwhicharacethuscharacterisedcouldbeproduced。Bonizzi（see’VariazionideiColumbidomestici’Padova1873）statesthatcertaincolouredspotsareoftendifferentinthetwosexes，andthecertaintintsarecommonerinfemalesthaninmalepigeons。）
thatincertainlight—colouredpigeonsthemaleshavetheirfeathersstriatedwithblack，andthesestriaeincreaseinsizeateachmoult，sothatthemaleultimatelybecomesspottedwithblack。WithCarriers，thewattle，bothonthebeakandroundtheeyes，andwithBarbsthatroundtheeyes，goesonincreasingwithage。Thisaugmentationofcharacterwithadvancingage，andmoreespeciallythedifferencebetweenthemalesandfemalesintheabove—mentionedseveralrespects，areremarkablefacts，forthereisnosensibledifferenceatanyagebetweenthetwosexesintheaboriginalrock—pigeon;andnotoftenanystronglymarkeddifferencethroughoutthefamilyoftheColumbidae。（5/35。Prof。A。Newton’Proc。
Zoolog。Soc。’1865page716remarksthatheknowsnospecieswhichpresentanyremarkablesexualdistinction;butMr。Wallaceinformsme，thatinthesub—familyoftheTreronidaethesexesoftendifferconsiderablyincolour。
SeealsoonsexualdifferencesintheColumbidae，Gould’HandbooktotheBirdsofAustralia’volume2pages109—149。）
OSTEOLOGICALCHARACTERS。
Intheskeletonsofthevariousbreedsthereismuchvariability;andthoughcertaindifferencesoccurfrequently，andothersrarely，incertainbreeds，yetnonecanbesaidtobeabsolutelycharacteristicofanybreed。
Consideringthatstrongly—markeddomesticraceshavebeenformedchieflybyman’sselection，weoughtnottoexpecttofindgreatandconstantdifferencesintheskeleton;forfanciersneithersee，nordotheycarefor，modificationsofstructureintheinternalframework。Noroughtwetoexpectchangesintheskeletonsfromchangedhabitsoflife;aseveryfacilityisgiventothemostdistinctbreedstofollowthesamehabits，andthemuchmodifiedracesareneverallowedtowanderabroadandprocuretheirownfoodinvariousways。Moreover，Ifind，oncomparingtheskeletonsofColumbalivia，oenas，palumbus，andturtur，whicharerankedbyallsystematistsintwoorthreedistinctthoughalliedgenera，thatthedifferencesareextremelyslight，certainlylessthanbetweentheskeletonsofsomeofthemostdistinctdomesticbreeds。Howfartheskeletonofthewildrock—pigeonisconstantIhavehadnomeansofjudging，asIhaveexaminedonlytwo。
（FIGURE24。SKULLSOFPIGEONSviewedlaterally，ofnaturalsize。A。WildRock—pigeon，Columbalivia。B。Short—facedTumbler。C。EnglishCarrier。D。
BagadottenCarrier。）
[SKULL。
Theindividualbones，especiallythoseatthebase，donotdifferinshape。
Butthewholeskull，initsproportions，outline，andrelativedirectionofthebones，differsgreatlyinsomeofthebreeds，asmaybeseenbycomparingthefiguresof（A）thewildrock—pigeon，（B）theShort—facedTumbler，（C）theEnglishCarrier，and（D）theBagadottenCarrier（ofNeumeister），alldrawnofthenaturalsizeandviewedlaterally。IntheCarrier，besidestheelongationofthebonesoftheface，thespacebetweentheorbitsisproportionallyalittlenarrowerthanintherock—pigeon。IntheBagadottentheuppermandibleisremarkablyarched，andthepremaxillarybonesareproportionallybroader。IntheShort—facedTumblertheskullismoreglobular:allthebonesofthefacearemuchshortened，andthefrontoftheskullanddescendingnasalbonesarealmostperpendicular:themaxillo—jugalarchandpremaxillarybonesformanalmoststraightline;thespacebetweentheprominentedgesoftheeye—orbitsisdepressed。IntheBarbthepremaxillarybonesaremuchshortened，andtheiranteriorportionisthickerthanintherock—pigeon，asisthelowerpartofthenasalbone。IntwoNunstheascendingbranchesofthepremaxillaries，neartheirtips，weresomewhatattenuated，andinthesebirds，aswellasinsomeothers，forinstanceintheSpot，theoccipitalcrestovertheforamenwasconsiderablymoreprominentthanintherock—
pigeon。
（FIGURE25。LOWERJAWS，seenfromabove，ofnaturalsize。A。Rock—pigeon。
B。Runt。C。Barb。
FIGURE26。SKULLOFRUNT，seenfromabove，ofnaturalsize，showingthereflexedmarginofthedistalportionofthelowerjaw。
FIGURE27。LATERALVIEWOFJAWS，ofnaturalsize。A。Rock—pigeon。B。
ShortfacedTumbler。C。BagadottenCarrier。）
Inthelowerjaw，thearticularsurfaceisproportionablysmallerinmanybreedsthanintherock—pigeon;andtheverticaldiameter，moreespeciallyoftheouterpartofthearticularsurface，isconsiderablyshorter。Maynotthisbeaccountedforbythelesseneduseofthejaws，owingtonutritiousfoodhavingbeengivenduringalongperiodtoallhighlyimprovedpigeons？InRunts，Carriers，andBarbs（andinalesserdegreeinseveralbreeds），thewholesideofthejawnearthearticularendisbentinwardsinahighlyremarkablemanner;andthesuperiormarginoftheramus，beyondthemiddle，isreflexedinanequallyremarkablemanner，asmaybeseeninfigure25，incomparisonwiththejawoftherock—pigeon。
Thisreflectionoftheuppermarginofthelowerjawisplainlyconnectedwiththesingularlywidegapeofthemouth，ashasbeendescribedinRunts，Carriers，andBarbs。Thereflectioniswellshowninfigure26oftheheadofaRuntseenfromabove;hereawideopenspacemaybeobservedoneachside，betweentheedgesofthelowerjawandofthepremaxillarybones。Intherock—pigeon，andinseveraldomesticbreeds，theedgesofthelowerjawoneachsidecomecloseuptothepremaxillarybones，sothatnoopenspaceisleft。Thedegreeofdownwardcurvatureofthedistalhalfofthelowerjawalsodifferstoanextraordinarydegreeinsomebreeds，asmaybeseeninthedrawings（figure27A）oftherock—pigeon，（B）oftheShort—facedTumbler，and（C）oftheBagadottenCarrierofNeumeister。InsomeRuntsthesymphysisofthelowerjawisremarkablysolid。Noonewouldreadilyhavebelievedthatjawsdifferingintheseveralabove—specifiedpointssogreatlycouldhavebelongedtothesamespecies。
VERTEBRAE。
Allthebreedshavetwelvecervicalvertebrae。（5/36。IamnotsurethatI
havedesignatedthedifferentkindsofvertebracorrectly:butIobservethatdifferentanatomistsfollowinthisrespectdifferentrules，and，asI
usethesametermsinthecomparisonofalltheskeletons，this，Ihope，willnotsignify。）ButinaBussorahCarrierfromIndiathetwelfthvertebracarriedasmallrib，aquarterofaninchinlength，withaperfectdoublearticulation。
TheDORSALVERTEBRAEarealwayseight。Intherock—pigeonalleightbearribs;theeighthribbeingverythin，andtheseventhhavingnoprocess。InPoutersalltheribsareextremelybroad，eightbearribs;theeighthribbeingverythinandtheseventhhavingnoprocess。InPoutersalltheribsareextremelybroad，and，inthreeoutoffourskeletonsexaminedbyme，theeighthribwastwiceoreventhriceasbroadasintherock—pigeon;andtheseventhpairhaddistinctprocesses。Inmanybreedsthereareonlysevenribs，asinsevenoutofeightskeletonsofvariousTumblers，andinseveralskeletonsofFantails，TurbitsandNuns。
Inallthesebreedstheseventhpairwasverysmall，andwasdestituteofprocesses，inwhichrespectitdifferedfromthesameribintherock—
pigeon。InoneTumbler，andintheBussorahCarrier，eventhesixthpairhadnoprocess。Thehypapophysisoftheseconddorsalvertebravariesmuchindevelopment;beingsometimes（asinseveral，butnotallTumblers）
nearlyasprominentasthatofthethirddorsalvertebra;andthetwohypapophysestogethertendtoformanossifiedarch。Thedevelopmentofthearch，formedbythehypapophysesofthethirdandfourthdorsalvertebrae，alsovariesconsiderably，asdoesthesizeofthehypapophysisofthefifthvertebra。
Therock—pigeonhastwelvesacralvertebrae;butthesevaryinnumber，relativesize，anddistinctness，inthedifferentbreeds。InPouters，withtheirelongatedbodies，therearethirteenorevenfourteen，and，asweshallimmediatelysee，anadditionalnumberofcaudalvertebrae。InRuntsandCarriersthereisgenerallythepropernumber，namelytwelve;butinoneRunt，andintheBussorahCarrier，therewereonlyeleven。InTumblersthereareeithereleven，ortwelve，orthirteensacralvertebrae。
TheCAUDALVERTEBRAEareseveninnumberintherock—pigeon。InFantails，whichhavetheirtailssolargelydeveloped，thereareeightornine，andapparentlyinonecaseten，andtheyarealittlelongerthanintherock—
pigeon，andtheirshapevariesconsiderably。Pouters，also，haveeightorninecaudalvertebrae。IhaveseeneightinaNunandJacobin。Tumblers，thoughsuchsmallbirds，alwayshavethenormalnumberseven;ashaveCarriers，withoneexception，inwhichtherewereonlysix。
Thefollowingtablewillserveasasummary，andwillshowthemostremarkabledeviationsinthenumberofthevertebraandribswhichIhaveobserved:——
TABLE4。NUMBEROFVERTEBRAEANDRIBSIN:
1。THEROCKPIGEON。
CervicalVertebrae:12。
DorsalVertebrae:8。
DorsalRibs:8。
The6thpairwithprocesses，the7thpairwithoutaprocess。
SacralVertebrae:12。
CaudalVertebrae:7。
Total:39。
2。POUTER，FROMMR。BULT。
CervicalVertebrae:12。
DorsalVertebrae:8。
DorsalRibs:8。
The6thand7thpairwithprocesses。
SacralVertebrae:14。
CaudalVertebrae:8or9。
Total:42or43。
3。TUMBLER，DUTCHROLLER。
CervicalVertebrae:12。
DorsalVertebrae:8。
DorsalRibs:7。
The6thand7thpairwithoutprocesses。
SacralVertebrae:11。
CaudalVertebrae:7。
Total:38。
4。BUSSORAHCARRIER。
CervicalVertebrae:12。
Thetwelfthboreasmallrib。
DorsalVertebrae:8。
DorsalRibs:7。
The6thand7thpairwithoutprocesses。
SacralVertebrae:11。
CaudalVertebrae:7。
Total:38。
ThePELVISdiffersverylittleinanybreed。Theanteriormarginoftheilium，however，issometimesalittlemoreequallyroundedonbothsidesthanintherock—pigeon。Theischiumisalsofrequentlyrathermoreelongated。Theobturator—notchissometimes，asinmanyTumblers，lessdevelopedthanintherock—pigeon。TheridgesontheiliumareveryprominentinmostRunts。
（FIGURE28。SCAPULAE，ofnaturalsize。A。Rock—pigeon。B。Short—facedTumbler。）
InthebonesoftheextremitiesIcoulddetectnodifference，exceptintheirproportionallengths;forinstance，themetatarsusinaPouterwas1。65inch，andinaShort—facedTumbleronly。95inlength;andthisisagreaterdifferencethanwouldnaturallyfollowfromtheirdifferently—sizedbodies;butlonglegsinthePouter，andsmallfeetintheTumbler，areselectedpoints。InsomePouterstheSCAPULAisratherstraighter，andinsomeTumblersitisstraighter，withtheapexlesselongated，thanintherock—pigeon:infigure28，thescapulaoftherock—pigeon（A），andofashort—facedTumbler（B），aregiven。TheprocessesatthesummitoftheCORACOID，whichreceivetheextremitiesofthefurculum，formamoreperfectcavityinsomeTumblersthanintherock—pigeon:inPouterstheseprocessesarelargeranddifferentlyshaped，andtheexteriorangleoftheextremityofthecoracoid，whichisarticulatedtothesternum，issquarer。
（FIGURE29。FURCULA，ofnaturalsize。A。Short—facedTumbler。BandC
Fantail。D。Pouter。）
ThetwoarmsoftheFURCULUMinPoutersdivergeless，proportionallytotheirlength，thanintherock—pigeon;andthesymphysisismoresolidandpointed。InFantailsthedegreeofdivergenceofthetwoarmsvariesinaremarkablemanner。Infigure29，BandCrepresentthefurculaoftwoFantails;anditwillbeseenthatthedivergenceinBisratherlesseventhaninthefurculumoftheshort—faced，small—sizedTumbler（A），whereasthedivergenceinCequalsthatinarock—pigeon，orinthePouter（D），thoughthelatterisamuchlargerbird。Theextremitiesofthefurculum，wherearticulatedtothecoracoids，varyconsiderablyinoutline。
IntheSTERNUMthedifferencesinformareslight，exceptinthesizeandoutlineoftheperforations，which，bothinthelargerandlessersizedbreeds，aresometimessmall。Theseperforations，also，aresometimeseithernearlycircular，orelongatedasisoftenthecasewithCarriers。Theposteriorperforationsoccasionallyarenotcomplete，beingleftopenposteriorly。Themarginalapophysesformingtheanteriorperforationsvarygreatlyindevelopment。Thedegreeofconvexityoftheposteriorpartofthesternumdiffersmuch，beingsometimesalmostperfectlyflat。Themanubriumisrathermoreprominentinsomeindividualsthaninothers，andtheporeimmediatelyunderitvariesgreatlyinsize。]
CORRELATIONOFGROWTH。
BythistermImeanthatthewholeorganisationissoconnected，thatwhenonepartvaries，otherpartsvary;butwhichoftwocorrelatedvariationsoughttobelookedatasthecauseandwhichastheeffect，orwhetherbothresultfromsomecommoncause，wecanseldomornevertell。Thepointofinterestforusisthat，whenfanciers，bythecontinuedselectionofslightvariations，havelargelymodifiedonepart，theyoftenunintentionallyproduceothermodifications。Forinstance，thebeakisreadilyactedonbyselection，and，withitsincreasedordiminishedlength，thetongueincreasesordiminishes，butnotindueproportion;for，inaBarbandShort—facedTumbler，bothofwhichhaveveryshortbeaks，thetongue，takingtherock—pigeonasthestandardofcomparison，wasproportionallynotshortenedenough，whilstintwoCarriersandinaRuntthetongue，proportionallywiththebeak，wasnotlengthenedenough，thus，inafirst—rateEnglishCarrier，inwhichthebeakfromthetiptothefeatheredbasewasexactlythriceaslongasinafirst—rateShort—facedTumbler，thetonguewasonlyalittlemorethantwiceaslong。Butthetonguevariesinlengthindependentlyofthebeak:thusinaCarrierwithabeak1。2inchinlength，thetonguewas。67inlength:whilstinaRuntwhichequalledtheCarrierinlengthofbodyandinstretchofwingsfromtiptotip，thebeakwas。92whilstthetonguewas。73ofaninchinlength，sothatthetonguewasactuallylongerthaninthecarrierwithitslongbeak。ThetongueoftheRuntwasalsoverybroadattheroot。OftwoRunts，onehaditsbeaklongerby。23ofaninch，whilstitstonguewasshorterby。14thanintheother。