. The pet book. Pets. PIGEONS THE Pigeons are among the most ancient of domesticated birds. We can imagine the children of the Bible—Samuel, David, or maybe Cain and Abel, pla37ing with ' these beautiftil birds and feeding them, just as the traveler sees the little long-gowned boys of the Orient doing to-day. The taming of the pigeon, and the breeding of different varieties, began so long ago, that we have no record of it. Charles Darwin believed that the Rock-pig- eon of Europe was the ancestor of otir common domestic varieties. These blue Rock-pigeons build in rocky caverns along the coast o
. The pet book. Pets. PIGEONS THE Pigeons are among the most ancient of domesticated birds. We can imagine the children of the Bible—Samuel, David, or maybe Cain and Abel, pla37ing with ' these beautiftil birds and feeding them, just as the traveler sees the little long-gowned boys of the Orient doing to-day. The taming of the pigeon, and the breeding of different varieties, began so long ago, that we have no record of it. Charles Darwin believed that the Rock-pig- eon of Europe was the ancestor of otir common domestic varieties. These blue Rock-pigeons build in rocky caverns along the coast of the British Isles, and of Europe and Asia bordering the Med- iterranean. In color they are scarcely distinguishable from common tame pigeons. Pigeon breeders have never been able to produce a distinct type like the Pouter from this species, although their records cover two hundred years. However, there are other authorities who believe that the stock-dove of Europe was the original species. In all proba- bility, the pigeons, like the dogs, were derived from various wild ancestors. The ancestors of our domestic varieties were probably not migratory, and lived in caverns or trees. There are to-day about one hundred and fifty varieties of domestic pigeons, including fancy breeds. London is the center of pigeons fanciers, and there the best of the fancy varieties bring large prices. Of these many varieties only four are recog- nized by fanciers in America as having been bred 176. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Comstock, Anna Botsford, 1854-1930; Lord, Henry B. ins; Wright, Albert Hazen, 1879-1970 ins; Comstock, Anna Botsford, 1854-1930. ins. Ithaca, N. Y. : Comstock
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