The horse and other live stock . nstances of wild Phasianidousbirds out of Asia. Some species, such as the Domestic Fowl,the Peacock, the Turkey, and the Guinea Fowl, have beenreduced to a state of complete domestication, and are dis-tributed pretty generally over the w^orld. THE GUINEA FOWL, This bird belongs to the same division, class, order, and family as the Domestic Fowl; but is assigned by naturalists to the genus Numida, or Numidian. It is indigenous to the tropical parts of Africa, and in a wild state, Guinea Fowls live in flocks, in woods, preferring marshy places, and feed on insect
The horse and other live stock . nstances of wild Phasianidousbirds out of Asia. Some species, such as the Domestic Fowl,the Peacock, the Turkey, and the Guinea Fowl, have beenreduced to a state of complete domestication, and are dis-tributed pretty generally over the w^orld. THE GUINEA FOWL, This bird belongs to the same division, class, order, and family as the Domestic Fowl; but is assigned by naturalists to the genus Numida, or Numidian. It is indigenous to the tropical parts of Africa, and in a wild state, Guinea Fowls live in flocks, in woods, preferring marshy places, and feed on insects, worms, and seeds; they roost on trees; the nest is made on the ground, and usually contains as many as twenty eggs. They have been propagated in the Island of Jamaica to such an extent as to have become wild, and are shot like other game. They do much damage to the crops, and are therefore. destroyed by various means; one of which is, to get them tipsy by strewing corn steeped in rum, and mixed with the378 THE GUINEA FOWL. 53. intoxicating juice of the cassava, upon the ground; the birdsdevour this, and are soon found in a helpless state of Guinea Fowl, to a certain degree, unites the character-istics of the pheasant and the turkey; having the delicate shape of the one,and the barehead of the are sever-al varieties: theWhite, the Spot-ted, the Mada-gascar, and theCrested. Thelatter is not solarge as the com-mon species; thehead and neckare bare, of a dull blue, shaded with red, and, instead of thecasquie, it has an ample crest of hair-like, disunited feathers,of a bluish black, reaching as far forward as the nostrils, but,in general, turned backward. The whole plumage, except thequills, is of a bluish black, covered with small grayish spots,sometimes four, sometimes six on each feather. This fowl is not a great favorite among many keepers ofpoultry, being so unfortunate as to have gained a much worsereputation than it really deserves, from having be
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectveterin, bookyear1866
