no mention is made of them, nor know we whether they were allowed to be eaten or not; it is very probable that all web-footed swimming birds might be included under the term swan, (tinshemeth,) granting that bird* to be really intended and therefore prohibited. Both tame geese and ducks in the present day are rarely to be met with in Syria, or western Asia generally. They are not in demand. among the Moslems, who rarely eat them.

With respect to those domestic birds, originally imported from central Africa or America, as the Guinea-fowl and turkey, we cannot, as a matter of course, find any allusion to them in the Scriptures; but it is somewhat strange that the pheasant, from the borders of the Phasis and the country around the Euxine, and so remarkable for beauty, should not be noticed. We think, however, that an easy explanation may be given: when the waters of the deluge were assuaging, Noah selected two birds by way of experiment, the raven and the dove; the ark was left dry on mount Ararat, probably in Armenia; we have

Michaelis and Parkhurst think the goose is intended, others the Hyacinthine gallinule, a beautiful bird allied to the waterhen.

then a brief narrative of a series of important events, extending over a period of about 327 years, and a list of generations, till we come to the injunction laid upon Abraham to leave his country and kindred; he passed with Lot unto the land of Canaan, and thence into Egypt, with flocks and herds, his property; thenceforth he and his descendants led a nomadic life in Syria and Arabia, feeding their flocks and herds, their asses and camels. Consequently, that neither this elegant bird,* nor any other, excepting turtle-doves and young pigeons, common in Syria, and used as offerings, should be alluded to in the history. of the patriarchs, may be readily accounted for. Subsequently it might have been known to Solomon, but of this we cannot be certain.

Thus, then, referring to the oldest authentic records which we possess, have we endeavoured to deduce from scattered notices, the early condition of man on the globe, the necessity

*It is among the people who emigrated westward from Asia Minor, that the first notice of the pheasant occurs, and this is what might be expected. The Greeks attribute its introduction into Greece to Jason, a hero of the fabulous period of classic history, who undertook what is termed the Argonautic expedition, and procured it in Colchis, on the banks of the Phasis, the present Faz, or Rion. The date of the Argonautic expedition is placed by Newton, B.C. 937; by Blair, B.c. 1263.

which impelled him, and the skill which aided him to subjugate certain animals essential to his well-being. It has been shown that there were quadrupeds constituting to the present moment the most valuable of civilized man's possessions, flocks and herds-the dog, the ass, the horse, and the camel. We have expressed an opinion that it was not until tribes became stationary, cultivating the soil, and engaging in commerce, that the domestication of any of the feathered tribes began; and even that nomadic people, though well aware of such domestic poultry being possessed by the dwellers of towns, and villages, and settled farms, could not if they wished it keep them, from the very circumstances of their habits, whereas, with respect to the quadrupeds alluded to, the very opposite would be the case.

In the creation of animals, whether quadrupeds or birds, expressly serviceable to man, and so highly conducive to his prosperity, and, at the same time, so easily subjugated or tamed, we cannot but see the wisdom and goodness of Divine Providence. We know not, it is true, the means employed by man in the infancy of society in reclaiming the original

wild stocks, but we know that it was accomplished, and we see that one animal after another was added to the catalogue of his humble subjects, while, at the same time, empires were in their dawn, cities arose, political power became concentrated in various given localities; the interchange of national productions gave impetus to improvement; and the finer arts of life became developed from the rude germs of their primordial origin. At what precise point of time, or under what peculiar circumstances, our domestic animals respectively yielded to man's great mastery, and submitted to his service, are points buried in oblivion; nor is it needful that they should be minutely ascertained. We know enough to feel that, in these conquests, of more solid benefit than those of the sword, we are presented with important considerations in the history of our species. And thus are we led to the axiom with which we started, that man began his career, not, as some philosophers tell us, in the character of a degraded savage, but in that of a benefactor to futurity.

In the present work, we shall confine our observations to those of the feathered race which come under the general name of

Domestic Poultry. We shall endeavour to treat the subject in a popular and interesting manner, divesting scientific details of that obscurity which, from the use of technicalities, the general reader too frequently complains is thrown around them.

DOMESTIC POULTRY.

Domestic poultry may be divided into three distinct groups,-first, the Gallinaceous group, of which the fowl, peacock, turkey, etc., are examples; secondly, the Columbine, or pigeon group, of which our domestic species are limited in number; and thirdly, the Aquatio group, domestic waterfowl, of which the swan, duck, and goose are familiar examples.

In habits, manners, instincts, and structural peculiarities, these three groups differ in very essential particulars.

THE GALLINACEOUS GROUP.

Though many of the gallinaceous birds perch on trees, yet, in their characteristic habits they are birds of the ground; it is there that they search for their food, which consists of grains, seeds, root, especially those