3733

Pigeon

 

quid, which is enclosed by immersing the open j
end of the tube in some mercury at the foot
of a strong glass cylinder.
Pig (zoological). The family Suidae in-
cludes the cloven-hoofed ungulate mammals
whose domestic races are called pigs, hogs, or
swine. They are closely related to the Hippo-
potomidae and the Dicotylidae or peccaries (the
latter being sometimes popularly classed with
the Suidae), and the three families together
form the group Spinse. Among the more im-
portant characters of the pig family are the
presence of an elongated mobile snout,
which terminates in a naked disc-like surface
bearing the nostrils, and of four complete
toes on each foot, of which two touch the
ground and the other two, though elevated,
are useful in preventing the foot from readily
sinking in marshy ground. The animals are
more or less gregarious. The flesh of wild pigs
is palatable, boar's head being a famous dish.
The Suidae are confined to the Old World, the
peccaries to the New.
domestic pigs.—All known domestic
breeds of swine may be divided into two
groups: The European hog (Sus scrofa)
sprung from and resembling the wild boar,
and the Asiatic pigs, presumably descended
from the Indian wild boar (Sus cristatus).
The breeds with a white color, fine bones,
thin skin, short legs, and a tendency to fatten
at an early age, take these characteristics from
the Chinese hogs. The black breeds, like the
Essex, obtain their marked characteristics
from the Neapolitans. The Yorkshire, the
principal English white breed, is divided into
three sub-varieties: The Large Whites or
Large Yorks, Middle Whites, represented by
the Cheshires, and the small Whites or Small
Yorkshires, which are considered the smallest
and finest of the white breeds. They mature
early and fatten quickly. Pigs are raised in
all parts of the United States, but the great
pork-producing section is the Mississippi val-
ley, where corn is abundant and cheap.
Though prohibited by the Jews, and later
by the Mohammedans, pork has been a popu-
lar flesh food since earliest times, and con-
stitutes a large part of the diet of many na-
tions. The ham and shoulders are corned and
smoked, and fat cuts are cured for salt pork
or bacon. Lard, or rendered fat, is an im-
portant culinary product. Pig skin is tanned,
making a leather popular for saddles, for
travelling bags, etc. The bristles are of much
value for brush making.
Pigeon, or Dove, names applied in the
extended sense to all the members of the fam-

ily Columbidae, or restricted to the numerous
species of the genus Columba, to which be-
long the domesticated pigeon and the wild
pigeons of Western Europe. The family is
cosmopolitan, being most abundantly repre-
sented in the Malay Archipelago, New Guinea,
and the neighboring islands. In all pigeons the
body is compact, while the power of flight
is usually great, and the habits are generally
similar to those of the domesticated form.
(See fruit pigeons.) The three European
species have interest for all the world because
of their associations. They are the wood-
pigeon or cushat (C. palumbus), which can
be recognized by the broad white patch on
each side of the neck, the white band on the
wing, and the variously-tinted breast; the
rock-dove (C. livia), the origin of the domes-
ticated races, distinguished by the white rump
and the two black bands on the wing: and
the stock-dove (C. cenas), in which the rump
is gray. Not very different from these is the
common American mourning dove (Zenaidura
macrura), and other tree doves occur in Cen-
tral America.
Fancy Pigeons.—There are a large number
of varieties of fancy pigeons, differing widely
in outward appearance. The breeding and
rearing of pigeons is a profitable hobby with
many. Pigeon post was used by the Romans.
It is now organized for war purposes by all
the European military powers. There are many
kinds of homing pigeons, but that generally
preferred is a Belgian variety known as the
'Liegeois.' English pigeons are stronger but
heavier. All these breeds are believed to be in
part derived from the carrier pigeon used as
a messenger in remote ages in Persia. A pigeon
has been known to carry a message 1,040 m.;
but this is quite exceptional, and it is generally
held that 100 m. is as much as should be at-
tempted. The rate of flight for distances up
to about 150 m. appears to average usually
about 37 m. an hour, but decreases for longer
distances. The message is written, or micro-
scopically photographed, on very fine paper or
film, rolled tightly and enclosed in a goose-
quill case, which is then attached by a waxed
silk thread to the root of a strong feather in
the bird's tail. Homing pigeons require careful
selection and breeding, much attention, and
regular training. In the German military lofts
they are fed twice a day on vetches.
Pigeon-shooting, a sport of English origin,
can be traced onward from 1793. In America
live pigeons were used in many clubs and for
the National championship up to about 1900.
These laws prohibited wild birds and the day