they are much more effective as a part of a wonderful landscape picture than they were as congenial neighbours near the habitations of men. If they had not been disagreeable, and a thing to be dreaded, they would not have been effectual in a picture intended to frighten people. When Zephaniah predicted destruction for Assyria and Nineveh, he added the pelican to the picture: "And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the chapiters thereof their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; for He hath laid bare the cedar work."

That is, the cedar frame and rafters which formed the inner support of these low structures made of big bricks of clay shall stand out a skeleton above crumbling walls, and jackals, wolves, bear, and hyenas shall prowl there. Pelicans perching on the tottering woodwork shall grunt their hoarse cry, bittern shall boom in the night time, and desolation to chill the heart shall reign. This quotation is from the new version, and it substitutes "porcupine for "bittern," which is a large mistake. The voices of the porcupine do not "sing in the windows," while bittern are among the loudest-voiced creatures of night, as I have explained elsewhere.

In drawing a like picture under similar circumstances, Isaiah made the same comparison, “The pelican and the porcupine shall possess it." This completes the Biblical reference to these birds, and their history makes their use in such connections evident.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE PIGEON

"And if the oblation to the Lord be a burnt offering of fowls, then shall he offer his oblation of turtle doves or young pigeons." -MOSES.

THE distinction between pigeons and doves of Bible lands was not drawn strongly by the people. Pigeons were either semi-domesticated or flocked in clouds in wild estate over ravines and wilderness thickets. Doves were wild, being kept in cages as pets only in especial instances. Also they were migratory. They came in the spring with the crane and the swallow, and went in the fall. But they were much tamer than wild pigeons, living in pairs, and coming into palm groves, the fruit trees of gardens, and building on houses even, if they could find base for a nest. The wild pigeons were much shyer, and kept farther from the haunts of man, and made longer flights in food hunting. They were warier than the doves and were not so easily taken in nets and traps. Doves remained closer to their nests and were great food hunters of earth; so they were captured easily.

I can find no record of which country first domesticated the wild pigeon, but I believe it to have been these residents of Palestine. So long before the days of Moses that there are no records, men had trained pigeons to become so friendly that they nested and spent their entire lives near habitations offering them shelter, in crevices of rocky walls, and on buildings. In primitive days one of the bases of a man's wealth was the number of pigeon cotes he owned.

These cotes were usually of clay or some form of pottery, and they resembled a large square or diamond of tile, made up of many smaller diamonds closed at the back. Each entrance was large enough to admit one pair of birds,

their nest material, and young. The openings appeared like small windows, and were similar, but each pair of birds knew its home and lived within it without trespass on the rights of the remainder of the flock. Their habits and characteristics were exactly the same as they are today, for Moses found them in this domesticated state among all the neighbouring peoples when he led the Hebrews into the Promised Land.

Ducks, geese, and swans always abounded on the waters of Palestine, but never in great numbers, as the climate was too nearly tropical in most locations to agree with the habits of these birds of colder waters and lands. Solomon imported peafowl, and though I can make no absolutely accurate statement, it is fair to presume that when the cock and hen were sufficiently familiar in Greece to be mentioned casually in a bird play by Aristophanes, 444 B.C., they were well known in the Bible lands at the same time. The ships of mighty kings such as David and Solomon touched every known harbour, and their wealth brought to their courts every portable luxury. So I think it reasonable to fix the date of the entrance of poultry into Palestine at about 600 B.C.

Pigeons and doves are very close relatives, coupled in every mention I can find of them when being used as sacrifices; it being stated expressly that one or the other or both were to be offered. They were so loved that they almost were held sacred. When spoken of in the laws of Moses as sacrifice, doves always were mentioned first, while pigeons seemed to be second choice. Possibly it was thought that it would be a greater sacrifice to the Almighty to enter the palm groves, olive orchards, and spicy thickets, and secure wild doves or to purchase them from a dealer in birds than to go to a pigeon cote and pick up a pair of young.

Moses decreed, "And if his oblation to the Lord be a burnt offering of fowls, then shall his oblation be of turtle doves or of young pigeons." Over and over in the history of sacrifices this was repeated. At times the text varied to specify that if doves could not be secured, pigeons might be used. When the doves had migrated,

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the only way to secure them would have been by purchase from dealers who had kept caged specimens for market purposes. The poor could not afford this, so they offered of their precious pets from the rude cotes near their homes or went to the deep valleys and crevices leading to caves, and took young pigeons from the nest.

The conception and history of sacrifice is a strange thing. To some people it seems repulsive that the shedding of blood should be thought pleasing to the Almighty God. From the beginning of the records of man the history of all nations proves that none ever was founded without the worship of some God or deity being the basis of their civilization. Whether they worshipped the sun, the elements, animals, or imaginary spirits, all people always believed that it was pleasing to the object of their adoration to offer, in the best way possible, of their dearest possessions. Among heathen nations this was even extended to the sacrifice of human life. So when the Hebrews became convinced of the existence of an Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, they only followed the example of all the remainder of the world when they built an altar and laid thereon of their best possessions as a voluntary gift. To-day we build costly churches and offer time and money. At that period people had little money; wealth consisted of personal possessions such as flocks and precious stones, metals, spices, and tapestry. So they gave time, and the finest of their birds and beasts.

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In almost every instance the sacrifice called for young birds, in pairs, but there were occasions when a great sacrifice of heifers, goats, and lambs was made, that one bird of a kind was used, or a single bird of either. fowl except pigeons or doves were used, so there is little doubt that the law of Moses regarding the capture of birds referred mostly to them, and was made that they might not become extinct.

Among the laws for personal conduct in the twentysecond chapter of Deuteronomy you will find this: "If a bird's nest chance to be before you in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with the young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the eggs or upon the young, thou

shalt not take the dam with the young; thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, but the young thou mayest take unto thyself."

This is probably the first law for the protection of birds in the history of the world. It was a very wise provision, for it left the mother to raise more young. While I believe it to have been intended mostly for the protection of doves and pigeons, the clause on the ground" covers sparrows, larks, quail, and other low builders, which were taken for food and caged pets.

How universal and how loved were the pigeons and doves was proven by the fact that they were mentioned more frequently than any other bird by these observers of nature, and always as they were offered a loving sacrifice, by way of comparison, or in exquisite poetic outburst of devotion to the Almighty. Because people appreciated them above all other feathered creatures, they offered these pairs of innocent and tender young birds to the Almighty with tears and prayers of repentance, when they felt they had sinned or defiled themselves. They gave them in the hope that the sacrifice of such loved and beautiful creatures would leave men with clean hearts and pure bodies.

Moses stated that a pair of young doves and a pair of young pigeons were to be offered in purification of a leper. If anything would heal this dreadful disease, it almost seems that the sacrifice of four loving and beautiful birds that enjoy life as do doves and pigeons might avail.

So close is the relationship of the birds, and so slight the distinction between them in the law, that I doubt if the casual observer always distinguished one from the other among the wild. I believe that Solomon, David, and Isaiah, who say such exquisite things concerning them, were thinking quite as much of the pigeons that fluttered around their homes and temples, and of the wild pigeons of the wilderness, as they were of the doves of the fruit orchards, palm groves, and spice thickets.

No bird form was nearly so common as the pigeons cooing over the cotes of every home of the country, small