This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1863 Excerpt: ... a dog, the mewing of a cat, or the crying of a child; and so universal a favorite is it, that in almost every shop and private house, the cage of the wa wee hangs outside the door or immediately within. Pigeons are great favorites, and the varieties as numerous as they are in India. The carrier is frequently made use ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1863 Excerpt: ... a dog, the mewing of a cat, or the crying of a child; and so universal a favorite is it, that in almost every shop and private house, the cage of the wa wee hangs outside the door or immediately within. Pigeons are great favorites, and the varieties as numerous as they are in India. The carrier is frequently made use of for the purpose of conveying information between distant places, and the Chinese throughout the winter season seem to take a pleasure in attaching a light musical instrument, made of bamboo, to the tail of these birds in such a manner as that, without interfering with their flight, it produces a peculiar whistling sound as the air is thus made to pass through it. The pigeons, instead of taking alarm at the noise thus created, seem themselves to enjoy it. Of fowls, large and small "Cochin China" and bantam are in immense numbers there. Eggs that have been buried in earth for a year or two are esteemed a delicacy at the tables of the rich; chickens are some of the chief dishes at the numerous cook-shops along the streets, and cock-fighting, is, as already mentioned, a very favorite pastime among the men; thus, therefore, poultry are valuable for ornament, for amusement, and for food. Never in any country where I have been have I seen eggs in such abundance as they are in this part of China; and what is perhaps as remarkable as their abundance is the fact that they are obtainable in greater quantity, and of better quality during the cold of winter than they are in summer. This must no doubt be from the circumstance that the natives have some method of preserving them with which we have not yet become acquainted. They must also have a method of incubating these eggs that we have not been able to find in this neighbourhood, but which is...
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