elation have likewise become much elongated in comparison with
those of the wild rock-pigeon, notwithstanding their lessened use.

As I had taken measures from the end of the middle toe to the heel of
the tarsus in the rock-pigeon and in the above thirty-six birds, I have
made calculations analogous with those above given, and the result is
the same,--namely, that in the short-beaked breeds, with equally few
exceptions as in the former case, the middle toe conjointly with the
tarsus has decreased in length; whereas in the long-beaked breeds it
has increased in length, though not quite so uniformly as in the former
case, for the leg in some varieties of the runt varies much in length.

As fancy pigeons are generally confined in aviaries of moderate size,
and as even when not confined they do not search for their own food,
they must during many generations have used their wings incomparably
less than the wild rock-pigeon. Hence it seemed to me probable that all
the parts of the skeleton subservient to flight would be found to be
reduced in size. With respect to the sternum, I have carefully measured
its extreme length in twelve birds of different breeds, and in two wild
rock-pigeons from the Shetland Islands. For the proportional comparison
I have tried with all twelve birds three standards of measurement,
namely, the length from the base of the beak to the oil-gland, to the
end of the tail, and from the extreme tip to tip of wings. The result
has been in each case nearly the same, the sternum being invariably
found to be shorter than in the wild rock-pigeon. I will give only a
single table, as calculated by the standard from the base of the beak
to the oil-gland; for the result in this case is nearly the mean
between the results obtained by the two other standards.

_Length of Sternum._

+--------------------+-------+-------+-------------------+-------+------+
| |Actual | Too | |Actual | Too |
| Name of Breed. |Length.| Short | Name of Breed. |Length.| Short|
| |Inches.| by | |Inches.| by |
+--------------------+-------+-------+-------------------+-------+------+
| Wild Rock-pigeon | 2.55 | .. | Barb | 2.35 | 0.34 |
| Pied Scanderoon | 2.80 | 0.60 | Nun | 2.27 | 0.15 |
| Bagadott