192 POPULAR SCRIPTURE ZOOLOGY.

made him to surpass “all the kings of the earth in riches
and wisdom.” All Solomon’s works on natural history are
lost, though sufficiently alluded-to to prove that such were
written. Josephus says that he made every plant and living
creature the subject of a parable.

“The peacock, the bird of Juno, was an ancient Pagan
symbol, signifying the apotheosis of an empress, as we find
from many of the old Roman coins and medals. The early
Christians, accustomed to this interpretation, adopted it as a
general emblem of the mortal changed for the immortal
state; and with this signification we find the peacock, with
outspread train, on the walls and ceilings of catacombs, the
tombs of martyrs, and many of the sarcophagi, down to the
fourth and fifth centuries. It is only in modern times that
the peacock has become the emblem of worldly pride*.”

GaLLus pomesticus.—The Domestic Cock.

This well-known and very useful bird scarcely needs de-
scription; and, indeed, scarcely two can be found which
resemble each other in form and plumage. The head is
surmounted by a crimson fleshy substance, called a comb,
and two pendulous bodies of the same nature, termed
wattles, hang under the throat: the hen has a similar ex-

* Mrs, Jameson’s ‘ Legendary Art.’