picturesque ; that his observations on the anthropology, ceremonies, customs, and maladies of the people are remarkably accurate ; and that even the native words inserted into the text of his narrative " are for the most
part given with unusual correctness."DOUW, or Dow, Gerhard (1613-1680), a celebrated Flemish painter, was bora at Leyden on the 7th April 1613. His first instructor in drawing and design was Bartholomew Dolendo, an engraver ; and he afterwards learned the art of glass-painting under Peter Kouwhoorn. At the age of fifteen he became a pupil of Rembrandt, with whom he continued for three years. From the great master of the Flemish school he acquired his skill in colouring, and in the more subtle effects of chiaroscuro ; and the style of Rembrandt is reflected in several of his earlier pictures, notably in a portrait of himself at the age of twenty-two, in the Bridgewater Gallery, and in the Blind Tobit going to meet his Son, at Wardour Castle. At a comparatively early point in his career, however, he had formed a manner of his own distinct from, and indeed in some respects antagonistic to, that of his master. Gifted with unusual clearness of vision and precision of manipula tion, he cultivated a minute and elaborate style of treatment ; and probably few painters ever spent more time and pains on all the details of their pictures down to the most trivial. He is said to have spent five days in painting a hand ; and his work was so fine that he found it necessary to manufacture his own brushes. Notwithstanding the minuteness of his touch, however, the general effect was harmonious and free from stiffness, and his colour was always admirably fresh and transparent. He was fond of representing subjects in lantern or candle light, the effects of which he reproduced with a fidelity and skill which no other master has equalled. He frequently painted by the aid of a concave mirror, and to obtain exactness looked at his subject through a frame crossed with squares of silk thread. His practice as a portrait painter, which was at first considerable, gradually declined, sitters being unwilling to give him the time that he deemed necessary. His pictures were always small in size, and represented chiefly subjects in still life. Upwards of two hundred are attri buted to him, and specimens are to be found in most of the great public collections of Europe. His chef d oeuvre is generally considered to be the Woman sick of the Dropsy, in the Louvre. The Evening School, in the Amsterdam Gallery, is the best example of the candle-light scenes in which he excelled. la the National Gallery favourable specimens are to be seen in the Poulterer s Shop and a portrait of himself. Douw s pictures brought high prices, and it is said that President Van Spiring of the Hague paid him 1000 florins a year simply for the right of pre emption. Douw died in 1680. His most celebrated pupil was Francis Mieris.
DOVE (Dutch, Duyve ; Danish, Due; Icelandic, Dufa; German, Tatibe), a name which seems to be most commonly applied to the smaller members of the group of birds by ornithologists usually called Pigeons (Columbai) ; but no sharp distinction can be drawn between Pigeons and Doves, and in general literature the two words are used almost indifferently, while no one species can be pointed out to which the word Dove, taken alone, seems to be absolutely proper. The largest of the group to which the name is applicable is perhaps the Ring-Dove, or Wood-Pigeon, also called in many parts of Britain Cushat and Queest (Columla palumlus, Linn.), a very common bird throughout these islands and most parts of Europe. It associates in winter in large flocks, the numbers of which (owing partly to the destruction of predacious animals, but still more to the modern system of agriculture, and the growth of plantations in many districts that were before treeless) have of late years increased enormously, so that their depredations are very serious. In former days, when the breadth of land in Britain under green crops was comparatively small, these birds found little food in the dead season, and this scarcity was a natural check on their superabundance. But since the extended cultivation of turnips and plants of similar use the case is altered, and perhaps at no time of the year has provender become more plentiful than in winter. The Ring-Dove may be easily distinguished from other European species by its larger size, and especially by the white spot on either side of its neck, forming a nearly continuous " ring," whence the bird takes its name, and the large white patches in its wings, which are very conspicuous in flight. It breeds several times in the year, making for its nest a slight platform of sticks on the horizontal bough of a tree, and laying therein two eggs which, as in all the Columbce^ are white.
The Stock-Dove (0. cenas of most authors) is a smaller species, with many of the habits of the former, but breed ing by preference in the stocks of hollow trees or in rabbit- holes. It is darker in colour than the Ring-Dove, without any white on its neck or wings, and is much less common and more locally distributed.
The Rock-Dove (C. livia, Temm.) much resembles the Stock-Dove, but is of a lighter colour, with two black bars on its wings, and a white rump. In its wild state it haunts most of the rocky parts of the coast of Europe, from the Fyeroes to the Cyclades, and, seldom going inland, is comparatively rare. Yet, as it is without contradiction the parent-stem of all our domestic Pigeons, its numbers must far exceed those of both the former put together. In Egypt and various parts of Asia it is represented by what Mr Darwin has called " Wild Races," which are commonly accounted good " species " (C. schimperi, C. ajfinis, G. intermedia, C. leuconota, and so forth), though they differ from one another far less than do nearly all the domestic forms, of which more than 150 kinds that " breed true/ and have been separately named, are known to exist. Very many of these, if found wild, would have unquestionably been ranked by the best ornithologists as distinct "species," and several of them would as undoubtedly have been placed in different genera. These various breeds are classified by Mr Darwin[1] in four groups as follows:—
Group I. composed of a single Race, that of the " Pouters," hav ing the gullet of great size, barely separated from the crop, and often inflated, the body and legs elongated, and a moderate bill. The most strongly marked subrace, the Improved English Pouter, is considered to be the most distinct of all domesticated pigeons.
Group II. includes three Races : (1.) "Carriers," with along pointed bill, the eyes surrounded by much bare skin, and the neck and body much elongated ; (2.) "Runts," with a long, massive bill, and the body of great size ; and (3.) " Barbs," with a short, broad bill, much bare skin round the eyes, and the skin over the nostrils swollen. Of the first four and of the second five subraces are distinguished.
Group III. is confessedly artificial, and to it are assigned Jive Races : (1.) " Fan-tails," remarkable for the extraordinary develop ment of their tails, which may consist of as many as forty-two rectrices in place of the ordinary twelve; (2.) "Turbits" and " Owls," with the feathers of the throat diverging, and a short thick bill ; (3.) "Tumblers," possessing the marvellous habit of tumbling backwards during flight or, in some breeds, even on the ground, and having a short, conical bill; (4.) "Frill-backs," in which the feathers are reversed ; and (5.) "Jacobins," with the feathers of the neck forming a hood, and the wings and tail long.
Group IV. greatly resembles the normal form, and comprises two Races : (1.) Trumpeters," with a tuft of feathers at the base of the neck curling forward, the face much feathered, and a very peculiar voice, and (2. ) Pigeons scarcely differing in structure from the wild stock.
Besides these some three or four other little-known breeds exist, and the whole number of breeds and sub-breeds
- ↑ The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication. Condon: 1808. Vol. i. pp. 131-224.
