Show I 1 THE GORGEOUS PEACOCK OCK some things at out ihm tint are not generally known I 1 nearly evroy ono one la Is familiar with tho the appearance appe arauco of the peacock the tha king among the birds ot of rich plumage its ells magnificent costume la Is composed I 1 1 or of more than twelve different tints of tho the most brilliant hue green and I 1 gold ilis hiis voice Is tho the most unmusical laic among ing birds but lite his splendid appe appearance makes up for that deficiency in ancient times tho the peacock was wag tho the bird sacred to the greek ifor biorn isaas bays tho the philadelphia times wh who U was the juno ol of the gatins and later I 1 i in the age of chivalry when mare more honor was paid to men than to the gods a peacock roasted in ID ors with its full train displayed was I 1 i the dainty dish that was sot set before the king on festive occasions the native country ot of tho the peacock Is southern asia and the east indies it Is also found in java and coylon ceylon the naturalists natura lists that havo have soon boon it in its haunts say that when it Is domestic domesticated atod its feathers lose much of their original brilliancy with its train often 7 foot in length and its arching nock neck and body covered with feathers like gold old and emerald stars stara it appears like a ff listening glistening monarch of the wild region it inhabits inhabit it Is often soon seen in flocca of a hundred or more mom toward evening those creatures gather on tho the open grass rasa near the tha forest booking lor for their suppers should a hunter hi iier disturb them they run rapidly tor for a short distance and then rise obliquely their flight is heavy and somewhat low as they rarely rise higher than the tops of tho the tallest trees it if wounded while flying they instantly tall fall to the ground but unless their logs are injured they as rapidly re cover themselves and run BO 90 ra rapidly P idl Y toward tho the nearest thicket that the hunter often loses the prize he considers within his rasp their favorite home Is la in the forest surrounding mountain bablo lands where they can secrete themselves among the trees and tall undergrowth whence they sally forth into the open ground for feeding they aro are found amono the mountains of southern india as ha high h as 6 foot bet above the sea but never far from some mountain stream or lako lake the peacocks food Is both animal and vegetable while mile ho he will feast on wild berries and doods and make sad bad havoc with a flold field of young 9 grain rain he is equally happy with a breakfast of worms and bugs and even small snakes which last he takes a dindio vindio tire live pleasure la in killing it if only to leave thorn them dead upon tho the ground round the female chooses a concealed in the underbrush for a nest whore where she carelessly pulls together ton ethor 1 after the fashion ot of domestic I 1 Lur clr nyard r d fowls chatz whatever sticks and dried r led leaves gre are at hand there she lays from eight to twelve egsa eggs which she abo broods for thirty days before the ung I 1 break their shells I 1 II 11 i she Is left to herself she bhe Is a good mother and attends carefully to her little ones but often when domesticated constant interruption chills her maternal instincts and she heartlessly goes to roost on tho the topmost bough of somo some tall tree and leaves her ba blos bios to shiver in tho the chill midnight air youner peacocks aro are delicate but should they live 11 vo and thrive their growth Is very rapid when 3 months old the difference in tho the plu pill mago maffo of the male and female la is distinctly seen although it Is not until the third year that the male attains tho the full glory of his train tho the female although of handsome hand somo plumage Is entirely wanting in this gorgeous appendage the pride and glory of her mato mate |