218 PIGEONS AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



THE SHOW HOMER. 



THE Show Homer is not a bird that would attract much 

 attention in the show room, and by this I mean that it 

 has not the variegated plumage that wculd cause the 

 masses to stop and look at it. Yet it has its points, and they 

 are as hard to breed to perfection, as are the points of other 

 birds. 



The show Homer is another of the birds that has sprung 

 into sudden popularity, and this assertion holds true on 

 either side of the big pond. 



The primary points show at an early age, and the breeder 

 does not have to halt between hope and fear and wonder 

 "how the birds will turn out. ' Just as soon as the young- 

 ster is through moult it is ready to show, and in fact it looks 

 about as well then, as when fully matured. 



There are two great points in the show Homer, and they 

 are simply head and body. The head is a beautiful curve 

 from the tip of the beak to the back of the skull. There is 

 no gap between the beak wattle and the skull, but it fills 

 right up in one unbroken curve. The eye cere is small and 

 fine, and dark. The color of the eye most sought for is a 

 pearl or flesh white. The beak is medium in length and 

 thickness and seems to fit close to a compact head. The 

 wattle is not laige, but close fitting and must come up just 

 enough to make that perfect curve that we see in so many 

 wood cuts and on so few birds. The chest of the bird is full 

 and strong and stands well out, and the shoulders are also 

 well out and strong looking, though there must be a close- 

 ness of feather all over. The very appearance of the body 

 which is short and thick set, gives the idea of hidden 

 strength. 



