200 PI(.K()N> AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



THE CARRIER. 



OH, Mr. Judge, please show me a Carrier! Oh, is that 

 one? Why what a funny bird. Does it carry the 

 note in its beak, and how does it know where you 

 want the note taken ?" 



I give this sample of the questions asked a Judge at a show 

 in order that my readers may see the predicament I am in. 

 through writing for others than fanciers. 



We (of the purple,) all know that the show Carrier is not 

 a Homer, and that the Homer is the bird that takes a mes- 

 sage to its home loft, and nowhere else. That the average 

 Show Carrier would not home a mile. 



I feel that I hurt the feelings of no Carrier fancier, when 

 I state that the show Carrier, the old English Carrier, is not- 

 one of the most popular varieties. At the big shows the 

 Carrier classes are rarely well filled, yet personally I think 

 the Carrier a wonderful bird, and one that well repays the 

 fancier for the time spent in perfecting its points. 



The Carrier is a large bodied pigeon, and is in reality 

 larger and heavier than it really looks, for its feathers lie 

 close and hard, and it is so "trim" as to be misleading. One 

 of its great points is its wattle. There must be two, the up- 

 per or beak wattle, and the lower or Jew wattle. The more 

 prominent these are, the better. 



The head of the Carrier should be long, shallow on top, 

 and narrow between the eyes. 



The wattles should stand out well, but be short and wide. 

 The beak wattle should be free from hollowness, but should 

 be full, and larger of course than the Jew wattle, which, 

 however should have the same general characteristics as the 

 former, 



