120 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 10, 1870. 



should match in size, style, colour, ami marking, also in colour 

 of eye and beak. 



An attempt has been made in certain quarters to rnal;e the 

 pearl eye indispensable in Blacks and Motile?. I contend that 

 it is quite immaterial whether the eyes are orange or pearl, so 

 long as the two birds in a pen match. Tearl eyes were scarcely 

 known in Trumpeters before the introduction of the foreigners. 

 I have both colours, but prefer the orauge-eyed birds. It is 

 simply a matter of taste, and should not count as a point 

 either way in a competition. 



In colour the Blacks Bbould be the brilliant lustrous black, 

 such as we see in Barbs. 



Willi respect to judging Mottles, I beg to differ from "Fleck 

 de Lis." 



Again, I say rose and hood must be taken first, but colour 

 and marking exceedingly close upon them. My beau idial of a 

 Black Mottled Trumpeter, is flight, tail, breast, and back, per- 

 fectly black ; head black, or slightly mottled, and a patch of 

 regular mottling on each shoulder not more than 2 inches in 

 diameter. It is very difficult to get every feather of the flight 

 black, and though very ol jsctionable, one or two while feathers 

 on each fide do not amount to a disqualification. Entire white 

 flights are utterly inadmissible in a show pen. A while head, 

 though objectionable, does not disqualify, if accompanied by 

 dark flights and tail. 



I would nut bo thought to undervalue colour and marking, as 

 a Black Mottled Trumpeter perfectly marked is one of the 

 rarest birds in the fancy, and I believe judges are giving this 

 fact due weight in their decisions ; still I do know of a solitaiy 

 case at a large show not long ago, where, in consideration of 

 unusual quality of rose and hood, colour and marking were 

 entirely ignored in a class exclusively for Mottles. This I 

 thought a great mistake.— J. Fikth, jbs., V,'< bsU . BUI, Deu.s- 



BELGIAN SMEKLES OH ANTWERP PIGEONS. 



I am glad to see the above most useful Pigeons beginning to 

 be discussed in your pages. I have kept them for about twelve 

 years, and on pronounce tbem to be the most useful Pigeons 

 that fly. They can be trained to soar over home like the 

 Tumbler ; for homing and racing there is none to equal them ; 

 for breeding good, fat, young birds for pies, etc., none can 

 excel them ; and they aie first-class nurses for rearing young 

 Fancy Pigeons whose parents cannot be trusted to rear their 

 own young. There are colours amongst them to suit nearly 

 all tastes. I have bred them of the following colours— viz., 

 clear buff with yellow bars, clear dun with bright red bars] 

 sky blue with black bars, light drab with black or dark brown 

 bars, light grey with black bars, buff-dappled, dun 

 drab-dappled, blue dappled, end sometimes of a nice black. 

 They are neat, strong, and compact, and wo sometimes say 

 more sagacious than any other Pigeon with which we are ac- 

 quainted. They are also very hardy, active, lively, and pleasant- 

 looking. 



The following are the points of excellence we aim at :— Beak 

 short, thick, and broad at the base, slightly curved at the point ; 

 head rather broad and nicely rounded at the top ; eye large, 

 prominent, and fiery red ; neck rather Jong and deed 

 plain, broad, and deep; shoulder thick and strong; legs bare 

 and red below the knee, rather long, and standing well up ; 

 flight feathers very bread and of moderate length ; tail taper' 

 ing almost to a point, and slightly inclined to the ground ; 'size 

 rather Ies3 than that of the Dragoon. The- colour I prefer is a 

 clear light dun, with neat bright led bars, and a black beak.— 

 J. Pahkeb, Burnley, Lancashire. 



_ [We shall publish next week a portrait, with cotes on what 

 is considered a standard Antwerp.— Eds.] 



s npports his theory with the addition that " It has been proved by 

 i [i riment nore " without the least intimation that his first letter had 

 been misunderstood, and he must have seen it clearly enough if this 

 had been the case. I have found both froi n and from 



correspondence with a large circle of friends in the fancy, that they, 

 one and all, belii fed " Puckwtng " had meant what he said, and said 

 what he meant. — B. Hpsso.s, 11, /.V. 



I see that " Dur^p.vT-.-f; " spedka of Mr. Darwin's theory respecting 

 the origin of 1 I Himalayan Babbit. Mr. Darwin in hi.- 



"Animals and Plants under Domestication B matter of 



fact (not theory) that this Rabbit originated in the way one of yonr 

 correspondents, wb ■: i i lent "Dr/ci row€ doubt upon, 



stated, and he instances Mr. Barlktt , .: Zoological 



Gardens, as hat ing pi rsonally proved the fact. — P. 



[Here the controversy must end. i 



THE HIMALAYAN RABBIT. 

 It is to be regretted that " Dcckwing's " first letter on the Hima- 

 layan Rabbit, in which he argues that it is a cross between a Silver- 

 Grey and Chinchilla, should happen to he at the binder's, as he 

 appears to have entirely forgotten what he wrote, and only to remem- 

 ber clearly what he did net write. He now Favs. " 'What! mentioned 

 was, a cross between the Silver-Grey and the Chinchilla varieties of 

 the common Rabbit." In all courtesy I beg to say that he mentioned 

 nothing of the sort. There is no sneh vague expression as " the Chin- 

 chilla varieties of the common Babbit," and if there had been " Dr/CK- 

 wtxg " himself could not have told us what it meant. It is significant 

 that he does rot refer to his second and longer letter, where he again 



during the day, and 

 and. fcliat I was dii 

 from live o'clock 

 I was a fit srli' ct for 



RECOLLECTIONS OF OUR CANARY SHOW. 



An dm talk logic with ye." 

 "Do you know anything about the 1*0011, Blahsion?" Did — I — 

 know — anything — about — the — moon ? What a strange question I 

 Did I look like a man connected with lunar aff irs? "Was there 

 something suspicious in my appearance ? Had I a restless, nnquiet 

 expression in my eye? Certainly not. I was busily engaged discuss- 

 ing my share of "grilled hones for three,"' as ordered by telegram 

 from Manchester in the morning, when this mon entons question was 

 propounded. _ That I was hungry, for I hnd had little time for eating 

 g] ' have been picking my hone ravenously, 

 cidedly dirty, for I had been anpacking biros 

 morning, I mentally acknowledged ; but that 

 1 inquiry in lunacy was an opinion I dissented 

 from. But it suddenly Gashed across my mind that possibly my ex- 

 aminer might Le fully persuaded in his mind that any connection with 

 a Canary show wa 1 an pie 1 vidence of lunacy, and hence his question. 

 So gathering my • it toj 1 Iher as well as I could, and summoning as 

 intelligent an expression as was possible under such embarrassing 

 circumstances, I politely informed him that I did not know much 

 about the moon. " Of course you '11 know that astronomers are of 

 opinion that our earth in about to throw of? another moon ?" "What 

 a relief ! It was simply an interesting bondfidc astronomical question 

 he was introducing 1 . Now I am rather strong in astronomy. I went 

 through " Keith " when I was a boy (missing all the hard problems), 

 I have " Gleig's '' 9d. treatise at my ringer s' ends, and I occasionally 

 invest a penny with an individual at the corner cf the street, and take 

 a peep at Jupiter's moons through a large telescope. I thought that 

 was "form" enough to back me out in the (liecussiou, and while I 

 was busy laying bare the wondrous skeleton 1 i the wing of a fowl, I 

 believe the instructioi ; of my early youth stood me in good stead. 

 But I have sii,ee, by no very complicated process of reasoning, arrived 

 at the conclusion that the second query was only kindly put to quiet 

 my suspicions as to the object of the first, fur upon reflection I am 

 perfectly satisfied that all managers of Canary shows must be affected 

 in that unfortunate way which is attributed to the effect our satellite 

 has on the inhabitants of its primary. Let us hope the earth is not 

 , going to launch another ns Query if it launched the one 



I we have '.' I prefer the sublime story of its creation which we have in 

 the good old Book.) But if such a catastrophe be impending the re- 

 sults will Le appalling I The new mau-ki-tbc-rncon will have en- 

 largetl schedules, increased prizes, silver cups ad infinitum,) and 

 universal bankruptcy to answer for. "Coming events cast their 

 shadows before," Mid is it not an open question whether the meteoric 

 shower of silver splendours attached to the Palace schedule may not 

 be attributable to the high state of electrical condition -which is to 

 eventuate in the biith of the second moon ? 



But it was not direct lunar influence which affected the Committee 

 oi "our Canary Show."' The disturbing force was essentially mnn- 

 flano. " How about your Show ? I regard it as the ' Two Thousand 

 Guineas,' preparatory to the Crystal Palace 'Derby.' Don't let it 

 fall through. Yours ever— H. A." Why did you write that, H. A.? 

 Why did you throw such a firebrand in the midst of a community of 

 peaceful citizens who had foresworn the pleasures (?) of Canary shows 

 for ever? Why did I not burn tho dangerous missive instead of 

 putting it into my pocket ? Why did I pull it out at street corners, 

 and grappling some friend by the button-hole whisper the mysterious 

 I is ear — " Don't let it fall through?" Why did 1 go from 

 house to house, the burden of my song ever the same — " Don't let it 

 full through?" And why did you, Mr. Young, instead of quietly 

 ejecting me from your premises, listen to the seductive strain — Don't 

 let it fall through,'' and smiting my hand with a very heavy smite, 

 say, " Daddy ! (great familiarity, but you know I don't mind it from 

 him), it sha'n't go down ; we'll try again." And who is to blame for 

 all this and all that followed ? " Yours ever — H. Ash—; — ." My pen 

 nearly slipped. A few hasty notices, and our- Committee was soon 

 called together. Phrenologically speaking, 1 should say its tempera- 

 ment was sanguine, with hope largely developed. There have been 

 times in the history of our country when great social or political 

 questions have agitated society, when, perhaps, the subject of reform 



