120 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ I'ebruavy G, 18C8. 



Mare ? I sent three pairs of Pigeons in a small box (carriage 

 from London 2s. Gd.). I wag awarfleil the first prize for Dragons 

 (£1|, and much to my surprise the Committee in remitting the 

 money deiliicted no less than -U. iil. for railway charges to and 

 from the show yard. I hclieve it customary on the part of 

 railway companies to deliver goods free of eliarge on arrival at 

 their stations, provided the distance is inconsiderable, which I 

 believe it to be in this case ; at any rate, it appears to me a 

 most exorbitant charge for the company to make, being only 

 ■id. less eaeli way than for the carriage from London. — J. Pek- 

 CIV.U.L, recJcluim. 



PIGEONS' DISEASES. 



I AM glad to find that the doubts I expressed as to tha dis- 

 eases of Pigeons being non-infectious have produced another 

 most interesting letter from Mr. Huie. I have several reasons 

 for believing that roup and cancer in the mouth will spread if 

 not attended to ; among them these two : — Early in last summer 

 I purchased all the forward birds of a breeder iu this neighbour- 

 hood, one of the best of them a Red Pouter hen having the 

 roup badly at the time. This bird I cured, but not before five 

 out of the seven others had taken the complaint more or less 

 severely. The place iu which 1 kept them was particularly dry 

 and warm. 



Two years ago nearly half my young birds were attacked with 

 cancer in the mouth. They were separated entirely from the 

 breeding stock, neither of them at that time being allowed to 

 fly. However, the disease seemed to spread so much that I gave 

 the birds their liberty, which did them a large amount of good, 

 but at the same time I permitted them to perch on and about a 

 wired court to which the old birds have access during the day, 

 and in a very short time afterwards the same complaint 

 appeared in the breeding loft, how or by what means I am at a 

 loss to conjecture, unless it was passed by the young birds to 

 the old ones. 



I am surprised at any one considering these diseases to be 

 non-infectious, but should be only too glad to think that such 

 was the case. 



Would Mr. Huie say what number of crosses he considers 

 sulScient between two birds, in order that fine healthy Pouters 

 may be produced ?— W. R. Rose, Cramley Hall, Kettering. 



DARK AND LIGHT BRAHMAS. 



Havint, long taken great interest in both the varieties of 

 Brahmas, I would like to add a few words upon the subject of 

 the alleged monopoly of all the cups by the Dark birds, " what- 

 ever be the merit " of the Light ones ; and I must first express 

 my opinion that " our Persian friend " has hit the nail on the 

 head in more respects than one. 



I have been, I think I may say, a keen observer of both 

 varieties, and I can unhesitatingly corroborate the assertion of 

 " Y. B. A. Z.," that hardly ever do we see a pen of Light 

 Brahmas that can be at all compared to even a fair average 

 pen of Dark iu the real characteristics of the breed. The 

 combs of the Dark birds are often bad enough, but the Light 

 are generally execrable. The legs are clothed with what may 

 be compared to " unmentionables " in more ways than one ; 

 the whole " style " of the birds is usually far iuferior, and the 

 head has too often nothing of the true Brahma expression 

 about it. This expression is pecnlier to the Brahma race alone, 

 and once caught by the eye is never forgotten. It is ditficult 

 to describe, but the head of a true-bred Brahma pullet is al- 

 most exactly similar in shape, taper, and expression to that of a 

 Grouse, and is one of the best signs of purity of breed. In Light 

 Brahmas, however, scarcely one bird in four possesses it now. 



Mr. Pares's celebrated cock I remember well, and I admit 

 that a better Light bird has never beeu seen of late years ; but 

 I have during the last two seasons seen more than a score of 

 Dark cocks quite equal in size, shape, and style, and at least 

 half a dozen more or less superior. 



With regard to the causes of this superiority, " Y. B. A. Z." 

 has al^o stated the truth, but very far from the whole truth. 

 So far as his own opinion goes, I can give a curious corrobora- 

 tion of it. I was in company at Birmingham with one of your 

 correspondents and another well-known Light exhibitor, both 

 noted first-prize winners iu their favourite variety, and we 

 ■were discussing the merits of the first-prize Light Brahma 

 cock. Both breeders complained of the award, although made 

 by Mr. Teebay, and appealed to me if a cock of " such bad 

 coloni- " ought to have had the cup. Now, the fact was, that 



the bird had such a decided grey bottom colour (as a true 

 Brahma should), that having been much knocked about it gave 

 him a decidedly dirty or dull appearance — certainly, I must 

 admit this, though any one could see that in good condition he 

 would be clean enough ; but, as to the style of the bird, his 

 carriage, his shape, his tail — it was the old Teebay model come 

 to life again The bird was really grand, and I could only 

 wonder his splendid proportions should be overlooked by two 

 such noted breeders. 



I have remarked that " Y. B. A. Z." has stated very far short 

 of the whole truth in this matter, and I think I can point out 

 the chief reason of the deterioration he alludes to, and which 

 no amount of legitimate breeding for colour can fully account 

 for, though in part it may. 



I have still in my posses-^ion somewhere a letter addressed 

 to me by a celebrated exhibitor of both Dark and Light 

 Brahmas, who has taken m-any a " first " at Birmingham and 

 elsewhere, but whom, as the letter was in confidence, I cannot 

 of course name, expressing his opinion that the Dark is the 

 original and true Brahma, and that tlie Light variety was pro- 

 duced from it by crossing with the White Cochin. With this 

 opinion of his I have, of course, nothing to do, save to say 

 that it is quite untenable ; but the essential point is the fact 

 which the writer proceeded to state, that a large proportion of 

 his -own Light birds, which had won numerous prizes, were 

 thus bred between a Dark Brahma cock and White Cochin 

 liens. Now, it is not necessary to suppose that all or most 

 Light breeders adopt such a plan to account for a cross of this 

 kind causing general deterioration. Birds from any noted 

 breeder are continually being purchased, and thus the taint 

 is carried into other yards and indefinitely propagated. The 

 result is what we see. 



The evidence, apart from the letter I refer to, is undeniable 

 to any who understand the Brahma fowl in its proper charac- 

 teristics. The head I have already alluded to. The comb is 

 another point equally conclusive. Very few Dark strains now, 

 if pea-combed, ever throw a single-combed bird ; but in Light, 

 if you pick your stock from any yard, and choose the very best 

 birds, you will have a large proportion of single-combed chick- 

 ens, showing a tendency to revert to the Cochin type. The 

 narrow deficient breast is a third proof, and occurs in half the 

 pens now seen. And not to mention more minute character- 

 istics obvious to keen inspection, I will adduce lastly the under 

 colour of the plumage. In nearly halt the Light Brahmas as 

 now shown the colour is white down to the skin ; whilst I 

 have the fullest conviction that no pure Brahma, of any colour, 

 was ever bred that had not a grey bottom colour, whatever the 

 surface might be. To sum up all, I have seen scores of so- 

 called Light Brahma hens, which, except for their black-tipped 

 tails, could in no possible way be distinguished from inferior 

 or degenerate White Cochins. 



As to the relative merits, per se, of Dark and Light I shall say 

 nothing. The Dark will always be more kept on account of 

 their looking so much cleaner in confinement, but no one can 

 be blind to the exquisite beauty of a really good and pure-bred 

 Light bird. Were I judging a mixed class I should place the 

 birds with regai'd simply to their merits as Brahmas, weighing 

 well the shape, the size, the build, the comb, &a. These being 

 equal, the cup should go to the pen most perfect in colour ac- 

 cording to its own standard ; but I can never agree to a cup 

 going to pens, however snowy white, if so weedy, narrow- 

 breasted, bad-combed, and Cochin-crossed, as generally meet 

 the eve. The remedy is iu your correspondents' own hands. 

 Let them breed again for size, shape, comb, and feather, and,. 

 above all. shun a Cochin cross or taint as they would the 

 plague. I have seen recently a hen belonging to one of the 

 complainants, said to weigh 12 lbs., and she looked it. Her 

 shape, comb, and colour could hardly be surpassed, while her 

 leg- feathering was good, and she had the genuine head — rarest 

 of nil. I venture to assure her fortunate owner, that if h& 

 will perpetuate that kind of bird, or if he can obtain a cock 

 worthy to go with her, he will not long be " left out in the cold." 



While I thus contend, however, that the Dark birds are 

 geuerally far superior iu size to the Light, it is worthy of re- 

 mark that white birds always look small in comparison with 

 darker; and this fact must be kept in mind by judges in esti- 

 mating size. — Nemo. 



I UAVE been much gratified at the able way in which the 

 claims of the Light Brahmas to equality with the Dark have 

 been vindicated in your .Journal during the last few weeks by 

 Mr. Worthington, Mr. Pares, and others. 



