THE SATINETTE FAMILY. 



And if no further questions are asked the 

 matter ends. But if asked to describe Oriental 

 Frills to them, then, as a rule, my difficulty 

 begins. Such terms as lacing, frill, gullet, 

 grouse leg, spot tail, crested, plain headed, etc., 

 no doubt appears very puzzling to anyone who 

 has but a hazy idea of what lacing or pencilling 

 means in speaking of a Satinette or Blondinette. 



I think the best illustration one can give is 

 to liken them to a picotee or carnation, for the 

 lacing in some of the colours resemble these 

 beautiful flowers very closely. And for that 

 reason we get the appropriate term, " The 

 flowers of the Fancy." 



The blue-laced Satinette was the first mem- 

 ber of the Oriental family to make its way into 

 this country. They were mostly what are 

 called plain-headed. The term plain-headed 

 means without the crest or peak. The term blue- 

 laced requires a little explanation. Blue has no 

 connection with the lacing, although I have seen 

 birds with this undesirable colour mixed with 

 the colour of the lacing we like. 



It is the colour of the rump and tail which 

 distinguishes this member from his brothers — the 

 Sulphurette and Brunette. The colour is about 

 the ordinary shade of almost any blue Pigeon. 

 The rump and tail of both the Sulphurette and 

 Brunette is a soft fawn or French grey shade. 



The Blue-laced Satinettes were not, strictly 

 speaking, laced as we know lacing to-day, when 

 they first made their appearance in this country, 



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