VALUE OF FRESH AIR. 



I am a great believer in fresh air, and my 

 lofts are constructed so that the birds get plenty 

 of it both night and day, winter and summer. 

 It is the greatest mistake in the world to coddle 

 Pigeons. One of the greatest breeders of Carriers 

 of the present day treats his birds in the same 

 way. I wonder what some of our old Carrier 

 breeders would have said to such treatment. 

 And now I think I have said enough to convince 

 anyone on the score of hardiness of the Oriental 

 Frill. 



We will next treat on the housing or lofts, 

 and as my own lofts and aviaries have proved 

 successful both in keeping the birds healthy and 

 in good condition I will try and describe them. 

 Their design is not original, so far as I am con- 

 cerned, as I copied the idea from the lofts of 

 Mr. Richard Woods. 



Mr. Woods possessed a wonderful strain of 

 blue Dragoons. They were very sound in colour, 

 very rich in colour of eye, with lovely damson 

 ceres, a feature which, I think I am right in 

 saying, very few, if any, other breeder of blue 

 Dragoons possessed. I remember it was a very 

 sore point amongst fanciers, and at nearly every 

 show where Mr. Woods exhibited, wranglings and 

 most reprehensible remarks were often indulged 

 in as to the genuineness of those lovely damson 

 ceres . In fact , at more than one show I have seen 

 Mr. Woods' birds passed over by the judge 

 because he thought the eye ceres were faked ! 



67 



