200 FANCY PIGEONS. 



The powdered blue and silver Englisli Owls of our day were, 

 however, bred in London about the year 1855, according to 

 a letter from Mr. Harrison "Weir, appearing in the Live Stock 

 Journal of 1878, who states therein that they were produced 

 by himself and the late Matthew Wicking. When requested 

 by me, in the same publication, to state how they were bred, if 

 it was no secret, Mr. Weir made no sign. I have considered 

 that the appearance in London of a pair of true Mahomets, 

 about the year 1850, as mentioned by Brent, had some con- 

 nection with the powdered Owls which appeared soon after- 

 wards. That they sported from common blues is very unlikely ; 

 but from the long, mousey faces, and freedom from gullet, of 

 those I have seen, they might have been bred from the Geiman 

 Ice Pigeon, which has much of the same colouring as the 

 Mahomet. The late Mr. James Wallace, of Glasgow, with 

 the Mahomet Pigeon already mentioned by me, and a blue 

 English Owl, bred beautifully powdered birds, wanting the 

 frill, which he recovered by the next cross of these half-breds 

 with blue Owls, though at the expense of some colour. These 

 quarter-bred Mahomets were equal in powder, and better Owls, 

 than any of Mr. Weir's breed I ever saw. Some mystery 

 seemed to be made out of the production of the powdered 

 Owl in London; but there is really no mystery in the matter, 

 for, even if it was not produced as I say, similar coloured 

 and better Owls can be so produced. That the same kind 

 of Owl existed in the last century seems likely; and, in the 

 year 1824, Boitard and Corbie published the following in Paris : 

 " Pigeon Cravate Anglais ; Columha Turhita Anglica ; En Anglais, 



Turbit Pigeon: plumage entirely amethyst blue, with 



black bars on the wings. This pretty variety is very pure, 

 for it cannot be crossed with another variety without entirely 

 losing its colour." Like the German writers, Boitard and 

 Corbie do not distinguish between Owls and Turbits — all are 

 Pigeons a Cravate. The above, though called the Turbit, 

 cannot read as referring to a Turbit-marked pigeon ; such 



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