328 FANCY PIGEONS. 



thick, short beak, and a broad skull ; otherwise, in colour, 

 markings, and grouse-feathered legs, it resembles the Shaker; 

 but I believe the trembling neck is seldom found in them. 



Mr. O. Neef, of the German Consulate in London, who in- 

 troduced this beautiful variety into England, being desirous 

 of making known its merits, has requested me to publish 

 the following : 



"The Ancient Pigeon (Altstammer), though German, is not 

 a Toy Pigeon like the Feldtauhe, such as the Swallow, Ice, 

 and others, which have long, thin beaks, and heavily-built 

 bodies, as characteristics of their type, but is one of the few 

 German varieties with the distinguishing features of a short 

 beak, round head, and elegantly-shaped body. 



"It is, moreover, a special Berlin variety, reared almost ex- 

 clusively there, but also largely represented in Stettin; in 

 other parts of Germany it is seldom met with. 



" Really good specimens are very rare, and command a 

 high price. Thus, for instance, at a late exhibition at 

 Konigsberg, an offer of 1000 marks (about £50) was declined 

 for a single pair of them. The sum of £25 was also offered 

 at the Berlin Exhibition, in 1882, by a Bii-mingham dealer, for 

 a pair, and likewise refused. 



" The Ancient Pigeon, as the name implies, is a very old 

 variety, the origin of which is unknown, and all explana- 

 tions hitherto advanced concerning it are mere suppositions, 

 devoid of any positive proof. This much, however, is fact : If 

 the Ancient be crossed with another variety, its character- 

 istics are at once lost. 



"Friends at Berlin have lately elected a body of breeders 

 of this variety for the express purpose of ascertaining its 

 origin and age; but as yet their efforts have been fruitless. 

 From investigation of special and other literature on pigeons, 

 it appears that the Ancient was known as early as 1779, but 

 nothing has been discovered regarding its origin, or where 

 it came from. 



