370 FANCY PIGEONS. 



of Mr. Ludlow, of Birmingham, published in the Neio York 

 Pet Stock and Poultry Bulletin. The drawing represented, 

 with all Mr. Ludlow's skill, an indifferent Birmingham show 

 Antwei'p, with pert, upright carriage, short, stubby beak, large 

 eyes, small head and brain, and is no more like a Belgian 

 Yoyageur than I to Hercules. Such a bird could not fly fifty 

 miles, and would not fly five. 



" I have visited over and over again the lofts of the Belgian 

 amateurs ; I have owned, and still own, hundreds of these birds ; 

 I have had thousands pass through my hands ; but in all 

 Belgium I never saw a bird approaching the form that is 

 apparently regarded by Mr. Ludlow and the Birmingham 

 fanciers as that of a Belgian Yoyageur. 



" The exhibition of the right sort of birds is very much pro- 

 moted by their liberation after being judged in the pens, the 

 prizes being withheld if the birds are not returned at a given 

 time. It is true some of the birds may live close to the show, 

 and have their flying powers very slightly tested, but really 

 good flyers are certain to be sent for the selection of the judge, 

 and the Short-faced show birds will be kept at home. 



"The liberation clause should always be qualified with the 

 stipulation, 'weather permitting,' for it would be a serious 

 matter if, during the worst flying months of the year, a flight 

 of really good birds should be liberated in a fog, or in hazy 

 weather, when they could not see their way home. For, in spite 

 of all the nonsense written about flying by instinct, all practical 

 men know that a bird flies by sight. I have lost some of the 

 best birds I ever possessed from trying to fly them across 

 London on a foggy day." 



The Short-faced Antwerp Pigeon. 



Tliis pigeon has been produced principally from the Smerle 

 of Liege, one of the varieties from which the Belgian 

 Yoyageur descends, as mentioned already. According to 

 Fulton, who ought to know, some breeders have made use of 



