371 HOMING PIGEONS. 



tlie Barb in breeding it. Its chief properties lie in its bead, 

 which must be capacious, and present in profile an unbroken 

 curve from the nape to the point of the beak. The beak 

 itself ought to be thick and short, the under mandible ap- 

 proaching the upper in consistency as much as possible, and 

 fitting close to it, or, as fanciers say, boxed. Any gullet is 

 objectionable, and detracts from the appearance and value of 

 this variety in the opinion of its admirers. Viewed in front, 

 the head ought also to be round from eye to eye. The 

 irides should be orange or blood red in colour, light or pearl 

 eyes being faulty. The eyes must be prominent, or bolting, 

 and be surrounded with a fair but not excessive amount of 

 wattle. Like other pigeons of this type of head, the beak 

 wattle thickens with age; it should be of considerable sub- 

 stance, lying well spread on each side, and by the time the 

 bird arrives at maturity — some three or four years — it should 

 have filled up all inequalities in the curve of the head, and 

 even if it stands out a little beyond the curve it is not con- 

 sidered any fault in a good bird. Mere shortness of face, 

 therefore, is no desideratum in this bird, but rather the 

 reverse, for room is required for the forehead behind the beak 

 wattle to fill out, and this is the point which gives a finish to 

 a good bird, and makes it massive in skull. 



The Short-faced Antwerp should be a large pigeon, bold in 

 appearance, upstanding, and tight-feathered. The choicest 

 colour is the mealy, almost always now called silver dun, which 

 is a good sounding name ; but there is certainly no silver in this 

 colour, neither is there any dun. The mealy colour may be said 

 to have been bred to perfection in this pigeon. The cocks are 

 sometimes finely powdered on the head and upper neck, while 

 the lower neck, breast, and wing bars, are of a rich brown or 

 red ; but it is difficult to get the same colour in the hens, which 

 are generally dark-headed. Next comes the red chequer, both 

 dark and light ; the blue chequer, also of various shades ; and 

 the black-barred blue, the original colour of wild pigeons. 



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