44 AMERICAN SQUAB CULTURE 



to full blooded Carneaux and their offspring with other white 

 birds with orange eyes which have been produced in the same 

 way. In time they will produce orange eyed white birds that 

 will reproduce their kind and can be perpetuated as a breed. 



There are other points, however, and difficulties that must be 

 considered and worked out along with the color scheme and 

 the orange eyes. One is the light beak which is provided for 

 by the White Carneau standard. It is hard to produce the 

 white bird with orange eyes and a light beak, especially so 

 when the first cross between a white bird and. a Carneau will 

 invariably throw youngsters with dark beaks and the first 

 orange eyed bird produced will invariably have a dark beak. 

 Difficulty also arises in maintaining the Carneau size and type. 

 \\^hite Homers can be crossed in, but they are undersized and it 

 is almost impossible to eliminate the strong Homer type in 

 future generations. A White Runt is oversized and it is hard to 

 eliminate the Runt-like appearance from future offspring. A 

 white Maltese hen pigeon furnishes a good type, except the 

 neck is too long, and it is hard to eliminate the uplifted tail. 

 Therefore, when one asks what kind of a white bird can be 

 used, the answer is that the white bird must be manufactured 

 for this purpose by crossing and recrossing white Homers, white 

 Runts and white Maltese, until a bird is produced that has al- 

 most the correct Carneau size and type. 



For the benefit of anyone who might undertake this project, 

 I will add that only a small percentage of white Homer blood 

 should be used. Just enough to make a bird thrifty and active 

 and to keep down the size slightly. A cross between a white 

 Runt and a white Maltese will be a little oversized, but a well 

 divided composition of a Maltese and a Runt is almost the de- 

 sired type for a Carneau, except as just stated, the possibility 

 of it being a little oversized; so a small amount of Homer blood 

 is necessary to reduce the size. 



The next difficulty is the breeding qualities, as the Carneau 

 is a fast breeder, and it would not be consistent to create a 

 white Carneau in size, shape and other qualities without main- 

 taining its breeding and squab-producing proclivities. This can 

 be done if the white offspring is created in such a way that at 

 least seven-eighths of its blood is Carneau. If anyone thinks 

 that it is a cinch and an easy matter to breed and create a 



