CHAPTER VI 



BREEDING 



V 



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THE pigeon fancier is an artist among 

 breeders and his work of producing liv- 

 ing, highly colored models of beauty is 

 the finished work of the painter. His object in 

 breeding is different from that of most breed- 

 ers in being solely to maintain the fancy points 

 of color and outline, with no reference to util- 

 ity. His material is the most impressionable, 

 known, and being wholly artificial, is as un- 

 stable. Through all the difficulties of fancy 

 breeding it must be remembered that the male 

 influences the external points and the female, 

 the size, structure, and constitution. As for in- 

 stance, if a carrier cock were mated to a runt 

 female, their squabs would have the carrier's 

 wattles and eye-cere but the runt size, struc- 

 ture, and constitution. Or if the cock was a 

 jacobin, the squabs would shine forth in all the 

 glories of muffler and hood. The breeder 

 should select his ideal and work until he gains 

 his point. 



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