289 WATTLED PIGEONS. 



the crown, which is not considered any fault. There is often 

 a protuberance at the back of the skull, but the less of this 

 the better, as it takes from the graceful curve of the head and 

 neck. If the head be arched from side to side, it is barrel- 

 headed, which is a serious defect. In profile view, however, 

 the head ought to be rather rounded from back to forehead, 

 or there will be no room for a large eye wattle to spread 

 upwards, in which case it must either grow over the crown, 

 or, if thick and heavy, fall downwards over the eye, which is 

 called being beetle-browed. 



EYE. The eye should be large and prominent bolting, or 

 staring, as it is called by fanciers. When looked at from 

 above, the pupils should be seen standing quite outside of the 

 eye wattles. The bolt eye always tells well in competition, as 

 it gives an otherwise good bird a fine appearance. The irides 

 of black and blue Carriers ought to be, and usually are, of a 

 fiery red; they are lighter in duns, and hazel in whites. 



EYE WATTLE. This ought to be as large as is consistent 

 with perfect roundness, and, consequently, the diameter of a 

 perfect eye wattle is limited to an inch or a little more. I 

 have seen a crown piece laid on the eye of a Carrier and not 

 cover the wattle. Such enormous eye wattles are generally 

 accompanied by rather small beak wattles, and are of no 

 intrinsic value, because in their growth they must depart from 

 the true circular shape. The eye wattle ought to be thin 

 rather than thick in substance, soft yet firm in flesh, of an 

 equal breadth all round the eye, and evenly laced. This is 

 known as a " rose eye," is the most difficult to obtain, and the 

 most esteemed. When the inner edge of the eye wattle takes 

 an angular shape, instead of being round, it is known as a 

 diamond eye; but though many admire this, it is not a form 

 of such true beauty as the rose eye. The eye wattle is a 

 property which is subsidiary to the beak wattle, the latter 

 being the most difficult point to get both large and well- 

 shaped. Given a good beak wattle, then a distance is neces- 



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