301 WATTLED PIGEONS. 



ment. Real fancy pigeons have undoubtedly risen in value 

 since shows were established ; but they were highly valued 

 before, and they would continue to be highly valued were pigeon 

 shows abolished. To establish a breed of exhibition pigeons 

 from the faulty produce of Barbs, taking as their standard of 

 perfection a narrow skull, a small pinched eye wattle, and a 

 run-out face of a certain length, would be an analogous case 

 to what has been done with the Dragoon since pigeon shows- 

 were established. Before then the breed had no fancy value 

 whatever, and it has no fancy value now out of England, and 

 only there within a limited circle. 



The first thing to be observed in the National Peristeronic 

 Society's standard of the Dragoon is the name they give it the 

 " Dragon." The analogy between the names Carrier, Horseman, 

 and Dragoon, is clear, but at some time before the oldest living 

 fanciers were born it became usual to call the Dragoon the 

 Dragon. This is noticed in Moubray's Poultry Book, first 

 published in 1815, and which went through five editions in ten 

 years. The author says : "Dragoons (commonly called Dragons)."" 

 The name would easily become corrupted, and more easily 

 pronounceable among illiterate pigeon keepers, who were, doubt- 

 less, formerly the chief breeders of Dragoons ; and, when 

 gentlemen went to buy feeders for their Carriers and Pouters, 

 they would hear them spoken of by shopkeepers, and others, 

 as Dragons, and so gradually come to speak of them by that 

 name among themselves. I have known a similar alteration of 

 the name in my own experience. I can remember when there 

 were very few Dragoons, Skinnums, or Antwerps in Dundee, 

 nothing but flying Tumblers being fancied by the poorer class 

 of pigeon keepers. When homing pigeons became in request, 

 everything with the least beak or eye wattle more than a 

 Tumbler was known, in their language, as a " Draigon." This 

 was afterwards shortened into "Draig," and now the word is 

 "Drake." I was once rather surprised to hear a gentleman's 

 son tell me he had some fine " Drake " pigeons. I have written 



