72 



THE PRACTICAL PIGEON KEEPER. 



the other, but has also some tendency to the peg-top shape. To 

 make symmetry complete, the wattle (technically called "jew- 

 ing") on the under mandible must so harmonise with the 

 portions which overhang the lower jaw from the upper, that 



the upper and lower 

 halves of the beak-wattle 

 seem to balance each 

 other. In these respects 

 the head here shown is 

 a model. 



We have seen very 

 good wattles of the 

 walnut type which came 

 very forward on the 

 beak. In some cases 

 this makes a bird look 

 uncommonly well, owing 

 to the wattle keeping 

 well away from the eye. 

 It has, however, two objections. The first is that its weight, 

 being so far forward, has a tendency to drag the point of the 

 beak down, which is called being " down-faced;" whereas one 

 great beauty of a Carrier is to carry the beak horizontally, 

 which is being " straight-faced." All very large wattles are 

 apt to cause this fault, by the way ; but, of course, the more 

 the weight is forward the more it operates. The second evil 

 is that a forward wattle generally impairs the beak, as already 

 seen ; and this fault makes such birds dangerous matches. 

 They can, in fact, only be safely used for birds which, with 

 plenty of wattle behind, are rather short in front, and have 

 massive, blunt-ended beaks. 



We may remark also on the "distance" referred to by 

 Moore. As a Carrier ages its beak-wattle grows backwards, 

 but not forwards. It therefore approaches the eye-wattle ; and 



Pig. 21 HEAD OP CARRIER. 



