PRIMARY POINTS IN BREEDING CARRIERS. 83 



well at any but a first-class show. These are very few only 

 two or three in a season ; and this a strong hen should bear 

 without injury. 



In commencing to breed Carriers, we strongly advise taking 

 as primary points beak-wattle and beak, but laying as much 

 stress on good shape of beak-wattle as its size. Eye-wattle can 

 be got at almost any time by a cross from the large fleshy-eyed 

 birds, which often make good matches for those which have 

 otherwise good heads, but are wanting in eye; The beak- wattle 

 should, however, be always kept in mind, and no marked fault 

 in it on one side be left without a corrective^ Eor instance, a 

 wattle of the peg-top stamp may very likely run small and 

 pinched towards the front, where it runs on to the nostrils ; 

 which is, indeed, one of the most common faults of any. Now 

 if the breeder should have in his loft a, bird, otherwise fairly 

 suitable, of the walnut or spherical type of wattle, set perhaps 

 too far forward, somewhat as if a large marble were threaded 

 on the beak, such would make an excellent match, and be likely 

 to produce some excellent beak-wattles : showing also good 

 " distance " from beak- wattle to eye- Generally speaking, a 

 hollow or flat place, either on the top or sides of the middle of 

 the beak-wattle or towards the front part of it, are the most 

 frequent faults ; and a wattle well filled there, or showing a 

 fairly symmetrical convexity all the way from back to front, is 

 always of high breeding value. Such a bird, unless the whole 

 wattle is enormous, will rarely be very crowded in the posterior 

 portion ; whilst those with large wattles, but rather hollow in 

 the front or middle, often are, the wattle seeming to make its 

 growth behind. Take it all in all, therefore, a tolerably 

 straight and massive beak, with wattle well filled in the middle 

 and front, are the chief points. 



Great size of wattle alone, however, is always worth some- 

 thing. However hollow to the front, and correspondingly 

 crowded and overgrown behind, by matching it to a smaller 



