104 THE PRACTICAL PIGEON KEEPER. 



interesting. He matched together first a black cock and yellow 

 hen, as just now recommended; the cross producing seven 

 birds, of which four were reds ; showing very strongly the 

 uncertainty of colour just remarked upon. These four reds 

 were two cocks and two hens ; one hen dying. The surviving 

 red hen was matched to a yellow cock bred from another branch 

 of the same family, and produced amongst others a yellow hen, 

 which we will call No. 1. One of the red cocks was matched 

 to a yellow hen of another strain, and produced amongst others 

 a yellow cock, which shall be called No. 2. The other red cock 

 was matched to a black hen, and produced amongst others a red 

 cock, which shall be called No. 3, and a yellow hen we will 

 term No. 4. With this second stock at command, then, Mr. 

 Firth matched No. 1 (yellow) to No. 3 (red), and No. 2 (yellow) 

 with No. 4 (also yellow) ; and at the time he reported the ex- 

 periment, he had hatched, from these two pairs, eight young 

 ones, every one a perfectly-coloured yellow. 



Opinion rather varies as to the proper size of a Barb. It is 

 often said that the pigeon ought to be rather small ; but in old 

 birds at least, we have generally noticed that a good-sized bird 

 wins. The nearest to a general rule we can lay down is, that 

 the bird must have the appearance of a big head, whatever the 

 body may be. If the head appear wide, square, and large, the 

 bird is all the better if the body be small ; but the large-look- 

 ing head is essential anyhow, in anything like good competition. 

 Small birds are more likely to win as young ones, their neat 

 appearance, if the skull is well shaped, carrying off their 

 inferior size. It is, in fact, as a rule, necessary to breed a very 

 different kind of stock to win with in young Barb classes. 

 There are eye-wattles that develop quickly, as in Carriers, 

 though they are apt to "spout" at a later date. Birds with such 

 wattles, therefore, and good shaped skulls of only moderate size, 

 often make the most showy young ones : indeed, it is almost 

 impossible to get a Barb that when young looks short in the 



