72 PIGEONS AND THE PIGEON FANCY; 



oped eye and beak wattles, totally unfitted for long flights, 

 its sight being so much obstructed that the best specimens 

 cannot pick up scattered kernels of corn, but must be 

 fed from a box. So the term " Homing Pigeon " or 

 " Homer" has been applied to the actual carrier. The fancy 

 carrier calls for more points of perfection than any other 

 pigeon, and it is stated that twice as much money is annu- 

 ally spent for them as for any other variety. He is not 

 tame nor petted like the pouter, but is naturally wild. He 

 is large, powerful, and bold-looking. His neck should 

 be long, slender but not tapering. His beak-wattles, eye- 

 wattles, beak, head, legs, outline, must approximate to a 

 given standard. His main distinguishing feature is his 

 abnormally large beak-wattle, which looks as if a small 

 cauliflower had been impaled upon his bill. 



The Dragoon, often called the "Dragon," resembles the 

 carrier, but has a smaller wattle which grows upon the 

 upper mandible only. He is, I think, a much handsomer 

 bird, being very symmetrical in form. They are good 

 fliers and good nurses. 



The Antwerp is a name given to an important variety of 

 " Homing " pigeon, but there is also a sort called the "Show 

 Antwerp, " which is a fine bird, with lines to charm a 

 sculptor, but with no very remarkable peculiarity. 



The Barb was perhaps named from the country of Bar- 

 bary. All the " wattled" pigeons are probably of Oriental 

 origin. A Turkish pigeon called the Scandaroon much 

 resembles the carrier. The barb has a broad square head , 

 with a bright red surface of wattle around the eye, and a 

 short, thick, bullfinch beak. It is highly prized, and is, 

 like the foregoing and most of those to follow, of various 

 colors. 



The Mahomet is similar to the barb, but has a crest. 



The Tumbler is so called because he tumbles ; yet some 



