The Zoologist — October, 1867. 939 



such as barbs and small African owls, offer the strongest instances of 

 departure, at least in structural peculiarities, from the formation of the 

 original stock." — p. 49. 



With the subject of matching colours, Mr. Tegetmeier seems to be 

 very familiar : before one of so much experience, pileum delraho, 1 

 can do nothing more than reproduce his instructions, in perfect faith 

 that they are all that can be desired. 



" With regard to the matching of the particular colours, first of blue- 

 pied : a pouter of this colour should not be matched with a black-pied, 

 as although in many cases well-marked birds of either colour are 

 produced, the general result is to obtain dark birds, with chequered 

 wings and black bars, which are neither elegant nor valuable. Blues 

 maybe matched with reds, if no better match offers; and we have 

 seen some very good-coloured birds the produce of this cross. Nothing 

 can be better than to cross a blue cock with a large long-limbed mealy 

 hen ; the produce will in almost all cases be either blue or mealy. 

 Blue-pied and white are not desirable to match, as very white-pied 

 birds, or white-splashed or speckled with other colours, would most 

 probably result. 



" Black-pied may be matched with red-pied or mealy with advan- 

 tage ; but white should be avoided, as splashed offspring would almost 

 certainly be produced. 



" Red-pied may also be matched with yellow-pied, when good yellow 

 or red birds will be produced ; red-pied and mealy may also be 

 matched, but with some risk to the bright red so much prized in the 

 best-coloured birds. 



"Yellow-pied may also be matched with mealy with advantage. 



" White pouters should have a white beak, a dark eye and a plumage 

 of immaculate purity, in addition to all the other properties of the 

 breed. The fear of the hereditary transmission of a few dark feathers 

 has made many fanciers dread any intermixture of other blood with 

 their white strain ; but we can speak from long experience in breeding 

 this variety, and can state that some of the best whites we ever reared 

 were obtained from a cock with a dark splashed tail and a mealy hen, 

 and that the progeny of these birds, when crossed with other whites, 

 bred birds free from stain. 



" White, in the language of the fanciers is a " strong " colour, that 

 is to say it is oue that reproduces itself with great force, and really 



