118 



FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



public opinion, because the general public, including modern 

 fanciers, at sight appreciate a compact, short-beaked pigeon, 

 rather than a long-beaked one, and any one can be convinced 

 of this by a little attention to the remarks of the non-amateur 

 visitors to the large pigeon shows. 



The only long-beaked varieties some of the general public 

 appreciate, are the Pouters, the Fantails, the double-capped 

 Trumpeters, &c, possessing some remarkable and pleasing 

 attraction; and is not the Carrier most remarkable? I say 

 decidedly it is; but we cannot prevent the general public, 

 and especially the ladies, from saying, " Oh I what unsightly, 

 deformed beaks and sore eyes these birds have. Are they 

 well, poor creatures?" Although there is something re- 

 markable and pleasant in the Pouter, Fantail, Trumpeter, 

 &c, they do not approach the short-beaked varieties in public 

 estimation even in England, whore the latter are of com- 

 paratively modern introduction ; but in countries where 

 there are plenty, and such specimens as England has not 

 seen yet, the long-beaked varieties have disappeared, or if 

 any, are in the loft of some old lady or gentleman, like my 

 uncle, who kept Eunts, and large Trumpeters, whose progeny 

 he had cooked by passing through them a long iron rod. 

 They had to be turned by this rod over a charcoal fire, satu- 

 rating them constantly with butter, and powdering them 

 with ground biscuit till ready for the table, and I assure you 

 they were infinitely superior to any which had been made 

 into a pie. 



The Carriers, Pouters, Pantails, Trumpeters, Bunts, &c, 

 are, of course, well known, and of great perfection in this coun- 

 try, so they need no comment from me. 1 pass, therefore, to 

 the moderate-sized and short-beaked varieties. There are in 

 this country Archangels, Nuns, Magpies, Swallows, Jacobins, 

 &c, perfection, also of the short-beaked kinds there are per- 

 fect specimens of Almonds, of course, Owls and Barbs, but 

 unfortunately not of Turbits, I must say that I have not yet 

 seen a well-formed and good-colored Turbit, such as I met 

 with on the continent, where the black is as good as a good 

 black Barb's, the red a deep warm red, and the yellow a fine 

 deep orange yellow, all shining naturally, as if they were 

 varnished, instead of the generally faded dead-looking colors 

 I see on their feathers in England. To my surprise, instead 

 of persevering to improve this most important property, 

 breeders have given their attention to breeding clear-thighed 

 birds, which should be quite a secondary consideration. The 

 eye, also, of the Turbits in this country is quite insignificant ; 

 the good continental Turbits have the lash around the eye 

 of a most remarkable buff color, contrasting most beautifully 

 with the black eye, and increasing its apparent size. 



In looking at the most interesting "new variety " class 

 in our large shows, I always think of the answer I received 

 from a great German new-variet}' breeder for the English 

 market. I asked what is the origin of the Ice Pigeon, the 

 Fairy, the Satin Swallow, and the like? The answer — " I 

 mingle together in my loft a dozen of each of the following 

 breeds : Hyacinths, Swallows, and Spots, of different colors, 

 and Archangels ; cocks of the two breeds, and hens of the 

 other two, so that I may be sure of having crosses, and I 

 obtain more new varieties than I can find names for I" And 

 who can deny that nearly all the different new varieties have 

 one and the same character ? Certainly there are some with 

 beautiful plumage, such as the Satin Swallow, but the varietj' 

 from which it has taken half of its name, the Satinette is 

 admitted to be the new variety which has revolutionized the 

 fancy. The Satinettes have done what no other variety ever 



did; in fact, they have tired the judges awarding them 

 prizes, to such an extent that one judge said he must give 

 the turn to others for encouragement. I never yet heard 

 any fancier or observer say that he had seen anything prettier 

 in the pigeon tribe, and I never expected meeting with any- 

 thing approaching them anywhere till I saw this breed, 

 which is a production of Africa, and my opinion most decid- 

 edly has been verified in England. The Satinettes possess 

 as great perfection of plumage as any of the known new 

 varieties, if not a superiority in that respect, with as exqui- 

 site and compact a form of head as the owl, including the 

 frill. They are grouse-muffed, and the most remarkable of 

 their properties are the tail feathers, which are of similar 

 color to those of the blue Owls, only darker, and at the ex- 

 tremity of each feather there is a white spot as large as a 

 shilling, which is the admiration and puzzle of every fancier, 

 as they are the only known variety possessing this beautiful 

 peculiarity. — Journal of Horticulture. 



PEKIN (CHINA) DUCKS. 



Mr. James E. Palmer, of Stonington, whilst on a visit to 

 China, in 1873, procured a large number of China Ducks, 

 all of which, except one drake and three ducks, died on the 

 passage. Those he succeeded in getting to his farm alive, 

 but dwarfed by the long voyage. Before he suspected them 

 of laying, he found a lot of their eggs in a small branch 

 running through the pasture, where they were confined. 

 They laid constantly until the last of July, something over 

 one hundred eggs each. Fifty birds in all were raised. 

 The eggs hatch in twenty-five days, and the young birds 

 are about one-third larger than the Bouens when they first 

 come out of the shell, and grow more rapidly through the 

 season. 



Mr. Palmer exhibited some of these ducks at the late Ex- 

 hibition of the Connecticut State Poultry Society, and the 

 largest pair, only five months old, weighed fifteen pounds, 

 without any fattening or special preparation. They are 

 clear white, with a yellowish tinge to the under part of the 

 feathers, which are very thick and downy. The wing pri- 

 maries and all of the flight feathers are remarkably short, 

 showing that they have long been domesticated, and are 

 not disposed to fly much. They are very hardy, not mind- 

 ing snow or rain ; are easily kept in small inclosures ; and 

 only are given a little clean water and regular feeding to 

 raise them successfully. When they have a good run, they 

 are excellent foragers, and will take care of themselves as 

 readily as any other breed of ducks. They have large yel- 

 low bills and reddish eyes. Their long, graceful necks, 

 their white plumage, and remarkable size, make them pleas- 

 ing objects upon the water or about the farm-yard and 

 lawn, and have excited a great deal of interest among all 

 poultry fanciers who have seen them. 



PET SPARROWS. 



There is an indescribable charm in the law of kindness. 

 Few living things resist its power. Force is grinding, 

 stirring up rebellious thoughts. Gentle treatment over- 

 comes, by magic as it were, and holds the subject a willing 

 captive. Here is a little story from Land and Water, showing 

 the effect of a fair-browed girl's love for the sparrow. A 

 correspondent writes : 



" In the Summer of 1870 my little sister got two young 

 sparrows quite small from a nest, which she succeeded in 



