FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
425 
other. Their object is to attain a long, straight, and thick 
beak, and they will sacrifice everything else to accomplish 
the purpose. 
I have tried a number of experiments on beaks, and have 
come to the conclusion that the least done artificially to in- 
crease the length the better. One thing, however, is very 
important, the young birds should be fed by the old ones, 
that is the old Carriers, for no other variety has mouths 
large enough to feed the young without compressing the 
soft, cartilaginous bones of the beak, and interfering with 
its growth. This is a very simple thing, but, to any obser- 
ver, it is very suggestive, for not even dragoons can feed 
young Carriers satisfactorily. 
The beak must be long and straight ; for crookedness, even 
of the slightest, is a disheartening eyesore ; crookedness 
either lateral or downward. The curve downwards is very 
obnoxious, and some of the Roman-nosed birds look more 
like voracious vermin than “kings of pigeons.” 
Thickness is necessary to preserve the proportions of the 
beak and prevent its becoming spindling. The mandibles 
must also fit, the lower within the upper, that the bird may 
not be open-mouthed or distorted. The fittings of the parts 
of the beak is seldom perfect, by efforts to increase the 
length, or by the compression by the smaller beaks of 
feeders, a deformity consisting of a pinching in of the sides 
of the upper half near its point is produced and the shape of 
the part is destroyed. One hundred years ago an inch and 
a half was considered a long beak, but, in those days, more 
attention was given to the other properties, now the same 
measurement is thought useless, and from one and three- 
quarters to two and a quarter are the extremes which contain 
the average lengths. The measurement is from the tip of 
the beak to the centre of the eye. Very long measurements 
can sometimes be obtained from the Roman-nosed birds by 
using a tape around the curve, but it is fallacious, as honesty 
determines the direct line as the standard. 
The wattle is a wearisome thing to wait for; it is seldom 
of much importance until the bird is two years old, and it 
continues to improve to the fourth year. I have bought a 
good many Carriers, of which it was said “ when they get a 
little older the wattle would be very large.” After watching 
three years I turned out one old bird to fly with the com- 
mons, and ten years afterwards his wattle had increased so 
much as to entitle him to rank with dragoons. By the way, 
that bird was, to my knowledge, thirteen years old, and he 
must have been a year old when I bought him. I also know 
of a Horseman that has been in the same loft nine years ; 
pretty good specimen of longevity in pigeons. The wattle 
must be broad across ; an English walnut, with the long 
diameter across the back, would be a fit illustration ; broad 
from side to side, short from before backwards, high and 
tilting forwards. It looks like a cauliflower, or fungous 
growth, is pinkish-red in color, and hard to the touch in old 
birds, hut like velvet in the young. When the bird is 
diseased, it becomes white or very dark red, the latter 
being the condition when the bird is gorged by overfeeding, 
and suffering from vertigo. When the birds are moulting, 
or in bad health, the wattle shrinks very much. Some fan- 
ciers desire the wattle to extend under the lower beak, but 
it is generally preferred that this should not be. The cir- 
cumference of the wattle of the beak should be over three 
inches and a half. 
The eye is an exceedingly important point with the Car- 
rier. Upon it depends much of the impression the bird 
makes upon his admirers. A dull, listless eye will doom 
the best bird in other respects. Like the same organ in man 
it is the sentinel of the brain, and upon its alertness depends 
the judgment passed of the general physical powers. Its 
glance should be quick, comprehensive, and confident. The 
color is a bright orange-red, the redder and more fiery the 
better. It is surrounded by a broad cere, which is of the 
same nature as the wattle of the beak. This cere must be 
smooth, regular, and of equal width all around the eye. 
It is exceedingly difficult to develop it perfectly at all points, 
and it is most apt to become thin at the posterior part of the 
circle, thereby winning the name of pinch-eyed. A cere 
the size of a silver quarter, or about an inch and a quarter 
in diameter is a good one. 
The skull has only of late years commanded attention. 
At first the fanciers were indifferent whether it was short 
and thick, or long and narrow. Good taste, however, pre- 
vailed, and the demand is for long, narrow heads, flat on 
top or with a slight depression in the centre. Between the 
wattles of the eyes, as they appear above the head, the dis- 
tance must not be over half an inch. 
Carriers are of two colors, or rather of one color, black, 
with the adjunct color, dun, by the aid of which the deeper 
black is maintained in its purity, a cross being often neces- 
sary to prevent the black from becoming rusty or washed 
out. 
Reds, whites, yellows, and blues have been bred, but they 
are not of much account, and have ranked little better than 
Horsemen or Dragoons. They occupy about the rela- 
tive position that paste diamonds do to the genuine articles. 
I have been in the habit of judging Carriers by the fol- 
lowing standard : 1st, size; 2d, shape; 3d, style; 4th, color; 
5th, head; 6th, eyes; 7th, beak; 8th, wattle. 
I use more points than the writers recommend, and place 
the most neglected first, as it is now easier to obtain a good 
head and beak bird than one of good style and shape. 
One of the latest illustrations of Carriers is published in, 
I think, the Poultry Review , of London. It is a study from 
life by that careful and admirable delineator of animated 
nature, Harrison Weir, and represents a bird bred for prop- 
erties of head and beak. The pure truthfulness of the 
draughtsman is the most convincing proof of the degeneracy 
in style and bearing of the English Carrier in the place of 
bis origin. 
S \ A\LL Pej Dep^yjviejJj. 
4®“A11 communications and contributions intended for this depart- 
ment should be addressed to HOWARD I. IRELAND, 318 Stevens Street, 
Camden, N. J., or care of Joseph M. Wade, 39 North Ninth St., Philada. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Under the above head we will with pleasure answer all reasonable 
questions concerning small pets.] 
“Illinois.” — We have no lop-eared rabbits on hand. A 
good pair will cost twenty-five dollars ; young ones from 
five to twelve dollars, according to age. Common white 
rabbits are worth two dollars a pair ; three dollars for a trio. 
W. S. — Your squirrel was caught when too old. You 
had better let it go, or it will pine away and die. We can- 
not answer letters by mail unless accompanied by stamp. 
Frank S. — Your rabbits are fed upon too much green 
food. If you will substitute oats for green clover we think 
the disease will disappear. 
