68 



were asked to name the bird, provided it could be bred, you would call it a tinker 

 Pouter, what folly, therefore, to attempt these mongrels or monstrosities when you have 

 such an excellent copy before, that has stood 123 years, be assured it will take you all 

 your time, however quick at learning to imitate it, leave alone surpassing it. My 

 advice to you is to abandon all foohsh nonsense, besides losing years in attempting to 

 accomplish it — leave well alone — you will experience great difl&culty in obtaining per- 

 fection of feather in the large, noble, dignified English Pouter. 



(Brent.) — The common English Pouter Pigeons are very interesting birds, they are 

 merry, active, and engaging, though their large crops, when fully distended, give them 

 rather a droU appearance ; when at liberty they are continually on the move, cooing, 

 clapping their wings, and flying from place to place ; they are good breeders, if not bred 

 in and in, a practice which cannot be too much guarded against ; their young are large, 

 and their flesh good ; their plumage is generally blue-pied — though frequently of other 

 colours. The fancy English Pouters are undoubtedly bred from this stock, by careful 

 selection, by pairing birds not related, and frequent introduction of fresh blood, by 

 which means a finer race has been established. Their points of excellence being the 

 same, one description will suffice for both, except that the fancy birds are larger. 



(Brent.) — These properties may be considered under the five following heads : — 

 Eirst. Length, of the body, from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail ; and of the 

 leg, from the knee-joint to the end of the toe-nail. 



(Brent.) — Second. The crop, which should be very round and well blown up to 

 the beak. 



(Brent.) — Third. Shape : broad across the shoulders, the body tapering ofi', wedge- 

 shaped to the tail ; back, hollow ; girth or waist, small ; the legs moderately stout, and 

 clothed with small feathers, hke tight pantaloons. 



(Brent.) — Fourth. Carriage, which should be upright, with the crop properly blown 

 out, not slack nor stiff winded ; prancing nicely on their toes, without jumping ; and 

 not raising the rump feathers when playing ; spreading the tail like a fan, and keeping 

 their legs moderately close. 



(Brent.) — Fifth. Feather, by which the markings of their plumage is meant, whether 

 blue, black, red, or yellow-pied ; they should have a large white crescent on the fore- 

 part of the crop, and a dark bib imder the bill ; this white must not run round behind 

 the head ; from seven to ten tip flight feathers in each pinion should be white, as also 

 the covert feathers of the same number, and a small rose or crescent on the fore-part of 

 the shoulder ; the thighs, legs, and vent also white ; the rest of the body should be 

 dark, without any white. 



(Brent.) — Blue-pied appears to be the most natural colour, black, red, and yellow, 

 each the more valuable than the preceding, on account of the greater trouble of procur- 

 ing good birds of those colours ; and on account of the great difficulty of procuring red 

 and yellow-pied Pouters with dark tails, they are allowed to have white, but on close 

 inspection these will frequently be found to be of a pale strawberry, or mealy colour. 

 Owing to their large crops, long legs, and high feeding, they are generally very bad 

 nurses, consequently, the young are raised by placing their eggs under other pigeons 

 that are good nurses, such as Dragons, which are kept on purpose, care being taken 

 that these have laid very nearly at the same time. The Pouters must, however, be sup- 

 plied with a pair of eggs to sit on, and a young one at hatching time, a few days old, to 

 feed off their soft meat ; otherwise they are apt to fall ill, or the hen be weakened by 

 laying again too soon. Their nest-places, &c., should be lofty, that they may not con- 

 tract a habit of stooping, and kept exceedingly clean. The birds it is recommended to 

 keep separate during winter, and to make them as tame and famihar as possible. A 

 register of their pedigree should be carefully attended to, whereby related birds may not 

 be mated together ; for, to have Pouters in perfection requires a great deal of attention 

 and careful management, which wiU account for their high price. 



Taken from " The Field, the CovMtry Gentleman's Newspa^per" 16th January, 1858. 



Although we cannot go quite the length of Mr. Eaton, in likening any Pigeon to a 

 beautiful woman, "yet a fine white Pouter," whilst "playing," certainly does bear a 

 nearer resemblance than any other of its species to a graceful high-bred EngUsh lady. 



