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without going over (a great defect), I have found it useful to pull out the middle o 

 their tail, so that the next time they back they often fall over, and from that learn to 

 tumble well ; some tumble too much at a time, and thereby lose the flight, or cause the 

 others to come down after them, which is very objectionable, I have heard of a new 

 sort (at least new to me), called rollers, because they roll along with the flight, but 

 never having seen them, cannot describe them ; perhaps some of the readers of the 

 Poultry Chronicle may know them, and oblige me by a description. The Tumblers 

 should be kept in a house by themselves, and only let out once a day ; the best time is 

 in the morning before the sun is very hot, and when they have had their fly they 

 should be shut up for the rest of the day, and not allowed to associate with other 

 Pigeons, or they will contract a habit of low flying, which would spoil them ; they 

 should be kept in a commodious house, and in constant daily exercise, or they become 

 lazy. Their house should be provided with plenty of food, clean water, and grit ; a 

 " salt cat" will be found very useful, made of old mortar, coarse sand, clay, and a little 

 salt ; nor should green meat be omitted, such as lettuce, cabbage, &c., and an occa- 

 sional bath is very beneficial. 



(Brent.) — They are excellent breeders, and do not require so much attention as most 

 fancy Pigeons ; keep them clean and in exercise, give them good food and water, and 

 materials to build with, and they will do well. Although their young are small, they 

 are excellent in pies, and are produced in abundance, provided they are not cramped 

 for room. 



(Brent.) — The Tumbler should have a nice round head, a pearl eye, a short beak, 

 a full chesb, and a consequential deportment ; they assimilate to the Almond short- 

 faced in properties, but if intended for the Flying Fancy, must be stouter and of 

 stronger constitution, — in fact, not so high bred. They may be met with of various 

 grades of goodness, like most other fancy articles : their plumage is the most varied of 

 all Pigeons ; there are whole colours, of black, blue, white, red, yellow, or bufi", silver, 

 dun, ash-coloured and kite ; also mottles of all these. There are two kinds of mottles, 

 dark and light ; the dark have only a few feathers of white about head and shoulders ; 

 the white mottles must have the whole of the flight and tail dark, the rest of the body 

 white, interspersed with a few coloured feathers. Then there are the pieds ; first, the 

 magpie tumbler, black, blue, red, or yello ff, with white wings, breasts, thighs, and vent , 

 evenly marked without one coloured feather, the rest of the body being dark without 

 any white. I have also seen reds and yellows with quite white shoulders like shields. 

 The G-ermans have a large variety of Tumblers, which fly well and tumble very nicely ; 

 they are of various colovurs, either whole coloured or dark with white flight and tails ; 

 often with a small beard, and their feet are covered with very long white feathers, 

 many of the feathers on the toes measuring four or five inches in length. I kept a 

 flight of them when in Germany, and was agreeably surprised to flnd them excellent 

 high flyers and very prolific ; but, to my great discomfiture, when I had got them al- 

 most to perfection in fljdng, a large hawk made a daily descent upon them, and so re- 

 duced their numbers that I was obliged to leave oflF flying them. These rough-footed 

 Tumblers 1 found very plentiful in and about Coblentz, on the Rhine ; in other parts 

 of Germany, they have many clean-footed Tumblers of various colours, as magpies 

 helmets, and beards, but their beards have only a white beard and flight feathers, the 

 rest of the body being dark, of various colours. Respecting Rolling Tumblers, I am 

 not able satisfactorily to answer ; but from all that I can learn they are only those 

 birds that tumble very much, and known as Dutch Tumblers, but are not much 

 esteemed by the Flying Fanciers on account of their falling so much that they 

 bring down the flights. If Rollers are not the same as what are here called Dutch, 

 and in Germany "Hollanders," I must plead ignorance of them. 



(Eaton. 196. — Brent gives an excellent and accurate account of the Dutch Roller. 

 When I look at a Dutch Roller, and a pretty little compact short-flight and tailed Tum- 

 bler, I must confess I am surprised at the difference of tumbling in these two birds, 

 for the Dutch Roller Tumbler is as common a looking Pigeon as the house Pigeons 

 that are kept at the inns on the road side *' Where weary travellers love to call.'* 

 Besides, they are such bad, slobbered, patched-feathered birds, there is not a single beau- 

 tiful property in them, unless it is in their feathered legs. If many good Fanciers, 

 who did not know, was asked what they were, would answer Skmnums, considering 

 they were not worthy of a better name ; on the the contrary ; whereas, the neat, plea- 

 F 



