143 



421. There are Gentlemen in the Fancy who have asserted that head and beak is to 

 be produced at any time. " Any time" is hard to define. If they mean the longest 

 time they are right ; on the contrary, if they mean the shortest time, they are decidedly 

 wrong. Nothing is easier than to assert a thing ; they would experience the difficulty 

 if they attempted to produce head and beak. 



422. Sir John Sebright said he would produce any given feather in three years ; but 

 it would take him six years to obtain head and beak. 



BEAK. 



423. The beak of a first-rate Almond Tumbler ought not to exceed five-eighths of 

 an inch : it would be infinitely better, if possible, to breed them that they did not ex- 

 ceed half-an-inch from the iris of the eye to the point, or, more properly speaking, to 

 the end of the quick on the beak — I repeat again, if possible to have them so short- 

 faced, as it is termed by Fanciers. It is possible for a bird to be considered a 

 pleasant or neat bird even at three-quarters of an inch ; exceeding that length must be 

 looked upon as unworthy of attention. The beak should run in a straight line from 

 the head, be extremely fine and pointed ; I have some in my aviaries that have aston- 

 ished me, nor could I have believed it possible beaks covild have been so fine, had 1 not 

 witnessed it. There are beaks on birds, apparently short, with no more style in them 

 than your thumb naUs. There are first-rate Fanciers who are particularly partial to 

 what is termed the goldfinch beak, which is very beautiful ; others say, take a full size 

 round cherry, then take a barley corn, and judiciously placing in the cherry, form as it 

 were your beak. That is not all ; it will form a good head and beak, provided it is 

 judiciously done ; others take an oat. I think the goldfinch beak the handsomest ; I 

 would advise the inexperienced Fancier to get the head of a goldfinch and keep it by 

 him ; at the same time if he kept a marble by him, for shape of head as well as beak, 

 for his observations. 



424. The wart or wattle on the beak should be very fine ; as little as possible resem- 

 bling as it were a thread drawn across the beak. Where this fineness of wattle can be 

 obtained, it adds greatly to the beauty of the bird, and is a sure mark of its being well 

 bred, besides giving the appearance of a more decided stop. 



EYE. 



425. The brighter and more prominent the better, like the eye of a fish (take for 

 example the bright-eyed Perch). It is the general opinion of Fanciers the 'eye should 

 be fixed in the cenre of the head. I will show what would probably give the appear- 

 ance of a loftier, broader, and less " behind the head." Suppose, for argument, the 

 head was an inch perfectly round, divide the one inch into sixteen equal parts ; if you 

 place the eye one-sixteenth more or less below the centre of the head, the more lofty- 

 headed the Almond Tumbler will appear, or the reverse ; the same holds good if the 

 eye is placed back in the head, giving the head a broader appearance in front, and less 

 *' behind the head," which is the opposite of what is called "duck-necked"' by Fanciers. 

 The effect is still greater where the beak is low on a round-headed Almond Tumbler ; it 

 gives that truly beautiful and striking stop, which fe not eclipsed by any other portion 

 of the bird, and which is held in such estimation by the best Fanciers. 



426. The eye should be free from a thick skin or flesh round it, known to Fanciers, 

 a great defect ; a beading may look pretty on a miniature frame ; it is the very reverse 

 round the eye of an Almond Tumbler ; the eye should be feathered close to the edge, 

 the more bright silver or pearl-coloured the iris of the eye the better. 



THE HEN. 



427. The Hen is inferior to the Cock in some of the properties, and superior in 

 others, which I shall endeavour to show ; it is with the Almond Tumbler as with most 

 other birds, the male is more impudent and audacious, courser in his looks, beak, 

 and wattle ; the hen is more delicate, finer in her beak and wattle, and though gene- 

 rally of more spare appearance, comes very little short in shape or carriage. She is 

 smaller than the cock, which is an advantage. The cock and hen are equal as regards 

 the eye ; that is to say, the eye of the male is not more wicked than the female's ; 



