l]S Fancy Pigeons. 



and beak, with its other properties — the pretty little blue tumbler. 

 Wlienever they have the opportunity to see one, I have almost fancied they 

 would have gone into fits, in observing a good one with its five splendid 

 properties — head, beak, eye, carriage or shape, and feather. It appeared 

 to me almost to make them boys again ; it has as great or greater an effect 

 upon them as going to the mill to be ground young again. Unfortunately, 

 it is seldom you have the opportunity to see one ; they are very scarce 

 at this time (18.58)." 



It was soon after this time, in 1862, that I saw in the possession of 

 Mr. Fulton, who then lived in Deptford, a very fine pair of short-faced 

 blue tumblers. I have often spoken to him about them since, and I 

 believe such good birds as they were are not now in existence. Though 

 probably made faced, they were broad and lofty in skull, with splendid 

 colour and fine carriage. 



Baldheads and Beakds. 



Short-faced baldheads of good quality are now extremely scarce. They 

 have always been rare, but formerly there were at least some very fair 

 ones in blacks, blues, and silvers. Blacks are scarcest at the present 

 time, and it is jiow nearly twenty years since I have seen a good pair of 

 that colour, which were sent by Mr. Fulton to a gentleman in Scotland. 

 They were good in colour, head, and eye, but low cut. During the past 

 ten or fifteen years, short-faced balds have been represented chiefly by the 

 strain of Mr. Woodhouse, who has shown blues and silvers, with which 

 he has carried off moat of the prizes at the principal shows, where classes 

 were given for balds. Eed and yellow balds have lately been shown of 

 very fair colour and quality, and I understand they were produced from a 

 cross with the almond and its sub-varieties. They were bred by Mr. Bur- 

 chett, a London fancier, who sold off a year or two ago, when they were dis- 

 tributed among the breeders of this very beautiful and interesting variety. 

 The standard of feather for the short-faced is the same as for the long- 

 faced bald ; but there are very few, if any, really well marked ones in 

 existence, which combine high shortfaced properties of head, beak, eye, 

 and carriage. Compared to the best almonds they are far behind, and 

 all I have seen, which I knew to be untampered with about the head, 

 could only be called pleasant faced at the best. I have, however, seen 

 of late several of each colour — excepting the blacks, which seem nowhere 

 at present — manufactured into very passable ones. I say manufactured, 



