The Jacobin. 199 



as now, called the jack, for shortness. It was then, " if tme, the smallest 

 of all Pigeons, and the smaller still the better"; and he adds, "there 

 are bnt very few now to be found in England compleat." 1 think it 

 unlikely that Moore ever saw such good jacobins as are in existence at 

 the present time, after recording that " the Feathers of this Chain ought 

 to be long and close, so that if you strain the Neck a little, by taking 

 hold of the Bill, the two sides will lap over each other in some of the 

 best." The very best in his time, therefore, required the above treat- 

 ment before their chains would cross in front. Nowadays, many jacobins 

 exist whose chains lap over naturally, not only without straining the 

 neck by "taking hold of the BUI," but without cutting out a piece of 

 the skin of the throat, as " Mayor " says (1765), was practised for the 

 same purpose. Moore describes a pigeon known as a ruff, " larger than 

 the true original Jacobine, tho' in shape and make much the same. It 

 has a longer Beak, the Irides of the Eyes in some are of a Pearl Colour, 

 in others of a Gravel Colour, the Feathers of its Hood and Chain are 

 much longer, tho' the Chain does not come down so low to the Shoulders 

 of the Wings, neither are they so close and compact as the others, 

 but are apt to blow about by every blast of Wind, fall more backward 

 off the Head, and lie in a rough confus'd Manner, whence the Pigeon 

 has its Name." "The Strain of Jaoobines has been much vitiated by 

 matching them to this Pigeon, in Order to improve their Chain by the 

 Length of the Euff's Feathers, but instead of this, the Jack is bred larger, 

 longer-beakt, looser in its Hood and Chain, and in short worsted in all its 

 original Properties." 



The account of the jacobin in the Treatise of 1765 contains very little 

 in addition to that of Moore, whose ideas are retained, though his lan- 

 guage is altered. The ruff is also described, and its use in jacobin 

 breeding condemned. Yellow jacobins had the preference over the other 

 colours. The portrait or illustration in that book, representing the 

 breed, is however, very good considering all things, and is the earliest 

 fancier's picture of a jacobin I know of ; WiUnghby's of 1676, and 

 another of 1734, lately copied into the Live Sioch Journal, not being 

 worth consideration. The following passage from the Treatise, page 117, 

 points to another picture of a jacobin as existing, but I have not yet 

 met with it : "The following being in itself so uncommon, and a fact, I 

 cannot help taking notice of it : a person the other day passing through 



