The Jacobin. 207 



all the result of crossing the black, red, and yellow, or the produce of 

 sound colours and such as themselves. The first cross of black and red 

 in all varieties of pigeons, even in those of superlative colour, often results 

 in a strawberry, which is accordingly useful in breeding back to these 

 colours, and especiaDy to the black. It altogether depends, however, on 

 how the strawberry itself may have been bred, whether or not it may be 

 a good match for some of the soUd colours, its indiscriminate use being 

 calculated to spoil good colours. I have known a pair of red jacobins 

 produce red, yellow, black, and dun young ones in one season. This was 

 on account of the way they were bred, the cook being from a red and 

 black, and the hen from a red and a yellow. 



Marking. — The jacobin. In common with many other varieties of fancy 

 pigeons, none of which have any connection with it, except that, as I 

 believe, they all descended originally from a common origin, is marked in 

 the way called bald headed. It has been so for at least two hundred 

 years. Many instances occur to me of bald-headed pigeons being pro- 

 duced from a self-coloured bird when mated with a pure white. The 

 first pair of pigeons I ever possessed, which I bought for sixpence while 

 they were still unhatched, and which I saw in the nest day by day as 

 they feathered, were a pair of baldheads — a blue and a red — and were 

 bred from a whole-coloured red cock and white hen. They were common 

 pigeons of mixed race, and they certainly may have had baldhead tumbler 

 blood in them, but I think it nnhkely. The young ones had very low-cut, 

 slobbered necks, and I merely mention them to show that a coloured bird, 

 mated to a pure white, often breeds coloured young ones with white 

 points. As I write there is a similar instance in my pigeon house. A 

 pure white peak-headed cock common pigeon, with an appearance of fantail 

 blood, mated with a whole dun tumbler hen, used as feeders, have a 

 pair of their own young ones ready to fly, their eggs not having been 

 changed. One is a blue baldhead and the other a dun baldhead, such 

 another pair as those I began the fancy with, thirty years ago, when 

 aged seven. Again, when passing through Leadenhall Market one 

 summer, I saw a cage containing two or three dozen of blue and blue 

 chequered dovehouse pigeons, among which was one with clean white head 

 and flights. I looked at it particularly, and felt certain it was of the 

 same race as the rest. It was, most likely, the produce of a blue and a 

 white, or albino, such as may be found in almost any field dovecote. In 



