250 Fancy Pigeons. 



" As to its Length, an Inch and a half is reckon'd a long Beak, tho' there 

 are very good Carriers that are found not to exceed an Inch and a 

 Quarter." The arguments that have been founded on this statement 

 have evidently been based on the assumption that Moore's measurement 

 ■was the same as that still known as London measure, viz., from the point 

 of the beak to the inner edge of the eye. I cannot believe that Moore 

 measured as far as the eye, considering the length he gives. He evidently 

 measured from the point of the beak to where the feathers begin to grow, 

 behind the mouth. I think the fairest way to measure is from the point 

 of the beak to the centre of the eye, which is the method now generally 

 adopted and best understood. Measured in this way, therefore, the 

 carrier should be as long as possible ; but mere length is of little oon- 

 eequence compared to tho style and set of the beak. It ought to be 

 thick, and especially so at the point ; and the under mandible ought to 

 approach the upper in consistency as much as possible, fitting closely to 

 it. This is knowTi as a box beak, which is one of the greatesb beauties 

 of the bird. The beak ought next to be straight and not inclining down- 

 wards, or the bird is downfaced, which takes considerably from its appear- 

 ance. The division between the mandibles should be exactly straight, and, 

 when the bird is in position, level, or at a right angle with the neck, and 

 should appear as shown in the illustration. As to the length of the beak, 

 measured to the centre of the eye, two inches is about the extreme length 

 ever seen in a box-beaked bird. Thin spindle beaks, and those in which 

 the upper mandible has been allowed to grow out past the under, have 

 been seen exceeding this measurement considerably, but such are of no 

 intrinsic value, a blunt bos beak being what is desired. 



Beah Wattle. — This being one of the hardest points to breed good, is 

 accordingly a valuable one when anything like perfect. A bird has seldom 

 enough of it, to enable it to be shown with success, till it has moulted four 

 times, and it sometimes continues to grow for five or six years. Many 

 kinds of pigeons get rough in beak and eye wattle with age, but the 

 carrier has an extraordinary developement of these parts. This abnormal 

 growth of wattle round the eyes and on the beak constitutes its chief 

 fancy value, all its other properties being merely adjuncts thereto, calcu- 

 lated to set off these wattle points to the greatest advantage. A good 

 beak wattle must be broad across the beak when seen from the front, 

 short in profile view, so as to show as much of the point of the beak 



