252 Fancy Pigeons. 



length ; it ought also to be flat across, and it is sometimes depressed on 

 the crown, which is not considered any fault. There is often a pro- 

 tuberance at the back of the skull, but the less of this the better, as it 

 takes from the graceful curve of the head and neck. If the head be 

 arched from side to side, it is barrel-headed, which is a serious defect. In 

 profile view, however, the head ought to be rather rounded from back to 

 forehead, or there is no room for a large eye wattle to spread upwards, 

 in which case it must either grow over the crown, or, if thick and heavy, 

 £aU downwards over the eye, which is called being beetle-browed. In 

 the illustration, the eye wattle is supposed to be standing a little higher 

 than the head, the outline of which would run through the first line of eye- 

 wattle lacing from the top. 



Eye. — The eye should be large and prominent, or bolting, or staring, 

 as it is called by fanciers. When looked at from above, the pupils 

 should be seen standing quite outside of the eye wattles. The bolt eye 

 always teUs well in competition, as it gives an otherwise good bird a fine 

 appearance. The irides of black and blue carriers ought to be, and 

 usually are, of a fiery red ; they are lighter in duns and hazel in whites. 



Eye Wattle. — This ought to be as large as is consistent with perfect 

 roundness, and consequently the diameter of a perfect eye wattle is 

 limited to an inch or a little more. I have seen a crown piece laid on 

 the eye of a carrier and not cover the wattle. Such enormous eye wattles 

 are generally accompanied by rather small beak wattles, and are of no 

 intrinsic value, as, in their growth, they must depart from the true 

 circular shape. The eye wattle ought to be thin rather than thick in 

 substance, soft yet firm in flesh, of an equal breadth all round the eye, 

 and evenly laced. This is known as a "rose eye," is the most difiicult 

 to obtain, and the most esteemed. When the inner edge of the eye wattle 

 takes an angular cornered shape, instead of being round, it is known as 

 a diamond eye ; but though many admire this, it is not a form of such 

 true beauty as the rose eye. The eye wattle is a property which is sub- 

 sidiary to the beak-wattle, which is the most difiicult point to get both 

 large and well shaped. Given a good beak wattle, then a distance is 

 necessary between it and the eye wattle to set off both, and, conse- 

 quently, there is only room for a really round eye wattle of a certain 

 diameter. An eye wattle perfectly circular and more than an inch 

 in diameter must encroach on the beak wattle and decrease the distance. 



