The Dragoon Pigeon. 263 



and ia just about equal to it as a fancy pigeon. Both would go down tO' 

 their former price of a few shillings a pair but for show encouragement- 

 Real fancy pigeons have undoubtedly risen in value since shows were 

 established ; but they were highly valued before, and they would continue 

 to be highly valued were pigeon shows abolished. To establish a breed 

 of exhibition pigeons from the faulty produce of barbs, taking as their- 

 standard of perfection a narrow skull, a small pinched eye-wattle, and a 

 run-out face, of a certain length, would be an analogous case to what 

 has been done with the dragoon since pigeon shows were established- 

 Before then, the breed had no fancy value whatever, and as for that, it 

 has no fancy value now out of England, and only there within a limited 

 circle. 



The first thing to be observed in the National Periateronic Society's- 

 standard of the dragoon is the name they give it — the "dragon." The 

 analogy between the names carrier, horseman, and dragoon is clear, but 

 at some time before the oldest living fanciers were born it became usual 

 to call the dragoon the dragon. This is noticed in Moubray's Poultry 

 Book, first published in 1815, and which went through five editions in 

 ten years. The author says, "Dragoons (commonly called dragons)." 

 The name would easily become corrupted and more easily pronounceable 

 among illiterate pigeon keepers, who were, doubtless, formerly the chief 

 breeders of dragoons ; and, when gentlemen went to buy feeders for their 

 carriers and pouters they would hear them spoken of by shopkeepers and 

 others as dragons, and so gradually come to speak of them by that name- 

 among themselves. I have known a similar alteration of the name in 

 my own experience. I can remember when there were very few dragoons^ 

 skinnums, or Antwerps in Dundee ; nothing but flying tumblers being- 

 fancied by the poorer class of pigeon keepers. When homing pigeons 

 became in request, everything with the least beak or eye-wattle more thaB 

 a tumbler was kno-wn in their language as a " draigon." This was after- 

 wards shortened into "draig," and now the word is "drake." I waa 

 rather surprised lately to hear a gentleman's son tell me he had some fine 

 "drake " pigeons. I have written dragon before now for dragoon, but I 

 admit there is no defence for this. However the word may be prononncea 

 in conversation, it ought to be written as of old, because its meaning is 

 clear, and not obscure. There is a quaiut note by Eaton, on page 59> 

 of his 1858 book, on this question: "Why do authors on Pigeons spell 



