264 Fancy Pigeons. 



the Dragon with two 'o's', making the word Dragoon, a kind of soldier, 

 &c. (Walker) ? In society we never call it the Dragoon, but the Dragon 

 — Drag-un, a winged serpent (Walker), from which it derives its name. 

 I hope no author who follows me, will be guilty of doing it." This is 

 amusing, and very Eatonesque. Quite a crusade against writing the 

 name "dragon" has in late years been preached from a certain quarter, 

 but whether those who have been lectured consider their would-be 

 instructors' interference obnoxious, or are convinced they are right, ie 

 more than I know. 



I must nest say something about the beak and eye-wattles of the 

 dragoon. "What they ought to be in a show bird is clearly stated ; but 

 it is quite usual for the best birds, while still in the very prime of life, 

 to put on, with advancing age, more wattle than is allowable for the 

 show pen, or to become ''^ '^nore than a clra^^on," as it is called. This 

 bird, therefore, occupies a quite unique position among exhibition pigeons. 

 A fantail can never become more than a fantail, nor a jacobin more than 

 n, jacobin. I have seen dragoons that could win at from two to three 

 years of age become, when five or six, great coarse- wattled, pinch-eyed 

 horsemen. They are then only fit for stock birds. 



The colours of dragoons mentioned in the Peristeronic Society's Report 

 •do not include black and dun. This is wisdom itself. It would scarcely 

 do, for reasons good, to have show dragoons of these colours. There 

 was lately an inquiry in The Bazaar newspaper on this very subject, and 

 the answer given was this : " They would have no chance in competition 

 whatever." But why not ? I would have thought that the more variety 

 of colour in a breed the better. It will be seen from the report that 

 the eaid society advocates a silver with dark beak and eyes, and with 

 bars as black as possible. There can be no harm in fancying such a 

 colour, but why should the real silver be ignored, and not even be men- 

 tioned ? Ab I have said before, what may be called the four primary 

 barred colours of pigeons include the silver with dun bars. There are 

 many variations in the colours of wing bars in pigeons, one of which — 

 the body colour of the silver with the black bar of the blue, or as near it 

 as possible — is what many consider a silver ought to be ; but I know 

 this is a mistake. The golden dun barred dragoon, generally called 

 brown barred, is a well known variety which ought to be recognised. It 

 has a yellow iris and light beak. 



