J04 Fancy Pigeons. 



Norwich cropper, being heavily covered on limb and toea, and the bine 

 cock, wire-legged, is now the oldest bird I bred, and longer in limb than 

 any cropper." 



Aa will be noticed farther on, when writing of Briinner croppers, 

 greater disproportion of limb to feather is mentioned by foreign writers 

 than 184 in. to 5 Sin. Captain Hill's bird mnat be formed on different 

 lines from the large pouter ; but where the difference lies I am unable to 

 say at present. As to the aatinette markings he refers to, I think he 

 must mean something else than what I understand by such. 



Properly formed and feathered stocking limbs, with long toe feathers, 

 seem to be the great difficulty with pied pigmy pouters at present. I 

 observe this was mentioned in the reports of the last Crystal Palace 

 show. The fanciers' Chronicle said; "Pigmy Pouters (17). We miss 

 the lovely style and carriage of the birds a very few years back. There 

 is a good opportunity for some breeders to work up this interesting class. ' ' 



Eaton says, at p. 72 of his 1858 book : " At the sale of Bantams, 

 Pigeons, &c., belonging to the late celebrated and spirited Fancier, Sir 

 John Sebright, I was astonished to see the English Pouters in miniature, 

 possessing the five properties of the English Pouter." Some have 

 supposed these were stocking-legged birds ; but no proof of this can be 

 adduced. The above is contained in a note on the pouting horseman, 

 much of which I have already quoted, and my own impression is that 

 they were selected Norwich croppers such as I have myself. 



-Q^^Z 



