310 Fancy Pigeons. 



the rational breeding of the former. He evidently did not know that it ia 

 on record how our English pouter was produced, which would have 

 materially assisted him in his investigations. He proceeds : 



'* As I suppose that to all who are interested in our cropper the marks 

 of both races are known, I will omit an exact description of them, yet it 

 appears necessary for my plan to illustrate more nearly the striking 

 peculiarities, as well as the resemblances of both. The English cropper 

 is very large, and very much of the same size as the Pomeranian. The 

 inflated crop is round, and must be intersected by an incision on the 

 breast, so that this incision forma a regular shape ; the ramp is pro- 

 portionately thin, the tail long and slender, the legs are very long, 

 possibly equally feathered with downy feathers, only the toea must have 

 standing out feathers so that they quite hide the toes, but at the same 

 time form no shoes, which is a decided defect in the English cropper." 



What is meant by " shoes " I do not exactly know, but I learn further 

 on that the Pomeranian breed is much rougher limbed than ours, which, 

 though considered a beauty in them, is a grievous defect in ours. 



" The Pomeranian cropper is almost, or quite, of the same size as the 

 English ; but its rump is thicker, its crop not inflated so like a ball, on 

 account of which the shape is lost, the tail is shorter and is carried a 

 little more spread out, the legs with good birds are almost as long as 

 with the English. Tet from a distance they do not appear so long, 

 because they are provided with pretty large feathers, which form stockings 

 below the hocks and shoes at the feet ; the colours and marks are the 

 same as with the English ; pure whites also occur, though they have 

 become rare ; and there are whites with black and blue tails. The last 

 mark often occurs, and I have hitherto believed that whites with black 

 tails existed in no other race, especially in the English, for Fulton does 

 not mention them ; although he treats his subject very minutely and 

 fully. It ia striking that among the Pomeranian croppera there are no 

 whites with red or yellow tails." 



I have seen many blue and black-tailed white English pouters, and 

 they can easily be bred by pairing a black or blue pied with a white. 

 The first cross often results in such marking, as I have observed else- 

 where, and it can easily be fixed, as in the Norwich croppera. Eed 

 and yellow-tailed whites are, however, impossible, or next to it, 

 because, as Herr Hevernick truly observes, the coloured tail ia not 



