THE PIGEON BOOK 87 



Dragons of moderate age are a very hardy variety, 

 but old birds get troublesome sometimes in the eye and 

 cere. 



The Dragon was formerly known as the Dragoon, or 

 Horseman, and undoubtedly came of a sporting variety. 

 The " Sheery Dragon" is still known as one of the 

 fastest short -distance birds, and probably less than fifty 

 years ago Dragons were bred in England for racing pur- 

 poses and sport. There is still marked evidence in some 

 of the best-known racing-pigeon strains to-day of the 

 Dragon cross. George Cotton largely made use of it with 

 his flying Homers, and Heap, of Manchester, bred some of 

 the best long-distance birds from a Dragon-Homer cross, 

 but the Dragons used for the purpose would be the old- 

 fashioned Dragon, for the modem Dragon is purely a show 

 bird. 



Good Dragons that can win command a good price, and 

 the popularity of the bird is no doubt due to the fact that 

 the breed requires no artificial rearing or pampering. In 

 fact, a good Dragon depends in no small measure for its 

 beauty on its health and strength, and I think Dragon 

 fanciers will agree with me in saying that a humpty- 

 backed, bad-shaped, weakly Dragon, even though it pos- 

 sesses the much-prized peg-top shaped skull, and eye and 

 cere, is a monstrosity. The Dragon is a hardy race, and 

 physical weaknesses should not be allowed to pass muster 

 in the pen. 



The Barb. 



Like the Carrier, this is one of the most ancient 

 pigeons to have been cultivated by English fanciers, 

 and still stands high in repute. Although not a very 

 popular variety it is one of the aristocrats, its followers 

 standing high socially. Like the Carrier, the Barb takes 



