112 THE PIGEON BOOK 



almost slip through your hands when handling. The neck 

 should be rather short in length and slightly arched, 

 broad at base, and gradually tapering to the throat. 

 Legs fairly stout to correspond with the rest of the bird, 

 well set and of medium length. Beak and toenails in 

 Blacks and Blues, black ; others, flesh-coloured. 



A specimen possessing the general shape and make as 

 described cannot be other than sprightly, upright, bold 

 and jaunty in carriage, which is exactly what is required 

 by the standard laid down for the variety. All we now 

 have left to consider is "colour," and I will commence 

 with the Blacks, with which I have been connected for so 

 many years, and which will, I fancy, always find the 

 warmest corner in my favour. These have been rightly 

 termed the aristocrats of the Self colours, and I might 

 now add, I think, of the Long-Faced Tumbler tribe, for 

 they have on more than one occasion secured the premier 

 award for being the best Tumbler in the show, and who 

 could grudge them such an honour, for what is more 

 charming than a deep-coloured Black Self put down in 

 good condition and showing one mass of gorgeous green 

 metallic lustre all over it. Blacks should be dense and 

 solid in colour right through (even the quills and shafts 

 of feathers should be black), and carry a bright green 

 sheen, free from a purple or coppery shading. It is, how- 

 ever, advisable in breeding to occasionally make use of a 

 coppery hackle bird, for they are always the most lustrous 

 and soundest in colour. If you continually match pure 

 green sheen birds together you will find their produce 

 become a greyish black, particularly up the shafts of 

 flight and tail feathers, and unless a cross of some of *-he 

 coppery hackle stock is resorted to you will soon find 

 yourself breeding bad-coloured Blues and Chequers from 

 your Blacks. Therefore, although the beetle-green sheen 



