114 THE PIGEON BOOK 



kept as the other colours, owing chiefly, I think, to the 

 difficulty of keeping them clean. They are, however, a 

 very pretty variety when properly attended to, and should 

 be a pure white all through, possessing a satin, silvery- 

 like appearance, and the hackle should show a delicate 

 pink lustre. The great failure at present in whites is eye, 

 which either has a tendency to be cloudy and dull or else 

 red and hard. If a nice clear white eye should be got 

 in this colour, it would indeed be a charming pigeon. 



Blues and Silvers in the clear-legged varieties are very 

 seldom seen, and a great field is open to anyone taking 

 up these colours. Blues should be bright and clear in 

 colour throughout, including vents, thighs, and rump, 

 tail and wings carrying a broad distinct black bar. The 

 neck hackle should possess a bright green lustre. Silvers 

 must be light and silvery in colour, with clear black bars 

 in tail and wings, showing a pink lustre in hackle; beak 

 and toenails horn colour. This finishes with the Self 

 colours, and I will now pass on to the Mottles and Rose- 

 wings, which are to be found in black, red, yellow, and 

 occasionally white with black markings. The general 

 characteristics as described of the Selfs are also what are 

 required in Mottles, although very rarely seen. Mottles 

 and Rosewings are usually weak in skull properties and 

 failing in eye cere, which is owing chiefly to breeders 

 paying all their attention to markings. The only excep- 

 tions to this which I know of are to be found in a certain 

 strain of yellows and also one of reds, several specimens 

 of which would really make first-class Selfs were their 

 markings taken away. This is how it should be, for m 

 my opinion what is first of all required in all denomina- 

 tions of tumblers is the " structural Tumbler." However 

 handsomely a bird may be marked, if it has a bad head- 

 piece or a Magpie's body, it is practically useless. There- 



