s 



THE PIGEON BOOK 135 



when the breeder has been trying to obtain either reds or 

 yellows. The best judges place colour at its true value, 

 and if other points are equal always give preference to 

 the birds that are a good sound colour and have regular 

 markings. In view of the fact that a good deal of the 

 Jacobin consists of white it is not a bird that can be 

 kept in the best of condition in a town loft where the 

 surroundings are of a smoky nature. The Jacobin is a 

 bird that must not be sent and trotted round to too many 

 shows, because the abundance of feather, mane, and 

 chain will not stand the wear and tear in the baskets 

 and in the pen like some of the plainer varieties. The 

 Jacobin is a popular variety, and is well provided with 

 classes at shows as a rule, and has a fair number of 

 votaries. It is in view of the many distinctive charac- 

 teristics of the Jacobin that it is not an easy bird to breed, 

 but at the same time it is a very attractive variety. 



The L&tz Pigeon. 



This is a most taking bird in appearance. The head 

 is covered from the rear with quite a mass of feathers, 

 all of a somewhat frizzled appearance, like one finds in 

 the Ice pigeon, but the head, neck, and breast are of a 

 dark colour against the white of the background. The 

 thighs should match the back and upper colour. The 

 birds are feather-legged, like the Oriental varieties. I 

 have never seen a black variety of this pigeon, but they 

 appear to be scarcer at shows than heretofore, and judges 

 hardly ever put them in the money or in any other variety 

 classes, and possibly this is the reason for their gradually 

 dying out. 



The Magpie.— By F. Warner. 



The twenty-three years which I have devoted to 

 Magpies in my spare hours by no means establish a 



