11 



or mousey, the- remark many of the Fanciers would make, as I have heard it 

 observed, they would give ten pounds provided the bird was as good in head and 

 beak as it was in feather. 



There are some of the young Fanciers who are over covetous, who go for all the 

 five properties at once, they have their reward by getting nothing ; others breed to 

 a feather, but they forget to say what feather. 1 will here mention a case to show 

 the uncertainty of breeding to a feather, as it is called ; the best pair of Almonds — ■ 

 cock and hen, extra good in all properties, that I ever possessed, keeping them 

 matched together for three years, bred three beautiful almond cocks, two kite hens, 

 yellow and red whole feather, yellow and red agates, all coming from the same 

 pair of birds. Is this what they call breeding to feather ? Now, if this pair of 

 Almonds had bred all the young-ones as near alike for feather as they did head and 

 beak, then that would be nearer breeding to feather. I will give you another 

 instance that occurred, I matched up a beautiful head and beak splash cock to a 

 rich kite hen, and in the same nest or round, produced two young ones — the one 

 pure white, the other as black as a coal ; I thought this breeding to feather with 

 a vengeance. The inexperienced Fancier may say, that they did not come from a 

 good stud of birds ; when he knows more he will say less, for I question very 

 much whether he ever will be able to obtain such birds as I am writing of. 



Counteraction is a grand thing to be observed, but this must have its limits ; for 

 it would be unwise to match up a bad cock to an extra good hen, for if you split the 

 diu'erence in their young, you make half-and-half of them; " Half-and-half" may 

 be very good to a Fancier on a long dusty road and his throat parched with thirst, 

 when he comes up to a Pig and Whistle Shop, and can get nothing better, but 

 half-and-half Almonds will not do for the Fancier, besides throwing away the use 

 of the hen for the season. A gentleman, a member of the original Columbarian 

 Society, to whom we owe so much, stated, that the best Almond supposed ever 

 to have been bred was bred from a white agate cock and kite hen ; but we are not 

 to consider this surprising, for the agate cock and kite hen, for ought we know, 

 may have had the blood of the Almonds, in a direct line for the last hundred 

 years ; and do not Fanciers, who say they cannot have too much of a good^thing, 

 match up the most plum puddingy Almonds, as they call it, cock and heti'; and 

 do they always throw Almonds? certainly not, but all colours in feather, such as 

 rich kites, duns, yellows, reds, whole feathers, and agates. These birds having 

 the blood of the Almonds, and coming from good feathered Almonds, as far as 

 you ar^^ble to ascertain ; if you are acquainted with their pedigree, so much the 

 better ; these young birds, being judiciously matched, are as likely to throw 

 Almonds, as the Almonds themselves; and there are some of the best and most 

 experienced Fanciers express it as their opinion, that the amazing power of the 

 Almond Tumbler to throw all shades of colour — whole feather, agate, splash, 

 broken, or spangle, is one of the chief causes that keep Fanciers so long in the 

 fancy; propels orinduces the Almond Fancier to persevere, owing to the uncertainty 

 of throwing the feather; for, as they observe, if it was reduced to a certainty, the 

 zest would be lost ; and, as I observed before in another part of this work, that 

 the Almond Tumbler Fancy is as open now for fresh competitors, as it was a 

 century ago. There are Fanciers who condemn me, and say that I match up too 

 high for feather; be this as it may, I am one of those who think we cannot have 

 too much of a good thing, and may be rewarded like the man who reasoned, — 

 " That if a little physio was good, what must a great deal be ?" wl.y, do every 

 thing but what it was intended to do. The Fancier may draw his inference, that 

 I am a Head and Beak Fancier, and despise Feather, I am a great admirer of 

 Head and Beak, but am not insensible to Feather; for, as I observed before, which 

 of the five properties could we afford to lose ? and is not feather a grand property ? 

 It unfortunately sometimes happens that on exhibiting a bird on a grand show 

 night among the Fanciers, that if the bird possesses four good properties out of the 

 five, namely : — head, beak, eye, and carriage, but should fall short in feather, a 



