T>mNCirL10S AND PRACTK'KS OF PIGKCJN BREEDING 79 



4. Prepotency. 



5. Like Begets Like. 



I have not attempted to elalsoi-ate on tliis subject but have set 

 fortli a few short e,x|}lanations of the above principles as I un- 

 derstand them and these should he of .some lielp to tlic novice 

 and tiie older breeder aUke. 



VARL^TION: In speaking of variation as applied to the 

 breeding of i)igeons we mean tlie difference between tlie young- 

 sters of tlic same pair of birds and the difference between the 

 N'oungsters and their parents. \\'e appreciate the fact that a 

 l)air of pigeons does not ah\ays tlu'ow tlie same size yoiingsters, 

 the same shaped youngsters, and in the colored breeds is this 

 especially true as n^gards the color of the offsi)ring. For ex- 

 ample we know that Carneaux do not ah\ays throw the same 

 siiade of red or yellow in fh(>ir offsjiring, the <'olor ranging from 

 a light shade to a darker one. Sometimes this variation is very 

 slight, sometimes it is very pi'onounccd. Not long ago I visited 

 the plant of a bree(Un' \\ho slumed me a pair of Kings that at 

 times would thro\\' a clean leg squab and a feathered leg squab 

 4n the same nest and again both squabs would be clean leg 

 ones. Of course in a great many jjairs we do not find the prin- 

 ciple of variation \\orking to so marked a degree. 



Again we see the variation in the youngsters as compared 

 with the parents. We may see this in type, color, size, etc. The 

 youngsters may differ to a marked degree in type and be either 

 better oi- worse in this than either of tlie parents. They may 

 be lighter or darkei' in shade of coloring than the parents. 

 Variation is one principle in breeding that allows us to oxercome 

 faults in some bii'ds and on the other hand it is one of chief 

 reasons why we have to cull so closeh'. \Mien we select 

 specimens which show a marked variation for the better then 

 we are on the right road because we are realizing our hope of 

 building up our slock. 



ATAVLSM: By ata\ ism is meant a reversion or breeding 

 hack. Mere we hnd certain faults a|)i)eariiig in the offspring 

 that were prevalent in their ancestry though distantly removed 



