PIGEONS AND ALL AnOUT TIIEJL 101 



thiuff, and would therefore suggest a shorter breeding sea- 

 son for the Pouter than for perhaps any other variety. Be- 

 gin in Ajjril, and separate about the first of September, and 

 little harm can come to any Pouter. There are many who 

 pay a great deal, perhaps too much, attcnti(jn to mating 

 Pouters for proper marking, but this idea is rapidly dying 

 out. Shape, not color is the primary ]joint now. Years ago, 

 an old Scotch fancier took the ground that a Pout<;r is a 

 bird of "shape" not color. Good markings are much to be 

 desired, but the most perfect marking known, on a poor 

 bird as to shape, would amount to nothing. And so the 

 rising fancier who is so charmed with snips and ring necks, 

 swallow throat, and bishop wings, and who would turn in 

 disgust from a Kite wing, should go a little further and see 

 what sort of a shaped bird is carrying such nice marks. A 

 "broken" eye, and a stained tail, arc not such awful things 

 if a lordly bird is carrying them. 



And we must not forget that in these days of close compe- 

 tition, Pouters are judged in a walking pen. A Pouter may 

 be well trained for the single pen. He may blow a good 

 globe, tight and round, and may move with ease and grace, 

 but put him in the walking pen, and he will blow out of 

 shape, and "sprawl" and stagger back till he ^s stopjied by 

 the sides of the pen. 



Few Pouters are marked just right on the shoulders, for 

 some are too gay, and some not gay enough, and some have 

 no shoulder marks. If good judges are selected, men wlio 

 have spent years in breeding this wonderful and beautifu 

 bird, it is safe to say that they will ]iay far more attention 

 to the real Pouter (jualities than to "color," no matter what 

 it may be. 



In all colored varieties, tlu; entire under jiart of the liody 

 must be white. The line begins across the brea.st, and it ex- 



