io8 THE PIGEON-FANCIER. 



ing little shortfaced Baldheads ! " and I felt 

 proud of my success. 



My earliest purchaser was Thomas Ridpath 

 of Manchester. He was a real enthusiast. 

 Hearing up in the far north of my shortfaced 

 Balds, he took a journey of 20O miles to have a 

 look at them. I shall never forget showing 

 them to him — there were about fifty birds in 

 all. " What is the price ? " was his terse note 

 of admiration. My answer was : " There — go 

 in amongst them and take what you like at a 

 guinea each." I left him alone to pick for half 

 an hour, and when I returned he had chosen ten 

 birds. I told him he could leave them with me 

 till morning, as there was no train to Manchester 

 that day. But he would not allow them out of 

 his possession, and I learned from him, the next 

 visit he paid to my loft, that he put them under 

 his bed that night at the hotel. He did not dare 

 permit them out of his presence. He showed 

 them at Manchester and elsewhere, and won 

 First for them, and continued to do so, as I would 

 not show against him. 



After a time another good Fancier came to my 

 loft who did not mind ;^io or ;£'20 for a first- 

 class shortfaced Bald. This new and true 

 Fancier's name was Joshua Fielding of Rochdale, 



