l.JG Pigeons and Ai,l About Them. 



Dragoons are a large and varied family, embrac- 

 ing in colour — blues, blue checjuers, red chequers, 

 sihers, silver chequers, grizzles, reds, yellows, whites, 

 and mealies. In breeding blues must be matched to 

 blues, chequers to chequers, sihers to sihers or 

 blues, grizzles to blues, reds to reds or vellows, \el- 

 lows to vellows or reds. 



THE ANTWERP. 



This viirietv, at one time verv largelv bred in the 

 ^^'est Riding of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the 

 Birmingham district, has of late fallen somewhat from 

 its former high estate, and although there is a club 

 de\'oted to its interests, the breed does not possess the 

 \im and go which its C|ualities demand and deser\"e. 

 There is nothing showv or flashv about the Antwerp, 

 no meretricious charms belong to it, but rather is it 

 the embodiment of all that denotes strength, tenacity, 

 and pugnacity ; it is, indeed, the bulldog of the 

 Pigeon Fancy. Its properties are chiefly those of the 

 head, ^•ery little attention being paid to colour, etc., 

 and in its skull are to be seen some of the most \von- 

 derlul de\elopments of the breeder's art ; develop- 

 ments which ha^"e concentrated themselves to such 

 an extent that, unlike other breeds which are sub- 

 divided by colour, the Ant^\•erp is sub-di\'ided into 

 short-faced, medium-faced, and long-faced, according 

 to the length of skull. The length of the face is 

 measured from the centre of the eye to the end of the 

 beak, and a short-face should be if inches, a medium 

 about i^ inches, and a long-face an\thing above if 

 inches. 



1 he beak of the Antwerp should be xerx stout, 

 especiallv in the low er mandible ; it should also be 

 proportionately short, \arving, of course, in the dif- 

 ferent lengthed faces. The beak wattle should lie 

 broad and compact, even in texture, and fit closelv to 

 the frontal, not being loose or lop-sided. The eve 

 wattle should be hard, firm, and circular, without 

 softness or coarseness. The eye should be full and 

 bold, and of a gravel or orange shade. The head 

 should, in all three divisions of the family, be very 

 broad and full, v ell arched and free from bumps or 



