THE CROSSING, AC, OF PIGEONS AND FOWLS. 241 



notwithstanding the trouble and expense this caused, 

 occasionally to cross their much-prized birds with in- 

 dividuals of another strain, -but belonging, of course, 

 to the same variety. It deserves notice, that when 

 large size is one of the desired characters, as with 

 Pouters, the evil effects of close-interbreeding are 

 much sooner perceived, than when small birds, such 

 as shortfaced tumblers, are valued. The extreme deli- 

 cacy of the high fancy breeds, such as these Tumblers, 

 and improved English Carriers, is remarkable, they are 

 liable to many diseases, and often die in the egg, or 

 in the first moult; and, their eggs have generally to be 

 hatched under foster mothers. Although these highly- 

 prized birds have invariably been subjected to much 

 close-interbreeding, yet their delicacy of constitution 

 cannot, perhaps, be thus fully explained. Mr. Yarnall 

 informed me, that Sir J. Sebright continued close- 

 interbreeding some owl-pigeons, until from their ex- 

 treme sterility, he as nearly as possible, lost the 

 whole family. Mr. Brent tried to raise a breed of 

 Trumpeters, by crossing a common pigeon, and re- 

 crossing the daughter, granddaughter, and great-grand- 

 daughter, with the same male trumpeter, until he ob- 

 tained a bird with fifteen-sixteenths of Trumpeters' 

 blood; but then the experiment failed, for 'breeding so 

 close, stopped reproduction.' The experienced Neu- 

 meister also asserts, that the offspring from dovecotes, 

 and various other breeds, are 'generally very fertile, 

 and very hardy birds;' so again MM. Boitard and 

 Corbie, after forty-five years of experience, recommend 

 persons, to cross their breeds for amusement; for, if 

 they fail to make interesting birds, they will succeed, 

 under an economical point of view, 'as it is found that 

 mongrels are more fertile than pigeons of pure race! " 



"Pigeons of pure race" lack many of the characters 

 of their species. "Mongrels" possess two characters, 



