CUTTING WATTLES. 73 



if there was not at first a good " distance " between them, one 

 will obYiously crowd up the other, and spoil the beauty of the 

 circular curves, which are replaced by a more or less straight line 

 at the junction. Hence this is a very important point to con- 

 sider, both in judging and selecting breeding stock ; and more 

 attention to it would do more than anything else to check the 

 abuse which has lately grown up in some quarters, and which 

 demands a few words, of cutting Carriers' wattles. 



Even in Moore's time it seems the Carrier wattle was the 

 subject of fraud, cork being then squeezed underneath by 

 sharpers to increase the apparent size. The process now is the 

 exact opposite of this. The birds, having been bred for many 

 years for as much as possible, frequently now develop too muc/i, 

 but of a bad shape ; and hence some act upon the simple plan 

 of breeding for mere quantity, and then cutting into the proper 

 shape. The operation is perhaps not so cruel as some may 

 imagine, the substance operated upon differing from flesh 

 materially ; but that very considerable pain is caused can 

 scarcely be doubted, independent of the fraud. It is usually 

 necessary for those who act thus to cut away a large quantity 

 behind in particular, to clear the eye-wattle ; and even the 

 latter has often to be trimmed a great deal at the front edge for 

 the same reason, thus losing the circular shape so much admired. 

 Much indignation has not unnaturally been expressed that the 

 judges " do not disqualify " such birds ; but the fact is that 

 absolute proof (which ought always to precede penal proceed- 

 ings) is very difficult. For some time, of course, the cut surface 

 is obvious as such ; but after a few months, when the cauliflower 

 surface has re-grown, this test fails. A suspicious contour in 

 the region of the " distance " is a more certain and permanent 

 test; but even this is not infallible, for we have known a 

 remarkably honest-looking bird which, to our certain know- 

 ledge, had been " cut " severely ; whilst we can recall others of 

 most suspicious appearance that, to the best of our belief, 



