THE EYE--WATTLB. 75 



edges together. This process has been detected on one occasion 

 by the thread used for the purpose being left in, through an over- 

 sight ; but it may generally be detected by the v/nmatwral draw- 

 ing together of the top edges of the two eye-wattles. We say 

 " unnatural," because several types of eye-wattle naturally roll 

 over towards the middle of the skull, and must not be con- 

 founded with the appearance described, which shows that the 

 tops of the eye-wattles have been actually 'pulled over by the 

 stitches into a position unnaturally near each other. 



"We have lastly (as regards Moore's scale) to consider the 

 eye-wattle. In his day this had attained the size of a shilling, 

 or nine-tenths of an inch ; but good birds are now often shown 

 which measure an inch and an eighth across, and an inch and 

 a quarter or more is not rare, taken alone, though rare enough 

 in conjunction with the other good points already described. 

 Fraud is sometimes employed to increase the apparent diameter 

 of wattle in exhibition birds. It wUl be found that the surface 

 can readily be increased for a few moments by spreading out the 

 cere with the fingers ; and hence some unscrupulous persons 

 endeavour to make the temporary extension sufficiently perma- 

 ment by a wash of gum, which, when dried on the wattle, keeps 

 it stretched to the artificial dimensions. It is, however, a clumsy 

 proceeding, which can only deceive a culpably careless judge, 

 and can be detected in a moment by applying a moistened 

 handkerchief. 



The wattle must also be round, by which is meant that the 

 eye itself should occupy the true centre of a nearly true circle. 

 This property is apt to fail in two ways. The first has always 

 been a difficulty, and consists in a strong tendency to fail behind 

 the eye, the wattle growing more to the front ; the top also tends 

 to grow heavier than the bottom. A bird that thus fails in the 

 posterior part is termed " pinch-eyed," and not one-eighth of 

 the Carriers shown are free from some slight appearance of this 

 inequality. But the neglect of general harmonious proportion has 



