POINTS OF DRAGOONS. 89 



rather smaller ttan a Carrier), and a very large or small bird 

 being a shade more or less; but such variations themselves 

 spoil this pigeon, ■which, in clean outlines, medium size, and 

 exquisite symmetry, very much resembles a game cock amongst 

 fowls. The beak-wattle should be of a fair moderate size, as 

 shown in the engraving, neither much less nor much more ; 

 and its ideal of shape is quite different from that of a Carrier. 

 While the Carrier wattle is generally convex and arched away 

 from the eye, the Dragoon should have what is known from 

 time immemorial as a " peg " wattle : that is, rising at once 

 behind to its full height, and then coming down straight to a 

 point. In the young bird it is almost smooth, and of course 

 small, and it should be divided by a sort of line down the 

 middle ; but gradually the surface becomes rougher, though the 

 regular bull J must be preserved to the last. The eye-wattle is 

 about the size of a sixpence, and should not be more ; it is 

 circular when young, but becomes " pinched " behind with age; 

 and as this marks the bird off from the Carrier, it is reckoned a 

 good point. In Mite Dragoons the eye-wattle becomes dark with 

 age, especially round the inner edge ; and without this sign of 

 dark blood and a dark red eye, the colour of the feather is 

 rarely good, or the " rump " blue. In hens, the size of both 

 beak-wattle and eye are proportionately less. The neck is much 

 shorter than a Carrier's, and widens at once gradually to the 

 shoulders ; the gullet should be clean, and not prominent as in 

 the Owl. The flights and tail are of more moderate length than 

 in the Carrier, and the wings often shorter in proportion to 

 the tail j but length of feather depends much on the time the 

 birds are hatched. The bird does not stand quite so tall on its 

 legs as a Carrier, and is, in fact, more compactly made alto- 

 gether. It is accordingly worthless, unless finally set off by 

 clean and hard plumage. 



It should also be remarked that while the sides of the 

 head are in a Carrier desired parallel and as close as possible, 



