150 THE PRACTICAL PIGEON KEEPEE. 



cross back with reds. To doing so lie attributes the loss of 

 colour in red Pouters, and insists on all birds with yellow 

 blood being kept to cross with yellows alone. 



In whites the chief difficulty is size. Colour gives no 

 difficulty ; and this colour is naturally more slim in body than 

 any. But this very fact, with the other fact that crosses from 

 other colours are not needed so far as colour goes, tends to 

 reduce the size. On this account it is sometimes necessary to 

 cross with light mealies or silvers, or with the splashes thus 

 produced. After such a cross foul marks are liable to occur 

 for some time, especially if the crossed blood be matched on 

 both sides. There is, however, a " danger signal" in regard to 

 this point. "White Pouters have light beaks and " bull " eyes, 

 like nearly all white pigeons. As long as these points are 

 right there is little risk of foul marks ; but a dark beak or 

 orange eye betrays the lingering of active foreign blood, and 

 must only be matched to birds of orthodox head-points. 



All sorts of splashes and mis-marked birds are used in 

 crossing by Scotch fanciers, but not so much as formerly, 

 standard birds being more plentiful than they were. In using 

 them, it is chiefly necessary to see that they are crossed back 

 to their allied colours, and it is therefore particularly important 

 to know their pedigree. 



Leg-feathering needs constant attention— matching birds 

 too heavily feathered with those too thinly furnished. For 

 detailed directions on this point, illustrated by diagrams of 

 different degrees in feather, we must refer to Mr. Fulton's 

 great work. It is necessary, however, to state that it rarely 

 answers to go on breeding the correct amount of feather 

 together, for the reason that heavy feather seems very much a 

 sign of coarse vigour (which needs to be kept up in this pigeon 

 particularly), and must therefore be bred from occasionally. 



It is, however, much easier to breed colour and feather than 

 to keep up the quality of the Pouter as such. It will be readily 



