Line Breeding. 



Foreword. 



Line Breeding is not an experiment. Tlie time has gone 

 by when a fancier can mate a pair of birds together and just 

 because they look well trust to luck for results. 



In these days when line breeding is followed by our best 

 fanciers and those across the big pond exclusively, he would 

 find himself soon away at the tail end of the procession. 



Being a firm believer in it myself and having won time 

 and time again with birds that were line bred and the pedigree 

 kept for ten and even twenty years, I do not hesitate to say 

 that I believe that that is the only way to properly breed 

 and improve Fancy Pigeons. 



Many fanciers, old as well as young begin their career 

 with the erroneous idea that to succeed, they must at every 

 mating have birds of entirely different families. Different 

 bloods as it were continually fighting amongst themselves, , 

 sometimes one and sometimes the other having the ascendency. 

 Not so the true breeder, for he knows which blood point, etc., 

 is the most prominent in his loft and breeds accordingly. 



Pedigree stock, or line bred stock, is now so abundant that 

 anyone entering the fancy has his corner stones all laid to 

 build upon as he will. 



My article to beginners, I think, accomplished the objects for 

 which it was written, namely: Awakening the interest of some 

 of the older fanciers who have retired for a season, and also 

 has started quite a few younger ones. A great many have writ- 

 ten me letters containing all manners of queries. 



The many enquiries have suggested this article. The pre- 

 ponderance of queries have been as follows : 



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