THE ENGLISH CAERIEK. 77 



"PROPERTIES OF THE CARRIER. 



1. The Skull. — It should be long, straight, narrow between the eyes, and flat at 



the top, where it is sometimes dented. 



2. The Beak. — The upper and lower mandibles should be long, straight, thick, 



and boxed, that is to say, the upper should close on the lower like the lid of 

 a box. The colour of the beak is not regarded as material. 



3. The Beak Wattle. — The wattle of the beak should be distinct from that of 



the eye, soft in texture, short from back to front, broad, tilting forwards 

 from the forehead, and pointed at its termination towards the tip of the 

 beak on the top. It should not present a flattened appearance, but stand 

 out like the surface of a cauliflower, and its fissures should curve somewhat 

 regularly towards the point ; this upper wattle should be met by a cor- 

 responding one (sometimes called the jewing) on the lower jaw. 



4. The Eye. — The eye-wattle should be large, fleshy, soft, round, regular, and 



should vise above the skull ; the ball of the eye should be prominent, like 

 a well-set jewel, its iris fiery red, or it may be pearl-coloured in dun-coloured 

 birds. In white Carriers the eye should be dark. 



5. The Carriage. — The beak and head should form nearly a right angle with the 



neck ; the shoulders should be broad, the chest full, the limbs long, so as 

 to keep the body well raised from the ground ; the bird should show his 

 carriage without requiring much rousing, holding the neck slightly curved 

 over the back, so that the eye is directly over the toes. The body should 

 present a graceful line from the shoulder to the end of the flight, the back 

 being flat, and the tail and flight-feathers touching, so as to render the line 

 continuous. The neck should be long and thin from its commencement at 

 the shoulders upwards, the head being well undercut at the junction of 

 the lower jaw with the neck. 



6. The Plumage. — The feathers should be dense and closely set, a Carrier in 



perfect condition appearing as if cut out of stone ; the colours should be a 

 deep black, a dark dun, a good bright blue, with well-defined black bars 

 across the wings and tail, or a pure white. 



"STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT. 

 " We now proceed to give the standard of measurements which ought to be pos- 

 sessed by birds with pretensions to rank high in the fancy : — 

 Length of Skull and Beak. — In the cock, not less than two inches and three 



quarters, or in the hen than two inches and five eighths. 

 Width of Skull. — This should not exceed half-an-inch, measured at the back of 



the head behind the eye-wattle. 

 Length of Beak. — To be measured from the front of the eye-ball to its point. 



In the cock, not less than one inch and three quarters ; or in the hen, one 



inch and five eighths. 

 Size of Wattles. — Measured around the upper and lower wattles, at their widest 



