THE SHORT-FACED TUMBLER. 115 



its activity and docility, one of the most, if not the most, fascinating of onr fancy 

 pigeons." 



The late Mr. B. T. Brent, writing in the Poultry Chronicle, states : — 



" The Almond Tumblers were obtained by careful breeding, selecting, and 

 crossing colours from the commoner kind of Tumblers, and after a long series of 

 years, by drafting and breeding in and in, as much as it was prudent, have they 

 been brought to the state of perfection in which they are now to be seen. I am 

 inclined to think the name of ' Almond ' originated in their ground-colour being 

 formerly that of the well-known ' Almond nut,' though they are now bred of a 

 much brighter colour. The colour of the Almond Tumbler is a mixture of 

 yellow, red, black, and white, well broken and intermixed. Their points of 

 excellence may be enumerated under the five following properties of head, beak, 

 eye, shape, and feather : — The head must be round, broad, and high, rising 

 abruptly from the beak, and the fuller and more projecting the forehead the more 

 it is valued. The beak should be' short, small, straight, and tapering, measuring, 

 from the eye to the end of the quick of the beak, from five-eighths to three-quarters 

 of an inch in length, the shorter the better ; nor must the nostrils be large, but 

 only slightly developed. The eye should be prominent, round, blight, and of a 

 clear pearl colour, without streak or mud-marks, and also free from sere. In 

 shape, the neck should be short and thin, the head carried rather backwards, the 

 neck slightly bending, the chest full and well thrown out, the back short, the body 

 round and as small as possible, the flight and tail short, their feet small, and the 

 bird standing on its toes, the ball of the foot often slightly raised from the 

 ground. Feather is considered the last property; not but that good plumage adds 

 great beauty to the bird, and much enhances the value of an otherwise good 

 specimen. The more an Almond has of bright yellow, and the clearer and more 

 decided the black, so much the more is it admired. Yellow, black, and white are 

 the primary colours, and the more these are intermixed the more they are prized. 

 Blue is considered very objectionable. In and in breeding (that is coupling 

 relations) is of considerable use in reducing their size and making them fine and 

 delicate ; but caution is required not to carry this process too far, or they will 

 become so weakly and degenerate that scarcely any offspring will be raised — and 

 these few worthless. The finer and more delicate they are, the more they are 

 admired; consequently they exist in an artificial state. From their weakness, they 

 are rarely allowed to enjoy their liberty, though on account of their high breeding 

 and good living they breed freely, but are very apt to leave their young and go to 

 nest again before the squabs are capable of keeping themselves warm. To pre- 

 vent these dying, they are shifted to a pair of feeders that have hatched later, so 

 as to secure them more attention and a fresh supply of soft meat. These feeders 

 must, however, be small pigeons with small beaks, or the nurslings may be 

 injured, or have their tender beaks twisted or broken in feeding. I don't know if 

 it has ever been tried, but fancy the Collared Turtle-doves would make good nurses 



