March, 191 J 



475 



ill vo>;uo. In style tlio bird rcseniMcs 

 a FaiUail pigeon, for when alarmed or 

 louclied with a jud^inn stick, it will 

 thrust its head well hack until it almost 

 touches the tip of its tail. That it is a 

 dainty bird of pride all my readers will 

 agree, for it struts along with head car- 

 ried high and wings well dropped, the 

 latter in some cases almost touching the 

 ground. The back, legs, and feet should 

 be slaty blue in colour. Uniformity in 

 lacing is an all-important point to aim 

 at, with broad and short feathers regu- 

 larly laced. 



♦ 



Redcaps. 



In the early days they were often 

 called "Pheasants,' 'and undoubtedly are 

 a branch of the Hamburgh tribe. Any- 

 how, the lobe and comb were points of 

 each sort which continued for years to 

 trouble breeders of both kinds. White 

 would come into the Redcap lobe, as 

 also would red show itself in the lobe of 

 the Hamburgh, and both Hamburghs and 

 Redcaps were in those days called "Phea- 

 sants." 



Who can look at the remarkable comb 

 of the Redcap without surprise and ad- 

 miration of that wonderful, massive 

 crown of coral spikes, so entirely pecu- 

 liar to itself, so thoroughly true to title, 

 and so completely characteristic of the 

 breed, dissimilar to all others? What- 

 ever the alliance between the two in 

 olden time, the Redcap and Hamburgh 

 are now well severed at all points, so 

 much so as to lead present-day fanciers 

 to doubt as to any connection whatever 

 between the two well-defined sorts. 



The Redcap is a hardy fowl, a capital 

 layer of large white eggs. It is a non- 

 sitter, a big bird, and a useful one all 

 round. They certainly ought to find 

 favour amongst most poultry fanciers, 

 but they don't ! Probably it is their 

 splendid coral comb which, from its 

 huge size, has become the real trouble, 

 like all excessive points of excellence. 

 At the onset the trouble was to get 

 enough of a circular coronet. Now it 

 has become too much. In some cases it 

 is a lop-over mass, too heavy a burden, 

 cumbersome in weight, unsightly, and 

 an obstruction to the bird's vision, ne- 

 cessitating its removal. There again 

 "extremes meet" between perfection and 

 ugliness, as in all things in human ex- 

 perience. The eggs of Redcaps are large 

 and white, and from the breed, pure 

 or crossed, you have an abundant crop, 

 so don't lose sight of this meritorious 

 old sort. They have been sadly over- 

 loked and underrated in their value of 

 late years. — Exchange. 



Differences. 



— Poultry, Pigeons, and Other Fowl. — 



The word "poultry" as commonly used 

 is an exasperatingly indefinite term. It 

 may mean so many things, that almost 

 always it must be qualified to show 

 which of its possible meanings is to be 

 taken in which it is used. Everybody 

 knows that it applies to a group of birds. 

 The common members of this group are 

 fowls, turkeys, ducks, and geese. It is 

 these most people have in mind when 

 they think, speak, or hear of poultry. 

 But there are other less familiar birds 

 which are readily recognised as belong- 

 ing to the group. Guinea fowl, swans, 

 peafowl, no one would think of not 

 classifying as poultry. When pheasants 

 are mentioned, which they rarely are, 

 most people are in doubt. Popularly, 

 the pheasant is classed as a game bird. 

 The others that have been mentioned 

 are domestic birds — some more domestic 

 than others. There is quite as much 

 difference in this respect between the 

 fowl and the Guinea Fowl as between 

 the Guinea Fowl and the pheasant. Then 

 there is the turkey, which only began to 

 be domesticated a few hundred years 

 ago, which is still found in the wild 

 state, and which in domestication retains 

 a great deal of the nature and habits of 

 the wild progenitor. The jungle fowl, 

 too, supposed to be the wild cousin of 

 all the domestic fowls, is unquestionably 

 admitted to the poultry group; and the 

 jungle fowl, as the poultry fanciers in 

 India who have been experimenting with 

 it have found, is quite as shy and wild 

 and as difficult to breed in captivity as 

 the pheasant. 



So, while some dictionaries say or in- 

 timate that the term "poultry" applies 

 only to domesticated birds, it is quite 

 evident that such definitions are not ad- 

 missable, and that to properly define the 

 term "poultry," we must define it in ac- 

 cordance with some principle that will 

 indicate definitely the difference between 

 birds which are or may become domestic 

 poultry, and birds which are not and 

 cannot be poultry. 



— Domestication. — 



Domestication does not afford such a 

 principle of division. Neither does use- 

 fulness, or the fact that birds of a cer- 

 tain kind are propagated especially for 

 their usefulness to man. Pigeons are 

 domesticated birds, and pigeons are use- 

 ful, but pigeons are not poultry. Pigeon 

 and poultry interests do not mix well. 

 Pigeon fanciers, as a class, are in the 

 poultry world — during the show season — 

 but^ not of it. They join with poultry 

 fanciers in associations to hold poultry 



shows, and have been doing so every- 

 where since shows were first held, yet 

 the two interests remain essentially sepa- 

 rate. Why is this? 



Because pigeons and poultry are 

 adapted to different conditions, and ap- 

 peal differently to men. It would be dif- 

 ficult to analyse and describe the differ- 

 ences between "pigeon men" and "poul- 

 try men," though it would seem that 

 there must be some typical differences 

 of taste or inclination. The conspicuous 

 differences between poultry (the com- 

 mon kinds) and pigeons are readily 

 listed. Pigeons are "birds of the air," 

 having powers of sustained flight, and 

 nesting habitually in elevated and inac- 

 cessible places. Fowls and other land 

 birds of the poultry group live and 

 usually nest on the ground, being capable 

 only of making a low flight for a short 

 distance. When pursued or frightened 

 their impulse seems to be to conceal 

 themselves. 



While domestic ducks and geese — es- 

 pecially the "improved" breeds — are the 

 most easily restrained and kept within 

 bounds of all domestic creatures, their 

 wild kin, presumably from the same ori- 

 ginal stock, have powers of flight 

 scarcely inferior to those of the pigeon. 



Hence, assuming that the common 

 usage which groups ducks and geese 

 with fowls and turkeys as poultry, while* 

 excluding pigeons from the group, is 

 correct, it is evident that difference in 

 power of flight is not the essential dif- 

 ference between poultry and birds that 

 are not poultry, though capacity for 

 modifying birds in directions which re- 

 duce the powers of flight is unquestion- 

 ably an important factor in domestica- 

 tion and in determining the sphere of 

 usefulness of the bird in a state of 

 domestication. 



— Mating. — 



A conspicuous difference between 

 pigeons and fowls is observed in the 

 mating habits of these two kinds of 

 brids. Pigeons mate in pairs, and per- 

 manently — that is, permanently while 

 both members of the pair live. On the 

 death of one of a pair the remaining one 

 usually seeks a new mate, though not in- 

 frequently reports are made of birds re- 

 maining true to the lost mate, and some- 

 times apparently dying of grief. As is 

 well known, fidelity to the mate is not 

 a universal and perfect attribute of all 

 pigeons. Whether from the inclination 

 of one of the pair, or because of the 

 meddlesome importunity of an unmated 

 bird, disruption of relations often occurs, 

 particularly in large flocks of pigeons 

 kept in confinement. But, in general, the 

 union of pigeons for breeding purposes 

 is monogamous and for life. 



