O rig ix of tiie Pouter. 
97 
In entering upon the consideration of the Pouter pigeon, we cannot do better than com- 
mence, as we did in the preceding chapter, with a full and critical description by one of its best 
and oldest breeders, Mr. George Ure, of Dundee, to whom we are indebted for the following 
exhaustive article : — 
“ This bird, Moore says, was originally bred by crossing the old or Dutch Cropper and 
Horseman together. He is, no doubt, a good authority, but I must confess I never could see how 
such a cross could produce a bird like the English Pouter. There does not appear to be a trace 
of the Horseman left in the modern bird, though there might have been when Moore wrote his 
excellent work, in 1735. The Horseman could not add to the length of limb or feather, and, 
in place of adding to crop, would tend to do away with it. The same may be said of slenderness 
of girth round the shoulders, but it is possible he might assist in marking, as we frequently read 
of Pied Horsemen, though this would go but a very short way in making up such a noble bird. 
“ I think, however, the Pouter may be accounted for in a more natural way. From all I can 
learn, the Spitalfields weavers were very skilful breeders, and whatever they took in hand they did 
well. Pigeons in particular were great favourites with them, and, of course, received a large share 
of their skill and attention. They also bred poultry, canaries, and small dogs, and all with 
success. Some were florists, and here they also excelled ; in fact, fanciers in general owe a great 
deal to them. Moore says it was the blood of the Horseman that caused them to rump. This is 
the only thing like proof of such a cross, but it is quite possible that this fault may have been 
transmitted by the Dutch Cropper. As Moore does not speak from his own personal experience, 
but only as a sort of hearsay account of such an origin, I am inclined to think that the improve- 
ment had been made by the Spitalfields fanciers solely, by careful selection and skilful matching 
of the Dutch Croppers. The latter birds I remember to have seen a few of a long time ago, and 
they appeared to want little but length of leg to make fairly good Pouters. In those days I 
should think that no one but a genuine fancier kept pigeons. They had no open shows as we have 
now, almost every week, so there was nothing to induce the spurious or f showing’ fancier to go 
into them. They had their private clubs, where they met to exhibit their old ‘cracks’ or the 
young coming ‘wonders’ that were to knock the old ones off their perches ; and I am not sure 
but these were the right sort of shows after all. There was less vexation to the exhibitors and 
less tear and wear to the exhibited, as they would only have to be carried along a short way in 
the careful hands of their owners ; whereas now they have often to travel hundreds of miles, and 
all the show is knocked out of them, and the life also, if often repeated. 
“As to the origin of the Pouter, it is now impossible to settle it in a satisfactory way, so it is 
useless to speculate further upon it. The bird, however, is beyond question one of the very finest 
of all the fancy pigeons ; in fact, if those who tell us that all our fancy birds are derived from the 
Blue Rock are in the right, then I would say he is at the very top of the whole, as no bird has been 
bred showing such a divergence from the original type as the Pouter, and therefore no bird shows 
the amount of breeding which it does. This is apparent whether we look at the extraordinary 
length of limb, the wonderful crop, the great length of feather, or the thin girth and lightness in 
hand (this last is a sure test of a well-bred bird, for no highly-bred Pouter carries much flesh) ; and 
in addition, the lovely colours and beautifully-arranged markings all combine to form a most 
beautiful and striking-looking bird. They are also very gentle in temper, and easily tamed, so as 
to show when called upon, when properly treated. But then it is a bird that requires both skill 
and patience to breed, and, therefore, comparatively few now breed them. ‘ They are so trouble- 
some,’ they say. This, to a good fancier, is one of the strongest inducements to go into them (for 
any one can breed duffers, ‘ comparatively speaking, as Eaton says). Failures, of course, will be 
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