The Colours of Pouters. 
99 
much shown or bent, as then they are ‘ cow-hocked.’ Neither should the leg be too straight, as 
then it looks loose-jointed, a very ugly fault. The feet ought to be tinned a little out and the 
knees in, so that the bird in a front view looks a little ‘ baker-kneed.’ With such legs he is 
certain to walk gracefully, a sure mark of a well-bred Pouter. 
“Next to limbs I am inclined to place slenderness of girth ; it is a sure mark of a well-bred 
one, and a bird good in this respect is sure to have other good properties besides. 
“Crop comes next. Birds really good in this are very scarce, many of the very long- 
feathered birds especially showing very little of it. Others have it long and rising up at one side, 
which is very unsightly. Some, again, overcharge it, which makes them uneasy and lean back 
on their tails, and twist themselves from side to side. Others have a large crop, which they 
never fill, hanging down as a useless empty bag. The well-formed crop should be as globular as 
possible, running out or ‘pouting’ with a graceful curve all round, and showing a little, but very 
little, at the back of the neck ; if too much, the feathers stick out, which looks unnatural. It 
ought to be full and round, well raised in front, so that the bird’s beak is partly hid in it. A bird 
with this form of crop will show with ease and grace, and can discharge it at pleasure. Hens have 
the crop, but in a less degree. Their style of showing is also a little different from the cock’s, as 
they move about with a quiet gracefulness with the tail spread, so that a really fine hen is fully as 
attractive to the fancier as a cock. There are hens now and then to be seen with crops as large 
as cocks’, and they will strut about as if they wanted to be taken for one. Such birds always put 
me in mind of some strong-minded lady advocating ‘ woman’s rights.’ I don’t like them, as I 
never saw any good of them. They are often barren, or if not might as well be so, for they 
neglect their family duties and go gadding about in a way that must vex their mates sadly, as they 
want constant looking after. 
“ Length of feather is the next property. This has already been touched upon when speaking 
of the limbs, so little more need be said. It is a property that should be regulated by, or wait 
upon, the length of limb, as it is not so difficult to attain ; so that good length of limb being got, 
feather can be very soon got if required. 
“ Colour and marking form the fifth and last property, or two properties thrown into one. By 
neglect and unskilful matching, these have suffered much (I shall speak of them here as two 
properties). Blues, I think, in colour, have suffered less than any of the others, and perhaps Reds 
most ; the latter, in nine birds out of ten, scarcely deserving the name, the deep glossy blood-red 
being exceedingly rare, and it will take a deal of time and trouble to restore it ; but some of our 
best fanciers are trying hard, and no doubt will succeed. Reds are very often grand birds in every 
other respect. Blacks have lately improved in colour. Yellows I am sorry to see not so good in 
colour as some years ago — it is a difficult matter to keep up this colour, as it has a strong tendency 
to degenerate into the faded washed-out sort of hue. This is a colour which was almost lost about 
fifteen or twenty years ago, nothing but hens were to be got, and they were very poor, little of the 
Pouter beyond the marking. By crossing with Reds (the only possible cross) they soon got better, 
but for a time all the Yellows were hens, the breeding cocks being all Reds. When a few good 
yellow cocks were got, it was then easy. Very soon Yellows almost equal (in a few instances quite 
equal) to any of the other colours were produced. In bringing this about, however, the writer 
injured to a considerable extent the very best strain of Reds he ever saw, by using for breeding 
some of the Reds bred for from the Yellows; the colour of the Yellows improved, while that 
of the Reds suffered, and to a certain extent their form or shape also. The Yellows were at 
one time so much in demand that about the beginning of the Glasgow Shows £ 2 5 was offered 
and refused for a cock, and a young pair sold for twenty guineas, prices then thought enormous. 
