i6o 
The Illustrated Book of Plgeo.vs. 
bred as good as it is perhaps ever likely to be ; but there is still a wide field open to the fancier for the 
improvement in beauty and regularity of feather, since no one ever yet saw such a bird — even the 
best-coloured one yet exhibited — but he could easily conceive of one far better , either in ground- 
colour, or regularity and perfection and evenness of marking. We therefore number ourselves 
among those fanciers who think that feather should have the first place in judging Almonds. 
Next we would place shape and carriage ; but having sufficiently given our reasons before will 
not here repeat them. We will only add the further one, that by giving prominence in judging to 
points of really aesthetic beauty, which can be understood by any artistic or educated eye, we are 
more likely to popularise a fancy, and obtain for it fresh votaries and admirers. We have seen the 
truth of this often ; and as the proper carriage and shape of the Almond is so beautiful and saucy- 
looking as to be admired by almost all, as well as the skilled fancier, we would give this property 
the second place. 
We next value fineness of beak. What ! put beak before head ! Call it virtually “ beak and 
head,” instead of “ head and beak ! ” says some one. Yes, we would do so ; since, however good a 
bird may be in skull, if coarse in beak (which is always accompanied by a coarse wattle) it can 
never look well, but must appear as a coarse bird ; and still further, following out our old line of 
argument, no amount of art or trickery can “ make ” a coarse beak into a fine one. It must be 
bred in the bird ; and a bird with only a fair head, if with fine beak and good shape and carriage, 
will always look superior to the best skull in the world if with a coarse beak. We consider, then, 
that these three properties — colour, form and carriage, and beak — which can only be obtained by 
careful and judicious breeding, should have the highest value in judging the Almond Tumbler. 
The size and shape, but especially the height of skull, should come next. We would not 
have it supposed we regard this as an unimportant property. Far from it ; and were it safe from 
manufacture, we would not quarrel with those who put it first. It is a grand point ; but we need 
not repeat our reasons for giving it the fourth place. 
Next should come the eye, by which, of course, we chiefly mean the colour of it. Some would 
place this property higher. Our reason for not doing so is simply that imperfection in it is no 
sign of bad breeding. We have often seen specimens unusually perfect in other points, but 
somewhat faulty in perhaps one eye, which might be slightly broken, or even both. We have seen 
such passed over by the judge, and the honours given to birds faulty in nearly every other point, 
but perfect in this. We shall always consider such judging wrong, for even the best eyes generally 
suffer a little after the age of four or five years ; and to pass birds by for failing in a point of this 
kind, which can only be seen upon close inspection, which does not come by bad breeding as a 
rule, and can be so easily remedied in the progeny, for birds which, while better in that, are far 
behind in all the really grand properties of the Almond Tumbler, is to disturb all our ideas of what 
judging ought to be. It is to go on the system of weeding a class by marking out all birds in 
which any definite fault can be found — an easy plan, well fitted for indolent, incompetent, and 
captious folks, who are only too thankful when they can find an excuse for dismissing any good 
bird from a class, and so narrowing the field, but little suited to encouraging the sound breeding of 
pigeons. We say the fault is easily remedied in the progeny, though in this we contradict the 
“Old Fancier ’’who wrote the “Treatise,” and who says (page 92), “A bad eye, in my opinion, is the 
worst property a bird can have, and the most difficult one to counteract.” He appears, however, 
to have had chiefly in view the black, blind, or faulty eyes produced by matching too high, the 
evil effects of which we have pointed out, while we refer here to want of perfection in the white. 
This may be sometimes imparted by the parents, and is often also caused by the “ making ” of the 
head ; but in either case, such a bird, if mated to a Red or Yellow Agate Mottle, a Whole-feather, or 
