Judging Mottles. 
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white ticks on breast, belly, and neck, and no white on forehead. Secondly, good shape and 
carriage. Third, fineness of beak and wattles. Fourth, a good eye. Such a cock we would mate 
to another Mottle hen of similar quality, but would not keep them together if the first and second 
nest proved both too plentiful or “ gay ” in white marking. In that case, we would dismatch at 
once, and mate the cock with another hen possessing less white mottling, still carefully avoiding 
a blaze face ; and if still too light we would try again with a very much too dark or even black, 
but Mottle-bred hen. Even from the best of stock there will come — at first at least — more or less 
of Dun Mottles, and even Grizzles and other colours. Dun Mottles are mostly hens, but when 
they occur in either sex they are by no means to be discarded, as they are most valuable for 
breeding Blacks of an extra rich colour, precisely as in the case of Barbs or Carriers. We mention 
this because some fanciers are very sorry to get even a good Dun, while we know such -to be 
most valuable stock birds, of course mated to a good Black Mottle. 
Another cross we should strongly recommend, when the strains are thoroughly to be relied 
upon, would be between the Black Mottle and a good coloured Red or Red Mottle ; but on no 
account should such an experiment be tried unless the colours of both were really good, as 
otherwise the progeny will be very various, and almost useless for re-crossing. And we need 
hardly add, that until both strains are fixed so as to breed fairly true to themselves, any such 
experiment would be worse than useless. 
Finally, we may perhaps urge upon the committees of exhibitions the propriety of giving 
more encouragement to the Mottle pigeon. The want of this, in our opinion, has been the chief 
cause of its — we were going to say — extinction ; and we believe that a class would, in a very short 
time, produce birds to fill it fairly, and that the fancy would be eagerly taken up by many on 
account of the superior hardiness and permanent “standard” character of the birds as compared 
with the Almond. 
Mottled Tumblers should, in our opinion, be judged as follows : — 
POINTS IN JUDGING MOTTLES. 
Accurate markings 9 
Colour of body 3 
Shape and carriage 5 
Fineness of beak and wattle 4 
Size and shape of head 4 
Colour and fulness of eye ............ 2 
Smallness of body 2 
Shortness of legs I 
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