172 
CHAPTER XI. 
BALDHEADS AND BEARDS. EXHIBITING SHORT-FACES. 
We come next to another class of Short-faced Tumblers, which have been very greatly neglected, 
for no apparent reason, as there are few fanciers but greatly admire them. Were it not for the 
support during many years of Messrs. Esquilant, Woodhouse, South, Fielding, and Hale, we hardly 
know what would have become of them. As regards Beards we might add the name of Mr. Esden ; 
but we hardly know any other who has really continued, year after year, to breed these birds, and 
every fancier must desire to have the due record of those who, with little reward, have thus from 
pure love preserved and handed down any variety of pigeon combining such points of beauty. 
Our coloured plates will of themselves, together with the mere names of the varieties — 
expressive as these latter are — convey a very clear idea of what these pigeons should be, and we will, 
therefore, at once proceed in detail to describe what is needed in a good bird, taking the Baldhead 
first. The most valuable property, and the most difficult to get in a Bald, is being clean cut as it is 
called ; that is, that the white on the head from which it is named should be divided from the 
body-colour by a sharp clean line. But, further, this line should pass just below the eye to but 
little under the beak ; and when the bird is thus correctly marked it is said to be high cut : while, if 
the white extends lower, or at least very perceptibly lower than this, the bird is described as low 
cut , and is so far not such a good Bald. It is very seldom that birds are seen quite so high cut or 
clean cut as represented in our plates, unless the owners have assisted nature a little by removing a 
few feathers on the border line, which is often done so skilfully as to make the bird appear as if 
clipped all round to a pattern ; indeed, malicious folks might think that from this practice the 
term “ clean cut” was derived, especially as the more knowing exhibitors, instead of pulling the 
feathers out — a process which needs repeating as they re-grow — cut them off close to the skin, 
which lasts till next moult. This practice is so common that really no one can be secure without 
a very careful examination — and not always even then — that a bird he has purchased will present 
the same appearance after moult as when he purchased it. 
The next property in a Bald is to be clean-thighed. This means that just below the breast and 
above the thighs the colour of the body should cease at a sharp tranverse line running right across. 
The more accurate and sharp this line dividing the colour on the breast — be it black, blue, red, 
yellow, or silver — from the white, the prettier and more valued is the bird ; and from this line the 
white must extend back to the vent, including, of course, all the thigh, from whence the term which 
describes this property is taken. The white is supposed to be pure, and unmixed with coloured 
feathers ; but here, too, we must confess that art too often is called in to assist nature, and that far 
more clean-thighed birds appear in the show-pen than were ever bred. There are really and 
naturally very few good Short-faced Baldheads which have not some foul marks on the breast or 
thighs in their natural state ; so very few, indeed, that we may say neither fanciers nor any good 
judges expect to see them perfectly free, though, if more widely bred, there is no reason to doubt 
. such would be the case. We say this, because there are plentv of the pleasant-faced Balds which 
