202 
The Illustrated Book of Plgeons. 
bred without a cross • they become faded and washed out, as if lacking energy. There have been 
very few successful breeders of Silvers ; not more, I think, than three or four ; and I think the 
cause of the failure has been the want of knowledge and patience. The foregoing plan is what I 
adopted, and by which I obtained my present strain of Silvers, some of which have lately found 
their way into nearly every Dragoon loft in the country, and two of which were claimed at the 
Crystal Palace Show at the enormous price (for Dragoons) of £15 each; the one an old cock 
(seven years old), still in prime condition and great vigour ; the other a one-year-old bird, but of 
quite a distinct strain. 
“Whites should have dark eyes, with both beak and eye-wattle as light in colour and powdery 
as possible. I greatly dislike a wattle of a red tinge, whether in a white or any other colour. 
Whites have been greatly neglected lately, and stand no chance in a general class ; and as the 
shows where there are classes for Whites alone are very few, the number of admirers are very small; 
although, I am sure, nothing could be prettier than a well-matched pair of clean White Dragoons. 
They breed true to colour, and with ordinary care are easily kept clean. I hope more Dragoon 
fanciers will go in for this pretty variety. They also show off the other colours in a loft to better 
advantage. 
“ Grizzles lately are looking up a little, and quite time too, as they are a most interesting 
variety, which makes one scratch his head and puzzle his brain studying how to produce a perfect 
specimen. In breeding, commence, if possible, with Grizzles. A Grizzle should be blue and white 
on every feather ; not splashed, but well mixed, as if both colours were dusted out of a pepper 
box. I prefer the blue to predominate. They should have black beaks, with bars on the wings as 
black and as distinct as possible. Should your Grizzles be too light in colour, you must cross with 
Blues; and if the result be Blues, cross them with birds of a distinct strain, but bred the same way; 
you will then obtain some Grizzles of the true colour. I have been trying very hard the last two 
years to improve this variety, and have met with fair success by following the above crosses. Perhaps 
there may be other breeders who adopt another plan, and with better success than I have with 
mine ; but I have been unable to hear of anyone, although I have tried to get information far and 
near on the breeding of this variety, but without Success ; in fact, there seems to be very little 
known as to how to breed them. 
“ Although the Dragoon is not ranked among the high class varieties, still they should, I 
think, come very near them. I have heard fanciers of other varieties say, ‘ Oh ! any place will do 
for the Dragoons, as they are hardy.’ Any place will net do for them : they require quite as much 
attention to be successful with as any of the other varieties. In fitting up a loft for Dragoons it 
is not necessary that all the nest-boxes be on the floor. I have tried many plans, but the best 
nests are those described on page 15 of this work, Fig. 2. I should have a row on the floor, and 
five rows above, and, in fact, it is as well to have as many nests as possible ; if the partitions in the 
nests are movable so much the better, as they then make capital pairing cages. The nest-pans 
should be half filled with sawdust, and the floor of the loft well sanded, and, as it is most essential 
that Dragoons be hard-feathered, this should be done often, and as soon as the young birds are a 
week old the pan should be changed for a clean one. In the front of my loft are sliding windows, 
which I close at night, and during the cold or wet weather. On the outside (the cote is in the 
garden) is a wire aviary, which extends over the roof, thus allowing the birds exercise as well as 
fresh air. The ground is covered with small gravel, which is raked over every morning, and 
renewed every spring. In the centre is the bath, a stone four feet by two feet, which gradually 
deepens to the middle ; this I think much preferable to a tin or other vessel all one depth, and 
being outside does not wet the floor of the loft, and it only needs brushing out to be quite clean ; 
