Shape of Body. 
237 
fault alone. Some of the very best foreign Barbs, from which the most improvement in our strains 
was derived, were orange-eyed; and from this source indeed we believe the fault, was derived. 
There is a third colour of eye called gravel-colour, being as it were half way between the pearl 
and the orange, which is, however, as offensive as orange to some fanciers ; but we never knew 
a bird yet disqualified for this ; and, on the whole, what we think enough is to allow fair points 
for eye, and then deduct all three points for an orange-eyed bird, two points for a gravel-eyed bird, 
and one point for an eye sometimes found which can hardly be fairly called even gravel, but is 
also certainly not real pearl. It must be noted that a bird has a right to be called pearl-eyed, 
provided even the inner edge of the iris be a pure unbroken white, even though outside this 
there should be a little red or orange. With this allowance, the pearl-eyed bird must be very 
poor quality indeed if it could not beat an orange-eyed bird, unless it was very young ; and this 
mode of judging would do justice to all parties, and assist judges in what is often their most 
difficult task, viz., to first satisfy themselves why they make certain awards, and then be able 
to inform all competitors who asked them in a becoming manner why they awarded prizes and 
commendations in any given manner. 
What we have now described comprise nine-tenths of the properties of a Barb ; and no 
matter how well-shaped in body a bird may be, if deficient in head it can never compete with any 
chance. Still, there are other properties. The necly should be short and thick, the thicker the 
better, as the better the bird is in this property the shorter in face does it appear. Hence the 
gullet should be very full ; indeed, this is where the thickness of neck should be, and many birds 
owe much of their apparent shortness of face not to real excellence in that point so much as to an 
unusually good gullet, especially if down-faced, when a bird with full gullet hardly can look other 
than short. This is the one point where we must say we decidedly differ from Mr. Jones, who 
recommends a rather long and thin neck, with a clean run under the gullet. We can only say 
that we do so, not so much from any preference, as from observance of actual facts ; for we do not 
think we ever saw an unusually good bird as regards shortness of face, which did not owe much of it 
to the point now described. This property does not develop much, however, till the age of at least 
two years, and must not therefore be looked for in a young specimen, which is the chief reason 
why these look so much longer in face when viewed in profile , as the want of thickness which age 
gives to the wattle is the reason of their looking so much narrower in skull from the front. For 
this reason, a bird that looks very short in face under a year old must really be something 
extraordinary in that grand property. The chest is broad, and becomes broader with age, but not 
remarkably so when compared with flights and tail, which should be long. A Barb may be too long 
in feather, certainly, as it should be a compact-looking bird, and hence extreme length is no beauty 
as in a Carrier. Still, we have generally noticed that a bird faulty in too great length is apt to 
be good and well bred, while those too short in feather are mostly very small and rarely more 
than very moderate quality, thus denoting late breeding. A nice, easy-looking, harmonious pro- 
portion, when compared with the short neck, is what should be aimed at. Lastly, there are 
the legs, which must be short compared with the length of body and feather, making the carriage 
and gait of the bird somewhat like that of a duck, in fact “ waddling ” considerably. These short 
legs, which should be free from feathers on the shanks, are what harmonises with the entire shape 
of the bird. Still, we do not think any judge, if he did find a bird with good head properties, 
would lay much stress upon too long legs ; and even as regards feather, though it is a fault, 
still we have seen many specimens having the legs covered to the feet with soft downy 
feathers, somewhat similar to those on a grouse ; and in nearly every case these were otherwise 
grand birds, and to our knowledge produced progeny free from the defect. Hence, too much 
