244 
The Illustrated Book of Pigeons. 
even compared with good English birds as regards fitness for the show-pen. This arises chiefly 
from the best Continental birds only being bred to the old type as described by Moore, where 
smallness is made so much of, and no mention is made of mane at all. Hence these foreign birds 
have generally nice round heads and short thick beaks — both qualities without which no bird can 
be considered first-class — but are almost always deficient in hood, mane, and chain ; and surely no 
thorough fancier can ever admit that two such qualities as the first, however good, and which are 
easily enough obtained alone, should be allowed to compensate for the want of those special 
properties from which the bird derives its very name. They give certainly the finish to a good 
bird ; but as the properties of a Barb or Carrier lie almost entirely in the head, so nine-tenths of 
the beauty of a Jacobin lie in hood, mane, and chain, which we would place in the order named. 
Many fanciers, following Moore, repeat that a Jacobin cannot be too small in size. We must 
say at once that we consider this a great error, only to be tolerated at a time when the properties 
were but half developed as they now appear ; for it will be found impossible in an exceedingly 
small bird to get the properties above named in any such marked degree as is necessary to present 
a really striking appearance. Many say, for instance, that the bird should be as small as an 
Almond Tumbler. Now, we have seen and bred numbers of such, but in no one case did we find 
one with really fine Jacobin properties, for the simple reason that such small birds never have 
feathers long enough to show these properties. At the most, they may look well while held in the 
hand, as the feathers being so short may show much regularity of growth, and thus make the hood 
nice and close to the head. The feathers also forming the chain may be similarly regular, and 
even meet together for perhaps half way up from the bottom ; but for the chain to meet together 
even under the throat is one of the difficulties of the breeder, and there the small bird will fail, the 
length of feather not being sufficient for it ; besides which the cheek-feathers projecting outwards 
keep the short feathers from meeting. To remedy this Ave have seen the projecting cheek- 
feathers, or whiskers, as some call them, removed before showing, so as to allow the chain to come 
closer in front; and in some cases we have seen some of these extra small birds so good, that with 
this assistance it would meet, or nearly so, and some even without it, being, in fact, all that could 
be desired in chain, though this is rare. But e\ r en such birds have failed in the hood, though 
pretty and close-fitting, not coming forward over the head nearly so far as is desired. And above 
all, even if, as just now stated, the bird did look nice when in hand as regards these points, as soon 
as liberated it would in every case — for in this point we never knew one exception — show little or 
no mane , a point now so highly valued, though never mentioned in the old descriptions. All its 
good qualities appear in a front vie\\ r , and especially in hand, but as soon as let loose the Aveak 
point appears. 
While, then, we would certainly give preference to the small specimens as soon as they can be 
produced good enough in the main Jacobin properties, we can ne\ r er agree to sacrifice these for 
mere size, which, after all, is chiefly a sign of too much in-breeding, and gives not the slightest 
difficulty in dwarfing at any time. The Jacobin, in fact, is such a vigorous bird that it will usually 
bear a great deal of in-breeding, and we have produced in this way some birds nearly as small as 
Foreign OavIs, and which shoAved A r ery fair Jacobin properties for their size; but when put beside 
really grand medium-sized specimens their inferiority Avas apparent at once. In fact, Ave reached 
the vieAvs avc have noAV expressed through experience. Knowing the good constitution of the birds, 
and the little difficulty in rearing, AA'e Avondered at the feAV good specimens, and began to try Avhat 
Ave could do ourselves. Like most other fanciers, Ave began with the extra-small specimens ; but 
before the end of our first season changed the system, and procured some large-sized birds having 
plenty of the chief Jacobin points of hood, mane, and chain, though too long in beak and large in 
