Flights of the J a cor in. 
249 
difficult to breed out than mere low-cut marking ? On the other hand, it is very seldom a low-cut 
bird is not good in both flights, and the fault is a great deal easier to get rid of than the other ; 
for faulty flights can seldom be bred out in less than three crosses at best, unless the breeder has 
recourse to the despised low-cut bird ; and, indeed, we have known many fanciers who never could 
produce good flights in their lofts until they had recourse to this cross. We do not think there 
would be so much of this magnifying less important faults, either in Jacobins or other pigeons, but 
that when good fanciers get together, they will point out every fault in each other’s birds, some 
from genuine appreciation, and not forgetting any merits it may have as well, and others from a 
little jealousy. This is all right enough ; but there are almost always some listeners who really 
know nothing, but who suppose they have now got hold of a fault well worthy to be borne in mind 
(though perhaps of the slightest); and, grasping at it, on some subsequent occasion “ air” the same 
remark as if emanating from themselves, and as if the fault spoilt the pigeon, which most likely the 
really good judge who had first uttered it never implied. There are plenty of these would-be 
authorities in the fancy, who seek to make a reputation for themselves by thus using up other 
people’s remarks ; but in most cases they spoil and distort them in repetition, and do much harm 
by making people think that what was only first spoken of as a blemish was tantamount to a 
disqualification, and thus discouraging and driving them out of the fancy. Equally culpable 
are those — and we have a certain anonymous writer who has systematically acted in this wa y 
and drawn largely upon information derived from ourselves, particularly in view — who have, from 
the fact or suspicion that certain questionable practices are occasionally resorted to, and cannot 
always be discovered in the short time allowed for judging at a show, gone so far as to ape a kind 
of virtue for themselves, by accusing exhibitors and judges of generally practising or conniving at 
such things, and stating that “the honest exhibitor has no chance,” which is simply either an igno- 
rant or a wilful and deliberate falsehood. Either way, this narrow, evil-minded, carping, plagiarising 
spirit has done so much mischief, that these few words seem called for, and we hope may be self- 
applied by those whom they more particularly concern. 
However, in itself the standard marking of the head is no doubt to be the “high-cut.” Next 
comes the body-, which should in our opinion be black, both over and under, back to the vent. 
This is the marking known as “ dark-thighed,” that is, the thighs the same colour as the body, a 
marking never seen on birds low-cut, and very seldom on one at all bad-coloured, so that it is 
a good sign of rich colour in either black, red, or yellow birds, as well as generally going along 
with the right head-marking. 
Next come the flights, the colour of which is the most difficult part of all the markings. The 
desired colour of flights is readily to be found in coarse, common birds, but only rarely in grand 
specimens, and especially on high-cut birds. And as the flights are, next to the hood, mane, and 
chain, the most important features, we give some illustrations which will enable the reader more 
easily to see what is meant. The long flights should consist of ten white feathers, and in Fig. 56 
we represent a perfect wing opened out, and so as to show how the outer and inner flight feathers 
turn in opposite directions, so that should a foul feather be fraudulently plucked it can be instantly 
detected, and any judge or purchaser deceived in this way really deserves no better. The next, 
Fig- 57, represents the flight far more frequently met with, especiallyin high-cut Jacks, namely, 
five of the outer flights white and five foul. We also represent in this figure another blemish which 
frequently accompanies it, though not always; namely, a foul feather among the inner flights, which 
should be all dark. This fault is, however, more often seen perhaps in low-cut birds, which have 
the outer flights right ; but if in a good bird, some people will remove it as an eyesore, especially 
before exhibiting the bird. We say this is done by some ; but as with many other of the 
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