2 56 
The Illustrated Book of Plgeons. 
will often fail. In all cases, in fact, the fault, according to all our experience, is much easiest got 
rid of by crossing with another colour, and not to another even pearl-eyed bird of the same. Of 
course, no such bird would be bred at all unless it had other useful qualities ; but grand properties 
in hood, mane, and chain are not to be rashly sacrificed for any other points. 
To breed the essential Jacobin points to a high degree of perfection will require some degree 
of patience, unless the fancier has the good fortune to start with a much better stock than 
ordinary. He will usually have to mate one good bird with another much inferior, and then, by 
breeding back the best of the progeny, work to what he desires. In particular, it is especially 
difficult to get good inane, which, as we have hinted before, is very often, indeed generally, 
found best on very large, coarse birds with long beaks, and which possess scarce anything else. 
Match, then, such a big brute to a small specimen, which will almost certainly be wanting in mane, 
and probably also in even depth of chain from front to the centre of the rose, though very likely 
trim and neat in what it has got. Then select such of the progeny as nearest resemble the pattern 
given both in Fig. 54 and in our coloured plates, and re-cross again with another small pigeon as 
good as can be had ; for it is wonderful the great amount of hood, mane, and chain which can be 
got by even one good cross with a large bird having plenty of feather, and more especially if bred 
early in the season, when all feather breeds strongest; and of course these Jacobin points 
depend very greatly from their very nature upon getting strength of feather, but on small instead 
of large, coarse birds, in which lies just the difficulty. Hence the crossing of the large, coarse, 
early-bred bird with the small, late-bred one ; by which means also constitution is kept up while 
still keeping down the size to at least a medium, which is what most of the best Jacobins are ; and 
when an extra-small bird does happen to be thus produced, there is some chance of its being what 
is desired. The mane, however, has difficulties of its own. It is not so very hard, though not 
easy, to get abundance of feather in the desired place; but even when you have got that, it is too 
often loose and wild-looking, instead of smooth and close. 
Most Jacobins of the present day have much too long beaks, more like Fig. 55 than Fig. 54. 
This, too, arises from the necessity of keeping up the grand points of hood, mane, and chain, the 
really short-faced birds being so often wanting in sufficient length of feather. And until we have 
enough of small or medium-sized short-faced birds we must not discard those with faulty beaks, 
but do our best by matching one to the other, to get what is required in both points. This is not 
so hard as might be expected, since it will be soon found that a short-beaked, down-faced bird 
does not really require such length of hood to make it look well as a long and straight-beaked bird. 
The one class of bird we would never breed is such as, besides faulty beak, has the hood rough 
and standing up, as in Fig. 55, unless for an unusually fine mane, which could not be got in any 
other way. To get all the points — and especially to get good mane without sacrificing the others 
— the breeder will, however, find tax all his skill ; and whenever he does attain it, he will fully 
agree with us in placing the Jacobin at the head of all Toy pigeons. In fact, we cannot say we 
have ever yet seen quite so good mane as we have represented upon any bird fine in all else ; but 
in every other point we have seen quite as good birds as our illustrations, and there are of late 
years so many clever breeders cultivating the Jack, and they have among them already improved 
it so much even within our own recollection, that we fully expect ere long to see all that can 
possibly be wished for. 
As we have said before, and whatever may be said by people who know nothing of the 
matter, there is no means of so “preparing a bird for exhibition ” as to make a really bad Jacobin 
into a good one. There are sometimes to be found a few odd feathers which, growing awkwardly, 
prevent a really good hood from lying down as it should, and these can be readily removed. But 
