Breeding for Colour. 
295 
all he wishes, but foul-thighed, and may find from another pair one with fairly good peak, but 
inferior in other points, yet clean-thighed. These, if of opposite sexes, and suitable in other 
respects, he may match together. It is in this way, by breeding for one or two points at a time, 
that perfection is at last attained ; and to breed for all points together, from birds neither of which 
is perfect, is simply breeding for chance and nothing more. Of course all breeding is chance to 
some extent ; but still the man who breeds for one point at a time, and secures what he has gained, 
will see that steady improvement in his stud which is the chief pleasure of a fancier, while he who 
trusts to get all at once will probably get nothing, but give up the attempt in disgust before he 
has really improved one single property. 
We have spoken only of breeding Blacks together, so far ; but, as with other pigeons, this is 
not always the best course, the progeny of such being frequently of bad colour, and sometimes 
Dun-chequers or Dun-chequered Reds. When the colour fails in any way, we would match the 
Black with a rich-coloured Red ; and as Reds are mostly much cleaner in thigh than the Blacks, 
better in flights, and even as a rule in crest too, such a cross will probably do good in other ways. 
A rich-coloured Yellow may also be used in the same way, and generally, whenever a pair of Blacks 
breed bad colours, if it occurred in a second nest, we would dismatch them at once, and put up again 
with something else. When both Yellow and Black are of the proper deep rich shade, this cross 
almost always produces good colours, and when there is an exception, the most likely “sport” will 
be dark Dun, which, when thus bred, is most valuable for breeding back to either Blacks or Yellows, 
producing the parent colour with either. The best-coloured Yellow Turbits we have ever seen 
were bred from such black-bred Duns. Similarly, the Red and Black cross may produce, as well as 
pure Reds or Blacks, Red interspersed with black ticks, or Strawberry-coloured birds, either of which 
will be most valuable for crossing to the Black again, with which they will produce beautiful 
lustrous black. But such birds should be avoided unless they were either bred at home, or at least 
known to be bred from good colours. 
Red and Yellow Turbits are as a rule far in advance of the Blacks, so far as regards peak- 
crested specimens ; and, indeed, are often found so fine in colour and markings that they really 
need only two properties to make them all that could be desired ; viz., shortness and thickness of 
beak, and a great deal more frill than most of them possess. These points, as in the Blacks, are 
found better developed in shell-crested specimens, so that the same mode of breeding the two 
crests together is to be advised. In this case little of difficulty remains to be done — not half as 
much as in the case of Blacks, since plenty of birds can be found which are really good in peak, 
mane, and gullet ; clean in thighs, and perfect in flights, with fine colour ; all that is needed being 
better beak and frill. Many of these birds are, however, too large, since a Turbit should be very 
little larger than a Short-faced Tumbler. The Silvers are nearest the mark perhaps, in point of 
size. In breeding Red or Yellow Turbits it will soon be noticed how much better the colour 
becomes with age, as in all other pigeons. Colour being of unusual importance in our present 
pigeon, all the notes and precautions we have laid down before for breeding these colours are to be 
particularly studied, breeding Reds from birds of mature age, whose colour and lustre is at their 
best, and doing the same with Yellows, sometimes crossing these with Reds, and especially recross- 
birds (either Red or Yellow) thus produced back to Yellow only, since it is always to be 
remembered in breeding for these two colours, that while Red judiciously introduced greatly 
improves Yellows, the Yellow cannot improve the Red, and its products are therefore to be most 
carefully kept from contaminating the Red strains. Age must not however be overdone if a 
vigorous strain is desired ; and we think the best Cherry-red Turbits are produced from cocks 
three to five years old, with hens not over three years. It is chiefly the breeding together of 
