356 
The Illustrated Book of Plgeons. 
of most pigeons can be secured by a plan we have rarely found fail. It is, as soon as the young 
are old enough to bear it, to feed them by hand, taking them away from their nurses, and 
keeping by themselves. It is astonishing how tame and familiar many young pigeons will 
become under this method, if handled gently and carefully; and though “blood will tell” in 
this as in other qualities, much can be done in this way to remove what some may feel to be 
a strong deterrent from Toy-breeding. 
There are at once so many varieties, and so few specimens shown of these pigeons under 
present arrangements, that it is impossible to lay down any standard for judging. Few judges 
can perhaps be expected even to carry in their minds the exact details of colour and marking 
which go to make a perfect specimen of each variety, and if the judge looks for evident sharpness and 
accuracy of marking, he will so far rarely make a mistake. Feeling the truth of much of what 
Mr. Ludlow has said regarding scant encouragement, we must confess we do not clearly see a 
remedy. Were prizes offered in detail, we fear they would not be competed for. Perhaps the 
most that could be done with advantage at first would be to offer, as at Birmingham, double 
sets of prizes in the “Variety” class, so as to give the judges six or eight to award. This plan 
would probably by degrees tempt out certain varieties in greater and greater numbers, until at 
length some section, such as perhaps the Satinette and Blondinette tribe, might support a class 
for itself, and leave the other free for the rest, and so on. The grand class which such a 
system always attracts at Birmingham seems to prove that at large shows it would probably be a 
success ; and so much, at least, may be earnestly pressed upon the consideration of committees. 
