The Nun. 
361 
pair they put up, instead of being content with one property, or even one step to a property, at 
each cross. In this case no one should breed from two birds both of which had too few flight- 
feathers ; but putting to such one with more, and so proceeding ti'l the desired number be gained ; 
and when two such are bred together, though all their progeny will not be alike, still there will be 
almost certainty of obtaining some, and after that, as regards that property, all is easy, and the 
breeder will find he has really gained and secured ground. And not only so, but when a breeder 
is known thus to have secured only one property, others are willing to pay well for his specimens, 
that they may from them obtain the same property for their own strains ; whereas, it is the work 
of a lifetime to attempt to get perfect birds from any one pair, except as the final stage of such a 
course of breeding. And we would earnestly impress on those who act as judges the great 
desirability of laying great stress upon qualities like this, which are both difficult to produce, of 
great value in breeding when produced, and in which attempts at fraud can be so easily detected, 
as in the flights of the Nun. We would therefore give great credit in judging to all specimens 
showing more than seven feathers in each flight, and think nothing of those with less for the 
show-pen at all, considering their proper place to be in the breeding-loft. 
The tail, from the root, is of the same colour as the other markings of the bird ; or in the case 
we are supposing, black. It is seldom these twelve feathers are found foul-marked. All the rest 
of the body should be pure white, and the legs and feet clean. It is very singular that, as with the 
eye-cere, in many birds the colour of the legs is almost black , instead of red as in most other 
varieties ; and, in fact, the best specimens of Black Nuns we have seen have always been so. 
The size is generally a trifle larger, and the carriage slightly more upright, than of the Magpie. 
So long, however, as the bird has the proper markings we would not be particular as to size, 
except that we would always rather prefer a largish bird as having a good-sized head, and more 
likely to have a thick beak and good crest. Such birds have also, in most cases, the best bibs, the 
smaller ones being rather apt to be high-cut. 
Reds and Yellows are sometimes shown, but, as a rule, are far inferior to Blacks. Their points 
are precisely the same, except as regards the colour of beak, eye-cere, and legs. We have also 
seen Blues ; but the colour was so faulty we believe them, so far, to be only sports from the Black, 
which is, even supposing the properties bred to the same perfection in other colours, far the most 
attractive by reason of the pretty contrast. Mr. Brent states that the German Nuns have white 
instead of coloured flights. This is, in our opinion, to lose a great beauty, and by the loss of an 
important property to degrade the pigeon as a fancier’s bird. 
The Nun is very hardy, like most other Toys ; is also a good breeder and feeder, and needs 
scarcely any care. We believe it would be still more popular than it is, but for the trimming so 
unblushingly practised on this pigeon confessedly above all others. Probably more Nuns have 
been disqualified or passed over for being trimmed, especially in the crest, than all other varieties 
put together ; but still the trimmed birds deceive the eye to the prejudice of the genuine bird, so 
that the prizes usually go not to the really genuine, but to those which only need a certain 
amount ; which have been in fact really trimmed, but not quite so much so as to be found 
out. We have ourselves tried the experiment of showing an unusually good pair in their 
honest state, and been beaten by inferior ones we knew to be trimmed ; and so much is this the 
case, that we believe if judges did see genuine birds perfectly marked, they would suspect they 
were so treated. We mention this because we believe the dread of being suspected , even when 
showing honest birds of unusual merit, has kept many from an attractive breed, and others 
who do keep it from exhibiting their specimens ; while a rigorous examination of every prize bird, 
in the same manner as already described for the Jacobin, would both check such malpractices, 
46 
