388 
THE COTTAQE GARDENER AND COUNRTY GENTLEMAN, September 14, 1858. 
TUMBLER PIGEONS. 
Whatever we have a liking for, we at all times evince a 
willingness to converse about, seldom allowing an opportu¬ 
nity to pass that would give us the pleasure of describing the 
utility, charms, or habits of our favourites. Indeed, were I to 
remain indifferent to the solicitation of Mr. B. P. Brent, in 
imparting what knowledge I have, either of the house or air 
Tumbler Pigeon, I should feel myself guilty of ingratitude 
to that bird. 
In my boyish days the Tumbler Pigeon attracted my at¬ 
tention, and with it are associated many of the incidents of 
that time. Since then it has been to me like some immovable 
prejudice, and,—when, in flying from place to place, it seems 
as if measuring the distance between into lengths of five feet 
apai't by its easy and graceful somersaults, or in performing 
on floor or table nine or ten well sustained tumbles in twelve 
seconds,—it has charms for me still. 
I am sorry that I cannot furnish Mr. B. P. Brent with any 
reliable information as to the origin of the house Tumbler. 
The first I knew to have this variety was the late Mr Greg, 
of Glasgow ; but whether he bred, or how he came to be pos¬ 
sessed of them, perhaps some of those who were on intimate 
terms with him may be able to inform us. 
The house Tumbler has no peculiar marking. The colour 
is various, but the most common are brown, brown and white, 
ash, black, blue-barred, and yellow ; size, between that of the 
short-faced Tumbler and the common Pigeon ; head, when 
compared with the short faced bird, long and coarse ; length 
of beak, from four to five eiglitlis-of-an-inch ; colour of the 
eye, mostly pearl. If properly attended to, and supplied 
with all that is necessary for birds kept in confinement, they 
breed well. 
“ A Welshman,” whose taste in Pigeons is somewhat akin 
to my own, perhaps may be pleased to hear what kind of 
flying Tumblers we, in this part, esteem most. In the first 
place, the bird is not much thought of that tumbles less than 
forty times in a minute; secondly, the style in which these 
tumbles are performed has much to do in making him or her 
a favourite. We do not want our birds to make three somer¬ 
saults at a time, and then fly on again. What we want is, 
the moment they take whig, to go over, and to continue to do 
so (one at a time, so smoothly done that one who is unaccus¬ 
tomed to look at these birds in flight would not know that 
they were tumbling at all), at regular intervals, until they 
drop. The cleaner the intervals the better, if the bird can 
keep from sinking. For my own part I do not think a bird 
worth keeping that does not go over thirty times in a minute. 
—James Paton, Steivarton. 
Tumbler, and their produce (black mongrels) used to tumble 
very nicely. An acquaintance of mine had a common-looking 
blue-pied Pigeon which also used to soar and tumble beauti¬ 
fully ; and a London pigeon-fancier told me he had a blue 
Dragoon cock that used to tumble. Although these birds 
did actually tumble, I should object to their being taken as a 
type of the breed called Tumblers : we must have other pro¬ 
perties of head, beak, size, feather, &c.; but the standard need 
not be so high or excessive as for the high-bred short-faced 
birds. Mr. J. M. Eaton, in his book which I have before 
alluded to, ridicules my advocating a medium bird for flying 
and tumbling. He says, “ fanciers will not have them;” they 
must go to extremes. But he acknowledges the pleasant short¬ 
faced birds do not tumble; nor do the long-faced Skinnum 
Beards. As to Dutch Rollers, they are coarse, runtisli-look- 
ing birds; and, even if bred to feather and flying, their 
excessive tumbling, or rolling, causes them to break the flight, 
lose ground, and bring down the others. It, therefore, stands 
to reason, that those who, like myself, enjoy a good flight of 
Tumblers, must have medium birds, better looking than the 
Rollers, and not so delicate as the short-faced, Almond-bred 
birds. Mr. Eaton regrets that these pleasant birds do not 
tumble, and he admits his admiration of a flight of Tumblers, 
by informing us in the pages of his interesting work how, 
when once going to Wales, he went without his dinner by 
watching a flight of Tumblers tumbling beautifully, and he 
declares he is willing to do so again for another such sight. 
Whole coloured birds,—as blue, black, and white,—are 
regarded as the original English Tumbler. Are those of “ A 
Welshman” likely to be of the old English breed, unmixed 
with the gay-coloured Dutch ? 
What are now called Dutch Rollers, I think, are very coarse 
German Tumblers.—B. P. Brent, 
PIGEONS. 
MALFORMATION OF A RABBIT. 
A eriend of mine called my attention, some time since, to 
a very curious phenomena in one of his Rabbits, which has 
growing from, and outside its under jaw, two, what I shall call 
teeth, though they have really more the appearance of horns. 
These turn up over the nose, and when I saw them they were 
about one inch and a half long. They are about the size of a 
straw, nearly square, and about a quarter of an inch apart at 
their extremeties. As you will suppose, this animal had great 
difficulty in getting its food into its mouth; but they were 
cut off with a file a day or two after I saw them, and were 
found entire solid bone. So fast do they grow, that the 
owner has again taken off another half inch, in about six 
weeks from the first cutting. Is not this a rare occurrence, 
and very uncommon? I should feel obliged by any informa¬ 
tion respecting this.—G. C. 
In reply to the inquiries of “ A Welshman,” I may say, 
that though I have never made a comparative trial of the 
Runts and smaller Pigeons, as to their culinary qualifi- 
fications, yet the French, who are acknowledged as good 
judges in the epicurean arts, prefer the large house Pigeon, 
or Runts, to the smaller sorts. 
When billing, or “ wringing beaks,” the hen always places 
her bill in the cock’s, and he appears to feed her with a 
spasmodic retching movement, but with his most passionately 
retching kisses. I do not think he ever gives her more than 
a little saliva, though the action sometimes much resembles 
the act of vomiting the food when feeding young ones. 
A gentleman, who had tried the experiment, informed me 
he had taken the eggs of the Wood Pigeon (ColumbaPalumbo), 
and placed them under his Pigeons in the dovecot, and put 
the tame Pigeon’s eggs in the nest of the Wood Pigeons; that 
each had reared their respective charges ; but the young 
Wood Pigeons, when old enough, had taken to the woods^ 
and the young tame Pigeons joined those in the dovecot. It 
is owing to the roving nature and arboreal habits of the tree- 
perching Doves that prevents their being domesticated. 
Alt hough a lover of the flying fancy,—and as such regarding 
lugh flying and clean tumbling as the highest qualifications of 
a humbler,-—yet I do not think those qualities are alone suffi- 
mcn t; lor instance the first Pigeon I ever had was a black- 
heaaed Nun, lie was at one time paired w T ith a short-faced 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Cockerels with Crooked Breast Bones [B .).~We have a strong 
’ opinion that the form of the perch, or the mode of roosting, has hut 
little influence over this. Like spinal curvature in the human body, 
it arises from constitutional weakness, and comes from too close a re¬ 
lationship in the parents, or from weakness in one or other of them. 
Try a change of parentage. 
Lichfield Poultry Show. — J. P. J., Bantam, and others, write 
for information as to the Secretary’s name and address. Why do not 
the Committee advertise it 1 
Crewe Poultry Show {Bantam ).—We cannot say whether the 
same are managers this year as were last year. 
M. S. Y .—We have a letter for this correspondent, whose commu¬ 
nication appeared under the title of “ Help Me, my Friends,” but we 
have lost his address. 
LONDON MARKETS. —September 13th. 
POULTRY. 
The only novelty to note is the beginning of the Partridge season. 
Judging from appearances, they are plentiful, and generally good, 
forward birds. 
Each. 
Large Fowls ... 4s. 6 d. to 5s. 0 cl. 
Small ditto. 3 0 ,,3 6 
Chickens. 2 0 ,,2 6 
Geese . 6 o 
Ducks. 2 6 
6 . 
0 
Leverets. 2s. 
Grouse. 3 
Pigeons . 0 
Rabbits . 1 
Wild ditto. 0 
Each. 
0 d. to 3s. 6 d 
0 „ 3 6 
8 „ 0 9 
3 „ 1 4 
8 ,, 0 9 
